Cui Tingyao panicked. He couldn't bring himself to say anything reproachful to Lu Peifu.
He went to see Pei Zhe. Lu Peifu loved him now, so he asked Pei Zhe to stop bothering his wife.
Pei Zhe looked at him strangely, with a touch of sympathy between fellow sufferers and a touch of nonchalance.
He said, "Lu Peifu loves you very much now. But she's loved a lot of people, including that Wei. I'm the only one who's been by her side the whole time." Pei Zhe was perfectly calm. "Though you're Lu Peifu's husband now, I'm the one who accompanied her from the Spring Kingdom to the Autumn Kingdom."
Cui Tingyao clenched his fists.
Pei Zhe said, "I don't mean to provoke you, but your love for Lu Peifu is different from mine."
Cui Tingyao said, "That's true. I love my wife more."
Pei Zhe laughed. "She's very sweet in front of you, isn't she? You love her charm? Her sweetness? Her gentleness? Her intelligence? If she were naturally cruel, would you still love her? If she were fickle, would you still love her? If you watched her fall for someone else again and again, would you still love her?"
Cui Tingyao was stumped. Pei Zhe's expression became inscrutable.
Pei Zhe said, "I love her. No matter what she's like, I love her. When she wanted to destroy magic, I bore the blame for her. When she wanted to marry, I personally chose her husband."
Meanwhile, Lu Peifu was sitting alone by the stove, working out the proof of a fascinating theory of arcane principles. To the Xia Kingdom, she was a notorious demon. To the Spring Kingdom, she was a pawn traded to the nobility. To the Autumn Kingdom, she was a great mage kept hidden away.
A friendly reminder: Chun Rihui, who appears in the first chapter, is the heroine's friend.
Theme: Take control of your own fate, and may we all be free
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