Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

"It was a man wearing a blue cloth robe." Fuyun paused for a moment, then said, "He asked if the princess had made the medicine, and then he said..."

Fuyun gritted her teeth and repeated the man's words.

Jiang Sese raised an eyebrow.

These words sounded like a question or a test, rather than malicious.

Jiang Sese thought for a moment and then asked Fuyun if that person had said anything else.

Fuyun shook her head: "That's all. I refuted him on the spot, and the surrounding people also criticized him for being rude. But he just laughed and said 'Interesting,' and then left."

Jiang Sese thought for a moment and said, "Then let's ignore him."

There are all sorts of people in this world, and Jiang Sese doesn't think everyone has to like her. Since the other person was just making a casual remark and didn't seem to have any malicious intent, she'd just let it be.

Xie Jue came up to the terrace after finishing his business.

The afterglow of the setting sun is spreading across the canal, dyeing the shimmering water red, and gently enveloping the people on the terrace.

Jiang Sese had her back to him, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance at the waterway ahead.

Jiang Sese wore a smoky purple dress, its color as elegant as wisteria just beginning to bloom in the twilight. The fabric fluttered gently in the evening breeze, outlining her slender yet upright figure. A few strands of hair were blown by the wind, softly clinging to her fair neck.

The golden light of the setting sun outlined her perfect profile. Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, her nose was delicate and straight, and her lips were like cherries. She stood there quietly, as if she were shrouded in a hazy halo, forming a striking and moving contrast with the bustling canal and the congested fleet of boats, standing alone and detached from the world.

Xie Jue stopped involuntarily.

The evening breeze caressed her smoky purple skirt and hair, and seemed to ripple the still waters deep within his heart.

Xie Jue walked slowly to Jiang Sese's side, his gaze falling on her. He paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Why have you been wearing purple so often lately? I've never seen you wear it before."

Jiang Sese turned her head, blinked, and instead of answering him directly, tilted her head and asked, "Just tell me if it looks good or not."

As Jiang Sese spoke, she even twirled around, her skirt swirling open like a blooming crape myrtle flower.

Xie Jue's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "Beautiful."

Jiang Sese nodded in satisfaction, turned around and leaned back against the railing, casually saying, "That's settled then. If it looks good, wear it more often."

Xie Jue pondered for a moment and said, "Is it because Consort Chen likes purple? Is that why you didn't wear it often before?"

Jiang Sese shook her head: "No, that's not it. I didn't know that Consort Chen liked purple before."

Jiang Sese leaned against the railing, gazing at the setting sun gradually sinking on the distant river.

"Last year, at a banquet at the Chu family residence, I wore a purple dress. When Lady Yongning saw me, her gaze was very strange—as if she had seen someone she shouldn't have. Since that day, I haven't worn purple much. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I'm afraid of the trouble."

After Jiang Sese finished speaking, she turned to look at him, smiled with her eyes crinkling, and said, "But now, I can wear whatever I want."

Xie Jue reached out and gently brushed her long hair, which had been blown loose by the wind, from her shoulders. His fingers then slid down to her wrist, where he held it lightly, and said calmly, "You look good in anything."

The evening breeze caressed the boat on the river, and the ripples gently rocked its hull.

A child dressed as a fisherman squatted down beside him, watching the man in blue for a long time.

Everyone else was looking up at the mountains and water, or at most squinting at the distant sails, but the gentleman was holding a strange silver-copper tube in his hand, which was retractable in layers and inlaid with translucent glass at both ends.

The man in blue held the tube up to his eyes, staring intently into the distance.

The child grew increasingly curious, tiptoed closer, and, with his grimy little face upturned, whispered, "Sir, what are you doing?"

Zhuang Sheng didn't turn his head, but simply curled the corners of his mouth and uttered two words: "Look at people."

The child was even more confused. He tiptoed and peered in the direction the child was looking—there was clearly nothing there, only distant ships and the sunset.

The child turned around and concluded with a serious expression, "You're lying. It's so far away, you can't see anyone at all."

Zhuang Sheng smiled, took the binoculars down from his eyes, and casually handed them to the child: "Here, use this to look."

The child took the piece of silver-copper tube, imitated Zhuangzi, and held it up to his eyes, muttering, "What can I see with this...?"

He suddenly widened his eyes halfway through his sentence.

He saw a man and a woman standing side by side on the terrace of a distant ship. The woman wore a smoky purple dress, and her profile, reflected in the sunset, made her look like a fairy in a painting. The man wore dark clothes, with a jade belt and jade pendant around his waist.

That face was ridiculously beautiful.

The man had high brow bones, but they didn't appear sharp, because the eyes beneath his brows were too calm. The hem of his deep robe billowed like clouds, and his whole body exuded a heavy, unapproachable pressure.

The child took the binoculars away, rubbed his eyes, then put them back together, looking through them several times before handing them back to Zhuang Sheng. His voice was filled with undisguised amazement: "Sir, what kind of treasure is this? Did I just see a fairy?"

Zhuang Sheng laughed and put the binoculars back in front of his eyes, looking at the two figures standing side by side on the terrace: "What immortals? There are no immortals in this world."

"They're just the male and female protagonists in romance novels."

Child:???

Zhuang Sheng watched for a while longer, until the setting sun completely sank into the end of the canal, before putting away his telescope, patting the child's head, and turning to walk back to the cabin.

The child was about to chase after him.

But Zhuang Sheng did not stop walking. He simply raised his hand and waved it casually. His back swayed in the twilight, like a wisp of mist that was blown away and then gathered again by the mountain wind.

The child immediately stopped in his tracks.

The child stood there, scratched his head, and looked back at the distant ship that was gradually sailing away. He thought to himself, "So even immortals stand on ships to enjoy the scenery."

The child looked down at his hand; the cool touch of the silver-copper tube still lingered in his palm, but the gentleman in blue had already disappeared into the cabin.

He suddenly felt as if he had been in a dream, in which a gentleman showed him a pair of very beautiful immortals.

The child rubbed his eyes and decided to go home and tell his mother that he had really seen a fairy!