Forensic Imperial Concubine

Matthew and his companions had been waiting in the front hall for quite a while. Pearce still hadn't shown up. They kept calm
and just waited in silence. About an hour later, Pearce appeared, supporting his wife, a beautiful woman with a thin face.
"It's a great pleasure to see you, Your Highnesses." As soon as Pearce's wife had entered the hall, she bowed to Matthew and
Harper.
Harper stepped forward quickly and extended her hands to offer support. "You don't need to be so courteous. We just came here
to apologize to you for what Alexander did."
Harper supported Allie with her hand and led her to sit down at the master's seat. There was a spark in Pearce's eyes when he
noticed this, but he didn't do anything to stop her. He followed his wife and sat down next to her. Alexander knelt down and made
three kowtows in front of them. Then he said, "Thank you, Marquis Pearce and Lady Allie! I will never forget your generosity and
kindness."
Allie looked at Alexander kneeling on the floor with an anxious face, as if he feared that they would not forgive him.
"My son's death was not your fault. I am the one who should apologize. You got into serious trouble because of my
impulsiveness. Will you forgive me?" Allie's voice was sad and tender. Alexander was a few years younger than her son. She
could imagine how terrified he had been recently.
Alexander nodded his head heavily and said, "If I hadn't quarreled with Alban, he wouldn't have been harmed by evildoers. I
know I was wrong. Lady Allie, will you please forgive me?"
"You didn't do anything bad. I know Alban well, and I can imagine how he must have provoked you first. You were just defending
yourself." Allie understood the personalities of both her husband and her son well. She wiped away her tears and said, "Although
I knew he was somewhat vain, I never wanted to rebuke him. As a result, I am also to be blamed for what happened."
"Well, Allie, don't be so sad now." Seeing his wife's sorrowful condition, Pearce felt distressed. He could not help looking at
Matthew and thinking, 'What have you done, Matthew? Yesterday you forced me to make the government release Alexander.
Today you arrange a meeting to make my wife sad. Can you do something good for us?'
"Lady Allie, if you don't mind, I will come to visit you and Marquis Pearce often. I will take care of you for Alban's sake and
support you with all my life," Alexander said suddenly.
Pearce and Allie were surprised. Even Harper felt surprised. However, Alexander's idea was sensible, and therefore she would
not object to it.

"You..." Pearce said in uncertainty. "Do you intend to be my adopted son?"
"Marquis Pearce, it's not quite like that. Alban was your only child. Although I didn't kill him, he died because of me. I wish to
support you even though I can't be adopted. I have an elder sister and a younger sister to be taken care. As the only heir of my
clan, it's my duty to maintain the Chu Clan, so naturally, I cannot be your adopted son. Nonetheless, I would like to take you and
Lady Allie as my parents, serve you and support you," Alexander explained. Then he turned to ask Harper, "May I do that?" He
looked at Harper expectantly.
"Sure, you may." Harper nodded.
"Marquis Pearce and Lady Allie, may I have the honor to support you and serve you?" Alexander turned to Pearce and Allie
again.
The couple stared at each other. They were amazed that Alexander would offer to take care of them for the rest of their lives
even though he was not their son.
"Certainly you may, but without a formal status, it's not justifiable," Pearce said in a hesitant voice. The fact that Alexander was
unwilling to abandon the ruined Chu Clan showed that this child was honorable and sincere. With Matthew's protection, he would
certainly have a bright future, so they were willing to let him support them for the rest of their lives.
"How about this?" Harper then turned to look at Pearce and Allie. "How about letting Alexander recognize you as his sworn
parents? What do you think of it?"
"Great idea! Allie, what do you think of that?" Pearce looked at his wife cautiously. He was afraid that she would be unwilling to
agree.
Allie's face brightened into a smile. She responded then, "I am more than happy."
Alexander was overjoyed and excited.
With a gentle push to Alexander, Harper reminded, "Greet your sworn father and mother."
"Greetings, Father and Mother." Alexander promptly knelt down and kowtowed sincerely.
Allie stood up and helped Alexander up. "Accepting a sworn son can't be so simple. I will arrange a banquet, invite the guests
and then recognize Alexander as our sworn child. This will also be good for Alexander."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Matthew finally said. "If it becomes known to the world that Alexander is your sworn son, the
emperor will regard you as the members of my party. That will do you no good."
"There is nothing to be afraid of. We won't let it trouble us." Pearce didn't care whether he would be regarded as a member of
this or that party. He only wanted his wife to be happy.
"How about this? Let Matthew and I be the witnesses. We can just make it simple," Harper suggested. "The murderer is still
hiding in the dark, and we'd better keep a low profile. Of course, we will definitely catch the murderer."
"But this has happened all of a sudden with no preparation. It will be unfair to Alexander," Allie said, feeling a bit uneasy. "I need
some time to prepare for it. The ancestral temple has to be prepared as well."
"Well, in this case, you can determine a date, and on that day I will take Alexander over and then, you can recognize him to be
your sworn son," Harper said to Allie with a smile.
"Okay, okay, I'll have my people prepare for it at once." Allie stepped out to tell her people to prepare for all the things that would
be needed. Pearce gave a grateful look at Harper. Now that his wife had something to do, she would be cheered up rather than
immerse herself in sorrow every day.
"Thank you, Your highnesses."
"Pearce, it is not our idea." Harper looked at Alexander. "It is his own idea. He didn't even tell this to us beforehand."
Pearce looked at Alexander, reached out his hand and stroke his head. "You are truly a good boy."
"Alexander, you go outside now and play for a while. I have something to discuss with your sworn father." Harper asked
Alexander to go out. Pearce gestured to an attendant to escort him out.
"Take good care of him."
"Yes, My Lord."
Pearce looked at Harper first, and then turned to look at Matthew. "Have you found something already?"
"Pearce, you must know all about the powerful forces of the River City. Recently, have any powerful people entered the city? Or
are there any powerful people in the city who are involved in the battle for power?" Harper suspected that the murderer was still

in the River City. Even if the main criminal behind the murder was not there anymore, his accomplices must still be there. They
helped the main criminal by keeping Matthew staying in the city.
"Powerful people who have recently entered the River City, and who are involved in the battle for power..." Pearce suddenly
widened his eyes and looked straight at Matthew.
"Except us," said Harper sullenly.
"In addition to you, the other powerful person in the River City would be me," Pearce said confidently.
Harper had the urge to throw her teacup at the head of Pearce in frustration. 'Are you kidding me?' she thought.
Noticing Harper's unhappy attitude, Pearce thought for a while and said, "I can't think of any other powerful person. But actually,
there is someone from the imperial capital."
"Who is it?"
"Prince Jason."
Harper looked at Matthew. Jason had been travelling outside the capital all the time, so he had nothing to do with the imperial
court affairs. He might not be involved in the fight for the throne. However, who was really indifferent to the throne? Although
Jason was constantly travelling around, who knew what was in his mind? They wouldn't know the truth until they met him.
"I have only seen him a few times. I had the impression that he was like a coward." A look of disdain overtook Matthew's face.
Back then, when he glared at Jason, the latter would cry. He cried so hard that he couldn't catch his breath. What was more,
Jason even once had pissed his pants just because of Matthew's glare.
Harper looked at Pearce. She thought, 'As a prince, how could Jason really be such a coward?'
"I don't think he looks like a coward. Actually, he looks like a reserved person who is averse to social contact," Pearce said as he
recalled his memory on Jason. "The point is, whenever Prince Matthew's name was mentioned, he always seemed to be unwell."
Matthew snorted and said, "No other prince has been so frightened to the extent of wetting his pants at the sight of me."
The corner of Harper's mouth twitched. She thought, 'To think that a prince pissed his pants because of your stern look! How
terrible you are! He must have been very embarrassed.'

"I treat him no differently than I do all the other princes, but he is the only one to be such a coward." Matthew indeed disliked
Jason. Jason was even about the same age as him, but he cried every time he saw him and even pissed his pants. He hated
cowards more than anything else, so his dislike of Jason grew every time he saw him.
"Prince Jason did not stay in the imperial capital. Was it because of you?" Harper asked playfully.
"I have no idea," Matthew answered.
Pearce had also heard of that. At the time, Matthew had just come back from the battlefield. He was full of sinister aura and
couldn't restrain himself at all. Felix, being the eldest prince, was not afraid of Matthew at all. But the other princes were all very
afraid of him, so it was believable that Jason was scared enough to piss his pants.
"Could it possibly be Prince Jason?"
"Humph! If he knew that I was in the River City, he would have run away like a mouse." Matthew looked very disdainful at the
thought of it. The smile on Pearce's face also turned stiff, to realize that Jason was so afraid of Matthew that he might actually
run away overnight.
Harper felt pity for Jason, thinking of how badly Matthew might have traumatized him.
"Find out straightaway if Jason is still in the River City," Matthew ordered coldly, and Fred went out to carry out the task at once.
Then Matthew asked Pearce, "Is there any powerful secret force in the River City?"
"Secret force?" Pearce considered it for a moment. "Yes, the Scarlet Devils."