Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 962 The Trap (Part One)

Harper and Matthew went to the Qin Clan's banquet just as they had promised. Beth was already waiting for them at the door, but the moment she saw them coming, she couldn't help but be surprised. 'The two only bought one maid and one guard with them?' she thought to herself, her brows furrowing. But soon enough, she breathed a sigh of relief after she realized that everyone serving Harper was in one way or the other remarkable. And because of that, she shouldn't be worried.

"Your Highnesses, please come in. Lady Victoria is already inside waiting for the both of you," Beth greeted. They complied, with Harper entering last. Before she was able to, however, Beth grabbed her by the arm and whispered in her ear, "Be careful about what you eat."

Harper nodded in a discreet manner as a hint of a smile appeared on her lips. She was Victoria's target, but it would definitely be hard for her to pry her off Matthew's side that night.

The moment she entered the room, she immediately headed towards Victoria to greet her. "It's nice to see you, Lady Victoria," she said cordially, a beautiful smile plastered on her lips.

She had mastered the art of smiling despite despising the people she was interacting with during her time with the Chu Clan.

Victoria didn't react to Harper at all and just continued sitting still. However, as soon as she noticed that she only brought Matthew and two other people with her, her eyes lit up. "Your Highness, it is my pleasure. I'm sorry that I am not able to stand up to give you a proper salute. My poor health has been bothering me lately, so please forgive me."

As usual, Matthew was not for the formalities. Without even sparing Victoria a look, he went straight to his seat and sat down, Harper was unfazed though. She waved her head and said, "It's okay. You don't have to be so courteous. We really don't care about these kind of small things. Let's just say that even if you go against us, we still would deal with you with a smile on our faces."

At this, Victoria's face darkened a little. She immediately smiled awkwardly and said, "Well, we caught Derrick by sheer luck. Since you've been bearing grudges against him, I sent someone to your side to invite you here to discuss how to deal with him."

"Yes, I indeed am bearing grudges against him. Also, he is holding my friend, Daphne hostage. Did any of your men see her when you caught Derrick?" A maid then entered and served them tea. "This smells good," Harper complimented as she took a whiff of the drink's aroma. "I guess this is the new tea made recently."

"That's right. We picked the freshest leaves and made the tea by ourselves. So why not have a try? Trust me—you won't be able to taste this kind of tea elsewhere!" A smile too friendly for Victoria's good appeared on her face. She continued, "I actually invited you here for another reason. I want to apologize to you."

"Lady Victoria, please don't say that." Harper put down her cup of tea. "You're my senior. You don't need to be so courteous and even apologize to me."

For a fleeting second, one could discern the extreme disdain that flashed across Victoria's eyes. To hide that, she put on her most gracious smile, and said, "I'm old, Harper. I miss my grandchildren. We have broken Felton's heart and now he has completely abandoned us. Douglas the only heir left in this family. Could you let go of him?"

"Please rest assured, Lady Victoria. And I mean it—I'm sincere. If you hand Derrick and Daphne over to me, I can guarantee that Daniel will be safe," said Harper slowly as she fiddled with the lip of the cup.

"Well... we're not in much hurry..." Victoria then swiftly tried to change the subject. "By the way, I heard that you're pregnant?"

"Indeed," Harper replied shortly. She looked into Victoria's eyes, wondering what she was trying to do. Since she had been chatting with her up, she must have been trying to buy time. 'Derrick must have set off towards Phoenix City and Daphne must have already fallen into the old lady's hands,' Harper thought. Before she had the confirmation that she would be able to get Daphne out safely, she knew she couldn't act rashly.

"Do you know what happens if a woman from the Qin Clan gives birth to a child without being baptized in the Death Pool?" Victoria said with a worried look. "Harper, I'm worried about you. If you die because of this child, the bloodline of the Qin Clan will be lost." © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

It was a good thing that Harper wasn't a clueless person. Immediately, she knew that the reason why Victoria was asking her such questions was because she wanted her to talk about the secret treasure house of the Qin Clan. But since Harper already had gotten the secret treasure of the Qin Clan, she was almost sure that there was nothing in the other secret treasure house that Victoria knew about and it might be just a smog bomb to cover the real one. Of course, she would never tell the Victoria this information.

"Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to wait and see."

"You and the baby will be safe if you are baptized in the Death Pool. However, we haven't found out where secret treasure house is yet. It's our fault that we can't get the Heavenly Books. Otherwise, we would have found the Death Pool and helped you. We really worry that you will die like your mother after the childbirth." Victoria peeked at Matthew while speaking.

Rumor had it that Matthew loved Harper very much. If it was dangerous for Harper to give birth to the baby, Matthew might choose to give up the baby. However, there was an old saying—of three kinds of ungratefulness to one's parents, the greatest is not to have a descendant. Victoria wasn't sure how

much Matthew loved Harper. He might choose the baby over Harper. So Victoria was watching the expression on Matthew's face.