Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

The next morning, Harper went to the Peony House to visit Mavis.

It was normal for Mavis to see Harper at such an early hour, so she wasn't surprised at all. "Harper,

you've been coming here

earlier and earlier recently."

"Am I bothering you, Grandma?" Harper asked as she helped Mavis clean up.

"No. I mean you could be getting more sleep. You don't have to come here so early just for greetings."

It was true that Mavis

loved her from the bottom of her heart and she patted Harper's head. If Harper didn't deceive her,

Mavis would never thought of

sending her to the Imperial Palace.

"It's my pleasure to serve you, Grandma." There wasn't any sign of impatience on Harper's face as she

skillfully and carefully

helped Mavis freshen up and served her at the dining table.

"You're such a filial girl," Mavis said and sighed. "Have a seat. Let's eat together."

"Yes, Grandma." They then sat next to each other. Harper served Mavis at the dining table and she

enjoyed the meal very much.

As they finished their meal, Harper brought a cup of tea for Mavis to rinse her mouth. "Grandma,

Yvonne and Felicia are getting

married. Mother asked me to give them gifts, but I don't know what I should give them. Do you have

any idea?"

A flash went through Mavis' eyes when she heard Harper. "Did Sue ask you to prepare gifts?"

"Yvonne and Felicia are going to get married. I'm the elder sister and I'm supposed to give them gifts.

But over the years, I don't

have much savings and I've been squandering the money. It's lucky that Grandma took care of my late

mother's dowry.

Otherwise, I would have squandered it. Now Yvonne and Felicia will be married to His Highness. I don't

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have anything good and

I don't know what I should give them, so please give me a suggestion."

The confusion on Harper's face worried Mavis about her innocence, but she stopped Annie from

reminding her.

"What do you want to give them, Harper?" Mavis asked with a smile.

"I'm not good at anything. I only know a bit about medicine. Yvonne's pregnant so I can do my best and

help her with my medical

skills. But for Felicia..." Harper sighed. "I can't ignore Felicia and favor Yvonne. They're both my sisters,

so I have to be fair."

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The answer satisfied Mavis. "Yes, you're all sisters. You don't have to do it yourself. I'll help you

prepare the gifts."

"No way!" Harper refused with a shake of her head. "Mother asked me to prepare the gifts myself to

show my sincerity. If she

knew Grandma prepared the gifts for me, she'd be unhappy."

It nagged at Annie to see Harper look like she was in a dilemma. 'Lady Harper, you're too innocent. The

reason why Lady Sue

asked you to prepare the gifts is that she must have some other ulterior motives, ' she thought.

"You don't have much money. If the presents you prepared are too cheap, Sue would be unhappy. But

you won't be able to afford

expensive gifts." Mavis took her hand. "How about this? I'll pick things from your mother's dowry and let

someone bring them to

Yvonne and Felicia as their wedding gifts. Since your mother's dowry will also be your dowry in the

future, it's not a big deal for

you to give things to your sisters as gifts. What do you think?" Mavis offered with a smile.

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"That's great. Thank you, Grandma." The suggestion made Harper very happy. "I want to give them a

surprise. Grandma, please don't tell Mother or she won't be happy." "What's the matter? Why are you

scared that your mother will be unhappy?" Charles asked. He came to pay his respects to Mavis. He

was in a good mood because Felicia would be married to the prince's heir and everything was great at

work in the Imperial Palace. "Harper was having a hard time in choosing wedding gifts for Yvonne and

Felicia. Both of them will marry His Highness. There are countless rare treasures in Prince Kevin's

mansion, and Harper didn't know what gifts she should prepare. She asked me to make a decision for

her." Mavis took a glance at Charles with a teacup in her hand. "I've prepared the gifts for her." "Sorry

to bother you, Mother." While he didn't fully understand what Mavis meant, he thought Harper was

annoying Mavis by being unable to make a decision on such a trivial matter. "I'm not annoyed at all.

Harper's the daughter of your first wife, but she doesn't have anything decent. She is even unable to

give her sisters some decent gifts. I've prepared the gifts for Harper. I'll ask someone to give them to

Felicia and Yvonne tomorrow. No need to bother Sue." "Yes, Mother." "Don't let Sue know I prepared

the gifts for Harper or she may think Harper isn't being sincere." It was of great importance for family

members to live together in harmony and men shouldn't get too involved into domestic affairs, so Mavis

warned Charles despite his busy work. "Mother, I understand."

After he agreed with Mavis' words, he finally looked at Harper, who was silently standing at the side.

"What have you done recently?" "I've been reading some books about the moral principles and

etiquette of women." Harper slightly bent her knees to salute her

father. "It's said that a woman's ignorance is bliss but women should learn about moral principles and

etiquette."

Charles nodded with satisfaction. "How was your reading?"

"I've finished but I found that I'm not good at needlework. I'm learning embroidery from the maids these

days and I'm thinking of

embroidering something for you and Grandma. But I'm not skillful at it so I haven't finished them yet,"

Harper replied quickly.

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"That's enough as long as you're thinking about us." A smile appeared on Mavis' lips. "We both know

that you've been working

really hard lately."

A nod was Harper's only response. She then excused herself when she saw Mavis and Charles were

about to have a long

conversation. Felicia and Yvonne would marry Hansen in the same day, and this would become the hot

topic in the city.

Nina followed behind Harper and said, "My Lady, although most of Lady Kelly's dowry is kept by Lady

Mavis, I think..."

"Of course, I can't give things my mother left to other people," Harper replied immediately. "And I can't

prepare any gifts for

them."

Nina thought for a while and asked, "My Lady, do you mean...?"

"Let's go back. I'll greet Grandma alone tomorrow. You two don't have to be with me. You buy some

cloths with Anabel. I'll tailor

clothes for Grandma and Father," Harper gently ordered. Although she wasn't good at needlework, she

could tailor clothes. "Yes, My Lady." "Come with me. I want to visit Yvonne. She's pregnant right now.

We should visit her." Just when she was about to go to Yvonne's place, she saw Serena walking along

the road not far away from them. But Serena moved so fast and disappeared in a blink. "My Lady, that

seemed to be Lady Serena." There had always been something odd about Serena, who was

bewitching, charming, and strange, much like a colorful viper

haunting everywhere and spitting out a scarlet tongue.

"Leave her alone." Harper pretended she didn't see her and headed to the Excellence House. Carrie

and Yvonne lived in the

same house. In this country, a concubine's children would have to live in the same house with their

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mother before they came of

age and got married.

"Lady Harper."

"Shirley, is Lady Carrie home?" Shirley was Yvonne's personal maid.

"Lady Carrie's talking with Lady Yvonne." Shirley led Harper inside. "My Ladies, Lady Harper's here."

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The two women were discussing the dowry when they heard the arrival of Harper, so they both stood

up and greeted her.

"Hello, Lady Carrie, Yvonne." The three of them entered the room together, leaving Shirley and Nina to

guard the door in case

someone came over.

"What brings you here, Harper?"

"I brought some medicine for Yvonne." Harper took out a white porcelain bottle and placed it on the

table. "Here's medicine to

protect the baby in Yvonne's womb from poison. You heard it yesterday, Mother asked me to prepare a

wedding gift for Yvonne."

Carrie snapped to look at Harper and caught hold of Yvonne's hand in surprise. "Harper, this..."

"If I guessed correctly, Mother wanted to use me to harm Yvonne." Harper poured herself a glass of

water. "Tomorrow, my gifts

for Yvonne and Felicia will be delivered to Mother. Before she gives the gift to you, you should take this

medicine first. Then you

can feel free to touch the gift." There was only indifference in Harper's eyes when she added, "Be

careful with the people around

you."

A twinkle flashed in Carrie's eyes and she looked at Vera, who was pretending to sweep the floor not

far from the door. "Don't

worry, Harper. I'll watch over everything. Will our plan hurt the baby in Yvonne's belly?"

"Lady Carrie, don't worry. Since I dare to ask you to do this, I'm one hundred percent certain. If you

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don't want to work with me,

you'll suffer a lot at that time," Harper said slowly. "We both clearly know that both Mother and Felicia

are jealous of Yvonne's

child."

"As long as you can help me keep my child, I'll do whatever you tell me to!" Yvonne said. This unborn

baby was her most

precious gift, her ticket to a life of luxury in Prince Kevin's mansion, so she couldn't live without it!

Even with all the benefits Harper offered, it still wasn't enough for Carrie to turn against Sue. So Harper

offered, "Mother has

controlled the Chu Clan for many years. Lady Carrie, have you ever thought of managing the clan?"

Carrie's eyes lit up and she turned to look at Harper. "What do you mean, Harper?"

"Just do as I say. I promise that Yvonne will safely marry His Highness and that you'll share the power

with Mother. What do you

think?"

Carrie and Yvonne looked at each other and nodded their heads at the same time. "We'll do it!"

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