Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

In the Phoenix House, Harper's imposter was reading a medical book. She had been told that Harper

did not have many

hobbies. Reading medical books was one of her few hobbies, so she pretended to read medical books

as well. Nina went to the

window and shut it. "The rain is becoming very heavy. Your Highness, I'll get you a cloak, in case you

feel cold."

"All right," Harper's imposter said without raising her head. In the past few days, Matthew hadn't visited

the Phoenix House. Or to

be more precise, she hadn't seen him since the emperor's birthday banquet.

Nina went out briskly to fetch the cloak. Angelica came in with ginseng soup. She stood beside her,

trying to think of something

to say. However, she didn't dare interrupt the false Harper, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Therefore, Angelica could only look

at the imposter with her innocent eyes.

Her gaze was so intense that the false Harper couldn't ignore it anymore. She actually preferred to

avoid speaking whenever

possible, because the more she spoke out, the greater the risk of giving away her true identity. But

sometimes she still had to

respond to her maids, because too much silence would seem strange and also arouse suspicion. "Why

are you staring at me like

this?" she finally asked.

Angelica opened her mouth and was about to speak, but she saw Nina coming in with a cloak in her

hand. Angelica shut her

mouth right away and didn't dare to speak anymore. Nina put the cloak on the false Harper and said,

"Your Highness, what

would you like to have for lunch today? I'll tell Anabel to prepare it."

"Anything. Is Matthew back now?" she asked.

"Not yet. The rain is falling heavily. I guess His Highness will come home late," Nina replied, glancing at

Angelica. "Angelica, you

should also go to the kitchen to help. Don't disturb Her Highness if you have nothing else to do here."

Angelica looked again at the false Harper, and then looked back at Nina before she finally walked out

slowly.

"Nina, you are becoming bolder nowadays," Harper's imposter said. Despite her words, the tone of her

voice was flat.

Nina moved her lips and was about to defend herself, but when she remembered the order she had

received from the real Harper, she restrained herself. She couldn't let this fake Harper in front of her

notice anything amiss. So she fidgeted with her handkerchief uneasily and spoke again after a long

pause. "Prince Francis is here." "What is he doing here?" the false Harper asked as she raised her

head to look at Nina, feeling disconcerted. She was ignorant of the relationship between Harper and

Francis, of course, so she could only be confused.

"I have no idea either. He has been waiting outside the Phoenix House for two hours," Nina said

carefully. "Your Highness, I know you don't want to see him. I did not tell you before because I thought

he would leave when the rain started to fall heavily. But against my expectations, he..." "I don't want to

see him?" the false Harper repeated in surprise as her eyes widened secretly. "Isn't he in poor health

now? Why did he come here?" "Your Highness, have you forgotten that you are monitoring his

condition and giving him treatment?" Nina said slowly, while staying on the alert for any change of facial

expression on the false Harper. The false Harper was surprised by this. She had not imagined that

Harper was actually treating Francis in secret. She was determined to reveal this news to Felix or the

empress. But with Francis waiting outside at that moment, she thought it would be

unwise to go out to see him. He might discover her identity when he faced her.

"I know. But why is he here now?" asked the fake Harper softly.

"I guess he wants to see you. Are you willing to see him?" If you don't, I'm afraid he won't leave. Prince

Francis has been weak

and has been soaked in the rain for a long time. If anything happened to him, it might cause a lot of

trouble for us," Nina replied.

The false Harper's brain was racing for a solution. If Francis got sick from standing out in the rain, she

would probably need to

treat him, which was something she could not do. In that event, she would find herself in an even worse

situation. Considering

this, she decided to go outside to see him.

"Fine. I'll go and see him," the false Harper said, as she stood up and walked out of the bedroom. She

took the umbrella leaning

against the door, opened it and went towards the gate. Francis just kept on staring at the gate. He saw

people coming in and out. At first, his eyes would light up when someone was about to come out. But

none of them was the one he wanted to see. His eyes grew dimmer with every passing moment, and

his body was on the verge of collapse from his long soaking in the rain. Owen was so worried that he

would have rushed in to beg for help if he were not stopped by Francis. In the heavy rain, a familiar

figure appeared. Francis' eyes lit up again. He stepped forward and saw someone rushing over to

him. Ecstasy flashed through his eyes until the beautiful figure came near him. He hid his passion in

front of her.

His ecstasy turned to doubt and then disappointment when he saw the woman. His pale face became

even paler. "Aunt Harper,"

he murmured.

"Francis, the rain is falling hard, and your body is weak. You can't afford to stand in the rain. You'd

better go home now," the false

Harper said coldly. "I can't afford to take the blame if your health suffers from this. You are a prince."

"I'm sorry to disturb you. Please excuse me," Francis replied, then turned around and left decisively.

Owen was furious. His master had been waiting in the rain for two hours, but Harper just came out and

dismissed him so

casually. In his anger, he stepped forward and complained, "Lady Harper, how could you just act like

this? Don't you..."

But before he could say more, Francis ordered him, "Owen, let's go." His voice was stern. Then he lost

his balance and almost

fell to the ground.

"Your Highness..." Owen protested.

"What? Will you disobey me now?" Francis shouted. He coughed again in his irritation. He knew that

the woman in front of him

was not Harper, although she looked exactly the same as her. Something, perhaps his sixth sense, told

him that she was not the

person he wanted to see. He had inscribed Harper's image and her every gesture into his brain. He

could even imagine how she

would react to anything he said or did. This person was just an imposter—his gut feeling was always

right. Determined, he

decided to ask Matthew what he had done and where he had hidden Harper!

"No, I dare not," Owen quickly replied, lowering his head.

"Let's go. Follow me to meet Uncle Matthew," Francis said. He could hardly stand still. He leaned his

body against Owen and

ordered, "Bring me to the Pine House."

"Yes, Your Highness," was Owen's reply.