Chapter 54: Entangled Dreams

  Xuanyuan Mu held me back to the East Palace, I was going to meet Xiaolan's ghost, and that well, then went to Fengyue Shui Ge heard about Guoshi and Huangshang conversation said it once, mentioned Guiying, my heart had lingering fear, not because I'm timid, but that was the most frightening ghost story I heard when I was a child, so there was a preconceived terror in my heart.

  "Assassin!" Xuan Yuan Mu heard this and immediately called for someone.

  A warrior dressed as a night walker jumped in from outside the window.

  "Hurry to the northwest border and inform my eldest brother Xuan Yuan Xu that tomorrow Yang Chen will bring an imperial edict to force him back to the capital!"

  "Yes!"

  The shadow retreated, Xuan Yuan reached out and grabbed me, examining the wound on my arm. The skin was intact, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and say to me: "Ling Xue, you probably don't know how formidable the ghost infant is. From tomorrow onwards, you are not allowed to take half a step out of the East Palace. I'll have Xue Qiufeng protect you."

  "They're just babies, they can't be that scary, right? Maybe those are just legends. Look, they didn't do anything to me." Although the place where I was bitten hurts a lot, it will heal in two days.

  "It's really terrifying!" Xue Qiufeng frowned, looking like he was in a difficult situation. "They are best at attacking your mind. When you encounter ghosts, ordinary ghosts may look scary, but they are easy to deal with. However, ghost babies can directly attack the defenses of your heart. They died young and were born with deep resentment from their mother's womb. After being adopted by humans, drinking human blood, and eating human flesh, they can launch direct attacks on humans. You say it's terrifying or not? Although they are small, as long as they look at you once, they know what you want in your heart. So, don't underestimate them."

  "As for why you were able to escape?" Xue Qiufeng glanced at Xuan Yuan Mu beside me: "Probably because your body has the aura of the Ghost King, which made them somewhat cautious!"

  "I am not the Ghost King!" Xuan Yuan Mu retorted with a cold face.

  "Whether or not, the imperial aura on you is indeed present, and this imperial aura makes many unclean things very afraid!" Xue Qiufeng said with a slap on his horse's buttocks.

  In the dead of night, in the midst of darkness, I heard the cry of a baby. That soft and warm little baby was in my arms, being held by me, kissed by me, loved by me. Then they suddenly turned into fierce ghosts, covered in blood, with internal organs spilling out, baring their teeth at me with a terrifying, eerie smile.

  I hide from them, but they still find me, I curl up behind the curtains, as if hiding here will make me safe.

  "Mother! Mother dear, you don't want us anymore......" The sudden voice reminded me of my mother whom I had never met.

  I don't want that, I want to protect my good children and not let anyone harm them. I want to hug them, even if he's a fierce ghost or a blood child, I still want to hug him and make him call me mother...

  "Miss, miss, what's wrong?" I was pushed awake and opened my eyes to see the night watch 'maid'.

  I turned around and looked at the bedside, but Xuan Yuan was not there.

  "My... My forehead is covered in cold sweat, I had a dream about a child, such a small child, completely covered in blood."

  "The prince has left, and I told the servant to listen in on the house, then you called out loudly, so the servant rushed in!" The little maid seemed afraid that I would blame her, and quickly explained.

  "It's okay, it's okay, you can go now!"

  I sat up and looked out the window, the moonlight was just right, another full moon night. Where did Xuan Yuan go? He liked children so much, if we could have a child it would be great.

  In a daze, I dreamed of the child again, so small and soft, in my arms!

  In the following days, I stayed in the East Palace and never went out. Xuan Yuan also didn't ask me to follow him. The more they protected me like this, the more uncomfortable I felt. I couldn't live under their protection for my whole life, could I?

  Looking at the clear sky, the bright sunshine, I decided to go out for a walk. It's daytime, after all, and ghosts shouldn't be seen during the day. At the same time, I'll ask around about that palace maid who was leading the ghost infant - which palace is she from? Although I didn't get a clear look at her face, her figure, height, and voice are absolutely unforgettable.

  I slowly reviewed the road I walked that day, and after a few days passed, even if there were any clues left behind, they would have been destroyed.

  "Have you guys heard? A few days ago, one of the new palace maids was bitten to death by some kind of animal, and it even ate away half her face. I heard one of her eyes fell out..." Behind the flower bushes, a palace maid is picking flowers.

  "Yes, every full moon night, a palace maid dies, it's really scary!" Another palace maid whispered.

  "And each dead person will be short of half a face!" The two people whispered.

  "You say, where did this wild beast come from in such a grand imperial palace? And what's even stranger is that it only eats human faces, why doesn't it eat other parts?"

  "It's just that you said it might be that crazy person, many people say that she will wander around outside all night on the full moon night, could it be her?"

  "Don't spout nonsense, she's the younger sister of Su Gonggong, if he finds out, we'll be in trouble. Besides, although Su Aunt is a bit crazy, she's not a bad person!"

  "That's true..."

  The two changed the subject, and I didn't have to listen anymore. I wondered who Su Aunt was in my heart. Su Gonggong is an old eunuch by the emperor's side, although he doesn't like to talk, but indeed the inner palace manager, so what about Su Aunt?

  After inquiring, I learned that Su Auntie used to be a person beside the Empress, and had been the wet nurse of Xuan Yuan Zi. Later, for some unknown reason, she was demoted to the Bathhouse by the Empress.

  When I arrived at the toilet, someone pointed to a thin woman in the yard and said that was Su Auntie. From her figure and height, as well as the voice she used when speaking with others, I was certain that she was the woman who had been leading the ghost infant that night.

  She was slender in build, but her speech was loud and clear. Her face was dark, with deep eye sockets, and she worked efficiently. She glanced at me standing at the door, slightly furrowed her brow, then turned back to work.

  The washing and rinsing department is responsible for all the laundry work in the entire imperial palace, so the workload is very heavy.

  I walked up to Aunt Su and asked softly: "Aunt Su, was it you I met that night in the 'Flower' Garden?"

  "What evening? I'm busy working here every day and can't even finish, where's the time to go out?"

  "On the night of the full moon, in the imperial 'flower' garden, I saw you leading three children..." I said softly, seeing her body stiffen, I was even more certain about what happened that night."

  Sugugu stood up straight, gave a cold laugh, and stared at me with piercing eyes, as if she was going to devour me.

  I didn't dodge at all. Maybe I won't be able to escape the law, but under this clear sky and in broad daylight, with so many people around, can she still conjure up a ghost baby?