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She looked around to see that no one was nearby, then whispered, "Master, think about it, this place is next to the Cold Palace. How many people died there during the Late Emperor’s time?

Otherwise, why would there be disturbances caused by ghosts here and not in the woods on the west?

Some people quietly speculate that it’s because too many people died in the Cold Palace, their souls failed to enter the cycle of rebirth and came out to wander, looking for a substitute for death. "

The two Shadow Guards in the trees were at a loss for words. With their martial training enhancing their hearing, they heard every word of the conversation and witnessed firsthand how a rumor was formed.

They felt helpless, it was merely an uncoordinated error between the two of them, yet it was mistaken for a ghost...

Concubine Fang Pin’s limbs began to chill, and she grabbed Jin Xi’s hand in shock, finding more and more sense in the thought.

During the Late Emperor’s time, the palace was overcrowded with consorts who maligned each other viciously.

Who knows how many were sent to the Cold Palace and how many died miserably there, their resentments soaring to the heavens?

It indeed makes sense that ghosts would most likely haunt this very place.

The more she looked at the woods outside, the more sinister and gloomy they appeared: "What shall we do, Jin Xi? Maybe we should just leave..."

Her health was frail, and nowadays the medical skills of the Imperial Physicians were inadequate. She definitely couldn’t afford to be possessed by malevolent spirits.

The Shadow Guards in the trees, fearing another misstep, watched each other from their respective trees without daring to move, the lush foliage obscuring their view of one another.

Hearing Concubine Fang Pin’s last statement, both Shadow Guards felt a simultaneous surge of relief.

And Shadow Guard Yi, ever the clever one, used his skills to gently shake the leaves, creating a breeze-like movement.

He also removed a piece of black cloth covering his face and lightly tossed it to the other side, disappearing into the trees like a fleeting shadow, intending to scare the people away by playing a ghost.

Concubine Fang Pin heard a "rustling" sound, looked up in panic, and saw the tree shadows moving when there was clearly no wind. She then thought she glimpsed a passing black shadow.

Jin Xi also looked up, and before she could make out anything, she heard Concubine Fang Pin scream at the top of her lungs, "A ghost..." and then she turned and ran into Canglan Court faster than a rabbit.

That scream sent Jin Xi’s soul flying, and she turned and ran inside as well.

Shadow Guard A: "..."

Shadow Guard B: "..."

The problem-solving Shadow Guards, utterly baffled, pondered why these two, with their backs towards Canglan Court, having been scared, still took the trouble to turn around before running. Wouldn’t running straight be faster...?

The two Shadow Guards quickly met on the same tree and quietly discussed several rounds of what to do next in low voices.

"Knock them unconscious?" "Inappropriate!"

"Drag them back?" "Inappropriate!"

"Make them stupid?" "Inappropriate!"

After discussing back and forth, finding nothing appropriate, both Shadow Guards looked calmly at each other, glanced once at the interior of the courtyard, and saw the Young Eunuch who guarded the gate had come back and bumped into the two people scared by the "ghost."

Good, the problem was resolved.

The two Shadow Guards exchanged glances, quickly returned to their original trees, and continued to secretly guard the entrance to Canglan Court as if nothing had happened, with Shadow Guard Yi quietly retrieving his black face cloth.

Inside Canglan Court, Xiao Jizi looked incredulously at the three people before him!

The two trembling on the left, weren’t they Concubine Fang Pin and her palace maid?

The one trembling on the right, wasn’t he Xiao Linzi, whom he had just praised?

Weren’t you supposed to watch the gate, how did this fool also run back?

If he hadn’t acted quickly to stop them, they would have run all the way to the Side Hall.

Look at Concubine Fang Pin on the left, what had she turned herself into? Usually couldn’t she hardly take a few steps without gasping and complaining of chest pains like some delicate sufferer?

How come she ran so fast just now, shouting as she ran, her hair all disheveled. What if she woke the master with all that commotion?

This lively spirit, where did the usually listless aura go? Could it be that ghosts can cure diseases or what?

Listen to what this master and servant are babbling about—something about seeing ghosts outside Canglan Court with their own eyes, speaking as if it were the absolute truth!

Such bad luck, they only have ghosts at their palace door, their whole palace is haunted!

They came all the way to Canglan Court just to say that there are ghosts here or what?

And Xiao Linzi, this fool, is too disappointing, listening with a face full of horror to the nonsense spewed by Consort Fang Pin and her servant, gasping as he listened.

A classic case of having a student who won’t live up to expectations, this fool!

Xiao Jizi was exhausted.

After hearing them out, he held back his urge to retort and tried to reassure, "Consort, could you have seen it wrong, maybe it was a magpie or some bird rustling in the tree?"

Concubine Fang Pin, clutching her handkerchief to her chest in panic, shook her head repeatedly, "No, no, no, it wasn’t a bird, I saw it myself, you ask Jin Xi, was there not a shadow that flitted by?"

Jin Xi was not very certain, "Yes, I guess... I didn’t see it clearly."

At that moment, she hadn’t seen anything; she was merely scared away by Consort Fang Pin’s scream.

Xiao Jizi felt powerless to comment and could only counter the fear of ghosts with the logic of spirits, "Ghosts can’t stand the light; in this bright daylight, Consort, think about it, would any ghost dare to appear without fearing being annihilated?"

Consort Fang Pin’s grip on her chest loosened a bit, giving the matter some thought; she seemed a bit relieved.

Xiao Jizi, seizing the moment, signalled to Xiao Linzi, "Fool, go check it out. Black Drongos, mynas, magpies—birds primarily black in color could just be flying by, casting a shadow. You go out and see if it’s just birds."

Xiao Linzi was stunned, "Brother Xiao Ji..."

He was scared of ghosts too...

Xiao Jizi felt utterly powerless, this fool just couldn’t grasp his point, and it was irritating.

Forget it, only a real ghost would understand.

He might as well do it himself!

Xiao Jizi reassured Consort Fang Pin and others a few more times, nearly dispelling the idea of ghosts entirely, before he prepared to go out and see what was going on himself.

To dispel their last bit of doubt, he had Xiao Linzi stay with Consort Fang Pin, while he went out to see for himself.

There were guards outside the gate; all it would take is asking someone, and they’d know the full story of the haunting.

Lian Hua woke up, sitting up groggily, her face marked with the imprint of her sleep.

Confused, she thought, in her dreams just now, it seemed she had heard a ghost cry.

Ghosts, there’s nothing scary about ghosts, humans are scarier than ghosts, and besides, it’s debatable whether ghosts even exist in this world, this is what her elder brother had said.

When she was in school, she remembered her classmates secretly talking about ghosts and spirits, and she suppressed her curiosity and a bit of fear, for her classmates made it sound too frightening, saying that the ghost was more powerful than her, as powerful as the top student in their school.

Oh, she had forgotten there was also a teacher above her, so she asked her classmate if ghosts were more powerful than a teacher.

Her classmate couldn’t answer at the time, scratching his head for a long time, finally saying he’d have to ask his mother to know.

She then asked, since it was more powerful than her, why had she never seen a ghost? Her classmate scratched his head, puzzled, and couldn’t answer her, saying that he hadn’t seen one either.

So she pondered this matter often in school and after school, even while eating dinner; her father noticed her distraction and asked her what was wrong.