Forensic Imperial Concubine

"Your Highness." Daisy hurried to Lilian's side to support her. For many years, she had been working alongside Lilian as her
personal maid and had even followed her all the way to the Great Jade Kingdom. "Are you going out to take a walk?" she asked.
Lilian's eyes were affixed on the two people who were walking side by side. Though she didn't want to admit it to herself, she felt
that they looked like a perfect match made by heaven. "Daisy, do you think that His Majesty has been very happy recently and
smiled more than ever before?" she asked.
Frowning, Daisy answered, "Your Highness, I just feel that His Majesty treats Lady Harper very well."
"They are friends. His Majesty has even saved Lady Harper's life when he was in the Bright Dynasty. They have already been on
good terms since then," Lilian explained with a smile. Every time that memory crossed her mind, she would remember how
ridiculously she acted and how Rolando forbade her from entering the imperial monk's mansion. Because of that, she would use
all kinds of excuses to lure Harper to go to the said mansion, since she was the only one who could enter without obtaining any
kind of permission from Rolando in advance.
"Your Highness, what I meant to say is that the way His Majesty treats Lady Harper is vastly different from the way he treats
anybody else!" Daisy said, implying that she perceived the situation in a scandalous way. A while ago, she had observed that all
the food Rolando had picked for Harper was her favorite, but the food he had picked for Lilian was not necessarily what she liked
eating. She also noted how Rolando had eaten everything Harper had picked for him with a smile on his face regardless of
whether he liked it or not, but he seemed rather reluctant to eat the food Lilian had picked for him.
When she heard what Daisy said, Lilian's eyes darkened. Of course she knew that Rolando treated Harper differently—he took
Harper as a confidant, someone who knew him best, while Lilian, on the other hand, didn't know him at all. But what was
bothering her was how Harper seemed to still be the most special person in his eyes. She would have understood if they were
still in the Bright Dynasty, but even in here? Every time she was around Rolando and Harper, she always felt like she was an
outsider. Before all of these thoughts took hold of her brain, Lilian shook her head to stop herself from thinking. 'Harper is Uncle
Matthew's wife, and she is just a good friend to Rolando,' she thought to herself inwardly, trying to calm herself down.
When Matthew received the news that Harper had already arrived in the Great Jade Kingdom, his face became sullen. Instead of
feeling relieved, he felt like a violent storm was brewing inside him, ready to devastate everything in its way. Barry immediately
noticed this and made it a point to stay away from him in order to avoid any possible danger. They had set out from the imperial
capital of the Bright Dynasty seven days earlier than Harper, but why did she arrive earlier than them?

What did that mean? It meant that someone had deliberately slowed Matthew and his crew down but at the same time cleared
every obstacle for Harper so that she would arrive earlier in the Great Jade Kingdom. What was the purpose of the person who
did that? To Matthew, it was clear as day.
"Rolando!" he exclaimed, striking the tree next to him to vent his anger out. The mere power present in his palm made the tall
tree crumble to little pieces. How dared Rolando conspire against him, and worse, treat his wife as if she was his special
someone? He would never forgive him!
"Your Highness, the twelve secret guards are with Her Highness. She will be fine," Ken said after letting Matthew simmer for a
while. He came back to Matthew's side after Lucas ascended the throne and became the new emperor.
"You don't understand what Rolando is doing!" bellowed Matthew, gritting his teeth. As old enemies, he and Rolando had a lot in
common in many aspects, one of which was, of course, their taste in women. The moment Rolando sacrificed his arm to save
Harper from danger, Matthew knew that he was up to no good. What was worse was at that time, the relationship between him
and Harper was not exactly stable. He would always quarrel with her and would force her to make her feelings for him clear. Now
that Harper had arrived in the Great Jade Kingdom, he was sure that Rolando would try his best to seduce Harper while he was
absent.
"I'll go ahead of the team. Disguise someone as me and let him stay here," he ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness."
When Matthew was told that Rolando had brought Harper into his palace, Matthew felt unbearably uneasy. It was not because
he didn't trust Harper—it was because he didn't trust Rolando one bit. While the security he felt about Harper's loyalty to him was
unwavering, he still felt on the fence because of Rolando's cunning nature. He was afraid that Rolando would do something
unacceptable to him and to Harper, and so he dared not just wait and see. There was no way he would let him do whatever he
wanted.
Harper initially thought that Rolando wanted to show her around in the palace. To her surprise, however, Rolando took her out of
the palace. "Didn't you say you were just going to show me around the palace? Why are we leaving and where are we going?"
With a smile, Rolando explained, "You really think I'll bore you like that? You will be residing in the palace for a few days, so you
have all the time in the world to look around. Today, I'll take you to walk around the capital city of my kingdom. I'll show you a
drastically different lifestyle as compared with the imperial capital of the Bright Dynasty."

Harper suddenly chuckled. "For all I know, you're just doing this because you've grown tired of reviewing the reports from the
courtiers. You're literally using me as an excuse to loaf on your job!"
"Harper, you never cease to amaze me. Yes, you have guessed it right," Rolando admitted, laughing. His expression suddenly
became soft and sentimental. "I haven't had the chance to walk around the streets of the capital city ever since I took the throne
and became the emperor. Now that I finally have the chance, of course, I must come out for a walk."
"I really think that a leader should do that every once in a while. I mean, as the emperor of a country, how will you get to know
your people and their livelihood without meeting them and experiencing their life personally?" Harper said, commending his
decision. "Rolando, is there any brothel here?" she then inquired.
Rolando's expression froze because of what could only be recognized as shock mixed with fear. "Yes, but there is no way I'm
taking you there. I'm afraid Matthew would hunt me down with his sword if that news ever reached him."
Harper couldn't help but burst out laughing. "No! That's not what I meant. I was just asking!"
"But still, if you want to go there, I will not let you," Rolando responded, his eyes still wide. The carriage then stopped, signaling
that they had already arrived at their destination. An attendant then opened the door for them and Rolando took the lead in
getting off their vehicle. "Here we are," Rolando said, offering his hand to Harper to help her get off safely.