Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Instead of going into the imperial capital of the Great Jade Kingdom, Harper chose to live in a house at the peaceful outskirt. She
was about to contact Matthew. Her arrival wasn't a secret anymore as Miguel had already known of her existence. And thus she
considered it unnecessary to hide behind the shadows.
One night, however, Harper had an unexpected guest turn up. As soon as the man arrived, the twelve secret guards protecting
her immediately showed up with their weapons, ready to fight. The man, however, sat quietly in the backyard, enjoying the
evening breeze, fully unintimidated by the warriors in front of him. The twelve were stunned: First, they didn't know how the man
was able to enter their master's yard without being spotted, and second, they didn't understand how he could be so calm with all
of their swords pointed at him.
Harper quickly ran to the door to see what was happening. The moment she opened it and looked outside, she felt her heart skip
a beat. "Rolando!" she exclaimed happily. "It's you!"
A profound smile appeared on Rolando's lips. "Harper!" he responded excitedly. All of a sudden, however, the expression on his
face became grim. "Your men are such horrible people," he said, glaring at the men surrounding him. "When I heard that you are
living in a lovely house at the outskirt, I prepared the delicious food and drinks that I know you will enjoy. Then, I came here to
personally deliver them to you and see how you're doing, but as soon as I step foot in here, your men surrounded me like I'm a
trespassing criminal. They won't even let me make a sound!"
Harper could not help but smile. "Are you sure that's what you came for?" she playfully teased as she approached Rolando. "It
seems like you came here in the middle of the night to simply bluff my guards."
"I have prepared a special wine for you!" Rolando replied, evading Harper's question equally playfully. "Do you know that this
concoction is exclusive to the Great Jade Kingdom? Here! Try it!" He shook the bottle in front of Harper's face as if to entice her.
Harper chuckled and nodded her head. Before she sat down to drink, she ordered her twelve secret guards to leave. When they

did, she took the seat opposite to Rolando and said, "How did you know so soon that I am already here?" "Did you forget that I'm
the emperor of the Great Jade Kingdom?" Rolando poured a cup of wine for Harper. "I think the better question is how would I

not know who has entered the Great Jade Kingdom?" Harper laughed. "That is true," she said as she sipped wine from her cup.
Rolando's tone suddenly became serious. "But Harper, how could you be so heartless? You were already at the gates of the
imperial capital but you decided to leave! Because of that, I had no choice but to come here to see you! Are you that unwilling to
see me?" he said, a scowl forming on his face. Harper rolled her eyes. "Rolando, you know that I'm the princess of the Bright
Dynasty. Since Matthew and his envoys have not arrived yet, I can't go in first," she explained. It was the perfect excuse for her.
Rolando sighed deeply. "Indeed, that is the protocol," he admitted, sounding defeated. He then put food on Harper's plate and
said, "Taste our famous dishes and see if you like them." Harper took a small bite and said, "I never knew that the dishes here in
Great Jade Kingdom would have this spicy kick. I really like this. It's delicious!" Rolando's eyes widened with happiness. His
expression was so tender that it was comparable to a spring one would see in the middle of a dessert. "I'm glad you like it," he
said, deep appreciation coloring his voice. "I was worried that you would not like the food here, but then I remembered that you
like spicy dishes, so I took a gamble and brought you all of these!" He then gestured
to all the things he brought.
"Ah, are you talking about the hotpot?" Harper asked.
"Yes," Rolando replied. "It was a pity that I was a monk back then. Also, I was injured so I couldn't really eat the spicy soup pot
and was only allowed to taste the clear soup. You know what? I have asked people to cook it for me several times, but none of
the tastes has come close to the one that I'm craving." A deep kind of sadness was shining through his eyes. "You must have a
secret recipe for it because no one else could recreate it!"
"I'm very flattered," Harper responded, amused by what she was hearing from Rolando. "But have you considered that maybe
the way you remember how that food tasted like was influenced by the experience you had back then?"
Rolando thought very carefully for a while and replied, "I think so. At that time, I didn't have to worry about so many things. But

now..." His voice trailed off. After a few moments, he spoke again. "The experiences I've had when I was a monk are very
different from what I am experiencing now as an emperor." "I think it's incredible how you adapted and changed yourself to live
the life you're living now," Harper slowly replied. "To be honest, before, I was worried about whether or not you could get things

under control once you go back to your country after leaving for five years. After I see how you've handled everything, all I can
say is that I am proud of you."
Something seemed to be filling Rolando's eyes but he was able to quickly conceal it. He then continued filling Harper's plate with
food. "But thinking about it, the time when I was still Chodak was the most relaxed time I have ever had."
"Chodak, Rolando—they are both you. No matter who you are, you are always my friend," Harper said.
"I'm glad to hear that," Rolando responded, his smile intoxicating. "But about this wine—you cannot drink too much of it!" he
suddenly warned. "It is super strong, and it will make you drunk so easily. So please drink in moderation!"
"Really?" Harper put down her cup. "But this wine is so good—it's so pure and refreshing! It's so different from every liquor from
Bright Dynasty. Everything we have there literally tastes like gasoline that whenever I try to drink them, I just choke. The wine
here is so mild and smooth—just like you are!"
Rolando burst out laughing. "What? You're the only one who thinks I'm gentle and mild."
"Aren't you?" Harper asked back. "People all say that Prince Rolando is as gentle as jade and as warm as the spring wind. And
when you became the emperor of the Great Jade Kingdom, your people all say that they have the mildest emperor this land has
ever seen! So it's definitely not just me."
Rolando said no more. Instead, he just continued casually putting food on her plate. Every dish was perfect for Harper, he made
sure of that. Their tastes were all mild so as not to overwhelm Harper's taste buds. That was how committed he was to making
everyone feel comfortable.
"Rolando, we haven't played Go for a long time. Do you want to?" Harper suddenly asked with a huge smile on her lips. "It's so
late and we've eaten so, so much. I'm pretty sure if we go to sleep any time soon, we'll suffer from indigestion. So... do you want
to play chess for a while?"
Rolando really liked the idea, so he agreed. "Not like you're giving me any choice," he teased playfully. The maids then removed
the food from the table in order to set a board down. They also made tea, so that the two players wouldn't be short of
refreshments. After everything was ready, Harper and Rolando began their match..