Chapter 628 The Emperor Was Ill (Part One)


    Harper was still sleepingte that morning. Nina and Anabel were waiting outside. Harper didn''t like to


    be disturbed when she was sleeping. If there was any noise to awaken her, she would be very irritated


    and might punish everyone in the house.


    When Noah arrived, he saw that the door of Harper''s room was closed and that Nina and Anabel sat at


    the door and did some needlework. "Nina, is Her Highness up yet?"


    "Steward Noah, Her Highness is still asleep. What''s the matter?" Nina quickly stood up and asked.


    "The word from the Imperial Pce is that His Majesty is unwell."


    Harper woke up at that moment, just in time to hear that the emperor was ill. She quickly had the maids


    come in to help her change clothes and freshen up. She was finished and ready in the blink of an eye.


    She remembered what she had said the previous night to Matthew: that the emperor might suddenly


    drop dead from excessive indulgence in sex. It seemed that her prediction might have alreadye


    true. Perhaps his body couldn''t bear it anymore.


    "Come in, Noah," Harper said.


    "Good morning, Your Highness."


    "Skip the courtesies. Do you have any detail about His Majesty''s illness?" asked Harper with curiosity.


    Seeing the undisguised schadenfreude on Harper''s face, Noah couldn''t help but cough to remind her


    that she shouldn''t make her delight in the emperor''s misfortune so obvious. But he quickly remembered


    Harper''s personality, and realized that nothing he said to her could hold her back from taking pleasure


    in a moment like this.


    "Word hase from the Sleek Pce that His Majesty suddenly passed out. The imperial physicians


    were all at their wits'' end and didn''t know what to do. When His Majesty finally woke up, he was so


    weak that he needed to stay in bed to recuperate. His Majesty ordered Crown Prince Felix to take care


    of state business on his behalf, with the assistance of Grand Secretary Franklin and Prince Francis.


    After that, His Majesty fainted again," Noah reported, though he didn''t understand why Matthew had


    ordered him to tell Harper the news by himself. He was sure that Matthew must have some reason to


    make such a request.


    "Anything else?" Harper asked. The news that the emperor had fainted and that the crown prince would


    handle national affairs in his stead was quite interesting. If the emperor really had awoken after fainting,


    he would not only have ordered Felix to handle national affairs, but also have Francis to keep Felix in


    check.


    "General Maxwell''s wife is seriously ill and likely to die soon," Noah continued after a moment''s


    thought, as his mind sorted through the news he had heard recently.


    There was a glimmer in Harper''s eyes. Now that Maxwell had known the reason why none of the


    women in his mansion had borne any children to him and obtained Harper''s help, of course he would


    take action against the women in his mansion. The reason why his wife remained alive was only to


    avoid making the emperor appoint any other woman to fill his wife''s vacancy anytime soon.


    "Anabel, go to the storehouse to choose a suitable gift and forward it to General Maxwell''s mansion, as


    a token of our concern for his wife," Harper said with the subtle trace of a smile. "Some very interesting


    things must have happened in his mansion recently."


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    "Prepare a nice gift and deliver it to the Kong n mansion as well. Caroline is pregnant, but I can''t


    visit her at present. I''ll visit her in person when my own health improves."


    "Your Highness, I will deliver the message to Lady Caroline."


    "And then..."


    "Some news from the River City told us that Your Highness'' ready-made garment shop had enjoyed


    booming business and Mister Rufus had been busy counting money every day. He asked if Your


    Highness wishes to open another branch, and he said that he wanted to take a share in the business."


    Noah was wryly amused by this letter he had received from Rufus. He thought that Rufus'' insistence


    and pushiness in asking him to persuade Harper to agree to the proposal were rather shameless. Noah


    knew perfectly well that Matthew would not let him see the sunrise tomorrow if he said or did anything


    improper to Harper.


    Hearing the news, Harper was absolutely delighted. "Oh, really? Business is booming?"


    "Yes, Mister Rufus said that he has deposited all the profits in the bank, and that Your Highness can


    withdraw the money by using this token," Noah said, handing a jade token to Harper. Harper took it and


    put it in her pocket dly. "Tell him that I''m in no rush to open any new branch. Let''s wait three more


    months first, then I will open two new branches in two different cities in the south. He can take charge


    of the whole operation. I will provide the designs."


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    After Noah left, Harper began to deal with the matters at hand. As she had recently been busy


    detoxifying herself from the Terminalia Cheb, she had quite a few backlogs to attend to. Now that


    the emperor''s health had copsed from excessive sex, he would have to spend some time


    recuperating. She was afraid that Felix and the empress would take advantage of the chance to do


    something in the meantime.


    Today, Matthew came back from the imperial court session very early. When Harper saw he walked in


    with light and carefree steps, her eyes shone with pleasure. "Darling, you seem to be in a good mood."


    "Not bad. His Majesty is in aa," Matthew said, putting down his cloak and handing it to Anabel. He


    sat down and watched Harper deal with the household affairs.


    "If His Majesty was in aa, how could he announce that Felix would take over his duties of state?"


    Harper asked.


    "It was just a phony imperial edict, but the empress summoned one imperial physician after another to


    diagnose him. All the imperial physicians said that His Majesty had suffered a serious decline of health,


    leading to his weakness and fainting. His Majesty''s life is not at risk, but it will not be easy for him to


    break out of thea." Matthew kept his eyes on Harper as he spoke. He wanted to ask about the


    Terminalia Cheb in her body, but didn''t know how to mention it.


    "Is the Terminalia Cheb a kind of poison?"


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    "It''s not a poison," Harper answered without even raising her head. "I''m immune to every kind of


    poison. If it were a poison, it would not have harmed me. It''s a rare drug, though, with a powerful effect


    on me."