Forensic Imperial Concubine

Instead of going into the imperial capital of the Great Jade Kingdom, Harper chose to live in a house at the peaceful outskirt. She was about to contact Matthew. Her arrival wasn't a secret anymore as Miguel had already known of her existence. And thus she considered it unnecessary to hide behind the shadows.

One night, however, Harper had an unexpected guest turn up. As soon as the man arrived, the twelve secret guards protecting her immediately showed up with their weapons, ready to fight. The man, however, sat quietly in the backyard, enjoying the evening breeze, fully unintimidated by the warriors in front of him. The twelve were stunned: First, they didn't know how the man was able to enter their master's yard without being spotted, and second, they didn't understand how he could be so calm with all of their swords pointed at him.

Harper quickly ran to the door to see what was happening. The moment she opened it and looked outside, she felt her heart skip a beat. "Rolando!" she exclaimed happily. "It's you!"

A profound smile appeared on Rolando's lips. "Harper!" he responded excitedly. All of a sudden, however, the expression on his face became grim. "Your men are such horrible people," he said, glaring at the men surrounding him. "When I heard that you are living in a lovely house at the outskirt, I prepared the delicious food and drinks that I know you will enjoy. Then, I came here to personally deliver them to you and see how you're doing, but as soon as I step foot in here, your men surrounded me like I'm a trespassing criminal. They won't even let me make a sound!"

Harper could not help but smile. "Are you sure that's what you came for?" she playfully teased as she approached Rolando. "It seems like you came here in the middle of the night to simply bluff my guards."

"I have prepared a special wine for you!" Rolando replied, evading Harper's question equally playfully. "Do you know that this concoction is exclusive to the Great Jade Kingdom? Here! Try it!" He shook the bottle in front of Harper's face as if to entice her.

Harper chuckled and nodded her head. Before she sat down to drink, she ordered her twelve secret guards to leave. When they did, she took the seat opposite to Rolando and said, "How did you know so soon that I am already here?"

wine for Harper. "I think the better question is how would I not

see you! Are you that unwilling to see me?" he said, a scowl forming on his face. Harper rolled her eyes. "Rolando, you know that I'm the princess of the Bright Dynasty. Since Matthew and his envoys have not arrived yet, I can't go in first," she explained. It was the perfect excuse

sighed deeply. "Indeed, that is the protocol," he admitted, sounding defeated. He then put food on Harper's plate and said, "Taste our famous dishes and see

small bite and said, "I never knew that the dishes here in Great Jade Kingdom

expression was so tender that it was comparable to a spring one would see in the middle of a dessert. "I'm glad you like it," he said, deep appreciation coloring his voice. "I was worried that you would not like the food here, but then I remembered that you like spicy dishes, so I took a gamble and brought you all of these!" He then gestured to all the things he

about the hotpot?" Harper

what? I have asked people to cook it for me several times, but none of the tastes has come close to the one that I'm craving." A deep kind of sadness was shining through his eyes. "You must have a secret recipe for it

very flattered," Harper responded, amused by what she was hearing from Rolando. "But have you considered that maybe the way you remember how that food tasted like was influenced by the experience you had back

about so many things. But now..." His voice trailed off. After a few moments, he spoke again. "The experiences I've had when I was a monk are very different from what I am experiencing

you could get things under control

eyes but he was able to quickly conceal it. He then continued filling Harper's plate with food. "But

both you. No matter who you are, you are always my friend," Harper