Night settled heavily over the palace, the kind of night that pressed down on the chest and made even breathing feel loud. Empress Lian An sat alone in her chamber, the lamp beside her flickering weakly, shadows crawling up the walls like restless thoughts.
Her fingers clenched slowly.
Princess Zhi's pale face. The pool of blood. The baby that never cried.
Someone had done this.
She was certain of it.
And yet… every path she chased led only to silence.
A cold wind brushed past her ear.
One by one, the ghosts began to appear.
Wei Rong, the general ghost, stood stiffly near the pillar, arms crossed, brows furrowed deep in thought.
Li Shen, the scholar ghost, hovered near the window, folding and unfolding his sleeves as if still sorting through records that no longer existed.
Fen Yu, the female ghost, lingered closest to the Empress, her earlier playfulness completely gone, her eyes rimmed red.
They had been gone all night.
Searching.
Asking.
