Forensic Imperial Concubine

In a very short time, Harper had developed a fondness for the little beast she picked up from the Labyrinth Swamp. Because of
its purple body hair, she named it Purple. However, the name seemed to have displeased the beast. It disheveled Harper's hair
and did not leave her until she changed its name to Patrick. And once it had its way, it continued to poke on her shoulder happily.
Harper's hair was in a complete mess and looked like a bird's nest. Seeing this Diana was no longer upset about being despised
by Patrick. The beast did not hesitate to bring its own master to a bad state like this. So it was no big deal that it disliked Diana.
Looking at the terrible state of Harper's hair, Howard suddenly gave her a comb and said, "Take this and comb your hair."
Nobody knew where he got it from. Even Harper was surprised the most to find a comb from Howard and in a place like the
Labyrinth Swamp.
Harper took the comb and started combing her hair. She combed and combed her hair for a long time but failed to tie it into a
bun. Finally, she pulled a silk ribbon from Diana's head and tied her long hair into a ponytail.
"You don't know how to make a bun?" Howard asked raising his brows. He was surprised to see that the brave and invincible
Harper, whom he had always known to be an all-round expert could not even tie her hair into a bun! How was it possible that she
didn't know the simplest way to tie up the hair? Had she never combed hair for Matthew?
"Hmm," Harper replied as briefly as she could. She was unwilling to talk about the reason why she didn't know how to tie up the
hair into a bun. Ever since she came to this world, she could never understand the complicated steps that went into making
different hairstyles. Then she got married to Prince Matthew. Though she spent most of her time with Matthew, she always had
Forsythia to help her in making different hairstyles. As a result, she never had to tie her hair on her own. Hence, indeed, one
thing that the all-round expert Harper did not bother to master was tying her hair into a bun.
"Come, let me tie up your hair," Howard said tenderly like an indulgent brother.
"No, thanks. I am fine with this for the time being," Harper said as she returned the comb to Howard. "It's strange. We haven't
met any more poisonous animals on the way," Harper exclaimed, taking a look around the swamp.
Hearing Harper's words, Patrick folded its arms on its chest and lifted its chin to look up into the sky, as if it was trying to say, 'It's
all because of my power. You should worship me.' However, much to its dismay, no one noticed its proud gesture. It was a hard
blow to Patrick's ego. It threw a few glances at Harper with a lot of expectations. But when it failed to get the slightest mark of
acknowledgment from Harper, it turned its butt against her head to vent its dissatisfaction.

"Here we are!" Harper said as she halted and looked ahead with a sparkle in her eyes and a complacent smile on her face. The
followers stopped as well and looked at the border that was not very far away. Their eyes reflected the bright daylight that lay
right across the border of the swamp. They almost burst into tears of joy. They had stayed in the Labyrinth Swamp for seven
days, and during that period they had no water to even take a bath. The stretch of seven days had been so terrifying that at
every step, they had the fear of being dead. They had to be alert and vigilant all the time because even one moment of
negligence could cost them their life. Now standing close to the exit point of the swamp, they were indeed overjoyed.
"The first thing I will do is take a shower!" Diana remarked.
"Stop having that thought. We still have a lot to do before we can indeed go for a shower!" Harper said as she glanced at Diana.
"After stepping out of the swamp, the first thing we need to do is find a way to enter Phoenix City and also go out of it secretly,
before the people in the city find us."
"Can we really make it?" Diana believed that it was impossible. She had heard a lot about the guards in Phoenix City who were
infamous for being fierce to intruders. And the idea of entering as well as leaving the city without being noticed by anyone was no
less than daydreaming.
After coming out of the Labyrinth Swamp, Harper and her followers breathed the fresh air. They looked up at the bright and clear
sky. It had been seven long days! But now that they were out of the swamp, they were still not able to walk free because they
were in the vicinity of Phoenix City. To avoid being caught by the city guards, Harper and her followers hid at the edge of the
swamp. After a while, Harper released a signal to get in touch with somebody. Diana was amazed. 'Did this woman have a
helper in Phoenix City as well?' she wondered.
"Master, who are you trying to get in touch with?" Diana approached her and asked curiously.
Harper snapped back giving a cold look at her. "Who is your master?"
"You." With a bright smile on her face, Diana knelt in front of Harper and said, "Master, please accept me as your disciple."
Harper was left baffled but before she could say no to Diana, a shrill voice of a woman cut through. "So this is the reason for you
to call me here in a hurry? To see you accept a disciple?"
Startled by the voice, all of them turned around. All of a sudden, a woman in a red dress appeared in front of them. She was
holding a whip in her hand and had a very shrewd and authoritarian look on her face. Looking straight at Harper, she said, "So,
Harper Chu, are you seeking refuge here? Or is it because that bastard, Matthew Jun kicked you out as he can't afford to provide
for you anymore? And now you have come to me for taking you in?"

Harper's face darkened and she felt helpless. Somewhere in her mind, she knew this was coming. However, at this moment she
had no other choice than to put up with the gloating of this woman. "Do you think that's even possible?"
"Why not? It is very much possible. You are such a mean woman. How many men in the world can tolerate you for a long time?"
said the woman as she arched her eyebrows and looked at Harper from the corner of her eye. Then the woman slowly
approached Harper and stood in front of her, gaping at Harper from head to toe. Then she pouted her lips and shook her head.
"Tut, tut, I have never seen you in such a mess. What kind of trouble did you get into this time?"
"We all have been in the Labyrinth Swamp for the last seven days," Harper said in a calm tone.
"You have come out of that Labyrinth Swamp?" the woman asked, pointing her finger towards the swamp. Her face changed
dramatically at the very mention of the swamp.
"Yes," Harper affirmed.
"From where did you get in?" the woman probed.
"From South Kingdom," replied Harper.
The woman took a deep breath and circled Harper. She had a frown on her face and seemed to be evaluating the truth behind
Harper's statement. Harper remained still. Even though she looked terribly embarrassed, she wasn't hurt. The woman said,
"You're kidding me. No one has ever come out of the swamp alive."