"Susie..." Ryan Ouyang couldn't help but interrupt her. Did she really think that Morgan was someone to be bullied?
Right now, in Ryan Ouyang's mind, Morgan Shangguan was the very image of a villain—she bullied others, never the other way around. He was actually worried for Claire Yi and that little maid, hoping things wouldn't get too miserable for them!
Morgan Shangguan yawned lazily. "Claire Yi will be thrilled to see me leave. But I'm curious—if Damien Gray left too, would she still be happy? I said I was leaving, not that I wouldn't come back. When I do, she'll probably be so angry she'll grit her teeth!"
Morgan paused, then smiled and shook her head. She was actually explaining herself now—was it because Susie Yun truly cared for her?
She tapped the purple gourd at her waist with her finger, and the lid popped open on its own. Two ghosts drifted out. Morgan squinted and said, "That little maid—make sure she can't speak for a year or so." That punishment wasn't too harsh, was it?
As the two ghosts floated away, Morgan closed her eyes. "Let me sleep for a while. Wake me when we reach Serenity Temple." It wasn't far—just half a day's journey.
Thanks to Damien Gray, hardly anyone in the manor got a good night's sleep last night!
Susie Yun stared at her, then muttered to herself, "I'm never going to stand up for Miss Morgan again." It was completely unnecessary!
Watching Morgan, who seemed to be asleep, Susie Yun felt a bit puzzled. The Cloud Guild had become a force to be reckoned with, so why didn't Miss Morgan leave the manor? She and the Ghost King were forced together, and her position here brought plenty of trouble. Yet she never mentioned leaving. Now she said she was leaving because Damien Gray had gone mad and she didn't want to join him in his madness, but she also said she'd come back. It was as if she'd already made the manor her home.
By now, word of Morgan Shangguan's trip to Serenity Temple had already reached the ears of three people. Emperor Alexander remained calm—age brings wisdom, and Morgan was still his person. The other two, however, were clearly not so composed.
Why would Morgan Shangguan go out of her way to pray for blessings? In two months, it will be the National Festival. One month before that, Emperor Alexander will lead his entourage to Serenity Temple for rituals—bathing, fasting, and preparing for the festival. So in just a month, everyone will go to Serenity Temple anyway; there’s no need to make a special trip now. If Prince Damien, the Ghost King, had suddenly fallen gravely ill, it might make sense—but there’s been no word of any such illness!
People from the palace are always cautious and suspicious. Anything that looks out of the ordinary, Crown Prince Adrian and Prince Ethan would never just ignore.
So, the Crown Princess and Princess Julian set out for Serenity Temple one after another. The Crown Princess was determined to see Morgan Shangguan and find out what she was up to, while Princess Julian simply wanted to join the excitement—if she could meet Morgan, fine; if not, she wouldn’t force it. That’s also the attitude of Crown Prince Adrian and Prince Julian. This incident reveals the difference in their personalities: in truth, Prince Julian hides his true thoughts deeper than the Crown Prince.
However, the two of them were destined to find nothing. Damien Gray had agreed to provide Morgan Shangguan with people, and he would never be perfunctory about it. These twenty guards were all experts—breaking in to see Morgan was simply impossible.
But by doing this, Damien Gray naturally drew suspicion, making Crown Prince Adrian and Prince Julian even more wary. Morgan Shangguan’s actions cleared herself of all suspicion and shifted all the questions onto Damien Gray. Compared to her, he was under much greater scrutiny. The people she brought were all from the Ghost King’s Manor, so it was only natural for people to wonder what the Ghost King wanted. Some might even suspect Emperor Alexander’s intentions, since Morgan was his person—and now, Damien Gray seemed utterly captivated by her. In short, no one would suspect Morgan herself, which was exactly what she wanted.
She was a chess piece now, and chess pieces shouldn’t have too many thoughts. So she was doing her best to play her part, putting those who controlled her at ease and keeping everyone else from losing their footing. Yet no one knew that this chess piece was merely watching coldly from the sidelines, enjoying the show.
Damien Gray didn’t care about any of this. After all, those three had never stopped suspecting him. The Ghost King’s Manor was like an iron fortress—no spies could get in. How could anyone not be suspicious? Otherwise, why would Emperor Alexander keep sending women to Damien Gray, or why would he not hesitate to poison him? Why would Crown Prince Adrian be unable to resist making a move?
Prince Julian was still watching and waiting, but the Crown Prince was much more anxious. If he could profit from the chaos, that would be best.
Morgan Shangguan spent the night at Serenity Temple, instructing the monks not to disturb her—she wanted to focus on praying for blessings. The Crown Princess and Princess Julian tried to see her, but were turned away.
Early the next morning, Morgan Shangguan quietly left with Susie Yun and Ryan Ouyang, unnoticed by anyone.
Meanwhile, in the manor, Claire Yi sat in her room, sulking, while Lily Xia stood nearby, unsure of how to comfort her.
"Lily, do you think Senior Brother is deliberately avoiding me?"
She had gone looking for Damien Gray early in the morning, only to find he was gone. When she asked the servants, they said he had caught a chill last night and was feeling unwell, so he’d gone to a private estate to recover. But no one knew which estate he’d gone to, which left her frustrated and gloomy.
It seemed that being struck by Damien Gray before hadn’t affected her much—she was still completely devoted to him.
Damien Gray’s poor health often required him to recover at a private estate, and he had many such places. People had their doubts, but like the Ghost King’s Manor, outsiders couldn’t get in, so no one could investigate. The only comfort those three had was the imperial physician’s word—Damien really was frail. All they could do was hope his absence was truly for recovery.
Now that Damien Gray had suddenly gone to recuperate, it made people wonder—was Morgan Shangguan’s trip to pray really just because the Ghost King was seriously ill?