Chapter 134: Encountering Ghosts

Bao Ning hesitated for a moment. She didn’t know whether she should read on.

The letter had been placed in a secret compartment behind a painting. The fact that it was hidden meant that Consort Xian had not wanted anyone else to see it back then.

Finding the compartment had been an accident. After eating the poisonous mushrooms, aside from the hallucinations, she felt a wave of nausea. Following her memory, she had sought out the spittoon by the small couch in the corner.

Although she had never been to the real Suoyang Palace, the small building in the Jibei Manor was almost identical to this one. Bao Ning was intimately familiar with the layout; even without candlelight, she could accurately find her way as if she were a blind person in her own home.

Unexpectedly, after she moved the spittoon, a soft “click” sounded in the silent room. The sound was so faint she thought it was a hallucination, but when she moved the spittoon several more times and heard the same subtle noise, she realized it was likely the sound of interlocking gears. Gears meant a mechanism.

She then noticed the floor tiles beneath her feet. In the moonlight, she could see they formed a jumbled Bagua (Eight Trigrams) diagram.

There was a similar diagram in the Jibei Manor. When she first saw it, she had found it novel and had even studied a few books on the subject for a while, though she eventually set it aside because it was too dry ¹ She felt it’s too boring because there are too many information/too academic .

Bao Ning tried to shift the tiles and was surprised to find that the stones, previously immovable, could now be easily picked up. At first, she thought this was a game Consort Xian had designed for herself. She tried to restore the Bagua diagram; as the final tile slid into place, another “click” sounded.

She found the secret compartment, which had opened a sliver behind the wall painting.

Inside was a stack of papers—mostly poems and essays. Bao Ning flipped through them one by one in the moonlight until she found this letter: To be opened by Mingshan.

Dazed, Bao Ning felt like a petty person eager to pry into someone’s secrets—and the secrets of Pei Yuan’s mother, no less. This sense of guilt made her put the letter back immediately, but after a moment’s thought, she took it out again.

Qiu Mingshan…

What exactly was his relationship with Consort Xian? What was his relationship with Pei Yuan?

Suppressing her racing heart, Bao Ning read the letter word by word, in great detail.

The opening was full of deep affection, like a woman in her private quarters baring her soul to a husband who had been away for a long time. Bao Ning went back to re-read the first line several times to confirm it was addressed to General Qiu, not Emperor Zhou.

This was a massive, earth-shattering secret!

Bao Ning thought that if she hadn’t eaten those Jianshouqing mushrooms, she would never have had the courage to keep reading. The poisonous mushrooms had bolstered her bravery. Blurry-eyed, she turned to the next page. It contained Consort Xian’s advice to Qiu Mingshan, telling him not to linger on romantic feelings but to win Emperor Zhou’s trust as quickly as possible, to go to the border for training, and to lead troops. Only when he became powerful could they one day reunite openly, rather than snatching moments of joy in the dead of night.

Bao Ning read it several times in disbelief. It was confirmed: Consort Xian and General Qiu were having an affair.

The gist of the last sentence was: Yuan’er and I are waiting for your return.

…

Bao Ning felt as if she were trapped inside a massive bell while someone was striking it violently with a hammer; her entire being was buzzing. What did this letter mean?

Consort Xian and Qiu Mingshan had been young lovers, but later Emperor Zhou took a fancy to her and forced her into the palace. Qiu Mingshan followed her to the capital and became the Emperor’s guard just to stay close to her. Later, Consort Xian became pregnant. She wasn’t sure whose child it was, but Qiu Mingshan didn’t care—whosever it was, he claimed it. He hated Emperor Zhou, and so did Consort Xian. Thus, she urged him to establish himself and win glory so he could take her and the child and escape…

But then Consort Xian died young, and this secret became a true secret.

Until now, when she stumbled upon it.

Bao Ning stood frozen before the secret compartment, clutching the letter, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, there was movement at the door. Her heart jumped. She quickly closed the compartment, folded the letter and tucked it into her bodice, then hid. The room was empty with nowhere to conceal herself; her eyes caught the painting on the wall, and she ducked behind it.

Zhao Qian walked in with four palace maids and eunuchs dressed in white, their faces painted a ghastly pale color. He himself wore a black official’s robe and held a clanking iron chain, pretending to be the Black Guard of the underworld, hopping forward step by step.

As he walked, Zhao Qian whispered instructions: “In a moment, you will pretend to be ghosts I am taking away. Scare her unconscious first, then take the chance to hang her from the white silk to make it look like she committed suicide. Understood?”

The others complied, exchanged glances, and went their separate ways.

Hiding behind the painting, Bao Ning could only hear the sound of the chains dragging on the floor and cluttered footsteps. Her heart thudded. Peeking out with one eye, she saw a white shadow hanging a rope. The figure held a bundle of long hemp rope, tying one end to the window frame on Bao Ning’s side and the other end somewhere else, pulling the rope taut about a person’s height off the ground.

Bao Ning had been terrified, not knowing if it was villains or ghosts approaching, but seeing this scene, her heart actually calmed down.

Perhaps the newcomers were fools.

She waited a moment and heard a new movement.

A person dressed as a fierce ghost slid from the other end along the rope!

This person’s waist was incredibly flexible; with feet a foot off the ground and hands clutching the rope, they actually managed to perform complex movements like splits, backbends, and “flying celestial” poses.

If Bao Ning hadn’t happened to see them hanging the rope just now, she might have truly believed this person was floating in the air.

The only flaw was that this was likely a shorter woman, with a taller person behind her supporting her waist to help her glide.

From Bao Ning’s direction, she could see two pairs of legs.

These two had excellent stamina, tossing about back and forth three or four times. Bao Ning watched them in silence. After the last round ended, a new ghost finally emerged: a Black Guard.

The Black Guard said irritably, “This won’t do. Go search quickly! Scour every corner. I want her found within fifteen minutes!”

The Black Guard wore a mask with a green face and long fangs, looking hideous. But the voice was somewhat familiar.

Bao Ning didn’t dare move. She remained quiet, clutching the signal flare in her hand. Pei Yuan had given it to her before they parted, but since she was indoors, she couldn’t use it yet.

The two white-clothed female ghosts started running, heading upstairs to find her.

The two white-clothed male ghosts searched the first floor.

One of them said, “Master, it’s too dark, we can’t see anything! Can we light a lamp?”

The Black Guard scolded, “Light what lamp? You’re ghosts, do ghosts need lamps?”

The two murmured in agreement and continued searching. The Black Guard grumbled and dragged his chains around the room.

He was about to reach the painting where Bao Ning was hidden.

One of the men noticed something wrong and asked suspiciously, “Look, does this painting seem off? It’s bulging; something might be hiding behind it.”

The other said, “Let’s check it out.”

Footsteps approached. Bao Ning’s heart raced again. There were five of them, and they likely had weapons. She was alone; if it came to blows, she wouldn’t last two moves… Bao Ning quickly tore off her hairpins and threw them aside, let her hair fall over her face, and smeared her lipstick across her lips with the back of her hand.

The young eunuch’s hand touched the painting. Just as he was about to pull it back, a voice came from behind the canvas: “How dare you touch the things in my palace without permission!”

With that, Bao Ning tore through the painting, grabbed the eunuch by the hair, and hissed: “Playing ghosts… do you want to come down to the underworld to accompany me?”

The eunuch shrieked, “A ghost! Consort Xian has risen from the dead!”

Zhao Qian was startled by the sound and rushed over, only to see Bao Ning emerging from behind the painting, her lower face visible as she gave him an eerie smile.

The eunuch who touched the painting fainted from fright.

The little maids upstairs heard the noise and poked their heads over the stairs to look. They had long heard that Suoyang Palace was cursed and mysterious; being young girls, they were already trembling when they arrived. Now, seeing even the slightest movement, they lost their wits, screaming as they ran down, trying to open the door to escape.

Bao Ning also wanted to leave and followed closely, which made the little maid run even faster.

When Bao Ning was brought in, the door had been locked from the outside. When Zhao Qian entered, he had locked it from the inside to prevent her escape. While the maid was fumbling with the lock, the silent Zhao Qian noticed something. He dropped his chains, stepped toward Bao Ning, and shouted: “You tricked me once by playing a ghost—do you think you can trick me a second time!”

The room fell silent for an instant. Bao Ning gasped and snapped her head toward him.

Zhao Qian ripped off his mask and pointed at himself mockingly. “Princess, do you remember who I am now?”

Of course Bao Ning remembered him, and she remembered what he was talking about. On the anniversary of Pei Yuan’s mother’s death, she had been burning spirit money outside and happened to run into Zhao Qian, scaring him once. Later, when Zhao Qian was exposed, Pei Yuan had sent him to the Qingluo Lane, and he had escaped several days later despite his injuries. She thought he had died outside, but she hadn’t expected him to enter the palace.

The two little maids were still shivering. Zhao Qian no longer relied on them; he flicked his sleeve, revealing a sharp blade beneath, and closed in on Bao Ning.

The reason he chose to dress as a ghost to scare her was partly to avenge his past terror, and partly so there would be no signs of a struggle. But at this point, whether traces were left didn’t matter; as long as he killed her, it would suffice.

Whenever Zhao Qian thought of the tragedy of his first night as a “host,” where his “roots” were brutally broken, he gnashed his teeth with hatred.

“Princess, it’s time to go!”

As he spoke, he lunged with the knife. Bao Ning stumbled out of the way. The others who came with him realized what was happening and pulled out short blades to help. Bao Ning was surrounded, cold sweat rolling down her cheeks.

She had almost no advantage, except for her familiarity with the room’s furniture.

Thinking of this, Bao Ning forced herself to stay calm. She needed to do something to distract them. She brushed back her hair, placed her hand on the first button of her collar, and slowly began to take off her clothes. Zhao Qian didn’t know why she was doing this; his eyes went wide as he saw her fair hands resting on the dark red silk buttons, looking even more lustrous in the moonlight.

Zhao Qian swallowed and asked, “What are you trying to do?”

Bao Ning only smiled without speaking, took off her outer court robe, and held it in her hand. While the men were dazed, she suddenly ran toward the shortest maid, threw the robe over her face, forcibly snatched her knife, and held it to the girl’s throat.

She wanted to use this to threaten Zhao Qian, but he didn’t care at all. He asked through gritted teeth, “You think this is useful?”

“I’ll kill her,” Bao Ning threatened. “I really will.”

Zhao Qian actually laughed. “Try it.”

Bao Ning held the blade against the maid’s neck, her hand shaking violently. While she was hesitating, she saw the maid sneakily reach into her bodice as if to pull something out. Bao Ning steeled her heart and drove the blade into the maid’s neck. She didn’t know where the strength came from; the blade sank in two inches, and she pulled it out with a jerk.

Zhao Qian hadn’t expected her to actually dare!

Blood sprayed out, splattering his face and head. The warm, metallic smell made him want to retch. Bao Ning also felt sick; she was at her limit. Taking advantage of the shock of those below, she turned and fled up the stairs. She remembered the attic had many windows. After years of exposure to the elements, the windows might be weak; she could break one and jump out.

“Catch her! Don’t let her run!” Zhao Qian’s eyes were red as he chased after her.

Bao Ning went straight to the third floor. She tried the windows one by one, smashing them with the knife hilt. At the second-to-last one, it finally broke. Zhao Qian was already at the top of the stairs. Bao Ning pushed the window open, sat on the sill, and looked at him coldly.

Zhao Qian threatened her: “Jump then! Go ahead! This is the third floor. If you jump, you’ll be crippled if not dead. It saves me the trouble.”

He even leaned leisurely against the wall. “Don’t dare? Want me to give you a hand?”

Bao Ning asked, “Why are you so obsessed with killing me?”

While she spoke, her hands were behind her back, rubbing flint and steel, trying to create a spark to light the signal flare.

Zhao Qian laughed. “Does it matter? I might as well tell you. You and I have a grudge, and someone else has a grudge with you too. By killing you, I get revenge and a large sum of gold. Why wouldn’t I kill you?”

Bao Ning asked, “Noble Consort Gao sent you?”

Zhao Qian nodded. “Yes, so what?”

“You’re so foolish.” Bao Ning kept trying. Her hands were covered in blood and slippery; the flint almost slipped from her grasp several times, but she held on tight.

She continued, “Noble Consort Gao has so many confidants, yet she chose you, who has a grudge against me. Don’t you understand why? Because you have enough motive to kill me. If the matter is exposed, she can push all the responsibility onto you and deny her involvement. Since you wanted to kill me anyway even without her orders, she can protect herself.”

As Bao Ning finished speaking, she heard a “hiss.” Her heart settled; the flare had been lit.

Hearing her words, Zhao Qian’s spine stiffened. He narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could say anything, he heard two loud bangs: “BOOM” and “CRASH.”

A flare shot straight into the sky. Zhao Qian realized what was happening, his pupils shrinking. “You were stalling for time for reinforcements?”

Zhao Qian didn’t care to think about what the second sound was. He gripped his knife and roared as he lunged at Bao Ning. When the tip was an inch from her nose, his movement suddenly froze. Footsteps came from the stairs. The previous sound must have been the door downstairs being kicked open.

Zhao Qian gritted his teeth, wanting to stab Bao Ning before dealing with the rest. Just as he was about to push forward, Bao Ning kicked him in the stomach. Zhao Qian fell backward. He tried to crawl up, only to see Pei Xiao entering the attic.

Thinking his savior had arrived, Zhao Qian was overjoyed. “Prince, you…”

But Pei Xiao roared: “Villain! How dare you commit a crime in the Imperial Palace!” With that, he drove his sword into Zhao Qian’s chest.

Bao Ning watched him. Zhao Qian died with his eyes open, slumping backward.

Pei Xiao pulled his sword out and looked back at Bao Ning. “Sister-in-law, your third brother is late to save you. Come down quickly; I’ll take you back.”

Bao Ning didn’t believe him for a second. In this situation, if Pei Xiao wanted to, he could easily kill her as well and frame Zhao Qian—a perfect outcome for him.

Bao Ning said nothing and didn’t move, just sat on the windowsill.

Pei Xiao couldn’t wait any longer. He took a step forward, trying to grab her hand. Bao Ning heard people arriving downstairs.

The footsteps closest to her were extremely familiar. She didn’t need to look to know it was Pei Yuan.

He had seen the signal and rushed over.

Pei Xiao heard it too. A flash of annoyance crossed his eyes, and he moved faster to grab her. Bao Ning’s remaining strength was exhausted, and she fell backward out of the window.

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