Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 49

"Get me some water from the kitchen," Harper said calmly. There were only four maids in the Emerald House. Harper did not ask for more in order to avoid this kind of unexpected thing to happen. Unfortunately, trouble had its way of happening even when she had done everything to avoid it.

Nina soon fetched some water and put it into a bowl. Harper took a sip. The water was clean.

"What do you think, My Lady?" Nina asked anxiously.

"There is no problem with the water." Frowning, Harper wondered how the bird's nest soup had been poisoned. Frustrated that she couldn't figure it out, Harper went to inspect the kitchen. Enya and Elsie didn't know what happened to make Harper's mood sour but they sensed they had to stay silent.

Harper checked the water tank in the kitchen and the bird's nest again. Then she looked at the roof and the windowsill. Even the ash in the stove did not have a trace of the poison. But there was poison in the soup. That much she was certain.

'It's so strange!' Harper thought for a long time, but still was unable to figure out a possibility. It took a certain brand of brilliance and cunning to be able to poison her so subtly. If it weren't for her medical background, she wouldn't detect the poison at all. They would have been poisoned to their deaths. If someone had run into the Emerald House to poison her, her maids should have noticed that person's presence. What on earth could have happened?

With a serious face, she sat by the table, staring at a point as her fingers tapped on the table slightly. Suddenly, her hand tipped the cup lid by accident. The lid rolled and fell to the floor before it broke into several pieces.

"Ah, it broke again." Upon seeing that, Anabel immediately went to clean the debris.

"Anabel, you said it broken again. What do you mean?" Harper asked in surprise.

Without raising her head, Anabel continued cleaning the pieces and answered, "Last night, Elsie accidentally broke the lid. So I went and got another new one from the storage house. I didn't expect it to break again now. It seems that we have to get another one tomorrow."

Harper pulled Anabel swiftly and stopped her from touching the broken pieces of the cup lid. Squatting down, she began to inspect one of the pieces. "My Lady, be careful. It may cut your hand," Anabel said with concern.

Harper picked up the pieces, and asked Nina to get another bowl of water. Then, she put all the pieces into the water. After a while, she pulled out a silver hairpin from her head and put it into the water. The silver hairpin turned black. The water was now contaminated with poison.

"Oh my God!" Anabel screamed, her eyes wide in shock.

There was no expression on Harper's face. Both Nina and Anabel held their breaths and dared not say anything, afraid they might interrupt Harper's thinking. They waited silently for Harper's plan.

"Clean all the mess. Let's just pretend that nothing has happened. You will watch carefully if anyone is wandering outside our house tonight. Be careful while you observe. We will soon know who is trying to kill me." She did not think she could take the risk of keeping Enya and Elsie in her house anymore. They were easy targets, easy ways for people to manipulate and do their dirty work for them. The stakes just got higher. She couldn't afford the risk anymore.

"Yes, My Lady," Nina and Anabel agreed.

In the Excellence House, Carrie had been feeling nervous and uneasy ever since Shirley came back. "Are you sure that Harper accepted the bird's nest?" She had been asking Shirley this question more than ten times now.

"Yes, My Lady. I'm sure of it. I saw it with my own eyes. And I also heard Nina say she would stew it for Lady Harper to enjoy," Shirley replied honestly. Truth be told, Shirley was a little scared. Harper was the daughter of Charles' first wife, after all. If anything unusual happened to her after she ate the bird's nest, it would be obvious that Carrie would be the prime suspect. There would be consequences.

Carrie waited for any development from Harper's side of the house for minutes now. She had been fidgeting at her handkerchief anxiously. If her plan went well, Harper would have eaten the bird's nest by now. Her dead body should have caused a stir in the Emerald House. However, it all seemed silent over at Harper's side. The silence made Carrie uneasy. What would Harper do if she discovered that the bird's nest was poisonous?

Carrie waited for a long time, yet nothing happened. Finally, she could not handle the suspense anymore. She turned to Shirley and said, "Let's go check what's going on out there."

"My Lady, it's really late now. If we sneak around the Emerald House and are noticed by others, it could be very troublesome for us," Shirley persuaded, trying to stop Carrie from doing anything crazy. She knew that Carrie must keep her head low and stay on her lane. She shouldn't do anything that could offend Harper. Although Harper was not favored by her father, her grandmother cherished her very much. They could not afford the consequences of offending Harper.

"Don't worry. We can tell them that we are going to visit Lady Harper. What's more, the bird's nest I sent to her is nontoxic. So if she is found to be poisoned, it will have nothing to do with me anyway!" Carrie said darkly. "If she is lucky enough to survive it, this could give be a lesson for her to respect me in the future."

Shirley shivered in fear at Carrie's words. This lady was insane. Carrie was already in charge of the mansion. Her daughter, Yvonne, was going to be the wife of Prince Kevin's heir. Why did Carrie insist on doing terrible things to Harper? Harper had helped them a lot. Why did Carrie want to harm her instead of thanking her? Shirley could not understand. But then, she was only a maid. Whatever plot or insane plan Carrie had, she had to obey her orders.

Carrie and Shirley went to the Emerald House carefully. What they did not know was that Harper had already seen what they were doing. When Harper found out that it was Carrie who sneaked around, she had to take a step back. Somehow, Harper did not think that Carrie was not so brilliant and cunning. Otherwise, she would not have allowed Sue to do her bidding for so long.

"Lady Carrie, it's so late now. What are you doing outside my house?" Carrie and Shirley screamed at the voice. They turned around and found Harper standing behind them. It took them by surprise as they fell to the ground.

Carrie sat on the ground and pointed at Harper, trembling. "You... You..." she stammered.

"Lady Carrie, it seems like you did not learn your lesson yesterday," Harper said.

Carrie was so frightened that she immediately took her finger back. After she was sure that Harper was fine and was not poisoned, she gritted her teeth and stood up. "I was just out for a midnight stroll," she replied, trying hard to calm herself down.

"Oh, were you?" Harper sneered, making her look terrifying in the dark night. Carrie's heart beat fast as if it would break out of her chest any time. "The road is slippery. People always easily fall down when they walk at night. I think you'd better go back as soon as you can. Otherwise, you may fall down once again," Harper stated emotionlessly.

Carrie wanted to talk back, but she knew that it was not appropriate to appear outside Harper's house so late at night. So she turned around and left with her maid. After a few steps, she twisted her ankle. After she got up, she pinched Shirley as she limped away. Harper's eyes went cold as ice. 'I have already given you the last chance. Since you've just thrown it back to my face, don't blame me for all the things coming your way.'

"Nina, go and light a lotus lantern," she told Nina.