I was reading when Chun Zhi came running over.
Her face was streaked with tears, yet she was smiling.
"Your Highness, the verdict has been overturned. The Duke was framed."
I should have felt perfectly calm.
I had known all along that this would be the outcome.
But my whole body was trembling.
I shook so hard that the book slipped from my hands and fell to the ground.
I felt as if something had covered my eyes.
Warmth slid down my cheeks at just the right moment.
I wasn't happy.
I wasn't happy at all.
I was utterly heartbroken.
Please add my new story, "Between Seasons," to your reading list!
Pei Guanyi doesn't understand love.
He has no need for something as intangible as love.
His life was mapped out from the moment he was born, including marrying Xu Qingyin.
To him, Xu Qingyin was nothing more than a brief interlude in his perfect life.
Xu Qingyin's presence didn't affect his life in the slightest, and he didn't mind suddenly having someone else by his side.
At first, he always believed that.
He simply liked the look of Xu Qingyin's tear-streaked face.
During their lovemaking, her beautiful dark eyes always reflected him clearly, letting him see just how out of control he was. He was surprised by this unrestrained side of himself, yet utterly captivated by it.
He didn't like Xu Qingyin getting too close to other men, and he couldn't stand seeing her smile so happily at them.
But Xu Qingyin was free to do as she pleased. He had no right to interfere and no way to insert himself into her life.
Their marriage of convenience ended with him utterly defeated and Xu Qingyin walking away unscathed.
He loved Xu Qingyin.
Xu Qingyin didn't love him.
Theme: Stay true to your country, and even more so to the next life.
