He glanced at her and replied, “I’ve been at this for two days, too lazy to remove them.” She realized she shouldn’t have praised him.
Looking carefully at the needles again, Wei Linxia praised, “Your Highness’s needles are getting more accurate. Only eleven positions are slightly off.”
“Hmm,” Xi Linxuan responded, watching her insert acupuncture needles and discuss the prescription. It was summer, and Wei Linxia wore a gauze dress, simple with light crimson embroidered flowers. He noticed the neckline was clean, devoid of embellishments that might have made her outfit vulgar; she had good taste.
“Does Your Highness remember?” Wei Linxia asked, slightly annoyed by his distraction.
“I don’t know,” Xi Linxuan replied. Wei Linxia removed all the silver needles for him to practice again. A palace maid brought chilled melon and retreated. “Sent from the palace. I don’t like it; you can eat it,” he said.
“Wei Linxia also doesn’t particularly like it,” she responded.
Xi Linxuan regarded her with a knowing expression before turning away.
“What do you mean, Your Highness?” Wei Linxia asked.
“Nothing,” Xi Linxuan curtly replied.
After standing for a while, Wei Linxia felt tired and sat down, watching Xi Linxuan insert needles. The cicadas outside were irritating, but the warm breeze and sweet fragrance in the room made her drowsy. She struggled to stay awake, sitting upright with her head slightly lowered—a posture learned from being punished by Master Wei during her mischievous childhood.
Xi Linxuan continued inserting needles, glanced at Wei Linxia, and smiled. After a while, seeing she hadn’t awakened, a mischievous thought crossed his mind.
“What is the matter, Princess?” Xi Linxuan interrupted, questioning if they considered him nonexistent and were about to chat about family matters.
“Ah? Oh! I forgot.” The Princess of Yan answered casually and ran back to ask her maidservant.
Wei Linxia slowly pulled the needle from her hand and handed it to Xi Linxuan. “Your Highness, do you know I have tinnitus, so you want to treat me with acupuncture?”
“No,” Xi Linxuan replied, his gaze falling on the plate on the small table. “I just suddenly wanted to taste the melon.”
This is what they call changing one’s mind, Wei Linxia thought.
