Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 593

In the Phoenix House, Harper's imposter was reading a medical book. She had been told that Harper did not have many hobbies. Reading medical books was one of her few hobbies, so she pretended to read medical books as well. Nina went to the window and shut it. "The rain is becoming very heavy. Your Highness, I'll get you a cloak, in case you feel cold."

"All right," Harper's imposter said without raising her head. In the past few days, Matthew hadn't visited the Phoenix House. Or to be more precise, she hadn't seen him since the emperor's birthday banquet.

Nina went out briskly to fetch the cloak. Angelica came in with ginseng soup. She stood beside her, trying to think of something to say. However, she didn't dare interrupt the false Harper, who seemed to be lost in thought. Therefore, Angelica could only look at the imposter with her innocent eyes.

Her gaze was so intense that the false Harper couldn't ignore it anymore. She actually preferred to avoid speaking whenever possible, because the more she spoke out, the greater the risk of giving away her true identity. But sometimes she still had to respond to her maids, because too much silence would seem strange and also arouse suspicion. "Why are you staring at me like this?" she finally asked.

Angelica opened her mouth and was about to speak, but she saw Nina coming in with a cloak in her hand. Angelica shut her mouth right away and didn't dare to speak anymore. Nina put the cloak on the false Harper and said, "Your Highness, what would you like to have for lunch today? I'll tell Anabel to prepare it."

"Anything. Is Matthew back now?" she asked.

"Not yet. The rain is falling heavily. I guess His Highness will come home late," Nina replied, glancing at Angelica. "Angelica, you should also go to the kitchen to help. Don't disturb Her Highness if you have nothing else to do here."

Angelica looked again at the false Harper, and then looked back at Nina before she finally walked out slowly.

"Nina, you are becoming bolder nowadays," Harper's imposter said. Despite her words, the tone of her voice was flat.

Nina moved her lips and was about to defend herself, but when she remembered the order she had received from the real Harper, she restrained herself. She couldn't let this fake Harper in front of her notice anything amiss. So she fidgeted with her handkerchief uneasily and spoke again after a long pause. "Prince Francis is here."

"What is he doing here?" the false Harper asked as she raised her head to look at Nina, feeling disconcerted. She was ignorant of the relationship between Harper and Francis, of course, so she could only be confused.

"I have no idea either. He has been waiting outside the Phoenix House for two hours," Nina said carefully. "Your Highness, I know you don't want to see him. I did not tell you before because I thought he would leave when the rain started to fall heavily. But against my expectations, he..."

"I don't want to see him?" the false Harper repeated in surprise as her eyes widened secretly. "Isn't he in poor health now? Why did he come here?"

"Your Highness, have you forgotten that you are monitoring his condition and giving him treatment?" Nina said slowly, while staying on the alert for any change of facial expression on the false Harper.

The false Harper was surprised by this. She had not imagined that Harper was actually treating Francis in secret. She was determined to reveal this news to Felix or the empress. But with Francis waiting outside at that moment, she thought it would be unwise to go out to see him. He might discover her identity when he faced her.

"I know. But why is he here now?" asked the fake Harper softly.

"I guess he wants to see you. Are you willing to see him?" If you don't, I'm afraid he won't leave. Prince Francis has been weak and has been soaked in the rain for a long time. If anything happened to him, it might cause a lot of trouble for us," Nina replied.

The false Harper's brain was racing for a solution. If Francis got sick from standing out in the rain, she would probably need to treat him, which was something she could not do. In that event, she would find herself in an even worse situation. Considering this, she decided to go outside to see him.

"Fine. I'll go and see him," the false Harper said, as she stood up and walked out of the bedroom. She took the umbrella leaning against the door, opened it and went towards the gate.

Francis just kept on staring at the gate. He saw people coming in and out. At first, his eyes would light up when someone was about to come out. But none of them was the one he wanted to see. His eyes grew dimmer with every passing moment, and his body was on the verge of collapse from his long soaking in the rain. Owen was so worried that he would have rushed in to beg for help if he were not stopped by Francis.

In the heavy rain, a familiar figure appeared. Francis' eyes lit up again. He stepped forward and saw someone rushing over to him. Ecstasy flashed through his eyes until the beautiful figure came near him. He hid his passion in front of her.

His ecstasy turned to doubt and then disappointment when he saw the woman. His pale face became even paler. "Aunt Harper," he murmured.

"Francis, the rain is falling hard, and your body is weak. You can't afford to stand in the rain. You'd better go home now," the false Harper said coldly. "I can't afford to take the blame if your health suffers from this. You are a prince."

"I'm sorry to disturb you. Please excuse me," Francis replied, then turned around and left decisively.

Owen was furious. His master had been waiting in the rain for two hours, but Harper just came out and dismissed him so casually. In his anger, he stepped forward and complained, "Lady Harper, how could you just act like this? Don't you..."

But before he could say more, Francis ordered him, "Owen, let's go." His voice was stern. Then he lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.

"Your Highness..." Owen protested.

"What? Will you disobey me now?" Francis shouted. He coughed again in his irritation. He knew that the woman in front of him was not Harper, although she looked exactly the same as her. Something, perhaps his sixth sense, told him that she was not the person he wanted to see. He had inscribed Harper's image and her every gesture into his brain. He could even imagine how she would react to anything he said or did. This person was just an imposter—his gut feeling was always right. Determined, he decided to ask Matthew what he had done and where he had hidden Harper!

"No, I dare not," Owen quickly replied, lowering his head.

"Let's go. Follow me to meet Uncle Matthew," Francis said. He could hardly stand still. He leaned his body against Owen and ordered, "Bring me to the Pine House."

"Yes, Your Highness," was Owen's reply.