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

Zhuang Sheng had opened his heart to her, and Jiang Sese, who was always able to distinguish between good and bad people and was by no means ungrateful, nodded gently after a moment of silence.

The two sat quietly for a while longer. Zhuang Sheng, seeing that he had said everything he needed to say, turned around and prepared to leave.

Zhuang Sheng moved step by step toward the door. Just as he was about to step out, after a long silence behind him, a sound like a kitten's whimper finally drifted out, carrying a hint of difficulty and trepidation.

"father……"

A single, simple word, falling gently into the air.

Zhuang Sheng paused for a moment, then walked out with a sigh on his face.

After going out, he turned a corner and Zhuang Sheng obediently got into an inconspicuous carriage.

Xie Jue was sitting inside waiting for him.

Zhuang Sheng sat down opposite him, straightened his clothes, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Since you knew I was back, why didn't you tell Wen Guizhen where I was?"

Xie Jue calmly countered, "Why should I tell him?"

Zhuangzi was momentarily speechless.

Ok.

I knew this man was cold-hearted and heartless, unlike someone as kind as him.

Zhuang Sheng then looked at Xie Jue with a half-smile: "Oh? So you came to me because you also want to live forever? That makes sense, with great power in your hands and beautiful women by your side, who wouldn't want to live longer?"

Xie Jue chuckled and said, "What I seek is eternal life."

Zhuang Sheng was so startled he almost jumped up. Looking at Xie Jue's calm expression, he felt a strange sense of unease.

This guy... he's got something wrong with him!

He had lived for so many years and had seen people seeking immortality, wealth, and power, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone sit across from him and say the words "life after life" in such a calm tone.

Although Zhuang Sheng also liked Leng Danxia, ​​he had no intention of continuing their relationship in the next life. Reincarnation was uncertain, and the ways of heaven were unforgiving. Perhaps in the next life she would meet someone better and more suitable, and have a completely different life.

Demanding endless cycles of rebirth is not infatuation, it's being possessed by a demon!

Zhuangzi shook his head, puzzled, and asked, "Didn't you ask about the afterlife?"

Xie Jue smiled noncommittally: "Since there is an afterlife, then surely there can be countless lifetimes?"

Zhuang Sheng:......

He's definitely out of his mind.

But then Zhuang Sheng felt that the guns and cannons he left for his child were actually unnecessary, unless the person in front of him died.

But looking at Xie Jue's calm and collected face, he suddenly felt that this assumption was probably not valid.

Zhuang Sheng couldn't help but ask, "Did she agree? Did you ask her?"

Xie Jue said slowly, "I just want an opportunity."

This time, Zhuang Sheng understood. What he wanted was the chance to meet Jiang Sese in every lifetime. Whether Jiang Sese would choose him was not a consideration for him at all... It seems this kid is quite confident.

Zhuang Sheng sighed. He was not a god. He had only discovered that this body contained two ancestral youth-preserving pills when he transmigrated, which led to him being hunted down by his enemies. He never revealed the whereabouts of the youth-preserving pills until his death.

After Zhuang Sheng transmigrated and received the original owner's memories, he used a youth-preserving pill to ask Wen Guizhen to save Leng Danxia's life.

The invitation was fake, but the travel permit was real.

He had spent some time there under the alias Li Xiaoming years ago. When he returned this time, he went directly to his old acquaintance, the magistrate of Jiangdu County. The magistrate gave him a travel permit, but unexpectedly, his old acquaintance told Xie Jue everything about him.

Zhuangzi said, "When I was wandering overseas, I once joined a sect of immortals. The sect possessed a secret method that allowed one person's soul to accompany another's soul in reincarnation. However, this secret method is actually against the will of Heaven, and to put it bluntly... it is an evil path."

Xie Jue only asked one question: "How do I do it?"

Zhuang Sheng then told Xie Jue the solution.

Xie Jue nodded slightly after listening. The guards outside the carriage silently lifted the curtain. Zhuang Sheng glanced at him with a complicated expression, but ultimately said nothing more and turned to get off the carriage.

The streetlights were on, and the crowds were thick.

After returning, Xie Jue changed his clothes in a separate room with the help of a servant before entering the inner room.

Jiang Sese, resting her chin on her hand, came back to her senses and couldn't help but ask Xie Jue, "Do you know why my mother wanted to enter the palace in the first place?"

Although they hadn't had much contact, Jiang Sese thought Zhuang Sheng was a decent person. If that's the case, why did Leng Danxia, ​​who even had a child with him, ultimately choose to enter the palace?

Xie Jue said calmly, "For revenge."

Jiang Sese looked up at him in surprise, waiting quietly for him to continue.

"When the late Emperor was alive, His Majesty was still a prince and had his own residence outside the palace. Consort Chen's mother was His Majesty's wet nurse. Consort Chen grew up with her in the prince's residence from a young age. Although she was nominally a maid, she had the affection of a wet nurse's daughter. His Majesty treated her differently from others since she was a child, and she knew her place and never overstepped her bounds."

Xie Jue walked over, put his arm around Jiang Sese, and whispered, "Back then, the late Empress was His Majesty's principal wife, and the late Empress couldn't tolerate her. Because Consort Chen was so beautiful, even in coarse clothes and without makeup, she stood out more than others in a crowd. Yuan tested her several times, and Consort Chen always swore that she had no improper thoughts and only wanted to be released from the mansion to marry when she reached a certain age. But Yuan didn't believe her. Given His Majesty's affection for her, how could he bear to let her go? So, on the eve of His Majesty's ascension to the throne, Yuan took advantage of the chaos in the mansion and had Consort Chen and her daughter beaten to death on the pretext of theft. Who would have thought that Consort Chen was lucky and survived. She was even saved by your father."

"Your mother entered the palace not for wealth and glory. She wanted Yuan Shi to pay with her life."

Jiang Sese took a slow breath as she listened. This was the kind of romance novel she read!

Reborn for revenge!

The white moonlight has returned!

But there was one thing Jiang Sese still didn't understand: "How dare Yuan Shi do that? Isn't she afraid His Majesty will retaliate afterward?"

Xie Jue said casually, "His Majesty's ascension to the throne was also due to the efforts of the Yuan family."

This is also why the Yuan family is so fearless.

However, the Yuan family underestimated men, or perhaps they underestimated Emperor Jingyuan. Or perhaps Emperor Jingyuan had pretended to be too gentle and kind, making everyone think that his ascension to the throne was in everyone's best interest.

The practice of discarding a bridge after crossing a river, or cooking a hunting dog after the rabbit is caught, is nothing new.

But everyone thought they would be the exception.

History, as recorded in historical books, is a cycle that never truly learns from the lessons of the past.