Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 648

Jason's return to the Imperial Palace brought much joy—a refreshing change to its previously glum atmosphere. As Andy guarded outside the gates of the Tranquil Hall, he could hear the emperor's hearty laugh. Andy couldn't help but smile. 'Jason makes His Majesty so happy even if he's not here all year round, ' he thought inwardly.

"Lord Andy, His Majesty seems very happy," Josef, who was standing beside him, said warily.

"Well, His Majesty is spending time with Prince Jason. You should go and see the former empress off. His Majesty wants to give her some dignity. Prepare everything for her and let her choose one way." Andy gnashed his teeth when he recalled how much humiliation the empress had brought to him while the emperor was in a coma. Now the empress had no way to fight back, so Andy retaliated against her for everything that she had done.

In the Cold Palace, the empress sat on the small bed in silence. The Cold Palace was deserted and tattered and its windows had leaks, but at the very least, it was still a place to live. Upon entrance to the Cold Palace, the empress quickly realized that this was a horrible place as even the lowest servants did not respect her at all.

When Josef arrived with his fellows, the empress curled up in bed. Her eyes were closed and she was just pretending to sleep. Her once glowing face was now haggard and gaunt. "Gloria Huang, His Majesty was generous enough to spare you your dignity. He instructed me to prepare these things for you. You may choose one."

The former empress narrowed her eyes as her body trembled. She said coldly, "His Majesty is going to kill me!"

"Gloria, you are unpardonably guilty. His Majesty does not want to kill you and is even generous enough to give you some dignity. Don't complain anymore. For your own sake, just choose one. It's only going to be too humiliating if we do it for you." Josef snorted. Back in the Imperial Palace, the empress had been so lofty and arrogant. She would make a fuss even though the servants made the slightest mistake. Now the empress was no better than the lowest servant.

She came down from her bed and stood up. "After being his wife for more than 20 years, I can't believe he would be so cruel as to kill me!"

"Humph!" Josef sneered. "Gloria, don't say that. You know it was you who wanted to murder His Majesty first. His Majesty offered to protect your dignity. You should be grateful!"

"Lady Sherry, greetings." All the servants spoke with one voice.

"Arise. I'm here to see the former empress."

Sherry came in, looking elegant in her dress. With a kind smile on her face, she said, "Josef."

"Lady Sherry, good day. May I ask what you're doing here? This is no place for you to be as it may bring bad luck. What if something bad happens? If you have anything to do, feel free to tell me and I will do it for you," Josef offered.

Minna, who had come along with Sherry, handed a piece of silver to Josef and said, "Lord Josef, Lady Sherry wants to talk with the former empress in private."

"Got it. Got it. Let's go out and wait." Josef immediately led all the servants out.

Gloria, the deposed empress, gazed at Sherry, hatred filling her heart. "What? Did you just come here to relish from my misery?"

"Of course, I love seeing you like this." Sherry stood still as she eyed Gloria. In a cold voice, she said, "Once upon a time, you were the empress. As the head of the imperial harem, you looked down on everyone and treated us harshly. You acted noble and generous even when you were the exact opposite of that. Now that you have been stripped of your position, how does it feel to live in the Cold Palace? It's quiet here, right? I know it. I once stayed here for two days after all."

"Sherry Duanmu, don't be so arrogant just yet. Do you think you've won already? I'm telling you right now, where I am today is where you're going to be soon." Gloria raised her voice. "His Majesty is cold-blooded. He won't let Francis take the throne. If you intend to fight for the throne on behalf of your son, you will only get on his bad side. If that happens, you're going to end up in the Cold Palace too."

Sherry covered her mouth with a handkerchief and sneered. "Your Majesty, don't be so emotional. Even though you made my life miserable, I still did you a big favor."

"A favor?" Gloria was puzzled.

"Yes, I helped you a lot. If without my help, did you really think that His Majesty would be attracted to you even in your old age and even make love to you?" The smile on Sherry's face was creepy. "After all, you had shared the bed with His Majesty for so long before you die. Shouldn't you be grateful to me?"

"What... It's you!" Gloria's eyes widened as she looked at Sherry in disbelief. Finally, she realized that sherry was the one who made the spell doll. The reason that the emperor loved anyone who carried the doll was because Sherry had done something to it.

"What do you mean by 'it's you'?" Sherry's lips curled up.

"It's you! You're the one who harmed me!"

"Where's your conscience? You know, I didn't ask you to murder His Majesty and cooperate with Felix to usurp the throne." Sherry grinned even wider. "Your Majesty, don't slander me!"

"Sherry, you are a cunning woman. You set me up on purpose. You're the one who put His Majesty in a coma and aroused my desire. Then you asked Francis to provoke Felix which made us want to be disloyal to His Majesty and try to harm him. The other day, you purposely went to the Tranquil Hall, right? You didn't just come to plead for your son, did you?" Gloria now finally understood. She had thought that as long as she had power in her hands, no one would be disloyal. She didn't expect that all this time, she had been a pawn in Sherry's plans.

"Wow, Sherry, I'm impressed."

"I'm flattered." Sherry turned around. "I came here today to see you off. After all, we have been friends for many years. Have a good journey and take it easy. Your son will follow you soon. Just make sure you walk slowly on your way to the netherworld so that your son will be able to catch up with you."

"You bitch! What a vicious woman!" Gloria pounced on Sherry in an attempt to grab her. Luckily, Sherry dodged in time. Gloria was awkwardly thrown off to the floor. As she struggled to get up, Sherry stepped on her.

"Bitch? Vicious woman? Were you describing yourself? You were the empress for more than 20 years. I know you stained your hands with lots of people's blood. My first child was killed by you and even then, you still didn't stop. When I gave birth to Francis, you tried to kill him but you just couldn't find the chance. Then you bribed the monk and told His Majesty secretly that my child was born to rebel. You instructed him to hurt my son in secret. Do you really think that I'm just going to let you go that easily?" Sherry's dignified face was filled with ferocity and hatred. "My son spent 15 years in the wheelchair, bed-ridden. All those years, I suffered day in and day out. This suffering you're experiencing now is nothing. How is that in any way equal to the 15 years of suffering I had to endure?"

Hearing this, Gloria sneered and said, "Ha-ha! I and my son are leaving now. Soon enough, your son's going to catch up with me."

Slap! Sherry had slapped Gloria across the face mercilessly. "My son is doing much better now. He still has a long life ahead of him!"

"Haha! His Majesty has been poisoning him for years! He's so weak that he could drop dead any day now. Long life ahead of him? That's ridiculous. No matter how smart and vicious you are, Sherry, you still can't save your son." Gloria laughed so hard that she could barely breathe. "Sherry, I'll wait for your son to follow me.

Stop daydreaming! Francis has years' worth of poison inside his body and you have His Majesty to thank for that. Francis can't possibly hold on any longer."

"Your Majesty, are you forgetting someone?" Sherry laughed scornfully. "Have you forgotten about Harper?"

Gloria narrowed her eyes. "What does any of this have to do with Harper?"

"When you were in the Imperial Palace, you tried to hurt Harper. Did you really think that you could deal with her?" Sherry let out a sneer. "If you could harm her so easily, she wouldn't have been Prince Matthew's wife."

"So what?"

"Well, we have Harper on our side now, all thanks to you. I'm sure you still remember her excellent medical skills, right?" Sherry turned around and with a meaningful smile, she said, "She helped us cure my son. If she hadn't treated him herself, my son wouldn't have been able to walk. How else could he have recovered so soon?"

"No, that's impossible!" Gloria protested.

"Nothing is impossible!" Sherry sneered. "My son has been fully detoxified. Harper took care of him. He is healthy now and he has a long life ahead of him. But you and your son? You're both in danger. You attempted to murder His Majesty and usurp the throne. His Majesty has already sentenced you to death. Do you really think he's going to let Felix and your family go? Once the Huang Clan is destroyed, Felix will die!"

"You really are living in dreamland! Do you really think that Harper helping you was out of her own good will? That woman is even more cunning than you are! I'm sure she had other intentions in detoxifying Francis. Did you know that she helped Hoffman before? Do you know where he is now? He's in the Repenting Tower. She also helped Felix. Lo and behold, he is in jail now. How naive of you to think that your son would be an exception!" While Gloria hated the emperor and Matthew, if there was anyone whom she hated more, it was Harper.

Harper was sly. She looked meek on the outside but on the inside, she was vengeful and cunning. They had tried numerous times to set Harper up but every time, she was able to escape without a scratch. She would even be able to turn the tables by harming the one who tried to hurt her in the first place!

"Well, we have a win-win situation. We both took what we need. That's all I'll say about that. It's time for you to go, Your Majesty." Sherry then walked to the door and looked at Josef who was standing in the distance. She called, "Josef."

"Lady Sherry, are you done?" Josef asked as he hurried over to Sherry.

"I've done talking with her. I know you were ordered to come here and I apologize that I delayed you. You can do your job now, or else, His Majesty might blame you." As soon as Sherry finished speaking, she gracefully strode out of the Cold Palace.

With that, Josef turned around and found Gloria sitting on the floor. "Your Majesty, will you choose one yourself or would you want us to do it for you?"

Gloria glanced at the things on the tray before she reached for the poison. Drinking it all in one gulp, she thought, 'Your Majesty, Sherry, I will wait for you in the underworld!'