Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 43 Venomous Slander (Part One)

Mavis once again lurched forward and hit Sue with her walking stick. Seeing this, Harper got up and caught hold of Mavis.

"Grandma, calm down. Getting angry is bad for your health," Harper said while sobbing uncontrollably. Mavis turned her gaze at Harper and noticed Sue's handprint on Harper's fair face. She was already furious but this intensified her anger.

Just when this was happening, Charles returned home. He was informed by a servant that Sue was creating a scene in Peony House. Realizing the matter must be serious, he quickly rushed over there. "What happened, Mother? Why do you look so angry? If there's something wrong, I can deal with it."

In this agitated state, Mavis couldn't even say anything. She continued staring at Sue. At that moment, Sue became the villain who had come with an unreasonable complaint. "Charles, you must seek justice for me. Harper was so vicious as she had given poisoned wedding gifts to Yvonne and Felicia. Right now, they are lying in bed, unconscious. I am particularly worried about Yvonne since she is pregnant. And let's not forget she is carrying His Highness's child. If something happens to her, what will we do?"

After listening to this, Charles merely made his way towards Sue and placed a tight slap in her face. This took her completely off-guard. For a moment, Sue was dizzy and found it hard to see anything clearly.

Once she had regained her composure, she wondered if this was all just a dream. They had been married for over ten years yet this was the first time he had beaten her.

She slowly began to mumble, "Charles, I... Did I make a mistake? Why did you hit me?" As she spoke, she was trembling, soaked in pain and humiliation.

By now, Mavis had regained her ability to speak. Bitterly, she pointed her finger at Sue and said, "I was the one who had prepared the wedding gifts. Since you said the gifts were poisoned, aren't you trying

to say that I poisoned my granddaughters?"

Utter shock and disbelief crossed Sue's face. She turned to Harper and wondered, 'Didn't Harper say that she prepared them herself? Then how is it possible?'

Harper began to sob harder. "Mother, Grandma is speaking the truth. I was ashamed since I didn't have anything presentable to gift my sisters. I voiced my sorrow to Grandma who prepared them for me."

Sue knelt down on the ground, shocked. She felt like a heavy blow had been thrown on her. Thinking about it for a while, she quickly responded, "Oh wait! You must have poisoned them before you brought them to me. You planned to frame your grandmother. Harper, you are so vicious. Your grandmother has always been nice to you, yet you showed her no mercy!"

Sue hoped this explanation would help her come out of this dilemma. If she succeeded in putting the blame on Harper, Harper would undoubtedly be punished. She had planned everything well. Moreover, she had specially sent someone to ask Kate, Prince Kevin's wife, to come here. Before Kate reached, she wanted everyone to believe Harper was the culprit.

"Charles, this woman is hell-bent on making Harper a criminal. Why can't she just accept Harper?" Mavis thumped her chest. "Harper is just a child who has lost her mother. But Sue is after her, trying to throw her out! If Harper were a boy, Sue must have long killed him."

"Mother, don't say that! I want to accept her with my whole heart. But it is Harper who is making that impossible. She is after Yvonne and Felicia," Sue argued.

Harper wiped the tears on her face and said, "Mother, Grandma prepared the wedding gifts. And her maid Flora was the one who brought them to you. Along the way, Nanny Annie joined us. Under the circumstance, I never had the opportunity to even touch them! So tell me, how can I poison them?"

"What?" Sue was at a loss of words. She had never anticipated such a reply from Harper. It suddenly occurred to her that this morning when Harper came with the presents, she had deliberately come without Nina, Anabel, Enya or Elsie. Smartly, she had opted for a new maid. Now when Sue thought about it, she realized that Harper had already been alert.

"My Lord, Princess Kate is here!"

On seeing this, Charles was a bit stunned. He wanted the Chu Clan's domestic matter to be solved by themselves. But Kate was a great deal worried about her grandchild. "Where is Yvonne?" she asked, looking frustrated.

"Your Highness, Yvonne is in Excellence House. She is... Now she is..." Charles was anxious.

Seeing an imperial physician with Kate, Harper said, "Your Highness, Yvonne was poisoned. Please save her."

Before Kate could make sense of the situation, Harper rushed to her and knelt down. "Your Highness, Yvonne is carrying His Highness's child. It's your grandchild. Please save her and her unborn baby. I beg you."

Harper's pleas left Kate shocked. 'Didn't they say that Harper poisoned Yvonne? What is going on here?' she began to wonder. Quickly, she dismissed these thoughts and started to think about Yvonne and her unborn baby. At once, she guided the imperial physician to Yvonne's residence.

Mavis and Charles went along with Kate. Sue felt uneasy knowing things weren't going as per her plan. She never thought Harper would have an alibi to prove she hadn't touched the presents from beginning to end.

In Excellence House, Yvonne gave a heartrending cry. Kate rushed in and asked the imperial physician, "Physician Wade, come here and check on this girl. Is she alright? How is the baby?"

Wade Wang immediately diagnosed Yvonne and then told her to take the prescribed antidote for the poison. "Your Highness, don't worry. Although Lady Yvonne was poisoned and her child was also affected, she happens to have a good physical health. Fortunately, both mother and baby are safe."

"Physician Wade, are my sister and her child really fine?" Harper asked concernedly. Her concern for her sister moved everyone who witnessed it. Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

"Lady Harper, don't worry. Lady Yvonne is all right now." Even the physician's words didn't relieve Harper of her worries. Instead, she moved closer to them and checked Yvonne's pulse. Suddenly, her expression changed. "Physician Wade, Felicia was also poisoned. Please check her without any delay. Yvonne is in so much pain. I guess Felicia is the same. Please save her."