Forensic Imperial Concubine

"Your Majesty, I have an idea," Zack said slowly. "The South Kingdom had just got past violent internal struggles. Their queen,
Catherine, is currently preoccupied in cheering her people up and upping their slumping economy. With that, we know that we do
not need to worry about the South Kingdom attacking us. I suggest we focus all our forces on keeping a close eye on the Great
Jade Kingdom and the Wonder Kingdom. Right now, Emperor Rolando is attacking the Dragon Pass, which means that he had
been intending to attack the Bright Dynasty for a long time now. He is well prepared, so we are sure that Dragon Pass is in grave
danger. I also would like to volunteer to go to the north domain in order to provide them any support they may need."
Hearing that, Maxwell turned to look at Zack in surprise. Zack was a thoughtful man who was incomparable to anyone in the
court, even his father. Indeed, if he was in the north domain, he, along with Shawn, who was more capable of fighting, might be
able to resist the forces of the Great Jade Kingdom.
"I would like to go with you," Maxwell offered once again.
After thinking about the proposals just laid out in front of him, Lucas thought that the combination of Shawn, Maxwell, and Zack
might actually work in their favor. With a new highly feasible plan, he agreed to send the two men to the north domain,
exclaiming, "Approved! The military situation we are currently faced with is urgent. Go back home and say goodbye to your
families. Set off as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
When Franklin and Isabella heard that Zack offered to go to the border to support Shawn in battle, they were severely shocked.
Zack was the only male heir of the Bu Clan, and he was a civil official who had no background in martial arts or martial affairs.
But now, he would be heading for the border to join a war! If anything terrible happened to him, the Bu Clan would lose its sole
inheritor and would definitely be facing a desperate situation!
"Do you really have to go there?" Isabella asked, her voice full of worry and hesitation. "Can't you refuse? The situation over
there is very dangerous!"
"Mother, I must go. Prince Matthew is trapped in the Great Jade Kingdom and Shawn is guarding Dragon Pass without anyone
supporting him. If Emperor Rolando makes an appearance there and decides to fight, Shawn would definitely not stand a chance
against him. I must go there to support him until Prince Matthew arrives there," Zack hastily explained as he was packing his
belongings. He was in such a hurry that he did not even have time to raise his head and look at his parents.
"But why you? You are a civil official, Zack, not a military officer!" Isabella pointed out, sounding more anxious than before.

"Isabella, stop it," Franklin said, trying to stop his wife from having a full-blown panic attack. "Zack may not be a military officer,
but he currently is the suitable person to aid Shawn in the war at Dragon Pass."
"That is not true, Franklin!" Isabella cried out, tears now streaming down her cheeks.
"Emperor Rolando is cunning, nuanced, and tactical. Shawn's plans are too straightforward, I'm afraid. He definitely is no match
for someone like Emperor Rolando. If he failed to protect Dragon Pass from the oncoming forces, it would be a big problem for
Bright Dynasty," Franklin explained, sighing heavily. Slowly, he turned to his son and said, "Zack, please. You must be careful.
You must come back to us."
"Father, Mother!" Caroline cried out as she came in. As soon as she heard that Zack had offered to go to the border to fight, she
came with her baby. "You can't let Zack go to the north domain! There is a war there!"
"Caroline, don't do this! This is an imperial order!" Zack pleaded. He immediately noticed that Caroline's face had turned pale,
probably because she just learned the news of his departure. He then took the baby in her arms and explained, "I'm going to the
north domain just to help Shawn. I am not going to die there, so stop acting like I will!"
"The north domain is now a battlefield, Zack! Please stay! Please stay away from that place!" The Bu Clan only had one heir, and
that was Zack. If he died, the whole Bu Clan would be doomed and would have no hope of flourishing!
"Do you really think I'm that weak?" Zack asked in a helpless tone. "Father, Mother, Caroline, and George, please don't worry
about me. I will be fine and I will come back. I promise!"
"My Lord, My Lady, General Maxwell is already outside. He said he's here to pick up Lord Zack," the steward said as soon as he
came in. Isabella's, Franklin's, and Caroline's eyes widened as soon as they heard this, and they all turned to look at Zack. Their
anxiety soared to unimaginable levels, but they all knew that there was no stopping Zack.
"General Maxwell is here to pick me up. I should leave now," Zack said, in a firm, calm tone. He purposefully tried to look calm
and collected in order to appease the fears his family was intensely having. "You don't have to worry too much. I'm a civil official,
so I will only serve as a military counsellor. I'm not going into the battlefield. I will just create tactics and suggest plans of action
behind the scenes. Our kingdom has so many capable soldiers. It would be a pity if they died just because of wrong directions
from their commanders," he said. With that, he gave his family a tight hug and headed out.
As he exited, he saw that Maxwell was riding a majestic horse. "Since this is an emergency mission, we have to ride horses.
Carriages are too slow. Is this okay?" he asked.

"There would be no problem on my end," Zack replied. He then mounted his horse gracefully. After taking one last look at his
family, he quickly left with Maxwell and his troops.
Isabella tried hard to stop herself from crying her heart out. The moment Zack was out of sight, she turned around to wipe her
tears quietly. Franklin, who looked and acted rationally, also began to tear up due to sadness and worry. While he knew that Zack
was the best person to take the job, as his father, he couldn't help but be filled with anxiety about his son's safety.
"He's a grown up, Isabella. He makes his own decisions now. Besides, he's just going to the north domain to serve as a
counsellor and he assured us that he will not be fighting on the battlefield. So let's stop worrying and have some faith in him,
okay?" Franklin said, in a bid to comfort his wife.
"I understand that, Franklin, but I just could not stop myself from worrying about him. The situation on the battlefield changes
every second. No one knows what's going to happen next and that's what I'm afraid of!" she said, continuing to cry hard. In the
imperial capital, everything had changed overnight. The once carefree young boys and girls had started to leave their parents to
face the oncoming storm, but their parents still weren't ready to let them go.
"Mother, don't worry. He will be fine!" Caroline said firmly. "He will be fine. I trust him!"
"Yes, he will be fine. He will come back to us safe and sound," Isabella repeated to comfort herself as well. At that moment, she
decided to be a vegetarian since that day and to pray for the safety of her son. She also hoped the turmoil would subside as
soon as possible.
It was clear to George that the balance that kept the four kingdoms from destroying each other was about to be broken. He
wanted to work for his country and to fight on the battlefield, but looking at his wife and son, he knew he couldn't. He then
murmured in a defeated tone, "Why can't I be more useful instead of being just a civil official?"
Hearing this, Caroline couldn't help but be shocked. She wanted to say something to her husband, but in the end, she elected to
stay silent. He was an ambitious man and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop him if he wanted to do something. But
even if she could, she promised herself that she wouldn't.