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

The official ship sailed steadily northward.

Just as Xie Jue finished speaking, Xie Ping entered and said, "Young Master, Wen Guizhen has arrived."

Wen Guizhen was no outsider either.

Xie Jue and Jiang Sese were both very curious about why he had come.

When the two got married, Jiang Sese suggested sending an invitation to Wen Guizhen, but Xie Jue said that Wen Guizhen had already left the capital and gone overseas, so they decided against it.

Before long, a figure lightly stepped onto the ship via the gangway.

The newcomer looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, with a round, jade-like face—a completely harmless-looking young man. Yet, no one dared to truly believe he was a teenager.

Previously, Wen Guizhen boasted that his medical skills were unparalleled and that no one could match him. It was Jiang Sese who reminded him of the new medical principles of cleaning up the environment and avoiding filth and pus, which helped him break free from the constraints of the ancient surgical methods that easily led to ulceration and death.

Therefore, Wen Guizhen still approves of Xie Jue's wife.

No wonder Xie Jue, who is usually so arrogant, went to great lengths for her.

Wen Guizhen stepped into the cabin and said matter-of-factly, "I heard you're returning to the capital. I just happened to be back, so I'll hitch a ride with you on the waterway."

Jiang Sese: "I heard from Xie Jue that you went overseas before?"

Xie Jue?

Wen Guizhen looked at Jiang Sese in surprise. How could someone call their husband that?

She glanced at Xie Jue again, and seeing that Xie Jue's expression remained unchanged, she knew she had been meddling too much. Fine, call him whatever you want.

Wen Guizhen casually found a chair and sat down, shrugging, "Yeah, I originally went overseas to look for someone. But I didn't find them."

Jiang Sese asked with great interest, "You have friends overseas too?"

Wen Guizhen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

Jiang Sese was puzzled.

Xie Jue explained, "You don't know this. When he was young, he had a chance encounter with a reclusive immortal who gave him a youth-preserving pill. This time, he hastily set sail because he heard that immortals had appeared overseas and wanted to find their traces."

Jiang Sese, standing to the side, stared in disbelief and stammered, "A god...a god? A youth-preserving elixir??"

What the hell is this?!

This isn't right!

How did a perfectly normal ancient novel suddenly jump out of the setting of immortal elixirs?

A chilling thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Sese's mind.

The book she was reading was indeed a historical romance novel, but the world she had entered was real. So, could it be that the book she was in was never the whole of this world?

So, could this Wen Guizhen actually be quite old?

Jiang Sese couldn't help but glance at Wen Guizhen again, then suddenly thought of a strange point: "Then why did he give you the Youth Preservation Pill?"

Xie Jue was unaware of this matter.

So the two of them looked at Wen Guizhen.

Wen Guizhen paused for a moment, scratched his head, and looked at Xie Jue: "Didn't I mention this to you?"

Xie Jue replied calmly, "No."

Wen Guizhen said, "More than ten years ago, I encountered a man and a woman by chance. I saved the woman, and later the man gave me a Youth Preservation Pill as a thank you gift."

Jiang Sese found it increasingly strange: "That person already has such a miraculous pill as the Youth Preservation Pill, why would they need you to save them?"

Wen Guizhen shrugged, looking bewildered. "I'm completely baffled by this too. Things happened in a hurry, and there wasn't time to ask in detail. After the two parted ways, they disappeared without a trace, and I haven't been able to find them since. It was only after hearing that there were traces of that person overseas that I decided to go out to sea to try my luck."

Jiang Sese asked, "Did that person say their name?"

Wen Guizhen recalled for a moment and said, "I remember that woman called him Zhuang Sheng."

Zhuang Sheng?

Jiang Sese racked her brains to recall, and confirmed that this person had never appeared in the book.

As they approached the capital, Wen Guizhen disembarked.

Jiang Sese clung to Xie Jue's arm, looked up at him, and asked, "Are there really gods in this world?"

Xie Jue said, "If he were truly a deity, why would he need Wen Guizhen to save someone? If he were a deity, he should be omnipotent."

Jiang Sese thought about it and agreed.

The concept of immortals is ultimately too abstract and ethereal.

Xie Jue suddenly lowered his head and asked Jiang Sese if she wanted to find her biological father.

Jiang Sese hadn't wanted to at first, but after Xie Jue asked that question, she realized something and looked at him in surprise, "You found him?"

Xie Jue paused for a moment, then said, "Sese, we've actually already met him."

You've seen him? When?

Jiang Sese didn't react for a moment, but soon she remembered the fortune teller she had met that day and exclaimed in surprise, "It was him?!"

Xie Jue nodded.

Jiang Sese pursed her lips and looked earnestly at Xie Jue, saying, "I want to see him. Is there any way?"

Of course, Xie Jue couldn't bring himself to say "there's nothing I can do" to Jiang Sese.

Once the official ship docked, the group disembarked and transferred to carriages. Xie Jue had Xie Ping personally escort Jiang Sese and Yu Heban, while he himself went to the Secret Trial Division to discuss Chen Jingang's case with Fei Ying.

When Jiang Sese arrived at the Yuhe Troupe, she learned that Xie Jue had booked the entire troupe.

The troupe leader bowed respectfully and welcomed Jiang Sese inside.

On stage, the Butterfly Lovers aria was being performed. The music was melodious, and the actors' flowing sleeves fluttered like butterflies in the dim candlelight.

All the tables and chairs in the hall had been removed, leaving only a square table and two armchairs in the center. Zhuang Sheng sat alone in one of the chairs, still wearing his worn blue cloth robe, with a wine gourd hanging from his waist. He was holding a teacup and looking at the stage, his expression as focused as if he were listening to this play for the first time.

The troupe leader welcomed Jiang Sese in, and following Xie Jue's previous instructions, led everyone else to withdraw. Only Hongdou and two maids remained, standing a few steps away by a pillar in the corridor.

At this distance, the sounds of the opera performance on stage act as a barrier, making it almost impossible to hear their conversation. Furthermore, the presence of a maidservant prevents them from being alone together.

Jiang Sese could tell at a glance how meticulous Xie Jue's arrangements were.

Jiang Sese sat down in another armchair, remaining silent, but following Zhuang Sheng's gaze to the stage. Zhu Yingtai was kneeling before Liang Shanbo's grave, singing mournfully, "We could not share a bed in life, but we will share a grave in death."

Zhuang Sheng suddenly sighed softly and turned to look at Jiang Sese: "Let's not beat around the bush, what year was the People's Republic of China founded?"

Jiang Sese: "1949, which of the Four Great Classical Novels is your favorite?"

Zhuangzi grinned and said, "Journey to the West."