This day marked the wedding of Gu Changqing and Jiang Lianxin.
The Gu family estate was decorated with lanterns and streamers, full of guests, and the atmosphere was extraordinarily festive.
However, almost all of the guests were invited by the Gu family.
As for the Jiang family—only three people came.
Yes, just three:
A Jiang family elder, a maid, and Jiang Lianxin herself.
The head of the Jiang family—her biological father—did not appear.
That alone made it clear how little the Jiang family cared about this marriage. Not only did the family head skip the wedding, but none of the high-ranking members showed up either. They had only sent an ordinary elder.
At the wedding, Gu Changqing laid eyes on Jiang Lianxin and felt a stir in his heart.
She was truly a peerless beauty…
Even the members of the Gu family and the guests around were stunned by her breathtaking appearance.
Many of the younger generations, seeing that Gu Changqing had married such a fairy-like woman, were so jealous they nearly ground their molars to dust.
Yet despite her beauty, there was always a faint trace of sorrow on the girl’s face—a kind of quiet sadness that made her seem distant.
There were no dramatic moments—no last-minute objections, no runaway bride scenarios. Under the officiant’s guidance, Gu Changqing held Jiang Lianxin’s delicate, boneless hand, and they performed the traditional wedding rites—bowing to the heavens and their elders—without issue.
But there was one detail that caught Gu Changqing’s attention:
“Her injuries… are too severe.”
Yes, Gu Changqing could sense it—Jiang Lianxin was struggling just to walk. When kneeling for the ceremonial bows, he could clearly feel her tightly gripping his hand, trembling uncontrollably.
This wasn’t out of nervousness—it was pain. Deep, piercing pain.
She must’ve been in excruciating pain during the ceremony.
Yet she said nothing.
She held on and completed the rites without complaint.
After the wedding, the elder from the Jiang family didn’t linger—he left immediately.
Jiang Lianxin’s small hand was still held in Gu Changqing’s as she watched the elder’s departing figure. She gave a self-mocking smile, her expression tinged with loneliness.
This wedding day had indeed brought her a few unexpected surprises.
She hadn’t thought that even on her wedding day, her own biological father wouldn’t bother to show up.
Even if she had fallen from grace—even if she was now a cripple—she was still his daughter.
People often said great clans were cold and heartless, and now Jiang Lianxin truly understood.
Once you lose your value, in their eyes, you’re not even worth as much as a mildly promising member of the main bloodline.
Noticing his wife’s sorrow, Gu Changqing gently placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“From now on, you are the wife of Gu Changqing.
If the Jiang family doesn’t want you… I do.”
Jiang Lianxin turned her head to look at the man beside her—the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Her heart was slightly moved, and she slowly leaned into Gu Changqing’s embrace.
Right now, she truly felt as if she had been abandoned by the entire world.
Her own father hadn’t even been willing to attend her wedding.
Her mother… had long since passed away.
“I just hope… my husband won’t find Lian’er too troublesome.”
Her body was in poor condition. There wasn’t much she could do for Gu Changqing—on the contrary, she even needed his care.
Even though the Gu family had no shortage of servants, and she had brought a personal maid with her, a maid was still just a maid. She couldn’t be by her side all the time, and there would inevitably be many inconveniences. Over time, she feared Gu Changqing might come to see her as a burden.
She felt somewhat guilty toward him.
While the Gu family wasn’t some powerful noble house, it was still one of the top families in Jianglin City.
And she… she wasn’t even a normal person anymore.
Gu Changqing clearly could have chosen someone better, yet he chose her.
Her fall from grace had spread across the entire Han-Qin Empire—Gu Changqing couldn’t possibly not know.
Yet even so, he was still willing to marry her, a cripple.
She was deeply touched… and at the same time, full of guilt.
On their wedding night.
Jiang Lianxin lay on the bed, her cheeks flushed red.
Her hands nervously clutched the edge of her robe, and just thinking about what might happen next made her face burn an even deeper shade of red.
It was her first time experiencing something like this, and she didn’t know what to do—clearly at a loss.
But after Gu Changqing got into bed, he simply held her in his arms without taking things any further.
“…Husband?”
Jiang Lianxin looked up at him, confused.
“Be good. Your body is weak right now. It’s not suitable for intimacy. We’ll talk about that in the future.”
Jiang Lianxin stared at the man before her, her eyes slowly growing misty.
Since the day she had been crippled, this was the first time she had truly felt cared for.
The so-called “concern” from her father and the clan elders had always been about her talent—not about her as a person.
But Gu Changqing cared about her—the person, not the potential.
“But…”
In the future… her body might never recover. That was a lifelong issue.
“Sleep. It’ll get better,” Gu Changqing said as he gently rubbed her head.
And he wasn’t just saying that to comfort her.
Over the past several days, Gu Changqing had already gathered nearly all the medicinal ingredients he needed.
As soon as everything was ready, he would begin refining the Sevenfold Mystic Spirit Pill—a pill that could rebuild Jiang Lianxin’s shattered sacred bone.
Once that pill was complete and her body was restored, there would be plenty of time for intimacy.
Besides… in her current condition, Jiang Lianxin’s talent was even lower than an average person’s.
What if, by chance, she got pregnant from a single “soul-piercing” strike?
And the child ended up having poor aptitude—what about his system rewards, then?
…Well, that was one reason.
But the more important reason was simple: her body right now couldn’t take it.
She had already struggled just kneeling during the wedding ceremony. Something like this would be far too much.
From the moment Jiang Lianxin became his wife, Gu Changqing saw her as his partner for life—not some tool for reproduction.
He had seen with his own eyes how the Jiang family treated her today.
On her wedding day, not even her own father came. That said it all—ever since her sacred bone was destroyed, Jiang Lianxin’s status in the Jiang clan had plummeted.
Now that she was married into the Gu family—
If he didn’t cherish her, then who would?
“My wife… If I don’t care for her, who will?”
There would be time for intimacy.
It didn’t have to happen tonight.
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones.
Happy reading!