Female Novel
Chapter 660 Breed Calamity For The Future (Part One)
At that time, Zack visited Harper at Matthew's mansion. He wanted to apologize for failing to keep hispromise of taking her back home the other day. At the same time, he wanted to gather someinformation from her.
"Harper, I'm really sorry for what happened the other day. I thought my duties would end early, so I wasvery confident that I could pick you up when I left the palace. Unexpectedly, Prince Jason stopped meand I was detained at the palace." Zack made a sincere apology, implying to Harper that Jason had aproblem.
"You don't have to worry about it. Matthew came to pick me up a little later," Harper plainly said. Shethen pushed the washed cherries closer to him and added, "These cherries are fresh and they tastereally sweet. I like them very much. Take one and try it."
While still looking at her, Zack picked up a cherry and put it into his mouth. "Indeed, it is very sweet."
"I heard that the officials had a big argument in the session hall today. Was it troublesome for you sinceyou're the future grand secretary of the Cabinet?" Harper asked while she gestured for him to eat morecherries.
Zack turned to look at Harper who was obviously taking great pleasure in his misfortune. With a gentlesmile, he said, "It has nothing to do with me. Why should I be bothered by that? Prime Minister Philipreported today that the imperial harem should have a new empress. Some officials immediatelyproposed Lady Sherry for the position. But some officials instantly objected that motion. They thoughtPrince Francis was physically weak and if he was appointed as the heir to the throne, it wouldn't do anygood to the entire empire."
"Well, did the emperor agree to that proposal?"
Zack shook his head with a smile. "No, he didn't. The ministers and courtiers actually had differentopinions about this matter. Some believed that the emperor should marry a new empress, while somepeople thought that Lady Sherry should be appointed as the empress. And others said that LadyMonica is suitable for the position. Anyway, the more important matter is who will be the crown prince.In this case, the court is divided into two factions. One faction is in support of Prince Francis as thecrown prince. After all, it's obvious to everyone that he is talented and almost perfect except for hisweak physical state. Meanwhile, the other faction is in support of Prince Jason as the crown prince. Asyou know, he doesn't have much support from the officials of the court. However, if he ascends thethrone, those who help him get the crown will become very powerful. Thus, his supporters won't giveup that easily."novelbin
"The emperor didn't stop this argument?" Harper slowly asked.
Zack picked up a round and plump cherry. With a meaningful smile, he stated, "No, he didn't. HisMajesty said that he's still alive and he has his own decision about the heir to the throne. PrinceFrancis had done a terrific job in rescuing His Majesty and he was also the only one who stood againstPrince Felix at that time. So I thought he would be greatly favored by His Majesty. But as it turns out, Iwas wrong."
Harper couldn't help but laugh. "The officials who expressed their views at the session today must havebeen severely scolded."
"That's right. When His Majesty was in the Golden Hall, he was so furious that he reprimanded PrimeMinister Philip for meddling in the affairs of the imperial harem. He even asked Philip if he wanted to bethe chief eunuch." At that, Zack was reminded of Philip's pale face. He couldn't help but feelentertained about that thought.
"But His Majesty has always been fond of Philip. Why did he scold him like that today?" Harper wasconfused. Was the emperor's condition getting worse than she had expected?
In fact, Zack was a little worried and it showed in his face. "Recently, His Majesty has changed a lot. Hewould strike or swear at the officials for the most minor reasons. Now, all of the officials are as mute asa fish, for fear that they will anger His Majesty and lose their life. By the way, I recently heard that mostof the servants in the Tranquil Hall were changed. Because they were punished to death by HisMajesty when he lost his temper."
At that point, Harper was sure that the emperor had increased his dosage of the Longevity Pills. Itcould only lead to the increase of the poison in his system. Now, he would no longer be able to resistthe poison's control over his body. As for who had increased the emperor's dosage, Harper rolled hereyes when a thought occurred to her. There was only one person who she thought could do that andthat was the chief eunuch, Andy.
Harper then said, "Andy is very interesting to me. Zack, do you think Andy is loyal to His Majesty?When the empress was controlling His Majesty, Andy was the one who took care of him. He was by theemperor's side, looking after him. Almost every member of staff in the Tranquil Hall had been replacedexcept for Andy."
Zack sneered silently before responding, "Well, after all, Andy has served His Majesty for decades. Heshould understand his temper very well. However, His Majesty's health is getting worse and worse asthe days go by. I guess Andy is making preparations for himself.
"It's time for Lucas to come back, right?" There seems to be light flashing in Harper's eyes.
Zack laughed and replied, "Yes, he is coming back very soon. Prince Lucas did a great job in thedisaster relief operations. Many civilians actually spoke highly of him. I used to look down on himbefore. But now, he had certainly proved himself."
Harper threw a cherry into her mouth and spit out the stem. "Anyway, Lucas is still a member of theroyal family. So I think no matter how young he is, he still inherited some qualities of his father. I have
never underestimated him."
"What do you mean?" A confused expression bloomed on Zack's face.
Meanwhile, the smile on Harper's face became even wider. "On the second day of February, the day ofHis Majesty's birthday banquet, Lucas warned me to be careful of the empress. Everyone says thatLucas is so troublesome and carefree that he is only interested in eating and playing. If this was true,then he wouldn't be alive right now. Moreover, although he doesn't take part in state affairs, no one hasever dared to touch him no matter which clan or individuals are in conflict."
"You're right. It's impossible for Prince Lucas to simply be the irresponsible man that everyone haspainted him out to be." Zack nodded in agreement. He wanted to say something more but he quicklystopped himself. It seemed like he was second-guessing himself. He didn't know if he should continuespeaking.
Harper noticed this, so she asked, "What's the matter? Why are you hesitating?"
"Have you heard that Master Chodak went to heaven?" Although it was a question, Zack's tone was fullof doubt. Honestly, he didn't believe it. It was impossible for the master to have died. Zack would ratherbelieve that Chodak was in hiding.