In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Fan Xian forced a bitter smile. "Don't bring up what happened three hundred years from now. I'll definitely avenge myself next time."

Although his words were firm, one could easily overlook the way he stared at the floor tiles.

This palace is truly magnificent.

After walking for so long, I haven't seen a single crack in the ground.

Seeing Fan Xian's state, Li Chengze stepped forward, grabbed Fan Xian by the collar, and pulled him aside like a chick, his brows furrowing slightly.

“Look at the words you’re saying. You don’t have even a trace of the demeanor of a Duke.”

Fan Xian stumbled from the sudden tug, but after regaining his balance, he shook his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, stiffened his neck, and said indignantly,

"Yes, yes, I don't look like a duke. But do you two look like a duke and an emperor?"

As he spoke, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, and his gaze swept back and forth between Li Chengze and Tao Jingyang. "One doesn't like to review memorials, and the other is often late for court."

"Grand Preceptor, you live in the palace, how can you be late for court? That's really strange." His tone was sarcastic, and his words were quite irritating.

"I love being late, so what? You have a problem with that?" Tao Jingyang raised his leg and kicked Fan Xian.

Just as his toe was about to kick Fan Xian, Li Chengze stepped to the side to block him, muttering, "Don't bother with him, he's young and doesn't know any better."

For no apparent reason, Li Chengze became the patriarch.

Fan Xian seized the opportunity, twisted his body, and easily dodged the attack while Li Chengze was blocking him.

A smug smile instantly spread across his face, and he deliberately dragged out the tone, "Hey, you can't hit it."

He then said to Li Chengze in a cheeky tone, "Your Majesty, without you, who would treat me like a child?"

For the past few months, Fan Xian has been involved in handling state affairs, and he feels that governing the country is like children playing house, not as difficult as he had initially imagined.

However, in recent days, the imperial court has implemented many new policies.

The reforms were sweeping and radical, and Fan Xian couldn't help but feel uneasy.

If it affects the interests of too many people, it might really provoke public outrage.

He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke out his concerns, "You two are constantly issuing those new regulations in court, and anyone who raises the slightest objection will be dismissed and have their property confiscated... Aren't you two afraid of being infamous for all time?"

This was the first time Fan Xian had so frankly revealed his concerns.

Tao Jingyang leaned forward, his head slightly raised, and stared at Fan Xian with a half-smile, asking, "What, are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid of spicy food," Fan Xian blurted out instinctively, then quickly straightened up and said seriously, "I'm just a minister at most, so naturally I have nothing to worry about. But you two..."

After saying that, he glanced at the two of them again, examining them closely. "To be honest, if this reform succeeds, that will be fine, but if it fails, we will inevitably have to bear some infamy."

[Tao Jingyang or Li Chengze]: ...

The two exchanged a glance, and Li Chengze broke the silence first, looking at Tao Jingyang with tender eyes and asking softly, "Ayang, are you scared?"

Tao Jingyang tilted his head slightly, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and replied softly, "A little, I suppose. Some keyboard warriors are quite lethal."

She paused for a moment, then her eyes hardened. "But I won't back down because I'm afraid. It's all about human effort. If you're not convinced, then fight."

Li Chengze's gaze remained fixed on Tao Jingyang throughout. Upon hearing this, he nodded, "History is written by the winners; as long as we win, that's all that matters."

Fan Xian stood to the side, not responding, just standing quietly, his eyes somewhat vacant, as if he were pondering something.

For a moment, all was silent.

After a long silence, Tao Jingyang broke the deadlock by looking at Fan Xian and asking, "Fan Xian, when are you leaving?"

"Probably the day after tomorrow, what's wrong?" Fan Xian replied subconsciously.

"So fast?" she said, turning around quickly.

Her clothes fluttered, the hem of her garments like the delicate wings of a butterfly, gently brushing against the verdant vines beside her, making a soft rustling sound.

She suddenly quickened her pace, and Li Chengze and Fan Xian behind her instinctively followed suit.

Li Chengze grabbed Fan Xian's arm and followed closely behind Tao Jingyang, asking as he walked quickly, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Without turning his head, Tao Jingyang said quickly, "Call the people from the Ministry of Works over here, and have them polish the shipbuilding blueprints again carefully. Have Fan Xian take the blueprints and go to the three major workshops to supervise the construction."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian's eyes widened instantly, and he hurriedly chased after him, shouting, "..."

"Tao Jingyang, you don't mean you want me to supervise the construction there, do you?!"

The thought that if the ship takes three to five years to build, he would be trapped there forever.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, so he immediately refused without hesitation, saying, "I don't agree. I have to go back and be with Wan'er."

Tao Jingyang was preoccupied with the details of the blueprints and had no time to pay attention to Fan Xian's protest.

At that moment, he ran like the wind, and in a flash, he was far away.

Li Chengze didn't rush to chase after them. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Fan Xian, saying, "Find someone trustworthy to supervise the construction. I allow you to make connections with your own faction."

"What do you mean by forming cliques? Why are you saying such nasty things?"

Fan Xian muttered a dissatisfaction, but almost immediately a suitable candidate came to mind: "Then let Teng Zijing supervise the construction."

The thought of his upcoming epic masterpiece made Fan Xian unable to suppress a lewd smile.

“Teng Zijing? That name sounds strangely familiar.” Li Chengze tilted his head slightly, and some distant images flashed through his mind.

Back then, he even helped his aunt in the assassination attempt on Fan Xian.

It seems that I first heard that name around that time.

Fan Xian mentally reviewed the article while taking a moment to reply, "He was my first friend in life. After he was injured last time, he went back to my hometown."

In Fan Xian's memory, Teng Zijing had never had any great ambitions.

These days, my daily routine consists of peacefully working as a housekeeper in the Fan family's old house, living a simple and leisurely life.

The two strolled slowly along the winding path, chatting idly.

The warm spring sun shines through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled light and shadow.

......

The discussion of the shipbuilding blueprints took up the entire afternoon, and everyone in the hall seemed to have their energy slowly drained away by an invisible funnel.

After the final version of the blueprints was finalized, only Tao Jingyang and Li Chengze remained in the hall.

The officials from the Ministry of Works, dragging their bodies as heavy and exhausted as if they were made of lead, slowly left.

Tao Jingyang and Li Chengze are in no better shape; they are both feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

It felt as if someone had stuffed a tangled mess into my head, making my thinking sluggish.

Outside the palace, Eunuch Su was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in circles.

They were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Only after the Ministry of Works personnel had finally left did he dare to cautiously enter and deliver the message.

Fine beads of sweat covered Eunuch Su's forehead. He raised his hand and wiped them away with his sleeve, his voice filled with anxiety.

"Your Majesty, something has happened at the Imperial Mausoleum!"

Both of them were taken aback upon hearing this, and a look of confusion appeared on their faces at the same time.

What could possibly happen to an imperial tomb? Could it be that the old grave was struck by lightning?

The past few days have been filled with continuous spring rain, and there have indeed been several claps of thunder, some of which even woke Tao Jingyang up.

I almost thought another war with firearms had broken out.

Seeing that Eunuch Su was so anxious, Li Chengze didn't show any particular reaction on his face. He just asked absentmindedly, "Speak, what is it?"

He doesn't really care about imperial tombs or anything like that.

The eunuch Su cautiously looked around, and only after seeing that no one else was there did he quietly take out a piece of paper from his sleeve and hand it over with trembling hands.

The letter was slowly unfolded, and its gist was: The late concubine guarding the tomb secretly gave birth to the late emperor's posthumous child.

This woman, surnamed Pang, was not favored in the palace. When the late emperor passed away, she was only three months pregnant.

Because her health wasn't very good to begin with, and her pregnancy symptoms weren't obvious, she herself was completely unaware of it.

She arrived at the imperial mausoleum in a daze, only to belatedly discover that she was pregnant.