With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

Upon hearing the sound, Lin Ci involuntarily took a step back, and the soft, yielding object on his heel was none other than the leopard cat's tail.

The leopard cat was hurt by being stepped on, and with a "meow," it puffed up its fur and jumped up, startling Lin Ci again. She shuddered, moved to the side, and in her panic, she lost her sense of direction and wandered around helplessly in circles.

Pei Jinxuan reached out and pulled her over, carefully holding her in his arms.

The leopard cat leaped out the window, knocking over several bottles and jars with a clattering sound; it was unclear what had broken.

"Stay where you are, I'll clean up," Pei Jinxuan said softly, carefully letting go of his hand.

The warmth that had enveloped Lin Ci suddenly dissipated, leaving her flustered and unsure of what to do with her hands. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but swallowed the words back. Just moments before, she had been telling Zhang Niang that she would learn to take care of herself, but with him by her side, she felt so vulnerable.

This is not like her.

Lin Ci gripped the bamboo stick in her hand and stood quietly in place, listening to Pei Jinxuan clean up the mess on the ground.

Pei Jinxuan was picking up the broken porcelain shards when she glanced at Lin Ci with some unease. It was during this moment of distraction that she felt a sharp pain in her fingertip, and a bead of blood welled up.

"Are you bleeding?" Lin Ci smelled a faint rusty odor and involuntarily took a half-inch toe forward.

"Don't move." Pei Jinxuan darted to her side and quickly picked up a shard of porcelain the size of a red bean from under her skirt. Before he landed, the wind from his clothes carried a faint scent of sandalwood, which gently brushed past her nose.

"Alright, it's all cleaned up." Pei Jinxuan smiled as she carefully gathered the broken porcelain bottles into a winnowing basket.

Lin Ci tapped the ground with a bamboo stick, slowly moving in his direction. Pei Jinxuan turned around and saw her struggling, so he reached out to guide her.

"No need, let me do it myself." Lin Ci gently pushed his hand away, still using the bamboo stick to tap the ground, and steadily walked to his side step by step.

Pei Jinxuan looked down at the bamboo stick and asked, "Where did this stick come from?"

"Zhang Niang found it for me; it's long and thin and easy to handle."

"Come on, let's go to the yard, I'll polish it a bit more for you." With that, Pei Jinxuan reached out and grasped the other end of the bamboo stick, leading her outside.

A slender bamboo stick, like the red thread of fate, was tied at one end to Pei Jinxuan's hand and at the other to Lin Ci's hand.

Lin Ci was led and guided by it, and the blurry halo in her eyes gradually brightened a bit. A shadow floated in the center of the halo, resembling Song Xuan, yet not quite Song Xuan.

The moment she pushed open the door, the fresh scent of rain mixed with spring mud rushed towards her. Lin Ci took a deep breath and smiled.

"Why didn't I realize how pleasant rainy days smelled before?"

"It rains a lot here in spring, you can enjoy the smells for a while." With that, Pei Jinxuan led her to sit on the veranda, took the bamboo stick from her hand, and took out a small dagger to carefully whittle it. The bamboo was already smooth, so there was not much to whittle, but he was worried that Lin Ci would feel uncomfortable holding it, so he whittled the bamboo joints flat inch by inch, and finally rubbed it with his own cheek.

Lin Ci leaned against the white wall, looking up at the sound of rain. After a moment, she asked softly, "How is Your Majesty?"

"Yes, since my brother took your medicine, his energy and spirit have improved a lot. These past few days, Imperial Physician Xu has been on duty in the palace; he's practically your apprentice now, so there's no need to worry."

Lin Ci nodded and smiled.

Pei Jinxuan added, "His Majesty is also concerned about your injury and has instructed me to take good care of you. If there's anything you want, just say so."

Lin Ci thought for a moment and said, "I want someone."

"Who?"

"It allows me to practice acupuncture."

Pei Jinxuan remained silent. He carefully wiped the bamboo stick with a handkerchief, blew away the bamboo shavings on his clothes, and then flicked them off with his hand.

"I'll do it."

He suddenly stood up.

Lin Ci felt a shadow loom over him.

Since someone had willingly come to her, she didn't stand on ceremony.

After noon, Lin Ci led Pei Jinxuan into the medicine hut in Liufang Garden.

This medicine hut was originally a woodshed. She asked Granny Qian to clear out a space, sweep it clean, and set up a small couch to serve as a place for acupuncture. In this season of fluctuating temperatures, a warm stove was essential. Lin Ci was worried that Pei Jinxuan would catch a cold, so she instructed Suwen and Siqi to add a few more stoves to make the small space warm and cozy before letting him in.

"Don't worry. I'll take your pulse first, and then I'll administer acupuncture according to your symptoms."

"Okay." Pei Jinxuan answered readily, and without another word, he went to untie his belt. Just as he pulled the belt off, Lin Ci stretched out her hand, palm outstretched, waiting quietly. Pei Jinxuan looked down at her palm and then placed the belt on it.

Lin Ci clenched her fist slightly and knew what she was holding. Her face flushed red, and she simply threw the belt back.

"I want your hand, not your personal items."

Pei Jinxuan: "..."

He obediently extended his hand.

Lin Ci placed three fingers on his wrist, holding her breath and concentrating on carefully discerning the pulse. Pei Jinxuan also quieted down, silently gazing at her face. Her eyebrows were like painted willow leaves, and her phoenix eyes were clear as water; even without the shimmering light, those eyes could still captivate his soul. What he disliked most were her lips; they were undeniably beautiful, yet relentlessly demanding, making him both love and hate them.

He was lost in thought when Lin Ci suddenly turned her head, her empty eyes staring straight in his direction. Pei Jinxuan's heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily looked away, turning his head to avoid her gaze.

"Why are you panicking?" Lin Ci asked softly.

Pei Jinxuan quickly withdrew his hand, feeling guilty.

"I... I'm afraid you'll notice some kind of chronic illness." He smiled, masking his momentary embarrassment.

Lin Ci assumed he was telling the truth and calmly replied, "There's no chronic illness. Your yang energy is a little too strong."

"Strong yang energy?" Pei Jinxuan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that perfect? ​​It can ward off evil spirits and suppress ghosts."

"An imbalance of Yin and Yang can lead to illness over time. Wherever the Qi is blocked, that area will not flow smoothly. Come, lie down. I know how to cure it."

Pei Jinxuan lay down as instructed.

"Take off your clothes first."

He had just lay down when he sprang up again and asked, "Where should I take my clothes off?"

"They're all off."

"Take your pants off too?"

"Um."

Pei Jinxuan felt a rush of heat to his head, and the tips of his ears instantly turned red. At his age, he had never undressed in front of anyone except his mother. But he was the Prince of Jing'an, a grandson of a prestigious family; which of these noble princes didn't have a beautiful woman by his side? Take the Prince of Liang, for example; he became a father at thirteen. If people knew that the Prince of Jing'an, barely twenty, was still a virgin, wouldn't they be ridiculed?

"Okay." Pei Jinxuan gritted his teeth, stripped himself completely naked, even removing his boots and socks, leaving him with only a pair of underpants. He hesitated for a long time over that small piece of fabric, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He lay back down on the small couch, his body taut like a long spear. He silently exhaled two short breaths and glanced sideways at Lin Ci's expression.

Lin Ci couldn't see him, so she groped around on the small table beside her. On the table were gold needles and medicinal wine. She first poured the medicinal wine into her palm, rubbed it carefully all over her fingers, and only when her fingertips were warm did she reach out towards Pei Jinxuan.

No matter how warm the wine was, it couldn't warm Pei Jinxuan's body. The moment Lin Ci's fingertips touched his skin, the slight coolness made him tremble and have an inappropriate reaction.