Forensic Imperial Concubine

"And what place is that??"
"Phoenix City!" Harper exclaimed. She then stared at each one of the group and slowly explained, "If we want to reach the Great
Jade Kingdom, we have to pass through the whole swamp. Although I have prepared a lot of medicinal materials, and we can
also get some from here, it's still very dangerous to cross the swamp. So we have to go to Phoenix City. From there, we will
return to the Birch Pass."
"How far away is the swamp from Phoenix City?" Diana asked, now with curiosity. She had always known about the existence of
Phoenix City, but had never been there. It was not only because of its special location, but because the people from the South
Kingdom were forbidden to enter that city!
Looking into the distance, Harper answered, "It's three hundred miles away from here. With our current pace, we should be able
to get out of the swamp and enter the domain of Phoenix City tomorrow evening. But I'm afraid that it's not easy to get into it."
Harper started walking and Diana silently followed her while rubbing her nose. In the past, the South Kingdom had a conflict with
Phoenix City. So the lord of the city refused to let the people from the South Kingdom enter it. Diana knew that it would be
difficult for Harper to take her into the city.
"Harper," Diana called out. After thinking about it in silence, Diana thought that it was necessary to tell Harper about it.
"What is it?"
"If you take me with you, the people in Phoenix City won't allow you to enter." In fact, Diana was worried that Harper would
abandon her. However, ever since they had entered the swamp and she got the chance to spend time with her, Diana realized
that she couldn't really hate Harper. She then added, "There is a conflict between the South Kingdom and Phoenix City. Because
of that, people from my kingdom are forbidden to enter their city."
However, Harper didn't mind the revelation. She only smiled and said, "Don't worry. Once we've passed through the Labyrinth
Swamp, just don't say you're from the South Kingdom. After all, they have to let us in. The Labyrinth Swamp has always been a
dangerous place in the past few years. It has been serving as Phoenix City's defense. So even if you killed their family in the
past or even if you're from the South Kingdom, they would still have to invite you in. Ultimately, if someone can cross the swamp
and reach their city in one piece, the lord of their city will be troubled."
Diana thought it over and nodded in agreement. "In particular, I'm a princess of the South Kingdom. The people in Phoenix City
might think that our kingdom has developed some strategies and found a way to cross the Labyrinth Swamp. They might believe

that we want to do something brutal to their city. Instead of inviting us in, I'm afraid that they'll kill us on the spot."
"That's a problem. If we were killed on the spot, we would die with false accusations since we're innocent. Perhaps, we could find
someone to help us," Harper said, becoming more serious.
While they continued their journey, Howard did not speak a word. Since he had been spending time with Harper for long, he had
uncovered more and more secrets about her. At first, he thought that Harper was a meek woman whose place was just at home.
It turned out that she was so ruthless that she even led to the death of all of the women in the same house. Later, he found out
that Harper had forced Charles to hand over the master's token and let her take control over the secret guards of the Chu Clan.
Then, he discovered that she was even skilled in martial arts. Now, she was more powerful than before. He had never expected
that she could be so strong that she could lead people to cross the Labyrinth Swamp which nobody had ever accomplished. She
perfectly matched the name which Diana had called her, a "monster"!
He then suddenly looked at her back in confusion and wondered if this powerful and admirable woman was really the Harper that
he had known all along.
"Harper, do you still remember that time when Felicia pushed you into the lake? You were so young back then," Howard abruptly
asked.
"Do you mean what happened when Uncle Daniel was still at home? Hailey tricked Felicia into pushing me into the lake and I
dragged you down in the process. So you almost got drowned as well," Harper asked without looking back at him.
"Well, that time, you could have chosen not to save me."
Harper sighed before responding, "I didn't want to save you, but Uncle Daniel said we were brothers and sisters so we had to
love one another. I wanted to make him happy, so I had no other choice but to save you."
Howard smiled at that. "You were always obedient to Uncle Daniel at that time. But every time you saw Father, you would look
upset. You thought that Father favored Hailey and Felicia more. You were always against him and would go out of your way to
annoy him."
"No matter what I did, he didn't like me. And I didn't like him, either. So it's only fair," Harper indifferently stated, as if she wasn't
talking about her father but some stranger.
Howard suddenly remembered that their uncle Daniel was good at martial arts. So how could Harper, who had been brought up
by him, be so incapable? She seemed to be weak and foolish over the years. However, she was just faking it. Just because

Daniel went missing, her behaviors had dramatically changed. Charles didn't care about her at all, while the other members of
Chu Clan never thought about that, so they failed to notice that.
"Harper, do you still remember Uncle Daniel?"
Harper suddenly stopped walking without any warning. Diana, who was closely following behind her couldn't stop in time, so she
hit Harper on her back. "Why did you stop?"
"We're in trouble!" Watching a black tide in front of them, Harper swallowed. "Everyone, gather around!"
At Harper's command, the twelve secret guards rushed to her and surrounded her. She took out the Sacred Seal, made an
enchanted barrier, and enveloped everyone in it. Only then did the others clearly see the dark wave. In a much closer look, it
turned out that the wave was countless black ants. Everything that the ants passed, they would only leave bones and nothing
else. In an instant, their enchanted barrier was surrounded by the dark surge of ants.