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

The carriage stopped in front of the estate. The maid beckoned the steward over and whispered something in her ear. The steward nodded and hurried away, returning shortly with two red lanterns.

She hung red lanterns on the door and found red satin to make silk flowers. Fang Zhi not only wanted to make a marriage with Doctor Jiang, but also wanted to get married with Doctor Jiang on this estate.

Red candles burned brightly, and the emperor, adorned in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, bowed to heaven and earth, then to his parents, and finally to each other. The servants of the estate helped Physician Jiang into the hastily prepared bridal chamber.

As soon as he entered the room, Physician Jiang shoved aside the servant, staggered to the table, and picked up the wedding candles. The candles were stuck in the candlesticks; without them, they would be a handy weapon, capable of killing someone.

The servant tried to step forward but was stopped by Fang Zhi. "My husband won't hurt me! You all go out and don't let anyone stand guard outside the door. My husband and I still have a lot to do."

The servants and maids withdrew, and Fang Zhi removed her phoenix crown, walked up to Physician Jiang, grabbed the candlestick in his hand, and pointed it at her neck: "My husband wants to kill me?"

“I am not your husband, nor can I ever be your husband. Please have some self-respect, Miss Fang.”

Forced into marriage, Physician Jiang's eyes reddened with anger.

“Send me back to the capital, and I will pretend that today’s events never happened.”

Fang Zhi laughed, released her grip, and sat down on the ground without any semblance of a noblewoman. She didn't care about the candlestick in Physician Jiang's hand, nor did she care whether he would harm her. She poured two glasses of wine, one for herself and one for Physician Jiang.

The wine was brewed on the estate; it tasted mediocre, extremely spicy, and brought tears to my eyes the moment it entered my mouth. Turning her head, she looked at the face she had longed for day and night, and asked unwillingly, "What's wrong with me? Why won't you marry me?"

"What does your well-being have to do with whether I marry you or not?" Physician Jiang said irritably. "Miss Fang, I have already made myself very clear to you. No matter what you do, I will not like you, much less marry you."

"Did the Lady of Pingnan Marquis say the same things to you? Were you hurt when you heard those words?" Fang Zhi's eyes were red. "She doesn't like you, but I like you. She married someone else, but I married you. Instead of staying with a woman who can never be yours, why don't you turn around and look at me?"

Looking at Fang Zhi, Physician Jiang suddenly understood Xie Chaoyun's feelings. Being loved for a long time by someone you don't love, even if that person isn't as mad as Fang Zhi, is still a kind of torment. He put down the candlestick, took the wine cup, and asked very seriously, "What do you like about me? We've barely met. If you like my status as the eldest son of the Jiang family, that's unnecessary. From the day I started studying medicine, it meant I would never pursue an official career; my life will only ever be that of a doctor."

"If you were just a doctor, would you marry me?" Fang Zhi said, "I have studied medicine. I can distinguish many kinds of herbs, grind and prepare medicine, and even take a simple pulse. I am willing to follow you, even if you are just a doctor. We can leave the capital and live in the countryside. I am very hardworking."

"I won't leave the capital, nor will I let you suffer with me. I just want to know what you like about me?" Physician Jiang said helplessly, "Perhaps what you think you like isn't true love, and marrying me isn't as good as you imagine. You're still young, and you have the chance to find your true love. Miss Fang, you shouldn't pin your future on someone who doesn't love you."

"And you? Didn't you wait for the Lady of Pingnan for a full ten years, just like me?" Fang Zhi tilted her head, slightly drunk.

Physician Jiang sighed, picked up his wine cup, and took a swig, choking until tears streamed down his face. Fang Zhi smiled at him and handed him a handkerchief. Physician Jiang didn't take it, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, and continued to comfort him.

“Yunniang and I grew up together, or rather, I watched Yunniang grow up. You are the daughter of Minister Fang, so you should know that my mother was the second wife of the Jiang family, and the Empress and I are half-siblings, with a significant age difference. Before me, there were male offspring in the Jiang family, but for various reasons, they died before they could get married. By the time I was born, there were no male offspring left in this branch of the Jiang family, and I became the only legitimate son.”

Physician Jiang leaned against the wall, as if telling someone else's story.

“Yunniang’s mother and my mother were old friends. She was a female doctor with excellent medical skills, and Yuan’er inherited her medical skills. Yuan’er is Yunniang’s daughter and also the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan’s family. When I was little, whenever I was sick, I would go to the Xie family’s residence, simply because my mother did not trust other doctors. When Yunniang was born, my mother and I stayed in the courtyard. She was held by her wet nurse, so small and pink. When we went to the Xie family’s residence, she became a must-see for me. Perhaps it was from that time that I felt Yunniang was mine.”

Physician Jiang looked up.

"I witnessed many of Yunniang's firsts, and many of my firsts were made possible because of her. When Yunniang was three years old, my mother passed away. Later, Yunniang's mother also passed away, and we became kindred spirits. Later still, I was sent to an academy by my family, while she was taken to the border by the old general. We met again at a palace banquet, where she was by General Xie's side, already a very beautiful and graceful young girl."

A smile appeared on Physician Jiang's face.

"At first, I only treated her as a younger sister, feeling that I had a responsibility and an obligation to take care of her. It wasn't until Yunniang got married that I realized that my feelings for her were no longer those of a brother and sister. But one wrong step led to another, and in the end, we were destined to be apart."

Fang Zhi stood up, carrying the wine jug: "She's divorced, you can marry her now! It's because of her that you didn't want to marry me."

Physician Jiang looked up at Fang Zhi, "Before you knocked me unconscious, that's what I really thought. But now I understand it completely. I like Yun Niang, with both the affection between siblings and the feelings between a man and a woman. But this affection isn't enough for me to give up everything to marry her. It's not that I missed her, but that I didn't try to win her over. Yun Niang only has brotherly feelings for me, no romantic feelings at all. My affection is a burden to her."

Physician Jiang stood up as well: "Miss Fang, your affection is a burden to me, and you don't really like me."

"I truly love you. You're the only person in this world who doesn't despise me and treats me the best." Fang Zhi swayed unsteadily. "My father spoils me, right? When I was sick, he locked me in my room, afraid I'd infect him. My mother loves me, right? When I was sick, she never came to my room to see me, let alone take care of me. She even told my father that if I died, she'd have another child. Only you, only you don't despise me, you treat me, feed me medicine, and even sing to me to sleep. From that moment on, I wanted to marry you!"

Physician Jiang smiled and said to Fang Zhi, "Every doctor would do the same. After all, the consultation fee given by Lord Fang was very generous, and at that time, Miss Fang was just a sick child in my eyes."

Fang Zhi lunged forward, but Imperial Physician Jiang dodged to the side and struck at the back of her neck. The strike was too weak to knock her unconscious; instead, the silver needle that flew in from the window instantly put her into a deep sleep.

Lu Zhiyuan stood outside the window and waved to him: "Uncle Jiang, did Yuan'er arrive just in time?"