Ghost in the palace

Morning sunlight spilled across the Empress’s courtyard, turning the stone paths golden and making the dew on the flowers sparkle.

The palace had begun another busy day.

Servants moved quietly through the courtyard, carrying breakfast trays and fresh tea. Birds chirped from the trees, and somewhere beyond the walls, the sound of bells marked the beginning of the day’s court.

Inside the Empress’s chamber, however, peace had already been destroyed.

Not by assassins.

Not by dark magic.

Not even by palace intrigue.

But by three ghosts arguing loudly.

The Empress sat beside the window with a cup of tea in her hands, trying very hard not to laugh.

Across from her floated three familiar figures.

Wei Rong, the former general, stood with his arms crossed, his handsome ghostly face full of amusement.

Beside him sat Li Shen, the scholar, calmly drinking tea despite being a ghost who technically didn’t need it.

And standing in front of them, looking absolutely furious, was their female companion—

Fen Yu.

Fen Yu pointed angrily at the two men.

”Stop laughing!”

Wei Rong immediately turned his face away.

Unfortunately, his shoulders were shaking.

Li Shen lowered his teacup.

”I am not laughing.”

Fen Yu narrowed her eyes.

”You are.”

”I merely find the situation... educational.”

”Educational?”

Fen Yu almost exploded.

The Empress finally couldn’t hold it anymore.

A small laugh escaped her lips.

Fen Yu turned toward her.

”Your Majesty!”

The Empress quickly covered her mouth.

”I’m sorry.”

”You are laughing too!”

”I didn’t say anything.”

”Your eyes did!”

Wei Rong finally burst out laughing.

”Fen Yu, you really should have listened to us.”

Fen Yu crossed her arms.

”I thought he was handsome when I saw him from a distance!”

Li Shen raised an eyebrow.

”From a distance?”

”Yes!”

”How far?”

Fen Yu thought for a moment.

”Very far.”

Wei Rong laughed even harder.

Fen Yu glared at him.

”General Wei Rong, you are not helping.”

Wei Rong wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

”I am trying to understand how someone can look handsome from across a garden and become terrifying the moment he sits at the dining table.”

Fen Yu groaned.

”Don’t remind me.”

The Empress leaned forward, fascinated.

”All right. Tell me exactly what happened.”

Fen Yu immediately looked embarrassed.

”No.”

”Please.”

”No.”

Wei Rong grinned.

”I’ll tell her.”

Fen Yu spun around.

”You dare!”

Wei Rong ignored her.

”Last night, our dear Fen Yu decided to go on a date.”

The Empress’s eyes sparkled.

”A date?”

Fen Yu sighed.

”Yes.”

Li Shen calmly added,

”Her first date since becoming a ghost.”

Fen Yu pointed at him.

”That is precisely why you should have sympathy for me!”

Wei Rong continued.

”She spent nearly two hours choosing her appearance.”

Fen Yu’s face turned red.

”I wanted to look nice.”

”You changed your hairstyle six times,” Li Shen said.

”Seven,” Wei Rong corrected.

Fen Yu glared at both.

”I wanted to make a good impression.”

The Empress smiled.

”And did you?”

Fen Yu’s expression became complicated.

”Initially.”

Wei Rong laughed.

”That is an important word.”

Fen Yu ignored him.

”He looked fine when we met.”

”Fine?” Li Shen repeated.

”Yes.”

”Was he handsome?”

Fen Yu hesitated.

”Acceptable.”

Wei Rong shook his head.

”She thought he was handsome.”

”I did not!”

”You told me he had beautiful eyes.”

Fen Yu’s mouth fell open.

”I was being polite!”

Li Shen smiled.

”Of course.”

Fen Yu threw a cushion toward him.

It passed straight through his ghostly body and landed on the floor.

The Empress burst out laughing.

Fen Yu pointed at the cushion.

”See? Even the cushion is against me.”

Wei Rong shook his head.

”Tell her about dinner.”

Fen Yu’s face immediately changed.

”No.”

The Empress leaned closer.

”Now I definitely want to hear it.”

Fen Yu sighed dramatically.

”Fine.”

She sat down beside the table.

”Everything was going well at first. We talked.”

”About what?” the Empress asked.

”Books. Music. Palace life. The usual things.”

Li Shen nodded approvingly.

”At least he could converse.”

”Yes,” Fen Yu said. ”That was the only good part.”

Wei Rong raised a finger.

”Until the food arrived.”

Fen Yu closed her eyes.

”I knew this was coming.”

The Empress tried not to smile.

”What happened?”

Fen Yu whispered,

”He ate.”

There was a pause.

Wei Rong immediately started laughing again.

Fen Yu glared at him.

”He didn’t simply eat normally.”

Li Shen calmly asked,

”What did he do?”

Fen Yu looked traumatized.

”He chewed with his mouth open.”

The Empress covered her mouth.

Wei Rong laughed.

”And loudly.”

”Very loudly!” Fen Yu exclaimed.

She began imitating him.

”Crunch... smack... crunch... smack...”

The Empress’s shoulders shook with laughter.

Li Shen’s lips twitched.

Fen Yu continued.

”And then—”

She pointed dramatically toward her mouth.

”He got food stuck between his teeth.”

Wei Rong leaned against the wall, laughing.

Fen Yu looked at the Empress.

”Do you know how horrifying it was?”

The Empress shook her head while laughing.

”I can imagine.”

”No, you cannot!”

Fen Yu looked deeply offended.

”I had to sit there watching him smile while a piece of food was literally stuck between his teeth.”

Li Shen cleared his throat.

”Perhaps you could have told him.”

”I was too embarrassed!”

”You were on a date,” Wei Rong said. ”Communication is important.”

”I wasn’t going to say, ’Sir, there is spinach between your teeth.’”

The Empress laughed loudly.

Fen Yu’s embarrassment deepened.

”And then it became worse.”

Everyone became quiet.

Fen Yu whispered,

”He burped.”

Wei Rong’s laughter returned immediately.

”Fen Yu!”

”What?”

”You survived an assassination attempt once, but apparently a burp defeated you.”

”At least assassins don’t smell like that!”

The Empress nearly spilled her tea.

Li Shen covered his mouth.

Even the usually serious scholar couldn’t hide his amusement.

Fen Yu continued her story.

”And then there was the smell.”

Wei Rong frowned.

”Was it really that bad?”

Fen Yu stared at him.

”General Wei Rong, if you had been there, you would have fled.”

Li Shen nodded thoughtfully.

”Was it the food?”

”No.”

”The wine?”

”No.”

”Then what?”

Fen Yu made a face.

”His breath.”

The chamber erupted with laughter.

Even the Empress had to put her cup down.

Fen Yu looked around at all three of them.

”You people are terrible friends.”

Wei Rong finally managed to stop laughing.

”I’m sorry.”

”No, you’re not.”

”I’m not.”

Fen Yu threw another cushion.

It passed through him.

”Stop that!”

The Empress smiled warmly.

”So what did you do?”

Fen Yu looked away.

”I ended the date.”

”Immediately?”

”Almost.”

Li Shen raised an eyebrow.

”What does almost mean?”

Fen Yu sighed.

”I gave him another chance.”

Wei Rong stared.

”You did?”

”Yes.”

”Why?”

Fen Yu became defensive.

”Because I didn’t want to judge someone only because of bad table manners.”

Li Shen nodded.

”Reasonable.”

”But then he started talking about himself.”

The Empress asked,

”And?”

Fen Yu’s expression became blank.

”He talked for an hour.”

Wei Rong laughed.

”About himself?”

”Only himself.”

Li Shen shook his head.

”That is unfortunate.”

Fen Yu nodded.

”He told me about his family, his achievements, his horses, his wealth, his connections, his clothes...”

She counted on her fingers.

”Then he spent ten minutes explaining how many people admired him.”

Wei Rong sighed.

”And you still stayed?”

”I was being polite!”

The Empress smiled.

”Fen Yu, perhaps you simply weren’t compatible.”

Fen Yu looked at her.

”That’s what I told myself.”

She paused.

”Besides...”

The Empress waited.

Fen Yu lowered her voice.

”He asked whether I could cook.”

Wei Rong immediately laughed.

Li Shen looked genuinely confused.

”Why was that the final problem?”

Fen Yu stared at him.

”Because I am a ghost!”

The Empress laughed again.

”I told him I don’t cook.”

Fen Yu sighed.

”He said a woman should know how to prepare food for her husband.”

Wei Rong’s smile disappeared.

Li Shen’s expression became cold.

The Empress raised an eyebrow.

Fen Yu continued,

”I looked at him.”

”He looked at me.”

”And I realized...”

She smiled.

”I didn’t need another date.”

Wei Rong nodded approvingly.

”Good decision.”

Li Shen lifted his cup.

”Indeed.”

Fen Yu smiled triumphantly.

”Exactly.”

The Empress looked between them.

”So you rejected him?”

Fen Yu nodded.

”Politely.”

Wei Rong coughed.

”Very politely.”

Fen Yu glared.

”What?”

”You told him he should spend the rest of his life eating alone.”

The Empress burst into laughter.

Fen Yu protested.

”I was emotional!”

Li Shen shook his head.

”You also told him his teeth needed better manners.”

Fen Yu’s face turned red.

”He deserved it.”

The three ghosts started laughing again.

The Empress couldn’t stop smiling.

For a moment, the dark mystery surrounding the palace disappeared completely.

There were no black altars.

No forbidden magic.

No assassins.

No hidden enemies.

Only four friends enjoying an absurd morning together.

Fen Yu suddenly pointed at the two men.

”Fine. Laugh all you want.”

She raised her chin.

”But neither of you has ever been on a date.”

Wei Rong immediately became silent.

Li Shen looked away.

The Empress noticed.

”Oh?”

Fen Yu smiled wickedly.

”Exactly.”

She turned toward the Empress.

”General Wei Rong has never successfully courted anyone.”

Wei Rong frowned.

”That is because I was busy protecting the kingdom.”

Fen Yu laughed.

”And Scholar Li Shen?”

Li Shen calmly replied,

”I preferred books.”

Fen Yu nodded.

”Exactly. A book never chews loudly.”

The Empress laughed.

Li Shen sighed.

Wei Rong looked offended.

”This conversation has become unfair.”

Fen Yu smiled sweetly.

”Good.”

Then she suddenly leaned toward the Empress.

”Your Majesty, next time I choose a man, you must approve him first.”

The Empress smiled.

”Agreed.”

Wei Rong immediately said,

”I will inspect him.”

Li Shen nodded.

”And I will question him.”

Fen Yu stared.

”Why?”

Wei Rong answered seriously,

”To prevent another disaster.”

Li Shen added,

”We cannot allow history to repeat itself.”

Fen Yu rolled her eyes.

”Fine. But next time, I’m choosing someone handsome, polite, clean, and quiet.”

The Empress smiled.

”And preferably someone who knows how to chew.”

Fen Yu’s eyes widened.

”Your Majesty!”

The entire chamber erupted in laughter once again.

Outside, the palace continued its ordinary morning.

Inside, the Empress sat surrounded by her three ghost companions—

Wei Rong, the former general.

Li Shen, the scholar.

And Fen Yu, the unfortunate romantic.

And for one peaceful morning, none of them spoke about dark magic.

Because even in a palace filled with danger, sometimes laughter was the only thing that made everything feel normal.