Wei Linxia shook her head: “Anyway, they won’t eat what they pick themselves. We’ll just wait.”
Xi Linxuan glanced at her and then looked away.
Oh, right, this is the well-mannered daughter of the Wei family, who would never bounce around like other girls.
The four played for a while, not picking many lotus pods. When they returned, only Wei Fenzhì had one in his hand. He wondered, “The flowers have withered, but there’s only this one pod. Looking at the marks, it seems to have been just picked. I wonder which greedy servant got here first.”
“Whoever it was must be quite heavy to have broken the stone stake,” Xi Zhaoting said, subtly glancing at Wei Linxia, inwardly cursing. He had only been out early practicing martial arts when he encountered the unfortunate Wei Linxia, forcing him to drink a bowl of spicy ginger soup to ward off the cold.
Wei Linxia remained silent, sitting properly as if he wasn’t being criticized.
Soon it was noon, and after lunch, they were to return to the royal city. During casual conversation, Li Weiheng asked Wei Linxia, “Shen Bi sister, your face was so white this morning, why is it red now?”
“Probably from the sun,” Wei Linxia replied, feeling unwell, her head tight and her body alternating between cold and hot.
Wei Linxia ate her meal with a taste like chewing wax, nearly retching several times. After finishing, everyone returned to their rooms to pack. Yu Mo secretly checked her forehead and exclaimed, “Miss, you must have caught a fever from the morning chill.”
“Don’t make a fuss, we’re going back soon. Yu Mo, don’t tell my mother the truth later. Just say I caught a chill from staying out late by the water,” Wei Linxia instructed.
Back at the Wei residence, Wei Linxia could no longer hold on. She had a fever all night, getting up twice to take medicine. By morning, the fever had slightly subsided. Lady Wei came and scolded the servants before leaving. After she left, Wei Linxia called Yu Mo, who brought alcohol and cotton balls to apply to her dry, cracked lips. Wei Linxia then asked her to deliver the lotus pods to Xi Linxuan.
Yu Mo took the lotus pods to Xi Linxuan, who appeared listless, holding a book without turning a page.
