Forensic Imperial Concubine

"Tomorrow," Matthew answered on Harper's behalf, then asked her, "Will that be good enough?"
Harper nodded and thought to herself, 'I'm almost done here in the River City. All the embroiderers are doing a good job. As long
as they follow my instructions for the design and construction of those garments, I will arrange for Pearce and his wife to promote
the sales. Since I don't need to monitor the business full-time, there's no need for me to stay here. I can simply have Rufus
manage things in my absence.'
"Prepare a room for him so that he can freshen up. We will set off tomorrow and return to the imperial capital," Matthew then
said. The situation in the imperial capital was calm then. The emperor must have been feeling guilty that Francis was seriously
injured in order to protect him. He would try to compensate Francis as well as he could. Francis was his son, after all.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Owen said. Then the waiter took him to his room so that he could freshen up. Matthew pinched
Harper's palm and said, "If you don't want to go back now, we can stay here and go back after the New Year."
"Everything here is set. Although the imperial capital is not truly at peace, it's not chaotic now either. I need to go back to have a
look anyway," Harper said slowly. "And the people behind it, who failed once, are bound to launch more attacks. Their targets are
Charles first, and then Alexander. I'm particularly afraid that they might hurt Gigi."
Matthew squinted his eyes a bit, and answered, "Well, let's go back to the imperial capital tomorrow morning. We can leave
Rufus to deal with matters here."
"I had the same idea." Rufus, at that moment, was busy urging on the workers, when he suddenly felt that a cold wind strike his
neck for no reason. When he turned around, he didn't see anyone there. The windows were tightly closed, so he had no idea
where the wind came from. Maybe it was a telepathic link which indicated that Harper had left everything for him to deal with. He
was going to be a busy man.
They left in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to say goodbye to Pearce and his wife in person. They just sent
someone to inform Pearce that they were going back to the imperial capital for some unspecified reasons.
Hearing that, Pearce merely waved his hand, as if to say that he had known it already.
Allie felt a bit uneasy. She asked him, "Pearce, the situation in the imperial capital..."
Before she could say another word, Pearce interrupted, "Don't worry. Prince Matthew is cunning and clever. The emperor seems
to have the upper hand now, but the truth may be totally different. Over the years, if it weren't for the fact that Prince Matthew still
values his blood ties, the emperor wouldn't have been able to keep his throne for such a long time." The situation was perfectly

clear to Pearce. If Matthew were to join the struggle for power, he would be sure to win, given his unmatched cleverness. But
would he actually be willing to fight for the throne?
He had once asked Matthew frankly whether he wanted to take the throne or not. He quickly found that the prince had no interest
in that position. The only focus of his interest and passion was Harper, his wife.
"He is a deplorably unambitious man in that respect. All his attention is directed to that woman."
"Do you dislike Harper?" Allie quickly asked him sullenly. In her eyes, although Harper was young, she was very capable and
smart, so she liked her, and Pearce's comment bothered her.
"I dare not," Pearce answered at once. He was wise enough to keep such thoughts to himself. Matthew was cunning, while his
wife was even more cunning. Even if she looked fragile and gentle, the truth was that he dared not underestimate her.
"It's good to know that. I'm very fond of her," Allie said. She had only just stepped out of mourning for her son. "Even as a weak
woman, she dared to endure trouble for the sake of the Chu Clan. If it weren't for her, her clan would have been eliminated. In
such a crisis, others would have abandoned that family and left them to perish, but she didn't do that. Instead, she helped to
raise her younger brother and sister even though they weren't her own mother's children. She is truly a broad-minded and kind-
hearted woman."
"If she were any less outstanding, she would not have dared to marry Prince Matthew," commented Pearce.
"Yes, I agree. She has to endure even more as Matthew's wife," Allie sighed. Even while living in a remote city, they still couldn't
avoid getting involved in trouble. How much worse it was for Harper, being so close to Matthew?
"News from the imperial capital informs us that the emperor was almost assassinated, and Prince Francis was seriously injured
in order to protect the emperor. They rushed back to the imperial capital on that account. I'm afraid something momentous will
happen there soon," Pearce said. Though he didn't know what was in Matthew's mind, he was pretty clear about the situation in
the imperial capital. Yet he still couldn't figure out who was the real murderer of his son.
Pearce was puzzled. Jason, who was hiding outside the city, was also puzzled. He had planned to leave the River City because
it would do him no good to encounter Matthew. However, when he saw Owen appear in the River City, dressed up in disguise,
his curiosity held him to the spot.
Owen was a close manservant to Francis. Now that he appeared here, it could only mean that Francis was there, or that Francis
sent him there, but in either case, Owen's appearance at that spot was extremely weird to Jason.

The next day, when Matthew's carriage left the official inn and headed for the imperial capital, Jason was still confused. 'Why is
Uncle Matthew going back to the imperial capital with Owen at this moment? Is the situation in the imperial city already cleared
up?' he pondered.