Princess Ina was the niece of Wakhan Khan and the wife of Yuchidamo.

Last night, Sultan Gu, Yao Ying and Yuan Jue left the royal temple separately. Yuan Jue took the Gaochang eunuch out with him, intending to interrogate him strictly after finding a safe place. Unfortunately, they were unlucky and failed to escape before martial law was imposed, so they had to return to the royal temple to hide.

The eunuch was afraid that Yuanjue would kill him to silence him, so he cried and howled, and swore that Wei Chi Damo would never dare to set a trap to harm anyone.

Yuanjue felt annoyed by the eunuch's noise, so he knocked him out, changed into his clothes, and went to the temple to inquire about the situation. At noon today, the people in the temple had already withdrawn to the palace, and the palace was guarded by Lady Ina's personal soldiers on three floors inside and three floors outside. Yuanjue then found a chance to escape from the temple.

Yao Ying frowned slightly when she heard this.

As soon as she arrived in Gaochang, she went to the market to inquire about the news from the well-informed Hu merchants. The Hu merchants told her that the relationship between Yuchi Damo and Lady Ina was tense.

The Northern Rong cavalry was good at raiding and attacking, but not at defending a city, let alone governing a region. Gaochang had a special terrain, and Wakhan Khan thought that after attacking Gaochang, he would have to send troops to defend it, which would be ineffective. It would be better to control Gaochang through marriage and collect high taxes from Gaochang to support the Northern Rong royal court. So he sent 20,000 troops to besiege Gaochang and forced Wei Chi Damo to marry Yina.

At that time, Wei Chi Damo had already married a wife from a prominent family. The couple treated each other with respect and had a deep affection for each other. Lady Ina was older than him and had been married to several Turkic nobles before. With the Northern Rong army approaching, he had no choice but to abandon his first wife and marry a new one.

It is said that on the wedding night, Wei Chi Damo said to those around him: I will repay you for today's humiliation someday!

Lady Yina relied on her status as a princess of the Northern Rong to abuse her power, indulge in luxury and indulgence, and allowed her subordinates to plunder the rare treasures obtained by merchants. The subordinates and slaves she brought with her oppressed the people of Gaochang, causing chaos in the Gaochang royal family and causing public resentment.

The couple was at loggerheads. Lady Ina once publicly mocked Yuchi Damo for being cowardly and useless, and a defeated general under the Wakhan Khan. A waiter once saw Yuchi Damo storming out of her room with several scratches on his face.

Yaoying asked Yuanjue: "What is the situation in the palace now? Why did Lady Yina send soldiers to guard the palace?"

Yuan Jue said: "The guards of the palace are all Madam Ina's personal soldiers. I guess that Wei Chi Damo may be under house arrest."

Yao Ying's brows furrowed even more tightly: "Could it be that Madam Yina has discovered us?"

Yuanjue shook his head and whispered, "I have interrogated the eunuch. He said that Lady Ina and Yuchi Damo have been quarreling frequently over the past year. Yuchi Damo and his previous wife had a son and a daughter. Lady Ina wanted to send the children to the Northern Rong royal court as hostages, but Yuchi Damo refused. Not long ago, Lady Ina sent the siblings away without telling Yuchi Damo. Yuchi Damo was furious and chased the siblings back to the palace. He had a big fight with Lady Ina, calling her a venomous woman. Lady Ina was so angry that she beat a female slave to death."

"The palace was under strict security last night, and Yuchi Damo did not show up. This morning, several carriages left the palace and headed straight for Beirong Yating. The eunuch recognized the people in the carriages. They were the prince's personal attendants and wet nurse. Several of them were crying, and the people escorting them were Madam Ina's servants."

Yao Ying pondered for a moment and became clear-minded.

She understood what happened last night.

In order to send her husband and his first wife's children to the Northern Rong, Lady Ina launched a palace coup and placed her husband under house arrest. The day they had agreed to have a secret meeting with Yuchi Damo was exactly the time when Lady Ina took action.

They arrived at the right time and happened to get involved in a palace coup in Gaochang.

It seems that the changes in Wangsi have nothing to do with Haidu Aling. He has always been excluded in the Beirong royal court and has no relationship with Lady Ina.

Yuan Jue sighed and said, "When Madam Yina married into the Northern Rong, she brought more than a thousand Northern Rong soldiers with her. The palace is heavily guarded, so we have no chance to have a secret meeting with Wei Chi Damo."

Since Wei Chi Damo was under house arrest, he lost his qualification as an ally, and his two children were sent to Beirong. Would he dare to form an alliance with the royal court?

It is possible that their mission will come back in vain.

Yao Ying said nothing, but looked up at Sultan Gu who was silent beside her.

It’s not that there are no other ways… But…

She was calculating silently in her mind.

Lady Ina placed her husband under house arrest and sent his two children away. The nobles of Gaochang were afraid of the Northern Rong and kept silent. The royal city was peaceful and the security in the city was completely relaxed.

Yaoying and a few others still stayed in the courtyard. Alanruo boiled medicine every day and asked her to take it. She took several doses of the medicine and recovered quickly.

Two days later, Lao Qi and Xie Chong who came to the city finally brought her news about Xie Qing.

Xie Qing was injured while protecting the little prince Jin Bo and cannot move temporarily. They are now hiding in a very safe place and no one has been chasing them for the past few days.

Yao Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how powerful Haidu Aling was, he could not take care of every aspect, let alone think that they would rescue Jin Bo. He did not come to Gaochang, but only sent people to ambush Jin Bo. Those killers had all been killed by his personal soldiers.

After making sure that Haidu Aling was not nearby, Yao Ying was less worried and made up her mind to find Sultan Gu and seek his opinion.

The ancient Sultan was elusive, and she searched for a long time before she found him in front of the corridor.

If he hadn't stood so tensely, she would have thought he was admiring the white snow in the courtyard.

"Master, you have been so kind that you allowed General Su to escort me here. I am deeply moved by your kindness..."

Yao Ying stepped forward, explained her purpose, and said a lot of polite words.

Sultan gave her a cold glance.

Yao Ying paused for a moment after being looked at by him, then smiled and asked directly: "Will what I am going to do next cause any inconvenience to the general?"

Sultan Gu stared at the snow on the earth wall and said, "Princess, please do as you please."

This was exactly the answer Yaoying wanted to hear, but she was a little surprised that Sultan Gu said it so bluntly.

His tone was light, but he had an aura that he could handle anything on his shoulders. Yao Ying's nervousness eased a little, and she turned and left. She thought of something, turned around, and looked at Sultan Ku's back.

The figure is gaunt and upright, standing there, like a thousand peaks and towering mountains, supporting the sky.

He killed countless people, but not a single one of them was innocently killed. The King Kong's glare was also to subdue the four demons and protect the land of peace and stability.

Yao Ying was absent-minded for a while, and then asked softly, "General Su, you don't care whether my mission to Gaochang succeeds or fails, right?"

The personal soldiers said that Tanmarajiva's order was to help her pass the message to the Central Plains.

Sultan Kumar said nothing.

Yao Ying stood there without moving, raised her voice and asked again, her voice sweet and crisp.

If he doesn't answer, she can ask again.

Sultan Gu turned his back to her, was silent for a while, and nodded slightly.

Yao Ying's lips curled up slightly, then she turned and walked away.

…

The next day, Yao Ying continued to stroll around the market under the guidance of Qinian.

Not wanting to attract too much attention, she dressed like the local Hu women, covering her face with a veil whenever she went out, and her personal soldiers were replaced by Yuan Jue who could speak the Hu language.

For several days, Yuanjue followed Yaoying to visit all the shops in the city, and also went to several Zoroastrian temples. Every day, he mingled among the crowds of people. He spent all the gold, silver and Persian coins he brought with him, in exchange for a lot of expensive and exquisite jewelry, silk and brocade.

When other personal soldiers asked him what he did every day, he was in tears: Princess Wen Zhao was very generous and bought whatever she saw without blinking an eye. She was like a pampered and extravagant lady, and it didn't seem like she was doing any real work at all. How should he answer?

At the same time, Qi Nian and Alanruo worked day and night to deliver letters.

Lady Ina placed her husband under house arrest. In order to appease people's hearts, she held banquets in the palace every day to entertain princes and nobles. During this period, Wei Chi Damo briefly showed up several times. The palace was full of singing and dancing, but where people could not see, undercurrents were surging.

It was a snowy day with a howling cold wind. Yao Ying led his personal soldiers to the market, walked into a wine shop, and went up to the second floor.

Qi Nian and the two Han people were waiting at the door and whispered, "Princess, everything has been arranged. The Zhao family, the Zhang family, the Wang family, and the Yang family will all send people over today."

Yao Ying nodded.

Yuan Jue followed her and asked in confusion: "Why would the princess want to meet guests in a place like this?"

He had been serving as Yao Ying's bodyguard for the past few days and knew that she was trying to deliver messages to the nobles in Gaochang. Most of the nobles were descendants of the Hexi and Helan families and were loyal to their homeland.

Yao Ying said, "I don't know if they can be trusted. It's safer to meet here. If something goes wrong, we can leave at any time."

Yuanjue nodded and thought to himself that the princess was very considerate. Alanruo was a member of the royal court and should not be exposed.

Not long after the two of them arrived, three maids came into the room carrying boxes, followed by several young men carrying boxes. They were all from the caravan. When the young men opened the boxes, the room was immediately filled with precious aura and brilliant light.

Yuanjue was dazzled. Aren’t these the jewels that the princess bought a few days ago?

Yaoying motioned Yuanjue to wait in front of the screen and went into the inner room.

Yuanjue did not dare to look inside and waited outside with his hands down. He only heard a rustling sound from inside, jewelry and hairpins were sent in one by one, and maids came in and out, busy at work.

He waited for a full hour, feeling sore in his back and dizzy in his head. Finally, he heard Yaoying's voice calling from inside. He immediately perked up, raised his head, turned the screen, looked into the room, and was stunned.

The room was spotlessly clean, with pearl curtains swaying gently. The floor was covered with exquisite Capricorn-patterned felt mats, and there were treasure couches, seating, and gold-lacquered screens inscribed with poems. In front of the couches were several gilded Suan Ni incense burners, with incense curling up from them, filling the room with a fresh fragrance.

A woman is sitting in front of the couch, with a fair face, red lips, and delicate make-up. She has a pair of smiling dimples on her cheeks and a green ornament between her eyebrows. Her bun is high and adorned with gold and green ornaments. On her fluffy sideburns is a trembling double-petaled peony flower the size of a bowl, which is neither red nor white. She is wearing a short jacket with narrow sleeves made of caviar silk, and a half-sleeve gown made of dragon silk woven with red flowers and green leaves on branches. She is wearing a long crimson skirt with twelve panels of dark-flowered silk. She is draped over her shoulders with a shawl with flowers and birds painted in gold and silver. She is elegant and radiant.

The radiance is so great that people dare not look at it closely.

A few rays of sunlight filtered into the room through the window and fell on the peony flower beside her temple. No one knew where this flower came from, but there seemed to be dewdrops rolling on the pink and white petals, which made her hair look even darker and her eyebrows and eyes more beautiful.

She glanced at Yuan Jue with a smile, her eyes full of light, and the light in the whole room instantly flooded into her eyes.

For a moment, it seemed that this was not the Gaochang Royal City deep in the desert, but the Chang'an City thousands of miles away where the palace gates were opened and people from all over the world dressed in formal attire to pay homage to the emperor.

Yuanjue stared at Li Yaoying blankly, with his jaw hanging open for a long time.

Yao Ying blinked at him, her long eyelashes fluttering, and the corners of her eyebrows and eyes were lightly blurred with rouge, making her look a little more mature than usual, and every move she made was bright and charming.

"Did you get scared?" she asked with a smile.

Yuanjue almost couldn't find his breath. He nodded stupidly, chanting Buddha's name in his heart, and said secretly: Fortunately, the Regent did not come today.

General Ashina is right, Princess Wen Zhao is too dangerous!

Yao Ying, with her hair covered in pearls and jade, sat upright in front of the couch, the peony flowers on her temples trembling slightly. She said, "That's good. You are a martial artist with a strong character. If you are scared, I can scare others too."

Yuanjue was still chanting Buddha's name silently when a set of armor was delivered to him.

Yao Ying chuckled: "Thank you for being my bodyguard today and helping me to look good."

Yuan Jue nodded his head, put on his armor, went into the room, and stood at the foot of the bed. Several other Han people also put on their armor, each carrying a sword, looking majestic, and stood in different corners of the room like him.

The maid knelt behind Yao Ying, holding a precious fan, a stove, an incense box and other items in her hands. The room was filled with faint fragrance. Several maids were brewing tea in the corridor outside, and the aroma of tea filled the air.

Yuan Jue straightened his back and didn't dare to make a sound.

Yaoying looked around, made sure every corner was arranged, and slowly let out a breath.

As early as when she was in the royal court, she sent Lao Qi to contact righteous men from all sides. The prominent families in Hexi were deeply oppressed and missed their homeland. When they learned that she was a princess from the Central Plains, they quickly responded, including several powerful families in Gaochang.

The support of the royal family is certainly important, but she also needs to win over the powerful families who have been operating in the Western Regions for many years and have complex connections. Since Yuchi Damo is temporarily under house arrest, she will first unite with the powerful families.

She is going to meet these heroes today, and momentum is crucial.

As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. She could not give any guarantees for the time being. If she wanted to shock these Hexi nobles who had been separated from the Central Plains for a long time, she had to take the initiative and scare them from the beginning.

She had to show her utmost sincerity and let these powerful families see what they wanted in her.

When she first arrived in Gaochang, Yao Ying saw that no one on the street wore Chinese clothes or spoke Chinese, and she felt a little worried that the nobles had long forgotten their homeland.

Later, she went to the market every day to inquire about what styles and makeup were popular in Gaochang and what goods were the most sought-after. She found some strange things: scriptures written in Chinese characters were still selling well, and noble ladies vied with each other to buy silk fabrics, hairpins, and pearls from the Central Plains.

Qi Nian told her that many people were forced to change their customs, but they still did not forget their homeland. During every festival, they would secretly worship their ancestors and look forward to the arrival of the royal army.

Therefore, when they met for the first time, Yao Ying had to show the nobles a noble and confident princess of Wei who brought them hope, rather than a helpless and pitiful young lady.

The way she combed her hair, the make-up on her face, the clothes she wore, the attire of her personal soldiers and maids, and the furnishings in her room were not what was fashionable in Chang'an today, but rather the fashion of the north when the country was destroyed many years ago.

The local nobles stayed far away from the Central Plains; this was their homeland in their minds and it was what moved them.

Yao Ying calmed herself down and signaled to the guard at the door with her eyes that they could let people in.

…

Downstairs, a group of people hurried through the bustling market and gathered in front of the store.

These people, young and old, all wore golden crowns, had their hair braided and hung down their backs, and wore round-necked, short-sleeved robes with brocade patterns. They looked at each other with solemn expressions, and kept asking, "Did you hear about it, too?"

The people who came were all relatives who usually trained the rebel army in private. They knew each other well and stood together, whispering to each other, and then went up to the second floor with clatters.

The painted curtain opened, the maid lifted the crystal curtain, and a faint fragrance filled the air. In the flickering light that filled the room, Princess Wen Zhao glanced at everyone with a smile, her bright eyes full of hope and brilliance.

For the old men, this scene is the memory of their youth.

In the past peaceful and prosperous times, families were prosperous, people were happy, the Silk Road was unobstructed, and commerce was developed. How prosperous Gaochang was!

Everyone was stunned for a long time, with mixed emotions at the moment, and a warm current surging in their hearts, and they saluted Yao Ying.

Yao Ying felt relieved.

Judging from these people's reactions, she did the right thing.

…

That night, Gaochang Palace.

A secret letter written in Chinese was delivered to Wei Chi Damo. After reading the letter, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

There were footsteps outside the door.

Wei Chi Damo turned his back and placed the letter in front of the oil lamp, letting the flame slowly devour the paper.