Ghost in the palace

The second morning of her stay at the Lian residence dawned clear and bright, the kind of morning that should have felt peaceful.

But even peace in a noble household could feel fragile—like porcelain, too easily cracked.

Ananya sat beneath the veranda, the scent of her mother’s tea mingling with the warmth of the sun.

For the first time in months, she heard laughter—her sister’s voice drifting from the courtyard, her mother calling out to the maids.

It should have comforted her.

But the stillness around her had weight. Something in the air had shifted.

Fen Yu lay sprawled on her stomach atop the low table, sighing dreamily. ”It’s so quiet here. No scheming concubines, no cold Emperor, no creepy eunuchs... just warmth.”

Wei Rong snorted. ”Don’t get soft. Peace never lasts long when she’s around.”

Li Shen’s fan flicked open with a soft snap. ”He’s not wrong.”

Ananya smiled faintly. ”You’re both terrible omens.”

Not far away, at the outer courtyard gate, a cloaked woman knelt on the stone path, her face pale beneath the morning light.

”I am Yao Qing,” she said, voice trembling. ”Please tell Her Highness the Queen Consort that I’ve come. I only need a few words.”

Grand Eunuch Gao stood stiffly before the iron gate, expression as cold as the marble beneath his shoes.

”By order of the Dowager Empress, Her Highness receives no outside visitors,” he said. ”Especially not commoners.”

”I am not a stranger!” Yao Qing cried, clutching her sleeve. ”We were raised together—she would never turn me away!”

”The Dowager’s word is law,” Gao replied, not even glancing at her. ”Go home, before I have the guards remove you.”

The woman’s voice cracked. ”Please... just tell her I came.”

But Gao had already turned, his steps soft and final. The gate slammed shut.

Near the eaves, Fen Yu, invisible to all, had been chasing dragonflies over the wall. She froze midair, her face falling as she watched the scene unfold.

When she darted back to the courtyard, her voice was sharp with outrage. ”That awful bald frog turned your friend away!”

Ananya’s hand stilled mid-tea pour. ”What did you say?”

Fen Yu flailed dramatically. ”Your friend! The one who used to sneak sweets to you when you were little! She was crying at the gate! Gao said the Dowager forbade anyone from seeing you.”

Wei Rong cracked his knuckles. ”If I still had fists, I’d punch that old snake.”

Li Shen’s eyes narrowed. ”So the Dowager wants her isolated. No visitors, no whispers. Someone fears she might learn too much.”

Ananya set the teapot down carefully. ”Then we’ll learn what they don’t want us to.”

That evening, after dinner, the lamps burned low in the Lian residence. The maids had withdrawn, and the halls had fallen into stillness.

Ananya called softly, ”Lian Hua.”

Her younger sister peeked into the room, her cheeks flushed from the kitchen’s warmth. ”Sister?”

”Do you remember my friend Yao Qing?”

Lian Hua nodded. ”The merchant’s daughter with the pretty braids? Of course.”

”She came to see me today,” Ananya said quietly. ”The eunuch refused her at the gate. I need you to fetch her—discreetly.”

Lian Hua blinked. ”Fetch her? But the Dowager—”

”The Dowager forbade me,” Ananya said with a faint smile. ”She said nothing about you.”

From above, Fen Yu twirled midair, grinning. ”Oh, clever!”

Li Shen smirked faintly. ”She’s learning fast.”

Wei Rong cracked a ghostly grin. ”Finally, a plan worth watching.”

Ananya took her sister’s hands. ”Use the back garden gate, the one by the mulberry hedge. Wait until the guards change. Bring her to the willow grove near the pond. Quietly.”

Lian Hua’s eyes gleamed with mischief. ”It’ll be our secret.”

The garden shimmered beneath moonlight, silver dew glinting on the grass. The old willow tree swayed softly, its long branches brushing the pond’s surface.

Ananya stood beneath its shadow, cloak drawn close. The ghosts lingered nearby, keeping watch.

Fen Yu whispered, ”Two guards, ten paces away.”

Wei Rong’s grin widened. ”I’ll handle it.”

Moments later, a clay pot crashed near the corridor. The guards jumped.

”What was that?!”

”Rats again?”

”No—too heavy!”

They ran off, shouting.

Fen Yu giggled behind her hand. ”Brilliant!”

The gate creaked open. Lian Hua slipped in, guiding a veiled figure whose steps faltered.

”An’an,” Yao Qing breathed, her voice breaking.

Ananya pulled her close, steadying her. ”You shouldn’t be here. What happened?”

Yao Qing lifted her head, and in the moonlight, her face looked hollow. ”Everything. The Chen family destroyed us.”

Ananya frowned. ”How?”

”My father’s office was seized,” Yao Qing said, her words tumbling out. ”They forged ledgers, accused him of stealing border grain. He tried to fight it, but no one dared speak for him. They took our house, our silver, even Mother’s hairpins.”

Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper. ”And now—they’ve arranged to sell me as a concubine. To Lord Hui. He’s old enough to be my grandfather.”

Ananya’s chest tightened. ”They can’t.”

”They will, tomorrow morning.”

For a moment, the night seemed to still. The rippling pond, the whispering willows—everything hushed.

Ananya took her friend’s cold hands in hers. ”You’ll not go to him. I promise you.”

Yao Qing’s eyes shone with disbelief. ”You can’t stop them, An’an. You’re in the palace now. You can’t even step outside freely.”

”Maybe not freely,” Ananya said, her tone soft but sure. ”But I still have reach.”

From the shadows, Li Shen murmured, ”She means the Duke.”

Wei Rong smirked. ”And the Emperor won’t stay blind forever.”

Yao Qing reached into her sleeve, pulling out a crumpled parchment sealed in fading red wax. ”My father hid this before the officials came. It’s a page from the Chen family’s grain records—proof they diverted the shipments meant for the border. If the Emperor sees this, they’ll fall.”

Ananya’s fingers brushed the paper, her heart pounding. ”Then this stays with me. You’ll go into hiding.”

”I can’t—”

”You must,” Ananya said firmly. ”Lian Hua will help you leave at dawn, through the silk traders’ route. Go to the temple near the river—there’s a widow there who shelters women. Stay quiet. Wait for my word.”

Tears spilled down Yao Qing’s cheeks. ”An’an, if they find out—”

”Let them try.”

Ananya tucked the ledger deep into her sleeve. ”They’ve already taken your family’s honor. I’ll take their truth.”