Chapter 100: Alliance
December 23, 2021mich
On the third day of Ashina Bisha’s return to the Holy City, the royal palace issued an announcement that a grand Xingxiang1 Festival would be held at the beginning of the next month. Tumoroga would also appear at the puja.
With the upcoming festival coming after the alliance with the Northern Rong, the people in the city were full of excitement. Before the first day of the festival, preparations began everywhere from the royal palace to the common people’s homes for the puja: cleaning courtyards and setting up the curtains, an especially lively scene.
The young shami who was teaching Yaoing Sanskrit told her that every year, the Holy City was so crowded that people were often trampled to death.
“Watching the walking elephant can eliminate sins and gather virtue and good fortune. The princess can also go to the puja and make a wish when the elephant passes. It will be much more effective than usual praying!”
Yaoying remembered the Buddha’s birthday puja at Taiji Palace last year, her enthusiasm lacking.
The young shami’s eyes were passionate: “On the day of the Xingxiang Festival, Buddha’s son will return to the Buddhist temple, teach the sutras, and debate with the senior monks from Qiuci, Gaochang, and Shule. This is a once-in-a-century grand puja! I’ve already talked to my floor sweeper senior brother in the temple and had him save a good seat!”
Yaoying looked surprised: “Buddha’s son is going to go before everyone and teach Dharma?”
Ashina Bisha brought back the water anise to ease Tumoroga’s suffering, but it had only been three days! In only a few days, recovering a tiny bit from his near-death condition, he actually had been preparing to debate scriptures with other senior monks. This was not only a test of his physical strength but also a test of his mental capacity.
The monks of the Western Regions were all masters of sophistry and arguments. Would he be able to handle it?
The little shami nodded and looked at Yaoying, “Princess, you really want to see Buddha’s son debate the scriptures, right?”
The corners of Yaoying’s mouth twitched gently. If not in Sanskrit, then Tumoroga and the senior monks would debate scriptures in Hu. She did not understand a word of either, so of course, she did not want to go. She was simply amazed at Tumoroga’s perseverance.
A coming storm subsided into nothingness. The people of the Royal Court, full of anticipation for the arrival of the grand event, would never know that their Buddha’s son had barely escaped death, suffering and enduring at every moment.
While she was looking emotional, the little shami looked at her several more times, his eyes widening: the princess of the Central Plains was really infatuated with Buddha’s son; only a word would make her lost in thought.
That night, rumors spread throughout the palace that Yaoying had been unable to eat or drink for Tumoroga and washed her face with tears.
Yaoying paid no heed to those rumors. Hearing from Mondatipa that the knights of the Central Army had brought back her dowry, she brought her personal soldiers to meet them.
Ashina Bisha went directly to the palace with the water anise. The rest of the carts carrying silks and cloths, books and codices, Buddhist statues and jewels, arrived at the Holy City four days later. The person in charge of the escort was Banruo.
He handed the booklet to Yaoying and said with a pat on his chest, “I ask the princess to check the goods according to the booklet. Except for the water anise, everything else is here.”
Yaoying thanked him and without inventorying them according to the list, immediately asked the knights to pull the carts into the royal palace’s treasury.
After handing over the matter, Banruo immediately went back to the royal palace and saw that Tumoroga had truly gotten better and was chanting to Buddha.
The next day, rumors reached his ears.
Banruo was angry and anxious. Finding Yaoying, he pointed his finger at her, shaking all over.
Yaoying, completely puzzled, asked, “Is there something wrong with Buddha’s son?”
The water anise was very toxic. It could save lives, but taking too much would also be harmful. The reason why the Ninglu Pill she took was expensive was that it took many herbs to mitigate the toxicity of the water anise.
The worry on Yaoying’s face did not seem like it was fake, so Banruo could not help but be stunned. Remembering Tumoroga’s instructions, he swallowed the rebuke that had been brewing in his heart for a long time.
The princess, although shameless, was a sincere admirer of the king’s style. If it were not for her dowry, how could the king be saved?
Banruo said sternly, “The king is much better.”
Yaoying, with bewilderment, gave an ‘oh’, and said, “Heaven favors the worthy.”
Banruo glared at her, “I heard others say that you pester the monks every day to inquire about the king’s condition… you should not go around asking about the king. It is not good for the king’s reputation if word gets out. Come ask me if you have questions in the future!”
Yaoying was speechless for a moment: when had she gone around asking about Tumoroga? The whole palace worshiped Tumoroga, and almost everything everyone talked about concerned Buddha’s son, so she never intentionally inquired.
But Banruo’s mind was set that Yaoying was deliberately scheming to get close to Tumoroga and warned her, “Do not try to take advantage of the situation to get close to the king. The medicine you brought saved the king and the king is grateful to you, but the king will not be moved by you!”
Just as the last words left his mouth, Yuanjue’s figure appeared in front of the courtyard door.
“Princess, the king asks you to go to the main hall.”
Banruo was dumbfounded.
Yaoying stretched his hands towards him, “It is your king who invited me to go.”
Banruo was speechless. His neck craning around, he didn’t say a word.
Yaoying walked past him and followed Yuanjue to the main hall.
As they passed through the front courtyard, a golden arc of light flashed through the quiet doorway. The spotted leopard leapt silently down the wall, raising its paws to claw at the vines that were winding around the steps.
Yuanjue stopped in his tracks, gesturing at Yaoying not to panic.
Yaoying had often seen this wild leopard these past few days and was no longer so afraid. She retracted her line of sight, not moving.
The leopard’s eyes narrowed slightly. Jumping onto the promenade, its tail hanging low, it suddenly walked towards Yaoying.
Yuanjue’s face changed slightly.
“Ali!”
A voice tinged with laughter rang out, and the blonde-haired, blue-eyed general of the Central Army stepped out briskly from the inner hall. Guarding in front of Yaoying, he shook his finger at the leopard, “Don’t scare Princess Wenzhao!”
The leopard looked askance at him, rather like he had some disdain. Turning around and jumping down the stone steps, it lazily laid down in the shadow of the vines and went to sleep.
Ashina Bisha turned around and smiled at Yaoying: “Princess, it didn’t scare you, did it?”
Yaoying looked into his turquoise eyes and shook her head.
Ashina Bisha, whose mother was a Turkic princess and whose father was a nobleman of the Royal Court, was strong and tall and had handsome features. That day, through a quick glance, she felt that his looks had some similarities to Tumoroga. Now, looking closely, they did not, in fact, look alike; only their pupil color was similar.
Bisha smiled, smiling as bright and brilliant as the golden light outside the corridor. It was obviously a flirtatious and romantic smile, yet his tone was sincere, almost naive: “If it were not for the princess’s water anise, it would be difficult for the king to escape this calamity. Princess is an honored guest of the Royal Court. If Xueyana still dares to offend the princess in the future, need not be afraid. Sending someone to give me a message will be enough.”
Yaoying thanked him and went into the inner hall.
Bisha stood on the veranda, looking at her back, lost in thought for a while. Scratching his head, he shook his head and laughed, and continued to stand guard.
The inner hall was empty and sparse. The gold and jade Buddha statue and the incense table were removed, with only a faint fragrance lingering in the air.
Tumoroga sat cross-legged on the carpet in a snow-white gold-embroidered kasaya, a string of beads in his hand, pure and elegant.
Two attendants kneeled to the side, serving medicinal soup. He picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, quickly but elegantly.
The attendants retreated with the empty bowl.
Yaoying’s eyes fell on Tumoroga’s face. His complexion looked much better, his face like the cold moon, his eyes clear. Perhaps because he was too tranquil and calm, it was hard to tell from his appearance that he was suffering from illness.
Tumoroga’s eyes lifted, hinting for Yaoying to sit down.
Yaoying knelt opposite him. She was usually lazy but facing this honorable Buddha2 in front of her, she unconsciously straightened her back and sat in a disciplined manner.
Tumoroga’s eyes were slightly lowered: “Why did the princess not go to Tianzhu?”
He spoke in a flat tone, but because of this emotionless and desireless flatness, it carried some faint pressure. Yaoying sat more upright and asked instead of answering, “Please forgive my boldness, Venerable. Why did the Venerable send Regent Sultan Gu to Gaochang?”
Tumoroga was silent.
Yaoying asked softly, “Does Venerable want to form an alliance with Gaochang?”
Tumoroga’s eyes fell on her.
Yaoying locked eyes with him and slowly said, “The monarch and the majority of Goochang’s nobles are the prestigious clans from Hexi—are Han Chinese. Gaochang follows the rituals of the Central Plains empire: Confucianism flourishes, etiquette and customs are like those of the Central Plains. The Royal Court hates Han Chinese, so the Venerable Master could only secretly send the regent to test the intentions of Gaochang’s monarch.”
Sultan Gu went to Gaochang alone and must have been carrying out secret orders. At that time, the Northern Rong was invading the Royal Court in a showy manner. Yaoying guessed that Tumoroga might have known his days were numbered and wanted to leave a way out for the Royal Court, so he asked Sultan Gu to go to Gaochang to seek help.
The look on Tumoroga’s face confirmed Yaoying’s suspicion.
Her words took a turn, “My guess is that Gaochang rejected the regent.”
Tumoroga was silent, and a faint, different emotion swept through his deep turquoise eyes.
Yaoying met his gaze and said, “As a small country with a small population, Gaochang’s way of being a nation is to benefit from both sides, to submit to every powerful empire in exchange for survival. Now that the Northern Rong is strong, Gaochang submits to the Northern Rong. Although the Royal Court is prosperous, ultimately, your military strength is limited. Gaochang will not risk offending Northern Rong to ally with the Royal Court.”
Gaochang was connected to the Central Plains in the east, to the Western Regions in the west, to the Silk Road in the south, and to the grasslands in the north. The roads crisscrossed, with tribes roaming around. Its geographical location determined that it could be attacked but not defended. From ancient times to the present, this oasis country along the Silk Road had made great efforts to survive in the midst of various regimes and powers.
The Central Plains empire once set up provinces and counties in Gaochang, leaving troops to guard them, but later on, the Central Plains was in turmoil and had no time for the West. The Western Regions were also in turmoil, and Gaochang and other small Western countries could not communicate with the Central Plains and had no choice but to go their separate ways.
Yaoying had already inquired. The current monarch of Gaochang, surnamed Yuchi, was a descendant of a prestigious clan in Longxi. Gaochang submitted to the Northern Rong, and Monarch Yuchi had married Northern Rong’s Wakhan Khan’s niece as his wife two years ago.
She looked at Tumoroga and smiled before she began to answer his earlier question, “Venerable, I stay in the Royal Court so that I can go as an ambassador to Gaochang for the Royal Court.”
She didn’t know what kind of incense was burning in the hall, and the faint fragrance curled and drifted.
Tumoroga looked at Yaoying, his eyes deep and slightly blank.
Yaoying was solemn: “Gaochang was once a county under the rule of the Central Plains, so the monarch and noblemen of the country still have the Central Plains in their hearts. I am the princess of Great Wei, and I have a better chance of succeeding if I go to Gaochang in the regent’s stead.”
Gaochang did not want to offend Northern Rong, but Gaochang would not really submit to Northern Rong either. Their monarch and nobles always hoped to restore the connection to the Central Plains. She was the princess of Great Wei, and if she were sent to Gaochang, this time, Gaochang’s monarch might consider Tumoraga’s proposal.
Yaoying paused for a moment and continued, “Maybe I cannot convince Gaochang’s monarch, but at least Gaochang will not become an enemy of the Royal Court. Right now, from Liaohai in the east, west to the West Sea, south to Helong, and north to the North Sea, all submit to the Northern Rong. It is difficult for the Royal Court to resist the Northern Rong with the strength of a singular kingdom. No matter what Gaochang’s answer is, Great Wei is willing to ally with the Royal Court to resist Northern Rong together.”
Tumoroga stared at Yaoying for a long time.
The young girl’s voice was delicate and soft, her tone gentle, seemingly completely unaware of what the words she spoke represented.
From east to west, Great Wei, the Royal Court, Gaochang… in addition to the other small countries that wanted to return to the east, if this alliance was really reached, what would change would not only be the fate of the Royal Court, nor the pattern of the Western Regions, but the general trend of the world.
Tumoroga remembered the year he was thirteen, the yellow sand that rolled wildly across the sky when the Northern Rong cavalry attacked the Holy City. Chanting a scripture in his heart, he led his Central Army troops to meet the earth-shaking enemy army that came like a torrent.
From that moment on, he was destined to shoulder this kingdom until his death.
He was Buddha’s son, the monarch, but the princess in front of him was just a delicate and beautiful young girl, stranded outside her country, with little way ahead.
Tumoroga touched the beads in his hand and asked softly, “Why does the princess want to ally with the Royal Court?”
The corners of Yaoying’s lips curled lightly. Her eyes fixed on Tumoroga, she smiled and said, “Because of you.”
Tumoroga was stunned.