Novel Lived
Chapter 231
Chapter 231: Might As Well Cancel the Engagement
At this moment, Ye Xuan was utterly dumbfounded. A lifetime of love for one person only? Introducing him to her husband? Letting her husband give him an official position? Ye Xuan felt his mind couldn’t keep up with Wu Simai’s logic.
Raising his hand, he said seriously, “Wait, let me process this.”
————
The audience, just as bewildered, needed a moment to process this as well. What was going on? Was Wu Simai joking with Ye Xuan? Otherwise, her actions made no sense!
————
Finally, Ye Xuan calmed down and asked Wu Simai, “Wu Simai… who do you love?”
“It’s you–!” Wu Simai said without hesitation, “I will never love anyone other than you.”
“Then… how did you end up with a husband?” Ye Xuan asked, “If you don’t like him, why marry him?”
“It’s not that I don’t like him,” Wu Simai said, “but it’s not the same kind of like. I see him as a little brother, and he sees me as a sister.”
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“–!!!”
For the first time, Prince Nan Ming showed signs of anger and resentment.
‘Sister Wu Simai, I didn’t see you as a sister… I liked you.’
Mo Qingshang noticed Prince Nan Ming’s expression and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. How odd that the prince wasn’t angry about someone sleeping with his wife, but was upset about being treated like a brother.
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“Since you don’t love him in the way I mean, why did you marry him?” Ye Xuan asked Wu Simai.
“Because it’s the rule,” Wu Simai answered, “In Nanzhao, marriages are arranged at birth, and no one can break the engagement, or they’ll face blood retaliation. It means we were already married at birth.”
“A rule?” Ye Xuan asked in disbelief, “How could there be such a strange rule?”
“Hmph,” Wu Simai snorted, “What’s so strange about it? In Nanzhao, both spouses can have one lover each. Isn’t that normal?”
“Uh…”
At this moment, Ye Xuan finally understood why his conversations with Wu Simin had been completely out of sync. It turned out that the rules they followed were entirely different!
————
At this moment, the entire cultivation world turned their strange looks towards Prince Nan Ming.
“Er… Prince Nan Ming, is this really the rule in Nanzhao?” Qin Zhenren asked curiously.
Prince Nan Ming nodded and said, “Indeed, in Nanzhao, marriage and childbirth are merely formalities.”
“The husband and wife may not truly love each other, so outside of marriage, each can have a lover to spend their life with. Marriage is just an accident, while true love lies with the lover.”
“Uh…”
Hearing this, the cultivators couldn’t help but twitch. What kind of rule was this? The customs of the southern border were indeed different from the central plains. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“But now Ye Xuan is in trouble!”
“Yes, Ye Xuan is someone deeply devoted to love. Forcing him to share his beloved with another man would be worse than death for him.”
“Deeply devoted to love? Not necessarily… Who knows how many people he has wronged in his countless lifetimes.”
“Exactly, look at the many beauties around him now. I think he just uses love as an excuse to indulge in his desires.”
“Hmph, Ye Xuan isn’t like that. He loses his memories every lifetime, and it’s not by choice that he ends up in these situations. He has no other option.”
“He truly loves each of his partners in every lifetime; it’s just that fate is cruel to him.”
“Exactly!”
Some said Ye Xuan was pitiful, while others said he deserved it. However, at this moment, everyone finally understood why Prince Nan Ming wasn’t angry about Ye Xuan sleeping with Wu Simin.
It turned out that the Nanzhao had such customs where marriage was just an accident, and true love was found with lovers.
However, it was clear that Prince Nan Ming still liked Wu Simin. He could tolerate Wu Simin sleeping with Ye Xuan, but he showed anger only because Wu Simin called him her little brother.
“Tsk tsk, who would have thought that Nanzhao was a kingdom of cuckolds?” Mo Qingshang couldn’t help but secretly laugh.
But soon, he began to envy Ye Xuan. This guy was too much, blatantly taking someone else’s wife without any consequences. Even the husband wasn’t angry, making Mo Qingshang, as a transmigrator, deeply envious.
————
“Why didn’t you tell me about your rules sooner?!!” Ye Xuan finally exclaimed in shock. He asked Wu Simai, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have… I wouldn’t have been with you… You deceiver–!!!”
“I… deceived you?!!” Wu Simai asked, puzzled, “How did I deceive you?!!”
“You’re married but came to deceive me, a sincere man, deceiving my feelings–!!!” Ye Xuan said, heartbroken, “Don’t you know that in the central plains, a man would never share his woman with another man? It would be worse than death–!!!”
“Uh…” Hearing Ye Xuan’s earnest words, Wu Simai panicked a bit. “Men can’t share their women with others? If a woman marries such a man, wouldn’t she be condemned to a lifetime of suffering?!”
“Isn’t that too selfish?! Does that man only care about his own happiness and not consider the woman’s feelings at all?!”
“Uh…” Ye Xuan was at a loss for words, showing a helpless expression, “You…”
————
“Damn?!!”
“Selfish?”
“Uh…”
The entire cultivation world was at a loss for words. Strangely enough, Wu Simai’s logic seemed reasonable.
“Pah, heretical nonsense. Disgraceful custom.”
“Since ancient times, men have never shared their women.”
“Utterly disgraceful.”
“So this is what Nanzhao is like.”
Some moralists found Wu Simai’s words shameful.
“But it’s the rule in Nanzhao. It’s an ancient custom.”
“That’s barbaric.”
“Then why can central plains women share their men with others?”
“Because it’s tradition.”
“What era is this? Still talking about tradition? Don’t you know you’re cultivators?”
The entire cultivation world began to argue over whether Nanzhao’s rules were reasonable.
Meanwhile, in the scene…
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“I admit… you have a point. We Central Plains men are selfish,” Ye Xuan said. “But I want to maintain this selfishness… Wu Simai, I don’t want to see you with a husband, or any other man. Come with me, leave Nanzhao.”
“No,” Wu Simai shook her head. “I can’t leave. My people need me. If you really can’t accept this, how about this: I’ll go back and tell my husband about you. He can bring you to the Nanzhao palace, and I can be with you every day.”
“And you with him…” Ye Xuan asked, “What will that be like?”
“He’s a good child,” Wu Simai replied. “He’ll understand.”
“I’m asking, is your marriage to him a sham?” Ye Xuan inquired.
“Of course, it can’t be a sham,” Wu Simai answered. “When he comes of age, I’ll have to give him a child. That’s the end of our marriage obligation.”
“Sorry, I can’t accept that,” Ye Xuan shook his head. “Wu Simai, your Nanzhao customs are open, but we Central Plains men can’t handle it. For us, the more we love a woman, the more possessive we are…”
“Then…,” Wu Simai began, “I’ll… go back and get a divorce. Once that’s done, everything will be simpler.”
Knowing Ye Xuan couldn’t accept her situation made Wu Simai feel bad. Even though they didn’t understand each other’s customs, it was clear that while she could accept his customs, he couldn’t accept hers either. Their union was indeed the greatest harm to Ye Xuan.
It was like two people cutting each other with a sword; it seemed fair, but if one was an immortal and the other a mortal, the results couldn’t be the same.
Nanzhao might be more open-minded, but the Central Plains were not. In this case, one side had to compromise, and Wu Simai was willing to be that side.
“–!!!” Hearing this, Ye Xuan was taken aback. He asked Wu Simai, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t get a divorce?!”
“Because it’s troublesome,” Wu Simai smiled. “I didn’t realize how much it mattered to you. But if it’s that important, I’ll go annul the engagement.”
————
At this moment, everyone arguing couldn’t help but start to envy Ye Xuan. He had truly found a woman who cared deeply for him.
She was willing to annul an established marriage for him. Although she spoke lightly of it, getting a divorce would surely be very troublesome, wouldn’t it?