After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Xie Chaoyun felt a little sad at the sight of Physician Jiang's reaction, but she quickly calmed down.

She had seen that expression linger on Physician Jiang's face, on the night of her wedding to Lu Huai. After their passionate encounter, he insisted on removing her shoes and socks despite her objections. Before their engagement, she had told Lu Huai that she had injured her foot, losing a finger to save her life, and the wound was rather unsightly. Lu Huai had said he didn't care, but the moment he saw the wound and scar, he felt nauseous.

For the next two weeks, he didn't sleep with her again, saying he felt sorry for her and was afraid of hurting her. Ironically, she didn't understand what he meant at the time and even comforted him by saying that the pain was gone.

Thinking back on those foolish things I did in the past, my nose tingled slightly. I picked up my shoes and socks and gently put them on.

“Yuan’er is being naughty and has frightened Brother Jiang.”

Physician Jiang turned his head, his heart filled with conflicting emotions. He wanted to examine her wound closely, yet he was afraid of looking too closely. After struggling for a long time, he finally fixed his gaze on her ankle.

"Your foot...that severed toe is..."

"Brother Jiang, do you still remember Luoyue Mountain?" Xie Chaoyun straightened her skirt. "That was the first time Brother Jiang accompanied me to the border. The Southern Chu launched a night attack and abducted many children from the city. My father and uncles were unable to act, so they asked me to disguise myself as an ordinary woman and sneak into Southern Chu to search for them. I searched for many days and finally found the children at Luoyue Mountain. During the fight, I accidentally fell into a trap set by the Southern Chu people and fell into an ice cave, where I was injured in the left foot by an ice spike. My father and brothers arrived three days later, and the medicine I drank was brewed by Brother Jiang."

"Luoyue Mountain?" Physician Jiang's pupils trembled slightly. "I went to the medical tent to see you, and they said your injuries weren't serious! Why...why didn't you tell me? If I had known..."

“Indeed, the injury isn’t serious. Compared to those soldiers who didn’t come back, Yunniang only lost a minor toe.” Xie Chaoyun looked at her foot: “Aside from being a bit unsightly, it doesn’t affect her walking or fighting on the battlefield. The toe is already severed; telling Brother Jiang would only cause him more trouble.”

Physician Jiang clenched his fist.

"There's something I've never told Brother Jiang." Xie Chaoyun looked up at Physician Jiang: "Yunniang is foolish. She only realized Brother Jiang's feelings for her after marrying Marquis Lu. But Father understood long ago. He told me this while I was recuperating at the border. Even without my status as a daughter of the Xie family, the Jiang family would never allow Brother Jiang to marry someone with such a defect. Between you and me, there was no possibility left when that finger bone was broken."

"Nobody knows!" Physician Jiang said urgently, "Who would look at your feet except for close relatives? Yunniang, you know I don't care."

"The Empress cares, and the Jiang family cares." Xie Chaoyun smiled. "Brother Jiang, your marriage has never been just your own business."

Physician Jiang wanted to explain, but didn't know what to say. He longed for freedom, for control of his own destiny, yet he couldn't relinquish the responsibilities he was born with. If he could truly abandon the Jiang family, there would be no Physician Jiang today.

Perhaps, he could fight for Xie Chaoyun's sake.

“Uncle Jiang will regret it. Your feelings for your mother are not as deep as you think.” Lu Zhiyuan walked up to Physician Jiang and looked into his eyes. “The battlefield is not a game. Uncle Jiang understands this but has never connected those cruel things with your mother. Therefore, his first reaction when he saw your mother’s crippled foot was disgust.”

Physician Jiang shook his head, but Lu Zhiyuan did not give him a chance to argue.

"Your mother is exceptionally intelligent, a daughter of heaven. You saw her go into battle in full armor and return in triumph, but you never thought that she wasn't a female warrior. She would get hurt, she would be scarred, and she would be left with a disability that would never heal. She was no different from the soldiers you saw in the army."

"I don't mind!" Physician Jiang suddenly looked up, as if making a vow, or as if convincing himself: "My love for Yunniang is as clear as day and night, and it will never change because of a severed finger or some scars. As long as Yunniang marries me, I will handle the affairs of the Jiang family."

“Why didn’t you handle everything first before expressing your feelings to your mother? Because you lacked confidence, Uncle Jiang, because you were afraid of facing the outcome of failure.” Lu Zhiyuan tilted her head: “Your love for your mother isn’t as strong as you think! You’ve known her since childhood, you know what kind of marriage and love she longs for, even my father knows how to move her and please her, but you just silently protect her without taking any action. Why? Because you know there are too many things standing between you and your mother, and you can’t fulfill your promise to her.”

"I--"

“You are more upright and have a better conscience than my father, and that is your strength. Your unwillingness to deceive or mislead Mother stems from your love for her, but in the end, this love cannot outweigh the future and interests of the Jiang family.” Lu Zhiyuan sighed, “You live too conflicted a life, thinking too much. If you were truly like my father, loving my mother’s background, her appearance, her business acumen, or her ability to manage the household, you and she could have tried. But you love the Xie Chaoyun you imagine to be perfect, and you want to give her a perfect love.”

“I can’t be perfect. I can’t even break free from the shackles of the Jiang family.” Doctor Jiang felt something inside him collapse and staggered out.

He thought he was different from Lu Huai, but in fact there was no difference; neither of them could give Xie Chaoyun the life she wanted.

He knew from the day his sister became Empress of Northern Liang that his marriage was not up to him. The Emperor would never allow him to marry into the Xie family. Even if his nephew ascended the throne, out of fear of the Xie family, his sister would not allow him to marry a daughter of the Xie family, and might even use his relationship with the Xie family to eliminate them.

Even if her sister didn't target the Xie family, and the Xie family didn't crave power and retired to their fields, Yunniang's status as a second wife would still be a hindrance. The old fogies of the Jiang family wouldn't allow her to be their legal wife. The Jiang family needed a Madam Jiang who could bear them a legitimate son. Continuing this stalemate would only cause the Jiang family to turn their anger towards Yunniang, bringing her undeserved misfortune.

Most importantly, Yunniang didn't like him, and his feelings for her would become a burden to her. His steps faltered, and he almost fell. Xie Chaoyun subconsciously took two steps forward, but ultimately restrained himself from speaking.

Qingzhi looked at the retreating figure with concern and said, "Can Physician Jiang understand this? He has liked the girl for so many years, how easy is it for him to give up?"

He will understand, because he cares about his mother, cannot bear to see her in a difficult situation, and even less can he bear to see her in danger because of him.

With a quick glint in his eyes, he hooked his arm around his mother's and said slyly, "Besides Mother, which noble lady in the capital is a match for Uncle Jiang and could become the Jiang family head? Forget about that Fang family girl! She's incredibly stupid."

"Is the young lady going to act as a matchmaker for Physician Jiang?"

“No, I want to help Uncle Jiang get out of this emotional predicament with my mother.” Lu Zhiyuan raised her chin: “Sister Qingzhi, haven’t you heard that the best way to get over a relationship is to start a new one? If we can find a suitable mistress for the Jiang family, won’t the Jiang family owe us a favor? The Jiang family owes the Empress a favor. The Empress’s favor will definitely be useful in the future, so why not take it?”