Chapter 008: Uncle, It’s Not Appropriate!

Wei Zhi carried the heavy bean stalks on his back and let go of the reins of his warhorse, which obediently followed Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue looked at Wei Zhi helping her carry the bean stalks and casually took the reins of the horse.

Wei Zhi was surprised that his horse, Tàxuě, didn’t reject her closeness.

Tàxuě was a warhorse he had won after a victory, a prized steed from the enemy’s ranks. The general had rewarded him for killing countless enemies by giving him this horse.

Tàxuě would only allow Wei Zhi near, and even then, the horse was known to be difficult. It refused to accept food from anyone other than him and would kick if anyone tried to approach it.

After placing the bean stalks down, Wei Zhi went to check on Tàxuě.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yue hurried inside, lit the oil lamp, and found her mother-in-law fast asleep on the bed.

She had saved some food for her mother-in-law after lunch, but when she saw the food had disappeared, she assumed it was her mother-in-law who had eaten it.

Let her rest, Jiang Yue thought.

She placed the oil lamp in the main room before stepping outside again.

“Uncle, you rest for a while. I’ll go cook dinner.”

Wei Zhi looked at Jiang Yue and nodded, “Don’t worry, it’s not urgent.”

He quickly unloaded the supplies from his horse and placed the medicine for his mother in her room.

The food and gifts he had bought for his mother and Jiang Yue were placed on the table in the main room.

At this point, Jiang Yue had already begun cooking in the kitchen, using a small oil lamp to cook rice and prepare dinner.

Jiang Yue had originally thought that since Wei Zhi was going to the county to fetch medicine for his mother, he would stay the night there, so she had planned on not expecting him back until the evening.

She had already prepared food for her mother-in-law for the night and was planning to eat a piece of bread herself, too tired to cook a full meal.

However, to her surprise, Wei Zhi returned just before dusk.

Jiang Yue quickly grabbed some flour, cracked an egg, and made some hand-pulled noodles.

Wei Zhi knew Jiang Yue was busy in the kitchen, but he dared not enter.

He wasn’t the elder brother, and he knew their relationship as uncle and niece required a certain distance. Though they could act familiarly as husband and wife, they were still family, and it was only right to maintain some boundaries.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Wei Zhi immediately rushed toward the kitchen.

It was pitch black inside.

He called softly, “Sister-in-law, what happened?”

Only moments ago, there had been light, but now the kitchen was engulfed in darkness. The sudden shift from bright to dark made it hard for his eyes to adjust.

Jiang Yue stood frozen in place, too scared to move.

“Uncle, there’s a lamp in the weaving room. Could you get it? I think the oil in the lamp ran out.”

Wei Zhi replied, “Alright,” and turned to go to the weaving room. There, he found the small oil lamp on the old table.

After lighting it with a match, he carried the lamp to Jiang Yue.

When he got there, he saw that a bowl of noodles had spilled.

The freshly cooked noodles had fallen onto her feet.

Her embroidered shoes were already worn down, patched up multiple times.

She was just an ordinary farm girl, not the daughter of a rich family, so she wore practical clothes for work in the fields—long pants that didn’t cover her shoes.

With the lamp lighting the scene, Wei Zhi could see the mess on the floor.

Jiang Yue had intended to bring the bowl of noodles to him, but when the lamp suddenly went out, she accidentally bumped into the stove, causing the bowl to tip over.

Unfortunately, the hot soup spilled directly onto her foot.

Now, she could only feel the sharp pain on her foot.

“Uncle, there’s another bowl of noodles on the stove. You can just take that one.”

“I’m not hungry. I’ll go rest in my room.”

Wei Zhi, still holding the oil lamp, followed Jiang Yue outside. “It’s too dark outside. Let me walk you back to your room.”

Her foot was covered in noodle soup, and Wei Zhi observed it carefully.

However, due to their uncle-nephew relationship, he couldn’t treat her as his wife and care for her in such an intimate way. He resisted the urge to lift her and place her on the bed.

Jiang Yue lightly smiled and assured him that it wasn’t a big deal.

He remained silent but insisted on escorting her back to her room.

Once she was inside, he placed the oil lamp from earlier on her bedside table.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry about me. I’ve been in battle for years and learned some martial arts. I can see well at night.”

Jiang Yue didn’t doubt him. She thought to herself that Wei Zhi was indeed an impressive person.

He placed the lamp down and left but quickly returned. This time, he brought a basin of cold water and a bottle of burn medicine.

After placing the water and medicine down, he turned to leave, as if even a glance at his sister-in-law might be improper.

Jiang Yue noticed his respectful manner and softly said, “Thank you, Uncle.”

“To me, you’re family. There’s no need to stand on ceremony,” Wei Zhi replied.

Jiang Yue spoke to him, wanting to make sure he didn’t feel overly formal. She wanted him to know that the Wei family was also his, and he was home, not a guest, so he didn’t need to follow such rigid formalities.

True to his word, Wei Zhi didn’t hesitate. Upon hearing her request, he went to the table in the main room, grabbed the pastries he had bought in town, and brought them to Jiang Yue.

“I saw a crowd outside the pastry shop in the county today. I bought some pastries for you and Mother.”

Jiang Yue nodded in acknowledgment and thanked him again.

He waited until she finished washing her feet, then took the basin of water out of the room.

Jiang Yue felt nervous—she had never been taken care of like this before. At Jiang’s home, she had always been the one tending to her uncle and aunt. Even after marrying into the Wei family, she had always cared for her mother-in-law.

This was the first time someone had brought her water to wash her feet.

Surprised, she quickly said, “It’s not appropriate.”

She had planned to wash her feet herself and take the water outside in the morning, but she hadn’t expected Wei Zhi to be so unreserved and bring her water himself.

Wei Zhi said nothing more, only suggesting, “If you’re hungry, have some pastries. Get some rest early tonight.”

Jiang Yue nodded, but in her mind, she thought that when her uncle’s legs became weaker with age, she would return the favor and bring him washwater.

Exhausted, she wasn’t even hungry anymore.

After washing her feet and applying the medicine, her already sore foot felt even worse, but the medicine Wei Zhi gave her was specifically for burns, so she trusted it would help.

The pain was intense, though. She couldn’t sleep for the first half of the night and only managed to doze off in the second half, waking up with the rooster’s crow at dawn.

She dressed slowly, still feeling pain in her foot, but it was manageable enough for her to walk slowly. She realized she wouldn’t be able to go to the fields to harvest beans today.

Just as she opened the door, she saw the yard filled with harvested bean stalks.

Before she could say anything, she saw Wei Zhi walking out of the kitchen.

“Sister-in-law, you’re up. I made some porridge.”

“Uncle, you shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of cooking. I should be the one doing that.”

Wei Zhi replied, “We’re family, there’s no need for such formality.”

He then went to tend to his mother, preparing some medicinal soup, and told Jiang Yue, “I’ll handle the beans in the field. You stay home and rest your foot. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Wei Zhi truly meant what he said.

Over the past few days, while Jiang Yue’s foot injury made it difficult for her to move, he had been busy both inside and outside, first harvesting the beans and making sure his mother was well cared for.

By the time the beans were all harvested, Jiang Yue’s foot had healed, though a faint burn scar remained on her otherwise smooth skin.