Forensic Imperial Concubine

"Matthew, do you know anybody who uses a weapon like this?" Harper asked. Now she only knew that Alexander had been
framed, but she had no idea who the real murderer was. Pearce would not let Alexander go unless the real murderer were
discovered and captured.
After thinking carefully for a while, Matthew shook his head and said, "I will tell my men to investigate. This kind of weapon must
be a hidden weapon and rarely used. It is the sort of weapon that is used in conspiracies against people. If we investigate
carefully, we will turn something up sooner or later."
"I need to go to Pearce's mansion. I want to persuade him to plead with the mayor on Alexander's behalf, so that perhaps
Alexander will be released from prison," Harper said seriously. Neither she nor Matthew could visit the mayor themselves. The
emperor was waiting at every moment for a chance to pin some sort of blame on them, and they could not afford to give the
emperor an opportunity.
"Let me talk with Marquis Pearce. You have been so busy. You examined the corpse and went to see Alexander, and you haven't
had a good rest yet since we came here. Why don't you go back to have a rest at the inn? I will go to speak with Marquis Pearce
at his mansion." Matthew felt sorry for his wife being so busy. He wanted to keep her healthy.
"I'm fine. Alexander..."
"You need rest," Matthew said decisively. "You've done enough for now. Marquis Pearce is a reasonable man. I will be easy on
him, since he is no longer young and has lost his only son. Don't worry. Alexander will come out of prison very soon."
"But I'm afraid..."
"What? You aren't afraid that I will do things improperly, are you? Do you have so little confidence in me?" Matthew asked,
pulling a long face. "Have you ever seen me make a mistake?"
"I know you are careful and you will do things properly, but I'm afraid that those who are behind the scenes..."
"Are you afraid that the people behind the scenes will play little tricks on me?" Matthew burst into laughter. "What I fear is that
they won't do anything. But as long as they take some action, any action at all, I will surely catch them."
"I think whoever is behind the scenes is a force in the imperial capital," Harper said after thinking for a while. "His Majesty, Her
Majesty, Felix, or even some other force still in the dark."

"Whoever they are, I will make them reveal themselves. Don't worry," Matthew said, stroking Harper's head. "You just need to
have a good rest now. After that, you can deal with these things at a proper pace."
"All right. I'll leave the business with Marquis Pearce to you. It's getting dark. I'll go back to the inn to have a good rest. Since we
have already shown up in public in the River City, we'll have to go to the government office sooner or later. I really want to avoid
drawing attention to us, but we can't avoid it any more since we're here in person. I think I'd better appear natural." With that,
Harper turned her heels and went to the inn. Forsythia followed her directly.
Matthew and Harper hadn't made a serious effort to hide themselves after entering the River City. If anyone investigated them
carefully, their whereabouts could be found out.
So, very soon, Hollis Shangguan, the mayor of the River City, was informed that Prince Matthew and his wife had entered the
River City. The mayor felt a chill up his spine the moment he heard about it. He was afraid that the couple would vent their anger
regarding Alexander's case against him, even though he had done nothing wrong.
It wouldn't be a big problem if Alexander had killed a nobody. However, it turned out that the victim was the only son of Pearce,
and Pearce insisted that the murderer be punished severely. As a mayor, he dared not offend either party, and he could do
nothing other than try to handle the case impartially. What vexed him the most was that the emperor had issued an imperial edict
to him, demanding that he punish the murderer severely.
"My Lord, Alexander Chu is scheduled to be executed in only three days. Prince Matthew and his wife have come to River City at
a critical moment. I don't suppose they came here just to watch Alexander Chu's beheading, right?" the private assistant asked
Hollis cautiously. He had a feeling that a storm was brewing. After all, Pearce was a tough character as well. If Pearce and
Matthew were to lock horns, the winner would likely be Matthew, because he had military power. However, the case had
happened in the River City, where Pearce was a local oligarch, so he had a fair chance of winning too.
"They must have come to watch me get beheaded!" Hollis said, knocking his private assistant on the forehead with his finger.
"Everybody knows how much Prince Matthew dotes on his wife. Lady Harper now has only one brother left alive, and that is
Alexander Chu. If Alexander Chu dies through my judgment, how could she not take revenge against me? It's possible that they
will leave Marquis Pearce alone, but they will definitely make trouble for me!"
"Then what should we do? Can we release Alexander Chu?"
"Bullshit!" Hollis exclaimed. He was in a dilemma. "If I let Alexander go, not only will Marquis Pearce tear me to pieces, but His
Majesty will also punish me severely. His Majesty already knows about the case, and has told me how he wants me to settle it. If

I don't satisfy him, I'm dead!"
"So, we can't kill him, but we can't release him either. But he can't be always kept in prison. His execution is scheduled in three
days."
"I know that. You don't have to remind me!" Hollis said. He was so perturbed that he almost burst into tears. He didn't know how
such a thing could have happened. He was unprepared for a murder case involving two students of high status as opposite
parties. All the students in the Clivia School were of high status. One was the only son of Marquis Pearce, a local oligarch in the
River City, whom even he dared not offend, and the other was a brother-in-law of Prince Matthew, who had great military power.
Even the emperor could not afford to provoke Matthew lightly, let alone a tiny mayor like him.
"How about you have a chat with Prince Matthew and sound out his opinion?" the private assistant suggested cautiously. "If
Prince Matthew did not, in fact, come here to save his brother-in-law, you would no longer have to worry."