Forensic Imperial Concubine

In the largest brothel of the imperial capital, Lucas was lying on the soft bed of Yvette, the top courtesan in the establishment.
The bleeding on his forehead was seeping through the bandage, but it seemed that he didn't really give a damn about it. He
simply lay on the soft bed, listening to the music from the zither Yvette was playing. The glass in his hand was already empty, but
no wine was poured into it. At that moment, his mind seemed to have wandered off somewhere else.
When the piece of music came to an end, Lucas still didn't say a word. Noticing that, Yvette stopped playing the zither
completely. Standing up, she walked toward Lucas and took a seat beside him. "You look so lost in thought even though you've
just come back to the imperial capital. It seems that there must be a beauty in the Stream County that you're thinking of day in
and day out."
As Lucas heard that, a glimmer of light flashed across his eyes. He shook the glass in his hand with a straight face, which
seemed rather different from his usual playful look. "I'm thinking about Lilian's marriage," he flatly told her.
"Your Highness, the Bright Dynasty is facing both internal and external problems, so it's a good strategy for Princess Lilian to
marry the emperor of the Great Jade Kingdom in order to make peace with them. Why are you so worried about it?" Yvette
asked in confusion.
As a bitter smile crept onto his face, Lucas replied, "You don't know anything about Rolando. To give you an idea, that man is
comparable to Uncle Matthew. He is too full of himself. If he actually had a crush on Lilian, I wouldn't have been against her
marriage to him. However, he is cruel and ruthless, and this would be nothing more than a political marriage for the sake of the
peace between the two countries."
"But Princess Lilian was the one who volunteered to marry him herself. Who knows? Maybe they'll fall in love with each other
and have a happy ending despite their marriage beginning with political interest."
"What I'm worried about is that Lilian might fall into the living hell when she arrives in the Great Jade Kingdom!" Lucas
exclaimed, sitting up with a deep frown on his face. "Earlier today, I went to the Imperial Palace and saw Father. I had been
absent for a few days, but drastic changes had taken place in him. He was mostly just skin and bones and didn't even look
human anymore. On top of that, his temper had become much worse. He got so furious with me simply because we had a
disagreement on a very trivial matter. It was so bad that he even violently smashed a teacup onto my head. This was the first
time he had ever done anything of that sort to me,"
"Now, Prince Francis is the one handling the national affairs and Prince Jason is trying to bribe the courtiers. You have been
away from the imperial capital for far too long. I'm afraid that His Majesty has long been under the control of Prince Francis."

Yvette said, showing the information she had gathered to Lucas. "Besides, while you were busy with the disaster relief in the
affected area, the former empress and former Crown Prince Felix poisoned His Majesty in an attempt to usurp the throne. That
was why His Majesty's health condition has been getting worse. Unfortunately, as soon as he made it through Her Majesty's
murder attempt, he ended up falling into Prince Francis' hands."
"Today, I saw Francis and noticed that his health has improved a lot. In the past, he used to be so weak that he had to sit in a
wheelchair all day long. But now, he looks like a totally different person. What on earth could have happened since he moved out
of the Imperial Palace?"
"It probably has something to do with that lady," Yvette said, curling her lips to give a bit of a hint. "In the imperial capital, there
are only a handful of people who are capable of curing Prince Francis, whose condition had only been getting worse before."
Upon the words, Lucas' eyes darkened a little. "I see. So, it was Aunt Harper who cured him. But why would she do that?"
"I'm afraid she might have been bewitched by his good looks," Yvette said in an earnest tone, with alluring eyes. "Prince Matthew
is already one of the most handsome men in the imperial capital. However, he is much too cold. In contrast, Prince Francis is
very gentle and amiable. Nowadays, many girls in the imperial capital have been admiring Prince Francis. In fact, his portraits
are even hung on the walls in the rooms of some of the girls here."
With those words, Lucas' otherwise gloomy face didn't seem as cold as before. "So, does that mean you also have Francis'
portrait?"
"I did want to have one, but I gave up, because I'm afraid that someone might get jealous," Yvette said in a playful tone, trying to
hold back her laughter. "The situation in the imperial capital is changing bit by bit. Your Highness, are you ready for what's about
to happen?"
Lucas stood up and looked outside the window. The situation in the imperial capital had changed so much in such a short period
of time. The power of the imperial court was now in the hands of Jason and Francis, while the army was under Matthew,
Maxwell, and Shawn. As of the moment, Francis' only weakness was his lack of military power. However, not only did Lucas lack
military power, but he also didn't have a good reputation.
"Yvette, Father doesn't have much time, so I myself won't have time to prepare for anything either." As Lucas exerted his
strength to his hand, the glass he was holding shattered into pieces in an instant. Some of the shards even cut into his palm, but
he didn't so much as flinch, as if he didn't feel any pain at all. Perhaps the time was ripe for him to lay his cards on the table.

An imperial edict had been sent to Matthew's mansion. Surprisingly, Matthew silently accepted it without showing any emotion on
his face. According to the imperial edict, he would have to set out early tomorrow morning, which seemed rather hasty. Hearing
this, he wondered if it could be because Francis could not wait any longer and was finally about to make a move that he decided
to take the opportunity to drive him away.
Seeing Matthew so deep in thought, Harper glanced at Barry and asked, "What is the imperial edict about?"
"Your Highness, the imperial edict states that His Highness has been appointed as the envoy for Princess Lilian's marriage. Early
tomorrow morning, His Highness has to escort Princess Lilian to the Great Jade Kingdom to marry their emperor," Barry
answered at once. "His Highness has been acting this way ever since he received the imperial edict."
Harper nodded her head to acknowledge what he said. Then, she entered the room and approached Matthew. Before she could
say anything, he stretched out his arms and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
In surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I thought this imperial edict made your blood boil. I was actually
wondering how I was supposed to comfort you. But, it seems that that won't be necessary anymore."