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Ghost in the palace

Chapter 354: the kingdom in the brink · Nov 02, 2026

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Chapter List (462)

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351 Chapter 351: The Message in the Night 2026-11-02
352 Chapter 352: The Dowager’s Warning 2026-11-02
353 Chapter 353: the kingdom uneasy 2026-11-02
354 Chapter 354: the kingdom in the brink 2026-11-02
355 Chapter 355: The Forgotten Shadow 2026-11-02
356 Chapter 356: whisper in the garden 2026-11-02
357 Chapter 357: the women who returned from the forest 2026-11-02
358 Chapter 358: the trails lead to north 2026-11-02
359 Chapter 359: Whispers Across the Kingdom 2026-11-02
360 Chapter 360: hunt for the hidden cult 2026-11-02
361 Chapter 361: The Suggestion No One Had Considered 2026-11-02
362 Chapter 362: midnight inspection 2026-11-02
363 Chapter 363: The Traitor’s Letter 2026-11-02
364 Chapter 364: The Empire Stands Firm 2026-11-02
365 Chapter 365: The Fallen Minister 2026-11-02
366 Chapter 366: The Shadow on the Terrace 2026-11-02
367 Chapter 367: The Man Beneath the Hood 2026-11-02
368 Chapter 368: Unnamed A New Shadow 2026-11-02
369 Chapter 369: The Mysterious Letter 2026-11-02
370 Chapter 370: The Hand Behind the Shadows 2026-11-02
371 Chapter 371: The Man Who Walked Among Ghosts 2026-11-02
372 Chapter 372: doomed 2026-11-02
373 Chapter 373: The Letter of Doom 2026-11-02
374 Chapter 374: – The Price of Dark Magic 2026-11-02
375 Chapter 375: The Second Phase 2026-11-02
376 Chapter 376: The Shadow Over the Kingdom 2026-11-02
377 Chapter 377: The Shadow in Princess Zhi’s Courtyard 2026-11-02
378 Chapter 378: A Shadow of Death 2026-11-02
379 Chapter 379: The Black Magic Plague 2026-11-02
380 Chapter 380: The Courtyard Without Life 2026-11-02
381 Chapter 381: ghost staring 2026-11-02
382 Chapter 382: A Dangerous Truth 2026-11-02
383 Chapter 383: the empty cotyard 2026-11-02
384 Chapter 384: doubt 2026-11-02
385 Chapter 385: the trap 2026-11-02
386 Chapter 386: The Trap Behind the Trap 2026-11-02
387 Chapter 387: The Rumor That Set the Capital Ablaze 2026-11-02
388 Chapter 388: The Ministers Who Demanded Judgment 2026-11-02
389 Chapter 389: The Ministers’ Demand 2026-11-02
390 Chapter 390: The Missing Talisman 2026-11-02
391 Chapter 391: — A Midnight Visit 2026-11-02
392 Chapter 392: Fen Yu’s Terrible Date 2026-11-02
393 Chapter 393: The Silent Courtyard 2026-11-02
394 Chapter 394: The Ghosts Who Would Not Stop Fighting 2026-11-02
395 Chapter 395: The Court Demands Blood 2026-11-02
396 Chapter 396: The Whisper That Turned Into a Storm 2026-11-02
397 Chapter 397: The Mystery Beneath the Palace 2026-11-02
398 Chapter 398: The Maid Who Wasn’t What She Seemed 2026-11-02
399 Chapter 399: Whispers Beneath the Moon 2026-11-02
400 Chapter 400: The Black Altar 2026-11-02

The Imperial Study was unusually quiet.

Outside, dawn had barely broken. Mist lingered over the palace roofs, and the cries of the morning birds seemed strangely subdued.

Inside the study, scrolls covered the Emperor’s desk.

Reports from the capital.

Reports from the provinces.

Reports from noble families.

Every scroll seemed to tell the same story.

Dead birds.

Crying voices in the middle of the night.

Animals refusing to enter courtyards.

Children waking from nightmares.

Servants resigning out of fear.

And now...

Noble families openly threatening to leave the kingdom if the court could not restore peace.

The Emperor rubbed his temples.

For the first time since ascending the throne...

He felt powerless.

A knock came at the door.

”Enter.”

Prince Liang walked inside carrying another bundle of reports.

His expression was as grim as the Emperor’s.

”They’ve arrived.”

”The latest reports?”

Prince Liang nodded.

”They’re worse than yesterday.”

He placed the scrolls on the table.

”The western prefecture has reported identical incidents.”

”The southern villages have begun abandoning their homes after sunset.”

”The northern merchants refuse to travel at night.”

The Emperor slowly closed his eyes.

”The fear is spreading faster than the incidents themselves.”

Prince Liang nodded.

”Fear is becoming our greatest enemy.”

The Emperor stood and walked toward the window.

Below, palace servants carried on with their duties as if everything were normal.

But he knew the truth.

Even they whispered.

Even they feared the darkness.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

”The nobles have lost confidence.”

Prince Liang remained quiet.

”They believe we cannot protect them.”

”They’re threatening to leave the kingdom.”

”If they do...”

The Emperor’s voice trailed off.

Prince Liang finished the thought.

”The kingdom’s stability will collapse.”

Trade would suffer.

The economy would weaken.

Neighboring kingdoms would notice.

Political enemies would move.

All because of an unseen enemy.

The Emperor clenched his hands behind his back.

”I don’t even know where to begin.”

It was the first time he had admitted those words aloud.

Prince Liang looked at his brother.

”You’ve carried this burden alone for too long.”

The Emperor gave a faint, tired smile.

”A ruler doesn’t have the luxury of appearing uncertain.”

Prince Liang stepped closer.

”But today you’re speaking only to your brother.”

Silence settled between them.

Finally, Prince Liang spoke.

”We have to stop this.”

The Emperor looked at him.

”If this continues...”

”The people will stop believing these are isolated incidents.”

”They already know.”

Prince Liang’s voice lowered.

”They’re saying it openly now.”

”They believe black magic has returned.”

The words lingered heavily in the room.

Black magic.

A forbidden practice erased from history generations ago.

Or so everyone believed.

The Emperor slowly nodded.

”I’ve heard the same rumors.”

Prince Liang folded his arms.

”And once ordinary people believe dark magic walks among them...”

”...panic spreads faster than truth.”

The Emperor returned to his desk and opened an old leather-bound journal.

”I never told you everything.”

Prince Liang frowned slightly.

”What do you mean?”

The Emperor turned several pages before stopping.

”Four months ago...”

”...I received intelligence from our northern border.”

Prince Liang’s expression became serious.

”The northern frontier?”

The Emperor nodded.

”There were reports of something they called...”

”...ghost breeding.”

Prince Liang frowned.

”I’ve heard the term.”

”But only as folklore.”

The Emperor slid the report across the table.

”Our spies found isolated groups claiming that wandering spirits sought out living humans.”

”They believed prolonged exposure changed a person’s body and mind.”

Prince Liang quietly read the faded report.

”The victims became stronger...”

”...their behavior changed...”

”...they heard whispers...”

”...and gradually lost themselves.”

He looked up.

”Was any of it verified?”

The Emperor shook his head.

”No.”

”Every investigation ended the same way.”

”No physical evidence.”

”No captured practitioners.”

”No surviving witnesses willing to testify.”

”It was dismissed as superstition.”

Prince Liang looked thoughtful.

”But you never dismissed it.”

The Emperor answered honestly.

”I couldn’t.”

He walked slowly across the room.

”Because the reports shared too many similarities.”

”People behaving strangely.”

”Whispers.”

”Unnatural strength.”

”Fear spreading from village to village.”

Prince Liang nodded slowly.

”It sounds disturbingly similar.”

”But...”

He paused.

”The palace incidents are different.”

The Emperor looked at him.

”Exactly.”

”The northern reports described gradual change.”

”But here...”

He remembered the Empress walking toward the lake without awareness.

Princess Zhi speaking of whispers before her tragedy.

The strange crying heard through empty corridors.

The unexplained attacks.

The invisible force that seemed to touch only certain people.

”Our enemy isn’t following the same pattern.”

Prince Liang closed the report.

”So either...”

”...this is something entirely different.”

”Or...”

The Emperor finished his sentence.

”...someone has improved upon it.”

The room fell silent.

Neither brother liked that possibility.

Prince Liang finally spoke.

”Then we need to stop searching only within the palace.”

The Emperor nodded.

”We expand the investigation.”

”The northern frontier.”

”The villages.”

”The abandoned temples.”

”The old records of forbidden cultivation.”

”Everything.”

Prince Liang’s eyes brightened slightly.

”I’ll personally oversee the investigation.”

The Emperor placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

”Be careful.”

”If we’re right...”

”...the people behind this have remained hidden for years.”

”They won’t reveal themselves willingly.”

Prince Liang gave a determined nod.

”Then we’ll make them.”

The Emperor looked toward the palace gardens.

Somewhere beyond those peaceful walls...

Someone was manipulating fear.

Someone was watching the kingdom descend into chaos.

And somewhere in the shadows...

The true mastermind was waiting for the royal family to make the wrong move.

The Emperor’s eyes hardened.

”No matter who they are...”

”...this ends now.”

The Dowager Empress sat alone in her private chamber.

The afternoon sun filtered through the carved lattice windows, yet the warmth failed to reach her heart.

Before her lay dozens of reports collected from every corner of the kingdom.

One by one, she opened them.

Cheng Residence.

Dead birds covering the courtyard.

Shen Residence.

Strange crying voices echoing through the halls after midnight.

Tao Residence.

Servants refusing to remain after sunset.

Southern Province.

Children waking in terror, claiming someone whispered outside their windows.

Northern Villages.

Livestock dying without wounds.

The Dowager Empress slowly closed the final report.

It was no longer just the palace.

The entire kingdom was suffering.

A trusted maid entered quietly and bowed.

”Your Majesty.”

The Dowager Empress looked up.

”What is it?”

”The ministers have reported that several noble families have spoken openly.”

”They say if the court cannot restore peace...”

”...they will move their families to neighboring kingdoms until the situation is resolved.”

The Dowager Empress’s fingers tightened around the scroll.

”So it has come to this.”

The maid hesitated.

”They are losing faith.”

After dismissing the maid, the Dowager Empress walked toward the window.

The palace gardens looked peaceful.

Flowers bloomed.

Birds flew overhead.

Yet beneath that beauty...

Fear had taken root.

She whispered softly,

”Where did all of this begin?”

As soon as the words left her lips—

A memory surfaced.

One she had tried to bury for more than twenty years.

---

The northern campaign.

Her late husband, the Emperor, had spent nearly a year suppressing a rebellion in the north.

When he finally returned...

He was different.

Not in his love for her.

Never in that.

But there had been whispers among the attendants.

Whispers about a woman from the northern tribes.

A woman said to possess unusual knowledge of ancient rituals and forgotten customs.

The Dowager Empress still remembered the day she first saw her.

Beautiful.

Quiet.

Her eyes carried an unsettling calm.

Later, the truth emerged.

The woman claimed she had forced herself upon the Emperor during the campaign.

Whether through deception, coercion, or another circumstance, the incident had become a political nightmare.

The northern tribes were still unstable.

Punishing her immediately could have reignited rebellion.

The ministers had begged for restraint.

The late Emperor himself had looked ashamed.

”I never accepted her,” he had once told the Dowager Empress in private.

”My heart has always belonged to you.”

She had believed him.

And she had chosen the kingdom over her anger.

The woman was allowed to remain under guard rather than face immediate punishment.

Months later...

She returned carrying an infant.

She declared before the court,

”This is the Emperor’s son.”

The palace had erupted into chaos.

Officials demanded an investigation.

The Dowager Empress remembered every painful moment.

The late Emperor had ordered a thorough inquiry.

Witnesses were questioned.

Records examined.

The truth remained uncertain, but the woman attempted to use the child to gain influence over the throne.

The Emperor refused.

According to the laws of the empire, she had committed grave crimes against the throne and attempted to manipulate the succession.

After judgment by the imperial court...

She was executed.

The child disappeared from the historical records, placed under the care of distant officials according to palace law.

The Dowager Empress had never spoken of those events again.

Until now.

She slowly sat down.

”...Could it be connected?”

She had no evidence.

Only memories.

Only instinct.

She remembered the strange customs that woman had spoken about.

Ancient northern beliefs.

Rituals no one in the capital understood.

At the time...

The Dowager Empress had dismissed them as superstition.

Now...

With the kingdom descending into fear...

She was no longer certain.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

”Come in.”

The Emperor entered.

He immediately noticed her troubled expression.

”Mother.”

”You seem worried.”

She gestured for him to sit.

”There is something I have never fully told you.”

The Emperor listened quietly.

She spoke of the northern campaign.

Of the woman.

Of the political crisis that had nearly divided the empire.

When she finished, the room remained silent.

Finally, the Emperor asked,

”Do you believe she is responsible for what is happening now?”

The Dowager Empress slowly shook her head.

”I don’t know.”

”She died many years ago.”

She looked into her son’s eyes.

”But perhaps...”

”...someone learned what she knew.”

The Emperor’s expression grew serious.

”You think these events may trace back to the north.”

”I think we cannot ignore that possibility any longer.”

He nodded slowly.

”I will order the archives opened again.”

”Every record from the northern campaign.”

”Every report.”

”Every witness.”

”If there is even the smallest clue...”

”...we will find it.”

The Dowager Empress managed a faint smile.

”I hope you’re right.”

Outside, the evening wind swept through the palace gardens.

Far beyond the capital...

Somewhere in the distant north...

The past still waited.

And neither mother nor son realized that the answers they sought had been buried for decades, patiently waiting to be uncovered.

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