Female Novel
Chapter 590 The Scapegoat (Part Two)
"My darling is so considerate and sweet! How did you know that I am so hungry?" With a wide smile,Harper went to the table, sat down, and took the chopsticks from Matthew. She then asked, "WillFrancis get rid of us? After all, we are a loose end to his elaborate plan."
Matthew placed some food in front of Harper and said, "At this moment, I don't think he would. As yousaid, he's still recovering. Also, the emperor will not suspect him at all for two reasons. One, becausehe's weak and two, because he had once saved his life. The emperor will believe that I had plannedeverything."
"Then, I guess it's time to admit that I'm really quite impressed with Francis. Darling, do you have anywine here?" Harper asked abruptly.
"No, you shouldn't drink since you have a very low tolerance for alcohol." Matthew was worried thatHarper would lose herself once she had wine. Although he liked to see drunk Harper, her health wasmore important to him.
Harper put down her chopsticks and said, "Then forget it. I admire Francis for his hard work andintelligence in coming up with such a plan. But if he had the ability to think of such a complex scheme,he should be able to notice that he was being poisoned for so many years."
"It was the emperor who poisoned him," Matthew supplied.
With those few words, Harper's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Butsoon enough, she felt a sense of ease. "It's not surprising that there's an emperor who would poisonhis own son since there's a father like Charles. No wonder, Francis could still be tricked by poison,even though he is very intelligent. Anyways, since it's becoming clear that the emperor does like to usepoison, I'm afraid that it was him who poisoned our mother—Lady Cecilia as well."
In a second, the intent to kill was seen across Matthew's eyes. Cecilia's death had left a wound in hisheart that would never heal. Since a long time ago, it was clear to him that the emperor had somethingto do with his mother's death. Now, he was certain that the emperor poisoned her. Matthew thoughtthat if it was indeed the emperor who wanted to kill her, there must be someone helping him in thepalace.
Matthew also put down his chopsticks. He then poured a cup of tea and let Harper rinsed her mouthwith it. "All the poisons come from the imperial palace. The royal family is full of the most wicked peoplethat plot the most vicious acts."
"But still, there are also many beautiful women in the royal family, including seventy-two concubines indifferent palaces. Every kind of beauty can be found inside the family. It is literally like heaven on earth.Don't you like it, darling?" Harper asked with faux interest while she placed her chin on top of herhands.
"I have you and that's more than enough for me. I don't need anyone else." Then, Matthew asked aservant to come in and put away the dishes on the table. "What did you learn today?" Matthew askedHarper when they were alone.
"The man behind the things that were done by the empress is the emperor. His purpose is to ruin me.But I did something awful in return." Harper stretched out her index finger and pointed it high in the air.
"What kind of awful thing?" As soon as he asked, Matthew thought of Fiona who didn't appear at thebirthday banquet. At that, he could almost guess what had happened.
With a guilty look on her face, Harper narrated, "I had Fiona dressed up like me and then, I sent her tothe emperor's place. Who would have known that the emperor was so shameless as to defile hisdaughter-in-law?"
Suddenly, an intense look could be seen in Matthew's eyes. "Do you have some sort of drug?"
"Drug? What kind of drug?" Harper idly asked. She wasn't sure if Matthew was upset or not.
"After taking this kind of drug, a man will never be able to touch a woman again. I want to give this kindof drug to the emperor as his birthday gift. He already has so many sons and daughters, so he doesn'tneed to have any more children. For the sake of his body, I want to give him the drug," Matthewfrantically said.
Harper giggled with her hand covering her mouth. "Then, the emperor would only be able to watch hisbeautiful concubines instead of touching them. That sounds interesting!"
"Do you have that kind of drug?"
"Not yet, but if I work hard, I think I can make it."
"Okay, that's perfect. When it's finished, give it to me and I will give it to the emperor." Matthew put hishands on both sides of the chair and leaned closer to Harper. "Since that had been settled, let meteach you something you don't know yet."
"Wait!" Harper exclaimed while she placed her hands on his chest. "There's one more thing. I can'tbelieve I almost forgot it."
Matthew carefully looked at the expression on her face and he knew that whatever she was going tosay, it wouldn't be brief.
"What is it? We can talk about it while I continue with what I am about to teach you," Matthewcomplained, almost sounding like a whine.
Harper took a deep breath. "Stop it. Let's talk about this first. Members of the Qin Clan in the Joy Citywere killed and the token of our mansion was left at the scene."
"Did Zack tell you that?" Matthew asked while the expression on his eyes changed.
"It doesn't matter who told me. Just answer this: were you aware of this?" Harper looked into Matthew'seyes. She believed in him. If he wanted to kill members of the Qin Clan, it was impossible for him toleave any traces on the crime scene.
The expression on Matthew's face changed once again. Of course, he knew everything that Zackknew. But he didn't tell Harper about it because he didn't know who had betrayed him. "Yes, but I didn'ttell you."
"Is there a traitor in our mansion?" There was no other possibility that Harper could think of. If the newsabout the Qin Clan had spread so quickly and it had something to do with Matthew's mansion, then itmust be someone from the mansion who leaked it. Obviously, the person who did that could only haveone intent and that was to drive a wedge between the couple.
"Yes," Matthew briefly answered. He then squeezed into the chair and sat down beside Harper. She feltthat the chair was a little bit too crowded, so she simply sat on his legs. Then, he continued, "Besides,during that time when we left River City, someone broke into our mansion. From what we know, thatperson was looking for something. He was extremely cautious, but fortunately, our secret guards foundhim."
"Did we lose anything in the house?" Harper asked. She was so surprised. That person must be veryfamiliar with the layout of the mansion since they were able to sneak in without being caught.
"No, he didn't find what he wanted. Guess what he was looking for inside?" Matthew asked in a lowvoice.novelbin
Harper raised her head in contemplation and said, "It must be something confidential or valuable."
"The Heavenly Book," Matthew supplied.