Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 854

"I asked her to go to Harper's residence and take care of everything. She, after all, is her personal maid, and knows her job well. It will be easier for the servants to arrange the place if she is there with them," replied Rolando with ease.

As soon as Lilian's doubts disappeared, Harper walked in and saw them sitting down. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting!" she said apologetically.

"Aunt, I didn't expect you to sleep as peacefully as you did in a place you haven't been to," Lilian remarked. "Come join us. Let's have breakfast." Lilian then asked the servants to pick dishes for Harper. Before they were able to, however, Rolando had already grabbed some food for her and put them on her plate. "Eat well," he said invitingly.

A hint of surprise flashed across Lilian's eyes. There was a tacit understanding between Rolando and Harper, the one thing she couldn't foster with him. She had married into the royal family of the Great Jade Kingdom for some time now, and while Rolando often ate with her, he never picked food for her or allowed anyone to grab food for him. As the emperor, Rolando couldn't just have everything he wanted, so his eating had always been restrained. For example, he couldn't eat the same dish more than three times, or else he wouldn't be able to eat that dish in a month. But then he would eat anything that Harper picked for him!

The eunuch was busy with distributing dishes for Rolando. He wanted to say something to remind Harper to observe proper protocol, but he was stopped by Rolando's death stare. Harper clearly felt that the atmosphere was a little tense, so she raised her head to look at Lilian. When she saw her shocked face, she realized what was happening: Rolando, seated beside his wife Lilian, was happily munching away the food she had picked for him.

She was so used to the way Matthew ate with her. He liked to grab food for her. Initially, she didn't like to pick food for others but whenever Matthew picked up food for her, he would demand that she do it for him too. If she didn't, he would get angry. Because of that, now, whenever others pick food for her, she would unconsciously also do it for them. The only thing different this time around was that she forgot the man sitting next to her was not her husband Matthew!

"Aunt, His Majesty is..."

"Don't, Lilian. Harper is not always here. She is a guest, and because of that, I don't want her to be constrained by our rules. But have more. You are carrying a baby now, so you're eating for two now," Rolando said with a smile.

Right after that, Rolando picked a piece of cake for Lilian, which flattered her. This was the first time he had ever picked up food for her, and she immediately reciprocated it by giving him a piece of peach blossom cake. She was so excited, but then she noticed that Rolando frowned and seemed not to like it. Only then did Lilian realize that he didn't like this kind of cake: the person who liked it was Harper, and that was the reason why they had this food on the table today.

Despite that, Rolando didn't outwardly reject the peach blossom cake. He still ate it, but disgust was evident on his face. Seeing that, Lilian stopped worrying and felt happy inside. A joyful smile even appeared on her face. Harper was relieved that the tension seemed to be deescalating and thought, 'I just formed this habit. I am so used to eating with Matthew that I did start picking food for Rolando without even thinking about it. It just came to me!'

"By the way, Harper, your residence has been tidied up. I've sent your maid there to see if there's anything dissatisfying, so that we can change it as soon as possible. Today's government affairs have been solved, so later I'll take you to a walk around the palace. Although it is not as luxurious as the Imperial Palace of the Bright Dynasty, it's still beautiful. Lilian, since you are pregnant, you shouldn't walk too much. I suggest you have a good rest in the palace. If you feel bored, go to the Imperial Garden and have a walk. But be careful and don't fall again. Also, bring more people with you," Rolando said.