The procession for the political marriage alliance was to set off very early the next morning. The decision to leave was made in
such a hurry that Matthew and Lucas did not even have enough time to prepare. The old emperor had just been buried, so
bystanders were quite suspicious why it seemed like the bridal procession couldn't wait to set off for its destination.
The night before, someone came to Lucas' mansion. He was in the middle of packing his belongings when he heard a noise
from the window. Someone had broken in. As soon as he touched the sword on his waist, he saw Matthew and Harper.
Surprised, he looked out of the window to check whether there were other people but he immediately closed it again.
"Uncle Matthew, it's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?" Lucas was startled, to say the least. He just visited
Matthew's mansion earlier that day, so he did not understand why they came to his mansion at midnight.
Matthew sat down, arm in arm with Harper. "Do you really believe that we're going to the Great Jade Kingdom just for the
marriage alliance?"
"Am I wrong to think that?" Lucas was a little confused. He thought, 'Earlier in the day, your wife asked me to do my best in
escorting Lilian. But now, you came to me at night and told me not to take it for what it is. If we're not going for the marriage
alliance, what are we going there for? Are we going to invade the Great Jade Kingdom and take Emperor Rolando's crown?'
Matthew sneered before he responded. "Don't be so naive. Do you really believe that Francis has no other purpose for making
us escort Lilian for the marriage alliance? I think you might have been in the romantic place for too long. Being in the company of
women might have confused your mind."
"Uncle Matthew, are you saying that Francis wants to use this chance to kill me?" Although Lucas knew Francis wouldn't let him
go so easily, he didn't expect him to make a move in such a short time. He had never even shown any intention of competing for
power. He couldn't understand why Francis was in such a hurry to kill him.
Although he was relieved that Lucas was finally on the same page, Matthew snorted. "I'm afraid, it's not just you. I have reasons
to believe that he wants to kill me as well."
When he heard that, Lucas calmed down. He was now certain that Francis wanted to kill him. If one were to look into the imperial
edicts, he would find that one of them was missing. The missing imperial edict was probably the testamentary edict of the former
emperor. No matter what was written on it and who had hidden it, Francis had been concerned with it in secret. Francis would kill
him for security, whether he had the imperial edict or not.

"Uncle Matthew, have you thought of a way to deal with it?" Matthew was someone who would not act if he wasn't a hundred
percent sure about it. Now that he came to him, he must have already had a plan. Francis wanted to kill Matthew, but it would
never be that easy.
Matthew nodded his head and replied, "Yes, and I need your cooperation."
"Whatever you want me to do, I'll certainly do it." Lucas was extremely obedient. Now that he had become Francis' target, it
would be hard to survive. But if he cooperated with Matthew, he might have a great chance of living. If he were left to fend off by
himself and his subordinates, he would probably not be a match for Francis.
"Tomorrow, you and I will still escort Lilian to the foreign country as planned. But before we leave, I must ensure Harp's safety in
the imperial capital. She can't go with us." Matthew looked at Harper tenderly while she just shrugged in surrender. She had told
Matthew that she was capable enough to protect herself. But no matter what she said, Matthew was not convinced. She then let
him do anything he wanted to do.
"I'm going to ask my men left in the imperial capital to protect Aunt Harper." Lucas immediately thought that he understood what
Matthew meant.
But Matthew shook his head and said, "My men will protect her. What you need to do is find a way to trouble Francis after we
leave. It would be better if he got injured and stayed in bed for some time."
Lucas was rather surprised. Did Matthew just say that he wanted him to send people to injure Francis? But Francis was skilled in
martial arts so his men might not be able to hurt him. With honesty, he stated, "Our men may not be capable enough to hurt him."
"It doesn't matter if he gets hurt or not. I just want you to make trouble for him. Anything that would distract him is enough."
"Okay, I'll do everything in my power to make that happen."
"In that case, see you tomorrow. I hope we can be safe on our journey." It was a simple pleasantry but Lucas knew that there
was some underlying meaning behind Matthew's words.
With reluctance, Lucas smiled. Safe? Now that he was made aware of the situation, they both knew it would be hard to
accomplish. How could Francis allow him to be safe and sound? Judging from the cruelty he had when he killed Felix, Lucas
knew that Francis who seemed to be gentle was actually the most vicious one.

On the morning of the next day, the procession for the marriage alliance finally set off. Francis personally bid his goodbyes at the
border of the imperial capital. Standing on the wall, Harper quietly watched the procession leave. After this departure, she felt a
little sad because she didn't know when they would come back. However, she knew that everything would be okay with Matthew
since he could protect himself and had very capable men with him. Even so, she couldn't help but worry about him since she
loved the man very much.
After Francis saw the procession off, he noticed that Harper was still standing on the city wall. He asked his subordinates to
leave, then made his way on the city wall. "This time, they're going to the Great Jade Kingdom for the marriage alliance. I really
hope that they can form a lasting union with them."
Without saying a word, Harper only watched as the procession went farther and farther. It was not until the procession finally
disappeared from her sight that she said, "I hope so too."
"Are you going back to your mansion, Aunt Harper?" Francis was as gentle as ever. He had a very handsome face, full of purity
and kindness. It was for this exact reason that it became hard for people to take precautions against him.

Advertisement