Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 258

Denny looked at Harper in disbelief and couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Are you kidding me, Your Highness?" Denny asked, puzzled at the situation.

Harper sneered, a smile creeping onto her face. "Do you think I'm someone who will joke about my life?"

"But His Highness was poisoned severely. I've tried my best over the years but failed to detoxify him. You said that you could with the blood in your heart. Wasn't that a joke?" Denny had thought Harper had gone mad. If she could detoxify Matthew with the blood in one's heart, Denny would have killed countless people and taken their blood to save Matthew.

Without answering, Harper slit Matthew's wrist and then dripped the black poisoned blood into a teacup before slitting her palm. As her fresh blood dripped, the poisoned blood turned into a bright crimson color.

"Your blood..." Denny gasped at the sight.

Harper's blood continued to flow into the teacup. "I'm immune to any poison. But Matthew's toxins are so ferocious that blood alone can't detoxify him. I was supposed to use the poison of the Tribulation Flower to suppress the toxins in his body and then use the Golden Cicada which is raised with my fresh blood to detoxify him." Harper's voice drawled. "But you three destroyed everything."

"What?" Denny couldn't believe what he was hearing. He pulled himself together. "Aren't you a spy sent by His Majesty? Why would you sacrifice yourself to save His Highness?" Ultimately, Harper was an enemy, a spy sent by the emperor. She wouldn't risk her life simply for Matthew's sake.

"When did I become His Majesty's spy? Is it because His Majesty betrothed me to Matthew? Who do you think can force him to marry me if he insists not?" Harper demanded.

Denny's mouth left agape, he was unable to refute her. No one could force Matthew to do what he didn't want to. Matthew had killed his three fiancees because he didn't want to marry them. He would never marry a woman he didn't want.

"So..."

The air was thick, almost suffocating.

"She has been working for His Highness from the very beginning," Barry explained. After all, he had known Denny for years and didn't want his paranoia taking over. "Your enmity towards Her Highness is very obvious, thought you may not have noticed that. Didn't you notice that the secret guards around Her Highness have doubled in number since you returned to this mansion? It was His Highness arranged this. As long as the three of you take any action against Her Highness, he will have the three of you killed right here."

Denny forced a wry smile. He was worried that Harper was a spy, so he stood his guard against her. He had even tried to instigate Matthew to divorce his wife and marry Rena. If Matthew didn't divorce, Denny had even planned to kill Harper. But in Matthew's eyes, to everyone's surprise, Harper was more important than anyone else.

"It's dangerous to extract blood from your heart. You'll die if it's not done right," Denny said before he hesitated for a moment. "If you die in the process—"

"Don't worry," Harper cut him off. "You don't need to do it. What you need to do is detoxify Matthew as I say. I'll take the blood myself." She paused before letting out a sigh of relief. "But remember, you only have seven days. If neither I nor Matthew wakes up in seven days..." Her voice trailed off.

"I know. I will also die as the poison is too in my body," Denny said bitterly and took a deep breath. "How do you extract the blood from your heart?"

Instead of answering Denny, Harper told him the treatment method to detoxify Matthew. "Read it first. If you have any questions, ask me. We still have some time."

Denny quickly skimmed through the method. It was very simple, but it would be troublesome to use the blood of Harper's heart. It wasn't difficult to him as a skilled physician, so he agreed. "No problem."

"I'll send someone to bring my blood here," Harper said before turning to leave. "Get a head start on preparations." She promptly left.

Denny didn't know how Harper would draw the blood, but he knew it was highly risky. As long as he didn't take the blood himself, it had nothing to do with him even if she died. Once Matthew awoke, Denny wouldn't be accused of it.

It wasn't long before Forsythia came, and the blood was frozen within a white porcelain bottle. Denny glanced at her and took it. Secret guards surrounded both this house and the Phoenix House.

Zack stayed by Matthew's side to make sure that Denny wouldn't mess around. He was very worried about Harper's safety, but he had to stay here to assure Matthew's safety. After all that had happened, he didn't want to break Harper's trust.

Although Denny suspected Harper, he took Matthew as a brother. He knew that Matthew's situation couldn't get any worse than it already was, so he was careful not to make any mistakes. Just before sunset, he fed Matthew the blood and waited for it to take its effect.

After confirming that Matthew had taken the blood, Zack rushed to the Phoenix House, but he was stopped by a secret guard. "Mister Zack, this is the place where Her Highness lives. You are a male..."

"Let him in," Forsythia said. She used to be a secret guard of Prince Matthew's mansion. Many guards knew her and she was Harper's trusted maid, so no one continued to make the situation difficult for Zack.

Zack nodded at Forsythia and hastily walked in. "How's Harper?"

"She's in a coma," Forsythia said, her voice low. "Drawing blood from the heart is harmful to one's health and can take a lot out of a person. Her Highness has been weak in recent years and it's taken a toll on her. She, too, is in a coma."

As Zack looked down at a pale and unconscious Harper, his heart sank. "When will she wake?"

"I'm not a physician. I don't know how long it will take before Her Highness wakes up. She just instructed us to feed her a pill every day." Forsythia's expression showed nothing but worry. She was worried about what Matthew would do if he woke up and knew what had happened to his wife.

"At least she's alive," Zack said, letting out a sigh of relief. He didn't dare to probe too much. It was what she wanted to save Matthew, and he couldn't stop her. Besides, the couple loved each other, and he had missed his opportunity. He and Harper would never be together.

"You can only call for an imperial physician after His Highness awakens. If we let the imperial physician in at this moment, people will doubt us. Before he wakes up, I will help him guard this mansion," Zack said and then turned to Nina. "Nina."

"Mister Zack," Nina responded.

"You must have served Harper for far longer than any other maids," Zack said with a kind smile. Even though he felt heartbroken and could hardly breathe because of the pain, he still wore a smile.

"Yes, Mister Zack."

"His Highness must have known your lady for a long time," Zack said with certainty. Although Matthew had a strong purpose in doing anything, it wasn't in his nature to express it in the beginning. Quite the contrary, even if he had achieved his goals, others would think he was forced to do so.

Nina hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Her Highness was almost killed because of General Maxwell's issue. They knew each other at that time and His Highness saved her life."

Zack nodded, indicating that he knew what had happened. 'It turns out that Matthew had a crush on Harper then. It isn't wrong for me to lose. I'm afraid that even if Harper had accepted my proposal, Matthew would have tried his best to ruin our marriage. He had managed with efforts to marry her, but why didn't he protect her?'

Harper's condition worsened. Her recovery was little to none within the three days that followed, her face growing paler than a ghost. If her heart didn't beat even the slightest, Zack would have thought Harper was dead.

Denny had offered to check on Harper, but Zack refused without hesitation. He was here because Harper didn't trust anyone else. Before she had any power to resist, Zack would never leave her to anyone, especially Denny, whose intentions were ill from the start.

Since Denny was rejected, he didn't insist. His intentions weren't to make a diagnosis or give any sort of treatment to Harper. He genuinely wanted to know how she was doing. Given the circumstances, he would have had an excuse for Matthew when he woke up. He had offered to treat Harper but Zack just wouldn't allow it. In fact, he wouldn't allow anyone to get close to the Phoenix House but he did frequent the house. Almost everyone knew what was going through his mind. His thoughts were practically oozing out of him.

Every day, Rufus went to the prince's mansion as if he had nothing to do. Each time he visited, he would stare at Zack before looking over at the unconscious Matthew. ."Denny, when will His Highness wake up?" he asked.

"Her Highness said he would awaken in seven days at the most." There was a sense of uneasiness in Denny's chest. The black color of Matthew's face faded. He didn't expect that the blood of Harper's heart could remove the toxins in Matthew's body. Many physicians had dreamed of such a special body nature. A drop of blood from Harper's heart could detoxify the most dangerous poison. When this spread, as well as the news that she had the Canon of Medicine, it was vital to keep her safe. It was only time when everyone would attempt to get a hold of her and keep her in captivity.

Zack didn't miss the gleam in Denny's eyes. He also pretended not to know that Denny secretly went to the prison to see Johnson and his daughter the past two days. He, too, was waiting for Matthew to wake up. Denny was Matthew's man. If Matthew was unwilling to punish Denny, Zack didn't mind doing him a little favor. He wasn't a bloodthirsty man, but for the people he cared about, he didn't mind turning into a demon, with his hands stained with blood.

"Zack, you're so kind to Her Highness. How could you risk being suspected by His Majesty and be in charge of the overall situation in Prince Matthew's mansion?" Rufus asked curiously. "Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will find out and do something to the Bu Clan?" If Matthew could get the help from the Bu Clan, he would get everything he wanted like a tiger with wings added.

Playing with a stone in his hand, Zack didn't say a word but occasionally looked at Matthew lying in the room. Three days had passed, and the prince's complexion was getting better, but Harper's only looked worse. If the situation continued, would she die before Matthew could wake up?

"I'm just helping Harper instead of His Highness," he finally responded. "Just like you, who would believe that you have a good relationship with Prince Matthew?"

Rufus smiled indifferently. "It's well known that I'm a fearless rascal and care about nothing. I'm at peace with everyone. It's normal for me to be around His Highness."

"Really?" Zack asked, his tone emotionless. He took a peek inside, and his eyes widened. Was Matthew moving?