Chapter 369: The Mysterious Letter
The evening breeze drifted through the Imperial Garden, carrying the fragrance of blooming jasmine. Golden sunlight filtered through the willow branches, painting the stone paths with warm light.
For the first time in many days, the palace felt peaceful.
Empress Lian An walked slowly beside Lady Chen and Princess Zhi, followed by several maids at a respectful distance.
Princess Zhi smiled. "It has been a long time since the three of us walked together without discussing court affairs."
Lady Chen laughed softly.
"Exactly. If we continue speaking only about ministers and memorials, I’ll forget how to enjoy a peaceful evening."
Lian An smiled.
"Then no politics today."
"Agreed," both women answered together.
They wandered deeper into the garden.
Birds returned to their nests while koi fish swam lazily beneath the lotus leaves.
Princess Zhi suddenly asked, "Have either of you ever experienced something... unusual?"
Lady Chen looked curious.
"What kind of unusual?"
"The kind that cannot be explained."
Lian An quietly listened.
Princess Zhi lowered her voice.
"When I was little, I woke one night because someone called my name."
Lady Chen blinked.
"Who was it?"
"I don’t know."
"I searched the corridor."
"There was no one."
A maid walking behind them shivered.
Lady Chen chuckled.
"That’s nothing."
"When I was ten, I thought my room was haunted."
Princess Zhi’s eyes widened.
"Really?"
Lady Chen nodded dramatically.
"Every morning my favorite hairpin changed places."
"I accused every maid."
"They all cried."
"What happened?" Princess Zhi asked eagerly.
Lady Chen sighed.
"A mouse had been dragging the ribbons attached to it."
The three women burst into laughter.
Lian An laughed harder than she expected.
The ghosts following invisibly behind her exchanged guilty looks.
Fen Yu whispered, "I used to do exactly that."
Wei Rong folded his arms.
"I told you it was childish."
"It was entertaining."
Li Shen rubbed his forehead.
"You are impossible."
None of the living women could hear them.
Princess Zhi wiped a tear of laughter.
"My turn again."
"When I first entered the palace after marriage, I heard footsteps every midnight."
Lady Chen leaned closer.
"Don’t tell me it was another ghost."
Princess Zhi shook her head.
"It was the palace cat."
All three laughed once more.
The peaceful atmosphere spread through the garden.
For a brief moment...
No one thought about conspiracies.
No one thought about dark magic.
Only friendship remained.
Then—
A scream shattered the silence.
"My Lady!"
Another followed.
"Help!"
Crash!
The sound of porcelain breaking echoed through the palace grounds.
The three women stopped immediately.
Lady Chen frowned.
"That came from my courtyard."
Without another word, all three hurried toward the sound, their attendants following behind.
As they approached, frightened maids rushed out through the gate.
One maid nearly stumbled before kneeling.
"My Lady!"
Lady Chen immediately asked,
"What happened?"
The maid was pale.
"We... we don’t know."
Another servant pointed inside with trembling fingers.
"It... it happened by itself."
Lady Chen entered first.
Then stopped.
Her eyes widened.
The courtyard looked as though a storm had passed through.
Flower pots lay shattered.
Tables were overturned.
Silk curtains had been ripped down.
Tea cups covered the stone floor in broken pieces.
Cabinets stood open.
Jewelry boxes had been thrown onto the ground.
Everywhere...
Chaos.
Princess Zhi looked around carefully.
"There are no signs of forced entry."
Lady Chen turned sharply toward the guards.
"Did anyone enter?"
"No, My Lady."
"No one."
"The gates were guarded the entire time."
Lian An slowly surveyed the destruction.
Something felt...
Wrong.
Not random.
Intentional.
One frightened maid stepped forward holding a folded piece of strange parchment.
"My Lady..."
"This was on your writing desk."
Lady Chen accepted it instinctively.
Before her fingers fully touched it—
Lian An quickly caught her wrist.
"Don’t."
Lady Chen looked at her in surprise.
"Lian An?"
The Empress’s expression had become unusually serious.
"Do not touch it with your bare hands."
Princess Zhi immediately stepped beside her.
"You think it’s dangerous?"
Lian An nodded slightly, keeping her eyes on the parchment.
"It may not be an ordinary letter."
Lady Chen looked confused.
"I don’t understand."
Lian An carefully examined it without unfolding it completely.
The paper itself appeared unusually old.
Dark ink covered its surface.
The symbols were unlike any script used in the empire.
Curved lines intertwined with sharp angular marks.
It resembled neither Chinese characters nor any neighboring kingdom’s language.
Princess Zhi whispered,
"I’ve never seen writing like this."
Lady Chen frowned.
"Neither have I."
Lian An’s voice became calm but firm.
"If someone wanted only to threaten you, they would write in a language you could read."
She looked at the strange symbols.
"This..."
"...may have another purpose."
Princess Zhi immediately understood.
"You believe it could contain a spell?"
Lian An nodded slowly.
"It is possible."
"Until we know exactly what it is, no one is to touch it."
She turned toward the frightened servants.
"Do not clean anything."
"Do not move anything."
"Guard this courtyard."
"No one enters without my permission."
Every servant immediately bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The evening air suddenly felt much colder.
Somewhere beyond the palace walls...
Someone had made their next move.
And the strange letter waiting inside Lady Chen’s ruined courtyard might be the first clue to a far darker mystery.
The news spread through the palace like wildfire.
Lady Chen’s courtyard had been ransacked.
An unknown letter written in an ancient script had been discovered.
Within moments, palace guards sealed the entire courtyard.
No servant was allowed to enter or leave.
The atmosphere became tense.
---
Not long afterward, hurried footsteps echoed outside the courtyard.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Everyone immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor strode inside, his expression solemn.
Behind him came the Empress Dowager, dressed in dark purple robes, supported by her attendants.
Prince Liang followed close behind, his face filled with concern.
As soon as they entered, they froze.
Broken porcelain covered the stone paths.
Flower pots lay shattered.
Furniture was overturned.
Silk curtains had been ripped from their hooks.
The once elegant courtyard now looked as though a violent storm had swept through it.
The Empress Dowager frowned deeply.
"...Who would dare commit such an outrage inside the Imperial Palace?"
Prince Liang slowly looked around.
"There are no signs of robbery."
The Emperor nodded.
"Nothing valuable appears to be missing."
His eyes narrowed.
"This was meant as a warning."
Lady Chen stood silently beside the Empress.
Although she tried to remain composed, her hands trembled slightly.
The Emperor noticed.
"Are you hurt?"
Lady Chen shook her head.
"No, Your Majesty."
"I only arrived after hearing the commotion."
The Emperor gave a slight nod before turning toward Lian An.
"You stopped her from touching the letter?"
The Empress answered calmly.
"Yes."
"I feared it might not be ordinary."
The Emperor looked at the folded parchment resting inside a lacquered tray.
"You did well."
---
The Empress Dowager looked carefully at the strange symbols.
"I have lived many years..."
"...yet I have never seen writing like this."
Prince Liang leaned closer.
"It resembles no script from any neighboring kingdom."
The Emperor remained silent for several moments.
Then he looked toward Commander Xu.
"Bring Scholar Han."
Commander Xu bowed immediately.
"At once, Your Majesty."
---
Less than half an hour later...
An elderly man entered the courtyard.
His hair was completely white.
His beard reached almost to his chest.
Despite his age, his eyes were bright and alert.
He bowed respectfully.
"This humble scholar greets Your Majesty."
The Emperor stepped forward.
"Scholar Han, you have spent decades studying forgotten languages, ancient records, and ritual texts."
"I require your assistance."
Scholar Han nodded.
"I shall do my best."
The tray containing the folded letter was carefully placed before him.
Even before opening it, the old scholar’s expression changed.
"...Interesting."
He removed a pair of thin silk gloves from his sleeve before carefully unfolding the parchment.
Everyone watched in complete silence.
His eyes moved slowly across the symbols.
The longer he read...
The paler his face became.
His hands began trembling.
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Finally—
He abruptly stepped backward.
"No..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"This..."
"This cannot be..."
The Emperor’s voice became sharp.
"Speak."
Scholar Han swallowed hard.
"Your Majesty..."
"This is not an ordinary language."
The entire courtyard became silent.
"What is it?" asked Prince Liang.
The scholar looked at the parchment with fear.
"It is an ancient ritual script."
"I have only seen fragments of it recorded in forbidden archives."
The Empress Dowager’s expression darkened.
"Forbidden?"
Scholar Han nodded.
"It was abandoned centuries ago."
"Even possessing such writings was once considered a capital crime."
Lady Chen felt her heartbeat quicken.
"What... what does it say?"
The scholar hesitated.
The Emperor ordered calmly,
"Read it."
Scholar Han took a deep breath.
"It is... incomplete."
"But the meaning is unmistakable."
He looked directly at the Emperor.
"This letter is designed to invoke death."
Princess Zhi gasped.
"What?"
Scholar Han continued.
"The symbols call upon dark forces."
"They are meant to bind misfortune to the intended victim."
He looked toward Lady Chen.
"If activated properly..."
"...the ritual was believed to slowly consume a person’s life."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Lady Chen’s face lost all color.
Her body trembled.
"M-Me?"
The scholar lowered his head.
"Yes, My Lady."
The courtyard seemed to grow colder.
The Emperor’s eyes hardened.
"So someone intended to kill Lady Chen."
Scholar Han nodded slowly.
"That appears to be the purpose."
Lady Chen instinctively stepped backward.
Her breathing became uneven.
"But..."
"...who would want me dead?"
No one answered.
The question echoed through the silent courtyard.
Prince Liang frowned.
"Lady Chen has never interfered in politics."
Princess Zhi nodded.
"She has no powerful enemies."
The Empress Dowager folded her hands tightly.
"Unless..."
"...she is not the true target."
Everyone looked toward her.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean, Mother?"
She slowly surveyed the ruined courtyard.
"If Lady Chen had touched this letter..."
"...the palace would believe she died from an unexplained illness."
"It would create fear."
"It would create confusion."
"And whoever planned this could strike again while everyone searched for answers."
Lian An quietly listened.
Then she spoke.
"I believe this attack has two purposes."
Everyone turned toward her.
"The first is obvious—to harm Lady Chen."
She looked around the destroyed courtyard.
"The second..."
"...is to frighten everyone in the palace."
She paused.
"Someone wants us to believe that nowhere is safe anymore."
The Emperor nodded slowly.
"I reached the same conclusion."
His voice became cold.
"Whether this is dark magic, an ancient curse, or simply a murderer hiding behind superstition..."
"I will uncover the truth."
He looked toward Commander Xu.
"Seal this courtyard completely."
"No one enters without my permission."
"Send trusted guards to protect Lady Chen day and night."
Commander Xu bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor then turned to Lian An.
"You were right not to let anyone touch the letter."
She inclined her head slightly.
"We still know too little."
As the lanterns flickered in the evening breeze, every person in the courtyard felt the same unsettling realization.
This was no ordinary act of vandalism.
Someone hidden within the shadows of the palace had begun a deadly game.
And Lady Chen had become its first visible target.