Female Novel
Chapter 691 Cynthia Came To The Imperial Capital (Part Two)
Cynthia Xiao couldn't help but frown upon hearing his words. First of all, it was kind of weird for Francisto find out about the situation in Matthew's mansion so soon. Was he actually having his men spy onMatthew's mansion? Besides, if it were true that he was worried that no one would entertain her inMatthew's mansion, he should have just let Harper leave the Imperial Palace and come back. But now,this man was inviting her into the Imperial Palace instead. Was this an order from Harper or fromFrancis?
"Who is the one inviting into the Imperial Palace? Lady Harper or Prince Francis?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Ken flatly replied, his voice calm and sensible. "Lady Cynthia, this wayplease."
"Lady Cynthia..." Amy was about to rejected Ken.novelbin
"Amy, don't be rude," Cynthia Xiao stopped Amy from saying anything else. Then, she turned to Kenand said, "Very well. Please lead the way."
"Yes. Forgive me, Lady Cynthia. I'm only following orders," Ken apologized. With that, he asked theguards to surround the carriage from the front to the back. It might appear that he was protecting thecarriage, but he was actually just escorting them into the Imperial Palace.
Standing by the window and looking at the person being taken away, Rufus squinted his eyes. "MisterRufus, Lady Cynthia is being taken into the Imperial Palace. Is she going to be all right?" asked Rufus'manservant.
"What could possibly happen to her?" Rufus answered in a rather indifferent tone. "What? Do you thinkFrancis would be so lecherous that he'd actually do something to her? I'm afraid the people in theSwan Castle only wish that Francis would actually make a move on her."
Hearing his response, the attendant smiled awkwardly. He had been noticing that his young masterwas becoming more and more displeased with the people in the Swan Castle. Rufus had only beenback to the imperial capital for a few days, and now Cynthia had arrived afterwards. Now, she evenwent directly to Matthew's mansion to pay a visit, only to be turned down and even forcibly escortedinto the Imperial Palace. These developments were very strange. However, it seemed that Rufus wasnot worried at all.
"So we're just going to leave Lady Cynthia like this?" asked the attendant.
"I will pay a visit to the Imperial Palace tonight," Rufus said in a cold tone. Thinking of the thing he washolding in his hand, he would naturally find a way to give it to Harper. Cynthia Xiao being brought intothe Imperial Palace had just given him a perfect excuse to visit the Imperial Palace at night.
"You're going to the Imperial Palace? Then, I will accompany you," Howard suddenly chimed in. At thattime, he was sitting nearby, carefully wiping his sword with a handkerchief.
"I will be visiting the Imperial Palace at night!" Rufus stressed out.
"Whatever. I'll be coming with you," Howard flatly replied. Howard took Felix away, but Felix managedto escape. Then, Felix chased after Francis and eventually got himself killed in the process. This leftHarper very displeased with Howard, so Howard was determined to make amends for it.
"My sister has been taken into the Imperial Palace. So, I, at least, have an excuse to go there. But whatabout you? Do you have any excuse?" Rufus asked angrily as he stood with arms akimbo. As soon ashe came back to the imperial capital, Howard had been following him wherever he went. If it were notfor the fact that he worked for Harper, Rufus would've taught him a lesson a long time ago.
Giving him a cold stare, Howard answered, "My sister is in the Imperial Palace as well."
"Your sister is in the Imperial Palace?" he echoed. "Come on! Don't try to fool me! Bah! Do you actuallyconsider Harper to be your sister? Are you kidding me?" Rufus chided. But after a while, he realizedthat Harper was indeed Howard's sister, to some degree, although not related by blood. But wouldHarper ever admit that he was actually her brother? No one knew.
Howard's sword was now glistening with cold light. As he waved his sword, he pointed it straight towardRufus. And then, his sword stopped in front of Rufus' face. "Of course, I do."
"Are there really such brother and sister in the world who would scheme and hurt each other?" Rufusargued, and his stomach even ached because of anger. 'What? Is he trying to threaten me with thatdamned sword?' he cursed deep inside.
Howard sneered, "Isn't that what your clan is like? Your family is no different from mine when it comesto this respect."
This rendered Rufus completely speechless. After giving it much thought, he realized that Howard wasmerely telling the truth. If brothers and sisters were not from the same mother, the fights among themwould probably be even fiercer. Although he rarely came back to the Swan Castle, he knew that theovert and covert struggles were constantly happening one after another. At the thought of that, he wasafraid that the fights in his family were even worse than those in the Chu Clan.
"I'm not involved in scheming against them." Rufus made it clear.
"Can you say for certain that they never thought of playing tricks on you?" Howard posed the questionas he sheathed his sword. "You may not scheme against others, but that doesn't necessarily meanthey won't do this to you. As the eldest legitimate son of the Xiao Clan, you are the one whomeveryone is keeping a close eye on. They all want to pull you down from your current status. If youhadn't been with Matthew all these years, do you seriously think you could've stayed safe and soundfor so long?"
As Rufus heard that, his eyebrows became deeply knitted and he wore a long face at once, but hecouldn't argue with what Howard said. Nowadays, Francis was so powerful, and Matthew was placedat a disadvantage. The Xiao Clan at the Swan Castle was ready to make a move. Knowing that, hethought that the purpose of Cynthia Xiao coming here this time was to persuade Matthew to competefor the throne. If Matthew succeeded in becoming the next emperor, the Xiao Clan would be able toreturn to the court and be powerful in the Imperial Palace once again. However, Matthew was notsomeone who would be easily manipulated by others. There was no way in hell that he would allow theXiao Clan to make a decision for him.
"You can't come with me. Otherwise, Francis will become suspicious," Rufus insisted. He was not reallyjust being naive. It just so happened that he did not want to think too much about those nasty things. Inthe past, he disliked Harper because he mistakenly thought that she seemed like such a kind woman,yet she was cruel and heartless deep inside. Later, he got to know what kind of life Harper had beenthrough in the Chu Clan before she married Matthew. He began to feel pity for her and even hatedHoward and others who had mistreated her in the past. In his eyes, he thought that they were the onesresponsible for turning an innocent and gentle girl into such a cruel and spiteful woman.
After hesitating for a while, Howard went on and said, "Prince Francis has now kept her grounded inthe palace to prevent Matthew's men from getting in touch with her. Are you sure you'll be able to seeher after you go there tonight?"
Rufus had a second thought and didn't say anything for a while. If Francis had taken precautionsagainst Matthew and his men, the Sleek Palace where Harper was now staying in would probably beheavily guarded. If that was really the case, he was worried that he might get caught as soon as heappeared, and thus he wouldn't be able to see her in the end.
"How about this? We'll just go there together. You will attract the guards' attention and I will take thatopportunity to come and meet her. If you have something to say or anything you want to deliver to her, Iwill help you out. So, are you sure you don't want me to go inside with you?" Howard said, not feeling
worried whatsoever. Now, Lucas was killed and Francis had yet to take any action. It only went to showthat he was afraid of something. Considering that, Francis wouldn't be able to make a move until hisproblem was solved.
"Why don't you attract the guards' attention instead?" Rufus asked. After thinking it through, he realizedthat if the guards were focused on Howard, he could sneak in to see Harper instead. Personally, hepreferred this idea much more.
"Because I'm not Matthew's man," Howard helplessly replied, looking so shocked at Rufus' stupidity.