Forensic Imperial Concubine

Harper was puzzled for a moment seeing Becky Liu, the chief guard of the Secret Pavilion on the mission. 'Why would the
woman guarding the Secret Pavilion come with us?' she wondered.
She gave a glance at Matthew that seemed to ask why Becky Liu would come with them to the South Kingdom.
Matthew glanced at Becky Liu for a second, and then said in a low voice, "She was afraid that something might be wrong with
the thing you took away. So, in order to monitor you, she will follow you wherever you go."
"Did Lucas agree to this?" What an excuse! Even if Becky Liu were to follow her everywhere, Harper was confident that she
wouldn't be able to take the tripod back.
"He was too tired of her badgering that he agreed." Matthew put down the curtain of the carriage and held Harper in his arms.
"It's a long way to the South Kingdom. You'd better get some rest at the beginning of our trip when the road is smooth. The road
will be bumpy later on. It would be difficult for you to sleep then, even if you want to."
Resting her head on Matthew's lap, Harper gazed at his face. He was reading a book on strategy. She felt he looked even more
handsome while they were alone and he didn't put on the poker face. She was absorbed in looking at his angular face and could
not help laughing.
Hearing her giggle, he looked down and asked, "What's so funny?"
"People always say that you're as hard as the ice on a snowy mountain peak, too difficult to melt even after thousands of years.
But I don't think so. I think you are so good-looking that I feel fascinated by you. I'm so glad that I have such a man as my
husband," Harper said with a smile.
With a glimmer of mischief flashing in Matthew's eyes, he pinched her face and said, "You're so good at flattering me. But it's
weird that every time you flatter me, I feel that you want something from me."
Harper widened her eyes, "Nonsense! I don't know what you are talking about."
"Think about it. You have commended me a few times earlier and every time you did that, you wanted something. Don't you
remember?" Matthew asked slowly.
It seemed that Matthew was telling the truth. She had always flaunted Matthew on purpose every time she wanted something
from him.

"Today it's not the same!" Harper said. "I might have done something like that in the past, but I don't have any intention this time.
I praised you sincerely out of my heart."
"Really?" Hearing that, Matthew raised his eyebrows. "So does that mean that you have never praised me sincerely?" he asked.
The expression on Harper's face changed suddenly. She felt as if she had dug a hole and buried herself in it. So she just yawned
and said, "I'm tired. Let me have some rest."
Matthew pinched her chin and said, "No way! If you don't make it clear now, I will..."
"What would you do?" Harper opened her eyes and asked. She didn't know what Matthew intended to do, but she wasn't afraid
of it either. She knew that Matthew wouldn't do anything that would hurt her. The most likely thing he would do was to scold her a
bit, and it wasn't a big deal for her.
With a slight smile on his face, he responded, "I haven't decided what to do. It will take us about twenty days to reach the South
Kingdom. Well, should I do you a favor so that you can have a good rest, and wouldn't even need to show up in front of other
people for the forthcoming days?"
Harper went blank and asked, "What do you mean?"
Putting down the book in his hands, he undressed himself. Harper was stunned to see this. She quickly held his hand, and asked
again, "What are you doing?"
"I will punish you," he said and continued to unknot his waistband.
"Stop!" Matthew's action scared her a bit. She knew what he meant and what he intended to do. But they were in a carriage, and
there were soldiers and officials around. Although she didn't worry much about her reputation, she didn't want others to portray
her as a dissolute woman either. "Matthew, all the compliments I said before are truly from my heart. However, it just happened
that I needed some favors as well. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," Harper said in a serious tone, holding his hand.
"So you admit the fact that the reason you complimented me is that you wanted something from me?" Looking at the worried
look on Harper's face, Matthew was delighted. But still, he maintained a straight face, and said, "In that case, I still need to
punish you."
"Okay, okay. I have made some mistakes, and I'm sorry for it. Are you still not willing to forgive me?" She enjoyed spending time
with Matthew in the carriage, but didn't want to have sex with him in it, especially in the daytime. There were people around the

carriage, and she was sure that they could sense what was happening inside. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she couldn't
let that happen.
"Fine. You should keep telling me something nice. If I'm satisfied with it, I'll forgive you," he said in a serious tone, leaning against
the carriage and looking at his wife.
Harper rolled her eyes and asked, "Do you mean it? Will you really forgive me as long as I say something nice?"
"Yes."
"As long as you forgive me, I will say something nice to you every day."
"Say it and then we'll see." Matthew was wild with joy deep inside, but he didn't ease up on his stern look. He thought about the
sweet words Harper would say to make him happy.
Kneeling on the seat, Harper leaned toward him slightly. Then, she looked at him affectionately with a smile. Her red lips slightly
opened, and each word seemed to have lingered over the tip of her tongue before she said it. The first sentence, however,
almost made Matthew lose control of himself.