After the midday meal was finished, Wei Jieyu smiled at Princess An Ya and said: “An Ya, your body is not yet fully recovered — go back to your chambers and rest.”
Princess An Ya tugged at Wei Jieyu’s sleeve and made her plea with a pout: “Mother Consort, I’ve been confined to my bedchamber for a whole month and I’m nearly bored to death. Seeing as Uncle is here today too, won’t you let me stay and chat for a while?”
Wei Jieyu gave in almost immediately: “Oh very well, if you want to stay, then stay.” She then gave Wei Yan a helpless smile. “Look at An Ya — she’s nearly twelve after the new year, almost a young woman, and yet she still acts like a child every time she opens her mouth. As though she’ll never grow up — always giving me more and more to worry about.”
Princess An Ya made an impish face.
Wei Yan couldn’t help but laugh. The look in his eyes as he regarded Princess An Ya was both tender and indulgent. “As long as the Princess is happy, that is all that matters.”
Those dark and vexing things — he and his elder sister would shoulder them. There was no need for An Ya to know.
Wei Jieyu caught the meaning beneath Wei Yan’s words and, smiling, exhaled a soft sigh. “Yes. My only wish is that An Ya be cheerful and content every single day.”
This life of hers had been spent confined within this splendid cage — and she had even implicated Wei Yan, dragging him into a quagmire from which he could not extricate himself. Her sole desire now was that An Ya live a life of peace and happiness, and that Wei Yan soon take a wife and have children to carry on the Wei Family line. If those things came to pass, she would have nothing more to ask for in this life.
With that in mind, Wei Jieyu could not resist launching once more into her familiar refrain: “A’Yan, after the new year you will be twenty-five. You cannot go on this way, living alone — every day in the Imperial Medical Academy, with no one around who knows your warmth from your chill to care for you. How can that do?”
Wei Yan replied with unblinking seriousness: “I have Tian Dong with me — there is nothing for Consort to worry about.”
Wei Jieyu stared at him with mingled exasperation and amusement and rolled her eyes. “Do not try to dodge the matter. I am telling you to take a wife and be quick about it. Tian Dong can only wait upon your clothing and meals — he cannot bear you children and be your companion for life, now can he?”
Even with his mind full of troubles, Wei Yan could not help but be amused.
Princess An Ya chimed in with a grin: “Uncle, have you already found someone your heart is set on?”
An image of a young girl flashed through Wei Yan’s mind. He said, his tone light: “I have not.”
“Truly not?” Princess An Ya leaned forward, her eyes bright and curious. “Then what of Miss Ling? Do you not like her?”
Wei Yan: “…”
Faced with An Ya’s clear, unwavering eyes, Wei Yan found himself at a loss for words.
Wei Jieyu was secretly delighted. But she admonished aloud: “An Ya, do not speak recklessly. Miss Ling is the person who saved your life. She is also a proper young lady still unmarried. Your uncle treats Miss Ling’s brother for his ailment — that is the only reason he and Miss Ling have met a few times. If such talk were to spread, it would be harmful to Miss Ling’s reputation as a young lady.”
Princess An Ya was not the least bit bothered at being scolded, and stuck out her tongue with a playful air.
Wei Jieyu then looked at Wei Yan with a warm smile and asked in a gentle tone: “A’Yan, though An Ya’s words just now were a little rash, there was some sense to them. Miss Ling is extraordinarily intelligent, remarkably beautiful, and of good family — a truly worthy match. If you have feelings for her, I will have someone call upon her household with a proposal…”
“Consort has misunderstood.” Wei Yan cut Wei Jieyu off, somewhat ill at ease. “I have only met Miss Ling a few times; we have barely exchanged more than a handful of words. I truly harbour no other feelings toward her whatsoever. If you happen to see her in future, please do not breathe a word of any of this.”
If he truly had not a single thought about her — as he himself claimed — then why would he be flustered and flushed?
Wei Jieyu laughed inwardly, and followed along with his words: “Very well, since you say so, I shall not bring it up again. Speaking of Miss Ling — I have not seen her for some days now. Her Majesty the Empress has also reminded me to invite her to the palace to chat more often. I was thinking of summoning her to the palace the day after tomorrow. What do you think?”
Wei Yan cleared his throat. “Everything is at Consort’s discretion.”
A gleam of amusement passed through Wei Jieyu’s eyes. “Good. Then I will send word to the Ling Family tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow, I plan to keep Miss Ling here in Lingbo Palace for the midday meal. If you happen to have some free time, you might come and dine with us.”
Wei Yan felt as though the most private secret of his heart had been seen straight through by Wei Jieyu. He turned away in slight embarrassment and gave a vague reply: “I cannot say for certain right now whether I will be free. Let’s see when the day comes.”
Wei Jieyu broke into a knowing smile. “Very well, very well. Whatever you like.”
And he still says he has no such feelings for her! He is certainly stubborn-mouthed about it.
Two days later.
Ling Jingshu rode a carriage into the palace once more. Compared to the anxious nerves of her first visit, her state of mind this time was considerably more settled. Bai Yu and Qiao Yun walked one on each side of her.
Xin Yun glanced at Qiao Yun, and said with a smile: “I recall that the last time Miss Ling entered the palace, she only brought Bai Yu. This maidservant looks unfamiliar.”
Ling Jingshu smiled and gave a brief account of Qiao Yun’s background without any particular thought.
Xin Yun cast a discreet look at Qiao Yun a few times. Seeing that she kept a respectful expression and appeared honest and well-mannered, Xin Yun let the matter rest.
Ling Jingshu ventured to probe: “Miss Xin Yun, is there something particular that the Jieyu wishes to see me about this visit?”
“Not at all,” Xin Yun replied with a smile. “The Consort simply felt restless and bored. Summoning Miss Ling to the palace is purely for the pleasure of company and conversation.”
Ling Jingshu then asked, as if the thought had only just occurred to her: “I wonder whether I shall have the honour of paying my respects to Her Majesty the Empress during this visit.”
Xin Yun suspected nothing and replied casually: “Her Majesty the Empress has not been feeling well of late and is in seclusion at Jiaofu Palace to recover. Even the morning greetings from the ladies of the various palaces have been waived. Even if she were to learn of Miss Ling’s visit, she would most likely not summon her.”
Empress Xu was ill?
Something stirred in Ling Jingshu’s heart. A look of concern passed across her face. “Is Her Majesty’s illness serious? And which imperial physician has been attending to her?”
Xin Yun answered: “Her Majesty the Empress has always had this old condition — whenever she catches a slight chill, her stomach and digestion are weakened as well. She always needs a few days before she recovers.”
She paused, then smiled again: “The one attending to Her Majesty the Empress is naturally Imperial Physician Wei. Over these past years, Imperial Physician Wei’s standing in the palace has grown ever higher — he now attends personally to the pulse of both His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress. An ordinary consort who falls ill does not presume to summon Imperial Physician Wei so freely.”
Imperial Physician Wei was Wei Jieyu’s younger brother, so Wei Physician Wei’s favour in the palace brought glory to Wei Jieyu as well.
Xin Yun was Wei Jieyu’s trusted attendant. In speaking of Imperial Physician Wei, she could not help but carry a note of pride.
Ling Jingshu pulled her lips into a smile, yet that smile did not reach her eyes. “Imperial Physician Wei is indeed extraordinarily skilled — it is no wonder that both His Majesty and Her Majesty hold him in such esteem and value him so highly.”
Had she been unaware of the underlying circumstances, she would perhaps have felt genuine gladness for Imperial Physician Wei.
But knowing as she did the shameless desires that Empress Xu harboured — and picturing the scene each time Empress Xu summoned Imperial Physician Wei — something indescribably suffocating welled up in her chest. And with it, a disquiet and anxiety that she could not quite name.
Ling Jingshu drew a slow, deep breath and pressed down the tangled, restless thoughts surging through her mind.