“Greetings to the Jieyu Consort. Greetings to Princess An Ya!” Ling Jingshu said with a smile, dipping into a graceful bow.

Wei Jieyu, her face wreathed in smiles, personally reached forward to help Ling Jingshu up. “There is no need for such formality, Miss Ling — please rise.”

Princess An Ya was smiling as well. “Yes, come and sit down so we can talk.”

When they had each taken their seats as host and guest, Wei Jieyu instructed the inner attendants and palace maids to withdraw. Only Xin Yun remained in the hall to serve tea, and they could all speak with more ease and freedom.

“Miss Ling, you and I are quite naturally drawn to one another. I am a few years older than you, so in the future, let me take the liberty of calling you Jingshu, shall I?” Wei Jieyu found herself growing fonder of Ling Jingshu the more she looked at her, and her words were warm and easy.

Ling Jingshu was a person who wore warmth on the outside while keeping cold within — she appeared gentle, yet was not easy to truly approach. But the graceful and kind Wei Jieyu quickly made her open her heart.

“Everyone at home calls me A’Shu,” Ling Jingshu said, her gaze sincere. “If the Consort does not mind, please call me that as well.”

Wei Jieyu smiled. “Very well, A’Shu it is then. ‘Jingshu’ — ‘a graceful young lady in her beauty’ — it is truly a fine name. Did your father give it to you?”

“In our generation of daughters within the Ling Family, we all take ‘Jing’ as our generation name. This name was given to me by my mother.”

Thinking of her mother who had died young, Ling Jingshu felt a pang of sadness. “My mother’s health had always been frail after giving birth to A’Xiao and me, and within a few years she passed away from illness. My father remarried a year after that, and his new wife later bore him a son. These years, A’Xiao and I have depended on each other and grown up together — our bond is extraordinarily deep.”

Without a birth mother’s protection, life within an inner household is always a little harder. She had been A’Xiao’s pillar and support — and he, in turn, had been no less hers.

Ling Jingshu’s words moved Wei Jieyu with a quiet grief.

She and Wei Yan had lost both parents early as well, and had depended on each other as siblings.

“A’Xiao had a fall at the age of eight. He was unconscious for several days, and when he woke, his sight was entirely gone. Over the years we invited many renowned physicians, but none could cure his eye ailment.”

Ling Jingshu gave a light sigh and continued: “Later, it was my cousin Yan Jie who mentioned Imperial Physician Wei, and the thought came to me. I persuaded my grandmother and father, and then brought A’Xiao to the capital. Looking back now, I am so glad I made the right decision that day. Imperial Physician Wei has treated A’Xiao with acupuncture for several months. The eye ailment has already shown improvement. In a few more months, he should be able to see the light again.”

“This great kindness and deep grace that Imperial Physician Wei has shown us — I truly do not know how to repay it.”

The gratitude in Ling Jingshu’s words was genuine, beyond any doubt.

Well, it is not so difficult to repay — offer yourself in marriage, and that would do nicely.

Wei Jieyu thought so secretly, but only smiled and said aloud: “A’Yan has studied medicine for many years. To be able to put his learning to use in healing the sick and saving lives is the thing that pleases him most and that he would most willingly do. You need not trouble yourself thinking about repayment. He wants for nothing in the Imperial Medical Academy — his food, clothing, and living are all provided for; he lacks nothing in the way of gold or silver.”

Only a wife.

Wei Jieyu added this thought silently, to herself.

Clever as Ling Jingshu was, she could not see into what Wei Jieyu was thinking. She smiled and followed on: “No matter what — this kindness is engraved upon my heart and will never be forgotten. One day, I shall do everything in my power to repay it.”

Wei Jieyu smiled. “Very well, since you have that intention, I will not stand in your way. Let us not speak of this any further — listening to you thank me over and over is making even me feel ill at ease.”

Princess An Ya asked with curious brightness: “I will be twelve by the end of the year. How old is Miss Ling?”

Ling Jingshu answered with a smile: “I am fourteen this year — two years older than Princess An Ya, as it turns out.”

Princess An Ya, without a second thought, said: “You are two years older than me — let me call you Shu Jie’er.”

Before Ling Jingshu could open her mouth, Wei Jieyu had already said with mild reproach: “An Ya! You and A’Shu are on the same generational footing. If you call A’Shu ‘sister,’ it will put her a whole generation below — and when she next sees A’Yan, how awkward would that be?”

An Ya, very obligingly, changed her manner of address: “Mother Consort is right. In that case, I will just call her Miss Ling.”

Ling Jingshu felt there was something more beneath Wei Jieyu’s words, and her cheeks warmed faintly.

Just as they were all chatting pleasantly, a palace maid suddenly came to report: “Reporting to the Jieyu Consort — a messenger from Jiaofu Palace has delivered word: Her Majesty the Empress requests that Miss Ling go to Jiaofu Palace at once.”

Everyone was startled.

Empress Xu was in the midst of her illness; she had even waived the morning greetings from the ladies of the various palaces. How could she suddenly take it into her mind to summon Ling Jingshu?

A swift calculation flashed through Wei Jieyu’s mind. She said with a composed smile: “Since Her Majesty the Empress has summoned her, then I shall accompany Miss Ling there.”

The palace maid cast a swift glance at Ling Jingshu, then reported again: “Her Majesty the Empress has specifically instructed that only Miss Ling be summoned. The Consort need not trouble herself with the journey.”

A slight change came over Wei Jieyu’s expression.

Why was the Empress summoning Ling Jingshu alone? No matter how she thought about it, something about this felt strange.

A chill passed through Ling Jingshu’s heart as well.

Empress Xu was not coming with good intentions.

And yet, no one could refuse a summons from the Empress. Even knowing that Empress Xu meant her no good, she had no choice but to go to Jiaofu Palace.

Ling Jingshu quickly steadied herself, and gave Wei Jieyu a calm smile. “Consort, please wait here a moment. I will go to Jiaofu Palace and return shortly.”

Wei Jieyu suppressed the anxiety in her heart and said in a low voice: “You must take great care.”

Ling Jingshu gave Wei Jieyu a reassuring smile. “Consort need not worry. I will come back safe and sound.”

Wei Jieyu forced a smile. Once Ling Jingshu had turned and walked away, the smile faded from her face.

Princess An Ya’s voice sounded beside her: “Mother Consort, Mother Empress is supposed to be ill and resting — why would she suddenly think to summon Miss Ling to Jiaofu Palace?”

Wei Jieyu was in a poor mood. She shot Princess An Ya a look. “Do not say such things.”

Princess An Ya pressed: “But everything I said is true — why can’t I say it?”

“At your age, do you still not understand that careless talk can bring disaster?” Wei Jieyu scolded her in a low voice, her brow furrowed.

Only then did Princess An Ya hold her tongue.

Outside Jiaofu Palace.

“Miss Ling, please wait a moment. Your servant will go in first and announce you.”

Ling Jingshu acknowledged this with a smile and waited in the covered walkway.

She waited a long while — long enough for her legs to grow sore — before the palace maid came back. “Miss Ling, please follow me in to pay your respects to Her Majesty.”

Ling Jingshu replied in an amiable tone: “Thank you for your trouble.”

Ling Jingshu tilted her head slightly downward and followed the palace maid into Jiaofu Palace. Very soon they reached the outer area of Empress Xu’s inner chambers.

A palace maid standing guard at the door announced in a raised voice: “Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress — Miss Ling has arrived.”

After a long pause, Empress Xu’s voice drifted lazily forth: “Let her in.”

Ling Jingshu, keeping her head slightly bowed, entered the inner chambers.

Inside the chambers, sandalwood incense was burning, mingling with the smell of medicine — a combination that unsettled the senses when it entered the nostrils. Ling Jingshu knelt respectfully and paid her respects: “Commoner Ling Jingshu greets Her Majesty the Empress. May Her Majesty’s honoured constitution soon return to full health.”

Empress Xu, half-lying and half-reclining against her bolster pillows, let her gaze fall with languid indifference upon the young girl before her.