Forensic Imperial Concubine

The secret guards carefully watched while Harper skillfully cut off the poisonous snakes' heads. Without a hint of hesitation or
disgust, she then peeled their skin and cut their stomach. Such a beautiful woman was butchering such a dangerous animal but
they didn't think that she was rugged at all. Instead, they felt like she was gallant and heroic. It actually made her even more
charming.
"Two snakes are not enough for us. There're fifteen of us!" Diana exclaimed while she approached Harper. The snakes were
poisonous with very sharp teeth. Their toxins were concentrated in their head. So as long as their heads were cut off, the whole
team didn't need to worry about being poisoned.
"Enough!" Harper replied while she took out a small tripod from her pocket. When she refined pills in the Birch Pass, she found
out that the tripod could change size after being infused with spiritual power. She had already experienced going to another
world and being reborn, so she was kind of used to this kind of thing. She didn't think that it was strange at all.
But the others were not like her. For the first time, they just witnessed how an object went from a small one to a large one. They
could only look at Harper in awe and worship.
"We don't have any water. The water here is not safe for drinking," Diana complained once again, reminding Harper that
everything around them was poisonous. Even the rain from the sky was toxic because of the miasma.
"Who said there's no water?" Harper rhetorically asked while her eyes fell on a lush tree. The tree was very thick, and its leaves
were big and appealing. She pulled out the dagger and stabbed it into the trunk a few times. Soon enough, the tree's sap came
out. She put the tripod under it so it could collect the sap.
Diana's eyes widened in shock. "Harper, did they throw you into this Labyrinth Swamp while you were growing up because your
father didn't love you?"
"Some of the places I've been to are even more terrible than the Labyrinth Swamp, but I still managed to survive." After that,
Harper picked some wild grass nearby while the sap was being collected. Diana had a very keen eyesight and realized that the
herbs that Harper was picking were not wild ones but precious medicinal herbs. Any of those would cost a fortune!
"Oh my God! This is the Heavenly Spirit Herb. I can't buy this outside no matter how much I pay. This is..." With that, Diana's
eyes lit up. She wanted to snatch the herbs from Harper, but the latter was already walking behind her to go to the other side.
Harper asked someone to start a fire and put the chopped snake meat into the tripod to make soup. The tripod was almost filled
with sap. So the twelve secret guards were sent to collect the sap and fill up their water bottles. Howard was helping Harper with

cooking, but he was thinking, 'When did Harper come to the Labyrinth Swamp? Moreover, is there really another place more
dangerous than this swamp?'
Diana could only stare at the valuable medicinal herbs in Harper's hands which had been out of stock in the market for so long.
They were considered treasures but right now, they were being boiled as ingredients to make soup. She couldn't hide her
disappointment while she sighed deeply. If she could keep these medicinal herbs, she could refine so many rare pills by them.
Yet, they were being cooked into a pot of snake meat soup by Harper. This must be the most expensive soup in the world!
When the snake meat soup was ready, Diana started eating. She was still upset about it. But after eating the first mouthful, she
actually felt good. After the second, she felt comfortable. After the third mouthful, she suddenly felt that it was worth it to cook all
of the herbs into the pot of soup. She had never eaten snake meat soup as delicious as the one she was eating.
"Harper, you know, if you cook and start a business, you're going to be successful!" Diana said, gobbling a big portion of soup.
Harper only rolled her eyes. "Why should I be a cook when I can be a princess living an extravagant life without doing anything?"
"Agree. How can Her Highness be a chef?" the twelve secret guards stated in chorus. Then, one of them said, "For me, it's such
an honor and privilege to have a chance of eating some food which is cooked by Her Highness. It's so delicious. It's a pity that
His Highness is not here."
At the mention of Matthew, Harper's eyes softened in an instant. She was forced to enter the Labyrinth Swamp. And even before
that, it had been days since they last saw each other. She didn't know how he was and whether he was able to settle the dispute
in the Birch Pass. She could only hope that he would find it in him to be calm if he found out that she had entered the swamp.
Harper thought that hopefully, he had enough trust in her abilities to survive this place.
When Howard saw the change in Harper's expression, a touch of sadness flitted across his eyes. "Shall we rest here for
tonight?"
"Yes, we'll settle in here for now," Harper responded while she put down the wooden bowl. It was made from the material around
them by the secret guards so they could eat the soup.
Harper scattered some powder on their surroundings. She then took out the Sacred Seal, infused spiritual power into it, and
enclosed all of them in an enchanted barrier. "Well, partner up with somebody in the group so we can take turns in sleeping and
standing guard throughout the night. Let's sleep early. We need all the strength we have to continue our journey tomorrow
morning."

That night, everyone slept well. However, when they woke up, they found a bunch of poisonous insects outside the enchanted
barrier. Seeing the piles of dead insects, the small team felt creepy. They were thinking the same thing. Without Harper, they
wouldn't have survived the Labyrinth Swamp for a day, even if they were skilled in martial arts!
"Your Highness, what direction should we go to?"
Harper stretched out her hand and pointed in a direction. "That way."
"The Labyrinth Swamp covers a very large area, so it will be a waste of time to pass through it. Do you know the way out?"
Diana asked with evident doubt.
"Before I came to the South Kingdom, I have studied a lot of its map. It says that the Labyrinth Swamp connects the South
Kingdom to the Great Jade Kingdom. In addition, it leads to another place."