Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 697 The Chief Culprit (Part Two)

Francis glared at Rufus and said, "You are so good at argument. Just spit it out now! What information did you deliver?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to know when she's going to leave the Sleek Palace," Rufus insisted. "If you don't want to believe me, then there's nothing I can do about it."

"Did you come here by yourself?"

"I did not. I was with that woman's brother. It was him and not me who was trying to send a message." Rufus sold Howard out without thinking twice. "But I have no idea what it was about."

"The brother of Harper? Who are you talking about?" Francis was taken aback. 'Harper only has one younger brother who is studying in the River City at the moment. So, how come she has another brother I don't know of?'

"Howard Chu."

Francis squinted his eyes. Howard was a legendary figure in the imperial capital. As one of the three major generals of the Bright Dynasty, he fell into the tricks set up by Harper, which almost cost him his head. After he escaped, he helped Hoffman to deal with Felix. But he disappeared without a trace when Hoffman fell. Was everything he did just a show from the very start?

"You're saying that Howard is working for Harper?"

"Who knows who that freak is working for!" Rufus said, sounding so displeased. "He came to me and told me that Harper would kill Cynthia if she was kept inside the Sleek Palace. That was the reason why I came to the palace so urgently in the middle of the night. But he pushed me out as soon as I entered the palace. Thinking that I would be inevitably discovered, I decided that I should at least make sure Cynthia was safe. After that, I went inside the Sleek Palace without incident, but he suddenlyContent protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

disappeared. I don't know why he came looking for me, but I'm sure he went to the palace to find Harper!"

"Howard, I swear I'm going to catch you," Francis stressed. After pausing for a while, he asked, "Have you seen Cynthia?"

"No, I didn't find her in the main hall, so I went to the side hall. When I opened the door, I was hit on the head by Harper with a vase. When I was done dressing my wound and was driven out, your secret guards chased me all over the palace," Rufus said without giving it much thought, as though he didn't think his misery was that big of a deal. "I don't know whom that woman was guarding against. When I sneaked into her room at midnight, she didn't even hesitate and hit me so hard in the head with a vase. It felt like she wanted to hit me to death. Thank God that my head is sturdy enough."

The smile on Francis' face froze when he realized that he was the one that Harper was trying to catch off guard. Although he was keeping her imprisoned in the Imperial Palace, he did not intend to force her to love him. However, he also couldn't let her leave the palace.

"As for the thing I want to know, you still haven't told me anything!"

"I have already told you everything I know!" Rufus looked quite helpless. "If you still don't believe me, you can go ahead and ask Harper. I really didn't tell her anything. I did come here for Cynthia. I swear to God, no woman is going to like me all my life if I tell lies."

"Guards, take Rufus to the prison."

"Your Highness, I have already told you everything you want to know. I seriously have no idea about the things you are talking about. How about this? If you catch Harper and send her to jail instead, that woman will confess everything to you soon enough since her skin is delicate and she certainly won't be able to bear being tortured." Rufus' protesting voice could be heard from the distance. Without delay,

Ken winked at his subordinates to drag him away. If Francis was willing to torture Harper, he would not have bothered catching Rufus in the first place!

'Princess Harper is fair-skinned and tender. She won't be able to handle being tortured? No, I don't think so!' There was a glimmer in Ken's eyes. Harper might indeed look gentle and fragile, but she was far from that. He vividly recalled how calm and fierce she was when she faced the assassins. If this woman was a coward, she wouldn't deserve the heart of Matthew, nor would Zack make plans to protect her, let alone Francis, who was suffering a lot because of her!

"She is almost like the Helen of Troy," someone whispered under his breath.

"Stop spouting nonsense," Ken reprimanded, giving the deputy commander a glance. "Be careful about what you say. Disaster emanates from careless talk."

Hearing this, the deputy commander put his arms around Ken's neck and said, "Commander, don't be so boring. I'm only telling the truth. Princess Harper is really good-looking. That being said, despite her beauty, she is incapable of protecting herself. Only being beautiful is not a good thing."

Upon hearing his remarks, Ken sneered, "Do you have any idea who has the nerve to pick on her while she is in the palace? No one can ever get anything from her; do you understand?"

The deputy commander then pondered about it carefully. After Harper became an imperial physician and got married to Matthew, most of the people who had offended her had died. Even Charles himself who betrayed her became a monk. Now, the Chu Clan had become decadent, with only a daughter and a son remaining. The daughter was raised in Prince Allen's mansion, and the son was staying in the River City.

"It's said that the most poisonous thing in the world is a woman's heart. In my opinion, that's exactly the kind of beautiful woman like Princess Harper. The more beautiful she looks, the more poisonous she

actually is!"

"Do you have a grudge against her?" As he glanced at the deputy commander, Ken patted him on the shoulder and said, "I highly suggest that you stay away from her whether you're holding a grudge against her or not. You have a point. This woman is indeed very poisonous. You will end up being killed by her if you're not careful. In any case, although she is being kept under house arrest in the palace, Prince Francis will kill you without hesitation if you dare to do anything to her!"

Thinking of this, the deputy commander touched his neck and felt a chill running down his spine. "I was only telling the truth. I have no enmity with her. I just think that she's too popular. Forget about it. It doesn't have anything to do with me anyway. The one that should feel worried is Prince Matthew."