Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Francis stared at Lucas who was crying so much and sighed. "Go back to the palace right now. You're the only one missing.
Father loved you the most when he was alive. You should go and see him for the last time."
During the entire journey to the palace, Lucas was crying helplessly. Unconcerned about his image and composure, he wiped his
tears with his clothes. When Francis noticed this, he looked at his younger brother with a frown. Lucas had always been
profligate. Who would have thought that he would be so shattered about the death of the emperor? In fact, he must be the only
one who was genuinely disheartened about it!
Lucas blew his nose with a handkerchief and continued crying. He then said, "Francis, how did our father pass away? He was
fine yesterday. If I had known that this would happen, I wouldn't have been mad at him and run to the brothel. Even if Father
wanted to kill me, I would have shamelessly stayed in the Tranquil Hall."
In an ambiguous tone, Francis responded, "Don't worry; you're not alone in your sentiments. I'm also surprised. Who would have
thought that Felix hated our father so much since he was deprived of his title as the crown prince? With deep hatred, he sneaked
into the palace to assassinate our father. When I arrived, our father was already dead and Felix was about to flee so I killed him
on the spot. I didn't have a choice."
Lucas was so stunned so he asked, "How could that be possible? How could Felix do that?"
"I can't believe it either. Our father had been so merciful to him. He didn't even punish Felix with a death sentence after he tried
to murder him. But still, without an ounce of guilt or shame in his body, Felix took our father's life. If I had known that he would do
that, I shouldn't have interfered and pleaded our father's forgiveness for him." Tears fell from the corner of Francis' eyes. He

wiped them off his face and turned away from Lucas. It was like he didn't want anyone to see him in a sorrowful and regretful
state. Lucas was rendered speechless and silently burst into another set of tears. Inside the palace, the body of the emperor was
placed in the Immortal Hall. Princes and princesses were kneeling down in a respectful manner. Lucas changed into a mourning
garment and was silently crying in front of the emperor. When Lilian saw that Lucas had come back, she looked at him with so
much worry. She wanted to say something, but in the end, stopped herself from doing so. The entire Immortal Hall was filled with

sobs and silent cries. Meanwhile, Harper was sitting nearby in silence. She was only the sister-in-law of the emperor, so she
wasn't obliged to kneel down and mourn for him. Wale, the youngest prince, was also present. He was in the arms of his nanny.
He didn't cry or make
any noise at all. The emperor had a lot of sons, but after all sorts of political struggle, there were only a few left. At that moment,
the royals looked like a small family. When Francis came in, he knelt down immediately. Even though he looked steady while on
his knees, his face was filled with the sorrow of losing a beloved one. Meanwhile, Sherry and Monica were crying so hard that
they passed out and were sent to their respective residences. On one side of the hall, Jason had been kneeling for a long time
that there was now extreme pain in his knees. So, he moved a
little to ease the pain. When he caught a glimpse of Harper, he winked at her without any hint of sadness in his face. Harper
thought that he looked the same as usual. However, when she noticed that he was gritting his teeth, she knew that he was
having difficulties because he had never knelt for such a long time.
"Someone, come here," Harper stated, not too loud and not too soft. Jason saw that she uttered something so he was wondering
what Harper wanted to do.
"Your Highness," a servant responded.
"Teach Jason how to kneel properly," Harper said indifferently while she continued to drink her tea. In fact, Jason's body was

slightly skewed. Then, the expression on his face froze since everyone was watching him. Immediately, he knelt with a perfect
posture like Francis. Meanwhile, he sent daggers with his eyes at Harper's direction and thought, 'You ruthless little woman. How
could you trick me!' Francis turned to look at Jason. The latter was almost bursting into tears, but he didn't dare to offend Harper.
After all, now that the emperor had gone, it would be quite disadvantageous to the prince if he offended Matthew since he had
over three hundred
thousand soldiers under his command. The spit of those soldiers was enough to drown him.
The little commotion which Jason created had attracted a lot of people's attention. However, Lucas didn't see a bit of what had

happened. With a blank expression on his face, he was staring at the emperor's coffin. His back was hunched, like a wounded
wolf silently licking his wound.
When Francis looked away, he paused for a moment once he caught sight of Lucas. But then he immediately turned his back. It
was very unusual for everyone to see the usual frivolous Lucas kneeling there. He wasn't doing any pranks or causing trouble.
The poor prince was just silently mourning.
Lilian sympathetically looked at Lucas. Among all the princes, Lucas was the apple of the emperor's eye. Now that their father
had died, Lucas must be devastated. Moreover, Lilian would soon leave for the Great Jade Kingdom because of her marriage.
By then, Lucas would be very lonely in the imperial capital.
Lilian thought for a while before kneeling beside him. She tried to comfort him. "Lucas, don't be too upset. Father loved you very
much. He would be sad if he saw you like this."
Lucas' mind was racing very fast while his eyes narrowed. His father might not have been a perfect emperor, a perfect husband,
or a perfect father. His brothers and sisters could blame their father for a lot of things, but Lucas just couldn't. He had been doted
on by his father since he was a child. In order to protect him, his father deliberately raised him as an idle prince. But he also
privately sent someone to teach him the emperor's political techniques and the art of ruling an empire. In front of others, his
father had been a stern and cruel emperor. But in front of him, his father had always been a kind and loving person.
With these thoughts in mind, Lucas whimpered, "Father, why did you leave like this? If I were to do something wrong in the
future, no one would take the responsibility for me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have provoked you. Father, I'm so sorry.".