Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Then she sat on his legs and blew a warm breath in his ear. She said in a gentle and lovable voice,

"What do you think about it,

honey?"

Matthew's body became hot in an instant. The look in his eye was intense and it seemed like he was

planning something. Yet,

after a while, his eyes became calm and then his voice was a little hoarse and helpless. He said, "If you

weren't pregnant, then I

would be obliged to let you know the consequences of flirting with me!"

Harper chuckled silently. Her expression was gentle, looking like a mother-to-be. She always used to

be gentle, but there was

also shrewdness and coldness hidden within. Now, she was plain and gentle, and the anger that

resided in her heart had all but

dissuaded.

Matthew placed his hands on Harper's belly and said, "The thought that a little boy will come to rob you

of me in the near future

makes my heart ache. I was looking forward to having a baby for all these days, but now that you do

have one, I worry that the

baby will divide your love for me. What should I do, Harp? I feel sorry for myself for saying this, but I'm

already jealous of our

baby."

Harper couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You're being such a baby. How could you be jealous of an

unborn child? Tell me,

what did Felton say to you earlier?"

"He said that both the late and the current emperors have killed members of the Qin Clan in the

imperial capital," Matthew

whispered. "Although we already knew about this, Felton's intentions were different. He tried to sow

dissent between us."

"There is no amount of lies in this world that would make me believe him more than you," Harper

emphasized. "What the late

emperor did has nothing to do with you. You were just a child when the Qin Clan was destroyed. You

shouldn't burden yourself

with that guilt." "But, I'm not happy about being threatened," Matthew said in a grim tone. "Who would

dare to threaten you?" Harper stretched out her hand and poked Matthew's face. But quite weirdly, she

found out that it was funny to poke his face, and soon, she was addicted to it. Matthew grabbed her

finger to stop her. "Don't be so skittish, honey," he said. "If you really ought to call someone skittish,

then Lilian is." Harper laughed. "I just found out today that Lilian is actually quite smart."

"Well, there isn't any doubt that she is indeed very special." Lilian seized the opportunity of bringing a

present from Francis, to tell them what happened in Felix's mansion and the palace in a joking way.

She even reminded Harper of her promise. Monica kept her in the palace to embroider for her wedding.

It seemed that the emperor was going to grant her a marriage. Matthew noticed that Harper maintained

her silence. "What are you thinking, Harp?" Matthew asked, breaking the silence. "I'm wondering who

would be the person that could please the emperor, so that he would offer him Lilian." Harper thought

of all

the young men in the imperial capital who were still unmarried, but she couldn't find a right candidate.

"The emperor will not grant her a marriage for the time being," Matthew clarified. "Their target is

Chodak, but he is not someone

who would get tricked easily. However, if someone takes action and pushes him to give up being a

monk, the outcome might be

different."

"Lady Monica...?" Harper presumed.

"I dare say, Lady Sherry would be the one who would take action." A trace of slyness flashed in

Matthew's eyes. Francis had

recovered, and the emperor seemed too eager to cultivate him. Even though Sherry had said that she

only hoped for Francis to

be safe in his lifetime, she would never give up if she found out that she and her son had the chance to

seize the power. Harper turned her attention towards the window. She wrapped her arms around

Matthew's neck and said, "The third Heavenly Book is still hiding in our mansion. It's a hidden danger

for us, and the news has already been leaked out. We should somehow find a way to transfer the

book." After being silent for a moment, Matthew answered, "I'll find a way to deal with it. Now there are

three Heavenly Books, one in

the royal family, one in the Great Jade Kingdom and the last one in your hands. Many people want the

one with you. It's a hot

potato if you keep it in your hands. I am thinking about offering it to the emperor when the time comes;

what do you think?"

"I would rather see it destroyed than give it to him." Harper was so furious. "All these years, he devised

so many vicious plots

against us. First, he had sent people to assassinate you and when that didn't work out, he tried to

poison you. He had also tried

to kill me by sending his people several times to assassinate me. I will never give him the Heavenly

Book!"

"Okay, it's up to you. You are free to give it to whomsoever you trust," Matthew said plainly.

"Tell me, what would happen if I were to destroy the book?" Harper asked with a strange smile. Her

expression was curious,

playful and sly altogether. It was hard for Matthew not to answer her.

"I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. It can't be burned by fire, chopped by knife or doused by water. I've made

my attempts to destroy it,

but unfortunately, I couldn't make it," Matthew replied with regret. From the look of his eyes, it was clear

that he was telling the

truth.

"Really?" Harper found it hard to believe. "Give it to me, so that I can make a try."

Matthew was a little hesitant. The only person who was treating the Heavenly Book as a plaything was

his wife. Since he had

immense love for her, he wouldn't hesitate to give it to her so that she could make a try.

"It's not here with me. I hid it somewhere safe."

"Shall we go and retrieve it then?" Harper smirked.

"Okay, I'll get it, and give it to you. You can crush it like a walnut, or feel free to do whatever you want to

do with it," Matthew

replied. He then led Harper out of the hall. But unknown to them, a figure was following them silently as

they left the

hall.