Ghost in the palace

The night had settled over the imperial palace.

Most of the servants had returned to their quarters. The corridors were quiet, and only the occasional footsteps of a night guard could be heard beneath the silver moonlight.

But Mei Lan had not slept.

She sat alone in her small room, staring at the little packet of flower seeds still lying on the table.

The seeds were the excuse Shin Gu had given her.

But Mei Lan knew now that they had never been the real reason she had been sent away.

She had witnessed something she was never supposed to see.

A hooded man.

A secret meeting.

A slap.

And words that had changed everything she thought she knew.

The Empress is alive.

Finish the task.

One more failure, and you won’t receive another warning.

Mei Lan’s fingers trembled.

Until tonight, she had believed Shin Gu was the mastermind.

Now she knew she was wrong.

Someone stood above Shin Gu.

Someone powerful enough to frighten her.

Someone who could enter the palace secretly.

And someone who wanted the Empress dead.

Mei Lan rose abruptly.

She couldn’t stay here.

She had to tell someone.

But whom could she trust?

If she went directly to the Emperor, there was no guarantee that the enemy didn’t have spies close to him.

If she went to the guards, the information might spread before the Emperor heard it.

If she told the Empress herself, Shin Gu might discover her betrayal.

Mei Lan closed her eyes.

Then she remembered the person who had originally placed her inside Shin Gu’s courtyard.

The Dowager Empress.

She had been ordered to watch Shin Gu carefully.

And she had promised to report anything suspicious.

This was no longer something suspicious.

This was evidence of a conspiracy.

Mei Lan took a deep breath.

She wrapped her cloak around herself and quietly left her room.

---

The Dowager Empress’s Courtyard

The Dowager Empress was still awake.

She sat beside a small brazier, her hands resting around a cup of tea.

The older woman had been unable to sleep properly for several nights.

Too many strange things had happened.

The Empress had nearly died.

Then she had miraculously awakened.

The palace had mourned her.

The Emperor had refused to believe she was dead.

There had been whispers of dark magic.

The strange attack outside the palace had only deepened the mystery.

And now the Dowager Empress had another concern.

Shin Gu.

She had never completely trusted the woman.

But until now, she had lacked proof.

A maid entered quietly.

"Your Highness."

The Dowager Empress lifted her eyes.

"What is it?"

"There is someone asking to see you."

"At this hour?"

"She says it is urgent."

The Dowager Empress frowned.

"Who?"

"Mei Lan."

Her expression changed immediately.

"Send her in."

A moment later, Mei Lan entered.

She closed the door behind herself.

Then immediately knelt.

"Your Highness."

The Dowager Empress studied her face.

"Stand."

Mei Lan rose.

The older woman noticed the fear in her eyes.

"You look frightened."

Mei Lan swallowed.

"I am."

"What happened?"

Mei Lan looked toward the servants standing nearby.

The Dowager Empress understood.

"Leave us."

The servants bowed and withdrew.

The door closed.

Only then did the Dowager Empress speak.

"Now tell me."

Mei Lan took a shaky breath.

"Your Highness..."

She struggled to find the words.

"I saw someone enter Lady Shin Gu’s courtyard."

The Dowager Empress’s expression immediately became serious.

"Who?"

"I don’t know."

"A servant?"

"No."

"A palace official?"

"No."

"Then who?"

Mei Lan shook her head.

"He wore a hood. His face was hidden."

The Dowager Empress leaned forward.

"What happened?"

Mei Lan told her everything.

She explained how Shin Gu had sent her away to purchase flower seeds.

How she had stopped outside.

How she had heard another person’s voice.

How she had secretly watched through the opening.

And finally—

How the hooded man had struck Shin Gu.

The Dowager Empress listened without interrupting.

But her expression became darker with every word.

When Mei Lan finally finished, silence filled the room.

Then the Dowager Empress asked quietly,

"What did he say about the Empress?"

Mei Lan repeated the words as accurately as she could.

"He said the Empress survived because Shin Gu was incompetent."

The Dowager Empress’s fingers tightened around her teacup.

"And then?"

"He told her to finish the task."

"Did Shin Gu admit anything?"

"She said she could still finish it."

The Dowager Empress closed her eyes briefly.

Everything suddenly connected.

The Empress’s mysterious illness.

The lake.

The attempted killing.

Shin Gu’s strange behavior.

Lady Chen’s closeness to her.

The repeated attempts to harm the Empress.

And now—

A mysterious man giving Shin Gu orders.

The Dowager Empress opened her eyes.

"So Shin Gu is not acting alone."

Mei Lan nodded.

"That is what I believe."

"No."

The Dowager Empress’s voice was firm.

"That is no longer merely a belief."

She looked toward the dark window.

"We have finally found a thread."

---

A Dangerous Realization

The Dowager Empress stood.

She walked slowly across the room.

For years she had lived inside the palace.

She knew its politics.

She knew how power worked.

And she knew one important truth:

A person could be dangerous.

But someone who could make a dangerous person afraid was far more dangerous.

Shin Gu had never appeared frightened of anyone.

Yet tonight—

She had been terrified of the hooded man.

That meant his authority over her was absolute.

The Dowager Empress turned toward Mei Lan.

"Did he call himself anything?"

"No."

"Did Shin Gu address him by name?"

"No."

"Did you recognize his voice?"

"No."

"Did he mention where he came from?"

Mei Lan shook her head.

"Nothing."

The Dowager Empress nodded.

"Then you did the right thing by coming here."

Mei Lan lowered her head.

"I was afraid."

"You should be."

The Dowager Empress’s voice softened.

"Fear is not weakness when it warns you of danger."

Mei Lan looked up.

"What should I do now?"

"Nothing."

Mei Lan looked surprised.

"Nothing?"

"You will return to Shin Gu’s courtyard tomorrow."

Mei Lan’s face paled.

The Dowager Empress continued.

"You must behave exactly as you behaved before."

"But if she suspects—"

"She must not."

The Dowager Empress stepped closer.

"From this moment onward, you know nothing."

Mei Lan nodded.

"If Shin Gu asks whether you heard anything, you heard nothing."

"Yes."

"If she asks about the hooded man, you saw nothing."

"Yes."

"And if the man returns?"

Mei Lan hesitated.

The Dowager Empress looked directly into her eyes.

"Do not approach him."

"Do not follow him."

"Do not try to be brave."

"Listen only if you can do so safely."

Mei Lan nodded.

Then she whispered,

"Your Highness..."

"What?"

"I think he is very powerful."

The Dowager Empress’s expression became solemn.

"I think so too."

---

The Dowager Empress Finally Understands

After Mei Lan left, the Dowager Empress remained awake.

She stood beside the window.

Moonlight illuminated the palace roofs.

Everything appeared peaceful.

But she no longer believed in that peace.

Someone had been moving unseen beneath it.

For a long time she had suspected that Shin Gu had been involved in the Empress’s suffering.

But she had wondered why.

What did Shin Gu gain?

Power?

Influence?

Lady Chen’s advancement?

Perhaps.

But those reasons alone had never completely satisfied her.

Now she understood.

Shin Gu wasn’t simply pursuing her own ambition.

She was following orders.

And the person giving those orders had enough power to reach her inside the imperial palace.

The Dowager Empress whispered,

"Who are you?"

There was no answer.

Only the wind.

She turned toward the door.

"Prepare a message."

A maid entered.

"Your Highness?"

"Tomorrow morning, I want the Emperor informed."

The maid hesitated.

"Immediately?"

The Dowager Empress nodded.

"But do not mention Mei Lan’s name."

"Yes."

"And tell His Majesty that I have reason to believe Shin Gu is receiving instructions from an unidentified person."

The maid bowed.

"Understood."

The Dowager Empress looked toward the darkness again.

"And tell him..."

She paused.

"...that the person may be connected to the attempts against the Empress."

---

Meanwhile, in Shin Gu’s Courtyard

Shin Gu sat alone.

The bruise on her cheek remained faintly visible.

She touched it.

Her eyes burned with humiliation.

She had never forgotten insults.

But tonight was different.

She wasn’t angry only because the man had struck her.

She was angry because she had failed.

Again.

The Empress should have died.

Yet somehow—

She had returned from the edge of death.

Shin Gu still couldn’t understand it.

She had watched the plan unfold.

She had believed there was no possibility of failure.

But the Empress had survived.

Again.

Shin Gu stared toward the palace.

"What are you?"

She whispered.

The question had begun haunting her.

Every time she believed the Empress was finished—

Something happened.

The woman survived the purity test.

Survived the plague.

Survived the lake.

Survived the attack.

And even death itself seemed unable to hold her.

Shin Gu’s fingers curled.

But she couldn’t allow fear to control her.

The hooded man’s warning echoed in her mind.

One more failure.

She closed her eyes.

"I won’t fail."

But deep inside—

For the first time—

Shin Gu wondered whether the Empress was protected by something far beyond ordinary human strength.

---

Someone Was Listening

Neither Shin Gu nor the Dowager Empress knew that the palace contained another secret.

In the Empress’s courtyard—

Fen Yu suddenly stopped laughing.

Wei Rong looked toward the corridor.

Li Shen slowly lowered the book he had been pretending to read.

The Empress noticed.

"What happened?"

Li Shen’s expression was serious.

"Someone is moving."

"Who?"

"We don’t know."

Fen Yu frowned.

"But there is a strange spiritual disturbance."

Wei Rong nodded.

"Something has changed tonight."

The Empress stood.

"Where?"

Li Shen looked toward the distant palace.

"Shin Gu’s direction."

The Empress’s expression became thoughtful.

Again.

The same courtyard.

The same mysterious darkness.

She had spent enough time believing her enemies were merely ordinary people.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Fen Yu floated closer.

"Something big is coming."

Wei Rong nodded.

"Very big."

Li Shen sighed.

"And I suspect we’re going to have even more ghosts involved."

The Empress stared at him.

"Why?"

Li Shen pointed toward the courtyard entrance.

"Because half the palace ghosts are already gathering outside."

The Empress closed her eyes.

"Of course they are."

Fen Yu laughed.

"We have an audience."

The Empress sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder whether I am the Empress of this palace..."

She opened her eyes.

"...or the landlord of a ghost village."

The three ghosts laughed.

But beneath their laughter—

They all sensed it.

Something dark was approaching.

Something that had been hidden for a long time.

And now—

A single frightened maid had unknowingly pulled the first thread loose.

Soon, the Emperor would learn that Shin Gu had not been acting alone.

And once he knew that—

The hunt for the hooded man would begin.

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