Female Novel
Chapter 532 The Helpless Pearce (Part One)
"Matthew, do you know anybody who uses a weapon like this?" Harper asked. Now she only knew thatAlexander had been framed, but she had no idea who the real murderer was. Pearce would not letAlexander go unless the real murderer were discovered and captured.
After thinking carefully for a while, Matthew shook his head and said, "I will tell my men to investigate.This kind of weapon must be a hidden weapon and rarely used. It is the sort of weapon that is used inconspiracies against people. If we investigate carefully, we will turn something up sooner or later."
"I need to go to Pearce's mansion. I want to persuade him to plead with the mayor on Alexander'sbehalf, so that perhaps Alexander will be released from prison," Harper said seriously. Neither she norMatthew could visit the mayor themselves. The emperor was waiting at every moment for a chance topin some sort of blame on them, and they could not afford to give the emperor an opportunity.
"Let me talk with Marquis Pearce. You have been so busy. You examined the corpse and went to seeAlexander, and you haven't had a good rest yet since we came here. Why don't you go back to have arest at the inn? I will go to speak with Marquis Pearce at his mansion." Matthew felt sorry for his wifebeing so busy. He wanted to keep her healthy.
"I'm fine. Alexander..."
"You need rest," Matthew said decisively. "You've done enough for now. Marquis Pearce is areasonable man. I will be easy on him, since he is no longer young and has lost his only son. Don'tworry. Alexander will come out of prison very soon."
"But I'm afraid..."
"What? You aren't afraid that I will do things improperly, are you? Do you have so little confidence inme?" Matthew asked, pulling a long face. "Have you ever seen me make a mistake?"
"I know you are careful and you will do things properly, but I'm afraid that those who are behind thescenes..."
"Are you afraid that the people behind the scenes will play little tricks on me?" Matthew burst intolaughter. "What I fear is that they won't do anything. But as long as they take some action, any action atall, I will surely catch them."
"I think whoever is behind the scenes is a force in the imperial capital," Harper said after thinking for awhile. "His Majesty, Her Majesty, Felix, or even some other force still in the dark."
"Whoever they are, I will make them reveal themselves. Don't worry," Matthew said, stroking Harper'shead. "You just need to have a good rest now. After that, you can deal with these things at a properpace."
"All right. I'll leave the business with Marquis Pearce to you. It's getting dark. I'll go back to the inn tohave a good rest. Since we have already shown up in public in the River City, we'll have to go to thegovernment office sooner or later. I really want to avoid drawing attention to us, but we can't avoid itany more since we're here in person. I think I'd better appear natural." With that, Harper turned herheels and went to the inn. Forsythia followed her directly.
Matthew and Harper hadn't made a serious effort to hide themselves after entering the River City. Ifanyone investigated them carefully, their whereabouts could be found out.
So, very soon, Hollis Shangguan, the mayor of the River City, was informed that Prince Matthew andhis wife had entered the River City. The mayor felt a chill up his spine the moment he heard about it.He was afraid that the couple would vent their anger regarding Alexander's case against him, eventhough he had done nothing wrong.
It wouldn't be a big problem if Alexander had killed a nobody. However, it turned out that the victim wasthe only son of Pearce, and Pearce insisted that the murderer be punished severely. As a mayor, he
dared not offend either party, and he could do nothing other than try to handle the case impartially.What vexed him the most was that the emperor had issued an imperial edict to him, demanding that hepunish the murderer severely.
"My Lord, Alexander Chu is scheduled to be executed in only three days. Prince Matthew and his wifehave come to River City at a critical moment. I don't suppose they came here just to watch AlexanderChu's beheading, right?" the private assistant asked Hollis cautiously. He had a feeling that a stormwas brewing. After all, Pearce was a tough character as well. If Pearce and Matthew were to lockhorns, the winner would likely be Matthew, because he had military power. However, the case hadhappened in the River City, where Pearce was a local oligarch, so he had a fair chance of winning too.
"They must have come to watch me get beheaded!" Hollis said, knocking his private assistant on theforehead with his finger. "Everybody knows how much Prince Matthew dotes on his wife. Lady Harpernow has only one brother left alive, and that is Alexander Chu. If Alexander Chu dies through myjudgment, how could she not take revenge against me? It's possible that they will leave MarquisPearce alone, but they will definitely make trouble for me!"
"Then what should we do? Can we release Alexander Chu?"
"Bullshit!" Hollis exclaimed. He was in a dilemma. "If I let Alexander go, not only will Marquis Pearcetear me to pieces, but His Majesty will also punish me severely. His Majesty already knows about thecase, and has told me how he wants me to settle it. If I don't satisfy him, I'm dead!"
"So, we can't kill him, but we can't release him either. But he can't be always kept in prison. Hisexecution is scheduled in three days."novelbin
"I know that. You don't have to remind me!" Hollis said. He was so perturbed that he almost burst intotears. He didn't know how such a thing could have happened. He was unprepared for a murder caseinvolving two students of high status as opposite parties. All the students in the Clivia School were of
high status. One was the only son of Marquis Pearce, a local oligarch in the River City, whom even hedared not offend, and the other was a brother-in-law of Prince Matthew, who had great military power.Even the emperor could not afford to provoke Matthew lightly, let alone a tiny mayor like him.
"How about you have a chat with Prince Matthew and sound out his opinion?" the private assistantsuggested cautiously. "If Prince Matthew did not, in fact, come here to save his brother-in-law, youwould no longer have to worry."