NovelOnlineFred had created so much noise inside the Imperial Palace of the South Kingdom that it drew the attention of many people. Even
the queen of the South Kingdom, who was leading her life in seclusion, had also come out of her palace. Her appearance out of
her palace after so many years had taken everyone by surprise.
"Your Majesty!" everyone called out in disbelief.
Harper followed the direction of the crowd's gaze until her eyes met a dignified woman dressed in a white robe. The woman
walked towards them slowly and gracefully. She had a forgiving look on her face. She looked at Catherine and asked,
"Catherine, what are you doing?"
"Mo... mother..." Catherine called out, shocked to see her mother outside after so many years. The queen of the South Kingdom
had not come out of her palace for many years. The last time she was seen outside her palace was when Catherine had become
the Holy Maiden. Since Catherine lived in the Starry Palace, the empress had closed the doors of her palace to the rest of the
world.
The queen came forward and looked at Fred who seemed to be on a rampage to kill everyone who came in his way. A frown
appeared on her calm and placid forehead as she said, "Sir, please stop."
However, Fred turned a deaf ear to her. The queen then turned to the woman who was drinking tea calmly, but she could not see
her face properly as someone stood in front of her. Yet, she addressed her and requested politely, "Can you ask your man to
stop, please?"
"Stop it, Fred," Harper ordered in a lazy tone. "If you don't stop right away, you will face severe consequences."
Fred put his sword down but he was still seething in rage and fighting his impulse to hurl the sword at his enemies. The queen
heaved a sigh of relief to see Fred stop the killing. Then she looked at Catherine and asked tenderly, "Catherine, when did you
come back?"
Catherine opened her mouth to say something but could not utter a word. She remained tongue-tied. The sudden appearance of
her mother who was still untouched by the muck of conspiracy that Catherine had dived so deep in, made it very difficult for her
to reply to even the most simple question asked by her mother. Catherine just lowered her head in silence. The queen looked
around and asked, "I don't see Diana here. Where is she?" Catherine's face changed a bit. She finally managed to reply, "She
hasn't come back yet."
"Oh, I see. She must have gone out to have fun again. Catherine, you are the elder sister. You have a lot of responsibilities and
must be working very hard," the queen said and smiled lovingly at her elder daughter. Her smile exuded the confidence that her
daughter had grown up to be a responsible member of the royal family and must be guiding the people of the kingdom in the
capacity of the Holy Maiden. At the same time, she must be looking after her father and younger sister. Then, the queen turned
to Harper and said courteously, "It's so nice to have a guest in our palace today. Where do you come from, if I may ask? And
also, why did you instigate your man to do mass killing inside our palace?" Harper signaled Zorro to move to the side so that she
could come face to face with the queen. Then, with her chin resting on one of her hands, she replied with a fake smile, "Well, I'm
afraid you have to ask your daughter about that. Please ask what she had done to me and your husband. Oh, for your
information, your husband is bedridden after being infected by some life-threatening venomous insect poison. He can't even
move his limbs." The complacent look on the face of the queen seemed to be disappearing. She turned to look at Catherine with
a frown. Catherine felt guilty and lowered her head to avoid eye contact with her mother. Catherine's silence was self-
explanatory. The
queen did not doubt that Harper was telling the truth. She did not probe Catherine any further. Instead, she walked to Harper and
said, "Lady..."
But as soon as the queen got a clear view of Harper's face, she got startled. She froze on the spot as if she was struck by
lightning. She stood there staring at Harper's face. She was unable to move, and her eyes were full of shock, excitement, and
incredulity.
"Mother, are you all right?" Catherine was baffled by such an unusual reaction of her mother.
After a few moments, without removing her eyes from Harper, the queen said in a trembling voice, "Catherine, order all the
people here to leave."
"No, Mother, I can't leave you alone with this woman. She is up to no good..." Catherine protested.
tone. Although Catherine hated Lance and Diana, she was still very respectful to her mother. Therefore, she waved her hand and
beckoned everyone to leave. Harper also motioned her men to leave. Fred, on the other hand, stood behind her looking at
everyone with a ferocious look in his eyes. At the moment, he was like an angry lion ready to pounce on them once he was set
free.
"Who are you? Can... can you tell me your mother's name?" The queen spoke in a very gentle and warm manner as if she was a
next-door neighbor.
"My mother's last name is Qin," Harper replied politely.
"Her last name is Qin!" the queen repeated after she raised her eyebrows. Seemingly, she tried to suppress her excitement.
Harper's mother's last name was Qin, which meant that Harper was a descendant of the Qin Clan!
"Judging from your dressing style, you seem to be married. Whose is your husband?" the queen probed in a soft voice as if she
wanted to know everything of Harper.
"His last name is Jun," Harper replied to her.
"Oh, you are married to the royal family of the Bright Dynasty?" the queen asked. She raised her eyebrows once again and
added, "Who is it, if I may know?"
"Prince Matthew," Harper replied in a flat tone. "What? Haven't the Holy Maiden told you everything? I thought she must have
updated you about all this."
"I haven't been out of my palace for ten years. I know very little about what is going on outside my palace. Catherine is the Holy
Maiden and she seldom comes back from the Starry Palace. My husband and Diana often come to see me, but they never
mention anything that's going on outside. So, my knowledge about the recent happenings in the South Kingdom is very limited,
leave aside people who come from outside," the queen confessed candidly. Then she walked close to Harper and asked with a
big smile, "Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?"
"Yeah. But I am afraid that the Holy Maiden will be unhappy about it," Harper teased as she looked at Catherine's twisted face
from the corner of her eye. "After all, the Holy Maiden of the South Kingdom may have other plans. Your husband is bedridden at
the moment, and the other princess of the South Kingdom has also been forced to hide from being murdered. This is not a good
time for tea."
"Well, can I invite you to have tea with me after three days?" the queen proposed again. She did not want to give up so easily. If
not today, then three days later. At least, in this way, she would get an opportunity to talk to Harper..
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