Being kept under a sustained, fixed gaze was not a comfortable sensation.

Only after Ling Jingshu had walked composedly and steadily out of the Crown Grandson’s line of sight did that prickling, skin-crawling feeling quietly fade.

Her back was already drenched in cold sweat, and her palms were slick with it as well.

“Miss, are you all right?” Bai Yu had been watching Ling Jingshu’s expression all along and asked with a face full of worry: “Why did the Crown Grandson summon you today of all days? What exactly did he say to you?”

While the Young Miss had been speaking with the Crown Grandson, she had watched from a distance. Though she could not hear a single word, she had seen the shifts in the Crown Grandson’s expression with perfect clarity.

From the initial ease and contentment, to the subsequent shock and bewilderment, to the later rigidity and icy coldness — it had kept Bai Yu trembling with anxiety, afraid the Crown Grandson might turn on them on the spot.

That half-hour had felt unusually long to Bai Yu. Fortunately, the Young Miss had returned safe and sound.

Ling Jingshu’s heart was full of preoccupations, and she had no initial intention of saying anything. But seeing the look of genuine concern in Bai Yu’s eyes, she changed her mind for reasons she herself could not quite name: “The Crown Grandson is about to take a bride in grand matrimony. He expressed his wish that I overlook the matter of a primary wife’s standing and marry into the Crown Prince’s residence in future.”

Bai Yu: “…”

Ling Jingshu added calmly: “I have already declined him, in gentle terms.”

Bai Yu was left gaping, struck momentarily speechless.

No wonder the Crown Grandson’s expression had looked so wretched just now!

“Bai Yu, this matter is known only to you. No matter who asks, you must not breathe a word of it.” Ling Jingshu gave the instruction in earnest. “Even if A’Xiao asks, say nothing. I will manage him myself.”

Bai Yu finally came back to herself and nodded in reply: “Please be at ease, Miss. This servant will keep silent as a sealed vault.”

Ling Jingshu gathered her scattered thoughts, and when she appeared before everyone again, her expression was as composed and unhurried as it always was.

Ling Xiao had been sitting restlessly for half an hour, his anxiety having long since mounted to its peak. Hearing familiar footsteps, Ling Xiao instinctively rose and strode over: “A’Shu, are you all right? Is everything fine?”

Ling Jingshu smiled and reassured him: “Everything is fine. I am quite safe and sound, completely well!”

Her voice was steady, her face full of smiles — not the slightest wrongness to be detected. Not the faintest trace of anything out of the ordinary.

Yet Ling Xiao furrowed his brow. He lowered his voice: “For no apparent reason, what did the Crown Grandson summon you for? What did he say to you?”

Ling Jingxian and Jiang Rongyue also looked over, the concern and worry in their eyes plain for all to see.

Warmth bloomed in Ling Jingshu’s heart. Her voice grew a shade lighter: “Actually it was nothing of great importance. The Crown Grandson summoned me to ask about Prince Yan. I recounted the occasion on which I happened to encounter Prince Yan, and then the Crown Grandson let me return.”

“Just that?” Ling Jingxian looked genuinely puzzled. “Is the Crown Grandson so idle that he has nothing better to do? To summon you with such solemnity and ceremony, only to ask something so trivial?”

Ling Jingshu put on her most guileless expression: “Yes, I found it strange too! Such a small matter — hardly worth making a specific inquiry about.”

“Perhaps the Crown Grandson thought it somewhat unusual that Prince Yan paid a deliberate visit to the Crown Prince’s residence, and that is why he made a point of asking.” Jiang Rongyue offered her conjecture.

Anyone with eyes could see that the Crown Grandson and Prince Yan were far from amicable. That the Crown Grandson would press for the bottom of the matter on account of Prince Yan’s sudden appearance was, in truth, quite understandable.

Ling Xiao heard Jiang Rongyue’s words and felt they made considerable sense; the tension in him eased: “So it was for that reason. We have never had any dealings with Prince Yan. So long as you made things clear to the Crown Grandson, he ought to harbor no further suspicion.”

Ling Jingxian also nodded in agreement.

Ling Jingshu had smoothly glossed over the whole matter, and inwardly breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She smiled openly: “There. It is all over and done with. No need for anyone to worry any further. Let’s sit down and wait — Imperial Physician Wei should arrive before long.”

The words had barely left her mouth when footsteps sounded outside the door.

Shortly after, a slender young man’s figure appeared before them all.

His features were refined and handsome; his expression conveyed warmth tempered by a faint detachment.

It was Imperial Physician Wei.

Ling Jingshu rose at once, smiling: “We must trouble Imperial Physician Wei again.”

After several exchanges by now, the two were considerably more familiar with each other than before. What was more, Ling Jingshu’s manner was warm and her smile like a bloom in full flower — Imperial Physician Wei could hardly keep his face as cold as before, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly: “Ninth Young Miss Ling need not stand on ceremony.”

That faint, shallow smile was like a spring breeze across the face, or river ice beginning to thaw.

The fine, clear lines of his face seemed to radiate a pure and luminous glow.

They said a woman’s beauty could be her ruin. But in truth, when a man’s appearance was too exceptional — that too was not without its power to cause havoc.

This Imperial Physician Wei — how many women’s thoughts had he set stirring without knowing it, and yet he had sworn an oath never to take a wife for the rest of his life. One could only call him a man whose beauty was his own undoing.

Ling Jingshu mused inwardly with a touch of bemused sentiment, her gaze lingering on Imperial Physician Wei’s face a moment longer than intended.

Imperial Physician Wei, somewhat surprised, returned her gaze.

Their four eyes met briefly, then each looked away.

Imperial Physician Wei walked toward Ling Xiao, his steps slightly quicker than usual: “Young Master Ling, have you been taking the herbal decoction and applying the medicine on schedule these past few days?”

Ling Xiao smiled and answered: “Yes — the oral decoction three times a day, not once missed. The topical ointment changed once daily.” Without waiting for Imperial Physician Wei to ask further, he volunteered: “My spirits are considerably better than before; everything else I have not yet felt any change in.”

Imperial Physician Wei smiled gently and said: “Healing is not the work of a single day — there is no need to be impatient. That your spirits have surpassed what they were is already a good sign.” He paused, then added: “Today’s needling will target more acupoints on the head than on previous occasions, and it will also be more painful than usual. I ask that Young Master Ling bear with it.”

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Ling Jingshu.

It was quite clear that these words were not spoken for Ling Xiao’s ears alone.

Ling Xiao nodded.

Ling Jingshu immediately declared her position: “Imperial Physician Wei may proceed with the treatment without restraint. I will not make a sound to disturb you while I stand to one side.”

“One can only hope.” Imperial Physician Wei’s tone carried a faint note of teasing: “My only concern is that Ninth Young Miss, with her fierce protective instinct toward her brother, may see Young Master Ling in unbearable pain and feel it so keenly herself that she cannot hold back — and will come rushing forward.”

Ling Jingshu: “…”

With the precedent from before to her name, she truly had no grounds to refute this!

Ling Jingshu’s fair face flushed in a rare display of color, and she defended herself with what conviction she could muster: “The previous times, it was because I was not yet familiar with Imperial Physician Wei, and was also anxious about A’Xiao’s illness — that was why I ended up being so rash. Now that I am well aware of Imperial Physician Wei’s exceptional skill and medical virtue, I naturally will not be so careless again.”

She thought for a moment, then added: “If I do make a sound and disturb you, Imperial Physician Wei need not stand on ceremony — simply say the word and send me out.”

After all, it was not as though it had never happened before.

Even the composed and sharp-witted Ninth Young Miss of the Ling Family had moments when she was at a complete loss for words!

The amusement deepened in Imperial Physician Wei’s eyes, and his tone became, without his quite realizing it, lighter and more at ease: “I was only speaking in jest. Ninth Young Miss need not take it to heart.”

Ling Jingxian’s gaze darted back and forth between Ling Jingshu and Imperial Physician Wei’s faces in a few quick, searching turns.