The Foolish Husband of a Great Family

Meng Shiwei remained unmarried until the age of twenty, becoming an "old maid" in the eyes of others.

People said she was taciturn, from an unimpressive family, and of ordinary looks, lost among the beauties of Chang'an.

When she was twenty, disaster struck her family. Her father was at death's door, her mother was frail and gravely ill, and her older brother had disappeared. To save her father, she sought help from the powerful Jiang family.

In exchange, Meng Shiwei married Jiang Tingyun, the Jiang family's simple-minded young man, who was barely clinging to life.

Meng Shiwei had thought that once Jiang Tingyun died, she could enter a convent and mourn her "husband," Jiang Tingyun. She would then be free to keep a place in her heart for the man she loved, with no one questioning her. But to her surprise, the simple-minded young man really did recover after she was brought in to bring him good fortune.

The young man had no idea what marriage meant. At first he was extremely wary of her, annoyed that she slept in his bed and stole his snacks. He was picky about food and obsessed with cleanliness, giving Meng Shiwei no end of headaches.

The young man had no idea what love meant. Later, he was covered in blood as he shielded her from blades and arrows. He looked at her sadly and said, "Sixth Lady, he's bad. Don't play with him, okay?"

2.

Jiang Tingyun had fallen gravely ill as a child, and his mind remained that of a child forever.

Fortunately, the Jiang family was powerful, and his parents doted on him. Even though he had a child's mind, they continued to raise him like a child. Then, when he was eighteen, Jiang Tingyun fell gravely ill again. With no other options, the Jiang family listened to a charlatan and arranged a marriage to bring him good fortune.

At first, Jiang Tingyun really disliked Meng Shiwei. Everyone said she was his "wife," but he didn't know what a wife was. All he knew was that she barged into the inner room where he never let anyone go, slept in the bed that only he was allowed to use, and took some of his favorite food. After sitting on the swing outside, she would sit on his bed too. It was so dirty! He was going mad.

Later, Jiang Tingyun accidentally overheard Meng Shiwei telling someone that she had never loved him, and that no one would love an idiot or a child.

Jiang Tingyun didn't know what love was. He only knew he was sad. That night, he turned away from her in bed and refused to speak. Just as he thought, after seeing that person, she didn't care about him at all. He was nearly crying his pillow wet, and she hadn't even noticed.

After she fell asleep, Jiang Tingyun secretly reached out again, carefully holding her quilt and drawing her into his arms.

#The fool doesn't know what a wife is. He only knows to give her the little gold horse he has hidden away, along with all his favorite food and toys.

#The fool doesn't know what love is. He only knows he doesn't want to see her bleed or get sick, doesn't want to see her cry, and only wants to see her smile happily.

#The fool doesn't know what desire is. He only knows he likes her holding his hand and touching his face. Even though she won't let him hug her, he'll secretly hold her through the quilt so she won't notice.

Reading Guide:

1. The male lead is genuinely mentally disabled. He is not pretending and will not recover. Please don't read if this bothers you.

2. The heroine has a childhood sweetheart who is her moonlight, and he has a major role later in the story.

3. The male lead is eighteen and the heroine is twenty. Both have major flaws, so please don't bash either lead.

Below is the blurb for The Regent King Is Truly Irresistible (opening in August, little angels, please add it to your reading list):

Bossy, sweet girl [daughter of a minor official] x arrogant, cool guy [regent]

When Qi Ao was inspecting Jiangnan, his subordinates inexplicably presented him with a woman. Without telling him, they slipped her into his quarters after he got drunk at a banquet. Seeing the woman lying on his bed, Qi Ao berated her sharply, full of disgust and anger.

Zhan Yining was the only daughter of the assistant county magistrate of Wukang. Her father was greedy and lecherous, not a good official, but he was a wonderful father who doted on her, making her spoiled and willful. Sadly, when she was sixteen, he died of a sudden illness. Her uncle and stepmother wanted to seize the money he had left behind, so they sent her to the elderly prefect, who was in his seventies or eighties. She ran away, but was caught and forced back, then sent off to the old prefect.

The old prefect was a lecher who had fondled and abused countless lovely young women to death. Zhan Yining was devastated, but then she heard that a distinguished guest had arrived at the prefect's residence. The prefect's wife suddenly asked if she was willing to serve the guest. If the guest took a liking to her, she would not have to serve the prefect. Under the prefect's wife's threatening gaze, Zhan Yining chose the "distinguished guest" in a trembling voice.

The distinguished guest disliked her. He wouldn't even let her touch the hem of his clothes, and wanted to send her back to the prefect.

Even a fool like Zhan Yining knew that if she went back, she would die even sooner. So she clung to the distinguished guest and begged him to take her in, even as a servant, but he wouldn't give her the time of day.

To save her own life, Zhan Yining threw caution to the wind. One day, while he was asleep, she secretly tugged open his waistband...

Reading Guide:

1. One man, one woman, no previous partners. Any claims otherwise are pure rumor.

2. The heroine is a pampered, delicate girl, not a strong female lead and not a wish-fulfillment heroine.

Theme: Sincerity is worth more than gold