A ritual was being performed in the main hall. Monks were sitting in a circle in the hall, reciting scriptures together. There were shadows of people everywhere and the sound of Buddhist scriptures could be heard.

Tanmarajya was not in the main hall.

Prajna led Yaoying through the alley and into a quiet courtyard.

Yao Ying looked around and saw that the main hall was heavily guarded. The corridor was crowded with people. Monk soldiers and guards were stationed outside the hall in three layers inside and outside.

When the news of Sultan's death came back, Ashina Bisha was "ordered" to verify it and bring back Sultan's "corpse". Everyone was convinced that Sultan had passed away. In the past few days, the princes and ministers have been acting more and more arrogant. All the monks and soldiers in the holy city have withdrawn to the royal temple to scare the princes and ministers.

It is said that several main roads in the city have been controlled by the four armies commanded by aristocratic families, and rumors are rampant that the Buddhist disciple has been imprisoned in the Royal Temple again.

There was no news coming back from the Northern Rong, and no one knew who would win or lose between Wakhan Khan and Haidu Aling, but the ministers in the royal court were already busy fighting for power.

Internal and external troubles, the whole building is in turmoil.

In the book, Tanmarajiva single-handedly carried up the shoulders of a crumbling kingdom, but eventually died of exhaustion.

Born a king, he dedicated his entire life to the royal court.

Yao Ying frowned slightly.

Prajna, who was leading the way for her, glared at her, coughed twice, and said, "The king is here, Princess, don't worry."

Yao Ying looked at him puzzledly.

Prajna held her chest high and glanced at her with the corner of her eyes: "The king is wise and resourceful, and is what the people want. Even if the regent king is gone, no one dares to disrespect the king! Princess, don't look so sad. Princess, don't worry, no matter what happens, you are now a member of the royal temple, and General Xue Yan dare not do anything to you."

Sultan Gu was "dead", and the general Xue Yan, who had once broken into the palace, started to speak out, claiming that he would become the new regent. Some dirty words also spread, and all the monks in the temple heard about it.

Yao Ying hummed and nodded. She was not worried about Xue Yan just now, but was worried about Tanmarajiva.

The two walked through the dim and narrow corridor and into the yard.

A tall figure stood in front of the courtyard, looking up at the broken snow falling from the eaves. The sky was full of flying snow and the steps were silent. He was motionless, as if in a trance. His back was ethereal, like a watercolor painting.

Prajna motioned Yaoying to step forward and she stepped back.

Holding the letter from Zhu Luyun, Yaoying tiptoed to Tanmarajya's side, leaned half of her body forward to look at his face, her hair loose and her red and green ruby ​​bells tinkling.

A cold gaze swept over, stayed on Yao Ying's face for a moment, and quickly moved away.

Like a bird flying across the clear sky, leaving no trace.

Seeing that he didn't look like he was meditating, Yao Ying took two steps forward, explained her purpose directly, and handed him the letter: "Master, Princess Beirong sent me a letter."

Tanmaraka took the letter.

"Although I don't know Zhu Luyun, I can be sure that this letter was not written by her. I suspect that the person who wrote the letter was either Princess Yiqing or the Northern Rong minister who sent her to the royal court. They want to use me to get close to the mage or explore the secrets of the royal temple."

Yao Ying said slowly, "I want to meet Zhu Luyun and find out her true intentions to prevent them from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble."

She is not from the royal court, so she is more suitable to test the Beirong delegation and find out the purpose of their mission.

Tanmo Luojia hummed and returned the letter to Yaoying: "Princess, you can do as you see fit."

Yaoying told him her plan.

After listening to her, Tanmaraka nodded.

He lowered his eyes and didn't look at Yao Ying once from beginning to end.

Yao Ying heard the coldness and distance in his tone, blinked, looked a little dazed, put away the letter, raised her eyelids, and stared at him for a long time.

Tanmarajiva looked at the quiet courtyard without saying a word.

Yao Yingwu's dark and bright eyes were full of doubts, and she couldn't help but stand on tiptoe, wanting to look Tanmaragha in the eye.

He saw her figure moving out of the corner of his eye, but she remained motionless.

Yao Ying stood on tiptoe and circled around Tanmaragha, just like a lively little bird circling around a solemn Buddha statue.

Tanmaraka remained silent.

Yao Ying looked puzzled. After thinking for a while, she clasped her hands together and bowed to him, saying softly, "Sorry to bother you, Master."

Having said that, he turned and left.

Before entering the alley, Yao Ying turned around.

Tanmarajiva, dressed in a wide crimson cassock, stood in the early spring morning when snow was falling. He looked as bright as the dawn and noble and above the dust. A few beams of pale blue skylight spread across the blue, pink and gold murals on the walls, casting interlaced shadows on his face, making his brows and eyes appear even deeper.

If he were a secular man, I wonder how many girls would love him.

Yao Ying was looking at Tanmarajiva in a trance when suddenly a black shadow passed over her head. The cry of an eagle came closer and closer. The eagle flapped its wings and flew into the courtyard, landing on a lotus stone pillar in front of her.

The eagle's sharp eyes looked straight at her.

Yao Ying smiled and spread her hands towards Cangying. She didn't bring any dried meat today.

Cangying immediately turned his head away from her.

Yaoying was so angry that she laughed: Sure enough, he only cares about food!

She raised her head while smiling, and was stunned when she met a gaze from the corridor.

She didn't know when Tanmaragha turned around, and with a pair of clear and calm green eyes, she was quietly watching her and the eagle playing.

He might be waiting to open the letter that the eagle brought back.

Yao Ying quickly stepped back, wrinkled her nose at Tanmarajiva, made a gesture of apology, and left with a smile.

She was taller than when she first came to the royal court. Her back was slender, and her dark hair hung down to her shoulders. The colorful bun that reached her waist was blown by the wind, fluttering in the wind.

Tanmarajiva turned around and went back to the main room, where he sat cross-legged and twirled his rosary beads with his fingers.

The eagle followed him into the room and landed beside the desk. He let go of the rosary, took down the parchment and took a look at it.

There were hurried footsteps coming from the other end of the alley. Yuan Jue walked into the house quickly and knelt on one knee to greet them. "My king, everything has been arranged."

A few days ago, he was ordered to rush to the city of sand, and cooperated with Ashina Bisa to prepare a corpse in advance, so that the assassins would mistakenly think that the regent was dead, and then quietly rushed back to the holy city. When the bad news of Sultan Gu came back, Bisa went to the scene in person as the commander of the central army to check, found the corpse, and confirmed the death. He was busy conveying orders between the holy city and various tribes, and his voice was hoarse.

Tanmo Luojia rolled up the parchment and said, "You accompany Princess Wen Zhao to see Princess Bei Rong."

Yuan Jue was stunned for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Tanmo Luojia picked up a box from the corner of the desk and said, "Return this to Princess Wen Zhao."

Yuanjue took the box and felt it was so light and weightless that he had no idea what was inside.

"After meeting Princess Beirong, take Princess Wenzhao to Shayuan."

Yuan Jue suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief. After a while, he came to his senses, responded respectfully, put away the box, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Princess of Beirong is a Han woman. I heard from the princess's personal soldiers that Princess Wen Zhao was her representative to fight against the barbarians... If Princess Wen Zhao and Princess of Beirong have a conflict, what should I do? Should I intervene?"

Tanmo Luojia said calmly: "Princess Wen Zhao knows her limits."

Yuanjue understood and walked out.

The king believed that Princess Wen Zhao knew her limits and would not go too far, so as long as the princess did not kill or burn anyone, he would not intervene.

Tanmarajiva watched the corner of Yuanjue's blue robe disappear at the door, and his slender fingers opened a scroll of scriptures, his eyes calm.

Princess Wen Zhao is a princess of the Wei Dynasty who will eventually return to the Central Plains to reunite with her brother.

She does not belong to the royal court.

The girl named Modanga was just a lie she made up.

Tanmarajiva lowered his head and picked up the pen to copy the scriptures.

…

When Yuanjue found Yaoying, she had just packed her things and was about to go to a shop selling Persian carpets near Wangsi.

She didn't want to meet Zhu Luyun in Wangsi, so she made an appointment to meet in the shop.

"Yuan Jue, where are Ah Qing and the others now?"

Yuan Jue replied, "Princess, please forgive me. In order to divert the assassin, General Ashina and I asked Xie Qing and his men to follow us in a big circle. Now they have entered the city and can return to the royal temple at night."

Before going out, Yao Ying sat in front of the mirror, put on some rouge, pressed her fingertips on the corners of her eyes, and gently rubbed it a few times.

Suddenly, a pair of slender and charming eyes turned a faint peach red, as if she had been crying bitterly.

In the eyes of those who were not aware of the situation, Yaoying had always stayed in Wangsi and had never left.

In the view of the people who sent the assassin, Sultan Gu was assassinated on his way back to the royal court while escorting her to Gaochang. She was rescued and brought back to the royal court by Ashina Bisa. She has been crying for the past two days and dared not show up.

Although everyone is now convinced that Sultan Gu is dead and there will be no outsiders when she goes out this time, Yao Ying still dares not take it lightly.

Yuanjue nodded in appreciation. The princess still remembered to continue covering up at this time, so she should not quarrel with Princess Beirong later.

"By the way, Princess, the Regent asked me to return this to you."

He took out the box.

Yaoying narrowed her eyes, took the box and opened it. Inside was a neatly folded pair of soft handkerchiefs.

Yuanjue’s eyes widened. What the king asked him to hand over to the princess was actually a handkerchief?

Yao Ying smiled and picked up the handkerchief: "I forgot all about it."

The eyes look at the nose and the nose looks at the heart, without saying a word.

After leaving Wangsi, there was a noisy voice outside the car curtain. Yaoying opened a slit and looked out.

The guards wearing blue shirts and white cloaks and holding swords stood in front of the temple gate. The cavalry of the four armies stood across the long street, confronting the guards from a distance, and the atmosphere was depressing.

They had bronze talisman waist badges and no one stopped them along the way. They soon arrived at a small two-story earthen building facing the street.

Tanmarajiva's birthday is approaching, and caravans from various countries are arriving one after another. The posthouses close to the Wang Temple are filled with merchants from different places. A few days ago, the streets were crowded with people, incense wheels and precious horses. In the past two days, the situation in the city is tense. The merchants dare not go out, and the long streets are empty.

Yaoying asked her personal guards to wait downstairs, and she went up to the second floor with Yuanjue, sat in front of the window facing the street, and looked down.

Half an hour later, the sound of wheels rolling over snow was heard from downstairs, and a group of Beirong guards came slowly up with a large cart.

The carriage entered the yard, the guards opened the curtain, and a young woman in a mink coat got out of the carriage, raised her head and looked around.

Upstairs, Yao Ying looked at Zhu Luyun standing in the snow, holding the heater tightly with her fingers.

After more than two years, she almost forgot what Zhu Luyun looked like, but after taking a few glances, she was sure that the woman downstairs was really Zhu Luyun.

Yuan Jue stood beside her and reminded her in a low voice: "Princess, Princess Beirong is the envoy of Beirong after all. No matter how wronged you are, you must endure it later."

Yao Ying curled up the corners of her lips and did not comment.

After a while, there was a creaking sound from the stairs, and Zhu Luyun's graceful figure appeared on the second floor, followed closely by a dozen bodyguards, some of them were Hu people, some were Han people, all of them had curved swords on their waists and looked calm.

Yao Ying glanced across the faces of the guards.

Zhu Luyun went upstairs and paused. She looked around nervously for a while, and saw that only Yuan Jue and his personal guard were in the room. She breathed a sigh of relief and then cast a glance at Yao Ying, looking at her for a moment, with a somewhat fearful expression, and forced a smile, "Princess Wen Zhao, how are you?"

Yao Ying asked coldly: "What do you want to tell me?"

Zhu Luyun took a few steps forward and said, "Qiniang, I am here to apologize to you for what happened in the past. Now I am no longer the princess of Wei. You and I are living in exile, so we should support each other. I owe Qiniang, and I want to compensate her..."

She paused and stood still. A Han bodyguard behind her immediately gave her a stern look that contained a warning.

Zhu Luyun bit her lip and continued to move forward, moving step by step to Yao Ying.

"Qiniang is in a precarious situation now. I really want to atone for my sins, so I invite her to see me."

Zhu Luyun said a few words and glanced at the Han guards.

The guard continued to wink at her.

Zhu Luyun took a few steps forward, glanced at Yuanjue, and switched to the Weijun dialect, continuing, "Qiniang, to tell you the truth, my aunt Princess Yiqing married the Northern Rong's judge. Now my uncle holds an important position and has a lot of influence in the Northern Rong's court. When my aunt heard that Qiniang married for me and ended up in the royal court, she was furious and felt pity for her. She blamed me for harming Qiniang, but she felt sorry for her because she was so young and had to suffer this."

"My uncle obeyed my aunt's orders, and she was the only wife in his tent. I lived with my aunt, and my life was very smooth. I often thought of Qi Niang, and I felt uneasy and couldn't sleep at night. My aunt said that Qi Niang's situation was very similar to hers in the past. She saw Qi Niang in exile in the royal court, and she really couldn't just sit there and watch."

Zhu Luyun rambled on for a long time and said sincerely: "Qiniang, I am here to save you."

Yaoying looked at her with a smile on her face, as if she was moved by her.

Zhu Luyun breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to pat the back of Yao Ying's hand. Before she touched her hand, a bright cold light flashed before her eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Yao Ying leaned forward, grabbed Zhu Luyun, and a dagger slipped out of his palm.

The cold dagger kissed her cheek, and Zhu Luyun was horrified and screamed.

Yao Ying pulled her, put the dagger to her face, and said calmly: "Princess Fukang, calm down, this dagger has been cut."

Zhu Luyun's face turned pale and her whole body was trembling.

The sudden change caught everyone off guard and left them stunned.

Both sides were on guard against each other's personal guards. Who could have thought that the beautiful, delicate, tear-stained, pale-faced Princess Wen Zhao would suddenly jump up and grab Zhu Luyun herself?

Zhu Luyun's bodyguard was stunned for a long time, then reacted and flew forward. Yuanjue also reacted and drew out his long sword, hitting the bodyguard's back heavily with the back of the sword.

At the same time, shouts were heard from upstairs and downstairs. The personal soldiers who were ambushing in the corners rushed out at the same time, waving sticks and rushing towards the personal guards brought by Zhu Luyun. After a struggle, they tied up the personal guards who were blocking the stairs and threw them into different rooms for guarding.

"We are the Northern Rong delegation..."

The guards roared, and the soldiers took out a few pieces of sackcloth and stuffed them into their mouths to muffle the roars.

Yuan Jue stared blankly at Yao Ying's personal soldiers dragging away Zhu Luyun's bodyguards, his mouth unable to close for a long time.