Forensic Imperial Concubine

Harper was still sleeping late that morning. Nina and Anabel were waiting outside. Harper didn't like to be disturbed when she
was sleeping. If there was any noise to awaken her, she would be very irritated and might punish everyone in the house.
When Noah arrived, he saw that the door of Harper's room was closed and that Nina and Anabel sat at the door and did some
needlework. "Nina, is Her Highness up yet?"
"Steward Noah, Her Highness is still asleep. What's the matter?" Nina quickly stood up and asked.
"The word from the Imperial Palace is that His Majesty is unwell."
Harper woke up at that moment, just in time to hear that the emperor was ill. She quickly had the maids come in to help her
change clothes and freshen up. She was finished and ready in the blink of an eye. She remembered what she had said the
previous night to Matthew: that the emperor might suddenly drop dead from excessive indulgence in sex. It seemed that her
prediction might have already come true. Perhaps his body couldn't bear it anymore.
"Come in, Noah," Harper said.
"Good morning, Your Highness."
"Skip the courtesies. Do you have any detail about His Majesty's illness?" asked Harper with curiosity.
Seeing the undisguised schadenfreude on Harper's face, Noah couldn't help but cough to remind her that she shouldn't make
her delight in the emperor's misfortune so obvious. But he quickly remembered Harper's personality, and realized that nothing he
said to her could hold her back from taking pleasure in a moment like this.
"Word has come from the Sleek Palace that His Majesty suddenly passed out. The imperial physicians were all at their wits' end
and didn't know what to do. When His Majesty finally woke up, he was so weak that he needed to stay in bed to recuperate. His
Majesty ordered Crown Prince Felix to take care of state business on his behalf, with the assistance of Grand Secretary Franklin
and Prince Francis. After that, His Majesty fainted again," Noah reported, though he didn't understand why Matthew had ordered
him to tell Harper the news by himself. He was sure that Matthew must have some reason to make such a request.
"Anything else?" Harper asked. The news that the emperor had fainted and that the crown prince would handle national affairs in
his stead was quite interesting. If the emperor really had awoken after fainting, he would not only have ordered Felix to handle
national affairs, but also have Francis to keep Felix in check.

"General Maxwell's wife is seriously ill and likely to die soon," Noah continued after a moment's thought, as his mind sorted
through the news he had heard recently.
There was a glimmer in Harper's eyes. Now that Maxwell had known the reason why none of the women in his mansion had
borne any children to him and obtained Harper's help, of course he would take action against the women in his mansion. The
reason why his wife remained alive was only to avoid making the emperor appoint any other woman to fill his wife's vacancy
anytime soon.
"Anabel, go to the storehouse to choose a suitable gift and forward it to General Maxwell's mansion, as a token of our concern
for his wife," Harper said with the subtle trace of a smile. "Some very interesting things must have happened in his mansion
recently."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Prepare a nice gift and deliver it to the Kong Clan mansion as well. Caroline is pregnant, but I can't visit her at present. I'll visit
her in person when my own health improves."
"Your Highness, I will deliver the message to Lady Caroline."
"And then..."
"Some news from the River City told us that Your Highness' ready-made garment shop had enjoyed booming business and
Mister Rufus had been busy counting money every day. He asked if Your Highness wishes to open another branch, and he said
that he wanted to take a share in the business." Noah was wryly amused by this letter he had received from Rufus. He thought
that Rufus' insistence and pushiness in asking him to persuade Harper to agree to the proposal were rather shameless. Noah
knew perfectly well that Matthew would not let him see the sunrise tomorrow if he said or did anything improper to Harper.
Hearing the news, Harper was absolutely delighted. "Oh, really? Business is booming?"
"Yes, Mister Rufus said that he has deposited all the profits in the bank, and that Your Highness can withdraw the money by
using this token," Noah said, handing a jade token to Harper. Harper took it and put it in her pocket gladly. "Tell him that I'm in no
rush to open any new branch. Let's wait three more months first, then I will open two new branches in two different cities in the
south. He can take charge of the whole operation. I will provide the designs."
"Yes, Your Highness."

After Noah left, Harper began to deal with the matters at hand. As she had recently been busy detoxifying herself from the
Terminalia Chebula, she had quite a few backlogs to attend to. Now that the emperor's health had collapsed from excessive sex,
he would have to spend some time recuperating. She was afraid that Felix and the empress would take advantage of the chance
to do something in the meantime.
Today, Matthew came back from the imperial court session very early. When Harper saw he walked in with light and carefree
steps, her eyes shone with pleasure. "Darling, you seem to be in a good mood."
"Not bad. His Majesty is in a coma," Matthew said, putting down his cloak and handing it to Anabel. He sat down and watched
Harper deal with the household affairs.
"If His Majesty was in a coma, how could he announce that Felix would take over his duties of state?" Harper asked.
"It was just a phony imperial edict, but the empress summoned one imperial physician after another to diagnose him. All the
imperial physicians said that His Majesty had suffered a serious decline of health, leading to his weakness and fainting. His
Majesty's life is not at risk, but it will not be easy for him to break out of the coma." Matthew kept his eyes on Harper as he
spoke. He wanted to ask about the Terminalia Chebula in her body, but didn't know how to mention it.
"Is the Terminalia Chebula a kind of poison?"
"It's not a poison," Harper answered without even raising her head. "I'm immune to every kind of poison. If it were a poison, it
would not have harmed me. It's a rare drug, though, with a powerful effect on me."