“Your Highness, let’s continue practicing,” Wei Linxia suggested. Xi Linxuan rolled his wheelchair to the wax figure and grabbed the needle. Unexpectedly, he accidentally pricked his own hand. Though there was no blood, the eunuchs and palace maids turned pale. Soon, water, salt, and gauze were brought. Wei Linxia secretly clicked her tongue – what a princely demeanor, just from a slight needle prick.
“Take it away,” Xi Linxuan said, somewhat displeased.
Wei Linxia sensed something was off with him, perhaps he was feeling low about someone. On her way back to her room, she intended to pick some flowers but was called away by a maidservant from Madam Wei’s room. It concerned the thirteenth prince’s birthday. She recalled that he went to the palace last year, so shouldn’t he do the same this year? Madam Wei mentioned that the prince didn’t want to go.
A banquet with music and opera – wasn’t it always lively?
When she finished her conversation, Wei Linxia remembered the flowers, but it was already dinnertime, so she gave up.
The next day, Wei Linxia passed by the area, considering climbing the slope to pick flowers. Turning the corner, she was surprised to see Xi Linxuan standing by the slope, supporting himself on the swaying branches.
In this mansion, one might expect to see even a gatekeeper, but Xi Linxuan? She looked at his legs. He appeared to be standing straight. If not for the wheelchair behind him, no one would guess his legs were problematic.
Xi Linxuan was reaching for flowers, but despite being about the same height as Wei Fengzhi, he couldn’t tiptoe like her. His hand was a palm’s width away from the flowers, unable to get closer.
Perhaps due to the dappled sunlight, Wei Linxia felt that Xi Linxuan had a subtle warmth, unlike his usual distant demeanor, prompting her desire to help him.
Wei Linxia approached softly, calling out gently, “Your Highness?”
Xi Linxuan was startled by the sudden sound. Turning, he saw Wei Linxia, a head shorter, smiling at him. Feeling inexplicably annoyed, he said curtly, “What?”
“May I borrow your wheelchair, Your Highness?” Wei Linxia, in good spirits, ignored his tone.
“For what?” He glanced at the wheelchair, debating whether to sit.
Wei Linxia pointed to a cluster of flowers. “I wanted to pick these yesterday but couldn’t reach them. If I stand on the wheelchair, I definitely can.” Her face was illuminated by scattered sunlight.
Xi Linxuan, disapproving of her attempt, nodded after a moment.
Wei Linxia raised her eyebrows, asking him to help arrange some leaves neatly on the wheelchair. She then carefully lifted her skirt, stepped up, picked a cluster, and thought about picking more for Xi Linxuan’s room.
Carrying many branches, she spotted another large cluster higher up. Tiptoeing, she grew excited and forgot the wheelchair wasn’t stable.
As she jumped, Wei Linxia grabbed the flowers, but the wheelchair rolled back, causing her to lose balance and fall backward. Suddenly, she felt arms around her waist—strong enough to pull her back, but then she fell forward…
She landed on a warm body, her bouquet of flowers in front of her. Through the flowers, she saw a familiar face with a beautiful forehead, mountain-like eyebrows, star-like eyes, and a high nose bridge. He seemed more handsome than when he first arrived, Wei Linxia thought.
“Wei Linxia, you’ve crushed your flowers,” he said.
Realizing their predicament, her face turned as red as a sunset, and she struggled against his hold. “Your Highness, your arm!” she stammered.
When Xi Linxuan finally released her, she hurriedly stood up and ran away, leaving a few flower petals behind. Xi Linxuan tried to sit up but felt a small stone pressed against his waist, leaving him momentarily immobile. This place was rarely visited, so he decided to enjoy the sun for a while longer.
Looking at the sky, several clusters of pure white flowers caught Xi Linxuan’s eye, reminding him of Wei Lin’s round face with her willow-leaf eyebrows, almond eyes, and cherry mouth. Individually, her features weren’t particularly outstanding, but together, they were quite pleasant. She was a bit plumper than other girls, and he thought she was far from delicate.
“No wonder she’s so heavy,” Xi Linxuan murmured, enjoying the warm sunlight.
A rustling sound approached, but he was too lazy to turn his head. Only when it was close did he hear, “Your Highness!”
Xi Linxuan opened his eyes to see Wei Lin carefully placing the flowers on the ground, removing leaves from his wheelchair, and wiping the seat with a handkerchief. Her face was flushed, and he could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she assisted him.
“I’ll do it myself,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied, helping him stand, pushing the wheelchair behind him, and watching as he sat down. She then picked up the flowers and said, “Your Highness, it’s about time to return and practice.”
“Mm,” Xi Linxuan responded, slowly turning his wheelchair and catching a glimpse of Wei Lin walking beside him, seemingly glancing at him. Did she have a question?
“Did Your Highness hurt yourself?” she asked.
“No,” he answered.
“Why didn’t Your Highness bring any eunuchs today?”
“Wei Lin asked cautiously, glancing at his leg, wondering if he had come using a slope and tree branch like last time.
“Didn’t want them to bother me,” Xi Linxuan answered evasively.
Why did he suddenly come to pick flowers? Wei Lin thought. Couldn’t he just put them in a vase? This girl asked a lot of questions.
“Your Highness, today’s matter… just…”
“Today? What matter?” Xi Linxuan suddenly fixed his gaze on her.
“Nothing, nothing,” Wei Lin said. People in the palace were skilled at reading between the lines. They would never speak of things they shouldn’t hear, see, or say. But her heart raced, feeling embarrassed.
Originally, there was nothing, but because of what just happened, Wei Linxia’s expression became unnatural, wanting to hide her face behind the bouquet. Her demeanor caught the eye of Xi Zhaoting, who had been silent. He glanced at Xi Linxuan, noting that this strange prince could show moments of normalcy, even having the mind to pick flowers.
After this matter, Li Weiheng said, “The county princess said last time she saw Shen Bi’s sister inserting needles, it looked very good. Shen Bi’s sister, can you show me too?”
It turned out she wanted to see this.
Wei Linxia, aware that Xi Linxuan preferred fewer distractions, decided to fulfill the girls’ request swiftly. She inserted silver needles into various acupoints on her shoulder, arm, and hand, offering a brief explanation. Li Weiheng expressed enthusiasm and wanted to learn too, but Xi Linxuan’s displeasure prompted Xi Zhaoting to take the girls away, restoring peace.
As Wei Linxia removed the needles, she sensed Xi Linxuan’s sour mood. Unaware of his true feelings and believing he was still upset, she attempted to comfort him and suggested practicing. While observing the table, she noticed several flower arrangements, combining both fresh and empty bottles. She placed a few flowers in the bottles and, after some thought, stuck two withered flowers on a wax figure’s hand, creating an interesting visual with the red figure and white camellia.
Upon completing her task, she noticed Xi Linxuan watching her and he commented, “Boring.” After the class ended, Wei Linxia left, and Xi Linxuan surveyed the living room, now filled with bright, white flowers.
In the evening, with the lamp lit, Xi Linxuan struggled to focus on reading and sleep. He got up and approached the wax figure, noticing the flowers on its hand had wilted. He asked a palace maid to bring a fresh flower and instructed her to place it on the figure’s head, creating a strange contrast.
