Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

"You're crazy!" Wendy shouted the moment her breathing stabilized once again. "Why did you do that? Were you trying to kill
me?!"
A slight air of disgust became apparent in Harper's face. "Didn't you want to die?" she said bluntly, eyeing Wendy as if she was
some kind of deformed creature. "I was just helping you." A look of disbelief dawned on Wendy's face. Harper didn't care,
however, and continued: "You want to die simply because of a scar. Do you think it was very easy for me to save your life? Do
you know that my medical fees and expenses to cure you were so high that if I decided to charge them all to your clan, your
family would be bankrupt and living in the streets?"
It was Wendy's first time hearing all of this. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that her family could go bankrupt just
because of her medical expenses.
"Shut up" she shouted, shaking her head. "Lies, lies, lies!"
Once again, Harper acted like she didn't hear Wendy's lamentations. "Do you know that the pill to cure you is invaluable?" she
continued. "Do you know how great of an effort I spent to get an herb from Labyrinth Swamp? The five leaves that I used on you
already amounted to one hundred thousand taels of gold. Wendy Shen, I treated you with the best and most effective pills and
herbs I have in my collection, but you still have the audacity to throw a tantrum about wanting to die? Fine! I'll kill you with my
bare hands! After that, I'll make sure your family pays me what you owe me so that they'd lose everything they have!" Harper
became more and more ruthless as she spoke. Worse, she didn't make an effort to hide the murderous intent in her eyes. Wendy
felt like her soul was being ripped and shredded into pieces, so she had no other choice but to retreat.
Never in her life had she met a person worse than Harper. She had always believed that she only got lucky when the late
emperor approved of her marriage with Prince Matthew. In her point of view, a woman like Harper would never be able to marry
a noble such as Prince Matthew because she was a woman whose engagement had been broken off.

Now, she realized that everything that Harper achieved wasn't because of her luck: it was because of her own powerful self, and

the way she handled every situation that she faced. "I... I... I..." Wendy stuttered. Tears were already forming in her eyes, but she
tried her hardest to suppress them. "I don't want to die," she finally said. Harper looked down on her. "Say it out loud," she said
coldly. "Do you want to die, Wendy Shen?"
"No," Wendy replied, now fully sobbing. "I want to live! I want to live and grow old with my parents!" As the only daughter of the
powerful Marquis Travis, she had gotten everything she wanted over the years because everyone took pity on her and her poor
health condition. This time, however, it didn't work on Harper. She even tried to drown her! The feeling that was rooted deep
inside her at the moment was indescribable. She, however, now understood that if she truly wanted to die, Harper would do the
honors and kill her! Several moments passed before Harper spoke. "Always remember what you said here today, right now. You
want to live." She then turned around and began to walk away. "I'll leave her to you now," she said as she passed by Physician
Gore. "Yes, Your Highness," Physician Gore responded with respect. "I promise to take good care of Lady Wendy." Harper's firm
and decisive actions impressed everyone around her that day. Only a few people in the world would have the courage to push
someone into the pond and let them drown in front of his or her mother and father. After Harper left, Hannah finally came around.
With Travis by her side, she hurriedly came to Wendy's side to console her. Travis immediately ordered someone to help Wendy
back to her room, and help her get changed. It was late summer that time; the
temperature wasn't too high, making it uncomfortable for Wendy to stay out soaking. Besides that, she had just undergone
surgery and her body had not fully recovered yet. If anything happened to her, it would be so devastating for her family.
Hannah felt her mind melting into a puddle the moment she saw how Wendy seemed to be scared to death. As the maids helped
dress her up, it was noticeable how pale her face was. 'It was as if she had seen the devil herself,' she thought, worried for her
daughter.
But while her heart was continuously breaking over her daughter's suffering, she knew that she couldn't put any ounce of blame
on Harper. If it weren't for her, her spoiled daughter would keep messing about.
Zack was taken aback by the bold behaviors of Harper. When he turned around and saw the calm look on Shawn's face, he was

shocked. "You knew it would be like this?" "Lady Harper is not a person who will sit silently as someone tries to defile her name,"
Shawn said with a smile, "She's on the other side of that spectrum: she's decisive, determined, and ruthless. Wendy is no match
for someone like her." "Do you know her that well?" Zack asked, his eyes narrowing. A trace of jealousy and disbelief could be
heard in his tone. "She's decisive, yes, but I don't think she's ruthless." "It's because you haven't seen that side of her," Shawn
explained. "She is always nice to you and your sister." Shawn was
sounding jealous himself. "You can ask anyone about what they think of Lady Harper and you'd get the same answer. In Birch
Pass, everyone knows her, and knows that she is far from being a simple, one-sided intellectual. She even went through the
Labyrinth Swamp safely! Anyone with such skills is considered extraordinary."
"Yeah, you're right," Zack said, nodding his head in agreement. "Harper truly is a powerful woman." Zack then remembered
something to ask Shawn about. "When will you go back to the north domain?" he asked.
"In two days," Shawn replied. "It seemed like Lady Harper herself is ready to go. With Wendy recovering well, I don't think there
is anything else holding her back. In three days' time, we will be out of here." He then turned around and headed towards the
door. "Let's go for a drink, shall we?" he invited.
"No, thank you," Zack replied, politely declining Shawn's invitation. "I have a lot of work to deal with today. Just... take care of
Lady Harper."
"Don't worry, Zack," Shawn said. "As long as I'm with her, she will be safe."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Zack. It's my job to protect Lady Harper. She is not only a benefactor of my clan, but also a friend of
mine. In addition, since she is my superior, it has always been my duty to protect her."
"As one of her friends, I just want to thank you for being there for her," Zack said. He then took a deep breath, smiled, and
continued, "I always feel that she is getting stronger and stronger every day, and that her mind keeps expanding to new horizons.
I don't know until when that would last, but I want her to always be safe from any kind of harm."
Shawn's eyes twinkled. It was true that Harper had been getting stronger and stronger as days went by, and they all seemed left
behind, unable to catch up to her no matter how hard they tried.
"Anyway, she will come back home eventually," Shawn sighed.
"Yeah, she will come back home," Zack said somberly. After a while, he shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of something
inside of him. "You know what? Forget about the work. I can deal with them tomorrow. Let's go for a drink!".