There is a sound of rain outside the window.

The night breeze wrapped in moisture blew into the house through the cracks, adding a bit of coolness.

Yaoying changed her dress and sat in front of the lamp, drying her long hair bit by bit.

When Sultan Gu hugged her, his whole body was stiff and cold, and his palms were also cold, so cold that she shivered slightly. Even now, she could still feel the place on her neck where his palm had touched was a little hot.

Was it really an old injury that caused him to lose control temporarily?

What a mistake... Why did you hug her and not others?

Yao Ying sat in a trance for a while, tied up her long hair with a silk knot, wrote a short letter, and called her personal guard: "Give the letter to General Ashina and tell him that I want to see General Su, and ask him to help pass it on."

Rather than sitting here wondering, why not ask the Sultan in person?

The personal soldier went out with the letter and bumped into Bamir who was delivering the message.

"Princess, General Ashina wants you to come over."

Seeing his anxious expression, Yao Ying put on her cloak and followed him out the door. "What happened?"

Bamil said, "General Su is ill, and General Ashina asked the princess to go and see him."

Yao Ying was stunned. Was Sudang really suffering from an old illness?

The last time he nearly went insane while practicing, he did hug her, and he hugged her for most of the night... That time, he was also cold, and he hugged her like she was a pillow.

The two men walked across the courtyard holding umbrellas, splashing water everywhere, and hurried to a courtyard near the execution hall and climbed up the stairs.

Bi Suo came over with a lamp in her hand, and her eyes fell on Yao Ying: "Princess, please come over so late at night. Sorry to trouble you, Princess."

Yao Ying took off his hood and asked, "How is General Su?"

Bi Su smiled and bowed to her: "I was inconsiderate and made the princess worried. The regent was just feeling unwell for a while, but he is fine now. I was too rash and I apologize to the princess."

Yao Ying was stunned and looked up towards the door.

A tall figure stood there, his posture proud and vigorous, the light flickered, his scarred face was half in light and half in dark, his green eyes were deep and calm.

Rain falls heavily on the steps.

Yao Ying looked at Sudangu, was silent for a while, and took a few steps forward, "Is General Su feeling better?"

He lowered his eyes to look at her and nodded: "I'm fine. I'm sorry to have made you worried. Please go back."

He then turned to Bamir.

"Send the princess back."

The tone of voice was cold.

Bamir responded respectfully.

Bi Suo stood aside, not daring to say a word.

A gust of wind blew by, and the rain suddenly became heavier, and the raindrops hit the roof of the tiles with a crisp sound.

Yao Ying stood at the steps and didn't say anything for a long time. There was no need to ask him anything she wanted to ask.

Raindrops splashed, wetting the hem of her skirt. She gathered her cape and smiled, "I'm glad you're okay, General. It's late at night, General, you've just returned from the battle. Go to bed early. I'm going back now."

Yaoying turned and left.

Bamir looked confused and hurriedly followed.

When the two figures disappeared into the depths of the corridor, Tanmaragha staggered backwards, steadying himself by holding onto the corridor pillar.

Bi Suo went forward to help him.

He waved his hand, turned and went into the house, staggered to the couch, and fell down.

Bi Suo sighed, "King, why are you doing this..."

Tanmarajiva had just woken up after taking the medicine. When he learned that he had invited Li Yaoying over, he struggled to get up and coldly asked Li Yaoying to leave.

He had just hugged the princess, and then turned around and was so cold to her without any explanation. No matter how good-tempered the princess was, she would be annoyed.

Tanmarajiva held on for a long time, but he was already exhausted, his consciousness became blurred again, his brows were wrinkled, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

"Don't drag her into this..."

He was unaware of what was happening and suddenly murmured something.

A person who practices cultivation should not disturb her who is in the world of mortals. For him, all this is just a test, but it is different for her.

No matter what identity he appears in front of her, he should not cross the line.

He can't afford to make the same mistake over and over again.

Bi Suo shook his head and sighed, staying by the bed with mixed feelings in his heart.

…

Early the next morning, Tanmarajiva woke up and saw a floating green light in front of the window.

The rain has stopped and the sky is bright.

He got up, and like every other day, he called the doctor, took some medicine, took off his headscarf, tore off his scars, took off his clothes, put on his robes, found his Buddhist beads, wrapped them around his wrist, and sat cross-legged in front of the Buddha statue, meditating.

The hug in the rain yesterday was just a momentary forgetfulness.

The clouds disappeared, the rain stopped, the red sun rose, the bright sunshine shone everywhere, and all the smoke and clouds disappeared.

He read a few scrolls of scriptures, and then Bisha and Bamir came to report the matter.

"King, everything is fine in the city these days..."

Bi Suo said with a complicated expression on her face.

"Speaking of which, it's all thanks to Princess Wen Zhao."

Tanmaraka raised his eyes.

Bisuo gestured to Bamir, who said slowly, "When Haidu Aling launched the surprise attack, all the ministers in the court came to the king's temple. The prime minister personally came out to preside over the government and reprimanded the court officials, so the court officials dispersed and went back to their duties honestly. During this period, monks from the temple asked to see me. I followed the king's instructions and found a reason to send them away. I ordered the guards at the city gates to strengthen their vigilance and close the city gates tightly, so that everything was peaceful."

There was sufficient food in the city, and the prime minister had issued a ban, so shops dared not raise prices. Everything was the same as usual, except that the city gates were closed.

"I didn't expect that there were already spies from the Northern Rong in the city. General Gelu and his men couldn't capture Haidu Aling for a while. The situation was getting worse and the people were scared. Those spies spread rumors and caused chaos among the people. They took the opportunity to cause riots and instigated the people to attack the city gates..."

"The prime minister led officials to the city gate to persuade the people. The people believed the rumors and said that the prime minister had sent his family out of the city a long time ago, and they also wanted to leave the city. No matter how the prime minister persuaded, it was useless. I don’t know if someone instigated it, a soldier guarding the city suddenly beat the people, and then there was chaos... The prime minister led people to check the situation, and several women rushed out of the crowd and tried to assassinate the prime minister! The prime minister was not prepared and was stabbed, but fortunately the wound was very shallow, just a little skin break."

When Tanmarajiva heard this, his brows furrowed slightly.

The Prime Minister was too honest after all. He followed his instructions every step of the way. He was loyal but failed to adapt to circumstances, so he was unable to quell the minor unrest.

Bamir continued, "At this time, Princess Wen Zhao suddenly appeared on the city wall, and her personal guards rescued the Prime Minister..."

That day, Li Yaoying suddenly appeared, rescued Daxiang, and stood on the city wall to persuade the people, saying that the Buddhist disciples had already arranged the garrison, and Haidu Aling would never be able to enter the holy city. The people were skeptical.

Bamir thought of the scene that day and couldn't help but keep the secret: "King, guess what the princess did?"

Tanmaraka glanced at him indifferently.

Bamir shuddered, remembering that he was reporting something, not bragging to his colleagues, and said in a serious tone, "The princess has been paying attention to the movements in the city, and rushed over when she heard the news. She stood on the city wall, pointed at the most violent people in the crowd, and without saying a word, she asked her personal soldiers to tie up those people!"

Li Yaoying appeared in men's clothing with a veil on her face. Her personal soldiers started arresting people, and the people in the city were in an uproar. She was not afraid of the people's pointing and talking, and exposed the identities of those spies on the spot - it turned out that she had started to investigate secretly since she returned to the Holy City, just waiting for those spies to jump out themselves so that she could catch them all in one fell swoop.

At this time, Bamir heard that there was a riot in front of the city gate, so he sent monks from the royal temple to deal with it. The people trusted the monks, and when they saw that the spies were exposed on the spot under the questioning of the personal soldiers, they all dispersed.

From then on, no matter what rumors were spread, the people thought they were spies from the Northern Rong who were stirring up trouble and stayed at home obediently.

The people were shocked by the sudden change and became more alert. They issued several bans in succession. Not only was there a curfew in the city at night, but there was also martial law in various places during the day. The ban was not lifted until the day before yesterday when they knew that the army was about to return triumphantly.

After saying this, Bamir retreated to the door.

Tanmarajiva lowered her eyes and said nothing, spinning the Buddhist beads with her fingers.

Bi Suo continued, "Princess Wen Zhao has been sending her personal soldiers back and forth between the Holy City and the river valley to pass on messages to Ge Lu and his men. She has been on guard against Hai Du Aling."

Tanmarajiva stopped moving his hands.

"Why didn't anyone report it?"

he asked softly.

Bi Suo whispered, "The princess presented herself as my aide Bayan. General Gelu and his men did not know that she was Princess Wen Zhao. The prime minister thought she was just a clerk in my palace."

On the way back to the Holy City from the Sand City, Li Yaoying never revealed her identity. Only Bamir and Prajna knew that she had returned to the city.

Bamil thought that Tanmaraka knew about this, so he did not think of writing a letter to report it.

A ray of morning light shone into the meditation room, passed through the desk, and fell on Tanmaragha's robes, shimmering with a faint golden light.

He was silent for a long time, then asked Bamir: "When did Princess Wen Zhao come back?"

Bamir thought for a moment and said, "It's been almost a month... The princess returned before Haidu Aling launched his surprise attack."

Tanmaraka stood up, walked to the window and gazed at the courtyard.

In other words, after Yao Ying followed the rear army and left, he immediately rushed back to the Holy City without stopping.

At that time, no one knew how many troops Haidu Aling would bring.

She was so afraid of Haidu Aling that she came here without hesitation even though she knew he would launch a surprise attack.

Why did she come back?

…

Half an hour later, in the courtyard.

The heavy and vast sound of the bell echoed in Chewang Temple. The morning light was pouring down, and the top of the pagoda was shining with golden light.

Hearing the bell, Yao Ying, who was writing at her desk, raised her head.

The little nun in the yard smiled and said, "Princess, our Buddhist disciples have come out of retreat!"

Yaoying put down her pen, walked to the door, and looked towards the direction of the cave.

In the bright morning light, the towering grottoes were coated with a golden halo, looking solemn and holy.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps approaching, and Bamir came over and said, "Princess, the king wants you to go to the meditation room."

Yao Ying packed up and went to the meditation room with Bamir.

After entering the archway, a tall figure walked towards them from the end of the corridor, the sword on his waist reflecting precious light. A leopard with ancient coin patterns on its body followed him, and its claws landed on the lotus-patterned brick floor lightly and silently.

Bamir stopped and saluted the man, "Regent."

The man hummed and glanced at Yao Ying. With her back to the sunlight, her emerald eyes looked slightly darker than usual.

Yao Ying looked at him but didn't go forward. "General, are you feeling better today?"

Sultan Ku nodded slightly.

The leopard beside him raised its head, narrowed its yellow eyes, and suddenly rushed forward, raising its claws to hook the hem of Yaoying's skirt.

"Ahh."

The man shouted.

The leopard retracted its claws, leaped onto the railing, and ran away with its tail drooping.

The man greeted Yaoying and walked away.

Yao Ying watched him go away and asked Bamil, "Is General Su going to leave the city?"

Bamil said: "The king has left the border. The regent has been ordered to go to Yizhou to pursue Wakhan Khan and the remnants of the Northern Rong. He will set out today."

Yao Ying frowned slightly and continued walking towards the meditation room while looking back.

When they reached the door, Prajna came forward with a smile and whispered, "Princess, the king has come out of seclusion. The princess has made great contributions a few days ago, and the king will definitely reward the princess."

Yao Ying didn't say anything, but looked over his shoulder towards the meditation room.

The hall was filled with a fragrant air, and was spacious and bright. A man was sitting cross-legged at a desk, reviewing memorials. He was wearing a loose snow-white monk's robe with gold patterns. He had an upright posture, a dignified demeanor, and cold eyes.

She stepped forward.

"Mage."

Tanmaraka nodded and motioned her to sit down.

Yao Ying looked around and saw a short desk next to the long desk. It was the desk she had used when she stayed in the meditation room before.

She walked over and sat down, then looked up at Tanmaraka carefully.

He has sparse brow bones, a high nose bridge, distinct features, and a calm expression, as if he is untainted by worldly affairs. Just looking at his face, he looks a bit like a Buddha.

Tanmo Luojia raised his eyelids and met Yaoying's thoughtful gaze. He said, "Haidu Aling has gone to Gaochang. Yuanjue has already gone south. He will warn Gaochang."

Yao Ying came back to her senses and said, "Thank you, Master."

She was not surprised at all that Haidu Aling fled south. The royal court was strong and easy to defend. In order to preserve his strength, he would not force an attack on the city, but would only create chaos by sneaking into it. When he heard that Wakhan Khan had been defeated, he would withdraw his troops and flee south without hesitation. For him at the moment, taking the opportunity to gather the remaining troops and strengthen his power was obviously more important than helping Wakhan Khan to rescue him.

Tanmarajiva lowered his head and opened a memorial.

"I heard from Bamir that the princess helped the prime minister maintain order in the city and arrested several Beirong spies."

Yao Ying smiled and said, "I just arrested a few people. The interrogation, investigation, and maintenance of order were all handled by the prime minister and Bamil."

She was worried about Haidu Aling's evil plots and kept a close eye on suspicious people in the city, so she reacted faster than Daxiang and Bamir.

Tanmo Luojia picked up the pen and wrote, "Why did the princess return to the holy city?"

His tone was calm, as if he was just asking casually.

Yao Ying looked calm and said lightly, "General Ashina asked me to join the army because I know Haidu Aling. Haidu Aling wants to attack the Holy City, so of course I can't avoid it... The master has been very kind to me, and I also want to do my part for him."

She paused and looked at the pen in Tanmaraka's hand. "I came back for the master."

The tip of the pen never stagnated on the paper, and the writing movement was elegant and smooth.

Tanmaraka looked at the spread-out silk cloth and wrote calmly, without a trace of emotion on his face.