Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

It had come to the point where the emperor was seriously ill. Matthew was very worried about the emperor's well-being, so he
came to the Holy Chant Temple with Harper. They wanted to pray for the emperor and his full recovery as soon as possible.
Hearing such a report from his secret guard, with a sneer, Chodak said, "It's impossible for Matthew to pray for the emperor.
Even if the pigs could fly, Matthew wouldn't pray."
The secret guard lowered his head and thought to himself, 'Every time, the master heard the news about Prince Matthew, he
would gnash his teeth. It's hard to believe that the two of them don't have any particular relationship.'
"Have they already set out?" Chodak asked after a long pause.
"Yes, they're already on their way."
"Since that's the case, I should also pray for His Majesty as the imperial monk. Make preparations right now. We should also go
back to the Holy Chant Temple." Before moving, however, Chodak stretched out his right hand and stared at it for a while.
Although he didn't see anything unusual with it, that hand could no longer wield a sword. Chodak perfectly knew this, so with a
solemn expression on his face, he brought his right hand closer to his chest and caressed it with his left hand.
When the secret guard saw what Chodak did, he immediately knew what his master was going through. Yet, he could do nothing
about it. After all, his master had been fully aware of the risk to save Harper. There was no one to blame for it.
After arriving at the Holy Chant Temple, Matthew and Harper directly went to the bamboo forest. Since they were familiar with the
array that Chodak had deployed there, it wasn't able to stop them at all. Within a short period of time, they reached the Jade
Lake inside the bamboo forest with ease.
"Matthew, go catch some fish. I'm going to collect some firewood," Harper said immediately.
"Okay," Matthew briefly replied before following her instruction.

When Harper came back with the firewood, she saw that Matthew was killing the fish. His technique could be compared to an
expert. He was doing it quickly in a very neat way. It was as if he had been killing fish all his life. Harper was stunned for a while.
She didn't know that Matthew could look very attractive just by killing fish. He didn't look like the dignified prince that he was..

Instead, he looked like a normal person. Harper was actually very impressed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Matthew, you look so handsome when you're killing fish," Harper said as she put down the firewood and the mushroom that she
had picked. Then, she took out a crockery jar and added, "I'll steal a pot from Chodak's bamboo house and use it to cook the
soup later." After using a knife to carve the ends of several bamboo sticks, Matthew skewered the fish with it. He then carefully
placed the peach blossom which he had picked earlier into the fish's stomachs. He took out a jar of wine, poured some in the
stomach of the fish as well, lit the wood with the fire starter and began cooking. In the meantime, Harper washed all of the
mushrooms and put them into the crockery jar. She then started a fire to cook the mushroom soup. "Is this how the two of you
pray for the emperor?" A voice of a man was suddenly heard along with the clenching of teeth. Harper turned around and saw
Chodak in a monk's robe. He was all in white and there was no expression on his face, but she could hear that he was still
grinding his teeth.
With a wave of her hand, Harper asked, "Chodak, you came at the right time! Would you like some grilled fish?"
"A monk is not allowed to eat meat. Darling, you're putting him into a dilemma!" Matthew responded for Chodak.
With a big smile on her face, Harper said, "Oh, I forgot about that. Chodak, you don't have the luck and privilege to eat
something nice. Fortunately, I cooked mushroom soup. You can't eat meat, but you can try my mushroom soup. It's delicious."
Beside the fire, Chodak pulled up his robe and sat on the ground. "I know that the two of you did not come here to pray. You
came here just to catch the fish in the Jade Lake."
"We came for the fish because people say the fish in the lake are always fresh and tasty. I haven't eaten it before. So I want to
have a try and see if they were telling the truth. However, our main objective is not to eat the grilled fish here, but to pray for the

emperor." Harper would never admit that they came here only for the fish. "I think you're here to watch the fight between two
tigers from a distance! Is this the kind of person that you are? You just indulge him in everything that he wants to do, even if he's
avoiding his responsibilities?" Chodak asked indifferently. Harper touched her nose and calmly said, "Chodak, above everything
else, food is the topmost necessity for people. His behaviors should not be regarded as 'avoiding responsibilities'. We are

mortals, not gods. We all need to have food." Chodak questioned, "Don't you think it's an immoral act to kill any living thing in this
holy place of Buddhism?"
With that, Matthew snorted and responded, "I have committed a lot of immoral acts. I don't mind adding one or two more.
Besides, is your place really a holy place of Buddhism? If you want to eat it, then do so; if you don't want to eat it, then forget it.
No one's forcing you!"
"No, I'll eat. Why not? After all, they are the fish that I've worked hard to feed for so long time. I want to have a taste and see if
the fish are really as delicious as you said!" Chodak was so mad that he had completely forgotten his identity as a monk. His
focus at that moment was to have a taste of the fish so badly.
"Humph! You're a monk! You can't eat any meat!"
"I don't mind. I worship Buddha in my heart and that's enough!" Chodak raised his hand and stated a Buddhist chant,
"Amitabha."
Without hesitation, Matthew commented, "Such a hypocrite. If people were to find out that you, Master Chodak, are simply a
hypocritical monk, I wonder if you will still have the respect of your people."
"If they cease to respect me just because I eat one fish, it only means that they're not loyal to me. It will also show who my real
followers are. Because the real ones won't reject me just because I eat some fish. For example, your soldiers won't stop
following you even if you're not a prince anymore." While Chodak was speaking, he had a faint reverence in his eyes. Because
the truth of the matter was that he admired the Black Flag Army which Matthew had trained.
"Crown Prince Rolando's Cyan Garment Guards are very esteemed and distinguished as well. Any one of his guards alone can
fight against one hundred people at the same time. Although he only has thirty thousand of such guards, their military strength is
quite high." Matthew turned to look at Chodak. Indeed, the latter's Cyan Garment Guards couldn't be looked down upon. Even if
he wasn't the crown prince anymore, he could still command the Cyan Garment Guards. That was why when he became a monk
in the Holy Chant Temple, the people of the Great Jade Kingdom did not dare to hurt him.