Forensic Imperial Concubine

"My darling is so considerate and sweet! How did you know that I am so hungry?" With a wide smile, Harper went to the table,
sat down, and took the chopsticks from Matthew. She then asked, "Will Francis get rid of us? After all, we are a loose end to his
elaborate plan."
Matthew placed some food in front of Harper and said, "At this moment, I don't think he would. As you said, he's still recovering.
Also, the emperor will not suspect him at all for two reasons. One, because he's weak and two, because he had once saved his
life. The emperor will believe that I had planned everything."
"Then, I guess it's time to admit that I'm really quite impressed with Francis. Darling, do you have any wine here?" Harper asked
abruptly.
"No, you shouldn't drink since you have a very low tolerance for alcohol." Matthew was worried that Harper would lose herself
once she had wine. Although he liked to see drunk Harper, her health was more important to him.
Harper put down her chopsticks and said, "Then forget it. I admire Francis for his hard work and intelligence in coming up with
such a plan. But if he had the ability to think of such a complex scheme, he should be able to notice that he was being poisoned
for so many years."
"It was the emperor who poisoned him," Matthew supplied.
With those few words, Harper's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she just heard. But soon enough, she felt a
sense of ease. "It's not surprising that there's an emperor who would poison his own son since there's a father like Charles. No
wonder, Francis could still be tricked by poison, even though he is very intelligent. Anyways, since it's becoming clear that the
emperor does like to use poison, I'm afraid that it was him who poisoned our mother—Lady Cecilia as well."
In a second, the intent to kill was seen across Matthew's eyes. Cecilia's death had left a wound in his heart that would never
heal. Since a long time ago, it was clear to him that the emperor had something to do with his mother's death. Now, he was
certain that the emperor poisoned her. Matthew thought that if it was indeed the emperor who wanted to kill her, there must be
someone helping him in the palace.
Matthew also put down his chopsticks. He then poured a cup of tea and let Harper rinsed her mouth with it. "All the poisons
come from the imperial palace. The royal family is full of the most wicked people that plot the most vicious acts."
"But still, there are also many beautiful women in the royal family, including seventy-two concubines in different palaces. Every
kind of beauty can be found inside the family. It is literally like heaven on earth. Don't you like it, darling?" Harper asked with faux

interest while she placed her chin on top of her hands.
"I have you and that's more than enough for me. I don't need anyone else." Then, Matthew asked a servant to come in and put
away the dishes on the table. "What did you learn today?" Matthew asked Harper when they were alone.
"The man behind the things that were done by the empress is the emperor. His purpose is to ruin me. But I did something awful
in return." Harper stretched out her index finger and pointed it high in the air.
"What kind of awful thing?" As soon as he asked, Matthew thought of Fiona who didn't appear at the birthday banquet. At that,
he could almost guess what had happened.
With a guilty look on her face, Harper narrated, "I had Fiona dressed up like me and then, I sent her to the emperor's place. Who
would have known that the emperor was so shameless as to defile his daughter-in-law?"
Suddenly, an intense look could be seen in Matthew's eyes. "Do you have some sort of drug?"
"Drug? What kind of drug?" Harper idly asked. She wasn't sure if Matthew was upset or not.
"After taking this kind of drug, a man will never be able to touch a woman again. I want to give this kind of drug to the emperor as
his birthday gift. He already has so many sons and daughters, so he doesn't need to have any more children. For the sake of his
body, I want to give him the drug," Matthew frantically said.
Harper giggled with her hand covering her mouth. "Then, the emperor would only be able to watch his beautiful concubines
instead of touching them. That sounds interesting!"
"Do you have that kind of drug?"
"Not yet, but if I work hard, I think I can make it."
"Okay, that's perfect. When it's finished, give it to me and I will give it to the emperor." Matthew put his hands on both sides of the
chair and leaned closer to Harper. "Since that had been settled, let me teach you something you don't know yet."
"Wait!" Harper exclaimed while she placed her hands on his chest. "There's one more thing. I can't believe I almost forgot it."
Matthew carefully looked at the expression on her face and he knew that whatever she was going to say, it wouldn't be brief.
"What is it? We can talk about it while I continue with what I am about to teach you," Matthew complained, almost sounding like a
whine.

Harper took a deep breath. "Stop it. Let's talk about this first. Members of the Qin Clan in the Joy City were killed and the token
of our mansion was left at the scene."
"Did Zack tell you that?" Matthew asked while the expression on his eyes changed.
"It doesn't matter who told me. Just answer this: were you aware of this?" Harper looked into Matthew's eyes. She believed in
him. If he wanted to kill members of the Qin Clan, it was impossible for him to leave any traces on the crime scene.
The expression on Matthew's face changed once again. Of course, he knew everything that Zack knew. But he didn't tell Harper
about it because he didn't know who had betrayed him. "Yes, but I didn't tell you."
"Is there a traitor in our mansion?" There was no other possibility that Harper could think of. If the news about the Qin Clan had
spread so quickly and it had something to do with Matthew's mansion, then it must be someone from the mansion who leaked it.
Obviously, the person who did that could only have one intent and that was to drive a wedge between the couple.
"Yes," Matthew briefly answered. He then squeezed into the chair and sat down beside Harper. She felt that the chair was a little
bit too crowded, so she simply sat on his legs. Then, he continued, "Besides, during that time when we left River City, someone
broke into our mansion. From what we know, that person was looking for something. He was extremely cautious, but fortunately,
our secret guards found him."
"Did we lose anything in the house?" Harper asked. She was so surprised. That person must be very familiar with the layout of
the mansion since they were able to sneak in without being caught.
"No, he didn't find what he wanted. Guess what he was looking for inside?" Matthew asked in a low voice.
Harper raised her head in contemplation and said, "It must be something confidential or valuable."
"The Heavenly Book," Matthew supplied.