The door was shut, and the light abruptly dimmed.

Ling Jingshu instinctively blinked and looked up.

A tall figure came into view. His features were refined and clear, his bearing composed and unhurried, and his deep, bright eyes were fixed steadily upon her.

Ling Jingshu suppressed the sudden flutter of her heartbeat, steadied herself, and said: “Imperial Physician Wei, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“I arrived not long ago myself.” Wei Yan’s voice was slightly low and hushed, as though intentionally kept soft: “Thank you, Miss Ling, for coming as promised.”

……That sentence sounded innocent at first hearing, but examined more closely, it carried a certain inexpressible intimacy.

Ling Jingshu’s cheeks flushed faintly warm, though her expression remained quite composed: “That day in the palace, Imperial Physician Wei said he had formulated a new ointment for Ling Xiao’s eyes — how could I not come?”

So she had indeed understood the meaning beneath his words.

A glimmer of amusement passed through Wei Yan’s eyes. He took a porcelain vial from the medicine chest beside him and set it on the table: “This is the new ointment I have prepared. The medicinal effect is better than the previous vial — take it with you when you leave.”

The matter of fetching medicine was nothing more than a pretext, a convenient reason for the two of them to meet. This much Ling Jingshu understood perfectly well. It also showed just how thorough and careful Wei Yan was.

Ling Jingshu did not move forward to take the medicine right away. After offering a quiet word of thanks, she asked: “There is no one else here — only the two of us. Imperial Physician Wei need not speak in veiled terms. Whatever you have to say, please say it directly.”

Such a private opportunity was truly rare, and ought not to be wasted.

Wei Yan was equally aware of this, and said in a low, steady voice: “These past days I have gone through a great many medical texts and ancient prescriptions, and have not found a case similar to yours. However, in my view, this kind of illness ought to originate from a heart ailment.”

A heart ailment?

Ling Jingshu’s pupils contracted slightly, and the expression on her face stiffened somewhat: “What do you mean by a heart ailment? I don’t understand.”

Wei Yan looked at Ling Jingshu deeply for a moment, then said slowly: “With your keen intelligence, how could you fail to grasp the meaning of my words? What you told me that day was not the full truth. There are secrets you carry — more difficult to speak aloud, more painful — that you did not let out. And it is precisely what you concealed and left unsaid that is the true cause of your strange illness.”

Ling Jingshu: “……”

It was as though a great stone had plunged into a still lake, or a howling wind had come tearing through.

Those few short sentences struck directly at the deepest and most hidden secret and anguish within her heart.

Ling Jingshu could no longer maintain a tranquil expression. The color drained instantly from her face, and both hands clenched into fists. Her mind went blank. She wanted to deny it — yet in this moment, all words felt hollow and powerless: “No — it’s not the way you’re describing……”

Fine beads of cold sweat seeped out on her brow.

Wei Yan forced himself to steel his heart, not allowing himself to soften: “No one knows the truth of the matter better than you. If you insist on concealing it and refuse to speak, no one can compel you to open your mouth. Only — in that case, I also have no way to treat your illness. Which weighs heavier, which lighter — you ought to know in your own heart.”

Even the most brilliant physician still had to treat a disease according to its cause. Without knowing the true source of the ailment, how could he possibly cure it?

Ling Jingshu bit down hard on her lip until she tasted a trace of something metallic in her mouth — and only then realized she had broken the skin.

Wei Yan’s gaze swept over the blood that had seeped from Ling Jingshu’s bitten lip, and a feeling of complex, inexpressible emotion stirred in his chest. This feeling, difficult to name, had been surfacing more and more often of late, leaving his thoughts in disarray.

He did not want to dwell too deeply on the reason. He steadied himself and spoke: “There is no need for you to panic or be afraid. I am not deliberately trying to force you — I only want to cure your illness. You also would not wish to carry this strange disease and be seen as an oddity in others’ eyes, would you? If things continue like this, you may even be unable to marry and have children in the future……”

The four words “marry and have children” struck her ears, and Ling Jingshu’s scattered and chaotic thoughts abruptly cleared.

“I have never had any intention of marrying and having children.”

Ling Jingshu quickly cut Wei Yan off, and the vulnerability and hesitation on her face were replaced by resolution: “I thank Imperial Physician Wei for all his earnest concern. As for what illness I carry — I know it well in my own heart. If it cannot be cured, so be it!”

This time, it was Wei Yan who was left without words.

Ling Jingshu took a deep breath, her expression growing ever more resolute: “Whatever the case, I must thank Imperial Physician Wei. And I also ask that Imperial Physician Wei continue to keep my secret. Do not reveal to anyone that I am suffering from this strange ailment.”

Wei Yan furrowed his brow, and a note of disapproval entered his voice: “Miss Ling, you are refusing treatment out of fear. When one falls ill, one ought to seek treatment — once cured, everything can return to normal. Whether you wish to marry and have children is one matter. Whether you are able to is an entirely different one.”

The words were somewhat blunt, yet they also carried through them a thread of genuine concern.

Ling Jingshu was silent for a moment before she said softly: “Imperial Physician Wei — you should have some understanding of my circumstances as they stand now. I am afflicted with a strange illness: I cannot go near any man, let alone touch one. As long as my illness remains uncured, my family cannot arrange a marriage for me. For me, that is something of a protective charm.”

Wei Yan paused, then quickly grasped her meaning.

Both the Crown Grandson and Prince Yan bore feelings toward Ling Jingshu that were far from ordinary. The Crown Grandson was cold and austere in temperament, proudly self-possessed — he was not the kind to use power to coerce others.

Prince Yan was an entirely different matter. He was someone who acted as his whims dictated with no regard for consequences. If he made up his mind to marry Ling Jingshu, he need only ask Empress Xu to issue an imperial consort decree — and the Ling family would have no choice but to obediently begin preparing a dowry.

Seen in that light, the fact that Ling Jingshu was afflicted with a strange illness was not entirely a misfortune. With an illness like hers, no one could force her into marriage……

Wei Yan weighed the matter for a moment before he spoke: “This is indeed not a bad strategy. However, it has a flaw. If your family insists on summoning renowned physicians to treat you, or if Prince Yan learns of the matter and sends an imperial physician to treat you — how would you refuse?”

Ling Jingshu had clearly thought this through carefully before coming, and replied without hesitation: “I will tell them that Imperial Physician Wei is currently treating me, and has simply not yet identified the cause of the illness.”

Wei Yan: “……”

So after all that circling around, she had been waiting for him here all along.

Wei Yan gave her a look that was half smile, half something else: “So Miss Ling had it all planned out — and intends to use me as a shield. Of course — once others know I am treating you, it would be awkward for them to bring in another physician to examine you. And if Prince Yan inquires, I could deflect on your behalf as well.”

“Miss Ling’s calculations are quite clever. Only one point: why should I agree to this? What benefit is there in it for me?”

Ling Jingshu looked at Wei Yan, and a bitter smile touched the corner of her lips: “For Imperial Physician Wei, this would be a matter of little effort. For me, it is something that matters greatly.”

“I am only a weak woman without the strength even to restrain a chicken. Everything I do, I do only to protect myself. I do not wish to become a tool for the Ling family to use in climbing to power and currying favor. And I am even less willing to be forced into marriage with a royal household.”

“Please help me this once — this debt of kindness, Ling Jingshu will not forget for as long as she lives.”