An Accidental Military Marriage

Jiang Dahai had often heard his daughter mention Lu Tingting, and from the sounds of it, their friendship seemed pretty good.

That meant Lu Tingting would probably tell her "good friend" Jiang Moli all about him being questioned by the guards last night.

But Jiang Dahai didn’t know that the friendship his daughter spoke of was entirely one-sided.

Lu Tingting had never given his daughter the time of day.

Of course, that was in the past.

Now, Lu Tingting was angry, resentful, and afraid of her new aunt-in-law, Jiang Moli.

Jiang Dahai, however, was unaware of all this. He figured it was better to tell his daughter what happened last night himself, rather than letting her hear it from Lu Tingting.

So he told Jiang Moli about his visit to the Military District Courtyard.

He was too embarrassed to say he missed his daughter, so he used the excuse of being concerned about An Hui’s back injury.

"That traditional medicine doctor is quite famous. I was thinking your mother-in-law could go for a check-up when she’s free. But the guard saw I was a new face and held me up with questions for ages. I just came home after that."

Jiang Moli remarked offhandedly, "You could have just made a phone call for that. Did you really need to make the trip yourself?"

As his wife, Li Hongying guessed that Jiang Dahai must have missed his daughter, which was why he ran to the entrance of the Military District Courtyard so late at night.

But she also knew her husband was afraid of being laughed at, so she spoke up to cover for him. "Moli, your father was thinking of you. You just got married and you already caused your mother-in-law to injure her back. Him paying a visit in person shows more sincerity."

Jiang Moli was baffled. "What does her back injury have to do with me?"

Seeing that she was genuinely clueless, Jiang Dahai and Li Hongying exchanged a bewildered look.

"You drank too much on your wedding day and insisted your mother-in-law carry you home on her back, causing her to throw out her back. Have you forgotten about that?"

Jiang Moli remembered An Hui carrying her on her back after she got drunk, but she didn’t know that was how An Hui had gotten injured.

From beginning to end, not a single person in the Lu Family had mentioned it to her.

Jiang Dahai had originally been worried that her in-laws would blame his daughter for this, but to his surprise, they hadn’t said a word about it.

He was truly touched.

’Meeting such a wonderful son-in-law and in-laws... the Jiang family must have accumulated some good karma from their ancestors.’

Speaking of his son-in-law, Jiang Dahai asked about Lu Cheng, "Has Xiao Lu called home these past few days?"

Jiang Moli slapped her forehead. "Ah, now that you mention it, I totally forgot I have a husband."

"..."

He was so angered by her casual, thoughtless attitude that he was left speechless.

...

Her old bedroom now belonged to Jiang Peng, so Jiang Moli had nowhere to take a nap. After lunch, she picked up the fruit from the Ruan Family and headed back.

Ma Hongmei was napping in the living room and, hearing a sound, opened the door for Jiang Moli.

"Xiao Jiang, you’re back so early? Have you eaten?"

"I ate."

Jiang Moli handed what she was carrying to Ma Hongmei and asked about An Hui, "Where’s Mom?"

"She’s resting in her room. Be quiet and don’t disturb her. Her back was hurting so much last night she didn’t sleep well."

"Oh."

Hearing that An Hui was napping, Jiang Moli tiptoed back to her own room.

She slept until four o’clock. In the living room, a radio played the warbling sounds of Chinese opera. An Hui, wearing black-rimmed reading glasses, was sewing shoe insoles with Ma Hongmei as they listened and chatted.

"Mom."

An Hui glanced at her. "There’s mung bean soup in the pot. If you want some, go get it yourself."

Ma Hongmei quickly stood up. "I’ll get it. Xiao Jiang, you sit down."

She was clearly afraid Jiang Moli would go into the kitchen and break something.

She was still spooked by what happened with the Chen Family.

Jiang Moli sat down next to An Hui, propping her head on her hand to watch her sew the insoles. "Are you making those for Dad?"

"Mhm."

"Mom, you’re really skilled. Can you make me a couple of pairs too?"

’In other families, the daughter-in-law makes clothes and shoes to show respect for her mother-in-law. But in this family, it was the reverse; she, the mother-in-law, had to make things for her daughter-in-law. The world’s turned upside down!’

An Hui rolled her eyes at her in annoyance. "There are extra cloth pads over there. Cut them according to your shoe size and make them yourself. It’s not like you have anything better to do."

"I’m not good at this stuff. I’m good at other things."

An Hui looked at her, clearly curious as to what special skill she possessed.

Jiang Moli stood up and started stretching, looking as if she was about to do something grand. "Well, since I’m free anyway, Mom, let me show you what I can do."

Before An Hui could react, she was pushed down onto the sofa.

"Xiao Jiang, what are you doing!?"

Jiang Moli knelt on the sofa and placed her hands on An Hui’s lower back. "I’m going to give your back a massage. I know what I’m doing."

An Hui struggled. "There’s no need."

SLAP.

A slap landed on An Hui’s bottom.

"Hold still."

An Hui was so stunned she actually forgot to struggle.

The next second, a sharp pain shot through her lower back.

"Ah, that hurts—"

Hearing An Hui cry out in pain, Ma Hongmei rushed out of the kitchen. "Oh dear, Sister-in-law, are you alright? Xiao Jiang, what are you doing?"

Ma Hongmei grabbed Jiang Moli’s wrist, terrified she would make An Hui’s back worse.

"Mom’s back is hurting, so I’m giving her a massage to relieve the pain."

"Xiao Jiang, don’t be reckless! You could make her back worse."

As the two argued, An Hui spoke up. "Hongmei, I’m fine. Let her continue."

Although that first press had been quite painful, her lower back felt much looser afterward. It wasn’t as tight as it had been.

Ma Hongmei looked at An Hui, then back at Jiang Moli, still unconvinced.

"Xiao Jiang, do you really know how to do this?"

Jiang Moli patted her chest confidently. "Absolutely."

Ma Hongmei doubtfully let go, but she didn’t dare to leave, staying right by their side to watch closely.

Jiang Moli had actually learned Tui Na massage from a proper traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

Her maternal grandmother had a severe lumbar disc herniation and regularly received Tui Na therapy at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

The clinic wasn’t open at night, and her grandmother’s back often hurt so much she couldn’t sleep. It was always Jiang Moli who helped relieve the pain by massaging her acupoints, performing cupping and Gua Sha, and applying heat packs.

"Sister-in-law, how are you feeling?"

"It’s alright."

’When you have a backache, you lose your appetite. You can force down a bite or two of bad food, no problem. But back pain is impossible to ignore. And from the look on An Hui’s face, she really wasn’t in any discomfort.’

Furthermore, Jiang Moli’s technique looked quite professional; she wasn’t just pressing randomly. Ma Hongmei’s anxious heart was finally put at ease.

"Xiao Jiang, did you formally learn this or...?"

"It’s a secret family art, passed down only to the women of the family, never the men, and never to outsiders."

Ma Hongmei was actually taken in by her. "I never would have guessed your ancestors had such a skill."

"I also know how to do fire cupping! Go find a few clean cups, and I’ll do a session for Mom in a bit!"

Ma Hongmei: "...Alright."

「Half an hour later.」

After Jiang Moli removed the cupping jars, Ma Hongmei hastily helped An Hui sit up. "Sister-in-law, how do you feel? Is it any better?"

An Hui felt her lower back, then stood up and took a couple of steps. "It’s much more relaxed. My back isn’t as tight, and the pulling pain is gone."

Ma Hongmei was overjoyed. She gave a thumbs-up to Jiang Moli, who was sprawled lazily on the sofa. "Xiao Jiang, you really have a few tricks up your sleeve."

Jiang Moli offered an awkward yet polite smile. "Great compliment. Please don’t compliment me again."

An Hui supported her back as she sat down on the sofa. Looking at Jiang Moli’s fair and pretty face, the resentment in her heart gradually dissipated.

As the elder, she hadn’t blamed Jiang Moli out loud for causing her back injury, but she had certainly been holding a grudge.

"That was hard work. Thank you."

Jiang Moli waved her hand dismissively. "A great deed requires no thanks. Just remember to repay the favor in spades."

An Hui rolled her eyes at her, but there was no dislike in her gaze. Instead, it held a faint trace of affection. "Alright, alright. I’ll make you a couple of pairs of insoles."

"Okay! I want them embroidered. Hmm, let’s go with lotuses. That way, lotuses will bloom with my every step."

An Hui herself wasn’t very educated. In an era of war and turmoil, it was hard enough just to survive, so where would one find the time to learn to read and study?

Hearing Jiang Moli speak with such enthusiasm, she thought, ’As expected of an educated person. Her ideas are so poetic.’

Her gaze softened without her realizing it. "I heard from Hongmei that your uncles owe your family a lot of money?"