Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

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Guangxin Palace.

The night was as dark as ink, and the palace lanterns swayed under the eaves, their dim yellow light trembling slightly in the night wind, like flickering candles that might go out at any moment.

Lin Wan'er stood in front of the palace gate, looked up at the familiar plaque, the golden characters gleaming with a cold light in the lamplight.

She was dressed in a plain white dress, her hair was dry and yellow, and her face was thinner and more haggard than ever before, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

The lamplight reflected in her eyes, but it couldn't illuminate the deathly grayness.

This was the first time she had ever seen Guangxin Palace at night.

In the past decade or so, she has never set foot here at night, and has never spent a night in Guangxin Palace or shared a room with her own mother.

Lin Wan'er took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold.

The maid led her into the bedchamber, then quietly pushed the door open and closed it.

The candlelight flickered in the hall, and through the layers of curtains, she immediately spotted the figure reclining on the soft couch.

Li Yunrui.

She leaned lazily against the soft pillows, her belly protruding high, which even the loose palace dress could not conceal.

Two palace maids were kneeling on the ground beside her; one was massaging her legs to improve blood circulation, while the other stood by her side.

Since Emperor Qing discovered her pregnancy and then threatened to kill all the palace servants in Guangxin Palace, Li Yunrui felt that since these servants were going to die anyway, she didn't need to humiliate herself as before.

So she summoned the person to her side to serve her, just as before, without hiding anything from him.

When the urgent news of Emperor Qing's death arrived today, she was overwhelmed with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy after confirming it several times.

After all, he was her brother whom she had admired and loved since childhood. Although it was she who joined forces with the three grandmasters Ye Liuyun, Si Gujian, and Ku He to go to Mount Dadong, she still couldn't help but feel sad when Emperor Qing really died.

However, after the initial sadness, she felt a sense of relief. Emperor Qing was finally dead, and all her arrangements and preparations had not been in vain.

She didn't know the inside story of the Ye family leading troops to surround the mountain, but she guessed it might be Zhou Cheng's doing.

Whether it is or not, it doesn't really matter.

The key point is that with Emperor Qing dead, there is no one left in the Qing Kingdom that she can fear.

With her influence in Kyoto, whoever she supports will become the new ruler.

The Empress Dowager and the Empress could not defeat her.

In an instant, it was as if all the shackles on her body had been removed, and she felt relaxed all over, even her breathing became easier.

"Wan'er, you've arrived."

As Li Yunrui watched Lin Wan'er approach, her heart couldn't help but clench when she saw her haggard and withered appearance.

She supported her pregnant belly and, with the help of her maid, sat up. She waved her hand, signaling the maid to leave.

The two maids bowed and retreated silently, leaving only the mother and daughter in the hall.

Lin Wan'er glanced at her mother, who appeared more voluptuous and radiant with maternal glow under the candlelight, and silently lowered her head.

The candlelight cast interplay of light and shadow on her face, obscuring her expression.

Even though she had heard Fan Xian say this before, and many things proved it, seeing her mother like this still left her with mixed feelings.

Seeing that Lin Wan'er didn't seem too surprised, Li Yunrui snorted, "It seems that Fan Xian tells you everything."

Lin Wan'er hadn't intended to say anything, but when Li Yunrui mentioned Fan Xian, she couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her head, her voice tight and slightly hoarse:

"Mother, Mother, do you have any news about Fan Xian?"

Hearing Lin Wan'er immediately inquire about Fan Xian, Li Yunrui frowned, his face darkening, and he said irritably:

"Fan Xian? He should be dead. He followed His Majesty to Mount Dadong. As the Director of the Supervisory Bureau, he had the responsibility to protect His Majesty. Now that His Majesty has been assassinated, even if he survived by sheer luck, he should still die in the aftermath."

Lin Wan'er was shocked that Li Yunrui didn't consider her feelings at all and spoke so harshly about Fan Xian's life and death. She was so angry that she felt dizzy and her vision went black.

She already harbored a lot of resentment towards Li Yunrui, and Li Yunrui's words at this moment were like a fuse, instantly igniting her anger.

With tears in her eyes, she angrily accused, "Mother, you are so wicked! Fan Xian is your daughter's lover, your son-in-law, how could you curse him like this!"

Tears fell from her eyes and slid down her pale cheeks.

"You didn't come to my father's funeral, you weren't there when I was in the most pain, and you were nowhere to be found when I most needed comfort! Are you even a mother? Does the child in your womb know that its mother is such a cold-blooded, heartless, and selfish woman?"

Lin Wan'er's tearful accusations left Li Yunrui feeling ashamed and equally furious.

She knew she wasn't a good mother, in fact, quite bad, but being scolded like that by her daughter still made her extremely embarrassed.

Throughout her life, she has never indulged anyone!

She also lost her temper, raising her voice several notches as she angrily retorted:

She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving.

"Lin Ruofu is dead, what can I do? Am I supposed to go to his funeral while I'm heavily pregnant?"

Everyone knows the child isn't his. Does he have to suffer for him now that he's dead?

Are you feeling unwell? Are you in pain? Tell me, how can I comfort you?

What can I do? I can't even get out of Guangxin Palace! If I go out, people will die, a lot of people will die, do you understand?

Lin Wan'er got emotional and stubborn, her voice no quieter than Li Yunrui's:

"I don't understand! Why should I understand? How could I possibly understand? You're not telling me anything, I know nothing, so what am I supposed to understand?"

She took a breath and continued her accusation: "So what if I have a child? Who in the capital doesn't know that I, Lin Wan'er, am the illegitimate daughter of the Princess?"

"You already have an illegitimate daughter, and you're already stigmatized. What are you afraid of? Is this child any different? Won't he be secretly pointed at and gossiped about from birth? Isn't he born an illegitimate child?"

Li Yunrui's breath hitched. He opened his mouth, but his voice weakened, and he could only say, "He's different from you."

Lin Wan'er pressed on, "What's the difference? Aren't they all stains on the Princess's reputation? Aren't they all her illegitimate children? What makes him any different?"

Li Yunrui glared at her, and Lin Wan'er glared back without backing down.

Li Yunrui never expected that Lin Wan'er, who was always obedient and well-behaved, would be so disobedient to him.

She was also furious, suppressing her anger as she forced out each word through clenched teeth: "Of course it's different! This child is far more noble! His father is the future emperor of Qing Kingdom; he was born a prince or princess! I cannot allow him to have any blemishes, I cannot let anyone know his background!"

"..."

Lin Wan'er's heart was hurt.

She never expected that Li Yunrui would say that her unborn younger brother or sister was more noble than her.

After the initial shock, she couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

What emperor, prince, princess?

She was naturally familiar with these words, but when they came out of Li Yunrui's mouth, they sounded completely foreign to her!

She tried hard to sort out the relationships, and after a while...

A look of confusion crossed her face, and she looked at Li Yunrui with pleading eyes.

The latter remained expressionless.

Lin Wan'er couldn't hold back any longer. Fear showed on her face, and her eyes widened even more!

......

Emperor Qing is a Grandmaster!

In the inner study, Zhou Cheng casually revealed the secret that Emperor Qing had painstakingly hidden for decades.

All for the sake of appeasing his woman.

In fact, five days ago, when the system received a huge amount of negative emotions from Ku He, Zhou Cheng already knew that the outcome of the battle on Da Dong Mountain had been decided.

After decades of planning and forbearance, Emperor Qing finally reaped what he considered to be his most fruitful harvest in a short time on Mount Dadong.

From that moment on, the secret that Emperor Qing was a Grandmaster was no longer necessary to be concealed. (The novel "The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life" is currently sparking a reading frenzy; haven't you read it yet?)

Apart from Zhan Yuanyuan, all the other women were dumbfounded upon hearing Zhou Cheng's words.

They naturally tended to believe Zhou Cheng's words, but the news was simply too unbelievable.

After all, all the rumors have been speculating that the Grandmaster hidden in the Qing Kingdom's palace is the old eunuch who serves the Empress Dowager—Hong Sixiang.

"You want to ask about Hong Sixiang, right?"

Zhou Cheng didn't even need to ask; he could tell what they were thinking just by looking into their eyes.

Ye Ling'er nodded like a chick pecking at rice. Among the girls, she was the one who practiced martial arts, so she was naturally the most curious.

Zhou Cheng slowly said, "Hong Sixiang is a ninth-rank official, but he's just a figurehead put forward by His Majesty. Imperial power and the throne are supreme, and Grandmasters are even more supreme. If it weren't for His Majesty being a Grandmaster, how could a small imperial city accommodate two supreme beings?"

Apart from Zhan Yuanyuan, who had personally witnessed the power of a Grandmaster, even Ye Ling'er, a martial artist with a Grandmaster as her great-uncle, only knew the tip of the iceberg regarding the true strength and superhuman abilities of a Grandmaster.

This isn't their problem; it's purely that their limited understanding and perspective restrict their imagination.

Just like the 13,500-jin (approximately 6,750 kg) magic staff in Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en's imagination could never have imagined that the magical artifact capable of "stabilizing the sea" would, hundreds of years later, be carried around by any dump truck on the main road, carrying three, five, or even a dozen or dozens of them.

The same applies to the common people's perception of grandmasters.

The limit of their understanding was equating Grandmasters with imperial power.

They couldn't imagine what it would be like for one person to surpass imperial power.

Therefore, in the eyes of the people, it was reasonable for Hong Sixiang, this "Grandmaster," to live deep in the palace and serve the royal family.

Those who do not understand the Grandmaster will not comprehend the "nobility" of a Grandmaster who will not submit to others.

Those who know Grandmasters too well, such as the Grandmasters themselves, and who know that those who can break through to the Grandmaster level have some psychological issues.

So much so that over the years, they rarely suspected that Hong Sixiang was an imposter.

Zhou Cheng then shared some secrets about the Grandmasters with the women, who listened with astonishment, as if they had opened the door to a new world.

Later, Si Lili asked curiously, "Your Highness, these secrets are only known to Grandmasters, right? You said His Majesty is a Grandmaster, so could it be that His Majesty's chosen successor from the beginning was Your Highness?"

As the chief intelligence officer of Prince Cheng's residence, Si Lili had to review almost all intelligence reports first.

But she knew nothing about these secrets. So she had doubts.

Zhou Cheng shook his head: "No, that's not it. His Majesty actually favors the Crown Prince, and has always favored him."

Zhou Cheng's words only made Si Lili even more puzzled.

She was well aware of all the sources of intelligence in the manor, so she couldn't understand how Zhou Cheng knew so many secrets that she didn't know.

Zhan Yuanyuan opened her mouth slightly, as if she had discovered something interesting.

Before Si Lili could ask, she blinked her big eyes and said, "Sister Lili, don't you know His Highness is a Grandmaster?"

Si Lili let out a blank "Ah," and before Sang Wen and Shen Wan'er could react, Ye Ling'er had already jumped in front of Zhan Yuanyuan.

She cupped Zhan Yuanyuan's face in her hands, kneading her cheeks until they were distorted, and her voice changed tone:

"Yuanyuan, what did you say? Say it again!"

Zhan Yuanyuan pouted innocently, her voice muffled: "Sister Ling'er, you don't know either?"

She paused, then added, looking aggrieved, "I thought everyone knew..."

After saying that, she looked at Zhou Cheng for help.

Ye Ling'er stared wide-eyed at Zhou Cheng, her face filled with shock: "Is what Yuanyuan said true?"

Zhou Cheng nodded calmly: "I always have."

Ye Ling'er's expression seemed to freeze.

She knew Zhou Cheng was very capable; after all, she had experienced it firsthand.

She had always thought Zhou Cheng was a ninth-rank official, or at most a ninth-rank upper-level official, and that her strength was far inferior, so she never inquired further.

She never imagined that her man would be a grandmaster.

The impact of a Grandmaster on a martial artist far exceeds that of an ordinary person. At least, Sang Wen and Shen Wan'er's reactions were also strong, but not nearly as strong as Ye Ling'er's.

The fact that Zhou Cheng is a Grandmaster has a much greater impact on Ye Ling'er than the fact that Emperor Qing is a Grandmaster!

For a moment, she was shocked, dazed, and incredulous. So many thoughts flooded her mind that her thinking became sluggish. She stood there blankly, unable to react for a long time.

Night fell.

Ye Ling'er gradually accepted this fact.

That night, the women asked an unusually large number of questions, and Ye Ling'er insisted that he demonstrate his Grandmaster-level strength.

Zhou Cheng was speechless. After all, his Grandmaster abilities had always been on display before them, but they had never thought about it in that way.

As the night drew to a close, the sounds from inside the bed curtains finally subsided. Zhou Cheng held Ye Ling'er and Si Lili, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, in his arms.

His gaze fell on the top of the tent, thinking about the false news that Emperor Qing had sent back to the capital. His eyes were deep, as if he could see through everything.

The story of Ye Zhong leading troops to besiege Mount Dadong and colluding with three Grandmasters to kill Emperor Qing is obviously a lie.

Emperor Qing sent back this message in order to use his faked death to lure out all the opposing and unstable forces in the Qing Kingdom and eliminate them in one fell swoop.

The reason why they didn't use Fan Xian as the scapegoat as in the original story, but instead chose the Ye family, was naturally to force him to take that step.

Emperor Qing never explicitly issued an edict to perform sacrifices at the temple in order to depose the heir apparent and replace him with the legitimate heir.

Even though the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven has not yet been completed, the Crown Prince remains the rightful heir apparent.

With the emperor's passing, the capital city urgently needs a new emperor to ascend the throne and take charge of the overall situation.

Whether for the sake of stability or for the sake of legal principles, the crown prince's succession is the only natural first choice.

After all, Emperor Qing did not send any signal to the outside world that he would pass the crown prince position to Zhou Cheng before leaving the capital.

Even before that, Zhou Cheng had been confined to his quarters, revealing a change in Emperor Qing's attitude towards him.

Emperor Qing knew that the Empress Dowager favored the Crown Prince when it came to choosing the heir apparent.

Therefore, once Emperor Qing faked his death, the Crown Prince, with the support of the Empress Dowager, would rightfully ascend the throne in the capital.

Zhou Cheng could even imagine what Emperor Qing's mindset was before he made this decision—

You like to scheme? You like to present evidence? A mighty emperor, through his own "death," directly disregards reason and uses the power of the situation to sweep away all conspiracies and tricks!

If he wanted that position, he had no choice but to rebel.

After all, even if he didn't rebel, he pushed the crown prince to that point, and once the crown prince ascended the throne, he would inevitably settle scores with him.

It can be said that when Emperor Qing sent back the news of the Ye family's rebellion, he effectively eliminated most of his supporters in the court, leaving him with no other choice.

He was the prospective son-in-law of the Ye family, and he couldn't escape responsibility for the Ye family's rebellion.

Many people might even believe that Emperor Qing's death was orchestrated by him.

After all, with Emperor Qing dead, he had the most supporters in the court and the greatest chance of taking the throne.

Zhou Cheng had to admit that Emperor Qing's calculations were correct.

Now, the only way for him to get that position is through rebellion.

Of course, his choice to rebel had nothing to do with Emperor Qing's scheming.

Emperor Qing forced him to rebel so that he could convict him with a legitimate reason, completely depose this "rebellious" son, and take the opportunity to clear the name of the crown prince so that the crown prince could continue to be the heir apparent.

Zhou Cheng's rebellion was for the sake of a system mission.

After all, his mission required him to "seize the throne," and if he was going to seize it, how could he not rebel?

It can be said that even without Emperor Qing's coercion, he would still have rebelled.

However, Emperor Qing's scheming gave him a push.

Zhou Cheng stared intently at the top of the bed curtains, thinking to himself:

"Father, since you have chosen 'death,' then... don't come back to life..."