"You're crazy!" Wendy shouted the moment her breathing stabilized once again. "Why did you do that? Were you trying to kill me?!"
A slight air of disgust became apparent in Harper's face. "Didn't you want to die?" she said bluntly, eyeing Wendy as if she was some kind of deformed creature. "I was just helping you." A look of disbelief dawned on Wendy's face. Harper didn't care, however, and continued: "You want to die simply because of a scar. Do you think it was very easy for me to save your life? Do you know that my medical fees and expenses to cure you were so high that if I decided to charge them all to your clan, your family would be bankrupt and living in the streets?"
It was Wendy's first time hearing all of this. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that her family could go bankrupt just because of her medical expenses.
"Shut up" she shouted, shaking her head. "Lies, lies, lies!"
Once again, Harper acted like she didn't hear Wendy's lamentations. "Do you know that the pill to cure you is invaluable?" she continued. "Do you know how great of an effort I spent to get an herb from Labyrinth Swamp? The five leaves that I used on you already amounted to one hundred thousand taels of gold. Wendy Shen, I treated you with the best and most effective pills and herbs I have in my collection, but you still have the audacity to throw a tantrum about wanting to die? Fine! I'll kill you with my bare hands! After that, I'll make sure your family pays me what you owe me so that they'd lose everything they have!" Harper became more and more ruthless as she spoke. Worse, she didn't make an effort to hide the murderous intent in her eyes. Wendy felt like her soul was being ripped and shredded into pieces, so she had no other choice but to retreat.
Never in her life had she met a person worse than Harper. She had always believed that she only got lucky when the late emperor approved of her marriage with Prince Matthew. In her point of view, a woman like Harper would never be able to marry a noble such as Prince Matthew because she was a woman whose engagement had been broken off.
Now, she realized that everything that Harper achieved wasn't because of her luck: it was because of her own powerful self, and the way she handled every situation that she faced.
"I... I... I..." Wendy stuttered. Tears were already forming in her eyes, but she tried her hardest to suppress them. "I don't want to die," she finally said. Harper looked down on her.
"Say it out loud," she said coldly. "Do you want to die, Wendy Shen?"
"No," Wendy replied, now fully sobbing. "I want to live! I want to live and grow old with my parents!" As the only daughter of the powerful Marquis Travis, she had gotten everything she wanted over the years because everyone took pity on her and her poor health condition. This time, however, it didn't work on Harper. She even tried to drown her! The feeling that was rooted deep inside her at the moment was indescribable. She, however, now understood that if she truly wanted to die, Harper would do the honors and kill her!
Several moments passed before Harper spoke. "Always remember what you said here today, right now. You want to live." She then turned around and began to walk away. "I'll leave her to you now," she said as she passed by Physician Gore.
"Yes, Your Highness," Physician Gore responded with respect. "I promise to take good care of Lady Wendy." Harper's firm and decisive actions impressed everyone around her that day. Only a few people in the world would have the courage to push someone into the pond and let them drown in front of his or her mother and father.
After Harper left, Hannah finally came around. With Travis by her side, she hurriedly came to Wendy's side to console her. Travis immediately ordered someone to help Wendy back to her room, and help her get changed. It was late summer that time; the temperature wasn't too high, making it uncomfortable for Wendy to stay out soaking. Besides that, she had just undergone surgery and her body had not fully recovered yet. If anything happened to her, it would be so devastating for her family.
Hannah felt her mind melting into a puddle the moment she saw how Wendy seemed to be scared to death. As the maids helped dress her up, it was noticeable how pale her face was. 'It was as if she had seen the devil herself,' she thought, worried for her daughter.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Forensic Imperial Concubine