Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 9 Beat Her To Death (Part Two)

Sharp pain rushed through her every time a stick landed on her with a huge thud. Although Harper was dying in pain, she did not even let out a yelping sound and continued to stare at Charles with her black, resentful eyes. A chill ran down Charles' spine, but he regained his composure. He couldn't let Harper stay here any longer as he had gone through enough trouble because of her.

"Beat her! Beat her to death!" Charles ordered as he continued staring at his daughter.

"Stop this torture!" A voice boomed out of nowhere. The guards had paid no attention to the voice as they continued to hit her, until a crutch smashed their skulls.

"Mother, why did you come back?" Charles began to tremble with fear as he saw his mother standing in front of him. He swallowed loudly and quickly ushered her inside.

"Harper," the old woman cried painfully.

Harper's face was covered in blood as every inch of her body was wounded. It was a sorry sight. The old woman had thrown herself at Harper, and hugged her tightly, before Harper could gather the strength to look at her grandmother. She began to wail loudly seeing the state that Harper was in. The old woman sniffed and glared at Charles. "You are a monster! You want to kill your own daughter. Beat me as well; let me die along with her," she growled in anger.

"Mother, what are you talking about? I wouldn't even think of harming you, not even in my dreams. This unfilial daughter has caused a terrible disaster. If I don't punish her, I'm afraid our whole clan will be in trouble," Charles replied hurriedly, leaving no chance for Harper to explain.

"My Lady, are you okay?" Tears streamed down Nina's face. Harper was feeble and struggling hard to keep her eyes open as her face was covered in blood. "It's my fault. Everything is my fault. I'm sorry it took very long for me to come back," she said in between sobs.

"Mother, it's already late. Why didn't you inform us that you were coming? I would have..." Sue started.

"Shut up!" the old woman, Mavis, yelled. "You are evil. You are the hostess of the Chu Clan, yet you can't even tolerate a child."

"Mother, you have misunderstood me." Sue knelt down and bowed respectfully. "It isn't about me tolerating Harper, but she wanting her sister dead. She is a vicious woman and has poisoned Felicia. I was mad at her, but would never think of killing her. Charles was merely giving her a small punishment for her act."

"You are going to kill her. How is that a small punishment?" Mavis was so angry that she hit Sue with her walking stick. Sue was hurt, but she didn't dare to dodge. "Mother, Felicia is also your granddaughter, but you only cares for Harper and doesn't care for Felicia at all. Felicia is still in danger," Sue cried loudly.

"Grandma," Harper said as she held Mavis' hands. "Grandma, someone has framed me for this. I didn't do it."

"Harper, Felicia had come to visit you, out of sheer kindness, but you wanted to kill her. You poisoned her. Moreover, the poison was in your room. How dare you deny all the accusations!" Sue complained. She had planned to kill Harper when Mavis was out of the mansion. But Harper was smart enough to ask Nina to request Mavis to come back immediately.

"Grandma, I am innocent. Felicia was poisoned by some kind of deadly poison. If she hadn't taken the antidote in advance, the poison would have killed her immediately. It is impossible even for the physician to cure her so easily. Unless she had prepared the antidote in advance, it's impossible for her to be alive," Harper said grimly as she held Mavis' hands so tight that it began to hurt her. She gathered all her strength to finish her words.

"Nonsense!" Sue exclaimed.

"Grandma, Physician Jaden, from the Imperial Academy of Medicine, is an expert with integrity. If you don't believe me, you can ask him to find out the truth. Moreover, it was Felicia who brought the food; I had no chance of poisoning her." Mavis' heart ached when she saw Harper's bloodied face.

"Somebody, just go and ask Physician Jaden to our mansion immediately," she ordered.

"Mother, please think about it. Our reputation will be at stake if outsiders find out the truth," Sue said at once.

"Shut up! How dare you speak here!" Mavis snapped at Sue, and the nanny of Mavis stormed out to call for Jaden Jiang. When Charles saw Sue's pale face and restless eyes, Harper's words finally began to sink in his mind. He finally realized that the whole play today was directed and performed by Felicia to frame Harper.

"Mother, it's already late and Physician Jaden is an old man. It's not right to disturb him at this hour. Now that Felicia has been detoxified, there's no harm done. Harper is also fine. I think it's better for us to let go of this," Charles suggested.

"Let go of it? How can I let go of this?" Mavis snarled as she was shaking with fury. "How dare you say that Harper is fine! Don't you see that she is bleeding? How can you say that she is fine? Charles, Harper is also your daughter. Now only Hailey and Felicia are important to you. I don't blame you, but you can't be unfair to Harper!"

"Mother, what are you talking about? When was I unfair to Harper?" Charles protested and looked at Harper. His face had turned pale. He had rescued Harper from many problems. If he had been unfair to her, she would be dead by now.

"No matter what you say, I will not give it a rest. We have to investigate this accusation. Harper is the daughter of your late wife. How can she be charged of murdering the daughter of a concubine?" Mavis

declared. She was adamant about finding the truth. She was so angry that she even degraded Felicia as the daughter of a concubine.

"Mother, Felicia is also the daughter of my wife," Charles stated.

"What are you talking about?" Mavis burst into another fit of anger. "This woman, standing right here, is just a concubine who has been promoted as the hostess of our mansion. Do you really think that she is your legal wife? I haven't questioned your decision since our clan indeed needs a hostess. But look at what has happened. This woman can't even tolerate Harper." She emphasized every single word. "A woman like her doesn't deserve to be the hostess of our clan!"