Time Travelling: My Love from the Royal Family

With a lollipop propped in her mouth, Harper Chu opened her toolbox skillfully and said to her colleague, Diego Guo, "This one is going to be a bit difficult. I am still trying to figure out the best way to cut it open for further examination."

"Harper, you are a forensic expert. Can't you behave more professionally by avoiding eating anything while examining the corpse?" Diego Guo requested and continued to look at Harper Chu expectantly. This was something he had always wanted to say.

Harper Chu was a very beautiful woman. But in spite of her beauty, she was still single at the age of twenty-eight. Men were pulled towards her instantly when they saw her. However, all of them fled away when they became aware of her passion for dissecting corpses.

"Diego, don't you know that sweet sugar is good for activating brain cells? I believe it helps me in doing my work more proficiently. In fact, I think you should try one," Harper Chu suggested and rummaged through her bag to find a lollipop for Diego Guo. With a cute smile, she handed it over to him.

When he saw that, Diego Guo's face darkened. "No! Forget this and let us get back to work. I heard this corpse belonged to a high-ranking official. It's said that he has managed to gain a lot of confidential information. Considering all this, it seems obvious that his murder was committed so as to stop him from leaking that information. I don't understand what our leader was thinking. Why did he send us here to examine this corpse? I am pretty sure he knew this was a dangerous job..."

"Stop talking!" Harper Chu interrupted him. Quickly, she ripped off the dead man's belly and found a key in his stomach. "See! Here is a key."

"What key?" Diego Guo asked curiously and leaned forward to get a closer look.

Harper Chu cleaned the key, looked at it carefully and said, "It's a key to some bank custody. The victim must have swallowed the key before being attacked."

"I heard that his house was turned upside down. Could it be that the murderer was looking for this key?" Diego Guo asked, sinking deep in thoughts.

"Diego, you should immediately inform our leader about this discovery. But make sure nobody else gets to know anything about this," warned Harper Chu, grinding her teeth.

"Okay." Diego Guo immediately turned around and went away, leaving Harper Chu alone with the key and corpse. In his absence, she continued the examination as if nothing had happened. Just when she was about to sew the corpse, a cold gun was pointed toward her head.

"Give it to me," a familiar voice said, trying to stop her from what she was doing.

"What? Why does it sound like you are involved in this matter, Diego?" asked Harper Chu. She had instantly recognized that this voice belonged to her college Diego Guo.

"Harper, I don't want to kill you. Make it easy for me by giving me the key." Diego Guo's hand, which was holding the gun, began to tremble. "I am dead serious. If you hand over the key to me, you will be safe. We can go around pretending as if nothing has happened..."

Before Diego Guo could finish his words, Harper Chu moved. She used her scalpel to cut his wrist and knocked off the gun in his hand. But before she could yell out for help, she felt a sharp pain course through her chest. Blood began to ooze out of her body, slowly turning her white uniform into red.

"You promised me you wouldn't kill her!" Diego Guo shouted at the guard who was shooting at Harper Chu with rage. He grabbed her limp body before she fell to the floor. She felt a chill creep over her. Then she closed her eyes and could no longer hear what her colleague was trying to say.

When Harper Chu opened her eyes again, she saw a ruthless executioner holding a machete. The scene happening before her was akin to that of ancient times where a prisoner's head was about to be chopped. Realizing she was about to be beheaded, she panicked and was about to struggle. However, her neck was sore and her head was about to explode. Numerous memories rushed into her mind and she almost passed out once again.

At a distance, not far away from her, her sister began to let out a cry. She screamed, "Harper, don't leave us..."

Now Harper Chu carefully and slowly recalled her current situation. She came to realize she had traveled the time and space. Her identity was completely changed. Instead of the modern-day forensic expert, she was a daughter of the head of Chu Clan from the Bright Dynasty in ancient times. Moreover, she got into trouble while delivering a baby for the concubine of Maxwell Jiang, a general. She was framed and slandered for having killed the unborn son of the general.

And her sister, who was desperately crying in front of her, was one of the accomplices who had set her up.

Maxwell Jiang was furious. The emperor had intended to kill her to soothe his anger. Meanwhile, the Chu Clan had abandoned her. And her sister had come here to witness this cold-blooded execution with her own eyes.

"It's noon! Execute the death sentence now!" On the stage, Matthew Jun, the younger brother of the emperor, gave out the order. He was the officer in charge of the execution. The executioner held up his machete. Seeing the crisis, Harper Chu cried out immediately.

"I'm being wronged... Your Highness, General Maxwell's concubine didn't get pregnant. It isn't my fault!"

Matthew Jun was dressed in a black robe with dragon tattoos, and his hair was tied up with white jade. He had an imposing appearance. Besides, he had a well cut and muscular face. His cold and black eyes were as sharp as the blade, even though he was an idle and inoffensive prince.

An intriguing smile crept onto his face when he looked at the woman kneeling before him.

Only a while ago she had desperately sought for death. It both puzzled and amused him to watch her defend herself. 'Did she just change her mind when she saw the machete hung on her neck?'

"Harper Chu, the imperial edict has been issued, and it's impossible to disobey His Majesty's order. You are saying that you are innocent. But is there anyone who can prove it?"

"I can prove it! Your Highness, I have evidence!" Harper Chu turned to look at Matthew Jun. "Your Highness, I'm willing to pledge with my whole clan that General Maxwell's concubine deceived me. She pretended to be pregnant and framed me because she was afraid that I would expose her secret. Please give me a chance to see General Maxwell and clear my name. If I can't prove my innocence, I'm willing to implicate my whole clan."

'She is willing to put her clansmen in such a crisis to prove her innocence. I have heard that the Chu Clan has abandoned her. I never expected she would be ruthless enough to drag her whole clan into the matter. She is a determined woman. If it was someone else, they would be afraid of hurting their clansmen. But she has the audacity to ask the entire Chu Clan to die along with her. Her character is quite interesting!'

Matthew Jun thought. He realized he had to make a quick decision since the machete was close to her neck.

Outside the execution platform, people were waiting to see the death of Harper Chu to pacify their beloved general.

Her sister was desperately waiting for her death. Deep down, she was thrilled to take over Harper Chu's resources in the clan.

In short, everyone wanted her dead.

'Even if Prince Matthew wants to help me, I don't think he can change the situation, ' Harper Chu thought desperately.

But seeing the despair and determination on Harper Chu's face, Matthew Jun said, "In that case, I'll give you a chance..."

"Your Highness! The imperial edict has been issued," an official standing beside reminded him.

Matthew Jun raised his hand to stop the official from continuing. "As for His Majesty, I can explain things to him in person. I'd like to see whether the Chu Clan will be ruined if Harper Chu doesn't have any evidence."

Harper Chu gratefully looked at him and said, "Your Highness, thank you."

Matthew Jun didn't respond to her appreciation. Instead, he coldly replied, "If you can't prove your innocence, you will be brought back into this same situation. Don't go around thinking you can escape."

Although Harper Chu got a glimmer of hope, she knew her life was still not safe. Watching the turn of events, her sister, Felicia Chu, became furious. With gritted teeth, she asked, "Harper, how can you gamble on the lives of our whole clan?"

"Felicia, don't you believe that I am innocent?" Harper Chu looked at Felicia Chu with her sparkling eyes. The latter nodded with clenched teeth.

"Of course, I certainly believe you didn't plan on killing General Maxwell's child. However, it was very selfish and cruel of you to implicate our clan into your crisis!"

"Can't I be selfish to save myself?" Harper Chu retorted back, flashing a vicious smile.

"You..." Felicia was still trying to say something.

Unwilling to waste any more time, Harper moved closer to her. "I can show you the evidence, but be watchful. If I'm proven innocent, you'll be in danger."

Felicia's face changed to one holding fear as she understood the meaning behind her sister's words. She was sure that no one could show any evidence of her actions, let alone Harper.

"Harper, stop bluffing," Felicia whispered harshly. Despite her brilliant medical skills, Harper wouldn't be able to pull something out her sleeves, not even by a long shot! Plus, she had already offended General Maxwell and lost her position as an imperial physician. There was no way of reversing the entirety of the situation!

Not in the mood to convince her otherwise, Harper bowed to Matthew. "Your Highness, please follow me to the general's residence."

When Matthew and Harper arrived at the general's residence, Maxwell was busy comforting his concubine, Jade Su, who was in tears.

In spite of his tough appearance, Maxwell was a man with a soft heart when it came to women. His only regret was that he could never have a child of his own. When Jade Su had announced that she was pregnant, he had been filled with joy at least until the news of their child being murdered came in. Then, he was as enraged as a bull.

"General, Prince Matthew is here." A servant came over to Maxwell.

"What is he doing here?" Maxwell frowned. Five years ago, Matthew had returned from battlefield and handed back his military leadership to the emperor. Though he didn't get his hands on power now, many still held him in awe.

"His Highness is here with Harper Chu."

"Harper Chu!" Jade Su shrieked at the woman's name. She clutched Maxwell's arm. "The bitch was the one who killed our child! You can't let her go! Kill her! Avenge our child."

"Calm down, calm down. I'll deal with her immediately." Maxwell assisted his beloved concubine in lying down. Once he was sure that everything was all right, he turned and walked outside, his steps quick and powerful. Though he had taken some time off the field, his stance and walk were similar to a soldier's-strong and steady.

The moment Maxwell came in, he glared at Harper before facing Matthew. "Your Highness, what's going on? Shouldn't the woman be executed already?"

"General, please calm down. Harper Chu claimed she was innocent, so I gave her a chance to prove herself. I assume you don't want to be kept in the dark of her discovery," Matthew answered as he turned the jade ring about on his thumb.

"Greetings, General Maxwell." Harper bowed. "Not only are you strong, but you're wise as well. I've heard many songs praising your force and mind in the battlefield."

"You killed my child," he thundered. "You think I'll let you off the hook just because of flattery?"

"No, I wouldn't dare. I have always admired you; it's because of you and your soldiers that we live in a peaceful country. When I heard of Lady Jade having a difficult labor, being the only female imperial physician, I rushed here to help her." She paused and continued, "I was shocked by what I saw, but before I could inform you, I was knocked out."

"You were trying to commit suicide for fear of punishment!" Jade Su screeched out as she stumbled out of her room, holding a hand on her stomach. She had thought Harper would've died by now; instead, Harper had the audacity to waltz right in their household. "Maxwell, please, uphold justice for the both of us." She turned towards him, breaking into sobs. "He was our first child, your first child."

"Don't cry." Maxwell felt his heart ache at the sight of his concubine sobbing. He turned to Harper, eyes flashing in anger. "How dare you come to my home and defend yourself after killing my child. Have you no shame?"

"General!" Harper cut him off. "How could I kill your child if it didn't exist? Lady Jade wasn't pregnant!"

Everyone's jaw dropped, as silence overtaken the surroundings. Jade Su paled. "Harper Chu, you vicious bitch! You killed my child, and you even said I wasn't pregnant! Was a nine-month pregnancy nothing to you?" she snarled.

"Stop lying!"

Harper folded her arms. "I have evidence. General, you are not only talented, but you're reasonable. You certainly don't want to kill an innocent woman, do you?"

Looking at her clear eyes, Maxwell frowned. She didn't seem as if she was lying.

"Don't trust her, Maxwell. I carried our child for nine months. Don't you know that?" Jade Su's fingers trembled. Maybe she and Felicia shouldn't have set Harper up. She had planned to get a baby from somewhere else and claimed it to be her own. She thought she could be promoted to the general's wife that way. But Felicia had said that this wouldn't be enough for her to be his wife; she had even said as long as Jade Su helped her set Harper up, she'd be able to help her become the wife of the general. Now, she regretted it so much.

"General, I began studying medicine with my uncle when I was six. Now, it has been ten years. After several trials and Lady Katrina's recommendation, I've become the only female physician in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. You know what I'm capable of. Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked me to treat Lady Jade. After I diagnosed her, I found that she had taken a secret medicine that made her look like she was pregnant. As long as she took the antidote, everything would be fine and she'd recover." Harper exhaled. "I was knocked unconscious before I could report it to you. The next thing I know is that I was under arrest for the murder of your child."

"Nonsense!" Jade Su scoffed as she folded her hands around Maxwell's. "Maxwell, please. I didn't lie to you. I would never."

"General, people have used the method of mixing two people's blood to identify blood relationship since ancient times," Harper said slowly. "I guess the baby's body hasn't been buried yet, right?"

"Not yet." At the thought of the little corpse lying in the coffin, Maxwell's heart clenched. He was more than thirty years old, and yet his only child was now gone. How could he not be devastated?

"But now that the baby is dead, his blood's now solidified. We are unable to mix his blood with yours." As she said this, Harper glanced at Jade Su from the corner of her eyes.

Jade Su's shoulders sagged in relief. Since the baby was dead, there was no possible way they'd do the test now.

"You know what? Not a lot of people know that we can identify blood relationship by dripping blood onto one's bone."

Jade Su's face darkened as her heart started to beat even more wildly. 'No, I can't let her continue, ' she thought.

"If you want to know the truth, General, all I need is a bone from the baby. Then, we will know."

"You killed my son, and now you want to disturb him in his deathbed! You bitch!" Jade Su threw herself into Maxwell's arms as another wave of tears ran down her cheeks. "Maxwell, please don't. Please don't disturb him anymore. He's so peaceful, we can't disrespect his burial!"

"Harper Chu, are you that afraid of death that you are slandering Jade to escape the punishment?" Maxwell asked calmly. To be honest, he had his own suspicions. His wife had been with him for many years, and she had not been pregnant once, nor his concubines. When he heard Jade Su was pregnant, he was relieved and happy. But there was a sinking feeling inside of him that it might not be what he thought it was.

"If I can't prove my innocence, then you can kill me and my whole family!" Harper said firmly.

There was doubt on Maxwell's face. He didn't think that Harper had lied. But was Jade really not pregnant? Was it really just a hoax? With all of that being said, did that mean he couldn't have children?

"General, I was born with nothing and I'll die with nothing. I know for a fact that you are a man of indomitable spirit. I will not allow anyone to deceive you like this. Even if I have to risk my life, I won't let you get played." Seeing how Maxwell hesitated, Harper vowed with the utmost certainty that even Matthew almost believed it.

"Maxwell, the only reason she's talked so much is because she fears for own life. How could she be so cruel to my poor child who died miserably? I don't want to live anymore. Please just sentence me to death so I can accompany my poor child!" Jade cried her heart out. Breaking free from Maxwell's hold, she pulled back her arm to hit the pillar. However, with his quick reflexes, he was able to stop her just in time.

Although Maxwell still had doubts, he felt embarrassed to see his beloved concubine this way.

"Lady Jade, are you afraid of being found out?" Matthew interjected.

"Your Highness, what have I ever done to deserve that accusation? How could you treat me like this?" sobbed Jade.

"I'm just curious. As we all know, Harper is a well-known imperial physician. If you had a difficult labor, I'm sure it would occur to her to take the child out alive. Since General Maxwell attached great importance to the child, she wouldn't have been so careless," Matthew explained, his eyes squinting in skepticism. "I believe there's something wrong with the whole thing. General, since things have come to this, why not give Harper a chance to prove her innocence? She won't be able to escape anyway."

"Wait!" Jade said anxiously. "We have to consider the general's well-being. What if she hurts him? She may get some dirty tricks up her sleeve."

"General, I swear on my life that I'm telling the truth. In addition, you don't need to worry because all I need to do is prick your finger and take a drop of blood. It's entirely superficial," Harper said calmly. Then, she took a deep breath and added, "But we also need the baby's bone..."

"Go get the bone," Maxwell ordered a servant.

Jade's eyes widened in shock. "Maxwell, no...no..." she stammered.

"General, there's a big difference between a woman who has given birth to a child and one who hasn't. If you don't trust me, you can ask an imperial nanny who has conducted physical examinations for imperial concubines to check Lady Jade," Harper said with a hint of complacency. Jade's hands clenched into fists at her sides, her body trembling with anger.

"You bitch! You hurt me and my baby! I'm going to kill you!" Without warning, she pounced at Harper.

Harper was able to dodge her attack, making Jade fall embarrassingly on the floor. The way Jade reacted made Maxwell more certain that something was indeed wrong. He immediately asked a servant to invite an imperial nanny over. "Stay here for the physical examination," he said to Jade sternly.

"Maxwell, we've been in love for years! Why do you trust this outsider more?" Jade cried with desperation.

"Just shut up and stay put! If what you're saying is true, surely there must be no reason to be afraid of taking the physical examination. Am I wrong?"

"Maxwell...I..." Jade was dumbfounded. Of course she was afraid. She didn't want Harper to uncover the truth!

"General, the bone is here."

Standing up, Jade approached the bone and whimpered, "My poor baby..."

"Shut up!" Maxwell scolded Jade. "Show me the evidence," he then said to Harper, looking at her coldly.

Harper stepped forward, taking a look at the baby's bone. "Pardon me," she said softly, taking Maxwell's hand. She pricked his finger with a needle that was so thin that he didn't even feel a thing. Carefully, she took Maxwell's hand over the bone and lightly pressed his finger to draw a drop of blood onto the bone.

Everyone held their breaths, their eyes glued onto the tiny set of bone as if they were afraid to miss something important.

As soon as the blood made contact with the bone, the blood smoothly slid down the side. Everyone saw exactly what had happened. Harper sighed, and proceeded to explain, "General, you can see the blood can't-"

"General, the nanny is here," someone interrupted.

"Examine her!" Maxwell said, pointing a finger at Jade. Although his tone was loud and accusing, there was some sadness and gloom to it. He was a hero in the battlefield, and yet he was played by a concubine. At this point, he was on the verge of losing his temper.

Jade glanced at Maxwell with a defeated look on her face, and then followed the nanny into the room for her physical examination. There was no point in making a scene, she thought.

As Harper watched Jade go into the room, she couldn't help but think that that woman would not just sit around and wait for her own death sentence. But, since Matthew and Maxwell had not spoken about it, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself. After all, she was still guilty at this moment.

"So Harper, I heard that you have really good medical skills?" Maxwell started, breaking the momentary silence.

"Ah, you're giving me way more credit than I deserve. I would say my skills are mediocre. Even so, I can assure you that I'm not talking nonsense about this whole affair. It's fine if you don't believe me right now. But surely you would believe the nanny," Harper said calmly. Her manner was quite different from that of her father, Charles Chu.

"Charles Chu is lucky to have a clever daughter like you!" Maxwell said. Harper didn't know whether he was praising or mocking her, but she didn't care. She looked around the hall, feeling that something was off. Suddenly, she realized that her sister wasn't there anymore.

"What's wrong? Are you looking for your sister?" Matthew asked, noticing Harper's actions.

"No, it's okay. She probably is somewhere else," replied Harper, unwilling to give out more information than what was needed. Whatever happened in Chu Clan was their business and their business alone. There was no need to let others know their family affairs.

"Well, you're very understanding." Matthew sneered as he fiddled with his jade ring. He couldn't help but think how Harper was stubborn and proud, unlike her father, who was very cunning and duplicitous. This woman was too straightforward.

"What is taking so long?" Maxwell blurted out. Standing up, he paced up and down the hall. There were a lot of things going through his thoughts. He trusted Harper when she said that the baby wasn't his. Plus, Jade was getting examined for good measure. Maybe she did give birth to a child and she did all this because she didn't want him to be sad.

"Send someone to check on her. I'm getting worried," Matthew said. In an instant, Maxwell stood up and walked towards the room where Jade was having her physical examination. Harper, too, stood up and followed closely behind. Matthew then walked slowly behind.

Upon pushing the door open, Maxwell saw the nanny and two other servant girls on the floor. Jade was nowhere in sight. Hurriedly, he rushed towards the women to see what had happened to them. After a quick inspection, it looked as if they had been knocked out. Just moments ago, he thought Jade deserved another chance. But now that she had escaped like this...

The nanny was starting to regain consciousness. Seeing the grave look on Maxwell's face, she knew she could possibly be in trouble. "Please, General Maxwell, forgive me. Lady Jade knocked me out and then fled," she explained.

"Lock the doors and find her!" Maxwell boomed in a towering rage. Turning, he glared at Harper with his sharp eyes. She met his gaze, looking at him right in the eye. There was no fear on her face; she had seen a lot of other people more intimidating than he was. It was difficult for her to feel threatened by him.

"You can leave now. I will clear you name to His Majesty," Maxwell said flatly.

"Thank you, General." Harper bent slightly. Then she turned and bowed to Matthew, "Thank you for sparing my life, Your Highness. I'll return the favor someday in the future."

"Oh really? And how exactly do you plan to pay me back?" Matthew sneered and asked nonchalantly.