The day before the Procession Festival, Ashina Bisha returned the jewels and jades that Yaoying had sent to bribe the Hu merchants.

"They were also at fault for beating a slave to death for no reason. The city government has already investigated the cause. However, Xie Peng injured someone, so the fine cannot be recovered."

Yaoying was a little surprised and thanked Biso.

Bi Su shrugged at her and said, "The laws of the royal court are not as strict and detailed as those in the Central Plains. Merchants can kill slaves at will. The king has issued several bans, but still can't stop this evil. It was not until the regent killed several nobles who enjoyed killing slaves that they restrained themselves a little. This is still in the royal court, with the king's teachings. In other city-states, human life is not as important as a sheep."

Yao Ying sighed softly.

In troubled times, whether in the Central Plains or outside the country, it has always been like this, human life is worthless.

In the Western Regions, not only were the Han people bullied, but tribes also annexed each other, and many tribes were enslaved and driven by other tribes, living worse than pigs and dogs.

The Central Plains needs a strong and unified dynasty, and so does the Western Regions.

Biso clapped her hands, and two maids came into the yard, holding boxes in their hands.

"I was inconsiderate that day and the princess's clothes were all stained. I prepared these specially for her."

Bi Suo pointed at the box and said with a smile.

Yao Ying declined, saying, "The general has been running around for me, and I haven't thanked him yet. I don't dare to let him spend money."

Bhisatta waved his hand, interrupting her and saying, "Princess, if you want to thank me, tomorrow is the Buddha's Day. Men, women, young and old in the city will dress up in their best clothes to worship the Buddha. Princess, how about you accompany me to the Buddhist temple to attend the ceremony? Princess, you haven't visited the holy city yet, right? This is a good opportunity for me to show my hospitality."

Yao Ying hesitated for a moment. Ashina Bisu had been working very hard for her these days. She should thank him. Besides, they would go to Gaochang together after the ceremony. She nodded and agreed. It was inconvenient for her to go out. If Bisu, a royal noble, was with her, Xue Yan would not dare to provoke her.

Bisha immediately smiled brightly: "I asked the maids to prepare festive clothes for the princess. Please try them on. If they don't fit, ask them to make some changes."

After that, he added, "This dress was originally made according to the princess's size. Princess, please don't be polite to me. The princess is the king's guest, and also my guest."

Seeing Yaoying's eyes drooping, as if she was thinking of a reason to refuse, he raised his eyebrows slightly and deliberately frowned: "Princess, do you really want to see me sad?"

Yao Ying smiled, thanked him, and signaled her personal guard to take the box. However, she did not immediately go back to the house to change into new clothes. Instead, she asked about another matter.

"The Regent King Sultan I saw on the city wall that day was a close follower of the Buddha?"

Bi Suo's eyes flickered slightly, she nodded, and said with a smile: "Is the Regent King frightening the princess? Princess, don't be afraid of him. He rewards and punishes clearly, and he is very loyal to the king."

Yao Ying was indeed frightened by Sultan Gu. For the past few nights, she kept dreaming of him chopping off a thief's head with a knife. His thin and tall figure was full of cruelty and murderous aura, just like a yaksha.

She woke up from her dream with a question in her mind: After Tanmaraka died, the royal court was destroyed. Where did Sultan Gu, the regent, go? Why did he disappear without a trace when he was in charge of military and political power?

Could it be that he was assassinated by princes and ministers?

Yao Ying couldn't figure it out.

Sultan Kublai was too mysterious. He moved cryptically and rarely showed up in public. When his ugly and ferocious face appeared in front of everyone, that was when he started his killing spree.

She asked tentatively, "How old is the regent?"

Bi Suo rubbed his chin with his fingers, thought for a while, and said, "The Regent King is a few years older than me and the King. He is our senior brother."

It turns out that Sultan Kumarajiva was Tanmarajiva's senior fellow apprentice.

Yao Ying seemed to be thinking about something. After hearing the second half of the sentence, she asked in surprise, "The general and the Buddhist were once brothers? The general is also a Buddhist?"

Ashina Bisa was a descendant of the Turkic royal family. His name Bisa was taken from the Sogdian language, which means a colorful person. His mother was a Zoroastrian. Why didn't he believe in Zoroastrianism like his mother?

Bi Su smiled, stretched out his arms towards Yao Ying, and said nonchalantly: "I don't look like a Buddhist disciple at all, do I? In fact, I was also sent to study Buddhism when I was a child. The children of the royal family are all like this. They have been studying scriptures with their elders since they were young. Only the smartest and most intelligent ones are qualified to continue to practice with the master. Wang is the smartest among us. He is very talented. The master said that compared with him, we are just a group of lambs who can only bleat all day long."

Having said this, Bishuo chuckled.

"Wang learned everything very quickly. When he could speak four languages, we had just started learning Sogdian. When he discussed Buddhist principles with Master, we felt like we were listening to a foreign language."

Yao Ying thought of the legends she had heard these days, "I heard from the little nun that when the Buddha's son was born, a strange phenomenon fell from the sky in the holy city, and the people of the whole city saw it."

Bi Suo was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, that day the sky over the city was filled with clouds, and there seemed to be a Buddha's shadow and light shrouding the palace, and there was also the faint sound of Buddha chanting. Master said that it was because of the chaos in the world, so the gods and Buddhas reincarnated into mortal bodies, came to the world to experience disasters, educate the people, and save all living beings."

Yao Ying smiled.

Regardless of whether what Bisha said was true or false, the people in the royal court would definitely believe it.

That night, Yaoying changed into the gorgeous dress that Bisu sent her. The dress was indeed tailored according to her size and fit her very well. She wondered where Bisu found out her size.

In the middle of the night, she was sleeping soundly. She was startled awake by the noisy sound of people walking outside the window.

Xie Qing came in from outside and whispered, "Princess, there's something going on in the main hall. The Buddhist has moved to the temple."

Tanmarajiva usually lives in a Buddhist temple, but this time he has been staying in the palace to recuperate for some reason. There will be a Dharma assembly in the temple tomorrow, so he must move back.

Yaoying lay down and continued to sleep, thinking: Monks always seem to move in the middle of the night.

Early the next morning, Bisha came in a brand new military uniform with a brocade belt around her waist, looking very heroic. She brought a bunch of flowers and stood in front of the gate with her golden hair shining.

Yaoying changed into the attire of a woman of the royal court. Her dark hair was combed into small braids, which were tied with colorful ribbons and various gems. She was dressed in a red brocade gown with a lapel and a pattern of flowers and trees with linked beads and a pair of deer. The sleeves of the gown were embroidered with beads, and she wore gold-lace boots on her feet. She followed the example of the others and fastened a dagger inlaid with gems to her waist. She walked down the stone steps, raised her face, and smiled slightly.

It was as if all the bright stars in the sky fell from the clouds and enveloped her.

Bi Su stared at Yao Ying in amazement, lost in thought for a long while, until she walked up to him and waved at him, then he came to his senses.

"The princess is so beautiful."

He racked his brains but could not think of any words to praise the princess and suddenly became speechless.

Yaoying's lips curled up slightly. She covered her face with a veil and looked at Bi Suo who was scratching her ears and stroking her cheeks in front of her. Suddenly, she thought of the group of dandy young men in Chang'an who rode horses to chase her all day long.

Thinking back to the years in Chang'an now, it seems like a lifetime ago.

The procession began early in the morning. The streets in the city were swept, curtains were hung on the city gates and gate towers, and everything was decorated anew.

The exquisite Buddha statues in the temple were placed on 20 giant four-wheeled carts that were 30 to 40 feet high and paraded around the main streets of the city. Each four-wheeled cart was magnificently decorated with gold, silver, Vaiku, Khiti, Musaragara, Trijna, and Ashmagirava, with curtains and umbrellas hanging down, like a small moving palace. The Buddha statues were carved with gold and silver, with necklaces hanging from their chests, standing tall and graceful, with a solemn posture.

The people in the city rushed out, men and women, old and young, all put on new clothes, and followed the huge wheeled cart towards the city gate with joy, chanting Buddhist mantras.

Bi Suo brought Yao Ying out of the palace. The main street was crowded with people.

Xie Qing and Xie Chong frowned, afraid of being separated by the crowd, and followed Yao Ying closely.

Ashina Bisha explained every ritual to Yaoying along the way. He was considerate, patient and enthusiastic. From time to time, people in the crowd greeted him and he responded with a smile. He was very popular.

Infected by his emotions, Yao Ying temporarily put aside her worries and felt the lively celebration of the royal court.

The long street under the city gate was covered with felt carpets, and twenty giant four-wheeled carriages slowly drove to the high platform under the gate tower. On the high platform was an incense table, surrounded by pearls and jade, shining with gold. The princes and ministers in gorgeous clothes walked down the high platform, took off their felt hats, and walked barefoot to greet the emperor.

A burst of clear music floated over from the south, and the excited crowd suddenly quieted down. Everyone held their breath and consciously retreated to the sides of the road. They raised their heads and stared at the other end of the long street with respectful expressions and fanatical eyes.

Yao Ying followed the direction of everyone's gaze.

Led by two rows of monks in robes holding incense burners, an elephant covered with colorful curtains and jewels and decorated ornately came slowly from the south. There was a throne on the elephant's back, and a person sat on the throne with a face like the cold moon and eyes like lotus. He held a lotus branch in one hand and a lotus flower in the other. He was wearing a wide snow-white cassock with gold patterns. His eyes were slightly drooped, as if he was in meditation. There seemed to be a faint Buddhist halo shrouding his body, as if he was a god.

Tanmaragha is here.

He glanced at everyone indifferently, as if everything in the world was out of his sight.

The bustling crowd on the roadside was silent for a moment, and then burst into cheers that resounded to the sky. Everyone looked up at him, their expressions excited and their faces flushed. They rushed to throw flowers at him. Some people wanted to go forward and touch the corner of his clothes, but were stopped by the blue-shirted cavalryman.

The music is melodious and mellow, and the flowers are falling like rain.

The elephant walked to the front of the platform and knelt down meekly. The princes and ministers took two steps forward and knelt beside the elephant's feet. Tanmaraka lowered his feet and stepped on the ministers' hands and shoulders to climb onto the platform.

Xie Qing and Xie Chong were stunned for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Princess, what kind of rules are these? Their king is actually stepping on the shoulders of a minister!"

Yao Ying explained to them: "This is the enthronement ceremony, which is very common in India and the Western Regions."

Her gaze fell on the ministers. Kang Mozhe and others stood obediently under the high platform with respectful demeanor and no resentment on their faces - seeing that Tanmaragha's reputation was so great, would they dare not behave themselves?

A mellow and gentle voice sounded from the high platform, and Tanmarajiva began to preach in a language that ordinary people could understand.

Yaoying listened for a while and could only understand the general idea. He was talking about the story of how the Buddha witnessed the misery of life and became tired of the world and attained enlightenment through meditation.

His voice was cool and gentle, with a clear and calm melody, and the people were intoxicated by it.

After half a minute, Yao Ying could no longer understand anything. She raised her head and looked at Tanmaragha who was on the platform. He had a handsome face and an elegant demeanor, and there was no sign of serious illness on his body.

Yaoying found that she seemed to have never seen Tanmaragha standing in such a posture. Just now, he stepped on the minister's shoulders to climb onto the platform, standing tall and straight, and seemed to be a little taller than Bishuo.

What disease does he have?

The ceremony lasted for an hour. Ashina Bisha listened to half of it and led Yaoying out of the crowd and took her to the Buddhist temple.

The Buddhist temple was going to hold a debate on the sutras. After Tanmaraka finished his speech, the meeting would begin. The monks had already arrived. Except for those who were going to observe the meeting, the rest were already preparing for the debate. The courtyard was crowded with monks. Some of them sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating with their eyes closed, while others had already started arguing with the people around them, chattering loudly.

The atmosphere in the temple was tense and lively. The young novices who stayed in the temple were all looking forward to seeing Tanmarajiva debate with the monks.

His early fame was earned through debates at numerous Bible debate conferences.

Yaoying followed Bisu to their seats and looked around boredly.

Bi Su lowered her head and told her some interesting things about her childhood practice in the Buddhist temple. Suddenly, a sharp gaze swept over.

Yao Ying's heart skipped a beat and she looked in the direction of that gaze.

In the corner of the courtyard, a man in a short-sleeved robe was leaning lazily against a pagoda. He was talking to a monk beside him while looking up at her. His light golden eyes were shining with a frightening coldness in the sunlight.

It’s Haidu Aling!

Seeing that she recognized him, Haidu Aling curled the corners of his mouth and raised his chin, the lines of his expression were rough and firm.

Yao Ying didn't want to be in the same room with him, so she got up and left her seat.

Bi Su stood up with a bewildered look on her face. Seeing that she looked a little strange, she looked in the direction she had just looked at, and her eyes met Haidu Aling's.

The two looked at each other for a while, Haidu Aling curled his lips, retracted his gaze, and a sneer appeared on his lips.

Bi Suo's face flushed red, and she hurried to catch up with Yao Ying, saying shyly: "Princess Wen Zhao, Bei Rong also sent a monk to debate with the king, but I didn't know that the envoy sent by Bei Rong was Prince Haidu Aling!"

"Princess, don't be afraid. This is the royal court. He won't dare to mess around!"

Yao Ying hurried out of the temple, slowly calmed down, paused, turned back and smiled at Bi Suo: "I don't want to see him. I can't accompany the general to watch the debate meeting."

Bi Su hurriedly said, "It just so happens that I don't want to watch it either. I will send the princess back to the palace."

The two returned to the palace, and Yao Ying ordered her guards: "No one is allowed to leave the palace these days. The Beirong people are in the Holy City."

Everyone knew the importance of the matter and nodded in agreement.

Yao Ying couldn't sleep or eat well when she thought of the determined smile on Haidu Aling's lips.

She would never fall into his hands again, she must return to Central Plains.

…

Yaoying didn't know that in the Central Plains, eight thousand miles away, there were people thinking about her.

A few months ago, Changan.

A fast horse set out from Pei's house. The rider traveled day and night for three days and three nights before arriving in the capital. Without even having time to catch his breath, he headed straight for the East Palace.

The eunuch reported in a sharp voice: "Your Highness, the people sent to the Pei family are back!"

There were loud footsteps, and a man in prince's formal attire strode out of the room with red eyes.

The author has something to say: For the description of the ritual of the Procession Festival, please refer to the Biography of Faxian.