Chapter 10

Lin Ruzhen exclaimed, covering her mouth, and secretly complained: What is going on? I just drank the medicine the doctor prescribed to clear heat and detoxify, and I was already much better. Why is there a sudden, severe pain again?

"Zhen'er, what's wrong with you?"

Lin Ruzhen shook her head and said vaguely: "My mouth hurts; maybe I'm a bit overheated."

Dongfang Yan said: "My Wangfu has imperial-bestowed snow lotus, which is an excellent product for clearing heat and detoxifying; I will have someone send it to you later."

Lin Ruzhen nodded.

Dongfang Yan said with concern: "Zhen'er, your face is a bit pale; if you are still uncomfortable, go back to your room first."

"I'm not uncomfortable..." Lin Ruzhen still wanted to spend more time with Dongfang Yan and take the opportunity to badmouth Lin Qingyue, but before she could finish her sentence, another wave of stabbing, burning pain struck.

"Not uncomfortable" was also a lie.

Lin Ruzhen was in so much pain that she trembled, and she leaned into Dongfang Yan's arms.

"How can being overheated be so serious?" Dongfang Yan was also extremely nervous.

Lin Ruzhen was about to say something else, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a foul stench drifted out from her mouth.

Dongfang Yan subconsciously held his breath, and with a glance, he saw that Lin Ruzhen's mouth was full of sores of all sizes, one overlapping another, and some were even oozing pus.

Even though Dongfang Yan was well-informed, he was scared to the point of scalp-numbing, his spine stiffening.

"Where is your maid? Someone come, take good care of the Second Miss!" Dongfang Yan endured the nausea and pushed away the beauty in his arms.

"Since you are unwell today, rest well. This Prince will come to see you another day."

After saying this, he turned and left. His pace was hurried, just as it was when he arrived.

Lin Ruzhen did not understand why the Prince's attitude had changed so quickly.

She could never have imagined that Lin Qingyue had planted a curse called "Honesty" on her.

For a liar, the best way is to let the lie backfire on them.

One lie, one sore; the more lies, the more sores that fester. If it worsens to the end, it will be a mouth full of stench as soon as one opens it.

The only solution is "Honesty."

Unfortunately, for someone like Lin Ruzhen, who was used to the benefits brought by lies, she had long forgotten what "Honesty" meant.

Dongfang Yan walked hurriedly near the rockery and saw Lin Qingyue with a dogtail grass in her mouth, leaning lazily against a tree trunk. Her lips were curved in a smile, and she didn't know what she was laughing at.

"What are you doing here?" For some reason, her smile at this moment made Dongfang Yan feel very uncomfortable.

Lin Qingyue said with a smile: "This concubine is keeping watch for the Prince, so as not to let people see the Prince meeting his sister-in-law privately, which would be harmful to public morals."

She had originally thought that Dongfang Yan had deep feelings for Lin Ruzhen, but now it seems it was nothing more than that.

Dongfang Yan didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but being retorted by Lin Qingyue, he suddenly felt he couldn't save face, and explained defensively: "We met by chance, how can it be considered a private meeting? Let's return to the mansion!"

When Lin Ruzhen returned to her room and looked in the mirror, she was startled: when did so many more sores appear?

And the newly grown ones were even larger than the previous ones, almost covering half of her tongue, and it hurt to speak.

Fortunately, Dongfang Yan still valued Lin Ruzhen; although he left, he didn't forget to invite an imperial physician for her.

The one who came to diagnose was the head of the Imperial Hospital, whose medical skills were superb and who specifically treated the Emperor. If it weren't for the Prince's face, he wouldn't have been able to invite him at all.

After Li Yuanshi finished looking, he also felt strange. It is not uncommon for people to have mouth sores, but sores that appear so suddenly and grow so fast are truly unheard of!

"Yuanshi, can it be cured?" This is what Lin Xiao was most concerned about.

Li Yuanshi said: "This official will first write a prescription to treat mouth sores, and the Second Miss can try drinking the medicinal soup for three days. If it can be cured, it will naturally be a happy ending. If it cannot be cured, then we will have to look for other ways."

Lin Xiao asked: "What does looking for other ways mean?"

Li Yuanshi stroked his gray beard and said: "Perhaps it is poisoning, perhaps it is some special curse. However, these are not what this official is good at, so I dare not make rash comments."

After saying this, he wrote the prescription and took his medicine boy to say goodbye.

Lin Xiao naturally followed behind and diligently sent him out of the mansion.

When he turned back, he saw his son rushing out with a murderous look.

"Feng'er, what are you going to do?"

"Zhen'er's matter must have something to do with Lin Qingyue. Maybe it was during lunch that she secretly poisoned Zhen'er! This snake-hearted woman shouldn't have been allowed to return home!"

"I'm going to the Prince's mansion! The Prince cares so much about Zhen'er, he will definitely help Zhen'er make the decision!" Lin Rufeng said and was about to rush to the Prince's mansion in a hurry.

"You are not allowed to go!" Lin Xiao was more rational and stopped his son, "Don't make rash conclusions before the matter is clear."

He loved Lin Ruzhen, that's true, but the premise is that this daughter must have value. If the mouth sores never heal and her mouth is foul-smelling, let alone marrying the Prince, I'm afraid even ordinary noble children wouldn't dare to marry her!

"This matter, father will send someone to investigate clearly. If it really has something to do with Yue'er, then she must have a way to solve it. If it has nothing to do with her, even if you beat her to death, you won't be able to solve Zhen'er's suffering, and instead, you will make Yue'er hold a grudge. After all, we are a family, and the relationship shouldn't be made too stiff."

In the past, Lin Xiao hadn't paid much attention to Lin Qingyue, subconsciously thinking that she had returned from the countryside and couldn't be brought to the table.

Today, upon seeing her, he realized that her entire aura was completely different, and her relationship with the Prince didn't seem to be as fiery as he had expected.

"In short, you are not allowed to go to the Prince's mansion to make trouble, otherwise I will not spare you! If you are free, go to the Liu family and bring your wife back. Always running to her maiden home, it spreads that our Hou Mansion is harsh to our daughter-in-law."

Mentioning his wife Liu Shi, Lin Rufeng only felt more irritable.

A woman who can't lay eggs, he hasn't divorced her, which is already giving her face.

Today, he just slapped her in public, and she actually ran back to her maiden home.

She even refused to drink the secret medicine for having children that her mother had worked so hard to beg for.

Now she wants me to go and beg her to come back in a low voice; does she really think she is a golden branch and jade leaf?

It seems the previous beating wasn't hard enough.

Damn it!

When Lin Rufeng left the Hou Mansion, the sun was setting, and it was just getting late.

He was riding his horse, passing by Shuangyanxiang, and when he heard the faint sound of silk and bamboo coming from inside, his heart began to itch.

Recently, Lin Xiao had been controlling him tightly, and he hadn't been here to seek pleasure for a long time.

Yesterday, he heard that many new boys had arrived. Not only were there thirteen or fourteen-year-old, delicate and soft children, but there were also burly men who could wield spears and dance swords.

——In comparison, he preferred the latter.

"Forget it, let's go and have a good time first, then go to the Liu Mansion to pick someone up."

Anyway, his father-in-law and mother-in-law felt that their daughter couldn't bear children and owed Lin Rufeng. Every time they met, they fawned over him in every way.

Whenever the young couple had a conflict, regardless of right or wrong, Lin's father and mother forced their daughter to bow her head first, fearing that Lin Rufeng would divorce Liu Shi for the seven grounds of divorce.

By the time Lin Rufeng had passed through the spring breeze, holding his buttocks, and came out of Shuangyanxiang with a face full of satisfaction, it was already late at night.

In the distance, the sound of the watchman's clapper could be heard from afar.

Lin Rufeng frowned: "It's already midnight so quickly? I must go to the Liu Mansion quickly; if I don't go back tonight, it will be hard to answer to father."

Just as he was about to mount his horse, the horse was suddenly frightened, let out a long neigh, left its master behind, and ran away.

"Beast, come back!"

Lin Rufeng chased after it for a while, but didn't catch up with the horse, only to find that he had unknowingly arrived at a more remote alley.

"Damn it, when this young master goes back and recruits people to catch you, I will definitely dismantle your bones and peel your skin, and chop you into eight pieces!"

"Whoosh—" A cold wind blew, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply.

Lin Rufeng shivered, and he had an inexplicable feeling that something had been following him.

His gaze moved slightly downward, only to see another shadow slowly splitting from the shadow under his feet.

At first, the new shadow was thin and long, like a snake. But soon, it expanded, and even stretched out hands, feet, and a head...

"Ah—"

A desolate scream echoed in the night sky.