Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 45 Punishment

Harper stumbled forward, eyes filled with tears. She tried so hard to hold her tears back.

"Felicia, I know you love His Highness and he loves you too. His Highness even broke off our engagement to marry you. And I gave way because you are my dear sister and I care for you. Why would you want to hurt me after I've done this for you?" This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Tears streamed down her face. "I have given up my dream of becoming His Highness's wife. And I have promised you that I will never see His Highness again. I have given you everything you want since we were little. I have always put your happiness first. Why? Why would you try to kill me again and again? You're so vicious."

Harper's words made Kate's heart break. She felt so sorry for her. "Harper, you've suffered a lot."

"I... You..." Tears welled up in Felicia's eyes. She didn't know how to reply. At that moment, Sue finally managed to free herself and ran into Felicia's room. As soon as she came in, she saw Felicia's face was beaten so hard that she could hardly recognize her.

"What's going on?" Sue asked in worry. She trembled and constantly wiped the tears of Felicia.

"What a shameless concubine!" Kate snorted. She was not happy with both Sue and Felicia. "Your daughter is a vicious girl!"

"Your Highness, what are you talking about? Felicia has always been a very nice girl. Please don't be deceived by the real evil in this room." It was obvious that Sue was talking about Harper. She was sure Harper was the one who poisoned Kate's perception of Felicia. Kate had always favored Felicia and wouldn't have said anything ill about Felicia if not for Harper's slander.

"Deceived?" Kate sneered. "All of us heard Felicia say that she was the one who poisoned Yvonne and framed Harper. It's obvious who has been telling lies. She even asked her maid to go and see whether

Yvonne and Harper were dead or not."

Sue's face paled. She looked at Felicia in disbelief. But when Felicia cast her eyes down to avoid direct eye contact, Sue understood at once. She was exasperated at Felicia for always making trouble!

Sue crawled to Kate, held her hand and said, "Your Highness, there must be some misunderstanding. Felicia would never say something like that."

"Enough!" Kate shook off Sue's hands and slapped her hard across the face. Red fingerprints appeared on Sue's face right away. It was at that moment that Charles and Mavis entered the room.

As soon as Kate saw them coming, she said, "Prime Minister Charles, Lady Mavis, since you are here, I'll make it clear to you. I will never let such a vicious woman be my daughter-in-law!"

"No! Your Highness, please don't say that!" Felicia fell on her knees and crawled to Kate. "Your Highness, I won't do it again. It's all my fault. I'm begging you. Please don't say that. His Highness and I love each other very much. I lost my mind when I found that Yvonne seduced him behind my back. I just wanted to teach her a lesson." Before Felicia could say anything more and dig herself into much more trouble, Sue crawled towards her and covered her mouth. It would be better for Felicia to say nothing.

With tears all over her face, Felicia struggled against Sue's hold over her. Meanwhile, Kate couldn't believe the lengths the young girl would go to cover herself. Spurred by her anger, she replied, "Who do you really want to teach a lesson? Your sister? Harper? Yvonne? Or Yvonne's baby? In case you didn't remember, it's my grandchild you're trying to kill! You're trying to murder a royal heir! You should be beheaded!"

Charles was startled upon hearing Kate's words. He said, "Your Highness, let me handle this and give you an answer that will satisfy every one of us. We will call off the wedding."

"No! Father!" Felicia got rid of Sue and crawled to Charles. "Father, please help me. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please don't call off the wedding. If we do, our family will be the laughingstock of the city."

She needed to find a way out of this mess. She still believed that Kate and Charles shouldn't call off her wedding to Hansen. But looking for a reason to manipulate them into agreeing with her was not easy.

From her corner, Harper wiped her tears and said, "Your Highness, Yvonne is innocent. If you break the wedding between Felicia and His Highness, what would happen to Yvonne?"

"Don't worry. Yvonne is going to marry my son!" Kate was burning with hatred towards Felicia. She felt disgusted at the sight of this evil woman. If someone like Felicia married her son, she didn't know what kind of trouble she would stir up. Both her son and the mansion would be implicated by Felicia. She would never let something bad happen to Prince Kevin's mansion.

"It will be good as long as Yvonne doesn't get into any trouble. Otherwise, I will feel so sorry for her and her unborn poor baby," Harper said painfully. "Your Highness, please forgive Felicia. I believe she loves His Highness so much that she can't stand the fact that another woman is going to give birth to His Highness's child."

"Shut up, Harper!" Sue roared.

Harper startled, about to hide behind Kate. Sensing her fear, Kate placed her hands on Harper's arm to comfort her. "Like mother, like daughter. Prime Minister Charles, I'm telling you. I will never allow my son to marry Felicia. Even if she wants to be one of his concubines, I will never let it happen!"

It was a heavy blow to Felicia. She collapsed to the floor, scared out of her wits. Sue's heart broke when she saw Felicia this way. She wanted to tell Felicia that it was okay. No matter what it took, she would always get Felicia marry someone great.

"Then on the wedding day...?" Charles probed.

"Since Yvonne is pregnant, I think it would be best for her to be Hansen's wife. But since she is the daughter of a concubine, I'm afraid..." Kate trailed off.

"Father, Grandma." Harper suddenly knelt down. "I have a suggestion."

Frowning, Charles was about to stop Harper from saying anything, but Mavis stopped him and said softly, "Tell me."

"Yes, Grandma." Harper wiped away her tears and continued, "My mother passed away, and I'm her only child. I always see Yvonne as my own sister and I think my mother would be happy to accept Yvonne as her daughter. Father, please register Yvonne as the daughter of my mother. In this way, Yvonne will be a suitable match for His Highness."

Kate's eyes brightened as she looked at Harper with appreciation. Harper was a great girl. She was virtuous and generous. She forgave Felicia and found a way to let Yvonne marry Hanson with honor. It was a pity that Hansen had called off his engagement to her.

The eyes of Charles and Mavis lit up as they looked at Harper with admiration. "Brilliant!"

"Thank you, Grandma, Father."

Kate helped Harper get up and said, "In that case, my son will marry Yvonne. Prime Minister Charles, I hope this will not happen again. If anything happens to the baby, I will not let you off the hook!"

"Your Highness, please rest assured that such a thing will never happen again." Charles immediately agreed. After Kate left, he sent Sue and Felicia to the ancestral hall.

Yvonne was pregnant and poisoned, so she stayed in the bed to rest. Carrie followed them to the ancestral hall, where almost everyone came. Felicia cried and cursed Harper.

"You still don't understand what you have done is terrible, do you?" Mavis asked. She was trembling with anger, and her walking stick hit the floor hard.

Sue held Felicia, trying to calm her down. But how could Felicia calm down? After all, she had changed from Hansen's wife to an abandoned woman. Yvonne was going to be Hansen's wife instead of her. And it was all because of Harper!

"Servants! Bring out the whip!" Charles said. His words terrified Sue.

"Charles, please forgive her. She has lost her mind. I'm sure she won't do that again. Charles, you have watched her grow up. She has always been obedient. You know she's not capable of doing the things they accused her of. Please don't get the whip! You might kill her with the whip!" Sue wept and held the leg of Charles, preventing him from coming nearer to Felicia.

Felicia looked scared for a moment but something cleared within her. Her fear was replaced with murderous intent. 'Harper! This was all Harper's fault!' All of a sudden, she stood up and rushed toward Harper. With her sharp nails, she tried to claw at Harper's face. If she could not get her royal wedding, then might as well leave a permanent reminder on Harper's face of what happened to snitches.

"Aaargh!" Harper screamed as she covered her face with her hands, but Felicia didn't give up. She pushed Harper forward, getting on top of her and still clawing at her face with her nails.

"Are you crazy?" Mavis went to stop Felicia. Unexpectedly, Felicia pushed Mavis away. Mavis stumbled and fell to the floor.

"Fuck off! You old hag!" Felicia roared. "Bitch! I'll take your face off. Let me see if anyone will love you after you are disfigured. I will kill you!" Felicia had lost her mind. She kept on hitting Harper. Moving quickly, Charles moved towards them and kicked Felicia off Harper's flailing body.

"Father, help me!" Harper shouted. Something in her expression disarmed Charles of his anger. He had never seen his daughter this scared and in need of him. He pulled her up and protectively held her in his arms.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here. No one can hurt you. Don't be afraid," Charles said. Harper stiffened. She couldn't remember the last time Charles treated her with gentleness.

Seeing Felicia getting up and trying to get close to Harper again, he kicked her hard in her belly, which made her fall to the floor hard. It was pure chaos in the ancestral hall.

"Bring me the whip! I'm going to kill that bitch!" Charles had never felt anger like this before. He snatched the whip and began whipping Felicia. The whip was made from a secret material that made each stroke felt like a thousand ants biting the body. Sue screamed and rushed to protect Felicia.

Sue covered Felicia's body but Charles continued whipping anyway. He stopped caring whether it was Felicia or Sue who had been receiving the bite of the whip. He just gave out the punishment again and again. Meanwhile, Harper hurried to help Mavis to sit down. The other ladies were shocked by what was happening. They had always known Charles to be gentle and kind. There was no trace of that man as he brought down punishment upon Sue and Felicia.

He didn't stop whipping until he was too tried to hold the whip. Felicia had already passed out. Sue's clothes had been torn into shreds. Both of their bodies were covered with blood.

"Servants, lock Felicia in the ancestral hall. She can't go out without my permission. And from now on, Sue will no longer handle any family errand." Looking at the people at present, Charles continued, "Carrie, you're the one in charge of the family errands from now on."

"Charles..." Sue raised her head incredulously and looked at Charles. Compared with being hit, she felt more embarrassed and hurt when Charles took away her power in the family. And without looking at her, Charles left with Mavis.