Ghost in the palace

The Imperial Palace welcomed a rare kind of morning.

Peace.

For the first time in many nights, no frightened servants spoke of strange cries echoing through the halls. No maids whispered about unsettling dreams. Even the palace guards remarked that the night watch had been unusually quiet.

As dawn painted the palace roofs gold, servants smiled more easily.

”It was the first full night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks.”

”I didn’t wake up even once.”

”Perhaps the palace’s bad fortune is finally leaving.”

Hope, however small, had begun to return.

---

Inside the Empress’s courtyard, Lian An was enjoying a quiet breakfast when one of her maids entered with a respectful bow.

”Your Majesty.”

”A message has arrived.”

The Empress looked up.

”For me?”

The maid nodded and presented a neatly folded letter.

Lian An unfolded it.

The elegant handwriting was unmistakable.

Lady Chen.

She read silently.

> Your Majesty, if you are willing, I would like to invite you and Princess Zhi for tea this afternoon at the Pearl Garden. I hope we may speak peacefully.

The Empress read the letter twice.

Surprise flickered across her face.

”...Lady Chen?”

She could hardly believe it.

Ever since the incident that had shaken the palace, Lady Chen had kept her distance. There had been no arguments, no attempts to provoke her, and no unnecessary meetings.

It was... different.

Very different.

---

Later that morning, Princess Zhi arrived carrying a similar invitation.

She sat beside the Empress.

”You received one too?”

The Empress nodded and handed her the letter.

Princess Zhi read it before looking up in surprise.

”I never imagined she would invite us.”

”Neither did I.”

Princess Zhi smiled thoughtfully.

”Perhaps people really can change.”

The Empress folded the letter carefully.

”Perhaps.”

”Shall we go?”

Princess Zhi nodded.

”If she truly wishes to make peace, I think we should hear her.”

---

That afternoon, the Pearl Garden was breathtaking.

Pearl-white blossoms covered the trees.

A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of fresh flowers through winding stone paths.

At the center of the garden stood a small pavilion overlooking a clear pond where colorful koi swam lazily.

Lady Chen was already waiting.

She wore a simple pale-blue dress without excessive jewelry.

When she saw them approach, she stood immediately.

”Your Majesty.”

”Princess.”

She bowed respectfully.

The Empress and Princess Zhi returned the greeting before taking their seats.

For a few moments, no one spoke.

Only the sound of birds and flowing water filled the silence.

Tea was poured.

Lady Chen personally served both cups.

Finally, she took a quiet breath.

”...Thank you for coming.”

Princess Zhi smiled politely.

”We were curious.”

Lady Chen lowered her eyes.

”I would have been curious too.”

She held her teacup with both hands.

”There is something I have wanted to say.”

The Empress listened quietly.

Lady Chen slowly looked at both women.

”I owe you both an apology.”

Neither of them interrupted.

”In the past...”

”I was proud.”

”I believed only my own feelings mattered.”

”I judged people too quickly.”

”I never stopped to ask whether I was right or wrong.”

Her voice remained calm, though there was sadness in her eyes.

”I caused misunderstandings.”

”I made this palace colder than it needed to be.”

Princess Zhi remained silent, allowing her to continue.

Lady Chen turned toward the Empress.

”Your Majesty...”

”I am truly sorry.”

The Empress studied her expression carefully.

Lady Chen did not avoid her gaze.

She simply continued honestly.

”I cannot erase the past.”

”But I hope I can become a better person than I was yesterday.”

The garden became quiet once more.

Princess Zhi finally spoke.

”Realizing one’s mistakes is never easy.”

Lady Chen nodded.

”It wasn’t.”

She smiled faintly.

”But I’ve had a great deal of time to think.”

She turned fully toward the Empress.

”I also hope...”

”...that one day we may treat each other like sisters rather than rivals.”

The Empress was visibly surprised.

Before she could respond, Lady Chen gently reached across the table and lightly held her hand.

Her voice was warm.

”His Majesty’s attention belongs with you.”

”In the past...”

”I often stood between you both.”

She smiled sadly.

”I understand that now.”

”I don’t wish to do that anymore.”

Princess Zhi’s eyes widened.

The Empress blinked in surprise.

Lady Chen continued softly,

”I’ve decided to give the two of you the space you deserve.”

She laughed quietly at herself.

”And perhaps...”

”I should spend more time discovering who I am instead of chasing someone who cannot return my feelings.”

Princess Zhi stared.

”...You truly mean that?”

Lady Chen nodded.

”I do.”

”Life is too long to spend it holding onto something that was never mine.”

The Empress remained thoughtful.

After a long silence, she spoke gently.

”People cannot change the past.”

”But they can choose what they do next.”

Lady Chen’s eyes brightened slightly.

”Thank you.”

Sensing the conversation had grown too emotional, Lady Chen smiled and deliberately changed the subject.

”Enough serious talk.”

She pointed toward a flower bed nearby.

”Have either of you seen the new pearl orchids bloom?”

Princess Zhi immediately turned.

”They’re beautiful!”

The three women rose and slowly walked through the garden together.

Lady Chen began explaining how the palace gardeners had cultivated the rare flowers.

Princess Zhi eagerly asked questions.

The Empress quietly admired the blossoms.

The earlier heaviness gradually disappeared.

For the first time, they spoke not of politics, misunderstandings, or the Emperor—

But of flowers, books, music, and the changing seasons.

As the afternoon sunlight filtered through the blooming trees, laughter echoed softly through the Pearl Garden.

The palace servants watching from afar exchanged surprised glances.

No one had expected to see the Empress, Princess Zhi, and Lady Chen walking side by side beneath the blossoms.

Whether this new understanding would endure, only time would tell.

But on that peaceful afternoon, beneath the pearl-white flowers, the first fragile steps toward reconciliation had finally begun.

Chapter — Letting the Heart Breathe

The afternoon sun filtered softly through the carved wooden windows of the Duke residence.

The fragrance of freshly brewed tea still lingered in the air.

Lian An walked slowly through the quiet corridor after finishing her conversation with Lady Chen.

The meeting had been... unexpected.

Very unexpected.

She had prepared herself for another subtle confrontation.

Another hidden barb behind polite words.

Another attempt to provoke her.

Instead...

Lady Chen had been calm.

Respectful.

Almost... distant.

No sharp remarks.

No attempts to create misunderstanding.

No deliberate closeness with the Emperor.

Lian An reached the small lotus pavilion in the garden and dismissed the maids with a gentle smile.

”I’ll sit here for a while.”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once they left, silence embraced the pavilion.

Only the sound of flowing water remained.

She rested her hands on the wooden railing.

”...How strange.”

A gentle breeze lifted a strand of her hair.

Not long ago...

She had already made up her mind.

She would leave.

She would ask the Emperor for a divorce once everything settled.

Their marriage had begun with misunderstanding.

Distrust.

Coldness.

Pain.

There had been days when merely seeing him exhausted her.

There had been nights when she questioned why fate had brought her into the palace at all.

Then...

Everything started changing.

Not suddenly.

Slowly.

Almost so slowly that she hadn’t noticed.

The Emperor no longer ignored her.

He visited her courtyard.

Shared meals.

Asked about her health.

Listened instead of judging.

Even after she nearly died...

He never left her side.

Lian An lowered her eyes.

She could still remember waking to find him beside her bed.

His eyes...

Red from sleepless nights.

His hands...

Holding hers as though afraid she would disappear again.

She sighed softly.

”...What happened to us?”

Her thoughts drifted to Lady Chen.

For the longest time...

She believed Lady Chen was the person the Emperor truly loved.

That belief had become so natural she had stopped questioning it.

It was easier that way.

If his heart belonged elsewhere...

Then leaving him would hurt less.

But now...

Lady Chen herself had stepped back.

She no longer sought the Emperor’s attention as before.

She no longer appeared at every opportunity.

The tension between them had quietly faded.

Lian An frowned slightly.

”If Lady Chen is no longer standing between us...”

”...then what am I waiting for?”

The question lingered.

She didn’t have an answer.

Behind her, unseen by ordinary eyes, the three ghosts quietly appeared.

Fen Yu floated onto the pavilion railing.

”You’ve been thinking for too long.”

Wei Rong folded his arms.

”Your face looks serious again.”

Li Shen smiled knowingly.

”You are arguing with yourself.”

Lian An smiled helplessly.

”I suppose I am.”

Fen Yu tilted her head.

”So?”

”Have you decided?”

Lian An looked toward the lotus pond.

”...Not yet.”

Wei Rong frowned.

”About what?”

She remained silent for a moment.

Then answered honestly.

”I wanted to divorce him.”

The three ghosts became quiet.

Fen Yu blinked.

”...Past tense?”

Lian An nodded slowly.

”Yes.”

She clasped her hands together.

”But now...”

”I’m confused.”

Li Shen stepped closer.

”Because he changed?”

”...Yes.”

”Or because you changed?”

Lian An looked at him.

The question struck deeper than she expected.

Had she changed?

She remembered the Emperor kissing her forehead in the duke palace in the past

There had been no force.

No demand.

Only gentle patience.

”I’ll wait until you trust me.”

Those words echoed again.

Her cheeks warmed slightly at the memory.

Fen Yu noticed immediately.

”You’re blushing!”

”I’m not.”

”You are!”

Wei Rong chuckled quietly.

”The mighty Empress has become shy.”

Lian An covered her face for a moment.

”Stop teasing me.”

Fen Yu giggled.

”You like him.”

”I didn’t say that.”

”You don’t have to.”

Lian An sighed.

”I don’t know.”

”And that’s the truth.”

She looked back toward the garden.

”I don’t know what he truly wants.”

”He says one thing.”

”But feelings...”

”...are more complicated.”

She wasn’t afraid of loving.

She was afraid of misunderstanding.

Again.

She had already experienced what happened when assumptions ruled a marriage.

She didn’t want to repeat it.

Li Shen nodded thoughtfully.

”Then don’t assume.”

She looked at him.

”Ask.”

Lian An shook her head.

”Not yet.”

”He has his thoughts.”

”I have mine.”

”We’re only beginning to understand each other.”

Fen Yu smiled brightly.

”Then let time help.”

Silence returned.

This time...

It felt peaceful.

Lian An closed her eyes briefly.

”...Perhaps that’s enough.”

She had spent so much time trying to decide everything immediately.

Stay.

Leave.

Forgive.

Forget.

Maybe...

Life didn’t always require immediate answers.

Maybe some questions deserved time.

She opened her eyes and smiled faintly.

”I’ll stop forcing an answer.”

Wei Rong nodded.

”Wise.”

Fen Yu clapped happily.

”So?”

Lian An stood.

Her expression lighter than before.

”I’ll let things happen naturally.”

She smiled softly.

”If he truly wants this marriage...”

”His actions will tell me.”

”And if they don’t...”

She shrugged gently.

”I’ll know my answer then.”

She looked toward the distant residence where laughter from her family echoed.

For now—

There was a wedding to celebrate.

A family to cherish.

A kingdom facing unseen dangers.

There would be time later to understand her own heart.

She didn’t need to decide today.

She would simply...

Walk forward.

One step at a time.

And let the future reveal what neither of them could yet put into words.