Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

"Lady Harper, what poison is it?" Derrick, who until then was keeping silent, suddenly asked.
Harper looked at Derrick, her eyes deep and undecipherable. Even though she couldn't bear to tell him the truth, she had to.
"Darren was drugged by the Spiritual Poison, and... I still haven't worked out an antidote yet."
"What do you mean, Harper?" Daphne asked, staring at her shocked and confused.
Harper knew that the man in black she hurt a while back must have known her relationship with Darren. Because of that, he
injured Darren to get an antidote out of her. But Harper didn't expect that the man would have hurt Darren so much that he
almost died!
"I'm the only one I know who has the Spiritual Poison. There's no antidote, because I haven't made one," Harper explained as
she took a deep breath.
Hopelessness grasped Daphne immediately, and she was trembling and staggering backward as she couldn't believe what she
just heard. "Harper, do you mean that Darren... will die?"
Harper didn't respond or even look at Daphne. Instead, she just looked at Darren. Although his lips hadn't turned darker purple,
she knew that he still hadn't been detoxified. And if she wanted to detoxify him, she must develop an antidote first. She was the
only person who could do that.
"I won't let him die, Daphne. That's a promise."
Though still unsure about what would happen to his brother, Daphne calmed down mainly because she had great trust in Harper.
"But wait. You said you are the only one who has this Spiritual Poison. Then, how could Darren be poisoned?"
"To know that, we have to locate the assassin I attacked last night." Harper's expression continued to be grim as she looked at
the unconscious Darren. Finally, she revealed what happened. "Last night, my husband and I met a group of assassins. Their
leader was a martial arts master dressed in all black. He was wearing this demon mask in bronze. We weren't able to defeat him,
and in order to save our lives, I had to inject the leader some of the Spiritual Poison I had made before. I wasn't planning on
using it to other people, but as we were faced with an emergency last night, I had to. It was the first time I used it. What I didn't

know was that he would use it against Darren!" Daphne finally understood that someone wanted to use her brother to force
Harper to give them the antidote. What they didn't know was that the antidote hadn't existed yet.
The poison was a desperate move on Harper's side—she didn't even think about creating an antidote for it because she never
thought she would ever use it. Now that all of these were happening, she had no choice but to make the antidote as soon as
possible! "But Harper, will you be able to create an antidote to it?" Daphne asked worriedly. "I'll do my best," Harper answered
straightforwardly, not wanting to promise something she couldn't deliver on. Once again, Daphne felt her fears vanishing, though
not completely. For her, as long an antidote could be developed, she really wouldn't care about anything else.
Harper knew there was a pharmacy in the lord's mansion, so she immediately asked someone to take her there.
Upon arriving, Harper immediately turned to Matthew. "Darling, I will stay here for some time to develop the antidote," she told
him. "I will keep you company. You know, just in case you forget to eat or something," Matthew responded.
Harper just smiled and followed a servant to the pharmacy. Derrick watched her leave and then coughed. Daphne turned around
and asked, "Father, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I just don't know when Her Highness would be able to finish the antidote. Will Darren be able to hang on?" Derrick said
every word slowly, as he already had difficulty speaking.
Although Daphne sensed something wrong with her father, she couldn't tell what it was. "Don't worry, Father. Since Harper had
already said that she would do her best, I'm sure that she will find a way to save Darren. And while she does, I will hunt for the
villain who hurt him!" A glimmer of light flashed across Derrick's eyes. "Darren..." "Father, you just came back. You must be tired.
Go to rest, please. I'll take care of Darren. I will ask someone to inform you as soon as I get any news," Daphne said softly.
"Fine."
Derrick then turned around and left, his steps slow and heavy. Daphne felt a pang in her heart, but said nothing. As soon as he
walked out of Darren's room, Derrick went back to his room. There, he immediately spat out the blood which he had tried so hard
to keep in his throat until that moment. The blood had a faint purple hue.

After Derrick left, Daphne drove all the people away and demanded, "Quincey, get out!"
A man knelt down in front of her. "Greetings, My Lady."
"What happened to my brother? Why was he injured? Weren't you by his side? Why did you let him get hurt so badly?" Daphne
controlled her anger and asked.
Quincey Feng said guiltily, "My Lady, it was Master Darren who suddenly asked me not to follow him and entered his room alone.
But before long, he appeared outside your room and got seriously injured. I don't know why he got hurt. It is my fault. I should be
severely punished."
Daphne was quite surprised. Quincey Feng never left Darren. The master would just ask him to wait outside when he needed to
talk with someone about something private. And very few people could meet Darren alone without Quincey Feng by his side.
Harper was attacked outside the city. Daphne didn't think Harper was the murderer even though she had the Spiritual Poison.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have told Daphne that the poison was from her.
"When did my father come back?" Daphne asked abruptly.
"His Lordship came back at dawn. He was worried when he heard what happened to Master Darren. He stayed here all the time
and kept injecting energy into his body until you came back with Princess Harper." Although Quincey Feng was blaming himself,
he never dared to slack off on his duty. Since he found that Darren was injured, he had never left him.