Chapter 007: His Sister-in-Law, Kind and Beautiful!

Madam Sun saw Wei Zhi come back and took the opportunity to talk to him at length.

She told him that his sister-in-law was truly remarkable, a young widow caring for a sick mother-in-law, yet she always kept everything neat and tidy.

Wei Zhi could tell that the little farmyard was indeed well-maintained. There were seasonal vegetables planted inside the courtyard. The early crops had withered, but the next round of vegetables still thrived, lush and green.

The family kept chickens, ducks, and geese, but the front yard was immaculate, well-swept and organized.

After Madam Sun finished speaking, she was called back home for a meal.

Jiang Yue looked at Wei Zhi and said, “I’ll stir-fry a dish. Breakfast will be ready soon. Uncle, please wait a little while.”

Wei Zhi replied, “No rush.”

Once breakfast was ready, Jiang Yue tidied up the small dining table.

She brought up steamed buns and congee, the boiled eggs had been soaked in cold water, making them easy to peel.

There was a plate of stir-fried cabbage with a bit of red chili, looking fragrant and colorful, along with two small plates of pickled vegetables.

She called out, “Uncle, please eat first. I’ll go call my mother-in-law.”

Wei Zhi responded with a simple “Mm.”

Jiang Yue went into the room and found that Wei Zhi had already wiped Mother Wei’s face and washed her hands.

“Mother, it’s time for breakfast.”

Mother Wei looked at Jiang Yue and smiled, saying, “Daughter-in-law, Dalang is back. You two should hurry up and have a child.”

She paused for a moment, as if suddenly recalling something, and her expression grew serious.

“You must hurry. Dalang did something wrong and couldn’t come back alive. You must have a child, you must have a child.”

Jiang Yue realized that her mother-in-law had mistaken Wei Zhi for her late husband.

She gently explained, “Mother, that’s not Dalang, that’s Uncle.”

“The one who was lost, that’s your second son. He’s come back.”

“No, it’s Dalang.”

“It’s Dalang, Dalang isn’t dead, Dalang isn’t dead…”

With a loud crash, Mother Wei, in a fit of frenzy, grabbed the oil lamp from the table and threw it.

Jiang Yue didn’t react in time and the lamp struck her forehead.

She felt warmth spreading from her forehead and reached up to touch it—blood.

Hearing the noise, Wei Zhi hurriedly rushed in and saw Jiang Yue struck by the lamp. He quickly pulled her behind him.

“Mother, Mother, I am Dalang. Dalang isn’t dead.”

With Wei Zhi’s calming words, Mother Wei finally began to calm down.

She looked up at Wei Zhi, chuckling, “Dalang is back, Dalang isn’t dead. My Dalang is back…”

Mother Wei sat in the chair, mumbling endlessly about how Dalang wasn’t dead.

Wei Zhi turned around and saw Jiang Yue holding a basin of water, using a cloth to wipe her forehead.

He quickly stepped over.

“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry.”

Jiang Yue shook her head, “Uncle, it’s fine. It’s just that Mother is confused. I just wanted to remind her that you are not my husband.”

She didn’t expect Mother to be this emotional.

She couldn’t bear to hear a word against Wei Dalang.

Wei Zhi furrowed his brow and softly said, “Mother’s outbursts are due to her illness. If she mistakes me for Dalang, then so be it. From now on, you don’t need to remind her that I’m the second son.”

Wei Zhi said this while taking the cloth from her hands.

“You’re my sister-in-law. I will take care of you as I would a sister.”

Jiang Yue thought to herself, Where is there a younger brother much older than his sister…

But since Wei Zhi had said so, she quietly accepted it.

Wei Zhi gently wiped the blood from her wound and then went to fetch some hemostatic medicine to apply.

Wei Zhi was accustomed to injuries from the battlefield and always carried hemostatic medicine and other medical supplies with him.

The wound wasn’t large, but it was swelling badly. After applying the medicine, the bleeding stopped quickly, but the area turned purple and black.

Jiang Yue was beautiful, with fair and translucent skin.

Even though she worked hard and had developed calluses on her delicate hands, and her face was sunburned red, she still couldn’t tan. After just two days, her skin was back to its usual fair, glowing state.

Looking at the swelling on her forehead and how it contrasted with the white skin of her face, Wei Zhi felt a tightness in his chest.

Just now, he had called her “sister,” and now he…

Wei Zhi almost wanted to slap himself in his mind to shake off any improper thoughts.

Once Mother Wei had calmed down, she looked at Jiang Yue with concern and asked, “How did you get hurt? You must be careful, dear.”

Jiang Yue smiled and reassured her, “I will, I’ll be more careful next time.”

After breakfast, Wei Zhi asked Jiang Yue for the prescription to treat his mother’s illness.

He said he was going to the county town to fetch some herbal medicine for her.

Jiang Yue handed him the prescription, and Wei Zhi left, heading straight for the town’s medical hall.

Jiang Yue had planned to have her uncle stay with Mother Wei while she went to the fields to harvest beans.

But now that he was going to the medical hall, she told her mother-in-law to wait at home for Dalang’s return.

That was the only thing that could keep Mother Wei settled for now.

Fearing her might wander off, Jiang Yue usually locked the door while working.

She would check back on her frequently during her work.

By the time she arrived in the fields, the sun wasn’t too hot but still made the work strenuous.

She bent down and began to harvest the ripe soybeans, cutting them one by one. After bundling them, she set them aside.

She worked from sunrise to sunset.

By evening, when the dew settled and the stalks were damp, she began to carry the harvested beans back home.

Wei Zhi, having gone to the county, was quicker. He first went to the medical hall to get his mother’s medicine, which would last for two months.

He also bought some nourishing herbs and even got two pieces of fabric for his mother and sister-in-law.

The blue dress his sister-in-law wore had become so worn-out it couldn’t be worn anymore.

She was so beautiful, so kind, yet that ragged dress didn’t suit her at all.

He also bought some pastries that young girls in the town loved—lotus seed cakes, hawthorn cakes, and lotus cakes, buying a little of each for her to try.

Because of all the things he had purchased in the county, he was delayed and didn’t get home until nightfall.

He led his horse home and, from afar, saw a small figure walking toward him, carrying a large bundle of bean stalks.

He squinted his eyes and saw—it was his sister-in-law.

Dropping the reins, Wei Zhi quickly walked toward Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue, knowing he had returned, looked at him.

He was tall and strong, riding a fine horse.

She had never seen a man as tall as Wei Zhi.

She lightly smiled, “Uncle, it’s not heavy, we’re almost home.”

“Don’t change hands, hurry up and get home. Mother is afraid of the dark, you should light the lamp when you get inside…”

Wei Zhi didn’t let go, instead, he took the bundle of bean stalks from her, his tone slightly frustrated.

“Am I still considered an outsider to you? I told you, I’ll handle the work at home.”

With the burden lifted, Jiang Yue got a moment of relief.

She smiled lightly, “I’m used to it, so it doesn’t feel too heavy.”

“When you’re here, you can help me, but once you leave, I’ll still have to do it myself.”

From luxury to frugality is hard; she didn’t dare to try something different.

When she lived in her family’s house, she had to carry firewood every day, which was no lighter than this.

Wei Zhi measured the bundle of bean stalks in his hands. It must have weighed around sixty or seventy jin.

How could someone as thin and delicate as his sister-in-law carry so much weight?

Under the dimming light, Wei Zhi’s gaze on Jiang Yue carried not just surprise, but a hint of sympathy.