Ghost in the palace

The Dowager Empress’s courtyard was unusually quiet that afternoon.

The sunlight that usually made the courtyard feel warm seemed strangely pale beneath the heavy atmosphere hanging over the palace.

The Dowager Empress sat beneath the pavilion, a cup of untouched tea resting before her.

Across from her sat Lady Chen and Princess Zhi.

Neither woman had come for an ordinary conversation.

Their expressions were serious.

Lady Chen kept glancing toward the courtyard entrance, making certain that no unnecessary servant was nearby.

Princess Zhi noticed her nervousness.

"Grandmother," she finally said, lowering her voice, "we need to tell you something."

The Dowager Empress raised her eyes.

"What is it?"

Princess Zhi exchanged a look with Lady Chen.

Then she spoke.

"The Empress is not the culprit."

The Dowager Empress’s fingers stopped moving.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

She had suspected something was wrong for a long time.

But hearing it directly still affected her.

"You are certain?"

Lady Chen nodded.

"We are."

The Dowager Empress looked between them.

"Then who?"

Princess Zhi’s expression hardened.

"Shin Gu."

The name fell into the quiet courtyard like a stone into still water.

The Dowager Empress’s eyes narrowed.

"Shin Gu?"

"Yes," Princess Zhi answered. "We believe she is behind what happened to the Empress."

Lady Chen immediately added, "And she knows far more about these incidents than she should."

The Dowager Empress leaned back.

"Explain everything."

Princess Zhi took a breath.

"We have been trying to understand why the evidence never remains where it should. Every time something happens, suspicion moves toward someone else."

Lady Chen nodded.

"Exactly."

She lowered her voice.

"We believe Shin Gu deliberately arranged it that way."

The Dowager Empress’s expression became thoughtful.

"But if she is responsible, why have you not found proof?"

"That," Princess Zhi said quietly, "is the problem."

She looked toward the entrance again.

"Because Shin Gu seems to know whenever someone is coming to investigate."

The Dowager Empress frowned.

"How?"

"We don’t know."

Lady Chen’s voice was tense.

"But we know something is wrong."

She leaned forward.

"When Your Highness, the Empress, Emperor, Prince Liang, and the General went to inspect the Empress’s courtyard, there was almost nothing there."

The Dowager Empress nodded.

"I remember."

"Yet," Lady Chen continued, "something was found elsewhere."

The Dowager Empress looked at her.

"What?"

"Tailan."

Her expression changed.

"Tailan?"

Princess Zhi nodded.

"It was found in the courtyards connected to us."

The Dowager Empress’s eyes narrowed further.

"And the black altar?"

Lady Chen looked at Princess Zhi.

Princess Zhi answered.

"It was found in the Empress’s courtyard."

The Dowager Empress slowly put down her teacup.

"That makes no sense."

"Exactly," Princess Zhi replied.

The three women fell silent.

The evidence seemed to contradict itself.

If the Empress had truly been responsible, why would she leave something as suspicious as a black altar where investigators could easily discover it?

And if Shin Gu had placed it there—

Why had she done so?

Unless—

She had wanted them to find it.

The Dowager Empress’s expression became colder.

"She wanted everyone to suspect the Empress."

Lady Chen nodded.

"That is what we believe."

"But why?"

Princess Zhi answered immediately.

"Because the Empress survived."

The Dowager Empress looked at her.

Princess Zhi continued.

"Shin Gu tried to destroy her once. She failed. Then the Empress survived the purity ritual. She survived the plague. She survived what should have been impossible."

Her fingers tightened around her sleeve.

"And after all that, the Empress began recovering."

Lady Chen’s eyes darkened.

"Then the Emperor started changing."

The Dowager Empress looked away.

She already understood.

The Emperor no longer treated the Empress as an enemy.

He stayed near her.

He worried about her.

He had even traveled personally to the Duke residence after hearing about the ambush.

His feelings were no longer hidden.

Princess Zhi whispered, "Shin Gu must have realized that if the Emperor’s heart completely returned to the Empress, there would be no place for Lady Chen."

The Dowager Empress looked at Lady Chen.

Lady Chen remained silent.

The accusation was painful.

Yet she did not deny the danger.

Instead, she said quietly, "That is why I believe Shin Gu is desperate."

The Dowager Empress stared at her.

"You believe she is acting because of you?"

"I don’t know," Lady Chen admitted. "But I know she has done things without my permission."

Princess Zhi immediately looked at her.

"And that is why we need to be careful."

The Dowager Empress sighed.

"So much has happened in this palace."

She closed her eyes briefly.

"When I first heard that the Empress had supposedly taken her own life, I thought she had been pushed too far."

Her voice softened.

"But now..."

She opened her eyes.

"I wonder how many things I misunderstood."

Princess Zhi moved closer.

"Grandmother, you weren’t the only one."

The Dowager Empress gave her a tired smile.

"That doesn’t make me feel better."

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then the Dowager Empress asked the question that had been troubling her.

"If Shin Gu is truly behind this, how does she know?"

Lady Chen looked at her.

"That is the mystery."

Princess Zhi nodded.

"We don’t understand it either."

The Dowager Empress frowned.

"Does she have spies?"

"We considered that," Princess Zhi replied.

"But there is something strange."

"What?"

"Sometimes she seems to know before anyone could possibly have informed her."

The Dowager Empress’s expression changed.

"Before?"

"Yes."

Princess Zhi lowered her voice.

"When the Emperor, Prince Liang, the General, and the Empress came to inspect the courtyards, Shin Gu somehow knew enough to make sure nothing suspicious remained."

The Dowager Empress stared at her.

"And yet Tailan appeared in your courtyard."

"Yes."

"And the black altar appeared in the Empress’s courtyard."

"Yes."

"Then someone wanted the investigators to see those things."

Princess Zhi nodded.

"That is what we believe."

The Dowager Empress stood.

She walked slowly toward the edge of the pavilion.

The palace stretched before her.

Beautiful.

Majestic.

Yet suddenly it looked like a maze.

Every corridor could hide a secret.

Every servant could carry information.

Every smile could conceal an intention.

She whispered,

"How can one person move through this palace without leaving a trace?"

Lady Chen answered softly.

"Perhaps she isn’t moving alone."

The Dowager Empress turned.

"What do you mean?"

Lady Chen shook her head.

"I don’t know."

"But we shouldn’t assume Shin Gu is working alone."

Princess Zhi nodded.

"That is why we came to you."

The Dowager Empress studied them both.

"You want me to help?"

"Yes."

Princess Zhi’s answer was immediate.

"We need someone who understands the palace."

The Dowager Empress smiled bitterly.

"I thought I understood it."

She looked toward the distant palace roofs.

"Perhaps I understood only what people wanted me to see."

A faint sound of footsteps came from outside.

All three women immediately turned.

A maid appeared at the entrance and bowed.

"Your Highness."

The Dowager Empress looked at her.

"What is it?"

"The palace guards are changing shifts."

The Dowager Empress nodded.

"Very well. You may leave."

The maid bowed and departed.

Only after the footsteps disappeared did the three women relax.

Princess Zhi whispered,

"See?"

The Dowager Empress frowned.

"See what?"

"We cannot even speak freely anymore."

The Dowager Empress looked around the courtyard.

Then she said firmly,

"From now on, we speak carefully."

Lady Chen nodded.

"And we behave normally."

Princess Zhi smiled faintly.

"Exactly."

The Dowager Empress looked at her.

"Do not let Shin Gu know that you suspect her."

"We won’t."

"And do not let anyone else know."

Lady Chen nodded.

"We understand."

The Dowager Empress returned to her seat.

"But there is still one question."

Princess Zhi waited.

"How did Shin Gu know?"

The courtyard fell silent again.

No one had an answer.

The question seemed simple.

Yet it was perhaps the most dangerous question of all.

If Shin Gu had ordinary spies, they could find them.

If she had bribed servants, they could investigate them.

If she had secretly communicated with someone outside the palace, they could trace the connection.

But what if none of those explanations were correct?

What if there was another method?

Princess Zhi remembered the strange incidents surrounding the Empress.

The lake.

The unexplained movements.

The strange dreams.

The black altar.

The stories of forbidden magic.

Her expression became uneasy.

"Grandmother..."

The Dowager Empress looked at her.

"What?"

Princess Zhi hesitated.

"What if we’re looking for a person when we should be looking for something else?"

Lady Chen’s face changed.

The Dowager Empress stared at her granddaughter.

"What are you suggesting?"

Princess Zhi shook her head.

"I don’t know."

"But after everything that has happened..."

She lowered her voice.

"I don’t think this is ordinary palace scheming anymore."

The Dowager Empress remained silent.

She remembered the strange stories they had recently heard.

People awakening from graves.

Unusual powers.

Ghost breeding.

Forbidden practices.

Things that should have belonged to old legends.

Yet somehow—

They were appearing in their world.

The Dowager Empress slowly closed her hand around her teacup.

"Then we must find the truth before it reaches the Emperor."

Princess Zhi nodded.

"And before Shin Gu realizes that we know."

Lady Chen looked toward the palace walls.

Her eyes were filled with determination.

"We will find out how she knows."

The Dowager Empress looked at both women.

"No matter what it takes."

The three women exchanged a silent look.

Their alliance had changed.

This was no longer about protecting one person.

It was about uncovering an enemy hidden somewhere within the palace.

And somewhere beyond the courtyard—

A faint shadow moved past the corridor.

None of them noticed.

The figure stopped briefly.

Listening.

Then disappeared into the darkness.

The mystery remained.

How had Shin Gu always known?

And more importantly—

Who was telling her?

The answer was still hidden.

But the palace itself seemed to be holding its breath.

Because once the truth surfaced—

No one would be able to pretend the palace was safe again.