"This man seems to be adept at concealing his identity." Thinking of this, Felton started feeling a little
uneasy. "You... I think it would be best for you to leave the imperial capital."
"It won't be that easy for me to leave," Harper sighed. "Maybe you should change your medicine."
"I take medicine like this every day. It never works. You don't need to worry about me."
"Felton, if you stop using your spiritual power, you won't have to suffer the relapse of your disease
again and again. I don't think it's good for your health. From now on, you will not be allowed to use it
unless it is a last resort!" Harper stressed at once. "Did you hear me?"
"Okay, I'll bear that in mind." Felton chuckled. "It's getting late. You should leave right away. Matthew
may get suspicious if he comes back and finds that you're not in the mansion."
"All right. Take good care of yourself, Felton."
With that, Harper put on her cloak to hide her identity. And as soon as she went out, a figure tailed her
silently.
"Sister, where have you been?" Someone stopped Harper in her tracks before she reached Matthew's
mansion. It was Howard. Crossing his arms against his chest, he fixed his attention on Harper who had
a black cloak on. "I had no idea you have such a powerful master close by."
"Howard, have you grown tired of living?" Harper asked in a cold tone, but her voice was as clear and
charming as usual. Even though she wasn't showing any signs of it, Howard could sense the strong
killing intent coming from her.
Howard immediately jumped off the tree and stood beside her. "Tell your secret protector to hide
himself well. Matthew is back."
Harper then turned to have eye contact with the man next to her, who then instantly disappeared into
the darkness. In no time, Howard could no longer find a single trace of the protector's existence.
Seeing this, Howard couldn't help but admire his skill deep inside.
Glancing at Howard, Harper simply went ahead and entered Matthew's mansion through the back door.
But when she came in, she was surprised to see that Matthew was already there waiting for her. Taking
off her cloak, she casually said, "You're back."
"I'm the one who's supposed to say that to you. You're back!" Then, Matthew walked toward her and
held her hand. "Why are your hands so cold? You should have put more clothes on."
"It's starting to get warm. I thought it wasn't cold outside, so I didn't wear too much." The smile on
Harper's face didn't change. Then, the two of them walked toward the Phoenix House hand in hand.
Since Matthew didn't ask why she went out or where she went, Harper opted not to talk about it.
"The empress committed suicide after receiving the imperial edict." Matthew informed Harper about
what had happened in the palace. The empress's deadly fate had been decided, but he never expected
it to happen so soon.
Harper simply nodded her head. "His Majesty ordered the empress to die and threw Felix in prison. I
guess he probably won't let the Huang Clan off so easily; Felix won't be able to find a way out of this.
But I'm confused."
"What made you feel confused?"
"Matthew, you've been dealing with His Majesty for many years. What kind of person do you think he
is?" Harper asked under her breath as she tightened his grip on her husband's hand.
"A wicked person!"
"Haha." Hearing this, Harper couldn't hold back her laughter. "I guess that suits him. But I want to ask
you, will he kill all his children for the sake of his obsession with power and the throne?"
"No, I don't think so. As far as I know, he definitely prepared a backup plan. Even in the recent years,
he has been very wary of me and wanted to get rid of me. It must be because he didn't want the heir to
his throne to be threatened by my existence." Matthew didn't bother mincing his words.
"So, who do you think is going to be the emperor's first choice as his inheritor among all the princes?"
Before she could even reply, Matthew continued, "Felix has been dethroned; Walden has been exiled;
Hoffman is being confined in the Repenting Tower. Now, the emperor only has the third son, Jason, the
sixth son, Francis, the eighth son, Lucas, and the youngest seventeenth one, Wale."
"Whomever his choice is, it's none of our business," Matthew said indifferently. "No matter who
ascends the throne, no one can hurt you for as long as you are under my protection. You don't have to
worry."
"I'm not afraid of getting hurt. I'm afraid that someone is plotting against you!" Then, Harper looked at
Matthew straight in the eyes and said, "You are my man. No one can bully you except me."
Hearing her response, Matthew tried so hard to hold back his laughter. "Yes, you're right. I need your
protection. Please do take good care of me, honey. Otherwise, you're going to feel sad if I get hurt."
"Well, you're right. I will definitely feel sad," Harper said, with a troubled expression on her face. "Shall
we tie us with one rope to make sure that we'll never get separated and you won't get hurt?"
"Good idea!" Matthew nodded in agreement and picked up Harper. "From this moment, I won't ever
leave your side, honey, not even for a second. I'll be with you all my life."
As she heard him say such a thing, Harper's face became flushed. So, she poked Matthew's chest and
said, "If you do that, people are going to say that I'm the one who's leading you to your ruin. They will
also criticize you for not making any progress and indulging in your happy time with me. As the femme
fatale, I'm afraid I might end up being killed by the soldiers!"
"Who would dare to do that?" Matthew raised his eyebrows and asked. "My thirty thousand strong
Black Flag Army would not be easy to deal with. I have already given you the Black Flag Token. Just
say the word and they'll do anything for you. If anyone dares to hurt you, don't ever try to hold back.
Just take our army and kill all of them! I will take responsibility if anything happens!"
As a smile crept onto her face, Harper said, "Honey, I went to see Felton today."
"You don't have to say anything; I understand," Matthew interrupted. "But we shouldn't be talking about
other people now. Let's talk about us and only us tonight."
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