Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

"Tomorrow," Matthew answered on Harper's behalf, then asked her, "Will that be good enough?"

Harper nodded and thought to herself, 'I'm almost done here in the River City. All the embroiderers are

doing a good job. As long

as they follow my instructions for the design and construction of those garments, I will arrange for

Pearce and his wife to promote

the sales. Since I don't need to monitor the business full-time, there's no need for me to stay here. I can

simply have Rufus

manage things in my absence.'

"Prepare a room for him so that he can freshen up. We will set off tomorrow and return to the imperial

capital," Matthew then

said. The situation in the imperial capital was calm then. The emperor must have been feeling guilty

that Francis was seriously

injured in order to protect him. He would try to compensate Francis as well as he could. Francis was his

son, after all.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Owen said. Then the waiter took him to his room so that he could freshen

up. Matthew pinched

Harper's palm and said, "If you don't want to go back now, we can stay here and go back after the New

Year."

"Everything here is set. Although the imperial capital is not truly at peace, it's not chaotic now either. I

need to go back to have a

look anyway," Harper said slowly. "And the people behind it, who failed once, are bound to launch more

attacks. Their targets are

Charles first, and then Alexander. I'm particularly afraid that they might hurt Gigi."

Matthew squinted his eyes a bit, and answered, "Well, let's go back to the imperial capital tomorrow

morning. We can leave

Rufus to deal with matters here."

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"I had the same idea." Rufus, at that moment, was busy urging on the workers, when he suddenly felt

that a cold wind strike his neck for no reason. When he turned around, he didn't see anyone there. The

windows were tightly closed, so he had no idea where the wind came from. Maybe it was a telepathic

link which indicated that Harper had left everything for him to deal with. He was going to be a busy

man. They left in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to say goodbye to Pearce and his wife in

person. They just sent someone to inform Pearce that they were going back to the imperial capital for

some unspecified reasons. Hearing that, Pearce merely waved his hand, as if to say that he had known

it already. Allie felt a bit uneasy. She asked him, "Pearce, the situation in the imperial capital..." Before

she could say another word, Pearce interrupted, "Don't worry. Prince Matthew is cunning and clever.

The emperor seems to have the upper hand now, but the truth may be totally different. Over the years,

if it weren't for the fact that Prince Matthew still values his blood ties, the emperor wouldn't have been

able to keep his throne for such a long time." The situation was perfectly

clear to Pearce. If Matthew were to join the struggle for power, he would be sure to win, given his

unmatched cleverness. But would he actually be willing to fight for the throne?

He had once asked Matthew frankly whether he wanted to take the throne or not. He quickly found that

the prince had no interest

in that position. The only focus of his interest and passion was Harper, his wife.

"He is a deplorably unambitious man in that respect. All his attention is directed to that woman."

"Do you dislike Harper?" Allie quickly asked him sullenly. In her eyes, although Harper was young, she

was very capable and

smart, so she liked her, and Pearce's comment bothered her.

"I dare not," Pearce answered at once. He was wise enough to keep such thoughts to himself. Matthew

was cunning, while his wife was even more cunning. Even if she looked fragile and gentle, the truth

was that he dared not underestimate her. "It's good to know that. I'm very fond of her," Allie said. She

had only just stepped out of mourning for her son. "Even as a weak woman, she dared to endure

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trouble for the sake of the Chu Clan. If it weren't for her, her clan would have been eliminated. In such a

crisis, others would have abandoned that family and left them to perish, but she didn't do that. Instead,

she helped to raise her younger brother and sister even though they weren't her own mother's children.

She is truly a broad-minded and kind-

hearted woman."

"If she were any less outstanding, she would not have dared to marry Prince Matthew," commented

Pearce.

"Yes, I agree. She has to endure even more as Matthew's wife," Allie sighed. Even while living in a

remote city, they still couldn't

avoid getting involved in trouble. How much worse it was for Harper, being so close to Matthew?

"News from the imperial capital informs us that the emperor was almost assassinated, and Prince

Francis was seriously injured

in order to protect the emperor. They rushed back to the imperial capital on that account. I'm afraid

something momentous will

happen there soon," Pearce said. Though he didn't know what was in Matthew's mind, he was pretty

clear about the situation in

the imperial capital. Yet he still couldn't figure out who was the real murderer of his son.

Pearce was puzzled. Jason, who was hiding outside the city, was also puzzled. He had planned to

leave the River City because

it would do him no good to encounter Matthew. However, when he saw Owen appear in the River City,

dressed up in disguise,

his curiosity held him to the spot.

Owen was a close manservant to Francis. Now that he appeared here, it could only mean that Francis

was there, or that Francis

sent him there, but in either case, Owen's appearance at that spot was extremely weird to Jason.

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The next day, when Matthew's carriage left the official inn and headed for the imperial capital, Jason

was still confused. 'Why is

Uncle Matthew going back to the imperial capital with Owen at this moment? Is the situation in the

imperial city already cleared

up?' he pondered.

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