Chapter 005: Second Uncle of the Wei Family, Wei Zhi!

Jiang Yue didn’t dare move, but she refused to cower either.

She grabbed a sturdy wooden stick from the doorway before opening the door.

“I don’t care who you are, but if you dare knock again, I’ll scream for help and beat you to death. I’ll even pay you back with my own life if I have to.”

“Don’t think you can take advantage of me just because I’m a widow.”

But the man outside simply said, “This is the Wei household, Wei Yuan’s home. I am Wei Erlang—Wei Zhi.”

Jiang Yue was stunned.

Wasn’t Wei Erlang supposed to be dead?

How… how could he be back?

Could it be his ghost?

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, but she kept her voice firm. “I don’t care if you’re man or ghost. Try breaking in, and I’ll beat you to death.”

Wei Zhi replied in a low voice, “I’m alive. I, Wei Zhi, did not die.”

He had simply returned too late.

Jiang Yue’s mother-in-law had already taken her medicine and wouldn’t wake until dawn—the decoction had a calming, sleep-inducing effect. Even if Jiang Yue called out to her now, she likely wouldn’t wake up.

Jiang Yue hesitated, then returned inside to fetch an oil lamp. Gathering her courage, she stepped outside, raising the lamp high.

In the flickering light, she saw a face eerily similar to her late husband’s.

For a moment, she truly thought it was Wei Dalang’s spirit.

She stumbled back a few steps.

“Sister-in-law, I am Wei Zhi, Wei Erlang, your husband’s younger brother.”

Jiang Yue exhaled sharply. “If I hadn’t heard you speak, I would have mistaken you for my husband.”

Saying this, she finally unlatched the door.

Only then did she notice the tall, imposing horse Wei Zhi had brought with him. It was far grander than Granny Sun’s donkey.

She looked at him and said, “Your elder brother passed half a year ago. Mother was devastated—she nearly followed him. She is now lost in madness. Why didn’t you come back sooner?”

Wei Zhi stepped inside.

Zhuangyuan Village remained the same, but the Wei household had changed. The house had been rebuilt—likely while his elder brother was still alive.

He asked, “How did my brother die?”

After spending half a year in the Wei household, Jiang Yue had pieced together the truth.

She told him—Wei Dalang had been falsely accused and died a miserable death in prison.

Wei Zhi’s fury ignited instantly. “A bunch of corrupt officials and foolish magistrates! One day, I will kill them all.”

The murderous aura around him was suffocating. His expression turned ice-cold and terrifying.

Jiang Yue instinctively shrank back.

Wei Zhi noticed and quickly reined in his anger.

“Don’t be afraid, Sister-in-law. I only kill those who deserve it.”

He then asked about other matters.

That was when he learned that his brother had left no children behind. His hatred toward the officials deepened—his brother had died unjustly and hadn’t even been able to leave an heir.

Jiang Yue did not tell Wei Zhi that she had married into the Wei family only after Wei Dalang’s death. Some things were simply unnecessary to say.

Instead, she asked, “Have you eaten? If not, I’ll make you some soup and flatbread.”

Wei Zhi nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you, Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Yue went to the kitchen, lighting the dim oil lamp as she worked.

She boiled a bowl of noodle soup and made three flatbreads.

While Wei Zhi ate, she fetched bedding.

“I didn’t expect you to return tonight, so I didn’t prepare a room. You can sleep in the east room—I’ll sleep in the weaving room.”

The east room had been prepared for her by her mother-in-law.

Since she had married into the Wei family to bear a child for a condemned prisoner, she was supposed to have stayed in prison with Wei Dalang until she conceived. Only then would she have been brought back to the household.

The east room had been set up for her to rest and raise her child.

After Wei Dalang died, she had stayed there for a while. But as her mother-in-law became restless at night, Jiang Yue had moved to the west room to keep her company.

Later, her weaving work consumed her nights, and she ended up sleeping in the small bed inside the weaving room whenever exhaustion overtook her.

The east room was left vacant.

However, Wei Zhi insisted on sleeping in the weaving room, telling Jiang Yue to return to the east room instead.

He thought she was merely being polite, but in truth, she had meant every word.

In the end, Jiang Yue was sent off to sleep in the east room, while Wei Zhi took her usual small bed in the weaving room.

Jiang Yue thought to herself, We’re all family—there’s no need to be so particular.

There weren’t many blankets in the house, and they were often shared. Common folk didn’t fuss over such things.

Back in her maiden home, she hadn’t even had a blanket of her own. Winters were the hardest times for her.

That night, Jiang Yue didn’t weave as usual. But without her routine, she found herself unable to sleep. She tossed and turned until nearly dawn before finally drifting off.

The next morning, she was jolted awake by the sound of her mother-in-law crying.

“Dalang! Dalang, you’re back! My son, I knew you were just out hunting. But why didn’t you bring back any game this time?”

Seeing his delirious mother mistake him for his brother, Wei Zhi’s heart ached.

Not because she had mistaken him, but because she had aged so much.

His elder brother was gone. His father was gone. And now, his mother was old and frail…

Jiang Yue, dressed neatly, stepped outside just in time to hear her mother-in-law calling Wei Zhi “Dalang.”

She gently said, “Mother, this isn’t my husband. This is Second Uncle.”

“It’s the second son you lost all those years ago—he has returned.”

Wei Mother’s eyes were cloudy with confusion. “This is Erlang, not Dalang?”

“Who is Erlang? I want Dalang. Erlang, have you and your brother both come back?”

Jiang Yue glanced at Wei Zhi and softly reassured him, “Second Uncle, Mother is unwell. Don’t take it to heart.”

Wei Zhi replied, “She’s my mother—why would I take it to heart?”

Then, he added, “Sister-in-law, you must have had a hard time taking care of her all this while.”

Being understood, being acknowledged, being appreciated—it made Jiang Yue feel like the past half-year of hardship wasn’t so tiring after all.

When he thanked her, she simply shook her head.

She then comforted Wei Mother, handing her some peanuts. “Mother, if you peel these, I’ll make you something delicious.”

Wei Mother nodded absentmindedly and began peeling peanuts.

She had always been a diligent person. Even in her current state, her hands still knew how to work.

As long as she had something to do, she wouldn’t cause trouble.

Keeping her occupied was best.

While Wei Mother sat quietly in the courtyard peeling peanuts, Wei Zhi sat on a small stool, watching her with sorrow in his eyes.

Jiang Yue first fed the chickens, ducks, and geese in the backyard before beginning to prepare breakfast.

Noticing that the firewood in the house was nearly gone, she decided to chop some more.

Wei Zhi, seeing this, immediately got up and walked over.

“Sister-in-law, leave it to me.”

“If there’s any work to be done at home, just tell me.”

Jiang Yue suddenly thought of something and asked, “Second Uncle, how long will you be staying? Will you be leaving again?”

Wei Zhi swung the axe, splitting a log in half as he answered,

“I’m in the military now. We aren’t allowed to take leave for the first three years. I just completed my third year, so I was granted a month’s leave. After traveling for a few days, I still have about twenty days at home.”

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. From now on, I will support this family.”

That wasn’t what Jiang Yue had been about to say.

She had wanted to ask if he could take Mother to the county to see a doctor.

And that they only had enough medicine left for three to five more days.

She truly had no money left for more medicine.

But she couldn’t bring herself to ask the newly returned Second Uncle for money.

He had just come back—he hadn’t even had the chance to feel the warmth of home.

If she, as his sister-in-law, asked for money right away, she would seem utterly shameless.