Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 13 She Might Have Ulterior Motives (Part One)

The toxins that Matthew suffered were extremely strong and aggressive. Even though Harper had helped to remove the toxins through acupuncture, it only made his legs look less terrible and recover to the normal size. The toxins inside his body were not removed completely and still remained in his legs.

"Your Highness, how do you feel?"

Harper was worried as she saw Matthew try to stand up. But in the end, he failed. His face was still cold, and there was no emotion on it. Her hands were shaking—she had been trying to remove the toxins using her needles for about four hours until now. Now her hands were too sore to even hold things as light as a pair of chopsticks.

"It seems that I underestimated you in the past," said Matthew.

Harper smiled awkwardly. "I'm flattered, Your Highness."

"Is Hailey Chu also a good physician like you?" Matthew followed immediately.

Harper, surprised by his quick question, looked at Matthew. Hailey was a paragon of beauty. More than that, she was appointed as an imperial physician. She was living a pretty good life, a life that could have been Harper's had Hailey not stole it away from her. But to give credit where it was due, Hailey was a good physician in her own right.

"Like me, she has learned medicine from our uncle since she was a child," replied Harper meekly. She did not answer Matthew's question. In a roundabout way, she just told him how they studied under the same teacher, letting him take from it whatever he wanted to. In any case, she wasn't really sure how good Hailey's skills were.

"What a cunning answer!" Mathew barked out a laugh.

Harper blushed at his comment. She wasn't trying to be cunning. She really had no idea about Hailey's medical skills. She did, however, hear praises about how kind Hailey was. She heard how people compared Hailey to a fairy. Lest she popped the bubble Hailey surrounded herself with, Harper wouldn't say anything about Hailey's vanity. After all, she knew for a fact how Hailey enjoyed the attention she got from men. Most women felt threatened with Hailey around.

"She probably enjoys the pomp and extravagance like a peacock," Matthew added.

Harper kept silent and did not made any reply, leaving him free to comment.

"By the way, why are you here?"

"My grandma is sick and we are short of several herbs to cure her. So I went out to gather those herbs. But unfortunately, the rope I was tied to broke. I fell off the cliff. I didn't expect to see Your Highness here and I didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive me," Harper replied immediately. His question made her remember the reason why she was out in the first place. "May I know what time is it, Your Highness?" she added.

"It's already midnight."

"Oh, how late. I should head back now," Harper responded, her voice growing lower as she looked at the cliff. It was really impossible for her to fly skywards or climb along the cliff upwards to leave here. The only thing she could do was to look at Matthew and hope that he could tell her the way out. She must hurry back before dawn or else the consequences might be serious.

A few moments later, Barry came in and whispered something in Matthew's ear. After Barry finished speaking, Matthew narrowed his eyes and called Jack.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"See her out of here."

"Yes, Your Highness." Jack grasped Harper with one hand and her herb basket with the other before flying out. Surprised, she covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. It was the first time for her to fly. Although she felt uncomfortable being carried by a man, she didn't mind it now. As she enjoyed the feel of the wind caressing her face, the ball of fear in her stomach shrank.

"It must be good to master flying skills!" Harper couldn't help but sigh and admire Jack.

Hearing her words, Jack chuckled, "Lady Harper, I must admit that you are very lucky. His Highness saved you last time. And this time, you met him after you fell off the cliff. It seems to me that you two are destined to meet."

'Destined?' she repeated in her heart incredulously. A wry smile broke across her face. She didn't want to be destined to meet Matthew. If possible, she would rather stay as far away as possible from him. Everyone knew that Matthew was a serious man with a taste for the horrific. But he had saved her life and she had promised him that she would fulfill his three wishes as long as she could. At the moment, she would savor the time away from him and try to complete his three wishes as soon as possible. After that, they would be even.

After he transported Harper above the cliff, Jack flew downward again. She checked the rope she tied to the tree earlier. She found that the rope was cut off by someone and there were traces of crawling near the tree. The person who cut off her rope must have been poisoned.

"Why are there so many people who want to kill me?" Harper said coldly before she walked down the mountain, her herb basket on her back. As soon as she reached the foot of the mountain, villagers flocked towards her. They were all so happy to see her.

"My Lady, you are finally back. We're so worried about you," Nina said, frantic with worry as she checked Harper from head to toe. After confirming that Harper was fine, Nina took the basket from her.

"I'm sorry for being late. The Heavenly Spirit Herb is rare, so I looked for it for a long time and got lost. That's why I didn't come back until now. And thank you for worrying about me," Harper said to everyone.

"It's just so good to hear that you are all right, My Lady. We haven't told your grandma yet. We were very worried that you might have been trapped in danger. All right, let's go back now. If Lady Mavis wakes up, she may want to see you," Nina urged. She knew that Mavis would be unhappy if she knew that Harper stayed in the mountain alone for such a long time.

After Harper returned, she prepared some medicine and came to her grandmother's bed to take care of her. Mavis was pleased to see that Harper had become so sensible all of a sudden. She swore that she would take care of her, especially after Harper earned a bad reputation from Hansen refusing to marry her. Mavis swore secretly that she would treat Harper well and would find her a good husband.

"Harper," Mavis called softly. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Yes, Grandma. I'm here."

"Don't worry. I will find a good husband for you."

"Grandma, I don't want to get married so soon. I just want to spend more time with you," Harper said in a hurry. She knew what kind of situation she was trapped in. Hansen had come and told that he was calling off the engagement to her. Apart from that, she was dismissed as the imperial physician, Charles disliked her, and Sue wanted her dead. She couldn't have imagined a worse situation than what she had right now. If her grandmother successfully found her a good husband, Sue would probably come up with more plans to get rid of her.