Yan Qing sat inside the carriage. Even as the car left the street where the Yan Family lived, she could not resist turning to look back one final time.

A warm hand covered hers. She turned, and met his gentle gaze — and the restlessness in her heart slowly settled.

“If you miss home, come back whenever you wish,” his voice drifted softly to her ear. “Your father said it well — no matter what happens, these doors will always be open to you.”

As he spoke, he pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

Yan Qing glanced at the driver in front, and gave him a gentle nudge of protest. Shi Ting simply smiled and said nothing more.

According to custom, the wedding procession would circle through Shun Cheng’s main streets several times, so that the townspeople could witness the ceremony.

By the time they reached the street where the Shi Mansion stood, it was already eleven in the morning.

“Young Master, the half-street ahead has been covered with red carpet.” Jin Shan came running from outside and stopped beside the now-halted procession.

Shi Ting and Yan Qing exchanged a glance. Shi Ting said: “Isn’t the red carpet supposed to be laid from the front gates to the bridal chamber? Why would it extend out into the street?”

“The First Madam said it was to allow the surrounding residents to observe the ceremony — and that since this is a great joyous occasion for the Shi Family, she wanted the townspeople to share in the celebratory spirit.”

To allow observation?

Shi Ting inwardly sneered. What Shi Furen was scheming, others might not know — but he understood all too well.

Shi Furen knew that Yan Qing’s legs were disabled and that she could not walk. Along the red-carpeted road there were also several braziers to step over. Had those braziers been placed inside the Shi Family’s gates, he could have simply carried Yan Qing over them without incident. But with crowds of onlookers lining both sides of the road, he could not carry her the entire way into the Shi Mansion — that would have made them a laughingstock.

What Shi Furen was doing was meant for all eyes to see: the image of Yan Qing sitting in a wheelchair. She wanted everyone to see clearly — he was a son of the Shi Family born of a concubine, and the woman he had married was likewise a daughter born of a concubine. And not only that — this woman was a cripple.

She was trying to humiliate Shi Ting, and at the same time, she was putting Yan Qing firmly in her place from the very start.

Shi Ting sat in the carriage and looked ahead, where at the entrance of the Shi Mansion he could make out a small group of figures. At the front stood the Commander, and behind him were Shi Furen, Er Yitai, San Yitai, Shi Guang and his wife, Shi Qian, and Shi Yutong.

The Commander wore his usual composed expression. Luo Huaimeng, by contrast, looked anxious and helplessly distressed. The rest of them were simply waiting to see a spectacle.

“Why has the red carpet been laid all the way outside?” The Commander frowned.

Shi Furen smiled and said: “I only did this to follow public sentiment — after all, the whole city wishes to witness the grandeur of Xingzhi’s wedding ceremony.”

The Commander was fully aware of what Shi Furen was scheming. Yet this arrangement had in fact brought embarrassment upon him as well. But the carpet was already laid out and both sides were lined with onlookers — pulling it back now would only stir up more talk. No matter how angry the Commander was, all he could do was shoot Shi Furen a hard, withering glare. Shi Furen tilted her head to the side, pretending not to notice.

Just then, not far away, the door of a car opened, and a tall figure stepped down — dressed in the groom’s wedding attire.

Seeing her son, Luo Huaimeng’s face finally showed a smile. But then she thought of the daughter-in-law with her disabled legs, and her smile quickly faded. In her view, it was Yan Qing who had burdened her son — Yan Qing who had made Shi Ting the laughingstock of the whole city. Already holding no favorable impression of Yan Qing, Luo Huaimeng liked her even less at this moment.

On the other side, after Shi Ting stepped down from the carriage, he bent forward and extended his hand into the vehicle’s interior.

Shi Furen noticed this gesture and frowned. By convention, after Shi Ting stepped out, he should have first had someone bring the wheelchair down. What did he think he was doing — did he truly intend to carry this woman the entire way down the red carpet? Was he not afraid of being laughed at by all the onlookers on both sides? In this era of not entirely open social customs, doing such a thing would be a humiliation for himself — and the bride would have no face left either.

At this moment, a murmur of discussion drifted through the crowd on both sides, every pair of eyes fixed on the carriage stopped before the red carpet.

“I heard the Commander’s new daughter-in-law is disabled — can’t walk at all.”

“If she’s disabled, then why did the Shi Family lay such a long red carpet?”

“Don’t you know? The Seventh Young Master was born of a concubine — naturally the mistress of the house is making things difficult for him, trying to embarrass him deliberately.”

“It really is a pity for the Seventh Young Master — fine-looking man like him, and he has to marry a disabled woman.”

“I heard the Sixth Miss of the Yan Family is a rare beauty.”

“And what of it? No matter how beautiful, she’s still disabled. They say she can’t bear children either, and can’t even be a proper wife. Marrying someone like that — doesn’t that just invite trouble?”

“The way I see it, Shi Furen did this on purpose to trip up this son of a concubine. Otherwise, with the influence Director Shi has now, there’s a real chance he could contest the position of the young commander. But now that he’s taken a wife who’s completely useless and can’t help him at all, fighting for power and position is going to be a very difficult road indeed.”

It was right in the middle of the crowd’s murmuring that from within the carriage a slender, pale hand extended — and it was placed lightly into a long, broad palm that immediately gripped it firmly.

Shi Ting stepped back, clearing a space in front of the carriage door, and with his movement, a sweep of deep red skirt hem came into view. Beneath it were a pair of exquisite red leather shoes.

Shi Furen caught sight of this and couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly, glancing sidelong at Shi Guang.

Shi Guang was also somewhat puzzled, unsure what they were up to — but before he could make sense of it, those red leather shoes stepped lightly onto the red carpet, and then, with a graceful bend, a figure in red wedding attire emerged from the carriage. The strands of pearls on her headdress could not conceal a face of breathtaking beauty.

“How can this be.” Shi Furen’s complexion abruptly turned a dark, iron-gray, her expression one of utter disbelief as she stared at the sea of red.

There stood Shi Ting, holding Yan Qing’s hand — and she was standing gracefully at his side, her red wedding dress making her figure appear even more slender and willowy, her beauty unparalleled.

Not only was Shi Furen stunned — even the Commander’s expression showed genuine shock.

“What is the meaning of this?” Shi Furen quietly asked Shi Guang. “Hasn’t Yan Qing always been in a wheelchair? Why is she standing over there? Didn’t they say she has had disabled legs since childhood and that it could never be cured?”

Shi Guang was equally incredulous. He stared at the woman standing not far away — even with the pearl strands across her face, no one could hide the beauty that could make nations fall. The red wedding dress made her figure appear even more graceful and slender, and whether in appearance or bearing, she possessed a natural transcendence, an otherworldly elegance that seemed born rather than cultivated.

“Impossible, this is impossible.” Yan Qin covered her mouth and kept shaking her head. “She’s clearly a cripple — she’s always needed someone to attend to her even for the simplest daily tasks. How could she possibly just stand up? In all my years in the Yan Family, I never once saw her stand.”

Shi Furen shot her a sideways glance, clearly having no patience for this daughter-in-law who thought so little.

“Er Yitai, what is going on?” The Commander turned to ask Luo Huaimeng.

Luo Huaimeng suddenly recalled that Shi Ting had once told her he would bring a perfectly healthy daughter-in-law before her.

She had thought that was merely said to reassure her — she never imagined it could be true. But everyone knew that Yan Qing’s legs were disabled; there was no possibility of it being a fabrication.

“I — I don’t know either,” Luo Huaimeng said, opening her mouth. “Perhaps her legs have been healed?”

“Prosthetic legs.” Yan Qin suddenly cried out sharply. “That’s it — they must be prosthetics. She had artificial legs fitted for today’s wedding to keep up appearances.”

While those around her were still debating how much truth there might be in Yan Qin’s words, the sound of drums and music had already begun, and Shi Ting led Yan Qing by the hand onto the red carpet.

Yan Qing moved with light, graceful steps — not the slightest trace of unease. When it came to stepping over the braziers, she needed only the lightest touch of Shi Ting’s support.

Exclamations of surprise rippled through the crowd of onlookers on both sides. “They always said Yan Family’s Sixth Miss had a beauty that could bring down kingdoms — it really is no exaggeration.”

“Her looks, I believe now — but as for the claim that she’s disabled, I don’t know what to make of that anymore.”

“Sixth Miss Yan not only looks remarkable, but her bearing is extraordinary as well — and look at those composed, unhurried steps. What disabled person walks like that?”

As Yan Qing drew closer and closer, Yan Qin’s theory crumbled completely. No one who had fitted two prosthetic legs could walk with such poise and grace.

The expressions on the faces of the Shi Family members varied widely, though Shi Furen and Shi Guang with his wife wore the most striking expressions of all.

Shi Guang clenched his fists, consumed with regret. Had he known that Yan Qing was not disabled, he should have fought his case before Shi Furen and argued with all his might. Now, watching her walk steadily toward them, his heart felt as though it were being gnawed by ten thousand ants — whether from regret or jealousy, he could not tell.

Yan Qing had long taken note of the reactions on this side. But to her, the expressions on their faces were all entirely within her expectations. She had endured and held herself back for so long — was this not exactly the moment she had been waiting for?

The vivid range of expressions on their faces was itself worth more than any lavish wedding spectacle.

The Commander couldn’t help glancing at Shi Furen. She had gone to such elaborate lengths to stage this scene today, only for it to end up as a farce that slapped her own face. Soon enough, the people of Shun Cheng would all be talking — about the breathtaking, healthy, and wholly capable beauty that the Shi Family’s Seventh Young Master had married, and about how every scheme Shi Furen had devised had come to nothing, leaving her with nothing but her own humiliation.

Shi Furen’s expression had already darkened to something dreadful, but facing so many pairs of eyes, she obviously could not show it — she had to keep smiling, even though that smile looked more painful than tears.

“Impossible, impossible.” Yan Qin kept repeating the same two words over and over, until Shi Guang shot her a furious glare and barked “Enough.” Only then did she let out a sullen huff and fall silent.

By this time, Shi Ting had already led Yan Qing by the hand to stand before the Shi Family members, and the two of them bowed together in greeting.

The Commander gave a hearty laugh. “Very good. Go inside.”

Inside the courtyard, there were still a series of customs and formalities to observe, though they would not take too long. But Shi Furen quietly called over Yingtao, the maid at her side, and whispered a few words of instruction to her.

Yingtao received her orders, and quietly slipped away.

—