Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

"Harper, Harrell, Harper, Harrell, Harper, Harrell, Harper..." As Carlson murmured the names, a thought

occurred in his mind. He

suddenly stopped, turned around, and shook his head as if he had met a ghost. It was impossible!

'Harrell can't be Harper!' he

told himself.

With confusion filled his heart, he went to see his aunt, Nicole. He then told her that Charles had lost

his wife many years ago

and hadn't been married since. He also told her that Charles wanted to marry her and asked whether

Nicole would agree to it or

not. Carlson, actually, never thought that his aunt would agree. But unexpectedly, Nicole nodded in

agreement without putting out

any fight.

Everything that happened today was far beyond Carlson's expectations. Right now, he became more

suspicious of Harrell's real

identity. He was a powerful man in the imperial capital, but he had never climbed the wall in order to

search for an unmarried

woman's house.

Once a doubt entered his mind, it was beyond impossible for him to relax. He felt restless throughout

the day. Finally, he made

up his mind to verify the truth since only that would put his mind to rest. Minute by minute, his

conviction that Harrell was actually

Harper began to grow stronger. Therefore, he decided to pay a secret visit to the Chu Clan mansion

and sneak into Harper's

house.

"Who are you?" The moment he climbed over the wall, he was found by someone. He immediately

raised his hands and said,

"I'm not a bad guy. I have a message for your lady!" Seeing the sword on his neck, Carlson wondered

whether all the people

around Harper were so terrible. He thought no one would find him if he went into Harper's house. But

unexpectedly, he was

discovered as soon as he entered!

Forsythia frowned at Carlson and said, "Your Highness!" Carlson was quite surprised. He obviously did

not expect to be recognized by a servant girl. And from what he remembered, he was certain that

Harper had never brought this girl with her. This meant that this maid must have seen him before.

"What's up, Forsythia?" asked Nina after she got out of the house. When she saw the man who was

controlled by Forsythia, she covered her face as if she was afraid of being recognized by him. Harper,

inside the house, was also puzzled to hear the chaos outside. So she came out to check what was

going on. The moment she came out, Carlson stared at her as if he had seen a ghost. He stammered,

"You... You... You are really Harper!" It was difficult for him to finish his sentence.

Harper signaled to Forsythia to retreat before she invited Carlson inside the room. "Carlson, you came

to see me so soon. If my memory serves me right, we have parted just a short while ago." "You cheat!

You made an idiot out of me!" Carlson sat down casually, took the tea handed by Harper and drank it

up. His ears were still a little red and Harper could tell he was offended. "You also know my situation in

this mansion. So, of course, I have to disguise myself when I go out, or there would be a great uproar

here." Harper filled the cup for Carlson again and then had some dessert delivered. "Are you here only

because you

identified me? Or can I expect some good news?"

Carlson did not dare to look at Harper right in the eye. He merely nodded and said, "Yes. My aunt

agrees so you can ask your

father to send a marriage proposal."

"Merely sending a marriage proposal will not be good enough. I will pass this news to my father and he

will ask His Majesty to

issue a marriage edict. That would be better. Also, don't worry about your aunt. Once she comes to this

mansion, we will take

good care of her." Harper had a thin smile on her face. She was a beautiful woman, and besides, she

spoke in a very calm and

refined manner. Her behavior added more beauty to her. Now that Carlson had known her, he too was

of the belief that rumors weren't always accurate. "When will you like the marriage to be held?" Carlson

asked. "Not very soon. Now that your aunt has promised to marry into the Chu Clan mansion, I have to

deal with something troublesome in the mansion. I'm in charge of the all the family affairs in the

mansion. After your aunt is married into the mansion, she will be the one responsible for everything.

But I am sure that you don't want her to deal with many tricky things. So, I will fix

everything well before the wedding ceremony so that some of the burdens will be off from her

shoulder," Harper said. She

pushed the dessert to Carlson, seeing he wasn't eating. "What, Carlson? Why do you look so

embarrassed? Harrell is your

friend. Can't Harper be your friend too?"

What? You get me wrong. I just didn't know how to get along with you. After all, you are a woman, not a

man. I was thinking of

how rudely I was in front of you. And I..." Carlson blushed before he could even finish his words.

Harper stretched out her hand and said, "Carlson, it doesn't matter if I am Harrell or Harper. The fact

remains we are friends."

Carlson looked at the hand which was held out by Harper. Her skin was fair and her fingers were

slender. By glancing at her soft

and beautiful hands, he realized Hansen had to be a blind mind to refuse this beautiful woman to be his

wife. Carlson then held

Harper's hand and they shook hands.

"Yes, we are friends," Carlson said firmly. "Please take care of my aunt after she gets married into the

Chu Clan mansion."

"Of course I will. She will be my family and it's my duty to take good care of her," Harper said, hoping to

elevate all the worries

from Carlson's mind. "My father will ask for His Majesty's permission to marry her. Don't worry. Your

aunt will not get hurt."

"I know. Thank you for this. I'm leaving now." Carlson pretended to be calm as he walked to climb down

the wall. But only God

knew that his heart was beating like a drum.

"Or, you can leave through the front door," Harper suggested as she looked at Carlson who had started

to climb down clumsily.

Carlson turned around to look at Harper. "Maybe not today. Can I visit you through the front door in the

future?" he asked.

"Of course." Now that Harper had given an affirmative reply, Carlson finally felt relieved. He tried for the

last time and climbed

down the wall successfully. After that, he leaned against the wall and pressed his chest to keep his

heartbeat steady. He thought

to himself, 'Harper, you are really different from the hearsay!'