Free Web NovelChapter 334: The First Report
The palace woke beneath the light of dawn.
Servants hurried through corridors.
Officials prepared for court.
The sound of daily life slowly filled the Imperial Palace.
Yet inside the Dowager Empress’s residence, the atmosphere remained unusually serious.
The Dowager Empress had barely slept.
The questions surrounding Shin Gu refused to leave her mind.
She sat near the window, waiting.
Watching.
Thinking.
Then—
A shadow appeared silently within the chamber.
The invisible guard had returned.
The Dowager Empress immediately straightened.
"You found something?"
The guard knelt.
"Your Majesty."
His expression was strange.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Shock.
The Dowager Empress noticed immediately.
Her heart sank slightly.
"What is it?"
The guard lowered his head.
"The more I investigated..."
"The stranger it became."
The room became silent.
The Dowager Empress motioned for him to continue.
The invisible guard spoke carefully.
"Shin Gu is a member of the royal family."
The Dowager Empress nodded.
"That much is obvious."
The guard continued.
"Normally someone of her status would have attendants."
"Personal servants."
"Maids."
"Assistants."
The Dowager Empress frowned.
"Yes."
The guard’s expression darkened.
"She has none."
Silence.
The Dowager Empress blinked.
"...None?"
"None."
The guard nodded.
"Not a single personal servant."
The Dowager Empress stared at him.
For years she had known Shin Gu.
Yet—
Now that she thought about it—
She could not remember seeing any servant regularly attending her.
At the time it had seemed natural.
Shin Gu was known for preferring solitude.
Nobody questioned it.
But now—
The detail felt strange.
Very strange.
The guard continued.
"Her meals are left outside."
"Her laundry is left outside."
"Everything is left outside."
The Dowager Empress slowly tightened her grip on the armrest.
"And?"
The invisible guard hesitated.
Then said quietly—
"No one enters her chamber."
The room fell completely silent.
Even the breeze seemed to stop.
The Dowager Empress stared.
"What?"
The guard repeated himself.
"No servants enter."
"No attendants enter."
"No one enters."
The Dowager Empress felt a chill.
"Surely someone cleans."
The guard shook his head.
"No."
"She does not allow it."
The Dowager Empress slowly stood.
Disbelief filled her eyes.
"How long?"
The guard answered immediately.
"Years."
Years.
The word echoed through her mind.
Years.
Years without servants entering.
Years without witnesses.
Years behind closed doors.
The Dowager Empress suddenly remembered something.
Every time she visited Shin Gu—
They always met in the outer hall.
Never the inner chamber.
Never.
At the time she thought nothing of it.
Now—
The memory made her uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
The guard continued.
"Most days she remains inside."
"From sunrise until night."
"Hours pass."
"Sometimes entire days."
"Nobody knows what she is doing."
The Dowager Empress’s face paled slightly.
That was impossible.
Even cultivators needed attendants.
Even scholars interacted with people.
Even priests had disciples.
Yet Shin Gu—
Lived almost completely isolated.
The guard lowered his voice.
"Your Majesty..."
"I find it suspicious."
The Dowager Empress didn’t answer immediately.
Because she agreed.
For the first time—
She truly agreed.
The silence stretched.
Then she spoke quietly.
"Why did I never notice?"
The guard remained silent.
The Dowager Empress laughed bitterly.
Because she knew the answer.
Trust.
She trusted Shin Gu.
So she never looked.
Never questioned.
Never observed.
Now—
Everything seemed different.
Every memory had become suspicious.
Every detail suddenly felt wrong.
The Dowager Empress slowly began pacing.
Her mind raced.
The lake incident.
The Empress’s near death.
Princess Zhi’s tragedy.
The strange palace atmosphere.
The attack.
And now—
This.
A woman hiding inside a chamber nobody could enter.
A woman whose actions nobody could witness.
A woman who always disappeared when something happened.
The pieces did not fit together perfectly.
But they were beginning to form a picture.
A very dangerous picture.
The Dowager Empress stopped walking.
Her expression hardened.
"No."
She whispered.
"I cannot handle this alone."
The guard looked up.
The Dowager Empress made her decision.
"I need to inform the Emperor."
"And Prince Liang."
The guard looked surprised.
Prince Liang had always trusted Shin Gu.
Perhaps more than anyone.
The Dowager Empress knew this.
Which was why this conversation would be difficult.
Very difficult.
But necessary.
Because if her suspicions were true—
Then the danger was no longer small.
It threatened the entire palace.
The entire imperial family.
The Dowager Empress looked toward the palace roofs visible through the window.
The morning sun had fully risen now.
Yet she felt colder than she had all night.
"Continue watching."
She ordered.
The guard immediately bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Dowager Empress added,
"Watch who visits."
"Watch what enters."
"Watch what leaves."
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Her eyes darkened.
"Find out what she is hiding inside that chamber."
The invisible guard nodded.
"As you command."
A moment later—
He vanished into the shadows.
The Dowager Empress remained standing alone.
Her gaze fixed on the distance.
The palace looked peaceful.
Orderly.
Beautiful.
Yet she could no longer ignore the feeling growing inside her.
The feeling that a monster might have been hiding behind a saint’s smile for years.
And if that was true—
Then the storm approaching the palace would be far worse than anyone imagined.
The morning court had barely ended when a message arrived at both the Emperor’s study and Prince Liang’s residence.
The message came directly from the Dowager Empress.
Simple.
Urgent.
Private.
Neither man delayed.
An hour later, they sat inside the Dowager Empress’s private hall.
The atmosphere was unusually serious.
No servants remained inside.
The doors were closed.
Only the three of them were present.
The Emperor sat calmly.
Prince Liang looked confused.
The Dowager Empress rarely summoned them both together.
Especially in secret.
Prince Liang finally spoke.
"Mother, what happened?"
The Dowager Empress looked at her two sons.
For the first time in many years—
She looked troubled.
Genuinely troubled.
The Emperor noticed immediately.
"Did something happen?"
The Dowager Empress nodded slowly.
Then she spoke.
"I ordered an investigation."
Prince Liang frowned.
"An investigation?"
The Emperor remained silent.
Somehow—
He already knew who this was about.
The Dowager Empress looked directly at them.
"Shin Gu."
The room immediately became quiet.
Prince Liang blinked.
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The Dowager Empress repeated everything.
Her visit to Shin Gu’s courtyard.
The strange encounter.
The invisible guard’s observations.
Every detail.
Not a single thing omitted.
As she spoke—
Prince Liang’s expression slowly changed.
Confusion.
Surprise.
Disbelief.
Then shock.
"No servants?"
He stared.
The Dowager Empress nodded.
"None."
Prince Liang frowned deeply.
"That is impossible."
The Emperor spoke quietly.
"So the report is confirmed?"
"Yes."
The Dowager Empress answered.
"For years."
The room became silent again.
Prince Liang sat frozen.
His mind replaying countless memories.
Then suddenly—
His expression changed.
The realization struck him.
Hard.
He slowly looked up.
"...She’s never allowed me inside."
The Emperor turned toward him.
Prince Liang stared into space.
Remembering.
Every visit.
Every conversation.
Every meeting.
Every single one.
Not once.
Not a single time.
Had he entered Shin Gu’s inner chamber.
Not once.
She always came outside.
Or visited him. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Always.
At the time—
He thought nothing of it.
He respected her privacy.
Respected her cultivation.
Respected her wishes.
Now—
The memory felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Prince Liang’s brows furrowed.
"Even when we discussed important matters..."
His voice grew quieter.
"She always met me elsewhere."
The Dowager Empress watched him carefully.
The Emperor remained silent.
Prince Liang continued.
"I never questioned it."
"Not once."
His hands slowly tightened.
The more he remembered—
The stranger everything seemed.
Years.
Years of friendship.
Years of trust.
Yet he suddenly realized—
He knew almost nothing about her private life.
Nothing.
The realization unsettled him.
The Emperor finally spoke.
"What exactly happens inside that chamber?"
No one had an answer.
That was the problem.
No one knew.
The Dowager Empress lowered her voice.
"The guard believes she spends nearly all day there."
The Emperor’s expression darkened.
"Doing what?"
"We don’t know."
Silence.
Prince Liang rubbed his forehead.
A headache was beginning to form.
Part of him wanted to reject everything.
To dismiss it.
To defend her.
Because Shin Gu had always appeared gentle.
Calm.
Kind.
Pious.
Everything about her seemed harmless.
Yet—
The facts were becoming difficult to ignore.
The lake incident.
The strange disappearances.
The hidden chamber.
The lack of servants.
The perfect timing.
Too many coincidences.
Far too many.
Prince Liang closed his eyes.
Then remembered something else.
A memory from years ago.
One evening.
He had accidentally arrived earlier than expected.
Shin Gu had looked surprised.
Almost alarmed.
Only for a moment.
Then the expression disappeared.
At the time he ignored it.
Now—
That memory suddenly felt important.
Very important.
The Emperor noticed his expression.
"What are you remembering?"
Prince Liang hesitated.
Then spoke honestly.
"Nothing definite."
"But..."
He frowned.
"There were times."
"Small things."
"Moments that felt strange."
The Dowager Empress immediately looked at him.
"What moments?"
Prince Liang shook his head.
"I dismissed them."
"They seemed insignificant."
The Emperor leaned forward slightly.
"Tell us anyway."
Prince Liang thought carefully.
Then slowly began recounting old memories.
Small inconsistencies.
Strange reactions.
Unexpected behavior.
Nothing serious alone.
But together—
The pattern became uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
When he finally finished—
The room became silent.
The Dowager Empress felt colder.
The Emperor looked thoughtful.
Prince Liang himself appeared shaken.
Because for the first time—
He was viewing years of memories through a different lens.
A suspicious lens.
And everything looked different.
The Emperor finally stood.
His expression unreadable.
"We still have no proof."
The Dowager Empress nodded.
"I know."
The Emperor continued.
"But we have enough reason to continue watching."
His voice became colder.
"Carefully."
"No confrontation."
"No accusations."
"No mistakes."
Prince Liang slowly nodded.
For the first time—
He agreed.
Not because he believed Shin Gu was guilty.
But because he was no longer certain she was innocent.
And that realization frightened him more than anything else.
As the meeting ended, the three remained lost in their own thoughts.
The Dowager Empress stared toward the window.
The Emperor thought about the Empress’s near death.
Prince Liang thought about every conversation he had ever shared with Shin Gu.
And somewhere else in the palace—
Inside a chamber no one was allowed to enter—
Shin Gu sat alone.
A faint smile rested on her lips.
She still believed she controlled the board.
She still believed everyone trusted her.
She did not know—
That for the first time—
Even Prince Liang’s faith was beginning to crack.
And once trust began breaking—
It was impossible to put back together exactly as before.
