Ghost in the palace

The Hall of Harmony fell into complete silence.

The black altar, hidden beneath the Empress’s meditation chamber, had shaken everyone present. Although General Wei had reported that every sign pointed to the Empress being the target rather than the one performing the ritual, doubt still lingered in some hearts.

The Emperor remained standing, his eyes fixed on the altar.

His fingers tightened behind his back.

No one dared speak.

Finally—

Shin Gu slowly stepped forward.

She looked at the altar for a long moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Perhaps..."

Everyone turned toward her.

"...perhaps we have all been looking in the wrong direction."

Prince Liang frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Shin Gu lowered her eyes.

"The Empress was the first to accuse me."

"Then my courtyard was searched."

"Nothing was found."

She paused before looking at the Emperor.

"Now an altar appears beneath the Empress’s own chamber."

Her voice remained calm.

"Could it be..."

"...that everything happening in the palace is part of someone’s plan?"

Lady Chen blinked.

"You think someone framed both of you?"

Shin Gu slowly nodded.

"It is possible."

She turned toward the Empress.

"Or..."

"...perhaps the Empress knows more than she realizes."

The room became quiet again.

Prince Liang folded his arms.

"I’ve had enough of assumptions."

He looked directly at Shin Gu.

"For months everyone has blamed you."

"Every strange incident."

"Every rumor."

"Every shadow."

Then he looked toward the altar.

"But now an altar has been found beneath the Empress’s chamber."

His gaze swept across the hall.

"I don’t want guesses anymore."

"I want answers."

Lady Chen spoke carefully.

"If the Empress truly had anything to hide..."

"...why would she agree to have every residence searched?"

Princess Zhi nodded immediately.

"Exactly."

"She was the one who insisted no courtyard should be exempt."

The Dowager Empress remained silent, deep in thought.

The Emperor’s eyes rested on the Empress.

He remembered every moment.

She had agreed to search Shin Gu’s residence.

She had agreed to search Lady Chen’s.

Princess Zhi’s.

Even the Dowager Empress’s.

Not once had she hesitated.

If she truly believed the altar was in her own courtyard...

Why would she invite everyone to investigate?

It made no sense.

Prince Liang, however, continued thinking aloud.

"But..."

He looked toward Lady Chen.

"General Wei also found protective talismans in your courtyard."

Lady Chen’s eyes widened.

"You think I placed them?"

Prince Liang answered honestly.

"I don’t know."

He looked at Princess Zhi.

"The same talismans were found in your residence."

Princess Zhi lowered her head sadly.

"My husband..."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Even you suspect me?"

Prince Liang’s expression softened for a moment.

"I suspect everyone."

Princess Zhi gave a bitter smile.

"I never imagined..."

"...that one day you would look at me like a stranger."

The words made the room even heavier.

The Emperor finally spoke.

"No."

His voice was calm but firm.

"I do not believe the Empress practices forbidden arts."

Everyone turned toward him.

He continued,

"If she truly had been performing such rituals..."

"...her maids, servants, and guards would have noticed something long ago."

He looked at General Wei.

"Her residence is watched day and night."

"There has never been a report of strange ceremonies."

General Wei bowed.

"That is correct, Your Majesty."

The Dowager Empress slowly nodded.

"I agree."

She looked toward the Empress.

"The altar was hidden beneath the floor."

"It does not prove she created it."

The Empress listened quietly.

Yet something still felt wrong.

Too convenient.

Too carefully arranged.

The Dowager Empress stood.

"Until we uncover the truth..."

"...the Empress’s meditation chamber will be sealed."

"No one will enter it."

She looked at Captain Xu.

"Place imperial seals on the doors."

"Anyone who breaks them without permission will be punished."

Captain Xu bowed.

"As Your Highness commands."

The Empress nodded.

"I understand."

She had no objection.

If sealing the room protected the evidence, then it was the correct decision.

The meeting slowly came to an end.

Officials and guards began leaving the hall.

The Emperor remained behind for a moment, watching the Empress quietly before following General Wei outside.

Only the Empress and her three ghost companions lingered near the doorway.

Fen Yu frowned.

"This still doesn’t feel right."

Li Shen nodded gravely.

"The altar was discovered too easily."

General Rong crossed his arms.

"And someone wanted everyone to find it today."

The Empress looked toward the palace roofs.

"It’s a trap."

"A carefully prepared trap."

She whispered the words almost to herself.

"If they couldn’t make me die..."

"...they wanted everyone to question me instead."

The three ghosts exchanged uneasy glances.

That night—

Instead of returning immediately to the Empress’s courtyard, the ghosts drifted silently through the palace, searching for any trace of the strange spiritual energy they had sensed before.

As they floated past dark corridors and quiet gardens, Fen Yu suddenly stopped.

"Wait..."

General Rong looked at her.

"What is it?"

She pointed toward a distant courtyard.

"There..."

The three ghosts moved closer.

They passed through the walls without a sound.

Inside the dim chamber, hidden behind a folding screen, stood a small concealed room.

Candles burned with an eerie blue flame.

On a low wooden table rested another ritual arrangement—

A dark altar, marked with strange symbols.

Li Shen’s expression hardened.

"So..."

"There was another one all along."

The ghosts looked at one another in silence.

Someone inside the palace was still working in secret.

And the game was far from over.

The Empress’s courtyard had never felt so quiet.

Morning sunlight filtered through the bamboo leaves, painting shifting shadows across the stone path. Usually, the courtyard was filled with the cheerful voices of maids or Fen Yu’s endless chatter.

Today...

Silence.

Lian An sat alone beneath the ancient plum tree, a cup of tea untouched in front of her.

Her eyes were fixed on the pond.

But she wasn’t seeing the water.

She was thinking.

Thinking about every incident since she had entered the palace.

The lake.

The strange sleepwalking.

The dark altar beneath her meditation chamber.

The ambush outside the palace.

Everything...

Connected.

Behind her, Fen Yu floated nervously.

"You’ve been sitting here for an hour."

"You haven’t said a word."

General Rong crossed his arms.

"She’s thinking."

Li Shen looked toward the Empress.

"She’s connecting the pieces."

The Empress finally spoke.

"...I’ve been foolish."

The three ghosts looked at one another.

"You?" Fen Yu asked.

"You’ve done nothing wrong."

Lian An slowly shook her head.

"I’ve been reacting..."

"...instead of thinking."

She looked toward the sealed meditation chamber.

"The altar wasn’t placed there to kill me."

"It was placed there..."

"...to destroy my reputation."

General Rong frowned.

"What do you mean?"

She stood slowly.

Her voice remained calm.

"When the lake incident failed..."

"When the ambush failed..."

"They changed their strategy."

Fen Yu blinked.

"They?"

The Empress looked directly at her.

"Shin Gu."

Silence filled the courtyard.

Li Shen’s expression became grave.

"You truly believe it’s her?"

The Empress nodded.

"I do."

She began walking slowly beneath the plum blossoms.

"Every incident has benefited only one person."

"When people suspected Lady Chen..."

"...Shin Gu remained untouched."

"When they searched Lady Chen’s residence..."

"...nothing."

"When they searched Princess Zhi’s..."

"...nothing."

"When they searched the Dowager’s..."

"...nothing."

She stopped walking.

"And now..."

"...an altar appears beneath my chamber."

General Rong clenched his jaw.

"Someone wanted everyone to suspect you."

The Empress nodded.

"Exactly."

Fen Yu frowned.

"But everyone still believes you."

Lian An smiled faintly.

"Today they do."

"But what about tomorrow?"

"What if another servant dies?"

"What if another curse appears?"

"What if another ritual is discovered?"

She looked toward the palace beyond the walls.

"They’ll remember today."

"They’ll remember the altar beneath my chamber."

Li Shen slowly nodded.

"The first suspicion always lingers."

The Empress looked at him.

"Yes."

"They don’t need everyone to believe I’m guilty."

"They only need people to wonder."

General Rong’s face darkened.

"...A seed of doubt."

She nodded.

"And once doubt grows..."

"...truth becomes difficult to see."

Fen Yu stamped her foot angrily.

"That wicked woman!"

"I knew she was suspicious!"

The Empress sighed.

"The problem is..."

"I can’t prove it."

Silence returned.

General Rong finally spoke.

"Then why would she reveal the altar?"

"Wouldn’t it have been safer to keep it hidden?"

The Empress turned toward him.

"Because she wanted it discovered."

General Rong frowned.

She continued,

"Think carefully."

"The Emperor ordered every residence searched."

"No courtyard was exempt."

"If nothing had been found..."

"Everyone would have continued suspecting Shin Gu."

Fen Yu’s eyes widened.

"So..."

"So she needed something bigger."

The Empress nodded.

"Exactly."

"A hidden altar beneath the Empress’s meditation chamber."

"What could be more shocking than that?"

Li Shen looked toward the sealed building.

"It changed the entire investigation."

The Empress gave a bitter smile.

"Yes."

"Yesterday everyone was asking whether Shin Gu practiced forbidden arts."

"Today..."

"They’re asking whether I do."

No one spoke.

The realization settled heavily over the courtyard.

General Rong finally broke the silence.

"She wanted a scapegoat."

The Empress looked at him.

"Yes."

"If anything happens now..."

"...people will naturally remember the altar beneath my chamber."

Fen Yu clenched her fists.

"She planned everything."

"She’s evil!"

The Empress closed her eyes briefly.

"And she’s patient."

"Very patient."

Li Shen asked quietly,

"Then what will she do next?"

The Empress opened her eyes.

"I don’t know."

"But I know one thing."

"She won’t stop."

General Rong nodded.

"Because every failure makes her more desperate."

The Empress looked toward the palace rooftops in the distance.

"The ambush outside the palace..."

"It wasn’t just an assassination attempt."

"It was meant to make everyone believe the danger comes from outside."

She folded her arms.

"So while everyone watches the palace gates..."

"...the real enemy continues walking freely inside."

Fen Yu whispered,

"That’s terrifying."

"It is."

The Empress answered honestly.

Then she smiled.

A calm...

Unexpected smile.

The ghosts looked confused.

Fen Yu tilted her head.

"Why are you smiling?"

The Empress looked toward the morning sky.

"Because she made one mistake."

General Rong narrowed his eyes.

"What mistake?"

The Empress’s smile deepened ever so slightly.

"She believes I’m still reacting."

"She thinks I’ll spend all my time proving my innocence."

Li Shen understood immediately.

"But you won’t."

She shook her head.

"No."

"I’ve already accepted something."

"What?"

Fen Yu asked.

The Empress’s eyes became steady.

"I don’t need to chase her."

"I need to make her believe her plan succeeded."

The three ghosts stared at her.

General Rong slowly smiled.

"So..."

"You want her to lower her guard."

The Empress nodded.

"Exactly."

"If Shin Gu believes I’m busy defending myself..."

"...she’ll become confident."

"And confident people..."

She looked toward the sealed meditation chamber.

"...make mistakes."

The courtyard became quiet once more.

But this time—

It was no longer the silence of uncertainty.

It was the silence before a counterattack.

Somewhere else in the palace, Shin Gu believed her trap had worked.

She believed suspicion had begun to spread.

She believed the Empress had become the perfect scapegoat.

What she did not know...

Was that the Empress had finally stopped playing defense.

And from this moment forward—

She would begin watching the hunter instead.

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