Beth trembled with anger as she was forced out of the Joy Inn "Shame on you! Do you really think it's only you the Qin Clan can
rely on? Just wait and see. You will come begging us someday."
Matthew stood by the window and watched Beth disappear into the crowd. His tone was serious when he said, "Harp, the Qin
Clan should still be in Phoenix City, but they are hiding somewhere. This time they came to you, and maybe it's to gauge your
limits."
"I agree. But I'm curious to know what drove them to this. After all these years, they should have known by now that I'm not the
one who will make compromise easily." Something had been confusing Harper. If Rolando was a threat to the Qin Clan, they
would have come back after he escaped. But why were they hiding? Did his escape endanger them? Or was there something
else going on?
"You'll find out soon enough." With how powerful Harper was now, Matthew didn't think the Qin Clan would give up. They must
have some hidden plans to exploit her with.
Killing intent stormed out of Matthew as he thought of how the Qin Clan planned to take advantage of his wife. He wouldn't allow
anyone to use her or bully her.
Harper frowned. "I am wondering if Felton..."
"If Felton behaves like the rest of the Qin Clan, I will kill them all and start with him. You have been too tolerant of them. You
should treat them the way you treated the Chu Clan. Then, the Qin Clan wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous with you."
Matthew's voice was cold and cruel.
Staring at him, Harper asked, "Do you think I'm that soft-hearted?"
"It's not that you are soft-hearted. You just blindly believe in the Qin Clan. You know nothing about them. Excluding Felton, do
you know any of the other power holders of the Qin Clan?" Matthew looked at Harper and asked seriously. He knew she wasn't
reckless enough to decide to help the Qin Clan without knowing all their history and background.
Harper smiled indifferently. "Darling, I have you. Besides, I'm not interested in any members of the Qin Clan except Felton, so
there is no need for me to contact them. I helped the clan for Felton's sake. It was mutually beneficial. The Qin Clan provided me
with the information I wanted and I found a solution. After all, just like them, I need to solve the whole matter."
"What would you do if Felton betrays you and sides with the other members of the Qin Clan?" Matthew asked calmly, looking into
Harper's eyes. If Harper showed any sign of hurt over such a thing happening, he would help her get rid of Felton.
Harper replied sullenly, "Then we will no longer be friends."
"It's good that you accept that." Even though Matthew thought it was a cruel thing to say that, he still had to remind Harper. Over
the years, she was getting soft-hearted.
Harper lowered her head, deep in thought. She realized that she had been too kind over the years. She had never rejected the
Qin Clan's requests, nor revealed that she'd had any contact with them. When they met in public, she pretended she didn't know
Felton to avoid exposing the traces of the Qin Clan. But now it seemed that her thoughtfulness had backfired. It became the
reason for the Qin Clan's members, those who had been hiding in the darkness all year round, to act shamelessly.
A little after midnight, a man fell into Harper's room. Instead of fighting, Matthew lit a candle in the room and said, "I didn't expect
you to come so soon."
The man was dressed in a night suit, looking badly injured. He looked from Harper's sleeping form to Matthew. "Stop staring at
her. I knew someone from the Qin Clan would come, so I put her to sleep, and she won't be waking up anytime soon."
The man took off the mask and showed a pale but familiar face. "Your Highness, I'm Samuel, Master Felton's servant. We have
met before."
"So, where is Felton?" Matthew asked gloomily. "Using my wife is a serious crime. You know I can't tolerate anyone hurting her,
either physically or emotionally. In my book, it's unforgivable to even make her a little sad."
The corners of Samuel's mouth twitched. In his mind, the prince was too domineering. But he didn't dare say that right now.
"Lady Victoria, the old lady of the Qin Clan, has put him under house arrest." Samuel took a deep breath. "Master Felton is in
poor health, but Lady Victoria won't let him out. There is no doubt he'll die if he continues like this."
"Why is the Qin Clan treating him like this?" Matthew asked indifferently. He wasn't interested in the Qin Clan. His only interest
was his wife, so he had to protect her from those who would mean her harm.
Samuel sighed helplessly. "The inner works of the Qin Clan aren't as harmonious as they seem. Living in darkness for twenty
years destroyed the clan's original morals and purpose. Although Master Felton is one of the inheritors, his weak body has left
him incapable of ruling the whole clan. So Lady Victoria appointed Douglas, her second grandson, to be the heir. His followers
have different ideas from Master Felton's. And Master Felton often traveled outside. That's why things are what they are today."
"That is to say, the Qin Clan has split."
"No. Master Felton has been pushed aside." Samuel covered his wound and pleaded, "Your Highness, please save my master.
He is imprisoned because he doesn't want to betray your wife."
"Oh... Is that so? People from the Qin Clan are so interesting. I didn't want to get involved in their affairs at first, but now it seems
that I should pay them a visit." Matthew smirked.
"Your Highness, Princess Harper..."
Matthew glanced at Harper, who was still in a sound sleep. "She is sleeping. You better leave her alone. Since you can't go back
to the Qin Clan, just stay here. As for Felton, she will bring him back."
"The Qin Clan has been hiding for twenty years. Things aren't simple as they look. In these years, it wasn't just Master Felton
who left the nest for their own agenda. Your Highness, please remind Princess Harper that the Qin Clan is not her family,"
Samuel said with some difficulty. The Qin Clan was definitely not Harper's family.
Matthew's face finally changed. "Don't worry. My wife has never regarded them as her family, but it's only Felton she trusts.
That's why I asked you about him. Otherwise, I would have killed you straight away."
Cold sweat began to trickle down Samuel's forehead. He couldn't help but feel lucky that they had always been on Harper's side.
They would have died if it wasn't for that.
"I don't know who is behind Douglas. Some mysterious force is supporting him." Samuel set his mind at ease. Since his master
decided to side with Harper, all they needed to do was give up on the Qin Clan. It was worthless to them anyway.
Matthew was very satisfied with Samuel's perception of the situation. He called a servant and said, "Help him with his wound."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Matthew called off the rest of the servants, and went back to bed. Tomorrow, the Qin Clan would probably send someone else.
As for who that would be, he didn't know. It might be the second young master of the Qin Clan, Douglas Qin.
When Harper woke up in the morning, she saw Matthew setting up the breakfast on the table. "You are awake. Get up and wash
yourself. Guests will be arriving today."
Harper got up from bed and went to wash up. In the washroom, she found that Matthew had already prepared the hot water for
her. "You made me sleep last night?"
"Yeah. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to sleep well, so I hit your sleeping acupuncture point." Matthew was not
embarrassed after his trick was found out. "Besides, you had refused the Qin Clan. I worried that they would wake you up in the
middle of the night."
"So, someone from the Qin Clan came last night. Who was it?" After washing her face, Harper went back to the room and took a
bowl from Matthew. She sat at the table and asked, "Was it a killer?"
"A man escaped from the Qin Clan. Guess who it was," Matthew asked while eating a bowl of porridge.
"Samuel." Harper picked up a steamed stuffed bun for Matthew and said, "This bun tastes good. Try it."
"You anticipated this earlier, right?" Matthew asked slowly, taking a bite of the steamed bun.
"There are only two people who might flee from the Qin Clan. One is Felton, and the other is Samuel. Felton is in a prominent
position, and he must be under close guard. So it must have been Samuel who managed to escape. He is a member of the Qin
Clan, but loyal only to Felton. If he came to me, it means that Felton is in danger." Harper put down her bowl and chopsticks. "It
appears I will have to pay the Qin Clan a visit."
"There's no hurry." Matthew put down the tableware too. "You are eating three times faster than you normally do. You are too
rushed."
Harper froze. She was a little anxious and so worried about Felton's safety that it showed in how quickly she was eating. She
sighed helplessly. "I'm just afraid of what might happen to Felton. He is already in poor health."
"Being hasty in this matter will only cause more problems to arise." Matthew handed over a white handkerchief and said, "How
about we take a walk in Phoenix City today? I haven't hang around the city yet. Besides, I want to show those keeping watch
over us that we don't care about the Qin Clan."
Harper clapped her hands and said, "That's a good idea. How about asking Darren and Daphne to join us?"
"Absolutely not!" Matthew's vehement response came so quickly that she had to backtrack. Darren made Matthew uncomfortable
every time they met. Even Rolando didn't make him feel that way. His deep hostility against Darren was something she didn't
understand. "Today, only the two of us."