Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

It was the evening before the new emperor's enthronement day. Francis brought the empress's robe to Harper in person, and
demanded her to try it on.
Harper took a glance at the robe lazily, and said, "I don't need to try it."
"Well, how do you know if it will suit you if you don't try it?" Francis asked in a low and gentle voice. "Try it, please. If it's not
suiting you, we still have time to get it modified."
"Don't you know whether it is suitable or not?" Harper said as she leisurely placed the black and white stones on the Go board.
"It doesn't matter whether the robe is suitable or not, but what matters is whether the person is suitable."
Francis sat down opposite to Harper and said, "You want to play Go now? Here, I will play with you."
"Don't move!" Harper exclaimed, pushing away his hand from the board. Then she continued to place the black and white stones
on the board in a seemingly irregular manner. However, Francis knew that Harper differed greatly from ordinary women.
Whatever she did, there would be an underlying purpose in it.
Francis didn't get angry because of her attitude. He just sat there and watched her playing with the stones. Seeing the layout of
the black and white stones on the board, he became very curious. "What situation are you trying to create? It seems that there is
no way out."
"Yes, you're right. There is no way out." Harper looked at the black and white stones that she had placed in their positions with
her cold eyes. "Can you find a way out?"
Francis analyzed the situation carefully. He couldn't find a way out. It was a game of complete dead end.
"Harper, I see no way out."

Hearing that, she smiled, picked up a stone and placed it in a position. Immediately more than half of the stones on the board got
killed and removed. Francis shook his head at her move. "You have thrown yourself into ruin by this move. More than half of your
stones are killed." Harper didn't respond, but continued with the game and placed one more stone on the board. As a result, the
situation on the board became instantly clear. The black stones, for which there had been no way out just now, suddenly faced

an optimistic situation. However, this way of surviving succeeded at the price of great losses, which was like the miserable and
heavy loss of the wrist of a strong soldier.
"You left no room for maneuver or route for escape, so that you finally found a way out. But you have to suffer great losses as the
price. Don't you think it's not that worthy?" Francis picked up a white stone and slowly put it down on the board, beginning to
chase after the black stones. Soon, Harper placed one more black stone on the board. Surprisingly, the advantage of the white
stones disappeared completely. Francis was dumbfounded to see the sudden change in the situation. After all, the white stones
had been in obvious advantage just a moment before. But, as soon as the black stones took the risk and made their next two
moves, the white stones were put on the path to ruin. What a dramatic inversion! "Sometimes, what you see with your eyes may
not be true necessarily," Harper said, taking over the teacup from the maid and
placing it in front of Francis. "Take this game of Go as an example. You felt that it would be an easy win for you, but you lost
miserably."
"Harper, are you implying something?" Francis asked with a gentle smile, concealing his surprise.
Harper really admired Francis' ability of self-deception. "Do you want to take a bet with me?" she asked.
"So what are we going to bet on?" Francis asked curiously.
"That if I can overtly leave the Imperial Palace tomorrow," Harper said slowly. "Do you think I will be able to walk safely out of the
Imperial Palace in Matthew's absence?"

With a tender smile, Francis said, "Yes, I believe that. If you wish to leave the Imperial Palace, just tell me. I am ready to go out
with you." Harper stood up and turned her back on Francis. "It's already too late. Francis, I think you should go back." Francis
remained unmoved, staring at the empress's robe. He had imagined for countless times how Harper would look when she wore
such a beautiful wedding dress. The red robe for the new empress looked gorgeous. Even though he could see her wearing it
tomorrow, he couldn't wait any longer and wanted to see her wearing it now.

"You haven't tried on the empress's robe yet."
Harper glanced at the red robe on the table and didn't move. She never liked such an aggressive color, not even on her wedding
day. She had worn such a red dress on her wedding day with Matthew. At that time, she only thought that it was her opportunity
to leave the Chu Clan for her own good. She didn't dislike Matthew, even though the marriage had been granted by the late
emperor. When she recalled now, she realized that she didn't observe carefully how she looked in her wedding dress.
Harper stretched out her hand and touched the red robe for the new empress. She said, "When I married Matthew, I thought
finally I could leave the hell called Chu Clan and no longer had to stay with a group of hypocritical, ferocious and vicious family
members. I was eager to marry Matthew and enter his mansion as soon as possible. Even though I knew that I could only be a
puppet, I was not hesitant at all."
Francis' eyes dimmed. "But you fell in love with him later."
Nodding her head, Harper said, "Yes, I am now used to his way of life and his care for me. Without him around me, I always feel
empty. When I married him, I had impure motives. I wonder if he'll feel distressed once he knows that."
"Uncle Matthew is a proud man. He will certainly be mad if he knows that." Francis knew pretty well about Matthew. What
Matthew hated the most was betrayal. The reason Harper had married him was not pure, which could be described as a
betrayal. But technically, it wasn't a betrayal. After all, the marriage was granted by the late emperor.
"Forsythia, help me try the clothes on," Harper ordered. Finally, she agreed to try on the empress's robe. During her marriage to
Matthew, she had not paid attention to how she looked in her wedding dress. She thought, 'Matthew, where are you now? Why
haven't you come back yet? I'll wear a wedding dress for you once again, and this time I'll concentrate on you with no
distractions. I'll only be your wife in my lifetime.'.