Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 721 Changes In The South Domain (Part One)

For the past few days, Ken had been taking his men to annihilate Francis' force. In the middle of it all, they found someone who took them by surprise. When the person was taken back to Matthew's mansion, everyone was too stunned to speak because they had all thought that the person in front of them was already dead.

Harper was no exception. She couldn't believe her eyes. After reaching out to carefully touch the person's face, she said, "You're real. Everyone, he's not fake."

The person in front of her—Jack, wanted to cry but he didn't have any tear. "Your Highness, how could you have been so heartless? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been captured by Prince Francis!" he complained.

Harper pointed at her own nose with her finger. With an innocent expression on her face, she asked, "Did it have anything to do with me?"

Even while listening to Harper at that moment, Jack felt extremely weak. Since he fell into Francis' hands, he had been imprisoned for nearly a year. In the beginning, there had been someone who was constantly observing him and imitating his movements, tone, and martial arts skills. He was locked up in a black prison and there was nothing he could do to escape. But every time he pondered on the person's purpose for closely observing and copying him, he was so furious that his whole body trembled with anger.

"One of Francis' followers was disguised as your maid. That was how they fooled me into their trap," Jack explained, wishing he could cry out. The entire time which he had been abducted, he actually thought that Harper's maid had betrayed her. He didn't have any idea that it was an enemy's trick. Thus, he had walked into the trap and been captured. What was more horrible was that someone had disguised as him and gone back to Matthew's mansion. Even Jack couldn't figure out any difference between the fake one and himself.

"Oh, I see. No wonder something like that happened to you despite your shrewdness. I would think that it would more likely happen to Fred or Barry. I guess those wicked people were just really skilled in manipulation," Harper willfully stated.

"Go and receive your punishment," Matthew ordered in an indifferent tone. Although his face was devoid of any expression, Harper could tell that Matthew was very glad. After all, Jack was one of the guards who had grown up with him. When he found out that Jack had betrayed him back then, he was inconsolable. Later on, they did find out that the impostor wasn't actually Jack. However, none of them had thought or even imagined that Jack could still be alive.

"Yes, Your Highness," Jack briefly answered with sorrow on his face. He thought that Matthew didn't care about him at all even when he just escaped from being the enemy's prisoner. He made up his mind that he would take revenge on Francis. Jack even vowed that he wouldn't show any mercy for him once he'd been caught. But in the meantime, Jack couldn't understand why Matthew was treating him like that. Before he left, Jack looked at Anabel with a deep grievance. For her, he had fallen into the enemy's trap because he suspected that she had betrayed Harper. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have been abducted in the first place.

After Jack left, Harper held Matthew's hands and asked, "You're very happy to see him alive. So why are you still going to punish him?"

"Order will never be maintained without rules or standards. He is too sloppy. Among my four strongest guards, he is the weakest one when it comes to martial arts. I guess that's why Francis chose to capture him and had someone else imitate him. Because of his carelessness, someone had infiltrated us," Matthew impassively stated.

Harper had to admit that Francis might not have succeeded if he had done the same thing to Barry or Fred. The reason that Jack had been captured was not only because he had the weakest martial arts skills among the four, but also because he wasn't vigilant enough. Barry might look like a nerd, but he

was extremely cautious and mindful. Fred, on the other hand, had powerful martial arts skills. He could become unnaturally strong when he needed to be. As for Ken, the fact that the late emperor had never discovered his true identity was an indication of how cautious he had been.

Shifting the topic of the conversation, Matthew said, "By the way, we have received an invitation letter from the South Kingdom. Including us, they're requesting the presence of the other countries to watch their Worship Ceremony. This is actually out of character for the South Kingdom. The Worship Ceremony is extremely important to them. In order to avoid any trouble from happening, they have never allowed outsiders to watch the rites. But this time, they have asked all the other countries to send representatives there to witness the ritual."

"Francis went to the South Kingdom so they are now his allies," Harper asserted, immediately understanding what he meant. Now that Francis had been defeated and fled away, he had nowhere to go within the Bright Dynasty. It would be difficult for Matthew and Harper to find him if he was hiding in the South Kingdom. But if he had reached an agreement to be allied with them in such a short time, he must have had something to trade with them.

"I suspect that Francis has spies in the south domain's army. Lance's daughter had tried multiple times to rescue Hoffman. He grew up in the south domain's military camp. Even though he had been relegated to a civilian and imprisoned in the Repenting Tower, it would be impossible to completely remove his influence on the south domain in such a short period of time. What's more, Harrison had been guarding the south domain for many years, so he must still have some spies hidden deeply in the south domain's army. When the Imperial Palace had been in chaos the last time, Hoffman attempted to run away. But he only ended up being killed, which is actually strange if you ask me." Matthew stated his suspicions. From NôvelDrama.Org.

"It doesn't matter if Francis is in the South Kingdom or not. We have to go there. I would also prefer a public journey, rather than a secret one. Come to think of it, I want to know how many spies are there in

the south domain's army," Harper stated while her eyes glowed with so many ideas.

"It will be risky," Matthew reminded her.

"Matthew, by giving us this news, Francis is basically announcing that he's in the South Kingdom. Even if we refuse this time, he will definitely find another way to force us to go. Besides, the commander of the south domain's army has been changed again and again, which we both know has caused numerous problems. Our south domain borders on the South Kingdom. The latter has been staring at our Bright Dynasty like a tiger watching its prey. You don't want our nation to be attacked by enemies from different directions, do you? Because I can assure you that if we don't act now, they're going to be knocking on our doors one day. And before we know it, they have taken everything precious to us. Moreover, in order to investigate the matter of the Qin Clan, we have to go there sooner or later. Since Francis laid a path for us, let's go there right now." Harper tried to persuade her husband with every logical reason she could think of.

With a tight frown, Matthew announced, "I'll go to the South Kingdom alone!"

"If you weren't afraid that something bad may happen to me once I go to the South Kingdom alone, then try doing it on your own now. I'm not a weak woman. Besides, people in the South Kingdom are very good at using poisons. Can you guarantee that you won't be targeted with the venomous insect poison if you go there by yourself?" Harper said, crossing her arms over her chest to show her displeasure. She even turned her head and pretended to ignore her husband.