Yao Ying made a promise in front of Tanmaragha, saying that she would apologize, and went back that night to copy two volumes of scriptures.

On the second day, the guards brought the scriptures to the front of the temple. The monks were about to put the scriptures together with the handwritten scriptures and wooden plaques of other believers praying for blessings and confessing their sins. Yuan Jue came over and asked, "Where is the scripture sent by Princess Wen Zhao?"

The monks in the temple hurriedly found the scriptures.

Yuanjue took the scripture away and said, "Don't tell anyone else about this."

The monks in the temple should be like this.

Yuanjue brought the scriptures to Tanmaragha.

Tanmarajiva took it, placed it before the Buddha statue, and recited scriptures for Yaoying.

After a while, he finished reciting the sutra and asked, "Were you there when Princess Wen Zhao stepped into the fire altar yesterday?"

Yuan Jue nodded and said, "The princess's personal soldiers demonstrated the trick several times in private first. General Ashina and I were present to make sure that no one would be hurt before cooperating with the princess to scare the other princesses."

At this point, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your Majesty, you didn't see it. When Princess Wen Zhao said she wanted to step into the fire altar, the other princesses looked at her like she was crazy. Princess Manda sneered and said that the princess was bluffing. She had someone throw a scarf into the altar, and the scarf immediately caught fire. Princess Manda was dumbfounded..."

…

I don't know what miraculous method the personal guards used, but the fire altar was burning fiercely, emitting wisps of blue flames. People who were close could feel the burning and scorching, and the accumulated snow also melted.

Princess Manda and her followers checked several times but found no mechanism.

When Li Yaoying stepped into the fire tank with a smile in front of everyone's gaze, the people who came to watch shouted out one after another. The central army guards prepared several large vats filled with clean water. Each person carried a bucket of water and stared at the fire tank without blinking.

Amidst the huge sounds of burning and explosions, Yao Ying stepped towards the flames. The hot wind blew up her veil, but there was no fear on her face.

Everyone stared at her in a daze, watching her walk through the dark blue flames. Flames were emanating from her brocade robes, but she remained calm and composed. When the dark blue flames died out, she stood in front of the fire altar. Although her clothes were charred black, she was safe and sound.

She walked out, lifted her still smoking sleeves and blew them out, looked at the princesses of other countries, and asked, "Who's next?"

The princesses of various countries retreated one after another, their faces as pale as death, and Princess Manda did not dare to step forward.

…

Yuan Jue couldn't help laughing at the end: "King, I asked the guards, they learned their skills from the sorcerers and Persian priests. They said that if the fire altar can't scare people, they still have other ways. The princess can roll the nail board, swallow the nails... each one is more terrifying than the other..."

Tanmaraka held the beads in his hand, listened to him, and said, "If something like this happens again, come back and report it first."

When you realize that fate is just a little bit disturbing, you should be respectful.

There were footsteps at the door, and Prajna entered the hall and asked Tanmarajya: "Your Majesty, the temple master and several managers don't know where to enshrine the Udumbara flower. Please give us your advice."

The news of the Udumbara flower's appearance spread quickly, and people flocked to the temple to see the magical flower. The temple master was worried that the magical flower would be destroyed, so he was hesitant to move the golden flower into the inner hall. The other monks disagreed, believing that the flower should be enshrined in the main hall for all the people who came to worship Buddha to see.

Tanmaraka said calmly: "Since it is not a worldly thing, there is no need to offer it as a sacrifice. Just put it away."

Yuanjue and Prajna were both stunned for a moment, feeling it was a great pity.

Prajna was somewhat unwilling to accept this, and hesitantly asked, "That is the Udumbara flower, a treasure that shows the king's merits. How can they just put it away and keep it from seeing the light of day?"

Tanmarajiva nodded and hummed.

Prajna said cautiously, "King, if the people cannot see the Udumbara flower, they will be disappointed and complain that the royal temple has monopolized the treasure."

"Put it away."

Tanmarajiva said with a stern tone.

Prajna did not dare to persuade him any further and walked out with her head hung dejectedly.

Tanmarajiva looked at the scriptures copied by Yaoying and turned the beads with his fingers.

After all, the golden flower was not real. If she offered it up as a sacrifice and worshipped it before the Buddha, it would be deceiving the gods and would inevitably lead to trouble in the future. It was better to put it away.

Although she never cared about these things.

After a moment of silence, a guard clasped his fists outside the door and said, "Your Majesty, the Indian doctor wants to see you."

Tanmaragupta stood up, holding the beads, and nodded.

Yuanjue understood and signaled the Indian doctor to enter the hall.

The Indian doctor entered the palace holding a treasure box, bowed to Tanmaragha, and said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared pills for Princess Wen Zhao. You can take one pill first. If you don't feel any severe discomfort, you can take it every ten days. It will take only one or two years for you to recover. You don't need to take Ninglu pills anymore."

He handed a detailed prescription to Yuanjue, who placed it on the desk.

Tanmaraka picked up the prescription, looked at it for a while, and frowned: "Mandragora?"

The Indian doctor felt a tightness in his heart and thought to himself that what Mundadeva said was indeed right. The king of the royal court was quite knowledgeable in pharmacology and he must not be treated as an arrogant and frivolous monarch and be fooled around with.

"Reporting to the king, the nature of Datura is warm. Although it is poisonous, it can also be used for treatment. The petals can stop wheezing and coughing, and especially can relieve pain and anesthesia. The princess was born with a deficiency, and if you want to cure the root cause, you have to increase the dosage. When dispersing the medicine, you will experience pain that ordinary people can hardly bear, so a small amount of Datura must be added to the pills."

After that, he said respectfully: "When the princess takes the medicine, I can wait by the side. If anything happens to the princess, I will take the blame."

Tanmaraka put down the prescription and said, "Doctor, there is no need to do this."

Treating an illness is inherently risky. As a patient himself, he knows this very well. Asking one more question was not to blame him, but he just wanted to know clearly about the consequences of taking the pills.

"Is Princess Wen Zhao in the front hall?"

He asked about Yuanjue.

Yuanjue shook his head and replied, "The princess went to the martial arts arena today."

The guard told him this morning.

Tanmaraka said, "When she comes back, invite her to the cave."

…

The second day of the ceremony was a martial arts competition, with rich rewards for the winners and a good reward for the losers. In addition, the envoys from various countries took out their treasures as prizes to reward the winners, and the royal court and warriors from various countries participated enthusiastically, making the competition extremely lively.

Yao Ying had previously picked out several valuable treasures as a prize and got a seat.

She asked her personal soldiers to participate in horse racing and archery competitions, while she herself went to the sidelines to watch the games, secretly observing the horses ridden and the harnesses used by the warriors of each tribe.

Haidu Aling had several magic weapons for victory: well-trained, strong endurance, and fast-moving cavalry, sophisticated and durable weapons that could be equipped in large quantities, and fast, endurance, and load-bearing capacity war horses in sufficient quantities.

The role of horses cannot be underestimated. The quality of horses largely determines the strength of the army's combat effectiveness. Emperor Wu of Han spent a lot of effort to obtain the precious horses, which was precisely for the purpose of improving the war horses in the army and enhancing the strength of the army.

At present, due to years of war, the Central Plains has lost the Helang River and the source of excellent war horses, and the armies of various countries mostly use southwestern horses.

Southwestern horses are suitable for mountain transport, but they are light and short in stature, and their load-bearing capacity is far inferior to that of tall horses. After carrying water bags, dry food, and bows and arrows, they can no longer carry a soldier wearing heavy armor, so the soldiers cannot wear armor and can only use leather shields for protection.

Furthermore, the horses in the southwest lacked stamina and explosive power, and could not march quickly or launch surprise attacks. Therefore, the Central Plains army could not charge into battle with cavalry like the Northern Rong cavalry.

As a result, the Central Plains could not form a strong cavalry, and all marches and battles were mainly carried out by infantry.

However, relying solely on infantry, it is impossible to recapture Helan, let alone defeat the Northern Rong.

Yao Ying secretly thought that the war horses that Haidu Aling's army would ride in the future seemed to come from other tribes. It would be great if she could destroy his plan before he improved the war horses.

When Bisha came down from the court, she saw Yaoying standing by the sidelines, frowned, and reminded her, "Look over there."

Yao Ying looked in the direction of his finger, and a sneaky figure immediately shrank into the crowd.

Bisha said, "They are from the Virumaluo delegation. They have been asking around about you these past two days."

All the other princesses wanted to withdraw, but Princess Manda showed no sign of giving up.

Yao Ying frowned slightly.

Bisha comforted her, saying, "The Virumara delegation must leave at the end of the month. Princess Manda has no reason to stay no matter how unwilling she is. Princess, you have to be careful of them these days. You will be fine by next month."

Yao Ying nodded.

In the afternoon, the two returned to Wang Temple together. Yuanjue was waiting at the door and said that Tanmarajiva wanted to invite Yaoying to come over.

Bisao paused, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

"The king is going to see Princess Wen Zhao today?"

Yuanjue nodded.

Bisha clenched her fists as if she had been hit by a club.

Yao Ying happened to be looking for Tanmarajiva for something, so she didn't notice his strange behavior and said to Yuanjue, "Wait a minute, I'm going to go back and get something."

Yuan Jue should be standing outside the yard waiting for her.

Bisha did not leave, but waited on the side.

Yuanjue glanced at him and whispered, "General, the king did not summon you."

Bi Suo's face was expressionless. She said, "Isn't the king meeting the princess in the meditation room? I want to go to the meditation room too. It's on the same way as you guys, so we can go together."

Yuanjue shook his head: "We are not in the meditation room today."

Bisumei's heart skipped a beat and she asked, "Where is that?"

Yuanjue scratched his head and said, "It's in a meditation room over there in the grotto, very close to the torture hall. The king has already been there."

The courtyards on the other side of the execution hall were mostly empty, with few people passing by. Tanmarajiva suddenly ordered someone to clean the meditation room the day before yesterday, and never mentioned it again. He wondered about it for a long time, and now he realized that the king had prepared it for today.

When Bi Su heard the words "grotto" and "torture hall", he was shocked and his eyes widened in disbelief.

On the other side, Yaoying took the things and walked out. Yuanjue greeted her and led her away.

Yao Ying followed him, walked through the corridor, passed the pagoda forest, climbed the long stairs, and came to a cave.

The cave is located in a secluded corner, separated from the cliff wall full of caves of various sizes by a dark corridor. Although it is called a cave, it is more like a residence. There is a tree planted in front of the corridor, but the branches are bare and it is impossible to tell what kind of tree it is.

"Is the wizard in there?"

Yaoying asked in a low voice. She did not see the central army guards on duty.

Yuan Jue nodded and said, "Princess, please go in."

Yaoying went in holding the bag. The cave was a cave room dug out from the earth cliff. The light was dim even in the daytime. When the lights were turned on inside, there was a hazy glow.

Tanmaraka sat on a cushion under the lamp with his back to her. The flickering candlelight was all around him, and his red cassock was as red as fire.

Yao Ying stepped forward and asked, "Master, are you looking for me?"

Tanmarajiva turned his head to look at her and nodded his chin towards the couch opposite him.

Yao Ying walked to the low couch, sat down, put down her bag, and waited for him to speak.

Tanmarajiva opened the treasure box, took out the pill and handed it to Yaoying.

"The doctor prepared a pill for the princess. I have examined it. The princess may feel a little uncomfortable after taking one pill. If you feel uncomfortable..."

Before he finished speaking, Yao Ying took the pill, swallowed it, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank a few sips slowly.

Tanmaraka: ...

"Princess, don't you ask what this medicine is?"

Yao Ying smiled, with stars in her eyes: "Master, the medicine you found for me must be a good medicine to cure my illness. Thank you, Master."

Tanmarajiva looked at her for a while and then looked away.

…

Outside Wang Temple.

Bisha stayed where he was, stood there for a long time, closed his eyes, and turned around to leave the temple.

There was a constant stream of people outside the Wang Temple, with devout believers bowing down in the direction of the main hall. At a glance, the long street was dark and crowded with people.

Bisuo rode his horse through the crowded crowd, in a trance.

After returning to the palace, he called his subordinates and talked about military affairs for a while. Mobiduo came to ask about sending troops. The two of them drank and talked, and before they knew it, it was evening. When Mobiduo left, he was already half drunk and lay down to sleep.

He had a dream.

In the dream, the young boy was kneeling in front of a bed in a cave. An old man was lying on the bed, dying. His skinny hands were trembling as he solemnly handed him a knife that was shining with a cold light.

"Bisa, swear to me."

Bishomon was trembling all over, not daring to take the knife, "Master... I really can't do it!"

The old man stared at him for a long time with his cloudy eyes and sighed.

"Call Yuanjue here."

Bisa felt a chill and rushed forward to take the knife.

The next moment, the old man and the knife disappeared.

He saw an empty Buddhist temple with candles burning and incense curling up.

A monk sat cross-legged on the altar in front of the Buddha. His face was clearly outlined, his green eyes were as bright as lotus flowers, and he was dressed in a loose monk's robe. His whole body was surrounded by agarwood and candlelight. He looked cold and noble, and he appeared gracefully out of the world.

He looked so holy and solemn, but in his arms was a beautiful woman with skin as white as snow. She was facing him, with her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. They sat opposite each other, and he looked down at her.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the temple, and countless torches gathered towards the temple, dotted like stars and shining like the Milky Way.

Someone kicked the door open, and with a loud clang, a long knife chopped down at the woman in the monk's arms.

The monk raised his face, his body was dripping with sweat and his cold and handsome face was filled with murderous intent.

The emerald eyes, which should have been calm and peaceful, were now as red as blood.

Bisa looked at him and raised his long sword.

…

The cool breeze blew into the house through the cracks, causing the felt curtains to sway.

Bi Suo woke up from his dream, all the drunkenness gone and cold sweat all over his body. He sat for a while, got off the bed, put on his clothes and boots, and hurried to the Wang Temple.

Yuan Jue was startled when he saw him sweating profusely, and asked, "General, do you have any urgent military information to report?"

Bisha did not answer but asked, "Has the king returned from the cave?"

Yuanjue shook his head: "The king hasn't come back yet."

"Has Princess Wen Zhao returned?"

Yuanjue continued to shake his head: "It seems not..."

Bi Suo's face was as gloomy as water, and she held him tightly: "Take me to see the king! Now! Immediately!"

The author has something to say: I'm sorry, I let it run wild last night. I wanted to revise it right after it was published at 11 o'clock, but the chapter was locked for high-level review and could not be modified in the backend. I had to wait until the morning to make the revisions. The original version was not suitable and has been revised. The dream of last night's version does not exist.

Everyone tried hard to forget the original version of the previous chapter. I am very sorry. I will send a red envelope in the next chapter~