Chapter 14

"Lin Qingyue, what on earth have you done to Zhen'er!" Dongfang Yan was furious at this moment.

No wonder Zhen'er looked so unwell yesterday; it turned out that this woman, Lin Qingyue, was playing tricks behind the scenes!

He had foolishly thought that after marrying into the Wangfu, she had tempered her character, and he had even begun to feel a faint sense of affection for her.

He never expected her to be so vicious still. Her true nature was indeed hard to change!

Lin Qingyue blew the non-existent dust off her fingernails and said, "It's nothing much, I just planted an 'Honest Curse' on her."

"If this curse is planted on an honest and kind person, it will cause no harm. But if it is planted on someone who tells lies constantly, then every time she tells a lie, a foul sore will grow on her tongue."

"You actually used a curse!" In his anger, Dongfang Yan didn't care if there were outsiders present. With a "clang," he drew his sword and pointed it coldly at Lin Qingyue.

"Speak, how can the curse be broken?"

The icy gleam of the sword, reflecting Dongfang Yan's heartless face, looked exceptionally cold.

"It cannot be broken." Lin Qingyue shrugged, her expression indifferent.

"Lin Qingyue, do not test my patience!"

Dongfang Yan felt a pang of heartache thinking of how Lin Ruzhen had trembled in pain and wept in his arms; he had naively thought she was just ill.

He never imagined it was a curse planted by Lin Qingyue!

How vicious!

He also thought about how he had been bewitched by Lin Qingyue last night. Today, he had even gone out of his way to the Treasure Pavilion to carefully select an emerald-carved hairpin for her, and he felt a sense of betrayal toward Zhen'er.

"I will ask one more time, how can it be broken?"

"I said, it cannot be broken."

"Do you truly think I dare not kill you?"

As he spoke, the long sword drew closer. Just as it was about to pierce Lin Qingyue, a sharp cat's cry was heard: "Meow—"

The tabby cat leaped high and swiped its paw. Three bloody scratches instantly appeared on the back of Dongfang Yan's hand, causing his sword-wielding hand to tremble.

Lin Qingyue seized the opening and struck; with a grab and a snatch, the sword was in her hand in the blink of an eye.

The cold blade rested against Dongfang Yan's neck.

Dongfang Yan reacted quickly, dropping his sleeve arrow and turning it to aim at Lin Qingyue's temple.

Xie Shouzheng was stunned watching from the side. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly tried to persuade them: "The two of you are husband and wife, a union bestowed by the Emperor, a match made in heaven. How can you resort to such violence and damage your marital bond?"

"Your Highness, let's talk this over. Please put away the sleeve arrow first."

"Your Highness, please move the sword away as well; you mustn't actually hurt each other!"

With one hand holding the sword and the other gripping the sleeve arrow, he slowly moved them away from the vital points of the two nobles, then let out a light sigh of relief:

"Oh my heavens, if both of you were to perish today, my head would be on the line!"

"Tell me, how exactly can Zhen'er's curse be broken!" Dongfang Yan moved away a few steps without changing his expression, putting distance between himself and Lin Qingyue.

Lin Qingyue said, "I said it cannot be broken. Can you not understand human speech? The only way is for her to stop telling lies and live honestly! This is a curse meant to teach people to be good, so naturally, it must constrain one for a lifetime."

Dongfang Yan said, "What do you mean by that? Zhen'er is a purely kind person; how could she lie?"

Lin Qingyue said, "Whether she lies or not, haven't you seen it for yourself? If you don't believe me, you are welcome to verify it."

Dongfang Yan said, "How to verify? By making the harm to Zhen'er the premise for verification? What do you take your sister for?"

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Xie Shouzheng hurriedly blocked the space between them: "The Second Miss's problem is not critical; we can discuss it later. What is most urgent right now is the Eldest Young Master of the Hou Mansion! I used a talisman to suppress the evil spirit in his body during the day, but it is not a long-term solution. If it cannot be resolved properly, the Eldest Young Master's life will be at stake!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a man with a shifty, rat-like appearance ran over in a panic:

"My Lord, it's bad! The Eldest Young Master of the Hou Mansion has gone berserk again!"

Xie Shouzheng slapped his thigh in frustration: "I said it was dangerous, yet you two kept harping on trivial matters, wasting so much time!"

Dongfang Yan narrowed his cold eyes: "You tell me, what is a trivial matter?"

Lin Qingyue interjected: "Naturally, those lovey-dovey affairs of yours!"

"Lin Qingyue, you are becoming increasingly insolent!"

Staying at the Wangfu would inevitably lead to more friction with the dog prince. Lin Qingyue shook her sleeves and said to Xie Shouzheng: "Let's go, let's go to the Hou Mansion and see."

Xie Shouzheng immediately and obsequiously led the way: "After you, Your Highness! Eh, this cat is coming too? Fine, fine, together! Eh? Your Highness, you are going too?"

The Prince of Jin snorted: "Walk your own path, and say no more!"

He was mainly afraid that Lin Qingyue would secretly use some means to harm Lin Ruzhen, so of course, he had to follow and supervise.

He wanted to see what else Lin Qingyue could come up with!

By the time the group arrived, the Hou Mansion was already in chaos.

The handsome young master, who was usually impeccably dressed and thought himself extraordinary, was now disheveled, holding a long sword, and roaring with blood-red eyes:

"I told you to hit me, why won't you hit me?"

"Since you refuse to act, then it is my turn to act!"

"Kill, kill! You all deserve to die, you all deserve to die!"

The guards of the Hou Mansion were no match for him and had long since been knocked down.

Lin Xiao, seeing that the situation was dire, ran to find the City Guard Battalion for help.

Fortunately, the people from the Xuanjing Division intervened in time to control the scene.

Lin Rufeng was clawing and scratching, trying to kill, but his neck and limbs were being held by the guards of the Xuanjing Division with iron chains.

He was like a crazed beast, desperately trying to break free from the chains. His neck and wrists were bleeding from the cold iron, yet he still couldn't break free.

These people restraining Lin Rufeng were Xie Shouzheng's subordinates, and they were well-trained. If they had been ordinary guards, they would never have been able to handle the current situation.

"His strength is too great, everyone be careful! Pull tighter, hold on until the Lord returns!"

"Yes!"

The Hou Madam, Zhou Shi, stood on a pavilion not far away, worried and helpless, and could only cover her face and weep.

Lin Ruzhen had taken sedative and pain-relieving medicine during the day and had been sleeping groggily all day, not even knowing that something had happened to Lin Rufeng.

It wasn't until Lin Rufeng went mad again that the commotion woke her up.

When she came out and saw this scene, she immediately exclaimed: "What are you doing? Why are you locking my brother with iron chains?"

Zhou Shi shouted from a distance: "Zhen'er, your brother has been possessed by an evil spirit. Those are people from the Xuanjing Division; they are binding your brother because they are afraid he will hurt others or himself. Wuwu... my poor Feng'er, who on earth is harming you..."

Lin Ruzhen felt heartache for her brother and wanted to show the deep bond between siblings in front of her mother, so she shouted loudly:

"My brother's neck is being cut until it bleeds by you! You are taking his life! Loosen it, quickly loosen it!"

A guard said: "The young master has lost his reason; if we don't do this, he will hurt people! We know what we are doing; we will not take the young master's life for now."

Lin Ruzhen said: "What do you mean you won't take his life for now? Can't you see he can't even breathe? The evil spirit didn't take my brother's life, are you trying to take his life?"

Hearing this, Lin Rufeng made an even more painful expression and shouted at Lin Ruzhen: "Sister, I'm in so much pain, save your brother..."

"My brother recognized me! He hasn't completely lost his mind; he is my brother! Don't hurt him!"

She naively thought that Lin Rufeng had been moved by her familial love and had regained his original reason.

So she rushed up regardless, trying to pull away the chains, shouting: "Brother, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!"