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

In the middle of the night, after finishing the day's work, Li Chengze lay down to rest and vaguely felt that these past few days had been the most peaceful and comfortable days since he was born.

These past few days, apart from the usual court sessions, I haven't had any other worries.

My past self may have seemed glamorous on the surface, but in reality...

In reality, it's quite glamorous.

In the entire Southern Qing Dynasty, apart from His Majesty, he could even contend with the Crown Prince.

However, Li Chengze always knew that his current glory was only temporary.

Over the years, His Majesty has never seemed to have any intention of changing the heir apparent.

Since there is no such thing, they still keep praising me in front of the Crown Prince and the court officials.

Sometimes, I can't see everything clearly in front of me. I just keep walking along this path.

I knew long ago that one day, everyone here would reveal their true colors and turn against each other.

To be in the vortex of power, one must have one's own power base. Otherwise, one will always be at the mercy of others.

Li Chengze must not be the one to be preyed upon. That's why I've worked so hard and cautiously all these years to get to where I am today.

In the past few years, although life wasn't easy, it was all just the same old, trivial matters.

Until she appeared, bringing news about Fan Xian. I saw His Majesty's attitude, and Chen Pingping's covert protection from the Overwatch Council.

These are all unexpected things.

In the past, it was merely a struggle between officials, such as a daughter from one family wanting to marry a son from another, or a young master from another family wanting to make friends to pave his way to officialdom...

In the past, my eyes were always fixed on these things. But now, they seem like child's play, just meaningless trifles.

I can't believe I've been in a place like this for so long...

Li Chengze's eyes were lifeless as he unconsciously pondered these things.

It seems that I've been able to do less since Fan Xian arrived.

Fortunately, I found out in advance that Fan Xian was His Majesty's illegitimate son. Otherwise, I would have originally planned to compete with the Crown Prince for Fan Xian's affections.

But it turns out that watching others argue and fight is so interesting.

Can I rest a little longer? (Although I'm already resting...)

I hope they can argue for a little longer so I can get some rest.

As I was thinking, Tao Jingyang came to mind.

[What should I ask her to do tomorrow...] Li Chengze's eyes regained their sparkle as he thought about this, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up again.

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Inside the palace.

Emperor Qing was slumped over, looking as if he was about to die, and listened intently to the report from the person who came.

The low couch beneath him seemed to be made of mahogany, and if one could get closer, one could even smell a faint fragrance. However, it was unclear where the fragrance was coming from.

He held his own inexplicable sketch in his hand, making corrections and analyzing the information he had just received.

"Sounds like a loving couple," Emperor Qing said, casually rolling up the things in his hand and tossing them aside.

Listening to the reports over and over again, it seemed to me that my son, the Second Prince, and Tao Jingyang were constantly engaged in romantic talk.

Not only did the two of them spend all their time in the same house, they also went on a trip to the countryside together.

Not only that, the two also frequently went shopping every few days...

This time they didn't even bring anyone, probably because they thought having too many people would be troublesome and delay their work.

When has my second son ever done such a thing?

Putting aside his going out on the street, Li Chengze has never been one to be willing to move around.

What's more, he also has a woman by his side every day?

“Li Chengze... my son, in the past, there was not even a trace of human life in the mansion, at most there was that Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu.”

These things just don't seem right no matter how you look at them; everything about them seems unusual.

Most importantly, I don't know when it started, but Li Chengze seems to have stopped paying as much attention to politics as before. His lack of ambition is really making me, as his father, feel a little uneasy...

But it's clear the Crown Prince has been tempered. He's always up to his old tricks, does he really think I don't know?

The second prince seems to be gaining more and more power. Logically speaking, at this point, he should already have all the thoughts he should and shouldn't have.

Now that Fan Xian has arrived, his level of trouble-making is in no way inferior to my other two sons.

Hehe, let's just keep going like this... It's actually quite interesting.

Emperor Qing stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the lake view outside the window. The sky was clear, with not a single cloud obscuring the vast expanse, and the sunlight shone directly into the azure lake water.

Emperor Qing smiled as he thought about it, and sighed, "My son has finally experienced the first stirrings of love."

He then shook his head, a smile playing on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.