Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 41

The next morning, Harper went to the Peony House to visit Mavis.

It was normal for Mavis to see Harper at such an early hour, so she wasn't surprised at all. "Harper, you've been coming here earlier and earlier recently."

"Am I bothering you, Grandma?" Harper asked as she helped Mavis clean up.

"No. I mean you could be getting more sleep. You don't have to come here so early just for greetings." It was true that Mavis loved her from the bottom of her heart and she patted Harper's head. If Harper didn't deceive her, Mavis would never thought of sending her to the Imperial Palace.

"It's my pleasure to serve you, Grandma." There wasn't any sign of impatience on Harper's face as she skillfully and carefully helped Mavis freshen up and served her at the dining table.

"You're such a filial girl," Mavis said and sighed. "Have a seat. Let's eat together."

"Yes, Grandma." They then sat next to each other. Harper served Mavis at the dining table and she enjoyed the meal very much.

As they finished their meal, Harper brought a cup of tea for Mavis to rinse her mouth. "Grandma, Yvonne and Felicia are getting married. Mother asked me to give them gifts, but I don't know what I should give them. Do you have any idea?"

A flash went through Mavis' eyes when she heard Harper. "Did Sue ask you to prepare gifts?"

"Yvonne and Felicia are going to get married. I'm the elder sister and I'm supposed to give them gifts. But over the years, I don't have much savings and I've been squandering the money. It's lucky that Grandma took care of my late mother's dowry. Otherwise, I would have squandered it. Now Yvonne and Felicia will be married to His Highness. I don't have anything good and I don't know what I should give them, so please give me a suggestion."

The confusion on Harper's face worried Mavis about her innocence, but she stopped Annie from reminding her.

"What do you want to give them, Harper?" Mavis asked with a smile.

"I'm not good at anything. I only know a bit about medicine. Yvonne's pregnant so I can do my best and help her with my medical skills. But for Felicia..." Harper sighed. "I can't ignore Felicia and favor Yvonne. They're both my sisters, so I have to be fair."

The answer satisfied Mavis. "Yes, you're all sisters. You don't have to do it yourself. I'll help you prepare the gifts."

"No way!" Harper refused with a shake of her head. "Mother asked me to prepare the gifts myself to show my sincerity. If she knew Grandma prepared the gifts for me, she'd be unhappy."

It nagged at Annie to see Harper look like she was in a dilemma. 'Lady Harper, you're too innocent. The reason why Lady Sue asked you to prepare the gifts is that she must have some other ulterior motives, ' she thought.

"You don't have much money. If the presents you prepared are too cheap, Sue would be unhappy. But you won't be able to afford expensive gifts." Mavis took her hand. "How about this? I'll pick things from your mother's dowry and let someone bring them to Yvonne and Felicia as their wedding gifts. Since your mother's dowry will also be your dowry in the future, it's not a big deal for you to give things to your sisters as gifts. What do you think?" Mavis offered with a smile.

"That's great. Thank you, Grandma." The suggestion made Harper very happy. "I want to give them a surprise. Grandma, please don't tell Mother or she won't be happy."

"What's the matter? Why are you scared that your mother will be unhappy?" Charles asked. He came to pay his respects to Mavis. He was in a good mood because Felicia would be married to the prince's heir and everything was great at work in the Imperial Palace.

"Harper was having a hard time in choosing wedding gifts for Yvonne and Felicia. Both of them will marry His Highness. There are countless rare treasures in Prince Kevin's mansion, and Harper didn't know what gifts she should prepare. She asked me to make a decision for her." Mavis took a glance at Charles with a teacup in her hand. "I've prepared the gifts for her."

"Sorry to bother you, Mother." While he didn't fully understand what Mavis meant, he thought Harper was annoying Mavis by being unable to make a decision on such a trivial matter.

"I'm not annoyed at all. Harper's the daughter of your first wife, but she doesn't have anything decent. She is even unable to give her sisters some decent gifts. I've prepared the gifts for Harper. I'll ask someone to give them to Felicia and Yvonne tomorrow. No need to bother Sue."

"Yes, Mother."

"Don't let Sue know I prepared the gifts for Harper or she may think Harper isn't being sincere." It was of great importance for family members to live together in harmony and men shouldn't get too involved into domestic affairs, so Mavis warned Charles despite his busy work.

"Mother, I understand."

After he agreed with Mavis' words, he finally looked at Harper, who was silently standing at the side. "What have you done recently?"

"I've been reading some books about the moral principles and etiquette of women." Harper slightly bent her knees to salute her father. "It's said that a woman's ignorance is bliss but women should learn about moral principles and etiquette."

Charles nodded with satisfaction. "How was your reading?"

"I've finished but I found that I'm not good at needlework. I'm learning embroidery from the maids these days and I'm thinking of embroidering something for you and Grandma. But I'm not skillful at it so I haven't finished them yet," Harper replied quickly.

"That's enough as long as you're thinking about us." A smile appeared on Mavis' lips. "We both know that you've been working really hard lately."

A nod was Harper's only response. She then excused herself when she saw Mavis and Charles were about to have a long conversation. Felicia and Yvonne would marry Hansen in the same day, and this would become the hot topic in the city.

Nina followed behind Harper and said, "My Lady, although most of Lady Kelly's dowry is kept by Lady Mavis, I think..."

"Of course, I can't give things my mother left to other people," Harper replied immediately. "And I can't prepare any gifts for them."

Nina thought for a while and asked, "My Lady, do you mean...?"

"Let's go back. I'll greet Grandma alone tomorrow. You two don't have to be with me. You buy some cloths with Anabel. I'll tailor clothes for Grandma and Father," Harper gently ordered. Although she wasn't good at needlework, she could tailor clothes.

"Yes, My Lady."

"Come with me. I want to visit Yvonne. She's pregnant right now. We should visit her." Just when she was about to go to Yvonne's place, she saw Serena walking along the road not far away from them. But Serena moved so fast and disappeared in a blink.

"My Lady, that seemed to be Lady Serena."

There had always been something odd about Serena, who was bewitching, charming, and strange, much like a colorful viper haunting everywhere and spitting out a scarlet tongue.

"Leave her alone." Harper pretended she didn't see her and headed to the Excellence House. Carrie and Yvonne lived in the same house. In this country, a concubine's children would have to live in the same house with their mother before they came of age and got married.

"Lady Harper."

"Shirley, is Lady Carrie home?" Shirley was Yvonne's personal maid.

"Lady Carrie's talking with Lady Yvonne." Shirley led Harper inside. "My Ladies, Lady Harper's here."

The two women were discussing the dowry when they heard the arrival of Harper, so they both stood up and greeted her.

"Hello, Lady Carrie, Yvonne." The three of them entered the room together, leaving Shirley and Nina to guard the door in case someone came over.

"What brings you here, Harper?"

"I brought some medicine for Yvonne." Harper took out a white porcelain bottle and placed it on the table. "Here's medicine to protect the baby in Yvonne's womb from poison. You heard it yesterday, Mother asked me to prepare a wedding gift for Yvonne."

Carrie snapped to look at Harper and caught hold of Yvonne's hand in surprise. "Harper, this..."

"If I guessed correctly, Mother wanted to use me to harm Yvonne." Harper poured herself a glass of water. "Tomorrow, my gifts for Yvonne and Felicia will be delivered to Mother. Before she gives the gift to you, you should take this medicine first. Then you can feel free to touch the gift." There was only indifference in Harper's eyes when she added, "Be careful with the people around you."

A twinkle flashed in Carrie's eyes and she looked at Vera, who was pretending to sweep the floor not far from the door. "Don't worry, Harper. I'll watch over everything. Will our plan hurt the baby in Yvonne's belly?"

"Lady Carrie, don't worry. Since I dare to ask you to do this, I'm one hundred percent certain. If you don't want to work with me, you'll suffer a lot at that time," Harper said slowly. "We both clearly know that both Mother and Felicia are jealous of Yvonne's child."

"As long as you can help me keep my child, I'll do whatever you tell me to!" Yvonne said. This unborn baby was her most precious gift, her ticket to a life of luxury in Prince Kevin's mansion, so she couldn't live without it!

Even with all the benefits Harper offered, it still wasn't enough for Carrie to turn against Sue. So Harper offered, "Mother has controlled the Chu Clan for many years. Lady Carrie, have you ever thought of managing the clan?"

Carrie's eyes lit up and she turned to look at Harper. "What do you mean, Harper?"

"Just do as I say. I promise that Yvonne will safely marry His Highness and that you'll share the power with Mother. What do you think?"

Carrie and Yvonne looked at each other and nodded their heads at the same time. "We'll do it!"