Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 48

Carrie was hurt by Harper, so she thought to tell what happened to her husband. However, she wasn't able to see Charles. She went to the Peony House, thinking she could malign Harper in front of Mavis. But when she arrived at Peony House, Annie stopped her and did not allow her to enter the house.

"Nanny Annie, is Lady Mavis in?" Carrie was proud to be Hansen's future mother-in-law. But even so, she liked to play safe and keep all her pride inside. There was no reason for her to unnecessarily boast in her mother-in-law's house. It was better to keep her head down and act modestly.

Annie smiled sadly at her, not believing Carrie was truly in the house to pay a kind visit to Mavis. "Oh, you just missed her. Lady Mavis has already fallen asleep. But before that, she asked me to deliver a message to you."

"Tell me." Carrie bit her lip, looking uneasy. At this, she recalled that Harper had left the Peony House earlier. Something must have happened while she was here. Did Harper accuse her of something in front of Mavis? Promptly, she asked Annie, "Did Harper say anything bad about me?"

Annie frowned, which Carrie thought to speak louder than any word she could have said. To cover herself, she rebuked, "How shameless of her! She called me all the unpleasant words you can think of to curse and hurt me, and now you're telling me she defamed me in front of Lady Mavis? Unbelievable!"

"Lady Carrie!" Annie objected. "On the contrary, Lady Harper did not say anything ill of you in front of Lady Mavis. Lady Mavis asked me to tell you that you should be wary of your identity. You are a concubine and as such, you will remain a concubine for the rest of your life. Lady Harper is the daughter of Prime Minister Charles' first wife. It is not just allowed for you to offend her. Severe punishment awaits anyone who oversteps their boundaries."

Carrie's eye twitched at the awkwardness of this scene. She refused to feel guilty, even though the feeling of guilty in her heart began to coil tighter. "I did not intent to offend Harper in any way, intentionally or not. In fact, one could say it was her—"

Before she could finish, Annie interrupted her. "Well, I was just asked to relay the message. It would be best for you to go back and take care of Lady Yvonne. She is going to get married very soon and you must be careful not to tip the scales of fortune." After her cryptic words, Annie slammed the door shut. Carrie's nose was almost hit by the door.

Furious and offended at Annie's mocking of her, Carrie turned red. Things had been going so well for her since she took over managing the clan's affairs and with her daughter's upcoming wedding. But Harper had been sabotaging all her hard-earned popularity over the Chu Clan mansion. How dare she gossip about her in front of Mavis! Things had become so bad that Mavis couldn't even bear to face her. She even asked a servant to ask Carrie to mind her own business.

"My Lady, are you all right?" Shirley asked with concern.

Carrie turned around, her face marked with a deep frown. "Let's go back."

"Yes, My Lady." Shirley followed Carrie carefully as they headed for the Excellence House.

Harper heard that Carrie had a hard time outside the Peony House. There wasn't much she could do to help. Unexpectedly, Carrie sent her many precious things several days later. As an expert in medicine, Harper did her best to test them. After all the tests, she found that they were nontoxic.

"Please tell Lady Carrie that I'm grateful for her gifts," Harper asked Shirley to send Carrie her gratitude. As she looked at the maid, she followed with a question. "How's Yvonne doing these days?"

"Lady Yvonne is doing all right," Shirley replied.

"That's good. I can rest easy then. The wedding ceremony will be held in less than ten days and she must be careful. Well, you can go back and report to Lady Carrie that I've accepted her gifts."

"Yes, Lady Harper." Shirley then turned around and rushed out of the Emerald House as quickly as she could, as if she didn't want to come here at all. Seeing this, Harper felt funny. 'Do I look like a hideous beast? Why is she so afraid of me? Funny how I didn't notice her fear of me before.'