Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

In the Pine House, the real Harper was asleep. She had been feeling drowsy and sleepy a lot in recent

days. The heavy rain

made her even more eager to sleep. She fell asleep after breakfast and hadn't awoken yet.

Fred and Forsythia were standing guard outside. It was a strange time, with a fake Harper in the

Phoenix House, but the real

Harper didn't seem to be worried at all. However, Fred and Forsythia dared not relax even the slightest

bit when Harper was

sleeping.

When Francis, supported by Owen, appeared in the rain, Forsythia was shocked to see him. Then she

turned her head aside, as

if something had come to her mind all of a sudden, pretending that she hadn't seen him. Fred didn't

even raise his eyebrows

from the moment he saw him. He just turned a blind eye to Francis' embarrassment and difficulty.

Francis' eyes lit up slightly at the sight of Forsythia, as if something was about to spill over his eyes. He

gestured for Owen to

help him enter the Pine House.

"Is Uncle Matthew here?" Francis asked in a feeble voice. He looked disheveled and out of sorts.

Forsythia simply snorted, without uttering a word in reply. Fred answered in a cold voice, "His Highness

has not yet come back."

"Is Aunt Harper here?" Francis asked. Somehow, he sensed that the Pine House was not empty, and

the person inside was the

real Harper.

Fred was at a loss for words when he heard that, because he was a poor liar. Meanwhile, Forsythia

said in anger, "Her Highness

is in the Phoenix House. You have come to the wrong place."

"I have already been to the Phoenix House. The person inside is not Aunt Harper." Francis started

coughing again. He coughed

so violently that he could hardly straighten up, and it was very difficult for Owen to hold him up.

However, Owen was shocked to

hear what Francis had said since he had noticed nothing wrong with that Harper.

Forsythia was astonished by Francis' words too, for she hadn't thought an outsider would be able to

identify the woman in the

Phoenix House as a fake Harper. For a moment, she wasn't sure how to reply to Francis.

"Miss Forsythia, Prince Francis has been feeling uncomfortable for a few days, and he was caught in

the rain for a long time

today. Please report to Her Highness and ask her to see Prince Francis in person," Owen pleaded.

Turning her face to one side, Forsythia said stubbornly, "Her Highness is in the Phoenix House."

"All right, I heard you. Her Highness is in the Phoenix House. But will you let Prince Francis see the

person in this house now?"

Owen said anxiously. Francis now could hardly stand steadily and might pass out at any time. He was

too weak to endure this

torment.

Forsythia shifted her eyes to Fred, but Fred just stood still as if he hadn't heard anything. She

remembered Harper's suspicions.

At the thought that Francis, who was in front of her, might be the backstage mastermind of the plot

against Harper, Forsythia

dared not let him come in even if he looked like he might fall to the ground at any moment.

Seeing Forsythia turn her head away and refuse to speak again, Owen immediately knelt down and

pleaded, "Miss Forsythia,

Prince Francis' body really can't bear it. I beg you. Please report to Her Highness and see if she is

willing to see Prince Francis. I

beg you. Please."

Francis felt extremely unsteady and couldn't see clearly. But he was determined not to fall down.

Harper's smiling face and voice

came to his mind. He felt heartbroken by the thought that he might never see her face or hear her voice

ever again.

Half asleep, Harper heard people arguing outside. Drowsily, she asked, "Forsythia, what happened?

What's that noise outside?" Forsythia suddenly stiffened when she heard Harper's voice. She knew it

was because of Owen's loud voice that Harper was awakened. "Sir, nothing happened. Please go back

to sleep. I was just driving the chattering sparrows away." "Your Highness, I'm Owen. Prince Francis is

about to die. I beg you. Please see..." Owen shouted, heedless of everything else, as soon as he heard

the voice from inside. However, before he could finish his words, Forsythia clamped him by the neck. "If

you don't pipe down, I'll cut off your tongue!" Finally Harper woke up and became lucid. She got up and

put her clothes on. When she opened the door, she felt the chill outside. She saw Forsythia with her

hands clamped on Owen's neck, while another man dressed in white was lying on the ground,

struggling to stand up but failing. Harper took a step forward, but Fred stopped her immediately. "It's

cold and wet outside..." Harper took an umbrella and opened it, striding over to the man on the ground.

Seeing that Harper come out, Forsythia hastily released her grip on Owen's neck. Owen fell to the

ground, gasping violently for air, but even in that state he crawled towards Francis right away and tried

to support him. Harper frowned to see the terribly weakened Francis, who was lying on the ground. For

a moment, she was unsure how to react. Meanwhile, Owen helped Francis stand up.

Francis smiled innocently when he saw the person standing in front of him and frowning, though he

himself looked extremely disheveled at the moment. His sincerity was revealed plainly by his eyes.

"Aunt Harper, you finally agree to see me." Harper frowned tightly while looking at the drenched

Francis. "Were you trying to die?" Francis stumbled and looked at Harper with embarrassment.

Something spilled over his eyes. It was hard to tell whether the liquid on his face was tears or just

rainwater, since it was raining heavily. "Aunt Harper, what the point of my life?" Harper was dumbstruck

by his words. Francis stopped walking to her when he was only a step away from her. He looked

pathetic and smiled bitterly, "Aunt Harper, tell me, why is it him?"

Harper had no idea what was wrong with Francis at that moment. However, she was still sure that he

had something to do with

the Scarlet Devils, and the Scarlet Devils were directly involved in framing Alexander. She couldn't

stand to see a loved one

framed.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Harper said in a very low voice. It rained frequently in spring,

and nobody knew when it

would stop. Unable to bear it any longer, Francis swayed and fell to the ground.

"Francis," Harper exclaimed in shock. She strode forward in order to catch him, but as a man, Francis

was too heavy for her. As

a result, Harper couldn't keep him off the ground, even though with the help of Owen. She could only

half kneel on the ground

and support him. The oiled paper umbrella had already fallen out of her hand.

Putting his head on Harper's shoulder, Francis mumbled, "Aunt Harper, why? Why does Father want to

kill me? Why does he

want to kill me? I'm his son, the child of his blood! He hates me. Aunt Harper, will you abandon me?"

Harper instantly understood that Francis knew it was the emperor who had poisoned him. She told

Fred then to help Francis into

the house. By then, Francis had already passed out. The feelings in Harper's heart were complicated.

She felt pity for Francis,

but she knew clearly that she felt no other sort of warmth towards him.

"Forsythia, prepare some hot water for Francis to take a bath. Fred, fetch some of Matthew's clothes

for Francis. And tell the

cook to prepare some ginger soup for him."

"Yes, Your Highness." Before long, Fred came back with a fresh set of clothes that Matthew had never

worn. He also brought a set of servant's clothes for Owen. He gave them to Owen, who changed

clothes quickly. Then with the help of Fred, Owen took the wet clothes off Francis.

Forsythia told the servants to put some hot water in a bathtub. Fred threw Francis into it. Seeing that,

Owen cast him a resentful glare. However, Fred's bandaged face looked so frightening that Owen

dared not protest. He could do nothing but bathe Francis in a sulky manner. Meanwhile, Harper entered

her room and changed out of her wet clothes. When she came out, she looked at Forsythia and

asked, "How long has Francis been in the mansion?"

"About four hours."

"He has been outside in the rain all the time?" Harper asked in dismay.

Shaking her head, Forsythia said, "He waited in the front hall for two hours and then stood in the rain

outside the Phoenix House

for two hours. It hasn't been long since he came here. He knows that the person in the Phoenix House

is an imposter."

Harper was quite surprised to hear that. Even her own personal maids didn't know that the woman in

the Phoenix House was an

imposter, except for Nina who already found out the truth when she noticed there was something

wrong. She wondered how

Francis had identified that woman as a fake Harper.

"Did he meet the person in the Phoenix House?"

"That woman came out and said a few brief words to Prince Francis. Then Prince Francis came to the

Pine House," Fred

answered. "I inquired about it. That woman didn't say anything special. She simply told Prince Francis

to go home."

Suddenly, Owen's voice emerged from behind the folding screen, calling for help. Fred went there,

helped Owen take Francis out

of the bathtub, dressed him in clean and dry clothes, and put him on a soft bed.

Seeing Francis' deathly pale face as if he had little time left to live, Owen felt distressed and angry. He

cast Harper a sullen glare.

However, Harper looked unfamiliar and wore man's clothes at that moment. Not knowing whether he

should continue to glare at

her or withdraw his sight, he felt his eyes twitched.

Sitting on the side of the soft bed, Harper began to feel Francis' pulse. She glanced at Owen and said,

"You are Francis'

personal servant, but you made him like this. I think he should get rid of you,"

When Owen heard this, his eyes turned red right away. He believed that Francis would not have gone

through all this suffering if

Harper hadn't refused to see him.

"If Your Highness hadn't refused to see Prince Francis so stubbornly, he would not have been like this,"

Owen said.

"So it's all my fault?" Harper asked, looking at Owen with her meaningful eyes. "Who do you think you

are? Do you have any tie

with me? And who do you think I am, a pet? Do you think I'm obligated to see you whenever you want

to see me?"

Owen opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything in response. Harper was right. He had forgotten that

she had noble status

and he could not demand her attention whenever he wanted. But still, he believed that Harper was to

be blamed for making

Francis wait for four hours.

"Your Highness, how is Prince Francis?" Owen just asked, since he knew he was in the wrong.

"He is at death's door."

"What?" Owen exclaimed. He became weak in the knees from shock and fright. He promptly knelt

down in front of Harper.

"Please, Your Highness, please save Prince Francis. He has been in poor health for many days. He

even spat blood out a few

days ago. He told me not to tell Your Highness about it. Please, please save him!"

Looking at Owen, with his face covered in tears and snot, Harper said in disgust, "If you don't let go of

me to cure him, your

master will die for sure!"