The man in the wheelchair was an absolutely flawless work of art.

What a pity, what a pity!

If it weren’t for his full body disabilities, both paralyzed and blind, who knows how many noble families in the Capital would have fought with the Chu Family to push their daughters towards Ya Chen!

Now, upon seeing Ya Chen’s entrance, the women who had just been envious of the Pigeon Blood Crown instantly fell silent, even feeling somewhat relieved.

Whoosh—

Luckily, the Ya Family had their eyes on someone other than themselves or their daughters.

Although they could enjoy the glory of being the Crown Prince’s wife and receive the crown of Pigeon’s Blood Rubies as a betrothal gift, but—

Spending the rest of their lives next to such a lifeless, unable to stand or see disabled person, what joys could there be in life as his wife?

All the money in the world can’t buy happiness!

"It truly is a pity.

"Yeah, what’s the use of all that money, and what’s the use of the title of the Crown Prince’s wife? To speak an unpleasant truth, maybe the Crown Prince can’t even do ’that’."

"What... can’t do ’that’?"

"Oh my, you pure water, why pretend to be so innocent, it means he can’t even perform in marital life, marrying him means living as a widow for the rest of her life. A hundred billion wouldn’t mean a thing to me."

"It probably isn’t like that..." someone said with regret. Such a handsome man, unable to ’do that,’ was truly such a waste.

"Tsk tsk, who knows, you see he can’t even stand up, maybe ’that’... can’t stand up either."

Giggle.

"That’s true, he’s got money and status and good looks, but if he’s a eunuch, it’s useless."

...

The elegant ladies stood in the corner, their voices low, discussing from regret to surprise to quiet mockery.

At gatherings like this, gossip was always rife, whether in high society or the marketplace. To make these women stop their idle chatting was impossible.

As a few of them were secretly speaking with great interest, one of the gossipy ladies suddenly felt the hem of her long dress being stepped on from behind.

Before she could turn around, she lost her balance and fell backwards!

"Ahh—" To avoid falling down, she instinctively grabbed the shoulder of Gossipy Lady No. 2.

At such gatherings, all the ladies and madams wore long dresses, usually off-shoulder, definitely not as secure as everyday clothes.

With this grab, Gossipy Lady No. 2’s dress slid straight down, and in horror, to avoid exposing herself, she quickly covered her chest and violently shook off her companion’s hold!

The previous gossipy lady, having grabbed at nothing, finally "thud", fell flat on her face, letting out a mournful cry.

Although Gossipy Lady No. 2 didn’t embarrass herself as much as her companion, she wasn’t far behind; her dress had been pulled down halfway, and her chest stickers were almost exposed. Her face lost color, embarrassed and awkward, she ran to the restroom to fix herself.

The remaining gossipy ladies were in complete disarray, with no more mood to chat, those who helped did so, and those who returned to their places did as well.

The smooth engagement ceremony was interrupted by the commotion behind them.

Ya Qianhuai frowned, "What happened?"

The Chief Steward personally went to check and came back to report, "Nothing much, it seems like a young lady accidentally fell down."

Ya Qianhuai relaxed his brows, "Then let’s continue."

Jiayi was also startled by the commotion over there and looked in that direction.

After the downfall and screams of several panicked noble daughters, she noticed a streak of pink slip past behind them before hurriedly blending into the crowd of guests.

Like a drop of water, no trace of it could be found anymore.

Pink.

Chu Xinyue was wearing a pink dress....

Did she manage to put these socialites in their place?

Jiayi suddenly realized that she truly couldn’t see through her half-sister from the same father.

What kind of thoughts were hiding under Chu Xinyue’s frail and delicate exterior?

At that moment, the lights dimmed, and the atmosphere at the venue returned to its initial state.

Ya Chen’s voice abruptly interrupted her reverie, reminding her that she didn’t have the luxury to worry about others—she had her own problems to solve.

"Jiayi, would you agree to get engaged to me?" Ya Chen asked as he slowly approached in his wheelchair, lifting his clean and handsome face.

Jiayi’s breathing became slightly ragged as she shifted her gaze.

Directly opposite her, Xuan Yu’s eyes were sharply fixed on her. Although he didn’t speak, his eyes were filled with unmistakable threats.

If she said no at this moment, perhaps her mother would vanish from this world the next.

In her mind, the image she saw on the tablet that day resurfaced.

Her mother lay alone in the hospital, tubes all over her, life maintained by several machines.

After hesitating only a few seconds, Xuan Yu’s gaze grew even more fierce, expressing extreme dissatisfaction, and he parted his lips slightly, forming a shape with his mouth.

Just three words, yet they rendered Jiayi motionless, as if she was bound on the spot by transparent ropes!

The three words formed by his lips were: "Xia Ting Xuan."

Xuan Yu was now blatantly threatening her!

Jiayi could pin Chu Xinyu, who bullied her, against the wall, but she couldn’t treat her missing mother as if she were nothing.

Her nose felt sore as she swallowed back tears, looked steadfastly at Ya Chen, took a deep breath, and said, "I will."

Ya Chen couldn’t see the expression on her face, but he heard the tremor she tried hard to hide in her voice and hesitated for a moment. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Just then, the steward, holding the Pigeon Blood Crown, walked over.

In front of everyone, Ya Chen leaned on the armrest of the wheelchair, attempting to rise.

The guests were all startled—was Ya Chen trying to stand up?"Crown Prince, let me put it on Miss Chu for you," the steward hurriedly said.

Ya Chen waved his hand, signaling that it wasn’t necessary.

He didn’t know why Jiayi’s voice trembled when she replied with the words "I will."

It could be out of excitement, or perhaps because she still couldn’t accept it.

He moved his lips self-derisively, after all, not every woman could accept someone as incomplete as himself.

Now, he wanted to reassure her by personally crowning her with the engagement wreath.

He wanted her to understand that he wasn’t completely useless.

He wanted this angel, whom he had thought about for years, to feel confident entrusting the rest of her life to him.

Seeing his son struggling to stand, Ya Qianhuai sternly objected: "Ya Chen."

Ya Chen, with eyes that had lost their luster, looked towards Ya Qianhuai: "Father, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, please let me complete it myself."

His tone was so sincere that Ya Qianhuai finally relented, instructing others, "Keep a close eye on the Crown Prince, don’t let him fall!"

Two servants and a bodyguard stepped forward, one on each side, keeping a close watch on Ya Chen, fearful of any mishaps as he rose.

With his own strength, Ya Chen finally gripped the handle and shakily stood up.

Although he was hunched over, his tall figure still drew admiration from all the young ladies present.

The man standing up was, indeed, a hundred times more handsome than when he was seated in the wheelchair!