Even Howard found this very surprising as well, he knew a bit more than Hailey did. Harper's mother was a descendant of the
Qin Clan, and all of its members possessed magic power. From that piece of information, he concluded that Harper must have
inherited such magic power from the Qin Clan as well. After all, she had the blood of the Qin Clan flowing through her veins.
When Harper walked past Howard, he asked, "Aren't you afraid that people might find out about your ability if you keep acting so
recklessly like this?"
Without stopping, Harper simply replied, "Afraid? Why should I be afraid? There is nothing to be afraid of. Will you tell other
people? Will Fred tell other people? Or will the dead tell other people?"
Upon hearing her response, Howard couldn't say anything as he watched Harper walk out. However, the moment she stepped
out of that place, someone suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path. When she saw him, Harper respectfully bowed
her head and said, "Mister, I'm afraid you're blocking my way."
Harper's words gave Matthew a headache. If he hadn't asked about the situation from his secret guard, he believed that Harper
probably wouldn't tell him the truth about what happened today. She had even allowed that fake Harper to sit right next to him.
Because of that, he just couldn't take it anymore. "You broke your promise," he said.
"What are you talking about? I don't think I understand," Harper said, feigning ignorance as to what Matthew meant. Matthew, on
the other hand, was no patient man, so he didn't want to play along. Pulling her into his arms, he whispered into her ear, "It
matters not even if you don't understand. I will teach you a lesson once we go back and while we are lying on the bed!"
Meanwhile, in the Phoenix House, Nina looked at Harper who was busy reading a book by the table. Somehow, she felt that
something seemed to be quite amiss. But she just couldn't tell what it was.
"Your Highness, would you like me to help you bathe and change your clothes?" Nina then asked cautiously.
Hearing this, Harper raised her head and glanced at Nina before answering, "No. Go and check if Matthew has returned or not."
"Yes,"
Nina politely replied. With that, she turned around and walked out of the room. Anabel was outside guarding the door. When she
saw Nina come out, she asked at once, "Nina, is there something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious. I'm just going to check if His Highness is back. You just stay here and look after Her Highness," Nina
simply said. Although she could tell that something didn't seem right about Harper, she knew that she was still the mistress, so
she wasn't in a position to be asking her what was wrong. But the strange feeling in her heart kept haunting Nina. That was
exactly one of the reasons why she decided to report it to Matthew.
When Nina went out to look for him, she found out that Matthew had just returned, carrying Harper in his arms. But due to the
fact that Harper was wearing men's clothing as a disguise, Nina didn't recognize her right away. For that reason, she was taken
aback when she saw him holding a strange man in his arms and couldn't believe her eyes. It seemed that she was at a bit of a
loss because of everything that happened today. On one hand, Harper had been acting weird in the Phoenix House. On the
other hand, Matthew was carrying a man in his arms. These things were just too hard to believe for Nina.
Seeing Nina's reaction, Harper wanted to poke fun at her. So, she turned around and teased, "Little beauty, what's up?"
"You are such a playboy!" Nina blurted out in a stern tone as she glared at the stranger. Then, she bowed her head respectfully
to Matthew and reported, "Your Highness, Her Highness has sent me here to ask you when you will be coming back to the
Phoenix House."
"Today, I'll be staying in the Pine House," Matthew said. The Pine House was the place he lived in. It wasn't that far from the
Phoenix House. However, Matthew rarely ever stayed in the Pine House unless he had a quarrel with Harper. So, when she
heard this, Nina was completely clueless as to why he would want to stay in the Pine House right now. Moreover, he was
carrying a man in his arms.
After giving it much thought, Nina remembered Harper's unusual behavior back in the Phoenix House. With that, she
immediately said, "Your Highness, you'd better go back to the Phoenix House right away. Her Highness... She..." Nina trailed off,
hesitant to continue.
"Why? What's wrong with her?" Matthew asked in an indifferent tone. As Harper struggled to get down from his arms, Matthew
mumbled, "Stop moving, or else I wouldn't hesitate to teach you a lesson right here right now."
Nina looked at Matthew in great surprise when she heard him say those words. Then, she shifted her gaze toward the man in
Matthew's arms. Although she wasn't married yet, she was well aware of those things. After all, she had been serving Harper
even since she was a child, so she had heard Harper and Matthew flirt with each other a lot.
"Something is wrong with her," Nina blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. At this point, she was beginning to worry. But
there was no way she could let a man take away Matthew from her lady.
"I see. You may take your leave," Matthew flatly said. After that, he went straight to his bedroom along with the "man" in his
arms. Nina immediately moved in front of them to stop them in their tracks and said, "Your Highness, you can't do that!"
"Get out of the way," Matthew said, with his eyebrows deeply knitted.
Seeing Nina on the verge of tears, Harper patted on Matthew's shoulder and said, "Come on, stop teasing her. She would get
anxious if you continued to tease her like this. Don't just stand outside. Let's go inside and have a talk."
After they entered the room, Matthew put Harper down on a chair. Nina looked at Harper in disbelief. She knew the voice quite
well given that she heard it every day. However, this "man" in front of her had a strange face. Nina wasn't sure how this could be.
"Your Highness?" she asked.
"You silly girl," Harper said with a gentle smile on her face. "It's me. Haven't you noticed already that something is different with
that woman in the Phoenix House?"
Nina was in a state of confusion. Judging from these words, she seemed to have realized that the woman in the Phoenix House
at the moment wasn't actually Harper. The person in front of her right now, without a doubt, was the real Harper "Your Highness,
you are here right now! But that woman..."
"Yes, I'm here. That person in the Phoenix House is a fake one. The empress was the one who sent her here. Be careful and
make sure not to try to unmask her. Just keep acting like usual. I want to see what they're planning to do," Harper ordered as she
smiled at her.
"As you wish, Your Highness," Nina replied at once. Now, all of the puzzles had been solved. She had been feeling strange
about that fake Harper. Yet she just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. And she even felt so alarmed when she saw
Matthew flirt with a strange man. As it turned out, that "man" was none other than her real mistress.
"Just do whatever she asks you to do. But I want you to think twice before making a decision. If you have trouble deciding what
to do, just come here to ask me or Matthew. I will be here at any time," Harper responded with the smile still glued to her face.
"More importantly, the fact that the woman in the Phoenix House is a fake one shall be kept between us here. No one else
should know about it."
"Yes, Your Highness. I understand. I know what I should do,"
Nina replied in a resolute tone. After that, she left, feeling so relieved. Now that she had confirmed that the woman in the
Phoenix House was a fake, she didn't have to worry about anything anymore. As long as she knew that Matthew and Harper still
loved each other, everything was going to be all right.