Chapter 307

Shen Man was both anxious and frightened, and quickly picked up the palace lantern that had fallen on the corpse's face.

The palace lantern was quite heavy, and the moment she picked it up, her eyes immediately showed a hint of fear.

The palace lantern had smashed a small hole in the corpse's pale face, revealing bluish-purple flesh inside. For some unknown reason, the corpse's face was slightly distorted, and its stunning and beautiful features now looked somewhat eerie.

Shen Man gritted her teeth, desperately swallowing the scream in her throat, and with trembling hands restored the corpse's face.

Her trembling fingers touched the corpse's pale cheek, which was wet and slightly swollen. The sensation sent chills down her spine, and a faint stench wafted from her nose, making her want to vomit.

"This is what a corpse that has been stored for three years should look like," Shen Man thought.

At that moment, a cold wind suddenly blew in from outside the hall, and then she felt a black figure drift past inside. She could no longer hold back and screamed.

"ah!!!"

Shen Man's screams nearly overturned the Ice Palace, and were exceptionally clear in the silent night.

The palace lantern in her hand fell again, but this time it landed on the ground. She didn't care about anything else and scrambled out of the hall. When she passed the unconscious Zi Fei, she tripped and fell hard, crashing against the door frame with a sickening thud.

Shen Qingnian, perched on the roof beam, couldn't help but frown. The man's large hand around her waist tightened slightly as he whispered, "Don't be afraid, she won't die from hitting her head."

Silence returned to the hall. Shen Man slumped against the door frame, as if she had fainted.

Shen Qingnian looked on with some curiosity.

A moment later.

"Meow—"

Outside the hall, another eerie cat meow rang out. Shen Man, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, sat up abruptly, her eyes wide open, filled with terror and fear.

The cat's meows continued, one after another, making Shen Man's heart pound. She screamed and scrambled to her feet, rushing out of the hall, leaving a thin trail of blood on the ground...

It was blood flowing from the spot where Shen Man had bumped herself.

Not long after she left, Xia Zi came in carrying a palace lantern and accompanied by palace servants. Shen Qingnian was also carried down from the roof beam by Song Xuan.

"Carry this girl away, settle her down, and wipe away the bloodstains on the ground," Xia Xiazi instructed the palace servants, then walked up to Song Xuan and Shen Qingnian and bowed.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine."

"Did you imitate the cat's meow just now?" Shen Qingnian asked with a smile.

The cat's cries were incredibly shrill, as if it were being tortured, and in the silent night, they truly sent chills down one's spine.

Xia Zi replied in a low voice, "Your Highness, the meow just now was made by this servant. When I was a child, my family made a living by performing acrobatics. Although I am stupid, I still learned some skills from them."

There are stray cats in the palace, but the palace servants do not tolerate such abuse. Instead, they often prepare cat food and share it with these stray cats.

Shen Qingnian nodded, then looked at the palace servants standing guard outside the hall and said, "You have all worked hard tonight. All those who are on duty in the Ice Palace will receive an extra month's allowance."

Xiaxiazi smiled and went downstairs.