With golden needles in hand and his expression grave, Imperial Physician Wei’s gaze was focused and intent. He had long since mapped out in his mind exactly how the needles would be placed, and his hand was swift when he set them.

In short order, Ling Xiao’s head was once again full of golden needles.

As it turned out, Imperial Physician Wei had not been speaking in jest.

His words of “unbearable pain” had not been an exaggeration in the slightest.

Sharper and more searing than anything before — wave after wave of pain bore down on Ling Xiao. He struggled with great effort to hold back any sound of distress; his handsome face contorted somewhat, and cold sweat kept beading and trickling down his forehead.

Even so, Ling Xiao kept Imperial Physician Wei’s instruction firmly in mind. He could not move on his own accord during the needling. However fierce the stabbing pain, he held his body ramrod straight and did not dare shift.

Ling Jingshu watched, and her heart ached as though being squeezed.

Had it not been for Imperial Physician Wei’s jest-like reminder and warning beforehand, she would likely have been unable to restrain herself and would already have rushed forward to comfort Ling Xiao.

Imperial Physician Wei did not turn his head. Once all the needles had been placed, he said suddenly: “Young Master Ling has been perspiring all this while — Young Miss Ling, help wipe the sweat from Young Master Ling’s brow.”

Ling Jingshu received this as she would a decree, responding without a second thought. She stepped forward quickly, drew out her silk handkerchief, and with gentle, careful hands wiped the beads of sweat from Ling Xiao’s face.

After placing all the needles, Imperial Physician Wei quite naturally settled beside Ling Xiao. As Ling Jingshu wiped Ling Xiao’s perspiration, she inevitably drew somewhat closer to Imperial Physician Wei.

A faint, subtle fragrance drifted into Imperial Physician Wei’s senses.

Not the scent of face powder or cosmetics — but the light, natural fragrance of a young woman.

As a physician, observation, listening, inquiry, and touch were the most fundamental methods of diagnosis. Imperial Physician Wei had practiced medicine for many years, and his sense of smell was far keener than that of an ordinary person. That thread of fragrance drifted toward him in an unhurried, lingering way…

A flicker of something unusual crossed Imperial Physician Wei’s face. To rise and put distance between them at this moment would be conspicuous in the extreme.

And so Imperial Physician Wei had no choice but to remain seated composedly, continuing to be wreathed in that faint, delicate fragrance.

Ling Jingshu, her heart entirely occupied with worry for Ling Xiao, had no attention to spare for any of this.

“A’Xiao, does it hurt terribly?” Ling Jingshu’s eyes were brimming with tenderness and heartache.

Ling Xiao was clearly in agony, yet he forced out a smile: “It’s nothing — only a little pain. I can bear it.”

Those two short sentences — and more sweat was already pearling across his forehead!

A sting rose in Ling Jingshu’s nose; her eyes grew warm: “All right. Don’t speak anymore.” She said nothing more, only lifted the handkerchief in her hand and silently wiped the sweat from A’Xiao’s brow.

Those bright, clear eyes of hers had grown faintly misted with a thin sheen of moisture, as though tears might spill at any moment — yet they stubbornly, resolutely never fell.

A distant memory surfaced in Imperial Physician Wei’s mind.

“Elder Sister, please don’t enter the palace! I don’t want you to go!” The ten-year-old boy clung tightly to his elder sister’s hand, sobbing out his pleas through choked tears.

His elder sister’s eyes held unshed tears. She wiped the tears from his face with her handkerchief and said softly: “A’Yan, Sister is loath to part with you as well. But Sister has no choice… From now on, you must take good care of yourself. The two of us — we will surely have a day of reunion…”

That was the first time in his life he had understood what it meant to feel that death would be a mercy — what it meant to be utterly powerless.

He could only watch helplessly as the elder sister who was his entire world departed.

The final scene before they parted — he had never forgotten it all these years. He would always remember the look in his elder sister’s eyes as she left. Full of remorse, heartache, and tender reluctance — tears rolling in her eyes — yet they had never fallen.

Ling Jingshu was like his elder sister from those long-ago years. Seemingly fragile on the outside, yet in truth possessing a tenacity and strength of steel.

The heart that had lain as still and dry as a sealed well for so many years gave a quiet, trembling stir.

Imperial Physician Wei steadied himself, pressing that flicker of something unusual deep down into his heart, and opened his mouth to speak: “There is still roughly a quarter of an hour remaining. Young Master Ling, please bear with it a moment longer. Do not move about, and do not speak further. The head contains the most numerous and most critical acupoints in the body — there is no room for the slightest lapse or error. Young Master Ling’s emotions are somewhat unsettled at present; it would be best to keep a calm and tranquil mind.”

He paused, then looked toward Ling Jingshu:

“I can understand Ninth Young Miss’s compassion for her younger brother. However, this measure of pain is unavoidable in treating the eye condition. Ninth Young Miss need not grieve so deeply.”

His tone had shed the thin, distant quality of their first meeting, and his voice was warm and low.

Ling Jingshu had not expected Imperial Physician Wei to offer her words of comfort. She was momentarily taken aback, and on instinct, she raised her eyes.

Then she found herself looking into a pair of calm and fathomless eyes.

Those eyes were like the depths of a still pool — serene on the surface, yet immeasurably deep beneath, with hidden currents moving silently within. It was as if an invisible magnetic force held her gaze locked, unable to look away…

As their four eyes met, something in each of them wavered.

A faint warmth rose in Ling Jingshu’s face; she quickly averted her gaze.

Imperial Physician Wei, too, felt a slight awkwardness, and he cleared his throat: “Ninth Young Miss, please stand a little to one side.”

Only now did Ling Jingshu realize how close she had been standing to Imperial Physician Wei. The flush that had bloomed on her fair face drained away in an instant; without a second thought, she moved to one side.

She was so unwilling to be near him?

A faint discomfort stirred within Imperial Physician Wei — though he did not let it show. He turned once more to Ling Xiao and said: “If Young Master Ling finds the pain difficult to endure, it may help to think of more cheerful things from daily life and divert your attention.”

Ling Xiao made a sound of assent, straining to ignore the stabbing pain radiating from his head, and let his thoughts wander freely.

He thought of how in a few months’ time his eyes might be restored to the light — thought of how in future he could read and practice calligraphy like other young men, thought of how from then on he would no longer be a burden weighing on A’Shu…

Ling Xiao’s lips curved, and his spirits lifted considerably.

Meanwhile, Ling JIngyan and Jiang Rongyue were exchanging glances, communicating with their eyes.

Sister-in-law, did you just see that — the tone of voice Imperial Physician Wei used when speaking to A’Shu was so gentle.

Of course I saw it. And not only that — the way A’Shu looked at Imperial Physician Wei just now was very focused as well.

So does that mean A’Shu has no particular feelings for the Crown Grandson because the person she actually has her heart set on is Imperial Physician Wei?

That’s hard to say. A’Shu is careful and tight-lipped about her thoughts; nobody can know what she’s truly thinking in her heart…

Ling Jingshu came back to herself. She turned her head — and saw Ling JIngyan making all manner of exaggerated faces and gestures at Jiang Rongyue. She couldn’t help but feel both exasperated and amused. She deliberately crept over softly, then suddenly spoke aloud: “Cousin Xian, what are the two of you doing?”

Ling JIngyan and Jiang Rongyue were caught completely off guard, and without exception both jumped in fright, then answered in the same breath: “Nothing at all.”

Ling Jingshu cast a suspicious look between the two of them: “But I saw you both making faces at each other the whole time.”

Ling JIngyan, her conscience pricking, shot a desperate plea for rescue at Jiang Rongyue.

Jiang Rongyue, being a few years older, steadied herself quickly, and replied with easy nonchalance: “Didn’t Imperial Physician Wei say just now that A’Xiao must maintain a calm and peaceful mind, and that his emotions should not be stirred? A’Nian and I didn’t dare make a sound, for fear of unsettling A’Xiao. The faces we were making just now were just for fun — to pass the time.” She said, then deliberately turned it back with a teasing quip: “Look at you — I was only playing around with A’Nian, and yet you’ve gone all tense about it. Are you afraid A’Nian and I were saying something about you?”

Ling Jingshu: “…”