Female Novel
Chapter 5 Called Off The Engagement (Part One)
Coming out of the Imperial Palace, Harper squinted her eyes against the glaring sun. Her vision was alittle bit blurred, exactly how she felt about everything around her. She stood there in a daze and feltlike no other than a survivor of a disaster. From her rebirth to now, her life was several times put on theedge of life and death. Lowering her head, she heaved a sigh as she thought how she had lived a hardlife.
Still standing in front of the empty door of the palace, Harper bitterly smiled. She mulled over everyonewho was so indifferent to her in the Chu Clan, and no one cared about her life, except for hergrandmother, the only one who used to care about her. But the old lady got so angry with her that shewent out to worship the Buddha and refused to come back.
When Matthew came out, he saw Harper covering her face with her hand and assumed she wasshedding tears. But when he walked closer to her, he perceived that she was not crying, but merelyblocking the dazzling sunshine with her hand.
"Your Highness, thank you for saving my life." Harper fell to her knees, expressing her gratitude toMatthew, who didn't even glance at her. He wordlessly went away, leaving her kneeling in front of thepalace like a fool.
Harper was at a loss for words. Gingerly, she stood up and patted the dust on her clothes. And with aheavy heart, she started walking toward her home. Although the Chu Clan mansion was some distanceaway, for her, it was not a big deal.novelbin
Never did she expect, however, that it would take her nearly two hours to walk from the Imperial Palaceto the Chu Clan mansion. Her legs and feet were already aching from the long walk. As soon as shecame in, she noted that her father was glaring at her. Sue Wang, the hostess of Chu Clan and the otherpeople looked at her with amused expressions, seemingly enjoying her misfortunes.
"Father!"
"Unfilial daughter!" Reaching for the teacup on the table, Charles furiously aimed it towards Harper.She slightly dodged it, and the cup flew past her ear, spilling the hot tea over her. Even though she feltthe burning sensation on her body, she didn't let out a single sound. She merely looked at her father.
"How dare you implicate our whole clan! Didn't you know who you were dealing with? It was PrinceMatthew! He kills people without batting an eye!" Everyone knew that Matthew was cold, ruthless, andbloodthirsty. Charles couldn't believe that Harper had implicated all the members of Chu Clan to saveherself. She was absolutely playing with fire!
"Father, I don't want your reputation to be damaged. If I had committed the crime of murdering thegeneral's child, the general would surely vent his anger on you. His Majesty likes General Maxwell andbelieves him very much. If I didn't prove my innocence, Father, you would be implicated."
"Stop being unreasonable!" Charles roared as he angrily banged his fist on the desk. When theaccident happened, he had made a clean break with Harper. He even had placed her at Maxwell'sdisposal. How could Maxwell still blame him? "I know you're always domineering, but I didn't expect itto be to such an extent. You didn't care the lives of our clan at all. I don't have a vicious daughter likeyou!"
"Father!" Harper pleaded, numbed with disbelief. She only wanted to survive! If she were not sure of it,how dared she gamble with the whole clan? The outsiders didn't want to kill her, but her family wantedher life. How could she not feel sad?
"Harper, you are too proud and arrogant. You shouldn't get others involved in this," Sue Wang butted inas she watched the whole scene, feigning sadness on her face. But inwardly, her heart was swellingwith happiness. "I...I can't even plead with your father to let you off!"
"That's right. Harper, how could Father forgive you after you did such a cruel thing?" Felicia interjected,adding insult to injury. Even though Harper was a girl, she took advantage of her excellent medical
skills to work in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Charles should be proud of her, but the truth was heloathed this daughter of his.
"Father, I didn't really plan to sacrifice our clan to save my life. I only wanted to ask Prince Matthew togive me a chance to prove my innocence. Father..." Harper explained.
"Shut up! I'm not your father! I don't have a daughter as rebellious as you!" Charles kicked her withoutwarning. Harper fell to the floor as she lost her balance. The dull pain in her chest surged as shelooked up at her father, who was staring at her coldly. She put on a bitter smile and thought, 'Harper, doyou see these people's faces? They are your so-called family!'
"Father, I just..." Harper muttered.
"Enough! I don't want to hear your lame excuses!" Charles fumed. "From now on, you must stay in youryard and never come out!"
"Father, what do you mean?" Harper asked, looking bewildered.
"That is to say, from now on, you can only stay in your yard, and you are not allowed to come outagain!" Charles ordered in a grave tone. He had no idea what troubles Harper would bring if he let hercome out again. This time, it was Maxwell and Matthew. Who knew what would happen next time?
"Father, I'm still an imperial physician. How can I stay at home all the time?"
"Harper, don't worry. Since you offended General Maxwell, Father has sent in your resignation to HisMajesty to withdraw you from the Imperial Academy of Medicine. And Hailey will take over yourposition. You'd better go back to your yard to reflect on yourself. Don't piss off Father," Felicia declaredwith a proud face. 'Harper, you have been domineering for so many years, but from now on, you aredoomed!' she thought happily.