Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Looking at the beggar who appeared in front of her, Harper was stunned for a moment. The beggar

looked at her expectantly.

She then instinctively handed him two taels of silver.

"Take the money and go buy some food and a warm coat. The air is getting cold," she said. Then she

shook her head, and was

about to leave.

The beggar looked expressionlessly at the silver in his hand. Seeing that Harper was turning to go, he

grabbed her clothes and

said, "Lady Harper, please wait a minute."

Harper then realized that the beggar obviously knew her identity. Squinting to see if she could

recognize him, she said, "You

are..."

"Lady Harper, I'm Owen, the one who works for Prince Francis," the beggar replied at once as he tried

to smooth his hair in

haste, and revealed his face. Although his face was dirty, his features were recognizable.

Looking at the dirty face in front of her, Harper carefully thought of Owen's face, and then looked back

at the young beggar in

front of her. She was still uncertain. "Are you Owen?"

"Yes, yes! I'm Owen. Thank God you finally remember me! I'm the Owen who works for Prince

Francis," Owen said eagerly. He

was indescribably grateful to find Harper. However, before he could say another word, Harper tapped

his forehead with her

finger.

"Why did you come here? You should be taking good care of him. Don't you know that he needs you to

take care of him?" she

scolded.

"Lady Harper, misfortune has befallen him. I'm here to implore you for help," Owen cried. Harper was

disconcerted by this news. "What? What happened to him? Has the poison in his body intensified

again? That's impossible. I remember clearly that I have given him enough medicine. How could the

poison be suddenly intensifying?" "No, that's not what happened. An assassin appeared at the Imperial

Palace on the Rice Porridge Festival. At that festival, Prince Francis was next to His Majesty and he

warded off the assassin's sword for His Majesty, saving his life. Prince Francis was hurt and is still in a

coma now. The imperial physicians can do nothing about it. I was so distraught and worried that I came

here to search for you. It was my misfortune to meet some gangsters on the way. They robbed me of

all my money. That's why I am such a mess now," Owen explained, feeling heartbroken. He almost

burst into tears again when he recalled what he had suffered when he came here to look for Harper on

his own initiative, without permission.

"Francis is still in poor health. How could he block an assassin for His Majesty..." Harper's words trailed

off and she did not finish speaking. Fortunately, she had almost completed her business in the River

City. She had intended to celebrate the New Year with Matthew in the city, and had never anticipated

an occurrence like what Owen had just told her. "Lady Harper, will he..." Owen started to ask

tentatively. "Don't talk nonsense," Harper scolded. "Follow me to the official inn. I need to talk about this

with Matthew."

"Yes."

Matthew learned the news when Owen found Harper. A faint smile curved on his lips. He and Harper

had sneaked away from the

imperial capital. But Owen, who worked for Francis, came to the River City immediately after the

incident, as if he knew that

anyone who went to the River City to report the news would be stopped. Therefore, Owen had dressed

up like a beggar to

escape from being stopped and finally appeared here. This was remarkable.

When Harper arrived at the official inn with Owen, Matthew was sitting in the hall. His glance fell on

Owen who instinctively hid

himself behind Harper, apparently afraid of the prince. "Matthew, Francis was seriously injured at the

royal banquet. I'm afraid we can't celebrate the New Year in the River City," Harper said urgently.

Matthew held her hand while looking closely at Owen, saying, "You are the servant of Francis. Why

have you come to the River City?" "I came here to find Lady Harper," Owen murmured awkwardly.

"Oh?" Matthew spoke with cool suspicion in his voice. "Who told you that she was in the River City?"

Hearing that, Owen glanced at Harper timidly, and saw that she was also looking at him. Then he

answered carefully, "Prince

Francis once mentioned it in front of me."

"Francis?" Harper was becoming curious, too. She had never told Francis that she would go to the

River City.

"Yes," Owen replied as he turned to look at Harper. "Lady Harper, you said you would come to check

on Prince Francis on that

day. But you never came, and just had a bottle of medicine sent before you left with Prince Matthew. I

was very surprised when I

saw that. Prince Francis then mentioned that you probably went to the River City with Prince Matthew. I

asked him why you went

here, but he didn't answer me."

Harper kept an unreadable look on her face. "Was Francis still unconscious when you left the imperial

capital?" she asked.

"Yes, the imperial physicians have been making a lot of efforts to cure him. I don't know how he is

doing now, but I'm sure he will

recover soon if you are willing to cure him," Owen exclaimed delightedly. In his eyes, Harper was like a

goddess who could cure

anyone. It seemed to him that there was nothing she couldn't do.

"If we rush back at this time, I'm afraid that Francis will have almost recovered from his wounds,"

Harper said joyfully. "His body

is weak. Although I have treated him well with my medicine and needles, he hasn't completely

recovered yet. He was also hurt

badly by the assassin when he protected His Majesty, so he was in a coma from which it would

properly take two or three days

to awaken. It's about five or six days from the River City to the imperial capital, so I think he should be

awake by now."

"Really?" Owen's eyes burst with ecstasy. He put no faith in other people's words, but believed Harper

absolutely. He was sure

that Francis would be all right now. But he still asked her awkwardly, "Then when will you come back to

the imperial capital?"