Forensic Imperial Concubine

"My master's last name is Chu." Robert answered as he turned the carriage around and drove away.
The assistant pondered Robert's words carefully. Was the man in the carriage actually Princess Harper?
He had heard a lot about Matthew and knew that the prince spoiled his wife so much that he would give her whatever she asked,
no matter what it was. If anyone offended her, he would torture those who infuriated her. Since Pearce had barged into the
government office today, could it be possible that he had also been intimidated by Matthew?
Thinking of that, the assistant ran to the office at once. He must remind the mayor that compared with Pearce, Matthew was the
one to whom he must pay greater honor and respect. If they offended Pearce, they would be kicked into the mud. Yet if they
offended Matthew, they could only guess how much time they had left to live.
In the office, Hollis was still perplexed about the murder, and his assistant brought back more confusing news. He was irritated
by it. "Don't exaggerate the situation here!"
"My Lord, I do not ring any undue alarms. Princess Harper went to the prison in person, and took Alexander Chu away. If she
hadn't known we would release Alexander today, she wouldn't have got the news so soon." The assistant was rather anxious.
"And Marquis Pearce also told us to find out the real murderer. We should prepare some lavish gifts, so that we may visit Prince
Matthew on the pretense of comforting the wronged Alexander. Then we can ask him how to find the murderer. This way, Prince
Matthew will feel your sincerity and you can also get some clues about the murderer. Isn't this a good idea that will satisfy both
sides?"
Hollis considered his assistant's suggestion and decided that it was feasible. Then he sent a servant to prepare the gifts and
went to the Joy Inn to meet the prince.
When Hollis arrived at the inn, he found that the prince and his wife had already checked out and were staying in the official inn
of the River City, proclaiming their identity to the public. With no delay, Hollis turned his steps quickly to the official inn.
When he arrived at the official inn, he was accosted by a guard. And when he stated his identity, the guard told him that Matthew
was busy.
Indeed, the prince was busy preventing his wife from bathing Alexander. After ten days in prison, the boy smelt sour and stinky.
When Harper was about to bathe him with the prepared warm water, Matthew stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Matthew asked in a weary voice, his blue veins standing out on his forehead.

"Help Alexander take a bath," Harper said innocently.
"Men and women must be treated differently. Don't you know that?" Matthew now decided to teach Harper about the relevant
custom. "According to the custom, men and women should not sleep in the same bed after they become seven years old. He is
already nine years old. Can you bathe him?"
Alexander then said in a low voice, "Harper, I can do it myself."
"I just want to see if he has any injuries, and bathing him will make the examination more convenient!"
"Impossible!" Matthew took Harper out of the room. "Take a bath by yourself, Alexander. Your sister will come to see you later."
"Yes, Matthew," Alexander said immediately. He also didn't want his sister to bathe him. After all, he had grown up. He knew that
men and women had to be treated differently. Yet, he hadn't dared to refuse his sister's kind offer. Thanks to Matthew's
intervention, he felt relieved.
After she was taken out, Harper was somewhat puzzled. "He has been in jail for so many days. I must check if he was hurt."
"We'll discuss it after his bath. He's not a child, and he'll tell you if he got hurt. By the way, don't you need to take a bath
yourself?" He looked at Harper's white robe and saw several black stains, and even some fingerprints.
Harper looked embarrassed about that, and ordered, "Bring me some water."
Matthew was relieved to see that. In case his wife tried to bathe Alexander again after her own bath, he stood guard at
Alexander's bathroom door decisively. But when he heard the noise outside, he immediately felt annoyed.
"What's going on?"
"Your Highness, the mayor of the River City has come to visit you. We told him that you were busy now. But he refused to leave,"
the guard said quickly. "I'll go and get rid of him straightaway."
"No, just tell him to come in," Matthew ordered at once. Then he went downstairs. River City was controlled by Pearce. Matthew
was curious to know which side the mayor would pick.
After the guard went out, a man was quickly brought in. When he saw Matthew, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed to him,
saying, "Your Highness, greetings!"

"Get up. I heard you want to see me. What do you want? Snap to the point." Matthew's voice was as cold as ice.
Hollis swallowed and said, "Your Highness, I heard that you are staying at the official inn of our River City. As the mayor of our
city, it's my duty to visit you. In addition, Mister Alexander was terribly wronged. I'm here to apologize."
Matthew glanced at Hollis and said, "I heard that you are one of the former Prime Minister Charles' students."
Hollis trembled slightly. Charles, the former prime minister, was Harper and Alexander's father. He felt uneasy to hear Matthew
suddenly bring up such an old fact.
"Yes, Your Highness." Hollis didn't dare to deny it. The emperor had forced Charles to be a monk, and there was no longer a
powerful and influential male official in the Chu Clan. Hollis couldn't afford to offend the powerful Pearce for an insignificant boy
like Alexander.