Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

The farce in the Chu Clan mansion had ended. Harper went back to her own house. She had asked

Nina and Anabel to hide

away for a few days so that they could avoid being framed. Since Enya and Elsie were secretly working

for Sue, Harper didn't

dare to order them around. Perhaps it was because she came back too late that they didn't show up.

When she entered her room, she saw a man sitting on a chair and flipping through the notebook she

wrote.

"Why are you here?" It was the masked man she had healed when he broke into the Chu Clan

mansion with injuries.

The masked man threw the notebook on the table and pursed his lips as he looked at Harper. "You

made a big show today!"

Instead of answering him, Harper opened the window and looked around for anyone who might

overhear.

"Stop looking. There's nobody here. I also knocked out your two maids," he explained slowly as if he

knew what Harper was

worried about.

Harper shut the window and sat opposite him. "Are you getting better?"

"Yes." The man folded his arms across his chest. "Your medicine's very useful."

"Since you're already healed, why did you come here? I don't think I have anything that you would

want," she said tentatively.

"I came here to look for something but I got curious about all the lights and shooting in the Chu Clan

mansion. So I stayed aside

and watched the whole scene. What poison did you use on your sister to make her lose her mind?"

This woman always

surprised him; he wanted to know just how many secrets she had.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Harper glared at him.

"Woman, don't be afraid of me," the man said coldly. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."

"I know." If she had sensed a murderous aura from him, she wouldn't have sat still and waited for her

death.

"You know?" The man snorted at her words. "As a physician, you should know the effects of the drug.

You knew that Felicia

would attack you when she lost her mind. Why didn't you defend yourself?"

For all Harper expected the man to make trouble, it never occurred to her that he would ask her this

question. "If I defended

myself, they would've seen through my trick."

"You're powerful; it wouldn't have been a problem for you to kick her over."

"Most of the people in the Chu Clan are cunning. I must have some tricks up my sleeve to save my life

in the nick of time." It was

awkward for the two of them to just sit there so Harper asked, "Do you want to have some tea?"

"Yes."

While Harper was preparing the tea, the man watched her quietly. He just wanted to see her so he

came to the Chu Clan

mansion but unexpectedly caught her plotting against her sister.

The man sipped the lotus leaf tea that Harper made. It was simple but had a special taste. After a

moment, he passed a bottle to

Harper. "It's for your wounds."

"I'm not hurt!" Harper said blankly.

The man tapped his neck and Harper mimicked the motion, flinching at the sting she felt. She didn't

notice that Felicia had

scratched her neck. "Stupid woman." The insult didn't faze Harper. She just took the bottle and

delicately sniffed it. "Skin-smoothing Cream. This is only for people in the Imperial Palace." The man's

expression didn't change. "As long as I want it, I can get it. Even if it were some secret medicine, I'd still

be able to get it, let alone this cream." "Thank you." Harper smiled. "That's a gift for you saving my life

before. If you feel too embarrassed to take it, you can give me another bottle of the medicine you

applied on my wounds before," the man replied. "No," Harper refused without hesitation. "The Skin-

smoothing Cream is far inferior to my Blood-congealing Powder." 'This woman used to be arrogant and

domineering, and now she is cunning and sly.' The man was momentarily at a loss for words. "Woman,

you aren't cute at all!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Harper replied frankly. He would be irritated if they continued the topic, so

the man immediately changed the topic. "Do you want to help Yvonne?" "Help her?" Harper sneered.

"No, it's a test." "You offered to register her as the daughter of your late mother. Is it really worth it?"

The entire situation just sounded like a loss for Harper and it confused the man on why she still did it.

"Whether it's worth it or not, it depends on me," Harper replied and she took a sip of her tea. It was

getting hotter recently, but the weather was cooler at night so it wasn't so hot in the room. "Aren't you

afraid that they'll take revenge?" The women of Chu Clan used different ways to get what they wanted,

and even if Sue lost her power for the time being, Carrie probably wasn't a match for her.

Harper thought about this possibility seriously. "I'm afraid of them. But if they turn against me, I'll let

them know what it feels like

to be in the hell."

"Do you want to cooperate with me?"

"What do you do?" Harper asked curiously. "Look at your mask. You broke in the Chu Clan mansion at

night. I don't think you

look like a good man! Are you a notorious robber or a famous killer?"

The man's mouth twitched subtly. "Killer."

"I don't like killing," Harper replied firmly. "Besides, I don't have any mortal enemies who I hate so much

that I want to kill them."

"Even after those women schemed against you?"

"Those were just tricks. If I hire a killer, it's just making a mountain out of a molehill." Harper shook her

head. "I don't need it."

That stunned the masked man. "Other than killing, I have my own business."

"What kind of business? Is it a killer organization or a brothel?" Harper asked curiously.

The man's eyes grew cold when he heard this. When she saw his eyes, she laughed. "Don't take it

seriously. It's just a joke."

"It's a regular business, a restaurant." The man shot a displeased glance at her.

It took Harper a moment to recover her composure from her embarrassment. "I see. Then, why did you

have to break in the Chu Clan mansion again? Is there anything you want?" "Yes. But it doesn't matter

now," the masked man answered breezily. He was more interested in Harper now. Eventually Harper

got bored and fiddled the wick with her silver hairpin before her eyes lit up again. "You run a restaurant;

you must have a lot of money." "Not really. My annual profit is only several hundred thousand taels of

silver." The masked man looked indifferent. The words made Harper reconsider cooperating with him.

"Can we cooperate? I'll take sixty percent of the profit and you'll take the other forty percent! What do

you think?"

"Cooperate for what?" The masked man acted as if he didn't care at all.

Harper stood up and went deeper into the room. She then returned with a small box and quickly

handed it over to the man.

"Have a look."

A refreshing fragrance wafted out as soon as the man opened the box. "Is this the Skin-smoothing

Cream?"

"It has the same effects as the Skin-smoothing Cream but it's better." Harper shook her head. "I have

some of these things in my

hand. I was going to sell them myself, but I don't have any connections in this city. I'm asking you to sell

them for me. After

selling them, we can divide the profit."

"Deal."

"You agree?"

"Of course. But I have a request."

"What is it?"

"Give me five bottles of Blood-congealing Powder every month and I'll give you eighty percent of the

profit."

"Deal." Harper then held out her hand. "Let's high five for our cooperation!"

The masked man stretched out his arm and patted his hand against hers. His hand dwarfed Harper's

hand and he could hold her

whole hand in his palm.

"Since we have a deal, you can take these things away." Harper led the masked man in a small room

with two huge boxes filled

with jars.

"I put a label on each of them to show the effects of them. I just finished all of these and I think it's

enough for the time being."

The man turned at the sound of her relaxed voice and was entranced by how she looked from the side.

"Okay, I'll take these with me. When you have more of these, light a lotus lamp in your yard. I'll send

someone to take them

away."

"Here's a bottle of Skin-smoothing Cream. You need to find a way to deliver it to Felicia since she is

wounded. She is in

desperate need of this as she doesn't want any scars on her body." Harper handed it over to the man.

"Be careful."

"Don't worry. You should keep an eye on those women and protect yourself from getting hurt. Take care

of yourself." The masked

man took the bottle and carried the boxes as he disappeared into the darkness.

Once he was out of sight, Harper closed the window. The sight of the Skin-smoothing Cream on the

table made her get lost in

her thoughts. Although she had something better, this was the first time that someone had given her

something without any

ulterior motives. After a moment's deliberation, she began applying some of the cream on her wounds.

All women cared for their

appearance and she didn't want any scars on her body either.

The delicate face reflected in the bronze mirror didn't have marks but it did looked a little swollen.

Harper touched her cheek and

vowed to pay back the insult, and she hoped that Carrie and Yvonne wouldn't let her down!