Chapter 28: The Puppet Prince

Sure enough, for the next few days, Dongfang Yan did not come to cause trouble again.

He did not even show his face at Lin Qingyue's place, following his routine every day: attending court, leaving court, handling official business, and meeting guests. He maintained his past habits to the greatest extent.

The Mayfly Silk has low intelligence and can only rigidly maintain the original owner's habits, so as long as Lin Qingyue does not provoke it, there is no problem.

But the real Dongfang Yan has been in absolute agony these past few days.

His body has become a cage, trapping him within. He cannot move, cannot speak, and can only watch helplessly as his own body is controlled by a mysterious force.

He went from initial unease to growing terror.

If this continues, will that thing replace him and live on?

And what about him? Will he die? Or... will he just live on like a Puppet forever?

This day, the Lin Mansion sent someone to say: "The Second Miss is not doing well; she has not eaten for three days."

Only then did Dongfang Yan realize that he had not thought of Lin Ruzhen for several days. But now, he could barely take care of himself; how could he have the heart to worry about her?

Yet his body, according to his past behavioral habits, immediately gave a response: "Someone, prepare the horses! We are going to the Changning Hou Fu!"

At the Changning Hou Fu, Lin Xiao came out personally to welcome him.

When Dongfang Yan asked about Lin Ruzhen, Lin Xiao sighed: "The medicine prescribed by Li Yuanshi had some effect at first, but later it became completely useless. She might be afraid of the pain, so she simply stopped taking it. Sigh, I am also very worried, which is why I sent someone to inform Your Highness!"

"How can it be acceptable to not eat at all? This Prince will go take a look at her!"

Just as he stood up, Dongfang Yan's facial expression suddenly stiffened, and he slowly sat back down.

"This Prince is the Second Miss's brother-in-law; a private meeting is inappropriate... not suitable..."

This action left Lin Xiao stunned: Why is the Prince's behavior so strange?

Little did he know, this was the real Dongfang Yan trying hard to give Lin Xiao a hint.

"This Prince has been controlled! That is why my body is acting in such contradictory ways."

"Lin Xiao, have you noticed?"

"With such an obvious hint, do you still not understand?"

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Your Highness, I understand, I understand now!"

Having said that, he immediately turned and walked toward the door.

Dongfang Yan breathed a secret sigh of relief: "It seems someone finally understands the hint this time."

Although he did not know what kind of bizarre force was controlling his body, as long as his willpower was strong enough, he could still force his body to react in certain ways.

It is just a pity that none of the people around him these days could understand his hints, but fortunately, Lin Xiao finally understood.

"He should be able to see that this Prince is controlled by a bizarre force and will definitely send someone to the Profound Mirror Division for help."

Soon, Lin Xiao returned and lowered his voice to whisper to Dongfang Yan:

"Your Highness, rest assured. I have already instructed the servants in the mansion not to appear in the inner courtyard for the time being. You can visit Zhen'er without being seen, and no one will dare to gossip or tarnish your reputation!"

When Dongfang Yan had a secret meeting with Lin Ruzhen in the back garden that day, he did not feel anything was wrong.

But at this moment, as he watched coldly from the sidelines, he suddenly felt that this act of burying one's head in the sand was truly absurd.

What was even more absurd was that he felt himself nod and shamelessly say: "I have heard the Hou Mansion has lovely scenery; this Prince will go take a look."

Lin Xiao smiled and said: "Please do as you wish, Your Highness. We are all family, no need for formalities."

Along the way, there was indeed not a single servant to be seen.

Even the courtyard gate and the room door where Lin Ruzhen lived were left ajar.

Arriving at the door, he could faintly hear low sobbing coming from inside.

It was his Zhen'er crying.

Dongfang Yan pushed the door open and saw Lin Ruzhen leaning against the bed. She was wearing a translucent veil, and the tears constantly falling had soaked the veil; she was truly pitiful.

Dongfang Yan heard himself step forward to show concern: "Zhen'er, this Prince has come to see you. I heard you haven't eaten for three days; how can that be?"

Lin Ruzhen threw herself into Dongfang Yan's arms, crying without saying a word.

These past few days, she had already learned what fear was. This so-called "Honest Curse" was truly one lie after another, and there was simply no way to deal with it.

Yet she was so used to lying that she could not change it at all. To prevent the sores in her mouth from multiplying, she could only stay silent.

As for the veil... that was because she already knew that the sores would cause a foul odor.

So, knowing the Prince of Jin would come, she wore the veil to avoid accidentally opening her mouth and scaring him away.

"I know you are in pain," Dongfang Yan looked at her with deep affection, "As for Lin Qingyue, this Prince has already pressed her several times, but she says there is no solution. You must be patient and wait. This Prince has been helping you think of ways. You must eat; please don't let yourself starve."

"Your Highness..." she whispered weakly through the veil, then wrote a few words on Dongfang Yan's hand: "To receive your pity, I would die without regrets."

Dongfang Yan felt a warmth in his heart: His Zhen'er, even at a time like this, was still so devoted.

He saw himself responding to Lin Ruzhen's feelings: "I will never forget the grace of saving my life. Rest assured, Zhen'er, this Prince will certainly not fail you."

Even though these words came from his own mouth, watching coldly from the sidelines, he felt inexplicably awkward, as if he were... having an affair?

Lin Ruzhen's hand was already resting on his chest, sliding like a spirit snake, bringing a soft, tingling sensation.

The intent to tease was obvious.

In the past, Lin Ruzhen was reserved and would not take the initiative to make such flirtatious movements.

But these past few days, she clearly felt that the attitude of the people around her toward her had changed.

Ever since that night when she pushed Zhou Shi out and nearly caused her death, her foster mother, who used to protect her like the apple of her eye, had not come to see her for several days.

Yesterday, she could not bear it and went to find her, but Zhou Shi said her wounds hurt and she needed to rest.

It was clearly Lin Rufeng who bit Zhou Shi, yet Zhou Shi did not blame him at all, instead holding a grudge against her, her own daughter.

She felt extremely wronged and turned to find Lin Rufeng, hoping he could put in a good word for her before their mother.

But Lin Rufeng, who used to be obedient to her every word, seemed to have changed his personality and was very cold toward her.

And Liu Shi, whom she could beat and scold at will in the past, was scolded by her simply because she was in a bad mood.

Lin Rufeng slapped her for the sake of Liu Shi and sternly warned: "She is your sister-in-law. If you cannot distinguish between superior and inferior again, I will report to our parents and have you married off!"

Lin Ruzhen was stunned, not knowing why her brother had suddenly undergone such a drastic change in temperament.

Lin Xiao, however, had not changed at all.

But he was a man who did not value family ties, only interests. He had liked Lin Ruzhen before only because he felt she was more outstanding than Lin Qingyue and suitable for a political marriage.

Yet, once she developed sores in her mouth and even her speech was affected, Lin Xiao's attitude also turned cold.

Having already lost the favor of her family, she absolutely could not lose the Prince of Jin as well!