Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 553

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?"