Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Cynthia Xiao couldn't help but frown upon hearing his words. First of all, it was kind of weird for Francis to find out about the
situation in Matthew's mansion so soon. Was he actually having his men spy on Matthew's mansion? Besides, if it were true that
he was worried that no one would entertain her in Matthew's mansion, he should have just let Harper leave the Imperial Palace
and come back. But now, this man was inviting her into the Imperial Palace instead. Was this an order from Harper or from
Francis?
"Who is the one inviting into the Imperial Palace? Lady Harper or Prince Francis?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Ken flatly replied, his voice calm and sensible. "Lady Cynthia, this way please."
"Lady Cynthia..." Amy was about to rejected Ken.
"Amy, don't be rude," Cynthia Xiao stopped Amy from saying anything else. Then, she turned to Ken and said, "Very well. Please
lead the way."
"Yes. Forgive me, Lady Cynthia. I'm only following orders," Ken apologized. With that, he asked the guards to surround the
carriage from the front to the back. It might appear that he was protecting the carriage, but he was actually just escorting them
into the Imperial Palace.
Standing by the window and looking at the person being taken away, Rufus squinted his eyes. "Mister Rufus, Lady Cynthia is
being taken into the Imperial Palace. Is she going to be all right?" asked Rufus' manservant.
"What could possibly happen to her?" Rufus answered in a rather indifferent tone. "What? Do you think Francis would be so
lecherous that he'd actually do something to her? I'm afraid the people in the Swan Castle only wish that Francis would actually
make a move on her."
Hearing his response, the attendant smiled awkwardly. He had been noticing that his young master was becoming more and
more displeased with the people in the Swan Castle. Rufus had only been back to the imperial capital for a few days, and now
Cynthia had arrived afterwards. Now, she even went directly to Matthew's mansion to pay a visit, only to be turned down and
even forcibly escorted into the Imperial Palace. These developments were very strange. However, it seemed that Rufus was not

worried at all.

"So we're just going to leave Lady Cynthia like this?" asked the attendant.
"I will pay a visit to the Imperial Palace tonight," Rufus said in a cold tone. Thinking of the thing he was holding in his hand, he
would naturally find a way to give it to Harper. Cynthia Xiao being brought into the Imperial Palace had just given him a perfect
excuse to visit the Imperial Palace at night. "You're going to the Imperial Palace? Then, I will accompany you," Howard suddenly
chimed in. At that time, he was sitting nearby, carefully wiping his sword with a handkerchief. "I will be visiting the Imperial Palace
at night!" Rufus stressed out. "Whatever. I'll be coming with you," Howard flatly replied. Howard took Felix away, but Felix
managed to escape. Then, Felix chased after Francis and eventually got himself killed in the process. This left Harper very
displeased with Howard, so Howard was determined to make amends for it. "My sister has been taken into the Imperial Palace.
So, I, at least, have an excuse to go there. But what about you? Do you have any excuse?" Rufus asked angrily as he stood with
arms akimbo. As soon as he came back to the imperial capital, Howard had been following him wherever he went. If it were not
for the fact that he worked for Harper, Rufus would've taught him a lesson a long time ago. Giving him a cold stare, Howard
answered, "My sister is in the Imperial Palace as well." "Your sister is in the Imperial Palace?" he echoed. "Come on! Don't try to
fool me! Bah! Do you actually consider Harper to be your sister? Are you kidding me?" Rufus chided. But after a while, he
realized that Harper was indeed Howard's sister, to some
degree, although not related by blood. But would Harper ever admit that he was actually her brother? No one knew.
Howard's sword was now glistening with cold light. As he waved his sword, he pointed it straight toward Rufus. And then, his
sword stopped in front of Rufus' face. "Of course, I do."
"Are there really such brother and sister in the world who would scheme and hurt each other?" Rufus argued, and his stomach
even ached because of anger. 'What? Is he trying to threaten me with that damned sword?' he cursed deep inside.
Howard sneered, "Isn't that what your clan is like? Your family is no different from mine when it comes to this respect."
This rendered Rufus completely speechless. After giving it much thought, he realized that Howard was merely telling the truth. If
brothers and sisters were not from the same mother, the fights among them would probably be even fiercer. Although he rarely .

came back to the Swan Castle, he knew that the overt and covert struggles were constantly happening one after another. At the
thought of that, he was afraid that the fights in his family were even worse than those in the Chu Clan.
"I'm not involved in scheming against them." Rufus made it clear.

"Can you say for certain that they never thought of playing tricks on you?" Howard posed the question as he sheathed his sword.
"You may not scheme against others, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't do this to you. As the eldest legitimate son of
the Xiao Clan, you are the one whom everyone is keeping a close eye on. They all want to pull you down from your current
status. If you hadn't been with Matthew all these years, do you seriously think you could've stayed safe and sound for so long?"
As Rufus heard that, his eyebrows became deeply knitted and he wore a long face at once, but he couldn't argue with what
Howard said. Nowadays, Francis was so powerful, and Matthew was placed at a disadvantage. The Xiao Clan at the Swan
Castle was ready to make a move. Knowing that, he thought that the purpose of Cynthia Xiao coming here this time was to
persuade Matthew to compete for the throne. If Matthew succeeded in becoming the next emperor, the Xiao Clan would be able
to return to the court and be powerful in the Imperial Palace once again. However, Matthew was not someone who would be
easily manipulated by others. There was no way in hell that he would allow the Xiao Clan to make a decision for him.
"You can't come with me. Otherwise, Francis will become suspicious," Rufus insisted. He was not really just being naive. It just
so happened that he did not want to think too much about those nasty things. In the past, he disliked Harper because he
mistakenly thought that she seemed like such a kind woman, yet she was cruel and heartless deep inside. Later, he got to know
what kind of life Harper had been through in the Chu Clan before she married Matthew. He began to feel pity for her and even
hated Howard and others who had mistreated her in the past. In his eyes, he thought that they were the ones responsible for
turning an innocent and gentle girl into such a cruel and spiteful woman.
After hesitating for a while, Howard went on and said, "Prince Francis has now kept her grounded in the palace to prevent
Matthew's men from getting in touch with her. Are you sure you'll be able to see her after you go there tonight?"
Rufus had a second thought and didn't say anything for a while. If Francis had taken precautions against Matthew and his men,
the Sleek Palace where Harper was now staying in would probably be heavily guarded. If that was really the case, he was
worried that he might get caught as soon as he appeared, and thus he wouldn't be able to see her in the end.
"How about this? We'll just go there together. You will attract the guards' attention and I will take that opportunity to come and
meet her. If you have something to say or anything you want to deliver to her, I will help you out. So, are you sure you don't want
me to go inside with you?" Howard said, not feeling worried whatsoever. Now, Lucas was killed and Francis had yet to take any
action. It only went to show that he was afraid of something. Considering that, Francis wouldn't be able to make a move until his
problem was solved.
"Why don't you attract the guards' attention instead?" Rufus asked. After thinking it through, he realized that if the guards were
focused on Howard, he could sneak in to see Harper instead. Personally, he preferred this idea much more.

"Because I'm not Matthew's man," Howard helplessly replied, looking so shocked at Rufus' stupidity.