Mrs. Xie held Qin i’s hand and asked in a low voice, "Xiao i, tell Mom the truth. Is the Qin family a family of traditional Chinese dicine practitioners?"
Qin i froze. ’The Qin family is indeed a family of traditional Chinese dicine practitioners. My father was born a rebel and refused to inherit Grandfather’s legacy, choosing Western dicine instead. Grandfather gave up on my father and had inherit the mantle.’
’But the original owner’s family definitely wasn’t. Even though I don’t have her mories, Jie Jingchen married her, so he must know her family background quite well.’
’If the Qin family were practitioners, he wouldn’t have been so shocked that I knew traditional dicine.’
"Mom..." Qin i trailed off, her expression a mixture of hesitation, contemplation, and helpless conflict.
Seeing the conflicted look on Qin i’s face, Mrs. Xie gave her a kind smile. She didn’t press the issue, saying considerately, "It’s all right. I understand."
Qin i was taken aback for a second, but she went along with it and offered a grateful smile. "Thank you for being so understanding, Mom."
Mrs. Xie patted Qin i’s shoulder. "You treated Xiao Qiao’s leg today, and you also saved the Hero’s wife and her unborn child. You must be exhausted. Go on inside and rest."
"Okay." Qin i nodded obediently. "Mom, you’ve been at work all day. You should get so rest too."
Mrs. Xie was both pleased and touched. The more she saw of her daughter-in-law, Qin i, the more she liked her.
Having lived abroad, Mrs. Xie was very direct in expressing her feelings and gave Qin i a hug.
Qin i’s body went rigid, and she froze like a statue. Faced with Mrs. Xie’s enthusiastic embrace, she was slow to react. ’They say mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies. Forget being affectionate; it’s considered a success if they can just treat each other with mutual respect. Being incompatible like fire and water is the norm.’
Before going back to her own room, Mrs. Xie went to Jing Qi’s room to chat with her. Qin i didn’t follow. ’They’re a mother and daughter having a heart-to-heart. What business do I have intruding?’
Figuring enough ti had passed for Jie Jingchen to have washed up, and wanting to avoid walking in on him, Qin i knocked on the door and asked in a low voice, "Jie Jingchen, are you done?"
"Co in." Jie Jingchen’s deep voice held a hint of coldness.
Qin i opened the door and peeked her head in first. Seeing Jie Jingchen lying on his stomach on the bed, reading, her eyes flickered. He hadn’t changed. She glanced at the water in the bucket, then arched an eyebrow. After closing the door, she asked, her voice a little unsteady, "You didn’t wash up?"
"The wound is on my back," Jie Jingchen reminded her irritably.
"So?" Qin i asked, feigning ignorance.
Jie Jingchen shot her a look, lips pressed into a thin line, and returned his focus to his book.
Qin i stared at him for a few seconds before sighing in resignation. "Take off your shirt. I’ll do it for you."
That was exactly what Jie Jingchen had been waiting for. He set his book aside and deftly unfastened his buttons.
Qin i was a little frustrated. ’At Modu Hospital, I never had to give him a sponge bath. Now that we’re back in his ho, I have to do it.’
She took his towel, wrung it out until it was just damp, and began to wash him carefully. Qin i was especially cautious around his wound.
After performing acupuncture on him several tis, Qin i had grown accustod to seeing Jie Jingchen’s bare torso. Her gaze remained professional, without a hint of impropriety. But for Jie Jingchen, this was torture. A sponge bath felt completely different from acupuncture, especially the sensation of her soft fingertips on his skin. It was like a feather teasing his very core.
Jie Jingchen suppressed the stirring within him. He was starting to regret this. He wanted to tell her to stop several tis, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His back muscles tightened.
Noticing his tense body, Qin i said, "Relax. I’m being very careful. I won’t touch your wound."
It wasn’t that she was slow; she simply hadn’t considered that possibility. ’Jie Jingchen injured his lower back. If it doesn’t heal properly, it could affect their intimate life. So, theoretically, he shouldn’t be having those kinds of urges before he’s fully recovered.’
Jie Jingchen’s lips thinned into a tight line as he remained silent.
Qin i worked diligently until she was satisfied, then evenly sprinkled the dicinal powder over the wound. "All done."
After putting away the remaining powder, Qin i carried the bucket out to empty it. Only then did Jie Jingchen prop himself up on his tense arms and quickly pull on a white undershirt. His taut muscles finally, subconsciously, relaxed.
When Qin i returned to the room, she saw Jie Jingchen lying facedown on the bed in his white undershirt. The blanket was pulled up to his waist, and his eyes were closed. Thinking he was asleep, Qin i gently locked the door from the inside and tiptoed toward the bed.
As she was about to get into bed, Qin i glanced at the light’s pull-chain. She slept on the inner side of the bed, which was too far to reach it. Since Jie Jingchen was supposedly asleep, it felt rude to wake him just to turn off the light. After a mont’s hesitation, Qin i reached out and gave the chain a tug.
SNAP! The light went out, and the pull-chain broke.
The room was plunged into pitch-black darkness. Outside, the sky was just as dark; even the moon wasn’t out.
Qin i stood frozen by the bed, the broken pull-chain still in her hand.
"What the hell? What a piece of crap," Qin i muttered in frustration. Her temper flared, and she couldn’t stop a phrase in the Sichuan dialect from slipping out.
"What’s wrong?" Jie Jingchen asked. He understood the Sichuanese phrase; he had army buddies from Sichuan who would occasionally let slip a few words from their hotown dialect.
’Qin i is from Yangcheng City. I’ve never heard her speak a word of Cantonese, yet she just blurted out Sichuanese.’
’If she spoke Cantonese, it would make Mom even happier.’
"I broke the pull-chain for the light," Qin i said, a little sheepishly.
And so, Qin i found herself holding a flashlight for Jie Jingchen as he stood on the desk to reconnect the wires.
"Done."
The light flickered back on. Qin i switched off the flashlight and helped Jie Jingchen get down from the desk.
Feeling very awkward, Qin i climbed into bed, pulled the covers over herself, and imdiately rolled over to face away from Jie Jingchen.
Jie Jingchen glanced at Qin i, who was hiding under the covers like a turtle in its shell. ’Breaking a pull-chain is no big deal. We fixed it, so what’s she so guilty about?’
Jie Jingchen took the flashlight and went to the bathroom. By the ti he returned, Qin i was fast asleep.
「The next day.」
Qin i woke up early, but Jie Jingchen was already gone from the room. After washing up and getting dressed, she went to the kitchen to find Jie Jingjue brewing dicine. When he saw her, he asked, "Fourth Sister-in-law, isn’t Jing Qi having a dicinal bath today?"
"No. For the first week, it’s once every three days. After that, it’ll be once a week until Jing Qi’s leg is healed," Qin i answered.
"And the oral dicine?" Jie Jingjue asked.
"For the first two weeks, she’ll take it three tis a day, and have one acupuncture session daily. After that, we’ll see how she’s doing before deciding on the next steps," Qin i explained. She rubbed her stomach and asked, "Where’s your fourth brother?"
"I don’t know." Jie Jingjue shook his head and pointed to a pot. "Breakfast is being kept warm in there."
Qin i lifted the lid and felt the aluminum lunchbox inside. It wasn’t too hot. She took it out; it was sweet potato congee with a side of pickled vegetables.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, once Aunt Zhang gets back, our als will go back to normal. Her ancestors were Imperial Chefs, and she inherited their skills. She’s an amazing cook. You can just tell her whatever you feel like eating and she’ll make it for you." Jie Jingjue had seen Qin i eating sweet potato congee for two days straight. ’Is it really that good?’ he wondered.
He himself wasn’t a fan of sweet potatoes or congee; he preferred noodles and plain white rice.
"An Imperial Chef?" Qin i’s eyes lit up. Suddenly, the sweet potato congee lost its appeal. She couldn’t wait for Aunt Zhang to get back. "Jing Wu, isn’t our mom’s surna Qiao?"
’My mother-in-law’s surna is Qiao, so Aunt Zhang probably isn’t her biological sister. Maybe a cousin or so other distant relative.’
"Dad’s first wife’s surna was Zhang. Aunt Zhang is her younger sister," Jie Jingjue replied.
Qin i froze. The sister of her father-in-law’s first wife. "Her biological sister?"
"Her biological sister," Jie Jingjue confird with a nod.
Qin i fell silent, her anticipation vanishing in an instant. ’If Aunt Zhang were related to my current mother-in-law, I’d be confident we could get along. But she’s the sister of the first wife... and with soone like Xu Chunyan in the family, it’ll be a miracle if that relationship goes smoothly.’
Qin i was very curious. ’How could her mother-in-law feel comfortable entrusting Jing Qi’s care to the sister of her husband’s deceased first wife?’
Qin i sighed to herself once again. ’The Jie Family’s relationships are truly a tangled ss.’
After finishing her congee and washing the lunchbox, Qin i left the kitchen and headed toward Jie Jingshan’s room.
Just as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Jie Jingchen wheeling Jie Jingshan back ho. Qin i paused for a second, then rushed forward to help Jie Jingchen lift Jie Jingshan, wheelchair and all, over the threshold.
"Where did you two go?" Qin i asked.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, this is for you," Jie Jingshan said with a cheerful smile, handing Qin i what she was holding.
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