Two incense sticks of time later.

The attendant of Huichun Hall walked out, and before he could even open his mouth, Ling Jingshu, Ling Ji, and Jiang Rongyue had already hurried forward.

“May we go in now?” Ling Jingshu was first to ask.

The attendant answered with a smile: “You may. Young Master Ling’s acupuncture session today has concluded, and Imperial Physician Wei is currently writing out the prescription. Our Huichun Hall has a full stock of medicinal herbs, and our prices are far lower than those of other apothecaries. Miss Ling may go in and wait a moment first, and once the prescription is ready, you can fill it right here at Huichun Hall — nothing could be more convenient. As for the external salve, it was personally prepared by Imperial Physician Wei himself, and you will not find it anywhere else…”

Ling Jingshu suppressed the impatience in her heart and gave the attendant a slight smile: “Thank you for the notice.”

A smile like a blossoming flower, breathtaking in its beauty.

The attendant instantly felt his cheeks flush and his heart hammer, and not daring to look directly at Ling Jingshu’s lovely face, he quickly lowered his head and said, “You are too kind, Miss Ling. Imperial Physician Wei is still in the inner hall waiting — please go in.”

Ling Jingshu gave a soft sound of acknowledgement and stepped briskly into the inner hall. Ling Ji and his wife followed close behind.

Imperial Physician Wei had his head bowed, writing out the prescription.

Ling Xiao was still seated in the chair, an unusual flush of rose colouring his fair complexion, a faint layer of perspiration beading on his forehead.

“A’Xiao!” Ling Jingshu threw all propriety to the wind and practically rushed to Ling Xiao’s side: “How do you feel now? Does your head hurt?”

How could it not hurt?

What Imperial Physician Wei had described as “some stinging” earlier had been a severe understatement. The golden needles had found some acupoint or other, and the sensation was at once painful, aching, numb, and swollen all together. It was a feeling that no one who had not experienced it themselves could possibly comprehend.

He had endured it with all his might, not daring to so much as twitch, and by the time the session finally ended, he had broken out in a cold sweat from head to toe.

“It only hurts just a tiny bit,” Ling Xiao said, straining to shape a bright smile. “It’s nothing now.”

Ling Jingshu knew Ling Xiao far too well to miss the insincerity in his words. A wave of aching tenderness pierced through her heart, yet she followed his lead and said, “Good, if it’s nothing, then all is well.”

At the same time, she drew out a clean white silk handkerchief and dabbed the beads of perspiration from Ling Xiao’s forehead.

Ling Ji and Jiang Rongyue stepped forward as well, each offering a few words of comfort to Ling Xiao.

Imperial Physician Wei kept his head down, writing out the prescription with focused attention.

Several rays of sunlight filtered through the window and fell across his refined, handsome face. His brows and eyes were gentle, touched by a faint and quiet smile. Anyone who looked at him could not help but feel their heart stir, unable to pull their gaze away.

Jiang Rongyue allowed herself a single glance, then forced her eyes away. She silently reminded herself inwardly: her husband treated her with such warmth and tenderness — she absolutely could not allow herself to harbour any thought that would be disloyal to him…

Imperial Physician Wei finished writing the prescription, set down his brush, and raised his head: “This is the prescription. Fill it accordingly and decoct it — three bowls of water reduced to one bowl of decoction. Three times daily, without interruption, for three full months. There are no rare herbs in this prescription; it can be filled at any apothecary.”

He then instructed the medicine boy, Tian Dong: “Go to that cabinet over there and take out a vial of the eye salve.”

Tian Dong gave a sound of acknowledgement and walked over to the cabinet with practiced familiarity, retrieving from its innermost shelf a porcelain vial.

The vial was milky white in colour, wide at the mouth and rounded at the belly. Inside was the medicinal salve that Imperial Physician Wei had personally prepared.

Imperial Physician Wei would never have promoted it himself. But the medicine boy Tian Dong could not resist adding a few words: “This salve is specially formulated for external application to the eyes. It soothes and clarifies vision, and its efficacy is extraordinary. Even a single vial of this salve — outside people could not buy it for a hundred taels of silver…”

“Enough chatter!”

Imperial Physician Wei frowned slightly and put a stop to Tian Dong’s boasting: “Whether a medicine is effective and suitable — that is what matters most. If it does not match the condition, applying it serves no purpose whatsoever. Some people think money can solve everything, and waste it buying expensive remedies they use indiscriminately — what good does it do?”

Tian Dong, rebuked with a few words, did not dare say anything more. He carried the prescription and the salve over.

Bai Yu carefully received the salve and the thin sheet of the prescription.

Ling Jingshu stepped forward and made a proper, respectful bow: “Many thanks to Imperial Physician Wei for treating A’Xiao. This young woman is deeply grateful. Pardon the presumptuousness of asking — how much is the consultation fee for each of Imperial Physician Wei’s visits?”

Talking of silver was a rather unrefined business.

But given that they had come to seek medical treatment, the consultation fee was an indispensable matter.

Imperial Physician Wei had not anticipated that Ling Jingshu would ask so directly and straightforwardly.

No small number of young women from respectable households came to Huichun Hall. Most, like that Miss Liu the Third, were there with intentions that had nothing to do with the wine — and a few were of such distinguished rank that they could not be turned away, such as Princess Fumin who was waiting in the outer hall. Occasionally, women afflicted with ailments deemed incurable would also come seeking treatment…

Whatever their reasons for coming, women who met him invariably put their best face forward. Their consultation fees were handled by the steward matrons who accompanied them, as though so much as uttering the word “silver” would diminish their dignity and mark them as vulgar.

This Miss Ling, by contrast, spoke and conducted herself with remarkable candour.

“Did Miss Ling not hear of my rule of never accepting consultation fees when she came to Huichun Hall seeking treatment?”

Imperial Physician Wei smiled slowly, his voice warm and pleasing: “To fill the prescription at the outer hall, you will need to pay for the medicinal herbs — that is unavoidable. The silver for the salve can also be handed to the attendant there. For examining patients, administering acupuncture, and writing prescriptions — I have never accepted a consultation fee.”

They had made such thorough inquiries, and yet this one detail had been missed.

No wonder his reputation was so illustrious.

In the capital, all physicians of any standing charged extremely high consultation fees. Ordinary common folk who fell ill could not afford to consult a renowned physician — at most they would visit an apothecary and ask the attending physician there to write them a prescription.

Imperial Physician Wei’s reputation far outshone any of those so-called renowned physicians, and yet he accepted not a single copper in consultation fees. The medicines at Huichun Hall were moreover far less expensive than at other apothecaries. In the eyes of ordinary common people, he was nothing short of a living bodhisattva.

To Imperial Physician Wei himself, ordinary gold and silver were indeed no great consideration.

He was the Emperor’s personal exclusive physician, and he had an elder sister serving as a consort within the palace who enjoyed considerable imperial favour. There was no shortage of people currying favour with him both openly and covertly. Why would he place gold and silver in his eyes.

Thoughts flashed rapidly through Ling Jingshu’s mind, and she thanked him with sincere gravity: “Whatever the case, I am deeply grateful to Imperial Physician Wei. In the future, if Imperial Physician Wei should ever have any need of me, so long as it is within my power to accomplish, I shall not hesitate and will not decline.”

Imperial Physician Wei smiled faintly: “Miss Ling speaks of gratitude prematurely. Whether Young Master Ling’s eye ailment can be cured remains to be seen — it depends on his fortune. Furthermore, I have dedicated years to studying medicine and am duty-bound to heal the sick. There is no reason to expect repayment for a kindness.”

Was this Imperial Physician Wei truly compassionate and selfless to the core? Or was he someone whose outward and inward selves were entirely at odds, harbouring other designs?

At this moment, it was genuinely difficult to tell.

Whatever the case, his medical skill was undeniably as formidable as rumour had made it.

As long as he could restore A’Xiao’s eyesight, what did it matter whether he was truly a man of unblemished integrity or someone whose mind ran far deeper than his surface suggested?