TMBM Chapter 137: Departure
July 12, 2023mich
The next day, when Bisha heard that Sultan Gu would accompany Yaoying on the mission to Gaochang in two days, he firmly objected: “I don’t agree!”
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He struggled to get up from his sickbed.
“I want to see the king!”
The maids looked at each other in dismay, not daring to stop him.
When the curtain was raised, Princess Chima entered the room with a tray of fresh melons and fruits in hand. When she saw this, she tossed the lacquered tray aside and rushed to the couch to support Bisha, saying angrily: “Are you crazy? Why are you going to see Roga when you are injured?”
Bisha gritted his teeth and said, “I must see the king. It’s too hot to travel now. It will be cooler in a month, and my injuries will have healed by then. The princess can wait another month!”
Princess Chima pressed him back to the couch and laughed coldly: “Are you that concerned about the Han princess?”
Bishop frowned: “Chima, the mission to Gaochang is an important matter of the court. You don’t need to be so suspicious.”
Princess Chima’s eyes narrowed slightly. A trace of disdain swept through her light brown eyes: “Just because she is a Han woman, Gaochang will agree to the alliance?”
Bisha glanced at her and shook his head with a forced smile.
The alliance was the least of his worries…
He pulled away from Princess Chima, raised his voice, and called for his close guards to help him into the carriage to the Buddhist temple.
Unable to stop him, Princess Chima was furious. Standing in front of the courtyard door, looking at his back as he hobbled to the carriage, she almost broke her teeth from gritting them so hard.
When Bisha arrived at the Buddhist temple, the attendant went in and returned shortly.
“General, the king has gone into seclusion last night, concentrating on meditation, not seeing anyone. The temple master said that the king would be in seclusion for several months this time.”
Bisha clenched his fists and closed his eyes.
“Go to the beast garden.”
The attendant answered yes and drove the carriage out of the Buddhist temple, around the wall that spanned the north. It led to a courtyard covering a vast area, covered with complimentary pines and cypresses.
In the courtyard, the houses and pavilions towered above the staggered earthen cliffs, sparsely scattered, covering a large area in shade. A stream of moving water meandered around the courtyard, with a dense and lush forest along the river.
The attendant helped Bisha out of the carriage.
Bisha was so anxious that he pushed the attendant away. Ignoring his injuries, he hurriedly climbed the stone steps three steps at a time.
When footsteps sounded suddenly, the guards came forward with their swords drawn.
Bisha took out a ghost face bronze medal and said, “I want to see the Regent!”
When the guards saw the ghost-faced bronze medal, they carefully scrutinized it for a moment. After confirming that it was correct, they immediately returned their swords to their sheaths and gave way.
The sound of deliberately lightened footsteps came from the corridor. All the dark guards retreated to their original places without a sound.
Bisha put away the bronze medal and walked through the path lined on either side with poplars and densely crawling with deep green vines. Rounding the long and dark corridor, he arrived in front of a hidden door.
He pushed open the door and felt his way down the dark, narrow staircase to the abandoned, deep, and gloomy prison.
The cell was silent, without a single lamp, so dark that you could not see your fingers. It was like the large open mouth of a giant beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour its prey.
Bisha grew up afraid of this cell. The further he entered, the more frightened he was, unable to help himself from shuddering.
A ray of light flashed from the dark corner. A leopard stepped out of the darkness, its phosphorescent eyes glowing.
Bisha screamed out in fear, backing up to avoid the leopard, causing him to pull his wound. He grimaced in pain.
The leopard looked at him with contempt and turned to walk away.
Bisha could not care less about the pain, and followed the leopard through the long narrow winding passage, around a narrow stone crevice until they entered a wide clearing. The skylight shone into the secret tunnel, illuminating the general outline of the cave. The stone floor was shrouded in shadows, hazy due to the mist.
The vapor rose in curls and spirals. An upright figure clad in black stood with his back to Bisha. His tall and slender body was well-proportioned and chiseled.
Bisha sighed and knelt down on one knee.
“King, do you really need to personally escort Princess Wenzhao to Gaochang?”
The man looked back, his face streaked with ugly scars. Meeting his eyes through the mist, his turquoise eyes were like he was looking through the water of the Three Lifetime Ponds1, magnificent but uncorrupted and distant.
“My mind is made up.”
He said softly.
Each word was very gentle, but with a thunderous momentum, like the pressure of an entire lofty mountain range.
Bisha’s words of persuasion were all blocked in his throat. After a long stretch of silence, he bowed and said, “This subordinate understands.”
…
It was nearly early autumn. It was still hot during the day, but the night was abruptly cold. The wind was so strong that the leaves of the grapevines fell all over the courtyard, making the steps messy.
The next day when she woke up early, Yaoying found that a thin layer of cold frost had formed on the ground.
The soldiers who had risen early to practice martial arts gathered in front of the thin frost, all indescribably bewildered.
Seeing this, the Royal Court attendant laughed and explained: “Don’t be fooled by how hot it is during the day. Once it gets cold, frost will form at night. When the wind starts blowing in earnest, you may have to wear a fur coat! Every year, the snow starts to fall before the leaves on the trees are gone. Everyone says that there is no autumn in the Royal Court; summer is followed by winter.”
He continued, rubbing his hands excitedly, “The regent has issued the decree that in a few days, the Begging Winter Festival will be held. After our victory in the war this year, the Begging Winter Festival will be even grander and livelier than last year’s!”
Yaoying was stunned, “The Begging Winter Festival is coming?”
The Royal Court could be considered an oasis nation. Summers were dry and rain was infrequent. It was common for an entire month to go by without a drop of rain. The water source for irrigating farmland and nourishing the soil mainly came from the seasonal rivers formed by the ice and snow melt water from the Tianshan Mountains. Thus, they would hold a grand celebration before winter came, begging for a colder winter, for more snow, to ensure abundant water in the coming year.
Yaoying had heard Bisha mention that the Begging Winter Festival was one of the grandest festivals in the Royal Court. Sultan Gu was also from the Royal Court, so why didn’t he wait until after the festival before they departed?
The attendant nodded cheerfully: “This year’s summer is longer than previous years. Everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time!”
Yaoying laughed softly.
It was no wonder the attendant was so excited. The Begging Winter Festival usually spanned seven days. Not only were there splendid music and dance performances but also ceremonial rituals where they prayed for blessings and to avoid disasters. When the time comes, the people of the city would come out in full force, festively celebrating. On the last day, men, women, young and old alike dressed in their best attire and wearing masks, splashed water on one another to pray for blessings, which was festive and auspicious.
She asked the attendant, “Did the Regent attend the Begging Festival last year?”
The attendant thought back for a moment before shaking his head.
Yaoying then asked, “What about Buddha’s son?”
The attendant laughed: “You don’t know, Princess, but Buddha’s son is a monk. Monks have to observe the precept of renouncing singing and dancing, so they cannot see such merry celebrations. Buddha’s son has never participated in the Begging Winter Festival.”
Yaoying turned thoughtful.
The Xingxiang Festival was a Buddhist festival; Tumoraga held a puja. The Begging Winter Festival was a secular festival, and he has never attended… but why was Sultan Gu also not participating in the Begging Winter Festival?
Could it be that he was a secular disciple like Yuanjue and Banruo2?