That Imperial Concubine is both wicked and cunning! Your Majesty, wake up!

I greeted him the following day.

Song Shuangning was dressed in a light blue dress, so plain that it was almost bland.

"Your Majesty, I am also deeply saddened by the matter of Consort Song. Although she committed the grave crime of suicide by a concubine, it is still a human life. I humbly beg Your Majesty to issue an edict ordering the Imperial Household Department to properly handle Consort Song's funeral arrangements and give her a dignified burial. This would be the last thing I, as her younger sister, can do for her."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her body, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if tears might roll down at any moment.

Although Song Shuangning hated Song Luowei, this was a perfect opportunity to enhance her reputation for being "benevolent".

She did not approach the Emperor directly, but instead chose to request the Empress's assistance during her greetings.

In this way, she could rightfully end the matter and allow everyone in the harem to witness her magnanimity and benevolence, thus establishing the label of kindness on herself.

The Empress nodded slightly: "It's good that you have this intention, but this matter concerns the order of the harem. I need to discuss it with the Emperor before I can make a decision."

After the Empress gestured for her to stand up, Song Shuangning slowly sat down and gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

Consort Qing looked at Song Shuangning and thought to herself: She's just putting on an act.

After paying her respects, Song Shuangning walked briskly toward Tranquil Lake, where a tranquil body of water lay.

Consort Qing's gaze fell on her slender back, her brows furrowing slightly as she muttered to herself:

Where is she going? She's acting so suspiciously.

With a hint of curiosity, Consort Qing followed without making a sound.

After passing through the winding path, a lake shrouded in mist came into view.

Just then, a white figure flashed by like a ghost, merging into the swirling mist and leaving only a fleeting afterimage.

"Ah!" Song Shuangning let out a short and sharp scream, her face turned pale instantly, and her body involuntarily took a few steps back.

Consort Qing was also terrified by this sudden scene.

Her scream was even louder than Song Shuangning's, and it was tinged with sobs.

"Consort Qing? What are you doing here?" Song Shuangning seemed to have just noticed Consort Qing.

Song Shuangning's voice trembled, "Your Highness, did you see a ghostly figure over there?"

Consort Qing trembled with fear, her voice trembling and choked with sobs. Having grown up in the palace, she was accustomed to the bloodshed and unpredictability within its walls, and had heard countless strange tales and supernatural legends, making her a firm believer in ghosts and spirits.

At this moment, she was so frightened that she was completely at a loss:

"I...I saw it! A...a white shadow, disappeared so quickly...so quickly!"

"I saw it too!" Song Shuangning confirmed again, her voice filled with terror. "Could it be... a ghost?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the white ghostly figure seemed to have heard their conversation and once again swiftly swept across the lakeside. This time it was even clearer, revealing a headless figure!

"Ah—!" Consort Qing let out another piercing scream, almost collapsing to the ground.

"Hurry up, hurry up, don't linger here."

"Okay." Song Shuangning followed behind Consort Qing and exchanged a smile with Tingyu.

It rained during the night.

The rain outside the window was pouring down, pounding against the windowpane as if it would never stop.

Consort Qing lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She felt that the sound of the rain tonight was unusual, much louder and more muffled than usual, as if something in the distance was beating a huge drum.

She woke the palace maid on night watch, lit a candle, and walked to the window. The night was deep, and only the lights of the distant palace shimmered in the rain, creating hazy circles of light.

Just as she was about to leave, a very faint "tap, tap, tap" sound came from behind her.

The sound was very soft, like the soles of shoes walking on a stone road.

In the quiet, rainy night, the sound seemed exceptionally clear and eerie.

Consort Qing's heart sank suddenly, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

She instinctively covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing that "thing".

She had heard legends about ghosts in the palace since she was a child, such as "combing hair at midnight" and "gazing at the moon in front of the palace." At this moment, those legendary scenes seemed to be right in front of her.

She held her breath and listened intently.

The "tap, tap, tap" sound continued, intermittently, as if moving slowly across the roof. It seemed unwilling to approach, merely lingering on the roof, emitting a chilling noise.

Consort Qing's body began to tremble uncontrollably, and her teeth started to chatter.

"Did you hear that?" she asked the palace maid beside her.

The palace maid's teeth were chattering. "I heard it."

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound continued, sounding particularly eerie on this stormy night.

Consort Qing did not sleep all night.

For several days afterward, Consort Qing could hear the "da da da" sound every night, which kept her awake for several nights.

Finally, she could no longer bear it, and while paying her respects to the Empress, she spoke with a sob in her voice, "Your Majesty, my Jingren Palace is unclean."

"Every night, I can hear the footsteps of ghosts."

The Empress coldly rebuked, "Consort Qing, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Consort Qing hurriedly defended herself, "I did not lie, nor did I make up stories. Those were indeed the footsteps of a ghost, 'tap tap tap,' and many people heard them."

On the first day after Consort Shu finished her postpartum confinement, she was in high spirits and calm. She had never been afraid of Consort Qing, so she naturally didn't take her seriously and wasn't worried that Consort Qing would feel uncomfortable.

Consort Shu smiled faintly, her eyes sharp, "There are no ghosts in the world; it is only those with guilty consciences who give rise to ghostly thoughts."

Consort Qing's face turned deathly pale, devoid of any color, as white as paper.

Seeing this, Consort Shu's lips curled into a playful smile, her voice light yet carrying a compelling aura: "Could it be that Consort Qing has something to hide?"

Consort Qing forced herself to remain calm, her eyes flickering, and her voice trembling slightly: "I haven't done anything wrong, so why should I have a guilty conscience? Perhaps I misheard you."

She wanted the Empress to thoroughly investigate her Jingren Palace to see if it was truly unclean, and even considered hiring a Taoist priest to perform a ritual to put her mind at ease. But she had to abandon that idea.

She dared not mention the ghostly footsteps again, fearing that the Empress would use this as an excuse to investigate further and uncover something that shouldn't exist.

Upon hearing this, Song Shuangning remained expressionless, but the corners of her lips curved upwards very quickly, almost imperceptibly.

Just a few eerie sounds were enough to make Consort Qing panic so much that she couldn't even unleash her ultimate move.

Indeed, the more insecure a person is, the more easily they are frightened by these vague and illusory things.

"I have heard that things in this world are always governed by cause and effect, and if you do too many bad things, you will never have peace at night."

Upon hearing these words, Consort Qing became even more flustered.