“Lin Qingyue, what exactly have you done to Zhen’er!” Dongfang Yan was now utterly enraged.
No wonder Zhen’er had seemed unwell yesterday—it turned out this woman Lin Qingyue had been scheming behind the scenes!
He had actually thought she had reformed after marrying into the royal manor, and had even begun developing some fondness for her.
Never did he expect she would remain so vicious. Indeed, one’s nature is hard to change!
Lin Qingyue blew on nonexistent dust from her fingernails and said, “Nothing much, just cast an ‘Honesty Curse’ on her.”
“This curse causes no harm to honest and virtuous people. But if cast on someone who tells endless lies, a sore will grow on their tongue every time they tell a falsehood.”
“You actually used a curse!” In his fury, Dongfang Yan disregarded whether there were outsiders present. With a clang, he drew his treasured sword and coldly pointed it at Lin Qingyue.
“Tell me, how can this curse be lifted?”
The icy glint of the sword reflected Dongfang Yan’s heartless expression, making it appear especially cold.
“Incurable.” Lin Qingyue shrugged, her expression indifferent.
“Lin Qingyue, do not test my patience!”
Dongfang Yan’s heart ached remembering how Lin Ruzhen had trembled in pain in his arms, tears welling in her eyes. He had naively believed she was merely ill.
Never did he imagine Lin Qingyue had cast a curse on her!
How malicious!
He also recalled how he had been beguiled by Lin Qingyue last night. Today, he had even specially gone to Zhenbao Zhai to carefully select a jade hairpin carved with flowers for her, making him feel as though he had betrayed Zhen’er.
“I ask once more—how can it be lifted?”
“I told you, incurable.”
“Do you truly believe I wouldn’t dare kill you?”
As he spoke, the long sword advanced, on the verge of piercing Lin Qingyue, when suddenly a sharp meow was heard: “Meow—”
The tabby cat leaped high, swiping its paw and leaving three bloody scratches on Dongfang Yan’s hand. His sword-holding hand trembled slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Qingyue moved—grabbing and twisting—and in the blink of an eye, the sword was in her hand.
The cold blade pressed against Dongfang Yan’s neck.
Dongfang Yan reacted swiftly, a sleeve arrow dropping into his hand, which he aimed back at Lin Qingyue’s temple.
Xie Shouzheng watched dumbfounded. Collecting himself, he hurriedly intervened: “You two are husband and wife, joined by imperial decree—a match made in heaven. How can you resort to such violence and harm your marital bond?”
“Your Highness, let’s discuss this calmly. Please put away the sleeve arrow first.”
“Your Highness, please lower the sword. You mustn’t actually injure anyone!”
Holding the sword with one hand and the sleeve arrow with the other, he slowly moved them away from the nobles’ vital spots, then sighed in relief:
“Oh heavens, if both of you were to perish today, this humble official would lose his head!”
“Tell me, how can Zhen’er’s curse be lifted!” Dongfang Yan subtly stepped back, putting distance between himself and Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue said, “I said it’s incurable—can you not understand human speech? The only solution is to stop telling endless lies and live honestly! This curse is meant to guide people toward goodness, so naturally, it lasts a lifetime.”
Dongfang Yan retorted, “What do you mean by that? Zhen’er is a pure and kind person—how could she possibly lie?”
Lin Qingyue replied, “Whether she lies or not, haven’t you seen it for yourself? If you don’t believe me, you can verify it yourself.”
“How can we verify it? By harming Zhen’er as a precondition? What do you take your sister for?”
Seeing these two about to start quarreling again, Xie Shouzheng quickly stepped between them: “The second young lady’s condition isn’t serious and can be addressed later. What’s most urgent now is the eldest son of the Hou estate! This official used spells during the day to suppress the evil spirit within him, but that’s not a permanent solution. If we don’t resolve this properly, the young master’s life will be in danger!”
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a shifty-eyed man came rushing over in panic:
“Sir, it’s terrible! The eldest son of the Hou estate has gone berserk again!”
Xie Shouzheng slapped his thigh in frustration: “I said this was critical, yet you two kept arguing over trivial matters and wasted so much time!”
Dongfang Yan narrowed his cold eyes: “What do you mean by trivial matters?”
Lin Qingyue interjected: “Naturally, your romantic affairs!”
“Lin Qingyue, you’re becoming increasingly insolent!”
Staying in the prince’s residence would inevitably lead to more conflicts with that damned prince. Lin Qingyue shook her sleeves and said to Xie Shouzheng: “Let’s go check the Hou estate.Xie Shouzheng immediately courteously cleared the way ahead: “Your Highness, this way!” Oh, is the cat coming too? Very well, let’s all go together! Huh? Your Highness, are you coming as well?”
Prince Jin snorted coldly: “Mind your own path and stop with the unnecessary remarks!”
His main concern was preventing Lin Qingyue from secretly scheming against Lin Ruzhen again, so of course he had to follow and supervise.
He wanted to see what else Lin Qingyue would come up with!
When the group arrived, the Hou estate was already in complete chaos.
The usually well-dressed, arrogant young master now stood with disheveled hair, holding a long sword, his eyes bloodshot as he roared:
“I told you to hit me, why won’t you hit me?”
“Since you refuse to act, then it’s my turn to take action!”
“Kill, kill! You all deserve to die, every last one of you!”
The estate’s guards were no match for him and had already been knocked down.
Lin Xiao, seeing the situation turning dire, had gone to seek help from the city defense guards.
Fortunately, the Xuanjing Office personnel arrived in time to control the situation.
Lin Rufeng was flailing wildly, trying to kill people, but his neck, hands, and feet were all restrained by iron chains held by the Xuanjing Office wardens.
He resembled a crazed beast, desperately struggling against the chains. His neck and wrists were bleeding from the cold iron restraints, yet he still couldn’t break free.
Those restraining Lin Rufeng were all Xie Shouzheng’s subordinates, well-trained professionals. Ordinary guards would never have been able to handle the current situation.
“His strength is tremendous, everyone be careful! Pull tighter, hold on until the sir returns!”
“Yes!”
Madam Zhou stood weeping on a nearby pavilion, worried and helpless, covering her face with her hands.
Meanwhile, Lin Ruzhen, who had taken sedatives and painkillers during the day, had been sleeping drowsily all day and didn’t even know Lin Rufeng was in trouble.
She was only awakened when Lin Rufeng’s latest outburst created too much commotion.
Coming out and seeing the scene, she immediately cried out: “What are you doing? Why are you chaining my brother?”
Zhou Shi called out from a distance: “Zhen’er, your brother is possessed by an evil spirit. Those are people from the Xuanjing Office. They’re restraining him to prevent him from hurting others or himself. Wuwu… my poor Feng’er, who exactly is doing this to you…”
Lin Ruzhen’s heart ached for her brother, and she also wanted to showcase their sibling bond in front of her mother, so she loudly exclaimed:
“My brother’s neck is bleeding from your restraints! You’re going to kill him! Loosen them, quickly loosen them!”
The warden said, “The young master has lost his senses at this moment. If we don’t restrain him like this, he will harm others! We know what we’re doing—he won’t be fatally injured for now.”
Lin Ruzhen said, “What do you mean, ‘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 kill him instead?”
Hearing this, Lin Rufeng exaggerated his pained expression and cried out to Lin Ruzhen, “Sister, it hurts so much! Save me, quickly…”
“My brother recognized me! He hasn’t completely lost his senses—he’s still my brother! Don’t hurt him!”
Naively, she believed Lin Rufeng had been moved by her familial love and regained his original rationality.
So she rushed forward recklessly, trying to pull the chains away while shouting, “Brother, don’t be afraid! I’m here to save you!”