It was not difficult for Ling Xiao to perform acupuncture every five days.

Even if he needed to come to Huichun Hall every day, he was ready for he had plenty of time at hand.

The key was that Imperial Physician Wei didn’t have the time!

The Emperor was getting older and his health was getting worse day by day, so he needed to be taken care of by the imperial doctor.

To take care of the Emperor at any time, Imperial Physician Wei normally lived in the palace. Going out of the palace on the first and fifteenth day of every month was specially authorized by the Emperor. If the Emperor became unwell, Imperial Physician Wei would focus on the Emperor’s dragon body and have no time to leave the palace.

Hence it was simply impossible for him to perform acupuncture once every five days!

Ling Jingshu frowned slightly and looked at Imperial Physician Wei, who was dressed in bamboo green cloth. Somehow, she suddenly thought of something that had nothing to do with the moment – she was also wearing a bamboo green dress today…

Ling Jingshu put this boring and ridiculous detail behind her and asked calmly: “Dr. Wei, normally, you have to be on duty in the palace. You have no time to leave the palace. I’m afraid it will be difficult to apply acupuncture once in five days.”

Dr. Wei nodded slightly.

Ling Jingshu thought for a while and then came up with a solution: “There are still several doctors sitting in the Huichun Hall. Otherwise, how about asking one of them who is skilled in medicine to perform acupuncture on behalf of Dr. Wei?”

“Unacceptable!” The Imperial Physician Wei rejected the proposal without hesitation: “Each person’s technique and strength in acupuncture are different. A slight deviation can lead to a huge mistake. Moreover, my acupuncture skills are unparalleled in the world, unmatched by anyone. No one can replace me in administering acupuncture.”

A matter-of-fact tone.

Ling Xiao: “…”

Ling Jingshu: “…”

Okay! He was a famous miracle doctor in the capital and had cured many difficult diseases. Even the Emperor favored him. He was indeed qualified to say that.

Ling Jingshu cleared her throat and asked, “What should we do now? No one can do acupuncture for you, and you can’t come to Huichun Hall every five days.”

“In that case, let’s administer acupuncture every two weeks,” Ling Xiao interjected, “Even if it slows down the pace of treatment, we can afford to spend a year or more on it. I can wait.”

Imperial Physician Wei frowned and said, “This is not just a matter of the speed of treatment. If the interval is too long, the effectiveness of the treatment will also be greatly reduced. Administering acupuncture every five days helps to promote blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis in your brain gradually. You’ll start to see results within three months. If we switch to every two weeks, the chances of recovery will decrease from 30% to less than 20%.”

Ling Xiao was speechless.

Ling Jingshu was agitated when she heard this, and her tone became a little more urgent: “Then what should we do?”

She only regretted that she was not qualified to enter and leave the palace! For Ah Xiao’s illness, she was also willing to enter the palace as a palace maid.

Imperial Physician Wei seemed to understand Ling Jingshu’s thoughts, and a rare hint of warmth flickered in his gentle eyes. “Don’t even think about entering the palace. The Emperor fell seriously ill several years ago and has since distanced himself from the harem. It has been years since any new concubines were selected. Even if they were to select new concubines, Ling Gongzi’s illness cannot wait that long.”

Ling Jingshu: “…”

Ling Jingshu couldn’t laugh or cry when she heard this, and subconsciously defended herself: “But I never thought about entering the palace.”

She was so beautiful and young, so it would be a pity to enter the palace to serve the Emperor who was nearly sixty years old.

This thought flashed through the mind of Imperial Physician Wei. But he didn’t say it. Just thought about it in his mind. It would be treacherous to say so.

“I have an idea.”

With just a few words, the helpless Ling Jingshu siblings all became excited and asked in unison: “What can we do?”

Imperial Physician Wei smiled faintly: “His Royal Highness is resting in the Prince’s Mansion in the Eastern Palace. Every five days, I will go to the Prince’s Mansion once to diagnose the Ping An pulse for His Highness. You two siblings can go to the Prince’s Mansion and wait. I have diagnosed His Highness the Prince’s pulse, then I can give Ling Gongzi acupuncture before returning to the Palace.”

Each acupuncture session only took about fifteen minutes. It wouldn’t delay his return to the Palace.

That was a good idea!

It was easier to enter the Crown Prince’s palace than the Royal Palace.

The issue was, how could they, as siblings, frequently visit the Crown Prince’s residence?

…

Ling Jingshu didn’t feel ashamed. She expressed this concern very calmly: “What Imperial Physician Wei said is indeed an excellent option. However, our siblings have never met His Highness the Crown Prince, and we have no contact with the Crown Prince’s house…”

No contact?

Imperial Doctor Wei raised his eyebrows, his lips seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and his expression was quite subtle: “Miss Ling came to the Huichun Hall with His Highness the Imperial Grandson’s name card. How come you have no contact with the Crown Prince’s house?”

Ling Jingshu: “… …”

The moment of embarrassment was fleeting.

Ling Jing calmly responded, “Imperial Physician Wei misunderstood. My brother and I encountered bandits on our way to the capital and were rescued by His Imperial Highness the Imperial Grandson. That’s how we came to know each other. We had no prior contact, and our status as siblings is ordinary; we are not qualified to interact with His Imperial Highness. The invitation card was obtained by my tangsao on behalf of Ling Xiao.”

After a pause, she added: “My tangsao is from the Jiang family, and is from the same family as His Highness the Imperial Grandson’s maternal family.”

What a cover-up explanation!

Imperial Doctor Wei twitched his lips and gave Ling Jingshu a meaningful look: “In that case, please ask your tangsao to go to the Prince’s Mansion to ask for a favor. It’s just a trivial matter, just borrowing a guest room in the Prince’s Mansion. The Imperial Grandson will never refuse such a trivial request.”

Those gentle and peaceful eyes suddenly became sharp.

It was as if he could instantly see through all the secret thoughts in her heart.

It was obviously not enough for a person who was highly favored by the Emperor to be able to rise in the palace just by being the brother of a Jieyu ^[1]a ranking of Concubines in the palace and having superb medical skills. This Imperial Physician Wei was indeed not as gentle and harmless as he appeared.

Ling Jingshu’s heart trembled, and she secretly felt vigilant. She said, “Thank you, Imperial Doctor Wei, for the advice. I will go to my tangsao later, and I only hope that His Highness the Imperial Grandson will agree.”

Imperial Physician Wei smiled: "His Highness the Imperial Grandson is kind-hearted, so I don’t expect him to refuse this small request.”

She wondered if she was overly concerned. She always felt that there was some subtle sarcasm when Imperial Physician Wei said the words “kindhearted”.

Thinking about it more carefully, Wei Jieyu was rescued by Empress Xu and later entered the palace and became a maid beside Empress Xu. Later, she was favored by the Emperor and received holy favor. ^[2]basically, the Emperor slept with her Wei Jieyu was a member of Empress Xu, and Imperial Physician Wei was Wei Jieyu’s younger brother, so he could also be considered a member of Empress Xu’s faction. He and the Imperial Grandson were obviously hostile parties.

It was common sense that his relationship with the Imperial Grandson was not harmonious.

Ling Jingshu’s mind raced, and she had already figured out the intricacies of the situation.

However, Imperial Physician Wei did not look at Ling Jingshu anymore, and ordered the medicine boy beside him: “Tiandong, bring my golden needle.”

This was to give Ling Xiao acupuncture.

Ling Jingshu immediately stopped all her thoughts and focused all her attention on Ling Xiao.

(To be continued.)