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Ghost in the palace

Chapter 433: The Black Altar · Nov 02, 2026

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Chapter List (462)

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401 Chapter 401: The Cry of the People 2026-11-02
402 Chapter 402: The Maid Who Knew Too Much 2026-11-02
403 Chapter 403: The Shrine Behind the Courtyard 2026-11-02
404 Chapter 404: The Brother Who Never Existed 2026-11-02
405 Chapter 405: The Truth Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
406 Chapter 406: The Daughter Who Should Not Exist 2026-11-02
407 Chapter 407: The Palace Beneath a Storm 2026-11-02
408 Chapter 408: The Shadow Behind the Curtain 2026-11-02
409 Chapter 409: A Secret Investigation 2026-11-02
410 Chapter 410: Tea Beneath the Garden Trees 2026-11-02
411 Chapter 411: The Ominous Feeling 2026-11-02
412 Chapter 412: The Ritual That Never Began 2026-11-02
413 Chapter 413: The Shadow Behind the Flowers 2026-11-02
414 Chapter 414: The Secret Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
415 Chapter 415: The Whisper Behind the Shadows 2026-11-02
416 Chapter 416: The Threat Beneath the Palace 2026-11-02
417 Chapter 417: The Letter of Punishment 2026-11-02
418 Chapter 418: The Palace Behind Closed Doors 2026-11-02
419 Chapter 419: The Man Who Finally Saw the Darkness 2026-11-02
420 Chapter 420: The Most Patient Husband 2026-11-02
421 Chapter 421: no proof 2026-11-02
422 Chapter 422: The Sign Beneath the Moonlight 2026-11-02
423 Chapter 423: mei lan 2026-11-02
424 Chapter 424: The Plan in the Dawgress’s Courtyard 2026-11-02
425 Chapter 425: The Actors Who Entered the Dawgress’s Courtyard 2026-11-02
426 Chapter 426: The Ghosts’ Trap 2026-11-02
427 Chapter 427: The Crying Shadow 2026-11-02
428 Chapter 428: The Three Nights of Fear 2026-11-02
429 Chapter 429: The Fear Behind the Mask 2026-11-02
430 Chapter 430: the man behind everything 2026-11-02
431 Chapter 431: A Change of Strategy 2026-11-02
432 Chapter 432: The Last Night of Shin G 2026-11-02
433 Chapter 433: The Black Altar 2026-11-02
434 Chapter 434: The Last Rites of Princess Shin Gu 2026-11-02
435 Chapter 435: the silence 2026-11-02
436 Chapter 436: The Shadow Left Behind 2026-11-02
437 Chapter 437: The Kingdom That Lost Its Royal Family 2026-11-02
438 Chapter 438: The Night of Crying Voices 2026-11-02
439 Chapter 439: The Darkness Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
440 Chapter 440: The Journey Beyond the Northern Border 2026-11-02
441 Chapter 441: The Journey No One Must Know 2026-11-02
442 Chapter 442: The Road to the North 2026-11-02
443 Chapter 443: The Family That Went North 2026-11-02
444 Chapter 444: The Family That Left Everything Behind 2026-11-02
445 Chapter 445: The Emperor Behind the Mask 2026-11-02
446 Chapter 446: The Family at the Northern Gate 2026-11-02
447 Chapter 447: The Road to the Northern Border 2026-11-02
448 Chapter 448: Ordinary People, One Journey 2026-11-02
449 Chapter 449: The Woman Who Was Dead to the World 2026-11-02
450 Chapter 450: shin gu is alive 2026-11-02

The palace did not sleep that night.

News of Shin Gu’s death had spread through every corridor.

But this time, the whispers were different.

People were no longer asking whether dark magic existed.

They had seen it.

They had witnessed strange incidents with their own eyes.

They had seen Shin Gu involved.

And yet—

Shin Gu was dead.

Before anyone could question her.

Before anyone could force her to reveal who had ordered her.

Before anyone could discover who stood behind her.

She was gone.

And that made everything worse.

---

The Emperor sat in the main investigation hall.

Prince Liang stood beside him.

The Empress Dowager, Lady Chen, Princess Zhi, Mei Lan, and General Wei were also present.

Nobody spoke for several moments.

Finally, Prince Liang broke the silence.

”Shin Gu is dead.”

His voice was quiet.

”After everything we discovered, she dies before we can interrogate her.”

The Emperor’s fingers tightened around the armrest.

”She was never the mastermind.”

Everyone looked at him.

Lady Chen frowned.

”What makes Your Majesty say that?”

The Emperor looked toward the evidence placed on the table.

”The dark rituals were too organized.”

”The incidents were too carefully planned.”

”Shin Gu was useful.”

”But useful does not mean she was responsible for everything.”

Prince Liang slowly nodded.

”I reached the same conclusion.”

The room became silent again.

Then General Wei entered.

”Your Majesty.”

The Emperor looked up.

”What did you find?”

General Wei placed several objects on the table.

”A hidden room.”

Everyone stared at him.

”Where?” asked the Empress Dowager.

”Inside the palace.”

His answer immediately changed the atmosphere.

”One of the old storage buildings behind the western courtyard.”

He opened a cloth covering.

Inside was a black object.

A small altar.

The room went completely silent.

Princess Zhi’s face lost its color.

”That’s...”

General Wei nodded.

”Yes.”

”The same type of altar connected to the incidents surrounding the Empress.”

Lady Chen immediately stood.

”Where did you find it?”

”Hidden beneath a false floor.”

General Wei continued.

”There were candles, blackened bowls, strange symbols, pieces of cloth, and several handwritten pages.”

Prince Liang leaned forward.

”And the book?”

General Wei placed another object on the table.

A thick, old book.

Its cover was dark.

No title was written on it.

But the pages were covered with strange symbols.

The Empress Dowager stared at it.

”That is forbidden magic.”

General Wei nodded.

”Most likely.”

The Emperor didn’t touch it.

”Did Shin Gu write it?”

”No.”

General Wei’s answer came immediately.

”We compared the handwriting with the documents found in Shin Gu’s room.”

”They are different.”

Everyone froze.

Lady Chen whispered,

”Different?”

”Yes.”

General Wei opened the book.

”The writing belongs to someone else.”

Prince Liang’s expression became grim.

”So Shin Gu was only using someone else’s instructions.”

The Emperor looked at the black altar.

”Exactly.”

He slowly leaned back.

”She was a chess piece.”

”And whoever placed her on the board knew exactly how to use her.”

---

The Empress’s Old Accusation

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes briefly.

She remembered everything.

Months earlier—

The entire kingdom had been terrified.

Strange incidents had occurred throughout the palace.

People claimed they had seen shadows moving without bodies.

Some servants had heard voices in empty rooms.

Animals became frightened for no apparent reason.

The Empress had been found connected to one of the most disturbing incidents.

A black altar had been discovered in a hidden section of her chamber.

The discovery had turned the entire palace against her.

People had shouted.

People had demanded punishment.

Some had even demanded that she be executed.

They believed the Empress was responsible for the paranormal disturbances spreading through the kingdom.

The accusation had become so serious that people had begun demanding her hanging.

The Emperor had struggled to protect her.

And even then—

Doubt had remained.

Until Shin Gu’s actions began exposing the truth.

Now—

Everyone understood how dangerous that earlier accusation had been.

Someone had deliberately planted evidence.

Someone had wanted the Empress blamed.

And someone had made sure the entire kingdom believed it.

Lady Chen slowly spoke.

”If Shin Gu was working for someone else...”

She looked at the book.

”Then the altar found in the Empress’s chamber could also have been planted.”

Nobody answered.

Because everyone knew the answer.

It probably had been.

---

”Then Why Kill Shin Gu?”

Princess Zhi suddenly asked,

”If the mastermind wanted Shin Gu to remain useful, why would she be killed?”

Prince Liang looked at her.

”Perhaps she became a liability.”

General Wei nodded.

”Or she knew too much.”

The Emperor’s expression darkened.

”Or someone wanted us to stop investigating.”

Liang looked at him.

”Meaning?”

The Emperor pointed toward the altar.

”Think about it.”

”Shin Gu dies.”

”We discover a black altar.”

”We discover a forbidden book.”

”And we discover evidence connecting the dark rituals to someone other than Shin Gu.”

He paused.

”Whoever arranged this knew exactly what we would find.”

The room became silent.

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.

”This could be another layer of the same plan.”

---

The Search Continues

”Search the entire palace,” the Emperor ordered.

General Wei bowed.

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

”Every abandoned building.”

”Every unused chamber.”

”Every underground passage.”

”Every servant quarter connected to Shin Gu.”

”Do not destroy anything you find.”

”Bring every object directly to me.”

”Understood.”

General Wei turned to leave.

Then the Emperor stopped him.

”And search outside the palace.”

General Wei looked back.

”Outside?”

”If someone supplied Shin Gu with these objects, they had to come from somewhere.”

General Wei nodded.

”I understand.”

He left.

---

Lady Chen’s Fear

Lady Chen remained silent.

Her fingers were cold.

She looked at the black altar.

She had once believed Shin Gu could control everything.

She had believed the woman was powerful enough to solve their problems.

Now Shin Gu was dead.

And the person behind her had not even shown their face.

Lady Chen lowered her eyes.

”Could Shin Gu have betrayed her master?”

The Empress Dowager looked at her.

”Perhaps.”

Lady Chen swallowed.

”Then her death...”

”Was not accidental,” Prince Liang said.

Lady Chen’s face tightened.

Nobody needed to explain what that meant.

If Shin Gu had been silenced—

The mastermind was still active.

---

The Emperor’s Realization

The Emperor stood.

”Take the book.”

Prince Liang looked at him.

”Where?”

”To the scholars.”

”Have them examine every symbol.”

”And find out where the paper, ink, and binding came from.”

Prince Liang nodded.

”Yes.”

The Emperor then looked at the altar.

”Do not burn it.”

”Do not destroy it.”

”We need evidence.”

He paused.

Then his voice became colder.

”We already made one mistake.”

Everyone understood.

They had once looked at the Empress and believed the evidence placed before them.

They had nearly allowed an innocent woman to be punished for something she hadn’t done.

They would not repeat that mistake.

---

Meanwhile — The Empress’s Courtyard

Lian An stood beneath the moonlight.

Fen Yu, Wei Rong, and Li Shen were nearby.

Even they were unusually quiet.

Fen Yu stared toward the palace walls.

”There’s something strange.”

Lian An turned.

”What?”

Fen Yu shook her head.

”I don’t know.”

Wei Rong crossed his arms.

”The palace feels different.”

Li Shen looked toward the darkness.

”Because the truth is beginning to surface.”

Lian An sighed.

”But we still don’t know who is behind everything.”

Li Shen nodded.

”Exactly.”

Fen Yu frowned.

”Shin Gu knew.”

”She probably did,” Lian An replied.

”But now she’s dead.”

Wei Rong’s expression hardened.

”Someone killed her before she could speak.”

Lian An looked toward the distant palace.

Her expression became serious.

”For months, someone wanted everyone to believe I was responsible.”

She remembered the black altar discovered in her chamber.

The accusations.

The frightened servants.

The angry nobles.

The people demanding her execution.

Her hands slowly tightened.

”Whoever did that wasn’t trying to frighten me.”

”They wanted the entire kingdom to hate me.”

Li Shen nodded.

”And that means the altar wasn’t merely magical.”

”It was political.”

Lian An looked at him.

He continued,

”If people believed the Empress was responsible for supernatural disasters, they would demand punishment themselves.”

Fen Yu’s eyes widened.

”So the mastermind didn’t need to kill her.”

”They could make everyone else do it.”

Lian An remained silent.

That realization was far more frightening than any ghost.

---

The Black Book

Back in the investigation hall—

Prince Liang opened the forbidden book again.

The first pages contained symbols.

The next pages contained instructions.

But halfway through—

He stopped.

There were names.

Not complete names.

Only initials.

Dates.

Locations.

And brief descriptions of rituals.

Prince Liang’s face changed.

”Your Majesty.”

The Emperor immediately approached.

”What?”

Liang pointed at one page.

”This date.”

The Emperor read it.

His expression hardened.

It was the date of one of the earliest paranormal incidents in the kingdom.

Another page contained the date when the black altar had been discovered in the Empress’s chamber.

Another contained the date of Princess Zhi’s strange incident.

Another—

The date of the Empress’s sleepwalking.

Everyone stared.

The book wasn’t recording future events.

It was recording events that had already happened.

Someone had been documenting everything.

Prince Liang whispered,

”Whoever wrote this book was watching.”

The Emperor’s eyes became cold.

”Not watching.”

He turned another page.

”Planning.”

---

The palace fell silent.

Shin Gu was dead.

The black altar had been found.

The forbidden book had been recovered.

But instead of ending the mystery—

The evidence had opened an even larger one.

The people who once believed the Empress was responsible were now beginning to realize that she may have been the target of a carefully constructed deception.

Yet the mastermind remained hidden.

And somewhere within the kingdom—

Someone who had planned everything was still watching.

The Emperor closed the book.

”Find them.”

Prince Liang bowed.

”We will.”

The Emperor looked once more at the black altar.

”Shin Gu was never the end of this.”

He paused.

”She was only the first door.”

And behind that door—

Someone else was waiting.

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