"The Bu Clan?" Harper was taken totally aback. Many of the officials were Franklin's students, so the idea of joining Francis together with the Bu Clan seemed far too bold a move. What on earth could the emperor be playing at? Did he want to make a new crown prince?
Noticing Harper's puzzlement, Matthew explained to her softly, "The Bu Clan won't befriend any prince. His Majesty knows that perfectly well. His only purpose in doing this is to mislead Francis into thinking that His Majesty thinks highly of him. It also carries the side benefit of making Felix feel uneasy."
"What a devious plot!" Harper never had any good impression of the emperor, and now she was even more displeased to see him plotting against Francis. "Even vicious tigers don't eat their own offspring. But monarchs are all heartless. There is very little love in them. They just can't seem to build any filial love, even between father and son, or husband and wife."
"I love you with all my heart," Matthew said immediately. "I'm not like them at all. They are fakers and schemers, but I'm sincere."
"You know I didn't say anything bad about you." Harper poked Matthew's forehead. "It has been an exhausting day. That long journey and the visit to Francis have worn me out. I'm going to take a nap now. Don't wake me up until dinner."
"All right. I must deal with some paper work."
Matthew carried Harper up to bed, tucked her in, and then went out to review the official files. So many files had piled up in the past few days and he needed to read all of them in case any important information was contained in them.
The next morning, Harper brought gifts to visit Franklin and Isabella. When she arrived, Franklin and his son had still not returned from the imperial court session. So she chatted with Isabella for a while, then took her leave and went off to the Kong Clan.
As the Kong Clan had just hosted a wedding not long ago, and the wedding decoration at their door hadn't been taken away yet, the whole mansion seemed to have a festive atmosphere. Harper sent a servant to knock at their door. The steward recognized them by Matthew's carriage, and immediately invited them in.
Harper was ushered into the parlor and she sat there for a moment. A moment later, a pretty girl ran into the room and called out, "Harper!"
With a resigned smile on her face, Harper said, "Calm down. You're a married woman now. How can you still be so naughty?"
Caroline made a silly face at Harper and sat down beside her. "Harper, you're finally back! But you missed my wedding ceremony!"
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