Forensic Imperial Concubine

For a brief second, the expression on Harper's face changed when she heard Darren's name. However, no matter how short the
change was, Howard still noticed it. He thought that the man who saw her off was certainly Darren, the young lord of Phoenix
City. Also, the young lord must be well acquainted with Harper. Otherwise, why did he come to see her off in person? Howard
had been very much aware of how many things he didn't know about Harper. But now, he was more confident that he really
didn't know Harper at all.
Diana had also heard of the young lord of Phoenix City before, but she didn't know much about him. However, she thought that
this man was also a significant person, no inferior to Rolando and Matthew. Phoenix City had always kept to themselves. They
didn't bother anyone or even show off whatever they had. It was for this matter that only a few people knew about Darren's
name.
"Harper, we should have some rest. We've been traveling for a very long time," Howard suggested. He wanted to know the
extent of her relationship with Phoenix City. But he knew better than anyone that no one could force her if she didn't want to talk
about it. There was probably a good chance that he couldn't find out anything about their relationship.
Harper turned back to face them and immediately saw that both Howard and Diana looked tired. They weren't able to rest
comfortably while crossing the Labyrinth Swamp. And they began to move forward after having a short break in Phoenix City.
Everyone was actually exhausted at that point.
"We're only ten miles away from a small town. We can stay and rest in an inn there; it will be more comfortable and safe." Upon
reaching the said inn, Harper looked into the distance, only to find out that they weren't far away from the Birch Pass. However,
the problem was that if they continued any longer, their bodies wouldn't be able to stand it anymore. 'So close, yet so far,' Harper
mumbled to herself.
After everyone had entered the nearest inn, Diana immediately lay down on her bed, refusing to move for the next few hours. In
the past, she had always thought that the women from the Bright Dynasty stayed at home and never went out at all. For as long
as she could remember, she had always looked down on them. Now that she met the valiant Harper who was completely not a
normal woman, she was convinced otherwise. After crossing the Labyrinth Swamp, Harper was even motivated to travel day and
night. Even Harper didn't treat herself as a human being.
Meanwhile, there was tension in the Birch Pass. Shawn turned his attention to Matthew who was practicing his swordsmanship
on the training ground. He silently hid himself on the sidelines. "Why are you hiding yourself, Marquis Shawn? Go and persuade
His Highness to stop what he's doing. If he still doesn't eat or drink, he'll certainly die a terrible death." A voice was suddenly
heard beside him.

Shawn quietly stepped back, only to find Joshua behind him. He asked, "Well why don't you do it? Don't forget, I'm still injured."
Then, Shawn covered his wound and added, "Get out of my way. I need to go back and lie down. I think my wound just opened
up."
Joshua held Shawn's arm and said, "How shameless you are, Shawn! I just asked you to persuade His Highness to take care of
himself a little better. You're not even going to the battlefield. Why are you so afraid?"
"I would rather go to the battlefield!" Shawn firmly exclaimed. Anyone could tell that Matthew was so enraged, he could kill
someone with one blow. It would only be wise not to disturb him at that time. Shawn thought that if Matthew were to beat him up
and he'd be injured once again, he wouldn't know how he could live in the future!
"But His Highness..." Joshua tried once again.
"No matter what you say, I won't go!" At that, Shawn left and walked towards the crowd. Ever since Matthew came back from the
South Kingdom, he had been like this. It was apparent that a huge factor was because he wasn't able to see Harper in the South
Kingdom. They could only assume that whatever news he found out about Harper, it wasn't that bad. Otherwise, he wouldn't
have been calmly practicing swordplay on the training ground, as if he was getting ready to kill anyone in his way.
"How long has Lady Harper been missing?" Shawn asked the deputy general next to him.
"It's been nearly half a month. I heard that —" Before the deputy general continued talking, he looked around. When he didn't see
anyone, he added in a low voice, "I heard that Lady Harper entered the Labyrinth Swamp and His Highness wanted to go in and
follow her. But someone stopped him. I don't know who or how that person was able to do that. So right now, all he can do is
vent his anger on the training ground."
The expression on Shawn's face dramatically changed. "The Labyrinth Swamp! Are you kidding me? Lady Harper went into the
Labyrinth Swamp? Is she courting death? This is bad. I have to take people with me to find her!"
"Marquis!" The deputy general quickly grabbed Shawn's arm and said, "How are you going to find her? Even if you take one
hundred thousand soldiers with you, the army will be completely annihilated. What are you going to do then?"
Shawn was finally able to calm down, but he still felt uneasy. He knew how horrible the Labyrinth Swamp was. The miasma in
the swamp was much stronger and poisonous than that in any other place in the South Kingdom. Even the shaman from that
kingdom didn't dare to enter the Labyrinth Swamp. It was reported that there were a lot of poisonous animals and terrifying
beasts that were unknown to humanity.

"But it's not a good idea to just wait here as well!"
"There's nothing we can do but wait! That's the reality!" The deputy general immediately started to regret telling Shawn about the
matter. He thought that Matthew's reaction was unusual enough. Unexpectedly, the marquis' reaction was even more excessive.
"You may leave now. I want to be alone for a while." Shawn's mind was in a mess. He unconsciously went upstairs to the city
gate tower and looked into the distance, as if this could calm him down.
Not long after that, three horses which were running very quickly came into view. Thinking that they were random travelers,
Shawn didn't pay much attention to them. He stared at them for a moment and then looked away. After a while, he looked at the
three horses once again. Now that they were much closer, the riders on top of them were becoming more recognizable. He was
surprised to see that he actually knew the person on the horse leading the group, even though she was wearing men's clothing!
In an attempt to see the riders much clearer, Shawn stretched out his neck. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked at the
horse which was running towards him. Then he turned back to make sure that it wasn't in the direction of the South Kingdom. He
looked back once again to confirm that the one who was taking the lead was none other than Princess
Harper!