Chapter 125: Living Together
The route from the palace to the Buddhist temple had them pass through the busiest street in the city, and the road seemed to flow with an endless stream of people and carriages.
When Yaoying’s carriage left the palace surrounded by blue-shirted and white-robed soldiers, even through the thick felt curtain, she could hear the loud chattering like crashing waves on the sides of the road.
She sat cross-legged, and across from her was Banruo’s horrified expression.
Before, it was just gossip. Now, she not only blasphemed their god but would also live under the same roof as their god.
This was not what she expected.
Yaoying rested her chin in both hands, still overwhelmed.
When Tumoroga acquiesced in letting her stay in the palace, in her opinion, it was the best shelter she could hope for. Now, when he openly acknowledged her identity, not to mention Banruo and his heartbreak, she was also taken aback by the turn of events.
She had the cheek to approach him, and the people of the Royal Court just thought she was a young girl driven mad with love. Tumoroga allowing her to stay at the Buddhist temple meant something else.
It was good for her, of course, but it certainly tarnished Tumoroga’s reputation. After Yuanjue read out the imperial edict yesterday, the ambassadors and princes present at the post office yesterday began to speculate, Banruo was crying, and Bisha, who was always warm and generous, looked gloomy.
Yaoying thought back to the last time she saw Tumoroga. At the puja, he was so pure that it made the world pale in comparison.
Tumoroga was saving her.
Haidu Aling refused to give up, so she was on alert day and night. Through this incident, where Haidu Aling dared to break into the palace at night, she realized that the Royal Court was not safe anymore. Just as she began to worry, Tumoroga came to her aid.
When she first met him, she said before the army that she wanted to follow the example of the Mordenga Maiden. Tumoroga stopped his horse in front of the formation, his blue eyes sweeping her lightly, not expressing his opinion.
Now, he gave his answer.
He said yes.
A few months late, but swift and decisive. Two nights ago, Haidu Aling broke into the palace; yesterday, his edict was declared in public; today, he sent someone to receive her into the Buddhist temple. All of it was completed without delay.
When the carriage arrived at the Buddhist temple, it entered the temple through a hidden side door, and the Central Army soldiers led Yaoying inside.
Her legs were weak, and she had the surreal feeling as if she were freefalling through the clouds.
The Holy City’s Buddhist temple was long-established, built against a cliff wall. It was simple and unadorned, solemn and serene, majestic and imposing. Pagodas, Buddhist grottoes1, towering buildings, and temple halls were everywhere. The burning joss sticks were lively, the Sanskrit reciting coming intermittently.
Yaoying followed behind the soldiers, walking through the stone pillars between the corridor. As far as her eyes could see, the corridor walls were painted with stories of Buddhist scriptures, mountains and rivers, and flying frescoes. Gleaming with golden light, rich and colorful, gorgeous and full, with bold and smooth lines, strong and robust characters, and gorgeous and exuberant style.
The courtyard was brightly lit and wide, and the pagoda looked akin to a forest. The further she went in, the cooler and quieter it was, and the more exquisite the fresco carvings on the walls were, with wide expanses of rich gold and green. The ambiance was imposing, vast, and majestic.
Yaoying was dazzled.
Green, gold, and vermillion pigments were exceedingly expensive; the most famous painters in Chang’an could not paint with gold as they wished, but the Buddhist temple had green and vermilion murals everywhere, the gold leaves catching the light. The Royal Court’s wealth was abundantly clear.
Yuanjue and Banruo escorted Yaoying, one with a calm complexion, the other as if mourning his deceased parents, and brought her to a secluded courtyard away from the main hall, directing other soldiers to help carry the gifts.
The courtyard was not large, but there were several flowers and trees planted in the courtyard, which were rare in the Royal Court. The courtyard was deep, with its main house raised high off the ground, the walls of the hallways plastered with gleaming white clay, making the courtyard appear wide and tidy. The yellow-adobe flower wall had a grape rack, supporting the multitude of climbing vines, covering a large area with shade.
The main house’s walls were similarly built of white clay. The room was simply furnished with a felt carpet, a couch, a sitting table, a writing desk, a screen, and a veil hanging in front of the couch, with no other decorations.
Yuanjue pointed at the white house, saying: “Princess, every year in the changing of seasons between spring and summer, the wind is raging, the nights cold. The house here does not have open side windows, only the front window. There is no well in the courtyard; someone will bring the princess clean water every day. The princess can see what else is missing, so I can send them over.”
He added, “The princess is only devoting herself to Buddhism and does not have to strictly follow the rules of the monks in the temple, but the princess cannot be idle. Later, the monks will send scriptures and explain the daily morning and evening lessons to the princess.”
Yaoying thanked him, thought for a moment, and asked, “Is it convenient for the Buddha’s son to see me?”
Next to him, Banruo’s eyes immediately widened and he shot her a fierce glare. His lips twitched, but he did not dare to make a sound of rebuke, sulking for a while on his own before he lifted his feet and went out.
Yaoying was the person Tumoroga commanded others to fetch; he did not dare to badmouth her.
Yuanjue nodded and said, “The king has instructed that when the princess arrived, I would take the princess to the meditation room to see him.”
Yaoying left Xie Qing and the others to unpack and sort their things while she went with Yuanjue to see Tumoroga.
Tumoroga’s meditation room was made of green brick. It was isolated and solemn. All the archways, corridors, domed roofs, and stone pillars were painted with blue flowers and green leaves, all corners and edges outlined with a swirling pattern2, painted with winding branches and flowering designs3. Elegant and refined; suitable and natural. In front of the corridor, the pines and cypresses were straight, the poplars were tall, and the deepest area of the courtyard was planted with jujube trees with silvery white flowers, giving off a fragrance.
The courtyard was silent. The guards stood with their hands by their sides, like puppets molded from clay.
Tumoroga was sitting in front of a table in the meditation hall, writing something, his figure from the back looking lean.
Yuanjue walked in to inform. Yaoying was waiting in front of the porch, her eyes staring blankly when they fell on Tumoruga.
It was the hottest time of the day at noon. Tumoroga was wearing a monk’s coat that exposed his right shoulder today. The skin on his right shoulder was actually honey-colored, looking smooth with a slight gloss.
Yaoying averted her eyes and looked at the flowering branches swaying in the wind in front of the courtyard, remembering that the night before, Sultan Gu stumbled backward into the desert jujube thickets and the silvery white flowers fell to the ground.
Under the moonlight night, when her eyes met Sultan Gu’s for a fraction of a second, a strange feeling suddenly soared from the bottom of her heart.
She didn’t know why, but she always felt that Sultan Gu’s hideous face must be hiding something. She even, in that moment, felt that Sultan Gu was a bit like Tumoroga.
However, Tumoroga lingered in bed with sickness. Even dismounting from his horse, he needed support from his close guards. Sultan Gu was tough and martial, his blade overbearing and fierce. The two were a compassionate Buddha’s son and an unfeeling and ruthless regent.
Yaoying’s suspicions simply did not hold water.
Furthermore, when Sultan Gu saved her, she leaned close to his chest and could feel the strength hidden in his arms. Encircling her body with strong muscles, they were full of firmness.
The only point of similarity was their turquoise eyes.
Speaking of which, Bisha also had turquoise eyes…
Yaoying returned to her senses with a shake of her head and a laugh.
She had a wild imagination indeed. When Tumoroga was seriously ill, Sultan Gu showed up to scare off Xueyana. How could the unearthly Tumoroga and the murderous Sultan Gu be the same person?
Yuanjue walked out of the inner hall and gestured for Yaoying to enter the room.
Yaoying stopped her train of thought, gathered her skirt, and stepped into the meditation room.