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

Ye Ling'er's perspective.

Something incredibly important happened in Kyoto today!!!

Someone has dropped evidence of the Princess's treasonous acts into the air!

That's royalty, you know! Who has the guts to do something like that? (He's a real man, I'd love to meet him sometime.)

I doubt Wan'er knows anything about this; her family never tells her anything.

Therefore, as Wan'er's very, very, very best friend, I have a need to tell Wan'er about this!

She rode her horse to the Lin residence to find Wan'er, but when she arrived, she was told that Lin Wan'er was not at home.

Ye Ling'er slowly typed out a question mark: ?

What? She never comes out no matter how much I call her, but this time she actually went out on her own?

They haven't called me yet!?

Therefore, Ye Ling'er was also surprised when she learned that Lin Wan'er had gone to the Second Prince's residence.

She thought about the implications carefully... but couldn't figure it out.

Although she didn't understand why Lin Wan'er went there, it reminded her of something else—Tao Jingyang should also be at the Second Prince's residence.

It just so happens that she had only heard of Tao Jingyang before, but had never met him. If she could use this opportunity as an excuse to find Lin Wan'er...

I'll go right away, and while I'm at it, I'll take Wan'er back to her residence.

Kyoto has been quite unsettled lately; I wonder if Wan'er has brought enough people with her...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Prince's Mansion.

Ye Ling'er arrived quietly, carrying some pastries she had brought from the Lin residence.

As soon as Lin Wan'er saw her, she got up to greet her: "Ling'er, what brings you here?"

"I went to your residence to look for you, and they said you were here, so I came." Ye Ling'er only said half of her sentence before glancing at the other two people in the room.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Ye Ling'er greeted him with a fist and palm salute.

Without waiting for Li Chengze's response, he turned his gaze directly to Tao Jingyang sitting opposite him: "Is this Miss Tao?"

"It is indeed me." Tao Jingyang looked at this woman with a very "frank" demeanor with curiosity.

It's kind of awkward to think about it now. Originally, Ye Ling'er should have been... the one betrothed by Emperor Qing. Although neither of them wanted it at the time, but...

Thinking of this, Tao Jingyang really wanted to glance at Li Chengze, but she controlled herself.

Li Chengze glanced at the situation in the room. Three women plus him, a man... seemed a bit inappropriate.

So he said, "I have some things to take care of. Why don't you sit here and chat?"

The three of them were meeting for the first time. They exchanged glances and almost simultaneously said:

Tao Jingyang: "You can go down if you want."

[Lin Wan'er]: "Then Second Cousin, you can go ahead and get busy."

[Ye Ling'er]: "Yes, Your Highness, please take care."

Li Chengze stood up, nodded to himself, and quickly walked out.

Before they had taken more than a few steps, Tao Jingyang spoke again: "Close the door after you go out."

He didn't answer, but when he went out, he obediently turned around and stepped back to close the door.

When she looked at Tao Jingyang, her gaze seemed to carry a hint of "sorrow".

Seeing this, Lin Wan'er raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and laughed.

Ye Ling'er found it strange and asked, "Wan'er, what are you laughing at?"

She simply shook her head and looked at Tao Jingyang:

“I remember, my second cousin wasn’t like this before.” Li Chengze’s appearance suddenly reminded Lin Wan’er of Fan Xian.

Fan Xian can be this "silly" at times.

Ye Ling'er glanced at the closed door, then at Tao Jingyang, and exclaimed in sudden realization, "Oh~ so the rumors circulating are true!?"

[Tao Jingyang]: What rumor... It can't be that book, "The Untold Stories of the Prince and the Heroine," can it...?

"Miss Ling'er, what does this rumor refer to?" Tao Jingyang asked, somewhat apprehensively.

Ye Ling'er cleared her throat and said with great enthusiasm:

"Some say you two fell in love at first sight, others say you saved the Second Prince's life, so he wants to..."

Ye Ling'er stopped after saying half a sentence; she was a little hesitant to say the next word.

“Miss Ling’er, please speak freely. I don’t usually go out for walks, so I don’t really know much about these rumors.”

Hearing this, Ye Ling'er lowered her voice and said:

"They say the Second Prince wants to repay his kindness with his body! Miss Jingyang, is this true?"

At this moment, Ye Ling'er, having just finished speaking, was filled with the excited light of knowing she was about to learn some big gossip.

"Uh...the rumors circulating are all just hearsay, Miss Ling'er, please don't believe them."

Upon hearing Tao Jingyang's words, Ye Ling'er's eyes dimmed. [Alas, what a pity.]

"But the situation is similar, just not as bizarre as the rumors suggest," Tao Jingyang quietly added in a low voice.

[Lin Wan'er]: ! It seems I've discovered a huge secret...

[Ye Ling'er]: ! I think I've learned a huge, huge, huge piece of gossip. This trip was definitely worthwhile!

Ye Ling'er scanned Tao Jingyang up and down and found that he did indeed have the dashing and heroic feeling unique to martial artists.

So she asked, "Miss Jingyang, I've heard that you also practice martial arts?"

“That’s right, but his cultivation level isn’t high, and his martial arts skills aren’t particularly refined either.” Tao Jingyang said with an “honest” face.

"It's already difficult for a woman to learn martial arts. If it weren't for my father's influence, I'm afraid I would never have been able to learn martial arts in my life." Ye Ling'er spoke frankly and without any hesitation.

Ye Ling'er is a true "martial arts fanatic." Long ago, she heard that there were women in the capital who practiced martial arts, and she always thought about having a chance to spar with them.

Tao Jingyang seemed to see through her thoughts and hesitantly said, "Miss Ling'er, shall we have a little sparring?"

The latter's eyes lit up: "Great, just what I wanted."

Lin Wan'er moved a little further away, and the two who planned to spar didn't go out either; they just stayed in the room and stopped short of a duel.

Ye Ling'er said, "Miss, you should make the first move."

Tao Jingyang didn't refuse, and immediately performed a side somersault in mid-air before pouncing on him.

【！】 Ye Ling'er took a half step back, turned to her left, leaned back to dodge, and blocked Tao Jingyang's attack with her right hand.

Immediately afterwards, Ye Ling'er stretched out her palm and slashed out.

At the same moment, Ye Ling'er discovered a flaw in Tao Jingyang's demeanor—his throat was "unintentionally" exposed when he stood still.