Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

"I just lost my child, I don't need rest!" Lilian wailed. The baby was her gateway to Rolando's undying love and loyalty, but now
that it was gone, she knew that he would not pay attention to her anymore. She saw all her hopes and dreams crumble before
her very eyes.
"Lady Lilian, please don't act this way. His Majesty is not heartless. I'm sure that he is now on his way to come see you..." Miguel
said.
A guard suddenly came in and reported in a hurried manner, "My Lord, please go and have a look at His Majesty. He..."
"What's wrong with him?" Miguel asked, standing up quickly.
"He is currently in a terrible situation, so is that lady in the Harmony Palace," the guard said.
Miguel's eyes widened. With this new development, he knew that he wouldn't have the time and energy to comfort Lilian
anymore, and so he stood up and strode away at once. Lilian wanted to come with him, and so she tried to get up from her bed,
even though she struggled badly. 'For a guard to rush to Bliss Palace, Rolando must have been badly hurt! I need to see him; I
need to make sure that he's okay!' she thought.
When Miguel arrived at the Harmony Palace, he saw Rolando sitting on the floor and leaning against a pillar. His face was pale
and he was drenched in sweat. This scene shocked Miguel, and so he immediately tried to grab Rolando's hand to feel his
pulse. Rolando, however, pulled his hand away.
Miguel looked at Rolando in disbelief and said, "Your Majesty, you..."
Rolando did not say anything. Instead, he spat out a mouthful of blood. With every second that passed, he looked paler and
paler, making him look deathly fragile. While Miguel had known Rolando for a significant amount of time, it seemed like he never
knew him as much as he thought he did. First, even though Rolando liked Harper, Miguel thought that he would still consider his
life to be far more important than what he felt towards her. With what was happening, he was proven wrong and he was
reminded of what kind of person Rolando was: he was someone who wouldn't give up until he got something, or someone, he
liked. This time, he was set on getting Harper, one way or the other.
"Is it okay if Lady Harper stays in the room?" a voice asked. At a distance, Matthew and his men were keeping a close eye on

the Harmony Palace. While Matthew understood how serious the situation was inside, he knew couldn't do anything at that
moment. "She will be fine!" Matthew proclaimed coldly. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to the love of his
life.
Rolando's condition was worsening as the seconds ticked by, and so Miguel decided that it was time to seek assistance whether
Rolando liked it or not. He was just about to call the imperial physician when he felt a change in the air. "The barrier's gone!"
Rolando screamed. He then rushed inside the room to see if Harper was doing all right. When he found that she had fainted, he
quickly took her in his arms and tried to wake her, saying, "Harper, Harper, wake up! Anyone! Call the Physician Gary! Tell him to
come quick! Now!" Miguel immediately ordered one of the servants present to fetch the imperial physician and to bring him there.
Rolando, though still obviously weak, picked Harper up off of the floor and laid her on the bed. Forsythia brought some warm
water and wiped Harper's face with it, praying that she wake up soon. But the panicked Rolando seemed to dislike how slow and
gentle she was doing the task. After a while, he snatched the towel off of Forsythia's hands to do the chore himself. With the way
Rolando was ever-so-gently wiping Harper's face with the wet towel, one would think that he was taking care of an extremely
precious treasure. Once again, Miguel was stunned as he watched the scene unfold. While it was true that Rolando was kind to
everyone, his tenderness was only surface-level, even when he was with Lilian. But now, as he was taking care of
Harper, his sincerity was shining through, and his tenderness was coming directly from the bottom of his heart.
Miguel turned his head to the other side because he felt uncomfortable seeing Rolando in such a vulnerable state. As he did
that, he found the Heavenly Books lying on the table. This time, however, they weren't three separate volumes—they had
already become one! Carefully he picked it up and said, "Your Majesty, the book..."
Unfortunately, Rolando was not listening. All his attention was on Harper, and the way he was taking care of her. This annoyed
Miguel, and so instead of requesting Rolando to come see the book, he decided to hand it to him instead, saying, "The missing
part of the Heavenly Book has been revealed. Now, you can have what you've always wanted!"
Rolando raised his head. Nonchalantly, he looked Miguel in the eyes and simply said, "Really?"
"Rolando, get a grip of yourself! Let her go!" Miguel bellowed, finally losing his temper. He had been trying to calm himself down,

but it was the last straw for him. "She is, after all, Matthew's wife! Provoking him by trying to get with his wife won't do us any
good!" Rolando had just finished cleaning Harper up and was now tucking her in bed. Patrick immediately ran to the bedside, as
if to guard Harper. Rolando gave it a cold look and then motioned Miguel to leave the room. He needed a word with him in
private.
Miguel went out, followed by Rolando. They stood face to face, but neither of them spoke. Miguel was waiting for what Rolando
was going to day, but it seemed like Rolando didn't want to open the conversation up. Then, all of a sudden, Lilian appeared out
of nowhere, breaking the silence. "Your Majesty, are you all right?" she asked with concern coloring her voice.
She ran towards Rolando with the intention enclosing him in a tight hug but Rolando stopped her. With what had happened
between them, his attitude towards her changed drastically: from pretending to be kind to her to completely being distant and
indifferent to her. A sense of resentment was also palpable in his aura.
Looking at Rolando's face, Lilian couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time. She thought that he moved her to the Great
Jade Kingdom because he loved her and was willing to make her his wife. It turned out that she was just a pawn, a pawn to lure
Harper there. She finally understood that Rolando had taken advantage of her.
"Your Majesty, have you ever loved me, even a little?" Lilian asked. She asked that because she was unwilling to accept the
truth. There was no doubt in her mind how much she loved him, but why couldn't he be the same to her? It didn't matter whether
he was a monk or an emperor—she fell in love with him the first time she met her, and she was willing to give him anything. She
even courted him for five years! Weren't five years enough for him to love her, even a little? Just knowing that he had learned to
love her, even the littlest bit, after all this time would make her the happiest woman on earth.
But there was only indifference in Rolando's eyes. If he had the ability to control whatever he was feeling, he would have chosen
to fall in love with her a long, long time ago. Unfortunately, that was not how life worked. No matter what he or she did, he just did
not love her. Even if another five years passed, he wouldn't have any kind of feelings for her.
"Lady Lilian, your body is still too weak. Please go back to the Bliss Palace and have a rest," Miguel advised. He felt sorry for
her. Lilian loved Rolando with her whole heart, yet the latter only loved Harper. The greater irony was that Harper only loved
Matthew.
Lilian shook her head and stared at Rolando stubbornly. She wanted to know the answer, even though she actually already knew
it deep in her heart. She wanted to hear it from Rolando himself. Otherwise, she would not give up.
"No. Never," Rolando finally said. His tone was firm, cold, and distant. The only time he acted like a human being with a range of
feelings was whenever he was in front of Harper. When he faced other people, he would watch his composure and be the perfect
emperor everyone wanted him to be: gentle yet cool, elegant yet ruthless.