Female Novel
Chapter 690 Cynthia Came To The Imperial Capital (Part One)
Arrangements had been made by Francis for Harper to stay in the Sleek Palace. It was a well-knownfact to everyone that the Sleek Palace was the place where the future empress was supposed to live.Meaning to say, Francis did this deliberately and his purpose could not be more obvious. Harper wassomeone who held a special place in his heart. Knowing this, Sherry had been coming over to theSleek Palace to find fault with Harper. But each time, Francis would come and quickly solve whateverthe trouble was. In order to make sure Sherry wouldn't be able to make any trouble for Harper, hedecided to place his mother under house arrest.
It should go without saying that Sherry was so angry at his decision—so much so that she smashedeverything in her palace as a way to vent her anger. How she wished she could rip Harper into shreds."That bitch! Bitch!" she cursed spitefully.
"Please don't be angry, My Lady." A maid tried to calm her down.
"Don't be angry? How can I not be angry? She is Matthew's wife! But she is now living in the SleekPalace! Why on earth would Francis make such arrangements?" Sherry furiously screamed as her facebecame contorted. Although Francis was her son, she was completely clueless as to what was goingon inside that mind of his and what he was intending to do.
The maids in waiting didn't dare to speak another word upon seeing the anger in Sherry's eyes. Theysimply lowered their heads and backed away. After serving her for quite a while, they had come torealize that anyone who tried to soothe her whenever she was like that would only end up beingseverely punished instead. For that reason, they opted to just keep their mouths shut.
After letting off some steam, Sherry finally calmed down little by little. At the same time, she startedthinking about the current situation. Harper posed a great threat to her as well as Francis. After all, theworld knew that she was Matthew's wife. Sherry was well aware of the fact that Francis had a thing for
Harper. But she would never let him do whatever he pleased. If he were to express his feelings forHarper in front of others, he would be deemed unqualified to serve as the next emperor.
"No. I can't just sit back and let her continue to stay here," Sherry exclaimed as she gritted her teeth."Go and invite Harper here.
I would like to have a word with her."
"My Lady, Prince Francis wouldn't allow you..." the maid said, trying to remind her, albeit hesitantly.
"He only forbids me from leaving the palace. It doesn't mean that you can't leave here. It is true that hedoesn't want me to meet Harper, but he never said anything about Harper not being allowed to comehere to meet me instead. Just go and ask her to come here right now!" Sherry snorted with suchdisdain. One way or another, she was determined to get rid of Harper so that she wouldn't pose athreat to Francis. Now that they had come this far after so many hardships, she could not allow Harperto get in their way.
At the gate of Matthew's mansion, a low-key and ordinary carriage pulled over. A maid then walkedtoward the mansion and knocked on the door. "We are from the Xiao Clan. We've come here to visitLady Harper," she said.
Hearing this, the guard glanced at the maid and hesitated for a bit, saying "Miss, I regret to inform youthat Lady Harper hasn't been back to the mansion for quite a while. She is staying in the ImperialPalace at the moment. If you want to see her, you would have to send the information to the ImperialPalace."
Cynthia Xiao, Matthew's cousin, was surprised to hear that. "Harper is Matthew's wife. Why is she livingin the Imperial Palace now? Isn't she supposed to be staying in Matthew's mansion?" she asked inconfusion.
"Prince Francis has been seriously injured. For that reason, Lady Harper was ordered to stay in thepalace to treat him," the guard answered politely. "She hasn't come back ever since she left. So, I'mafraid we cannot let you in and receive you as guests. Please go back for now."
"Hey, how could you talk to us like that?" the maid yelled out. When the guard closed the door, herfinger almost got caught, so she was so furious and jumped to her feet out of anger.
"Amy, just forget it," Cynthia Xiao ordered. "Let's make a detour to an inn for now. Matthew is currentlyon the way, escorting Princess Lilian to the Great Jade Kingdom. Harper is in charge of all the affairs inthe mansion. Given that she isn't home at the moment, no one would dare to allow us to come insidewithout her permission. That is perfectly understandable. We should just leave."
Amy got inside the carriage, anger still brewing inside of her. "Humph! I've heard that Lady Harper is ajealous woman. The way I see it, what that guard said isn't making any sense. She is a marriedwoman! How could she stay in the Imperial Palace for so long? That is just impossible. It's clear to seethat she is doing this to turn us down on purpose in order to drive us away!"
Despite hearing that, Cynthia Xiao didn't give her any response. The Xiao Clan hadn't been a part ofthe court for many years. Thus, they had little to no influence in the imperial capital. But they wereaware of the situation here. Cynthia Xiao knew that Harper was indeed staying in the Imperial Palace.However, the reason why she was there wasn't the same as what the guard had said. As far as CynthiaXiao was concerned, Harper was deliberately being kept in the Imperial Palace by Francis in order tothreaten Matthew. Harper was probably being held as a hostage.
"My Lady, aren't you the least bit mad at her?" Amy asked, her face burning red with anger. CynthiaXiao was quite an important and influential figure in the Xiao Clan. If it weren't for her, the Xiao Clanmight not have been willing to allow them to come here. That being said, the result remained the same,and they were still turned down.
Calmly flipping through the book in her hand, Cynthia Xiao answered, "Why would I become angry? Hewas only telling the truth, anyway. She is indeed in the Imperial Palace right now. As for the real reasonwhy she is being kept there, it is not that important anymore."
"That means we can't get into Prince Matthew's mansion, am I right?" Amy asked, sounding soconcerned.novelbin
A faint smile crept onto Cynthia Xiao's face. "I've heard that my brother, Rufus, is currently in theimperial capital. I want you to ask someone to get in touch with him. He and Matthew always get alongwell. Maybe he can help us get inside Matthew's mansion."
"Yes, My Lady." Hearing that, Amy felt so relieved. Without delay, she intended to ask someone tocontact Rufus at once. But the second she opened the curtain to give out the order, their carriage wasstopped by someone.
"Is Lady Cynthia from the Xiao Clan in the carriage?" Ken asked, leading a group of guards andstopping them in their tracks.
When she heard this, Cynthia Xiao immediately pulled the curtain aside and glanced at the well-armedguards outside. Feeling a bit confused, she replied, "Yes, I am here. Sirs, why are you stopping us?"
Ken made a bow and answered politely, "It's nice to meet you, Lady Cynthia. Prince Francis heard thatsomeone paid a visit to Prince Matthew's mansion. So, he was worried that no one would entertain youthere. For that reason, he ordered me to come here to invite you to the Imperial Palace so you canmeet Lady Harper."