Terrified screams immediately rang throughout Lingxi Palace.
Pan Jingwan curled up on the floor, pushing herself backward with her arms. "Ghosts! There are ghosts! Aaaah!!"
Someone in the hall gave a derisive snort, the mockery unmistakable.
"Lord Qi," Kan Nianzhen said, casually raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her cool voice cut clearly through the screams filling the hall. "Did you see everything?"
Pan Jingwan's frenzied screaming broke off, and she jerked her head up. "...Lord Qi?"
"Which Lord Qi?!" Her pupils trembled, and a buzzing filled her ears. "Which Lord Qi are you talking about?!"
She stopped retreating at once and even shuffled a few steps toward Kan Nianzhen on her knees.
An effective way to stop her fear was to find something else that frightened her even more-
The surname Qi would not have provoked such a strong reaction from her at court, but among the Imperial Guards...
Her panicked gaze darted about, sweeping over the faces of the "Prince Xin's Army" soldiers before her one by one, before finally settling on a particularly composed man. "You?!!"
Qi Zhen held the Jade Pendant he had just received from Consort Shu. Lowering his gaze slightly, he looked at her sprawled on the floor without the slightest regard for royal dignity. "In answer to Your Highness, this subordinate saw everything clearly."
Kan Nianzhen silently curled one corner of her mouth, looking at Pan Jingwan with mockery in her eyes. "Haven't you already guessed?"
Pan Jingwan raised her head as though struck by lightning. "Qi... Zhen?"
Among the Imperial Guards, there was a man famous for his "stubborn backbone."
In his younger years, an enemy had framed him, nearly causing his entire family to be wrongfully exiled. Only after Emperor Mingze happened to notice