Wei Linxia explained her reasoning, and the Huo King, impressed by her boldness, granted her two more years to practice before treating Concubine Ren.
The empress dowager ordered a palace maid to fetch a shell necklace, claiming it was picked up from the far western seaside and could hear the sound of sea winds. There were nine strands in total: eight for the princesses and one for Wei Linxia. The beautiful necklace emitted a delicate tinkling sound when moved. Although Wei Linxia wanted to keep it, the empress dowager instructed her to remove the qilin necklace and wear this one instead, as it matched her clothes better.
Where could she find the qilin necklace? Wei Linxia felt anxious and glanced at Xi Zhaoting, her eyes revealing a rare plea, which made him recall her white dress on the mountain that day.
“Huh? Where’s the qilin?” the empress dowager asked.
Wei Linxia quietly swallowed, deciding to fabricate an excuse about having removed it last night in a hurry for an audience with the King of Huo.
“Could it be lost? Last time you said the string was loose, what about now?” The empress dowager had an excellent memory.
“Your Majesty, I borrowed her qilin to make a replica,” Xi Zhaoting said.
Wei Linxia gave him a grateful glance, appreciative that the crown prince still had some conscience.
The empress dowager’s gaze sharpened: “Replicate? Why? For whom?”
“Just thought the shape was nice, made a replica to play with. I plan to return the qilin to Miss Wei soon,” Xi Zhaoting replied.
“Good, bring the replica for me to see. And don’t send around replicated items, or people will say our palace has only imitations,” the empress dowager said, to which Xi Zhaoting agreed.
Eunuch Wei Linxia had disappeared from the courtyard gate when Xi Linxuan turned back, scolding, “The water should have been boiled by now, so slow! Can’t do anything right. Idiot.”
As Wei Linxia passed through the garden, she encountered Wei Fengzhi, who lay across a wisteria chair like a corpse. Wei Fengzhi said, “Oh, so you want to roast little pig’s trotters?” Ignoring him, Wei Linxia continued walking. Suddenly, Wei Fengzhi jumped up, asking her to return the sword manual. Wei Linxia stopped, raised an eyebrow, and replied, “Okay, do you have any discomfort lately that I can needle?” Wei Fengzhi sighed and said, “Then I’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
“Your Highness, I believe finding an acupuncture master within the kingdom would be reliable,” Wei Linxia said, noting Xi Linxuan’s attitude often suggested he was content with his current situation.
“No,” Xi Linxuan replied, slightly curling his mouth. Had the Wei family’s young lady finally given up?
“But if Your Highness maintains this attitude, the day you master this skill is still far away,” Wei Linxia replied.
“Isn’t there still a wheelchair?” he asked carelessly.
“Does Your Highness want to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life?” Wei Linxia maintained a calm tone.
“It’s uncertain it can be cured. If it’s just false hope, I’d rather stay like this,” Xi Linxuan said.
“How can Your Highness know it’s false hope without trying?” Wei Linxia’s voice slightly raised.
Xi Linxuan looked her in the eye and said word by word: “If you guarantee you can cure me, I’ll try my best.”
Wei Linxia was stunned. Master Xu never claimed he could cure him, and she had only performed acupuncture on minor ailments. How could she make such a promise?
“Well?”
“I cannot guarantee, but I will try my best,” Wei Linxia said, her voice lacking confidence yet firm.
Xi Linxuan looked at her, her cheeks slightly flushed, perhaps from excitement or the heat.
Her eyes were wide open, her lips pursed, and her hands clenched into fists. Why did this Wei family young lady take things so seriously? Couldn’t she just get by day by day? Running to the clinic to practice, truly a stubborn one.
“I have no confidence in you,” Xi Linxuan said, noticing Wei Linxia’s brow furrow. Whenever he provoked her, she would get angry and then suppress it.
“Your Highness’s lack of confidence in Wei Linxia doesn’t matter, as long as you have confidence in yourself and Master Xu,” Wei Linxia replied, wanting to punch Xi Linxuan. Every time he spoke like this, she wished she could fearlessly retaliate.
However, her anger dissipated when she thought of the lively Wei Feng Zhi and Xi Zhao Ting, then looked at Xi Linxuan, who only stayed in his small courtyard day after day. Who would willingly endure others’ scrutiny if not absolutely necessary?
Forget it. She’ll just consider it completing Master Xu’s last wish. Today seemed like a wasted trip for Wei Linxia.
Who would have thought that Xi Linxuan would find the right positions and, when inserting needles, display a careful and gentle approach, akin to her acupuncture technique in the clinic?
Wei Linxia was puzzled. If Xi Linxuan had made such rapid progress, it would be akin to the legendary Jiang Lang receiving a five-colored brush in a dream—a mere rumor that Wei Linxia did not believe. The only plausible explanation was that Xi Linxuan had been provoking her anxiety all along. She understood why Xi Linxuan had been sent to a vassal state for over a year; with such a temperament, an ordinary person would have faced countless cold shoulders or worse.
Unable to express her frustration, Wei Linxia feigned surprise and praised Xi Linxuan: “Your Highness has made rapid progress. It seems you can now learn prescriptions and be ready to insert needles in a few days.”
“Teacher Wei has taught well,” Xi Linxuan responded.
“No, it is Your Highness’s exceptional talent. I dare not take credit. I’ll go back and bring the prescriptions. I believe Your Highness will be able to recite them tomorrow,” Wei Linxia replied.
Xi Linxuan held a needle, looking left and right at the wax figure before gently inserting it, saying, “Xuanzhong.”
Wei Linxia glanced over; it was clearly the Xiexi acupoint. She knew Xi Linxuan was pretending again, so she ignored it. She mentioned that she would have a maid bring the prescriptions, as she felt a headache from walking too much at noon, and requested His Highness’s understanding.
On the fourth day, during a study session, Wei Linxia was not home. Upon her return, she changed to pay respects to her mother just as the study session ended. Only four people were present: Xi Zhaoting and Li Weiheng in front, with Wei Fengzhi and Yan Junzhu behind them. When Li Weiheng spotted her, Wei Linxia had to stop and engage. Suddenly, Li Weiheng said something puzzling.
“Sister Chenbi, when I went to your room, I saw a person behind the curtain, wearing red clothes, about this tall,” Li Weiheng remarked, raising her hand to indicate the height, similar to Xi Zhaoting.
Such a tall maidservant was rare. The other three looked at Wei Linxia sharply.
“It’s nothing. The prince needs treatment for his leg condition, and I wasn’t confident, so I had a wooden figure made to practice on.”
It was just waxed yesterday and couldn’t be moved, so it was left there,” Wei Linxia said.
“You didn’t even look carefully and just talked nonsense. I thought you were hiding a man,” Yan Junzhu retorted, speaking without restraint.
Wei Linxia, annoyed but composed, responded, “Your Highness is joking. I need to pay respects to my mother, so I’ll take my leave.”
The remaining four exchanged glances. Li Weiheng mumbled, “I was in a hurry, and when I found out Sister Chenbi wasn’t there, I just glanced from a distance, it wasn’t intentional.”
Wei Fengzhi yawned and smiled, “Chenbi knows your anxious nature, so she won’t blame you,” though his tone was displeased.
Wei Linxia ordered the eunuch to carry the waxed wooden figure to Xi Linxuan’s room. Facing the expressionless “object,” Xi Linxuan was slightly stunned. Was this her new idea?
