Imperial Daughter Luo Jia finally softened her expression and did not punish her. She returned to her room to change into casual attire before heading to the pavilion to meet Wang Shouye.

The garden within the Manor of the Prefecture Principal is maintained by a dedicated Spirit Plant Master, ensuring that regardless of the season, the garden is adorned with blooming flowers and the plants blend elegantly, creating a refined and graceful ambiance.

Inside the pavilion.

Wang Shouye was holding a cup of clear tea, sipping as he leisurely perused a manual on alchemy.

This was indeed his habit. When not engaged in alchemy, he didn't enjoy going out, preferring instead to find a quiet spot to sit, gaze at the scenery, and flip through the alchemy manual to summarize the failures of others.

Such days, in his view, were already the best form of relaxation.

By comparison, social interactions were more likely to leave him feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

Approaching noon, the sunshine was just right.

Clad in blue attire, he sat alone in the pavilion with a serene expression, exuding an introverted and calm temperament. The mottled light and shadow enveloped him, making him seem like a figure in a painting, inexplicably emanating a sense of aloofness and transcendence.

On the path outside the pavilion, Imperial Daughter Luo Jia paused slightly, and inexplicably, a trace of subtle sorrow welled up in her heart.

But soon, she cast aside this emotion and quickly walked into the pavilion.

"Shouye, my dear young lord."

Wang Shouye had already sensed Luo Jia's approach, and before she stepped into the pavilion, he had put down his book and stood up, raising his hand in salute towards her: "Shouye greets Imperial Daughter Luo Jia."

"Shouye, my dear young lord, we have been acquainted for many years, you don't need to be so formal with me." Imperial Daughter Luo Jia, a bit helpless, sat down opposite him, "If it were a general matter, the maids in the manor could handle it for you. Since you've specifically waited for me, it must be something important?"

Wang Shouye also sat back down, raised his hand to pour a cup of tea for Luo Jia, and sighed: "Unknowingly, I have been in Da Zhou for five years. Now, the trade between Qianzhou and Da Zhou has entered the right track, and it's time for me to return."

Luo Jia's hand paused as she held the cup of tea, suddenly looking up at him: "Did a letter from your family urge your return?"

"Not exactly." Wang Shouye pondered for a moment and explained, "Primarily, the construction of Profound Pill Island has been progressing for several years, and most of the basic infrastructure is completed. The family is preparing to formally open the island. As the family member with the strongest alchemical abilities, I must return to oversee."

Luo Jia fell silent for quite a while after hearing this.

In fact, she already knew that Shouye would return sooner or later.

And she, being an Imperial Princess of Da Zhou, would inevitably become the new Great Emperor of Da Zhou in the future, and naturally had to stay in Da Zhou.

Parting was actually predestined from the beginning. She knew this better than anyone, but had been avoiding the issue.

Previously, she used the excuse that the nascent inter-nation trade relations needed someone from the Wang family as the principal to keep him here, all for her own selfish reason to delay the inevitable a bit longer.

Now, finally, this day arrived.

She sighed inwardly but instead showed a smile on her face, raised her tea cup, and said: "If that's the case, Luo Jia will use tea instead of wine to wish the young lord a safe journey."

After saying that, she drank the tea in her hand.

"Thank you." Wang Shouye was taken aback for a moment, then he too raised his tea cup and drank it all.

Neither of them said much more after that. They only exchanged a few words to confirm the specific time of Wang Shouye's departure, and then parted ways.

Three days later, Wang Shouye took a Wang family's ocean-going ship and left Beizhou.

On the day he left, Luo Jia personally went to the harbor to see him off, yet remained inside her flying carriage without stepping out, only watching as the Wang family's ironclad ship drifted farther and farther away.

It wasn't until the ironclad ship became a mere dot and completely vanished into the sea and sky that she lowered the curtain and returned to her manor.

This farewell might lead to long-lasting epochs or changes of the sea and mulberry fields, and no one knows when they will meet again.

But for now, she has more important matters to attend to.

Yuanping Old Ancestor is inherently indecisive and easily influenced, often swayed by others due to his inability to make firm decisions. As the Imperial Princess of Da Zhou, she bears a heavy burden.

In recent years, the pressure from the extra-domain battlefields has intensified, and Beizhou must quickly strengthen itself!

...

Time slipped by swiftly.

Unconsciously, several months had passed since the "meeting" between Wang Shouzhe and the Immortal Emperor.

On this day.

A cloud ray flying boat glided through the azure sky, steadily landing in the newly constructed sky-port on Green Immortal Island.

Soon, the rear hatch of the flying boat opened, and several hundred people disembarked sequentially from it.

This group of people was precisely the human captives rescued by Wang Ying Xuan and Princess Su Yun. After a brief rest at the Immortal No. 3 defense base, they were sent back to the human race.

According to the agreement between the Immortal Emperor and Wang Shouzhe, these captives were sent to Green Immortal Island for "rehabilitation."

Also accompanying them were True Monarch Yun He of the Immortal Palace and a group of his disciples, nominally as protectors but in reality escorting them secretly.

This was also a common practice of the Immortal Dynasty. After rescuing captives, they were usually given a period to "rehabilitate" in selected locations to provide ample buffering time.

The advantages of this approach were evident.

On one hand, having endured the torment of the extra-domain demons and witnessing countless companions dying gruesomely before their eyes, most captives would likely have some psychological problems that need time to unravel and adjust their minds.

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