If it were palace staff knocking, they would have announced their purpose by now.
Disturbing a sleeping consort without reason was sure to be punished.
Knock, knock, knock — The knocking became more urgent, revealing the knocker’s impatience.
“Your Highness, shall I go look?”
Consort Xian nodded, her lips trembling.
If the knocking continued like this, she would surely break down. Better to let the maid check.
The maid lifted the bed curtain, lit a lamp, and walked towards the door, comforting Consort Xian, “Perhaps it’s just a stray cat from another palace that got in.”
She said this to encourage herself as well.
News of the Fourteenth Princess had spread throughout the palace, and their mistress had somehow become involved…
The maid reached the door, took a deep breath, and opened it. But before she could even scream, she vanished into the darkness, leaving only the wind from the hall to blow the curtains back and forth.
Consort Xian sat alone on her bed, staring rigidly at the door.
A moment later, as if waking from a dream, she called out the maid’s name urgently.
There was no response, but strange footsteps began to sound.
They were strange because they weren’t light at all, but seemed to drag across the floor.
Consort Xian couldn’t help but look towards the door.
A pale face slowly emerged from the darkness, with purple-blue lips.
In that instant, all the blood in Consort Xian’s body seemed to freeze. She couldn’t move at all, only able to watch as the Fourteenth Princess, who had lain stiff on a bed earlier that day, slowly approached her.
After what seemed like an eternity, Consort Xian finally found her voice and screamed, “Don’t come any closer—”
Hearing this, the Fourteenth Princess stopped, her reopened eyes staring directly at Consort Xian.
A resentful voice arose: “Why did Your Highness take my life?”
Consort Xian, terrified beyond measure, blurted out, “I didn’t! Don’t come after me!”
“You didn’t?” The pale-faced Fourteenth Princess seemed to wear a cold smile at the corner of her mouth as she suddenly moved a step closer.
A gust of wind blew in, causing the candle on the table to flicker several times before suddenly going out, plunging Consort Xian into complete darkness.
In the darkness, she seemed to feel the cold emanating from the other’s body, along with the unique scent of the deceased.
“If you hadn’t instructed Eunuch Deng to harm my Thirteenth Sister, I wouldn’t have died unjustly trying to save her… Give me back my life—”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Consort Xian saw those cold, stiff hands reaching for her. The thread of reason snapped completely, and she scrambled towards the door to escape.
“Don’t come near me! You chose to save Princess Fuqing of your own will, you can’t blame me—”