Forensic Imperial Concubine

"You are right," Diana said, heaving a deep sigh. She recalled what Harper had said to comfort her earlier. Her words sounded
harsher than that of Howard's. In fact, Harper didn't comfort people. Rather, she used her words for provoking and goading
people into action. And her tactics were effective. Diana remembered how Harper's words had pushed her out of the lull where
she had almost accepted her fate to be killed by her sister. Had it not been for Harper, that day, Diana would have died in the
Labyrinth Swamp rather than being here at the moment.
"After I bring peace back to the South Kingdom, I will follow her," Diana declared in a determined tone. "I have so much to learn
from her. I strongly believe that staying with her is incredibly beneficial for me."
"Only if she is willing to take you with her. It's not so easy to have your way with Harper, you see," Howard reminded her calmly.
Then he teased her, "Judging from your intelligence quotient, I don't think she will be willing to take you with her."
"Howard Chu, what do you mean?" Diana asked, rolling up her sleeves. "Do you want to get into a fight with me?"
Howard raised his eyebrows and turned to go outward, without saying anything to Diana. He was aware that this time was not for
reveling in such useless conversations. After Diana's secret visit to the royal palace to see her father today, Catherine would not
simply sit idle. Even if she had no evidence of Diana's presence in the South Kingdom, she must have sent her people all around
the city by now to find the intruder. Howard was aware that they had to be vigilant.
Diana was initially taken aback and rather angered by Howard's turning his back and walking out. But later on, she realized that
Howard had gone out to look for something in the yard. Howard's intuitiveness, sincerity, and care in dealing with the situation
impressed Diana very much.
Diana followed him to the yard. After a while, Howard nodded his head with satisfaction after he got everything ready. He looked
at Diana and said, "Let's go out of the capital city."
"Out of the capital city? Why?" Diana asked, looking startled by Howard's words. "Why should we go out of the capital at this
time?"
"We can't be so complacent at this stage. Catherine is far more dangerous than you think. She had been hiding her real self for
ten years only to achieve her goal. Then you can imagine how shrewd and scheming a person she can be. It will not take her a
long time to find out that you are still alive and have also returned to the South Kingdom. She will surely rummage the whole
capital to search for you. Since your father refuses to write the royal edict to appoint her as the heir to the throne, she would
have no choice but to get the royal jade seal from you."

Diana listened to Howard's explanation and once again her heart trembled with fear and pain for she was being targeted by her
own sister. Was Catherine really so smart and crooked? "How could it be possible? I don't think Catherine can infer that I am still
alive," said Diana.
"But we can't take the risk! Make haste. We don't have much time," Howard decisively said. "Let's leave this place as soon as
possible. I've set up traps here. It will be okay if Catherine doesn't come here. But even if she comes or sends her men here to
find you, she won't be able to come in easily."
"But what did you do?" Diana asked as she wriggled out through the window.
"I have just set up some tricks. Come, let's make a move now. We have to go out of the capital as soon as possible," Howard
said, grasping Diana's hand who was about to walk to the yard. "Just follow me if you don't want to get injured. Otherwise, I won't
save you if you step into the traps." After that, Howard held her and led her through a very narrow passage.
Diana pouted her lips and obediently followed Howard to walk outward. Although she didn't believe that Catherine could guess
that she was still alive, she couldn't take the risk by staying here. She couldn't afford to get caught by Catherine before Harper
arrived.
Just when Diana and Howard left the capital, Harper and Matthew entered it. Just as planned, Diana had arrived only one day
prior to Harper and Matthew's arrival to the city.
As soon as they arrived in the South Kingdom, Harper and Matthew sneaked into the capital city. And as soon as Matthew set
his foot in the capital, the news reached Catherine immediately.
"He is here!" said Catherine. Her eyes lit up with a spark of joy and her face broke into a complacent smile. She sprang up from
her seat and said, "You guys carry on with your search and I'll go to see him."
"Yes, Your Grace," the informer replied. Then he bowed in front of her and left.
As Catherine reached within the vicinity of Harper and Matthew, Harper had a gut feeling that there must be something on
Matthew's body that made Catherine know that he had entered the capital city. Yet, she did not know what it was.
"I am leaving now," Harper said in a low voice.
"You be careful," Matthew said slowly. 'How could Catherine get a sniff of my presence so easily?' It was important for him to find
that out. But before that, he and Harper had to separate their paths and carry on with the course of action separately.

Harper nodded and disappeared in the darkness of the night. Fred followed her to protect her. As Fred followed Harper through
the narrow alleys of the capital city, his face twitched at the thought of his task. Did Harper need his protection at all? In her
current capacity, she was completely equipped to take down an army single-handed.
Fred missed the time when Harper had been feeble. But even at that time, she had a very strong mind. Over time, her strength
reached a paranormal level. After all, she had brought a group of people out of the Labyrinth Swamp. That was certainly no feat
for a person with normal capacities.
"Your Highness, where are we going right now?" This was for the first time that Fred had asked Harper after they separated from
Matthew.
Harper stopped at the edge of the narrow passage that they had been walking through. She turned to Fred and explained in a
low voice, "Right now, we are heading towards the royal palace. First, we need to assess the situation over there. At the
moment, Catherine is not in the palace and I think I should take this opportunity to go to the royal palace and visit Lance."
Fred nodded and continued to follow Harper silently. The twelve secret guards had been following Harper secretly since they
came out of the Labyrinth Swamp. Fred had always been much stronger and more powerful than the twelve secret guards. But
now, he can't even make out their presence around him and Harper as they made their way through the rarely frequented lanes
of the capital city. Their strength had improved remarkably after their return from the Labyrinth Swamp.
Fred could not help but feel jealous of the twelve secret guards for their enhanced skills and power. In fact, he regretted not
having followed Harper into the Labyrinth Swamp. If he did, he would also have encountered so many interesting things.
Unfortunately, he had followed Matthew to assist him at the Birch Pass at that time.
The unpleasantness on Fred's face could not evade Harper's eyes. "Fred, you seem to have too much resentment about
something. Have I done anything that makes you unhappy?" Harper asked with a smile while slowing down her pace
Fred's face slightly changed. "I'm just envious of them. After their trip to the Labyrinth Swamp, even I can't feel their existence. I
believe that they must have encountered some sort of lucky opportunities in the Labyrinth Swamp that helped them improve their
strength exponentially."
"It's nothing as such. And you certainly need not enter the Labyrinth Swamp for that. If you can control the power in your body
that excites you, you can also improve your strength by a level or even more than them," Harper said gently. "I know you feel
empowered when you are excited. But that is the time when you even have a risk of harming your companions as well. But if you
can control yourself, you'll win."

Fred looked at Harper in surprise. A glimmer of hope played in his eyes. "Can I control it?" he asked.
"Of course you can. As long as your strength is out of your control, it is like a double-edged sword that not only hurts your enemy
but will harm you as well. Until the time it is under your control, it will be your own power. So, I suggest, you practice having
control over yourself," Harper said, her eyes full of trust. "And I believe you can make it."
"I can make it?" Fred mumbled, staring at his hands. All this time, he had been suppressing his strength for the fear that it might
make him go crazy. But if he could control himself, as Harper said, then it would mean a qualitative leap to him. "I can make it.
And I will do it," he affirmed to himself.