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

Pei Jinxuan set down his teacup, met Xuan Jing's empty eyes, and said calmly, "Today, you gentlemen are here to drink and admire the flowers, so let's not talk about anything else."

"What a pity." Xuanjing lowered his eyes, his fingers gently brushing the petals of the golden kingfisher. "This humble monk originally thought that if I could spar with this person, I would gladly present this pot of golden kingfishers as a gift. After all, a fine sword is given to a brave warrior, and a beautiful flower is paired with a skilled physician. This flower is somewhat wronged in my hands."

As soon as he finished speaking, the flower hall suddenly became quiet.

The golden kingfisher… Sun Huaiyi, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, only thought the flower was unusual. But when he heard Xuanjing mention the name of the flower, he suddenly remembered that it was the very medicine that the Imperial Medical Academy had been searching for a few days ago. He looked at Pei Jinxuan.

Pei Jinxuan remained gentle and refined, saying nothing.

The Prince of Liang slowly sipped his tea, his gaze sweeping over Pei Jinxuan's face before settling on Xuan Jing. He didn't say anything, but simply smiled and waited for a good show.

Xuan Jing kept his eyes downcast, and gently touched the petal with his finger, causing the dewdrop to slide down his fingertip.

"What does Your Highness think?" He raised his empty eyes and looked directly at Pei Jinxuan.

Pei Jinxuan tapped his hand lightly twice, hidden in his sleeve. "The weather is fine today, so why don't you all move to the garden to admire the plum blossoms?"

Everyone understood immediately.

Pei Jinxuan was probably protecting his own and wouldn't let the divine doctor show his face.

"In that case, please lead the way, my nephew." With that, the Prince of Liang stood up. The other three court officials also stood up, and just as they were about to move, they heard a clear, cold female voice.

"Since Master Xuanjing is so kind, then I shall respectfully accept his invitation."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. Lin Ci walked out from behind the screen. With willow-leaf eyebrows and phoenix eyes, her fair and radiant face was accentuated by her frost-colored jacket. She was like a plum blossom covered in frost, exuding a stubbornness amidst her aloofness.

Lin Ci stepped forward and bowed deeply to the crowd, saying, "Greetings, esteemed sirs."

As she spoke, she straightened her back, her gaze sweeping across Liang Wang's face, pausing for a moment on Xuan Jing's face, and finally settling on the potted golden kingfisher.

Lin Ci's appearance was entirely within Pei Jinxuan's expectations. He knew very well that she desperately wanted that potted golden kingfisher, and was willing to risk everything, even a desperate attempt.

Since that was the case, Pei Jinxuan would grant her wish. He smiled and introduced the physician to everyone in a very cooperative manner: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the physician I have invited."

King Liang nodded and smiled, "Gentlemen, you may not know this, but His Majesty has her take his pulse every day, and his health is improving day by day, comparable to Hua Tuo reborn. I'll offer you tea and wine, and toast you, my lady. Oh, by the way, I still don't know how to address you, my lady."

Lin Ci bowed slightly in return, saying, "My surname is Lin."

"What's your name?"

"Uncle, isn't it a bit impolite of you to keep asking about your wife? Lord Zhao from the Censorate is here; don't let him add another instance of your philandering to your record."

Pei Jinxuan gave a forced smile as he reminded him that he knew the Prince of Liang wanted to get the other person's name so as to leave an impression on the officials.

King Liang frankly said, "My dear nephew always teases me, but fortunately I am upright and honest. Even if Lord Zhao Duan were here, I would not be flustered at all."

As he spoke, everyone burst into laughter, making Xuan Jing, who was sitting upright in the chair, appear quite wooden.

"Lin Ci." Xuan Jing suddenly spoke, his ethereal voice cutting off the fake laughter. "This divine physician's surname is Lin, given name Ci. She is the disciple of the Ghost Hand of Medicine and also my junior sister."

Lin Ci paused slightly upon hearing his words, but she didn't expose his false identity in public. Instead, she smiled slightly, her lips curving upwards.

Upon hearing the name "Ghost Hand," the adults couldn't help but feel curious. After sizing up Lin Ci, they respectfully bowed and said, "Truly, a great teacher produces a great student. It is an honor to meet you today. Let us offer tea instead of wine to our lady."

Lin Ci returned the greeting with a bright and beautiful smile. She tilted her head back and drank the cup of tea, neither humble nor arrogant.

Then, she turned to look at Xuanjing and said, "Just now, the monk said that if he could defeat you, he would give you this flower?"

Xuanjing clasped his hands together and said, "This humble monk does not lie."

"Please, Venerable Master, give us the question."

Xuan Jing slightly raised his empty eyes, as if measuring the distance between them.

"How is the acupuncture?"

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Xuanjing is blind; how can acupuncture be performed on him? Wouldn't that be like giving Lin Ci a pot of golden kingfishers for nothing?

Lin Ci also sensed something strange and said frankly, "It's not that I don't want to accept, it's just that the mage is blind, so even if I win, it won't be honorable."

"Let's compare it to acupuncture." Xuanjing said firmly, "Please ask Prince Jing'an to prepare two dummy figures marked with acupuncture points."

Pei Jinxuan looked at Lin Ci, who nodded slightly in agreement. Then, Pei Jinxuan turned his head and instructed the steward to fetch two acupuncture puppets from Cheng'an Hall.

As he straightened his sleeves, King Liang teased, "Master Xuanjing is stubborn and likes to do things that ordinary people can't. Lady Lin, you'd better give him some leeway."

The three adults looked at each other, but none of them responded.

Lin Ci lowered her eyes, smiling but not answering.

Before long, four servants carried in two wooden puppets, each about half a person's height, carved from paulownia wood. They had all four limbs and joints, and their bodies were covered with countless tiny holes, each marked with the name of an acupoint in cinnabar. From Baihui to Yongquan, none were missed.

Xuanjing stood up, leaned on his monk's staff, and groped his way to the puppet. He slowly reached out his hand, his withered fingers gently brushing over the holes, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"That's it. Please prepare the gold needles as well."

Upon hearing this, Pei Jinxuan ordered someone to bring two rolls of cloth bags. When they were unfolded, they revealed thirty-six gold needles neatly arranged inside, each needle as fine as a cow's hair.

"The dolls and gold needles are all ready. How shall we proceed with the competition?"

"Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all thirty-six major acupoints must be needled. The one who finishes first and needles accurately wins."

This method is not difficult for people with eyes, but for Xuanjing it is like climbing to heaven.

Xuanjing calmly fumbled for a needle in the cloth bag, gently rubbed it between his fingertips, and aimed the needle tip at a small hole in the puppet's chest. "Light incense."

A servant brought over an incense burner, and wisps of smoke rose from it.

With a slight movement of Xuan Jing's wrist, the golden needle pierced the puppet's chest, leaving only a small inch of the needle's tail outside, trembling gently. It struck the center of the chest perfectly.

A few low gasps of surprise rippled through the hall.

Sun Huaiyi couldn't help but clap his hands: "The monk is blind, yet he hit the target with a single needle! His skill is divine!"

Xuanjing did not answer, but simply reached for the second needle. The movement was extremely calm, as if he were doing something very ordinary.

Lin Ci stood motionless. Only after Xuan Jing had inserted five needles did she slowly speak, "It is a hundred times more difficult for a monk to perform acupuncture while blind than for an ordinary person. If I were to compete with him while I could see, even if I won, it would be an unfair victory."

She raised her hand and untied a plain-colored handkerchief from her waist, folded it twice slowly, covered her eyes, and tied it in a knot at the back of her head.

The hall was completely silent.

Pei Jinxuan's hand, which was about to hold the teacup, hung in mid-air.

King Liang raised his thick eyebrows slightly, his gaze lingering on Lin Ci for a long time, and the corners of his lips curved slightly.

Xuanjing ignored him, reached into the cloth bag, twisted the needle, found the acupoint, and inserted the needle in one smooth motion.

His fingers seemed to have eyes, starting from Baihui (GV20) and moving down the Du meridian, each needle landing with extreme steadiness.

Lin Ci, blindfolded, slowly walked towards the puppet, straying a few steps off course. Even King Liang became worried for her and "kindly" reminded her, "Lady Lin, don't stray!"

Lin Ci smiled, groped around for a moment, and finally his fingertips touched the cold puppet.

She composed herself and silently recited each acupoint name before inserting a needle.

Her needlework was not as fast as Xuanjing's.

When the incense had burned down to one-third of its length, Xuanjing had already inserted seventeen needles, while Lin Ci was only on the twelfth.

Zhou Jin, Minister of Revenue, whispered to Zhao Duan of the Censorate, "He is blind after all. He practices every day and every moment. His hand skills are much better than those of the young lady."

Zhao Duan shook his head slightly, signaling him to be quiet.

Just then, Lin Ci suddenly increased her speed. Her hand slid from the puppet's back to its chest, traveling up along the Ren meridian. The needles fell almost continuously, like beads on an assembly line, one after another dropping into the holes.

Xuanjing seemed to have sensed something, and his hands moved a little faster.

When the incense was halfway burned, the two of them almost simultaneously finished needling the Du meridian and then moved on to the limbs.

Xuanjing goes left, Linci goes right.

As Xuanjing's fingers reached towards Quchi, Lin Ci's hand landed precisely on Zusanli.

The two needles were inserted into the acupoint at the same time and stopped at the same time, with the needle tips trembling three times simultaneously.

The incense has burned two-thirds of the way through, but the outcome is still undecided.

No one spoke in the hall except for the faint sound of the two people's fingertips stroking the puppets, like two silkworms gnawing on mulberry leaves.