Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

The reason why Francis told Harper what happened to Felton was because he wanted to see how she was going to react to it.
Back then, she had made a move without any hesitation because of what he himself had done. What would she do if it were
someone from the Qin Clan? To be more specific, when it came to this case, he was curious about whether or not Harper would
be as cold and ruthless as she was before.
After Francis left, Harper didn't make any moves or take any immediate action. She and Matthew just kept living their normal
lives, eating, sleeping and being happy all around, as if the dealings concerning the Qin Clan had nothing to do with her.
The next day, Darren came to visit Harper. After exchanging formalities, he went straight to the point and handed Harper a pile of
documents. "Here you go; it's all you asked for."
"Thank you, Darren."
"We are friends. There is no need for those polite words," Darren said.
Harper only smiled as she took the documents and leafed through them one by one. During this process, Darren noticed that a
man was standing by the window—Matthew. He started to study him. It had been rumored that he was a merciless and
bloodthirsty man, but from what he was sensing, the man was abnormally calm and peaceful.
"I've heard that Your Highness is a bloodsucking monster. Now that I've met you in person, I don't think that's true," Darren
suddenly admitted. "Well, at least, I don't feel any murderous intent from you right now," he added.
"I'm not a lunatic that would kill without reasons," returned Matthew, his facial expression unchanging.
Darren choked, but not because he felt embarrassed. Actually, he immediately turned to Harper and said, "Well, His Highness is
really so straightforward."
Still going through the files in her hand, Harper said without even looking at Darren, "He's been like that as far as I remember.

Just don't pay too much attention to it, and you will get used to it in no time." Playing with the tea cup in his hand with an
unreadable smile, Darren did not continue to make jokes about Matthew. But his opinion about Matthew did change. He had
heard many rumors about him, but now that he had seen him in person, he realized that this man was not as terrifying as people

had said he was. "The whole Qin Clan are actually hiding themselves from the rest of the world. As for why they have done it, I
have no clue just yet. Do you want me to dig into it?" Darren asked, changing the topic. His voice was so pleasing to the ear and
somehow
incredibly relaxing. It was just like the wind blowing in one's face on a hot day. Harper shook her head and said, "Since they
chose to hide away, it meant that they don't want to get in touch with people. Since they don't want to have anything to do with
people not in their clan, I will respect that and won't bother them. After all, they have already been living a relatively quiet life for
20 years. Disturbing them is the least of my desires." "A clear, rational head you have," said Darren. "I've always been like this,
Darren," Harper replied, emphasizing each word. She then threw the documents into the copper pot to burn. As they turned into
ashes, she looked away and said, "Well, I had no chance to chat with you the last time I was here. Now that we're together, I'm
thinking you might be able to help me with some questions that bother me." "What questions?" Darren asked, a puzzled look on
his face. "It's so... out of the ordinary that you will ask me for my help."
"A powerful outsider can hardly afford to neglect local bullies. What's more, I'm very weak now and no match for you at all. It will
be too difficult to investigate the matter by myself. It's more convenient to ask for your help directly, don't you think?" With that,
Harper donned a huge smile and continued, "Do you know of any secrets the Phoenix City holds?"
Upon hearing these words, Darren smiled. His expression, however, was incredibly difficult to decipher. "You know, Harper, every
place has its secrets—by which I mean the dark secrets, those ones that are kept from most people."
Harper nodded, "I'm just asking. Because Rolando once told me that the key to solving the mysteries surrounding the Qin Clan is
hidden within the Phoenix City. I'm basically just trying my luck here," she explained.

Her words surprised Darren. "The key to solving the mysteries surrounding the Qin Clan is hidden within the Phoenix City?" he
repeated with genuine bewilderment. Truth be told, Darren really didn't know anything about this. The only thing he knew was
that the Qin Clan was hiding in the Phoenix City. After all, except for this place, no place in its right mind would accept a clan that
was being hunted down by the four kingdoms. However, it never occurred to him that there might be another reason why the Qin
Clan chose to stay in the Phoenix City..

"So basically what you're telling me is that the Qin Clan suddenly hid themselves again this time around because of some things
that are concerning this city?" asked Darren in complete confusion.
Harper shook her head again. "Darren, to be honest with you, I have no idea. But you see, after the Great Jade Kingdom was
conquered, Rolando escaped. Soon after Felton disappeared. I once suspected that it was Rolando who took him away, but
someone told me that Felton was back in the Phoenix City. He was not forced to return, as far as I know."
Darren was also a smart person, like Matthew. When he heard what Harper said, he came up with the same explanation
Matthew had. "Is it possible that the Qin Clan asked him to go back?"
"Judging from the evidence we have now, that is the most likely scenario."
"But that doesn't make sense! I mean what the Qin Clan has done," Darren pointed out as he frowned. "The Qin Clan has always
taken the initiative to contact you. Now, as soon as the Great Jade Kingdom has fallen, they suddenly refused to keep in touch.
Unless the Qin Clan feels that they are safe forever and don't need any of your help, or they are threatened by something or
someone and have no choice but to cut off all ties."
Harper fell into silence. Francis once reminded her that there was something wrong with the Qin Clan, and that all the evidences
were pointing back to the Qin Clan themselves. But she didn't want to go deep into it. After all, the Heavenly Book was in
Rolando's hands now, so was the other half of the Sacred Seal. This meant that she couldn't help the Qin Clan anymore, even
herself.
"How about this? I'll search for more information about the Qin Clan for you. When things become clearer, you can decide
whether to meet them or not." Seeing that Harper had no idea what to make of the situation, Darren took the initiative to assist
her further.
"Okay. I think that's the best we can do for now. Thank you very much, Darren."