The guards on duty lifted the curtain.

There was no sound in the tent, only a few guards standing in the corner.

At Yuanjue's signal, Yao Ying stepped onto the platform. Her eyes fell on Tanmaragha who was sitting on the treasure couch and she was slightly startled.

Tanmarajiva was dressed in a scarlet cassock, holding a jewel in her hand, and wearing a golden leaf crown inlaid with lapis lazuli, amber, and agate. It was dazzling, elegant, and luxurious.

It was the first time that Yaoying saw him wearing the crown of a royal monarch. She felt strange and couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Tanmarajiva called Prajna.

When Prajna saw Yaoying, her eyes widened and she led her to the corner behind the curtain next to the treasure bed.

Yaoying agreed while turning back to look at Tanmarajiva from time to time. He just raised his eyes to look at her, with a radiant light, graceful and dignified.

When their eyes met, Yao Ying felt inexplicably guilty and quickly retreated back into the tent.

"Whose seat is this?"

She asked Prajna.

Prajna had a complicated expression on her face, and said, "This used to be the seat for little princesses and princes. Princess, please sit here. Before the ceremony is over, don't get up and move around. It will be bad if someone sees you."

This is an instruction given to Yaoying as if she were an active child.

Yao Ying laughed and sat down with her legs crossed.

…

The curtains swayed slightly, and I could no longer see her peeking around.

Tanmarajiva looked in the direction of Yaoying, paused, retracted his gaze, and gently stroked the treasure with his fingers.

With a clang sound, the guards in front of the palace raised their flags one by one, extending from the high platform and the long steps to the bottom of the platform, forming several giant dragons, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

In the martial arts arena, bells and drums rang out as cavalrymen from the five armies in different uniforms rode on fine horses, forming a battle formation. Led by Bisha and Mobito, both dressed in majestic armor, they galloped into the arena with a magnificent momentum.

The whole earth seemed to be shaking.

Yao Ying sat behind the curtain, looking down from above. She could see the envoys from various countries in other felt tents. Everyone was staring intently at the Five Armies Knights below the stage.

The cavalry of the five armies were in good order and in strict military attire. After a performance of riding, shooting, charging, raiding and siege, the envoys from various countries looked solemn and several envoys from small tribes quietly wiped their sweat.

When Bisha and Mobhido led the knights to retreat, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The drumbeats stopped, and the Guizi musicians began to play cheerful music. The princes and nobles, envoys from various countries, and common people, all dressed in gorgeous clothes, lined up in a queue and presented birthday gifts to the main hall one by one. Precious items, gold, silver, pearls, and jade filled the golden plates.

When it was the turn of the Kingdom of Viruma to present gifts, the noisy voices in the venue suddenly quieted down, and countless eyes fell on Princess Manda, who was surrounded by a group of dancers in gorgeous costumes.

The dancers began to dance, making various gestures of praying to God. Princess Manda stood out from the crowd and walked slowly forward with a graceful figure and natural charm.

She had a red dot on her forehead and wore a gauze scarf. She wore a tight long skirt embroidered with pearls, gems and lotus patterns. The hem of the skirt was intricate and gorgeous, and she wore a transparent gauze on the outside that outlined her delicate lines. The belt around her waist was inlaid with gems, and she wore dozens of gold bracelets on her wrists and bare ankles. As the music played, her hands twisted like petals, her legs bent, and she slowly bowed to Tanmaragha.

Even before dancing, she is already full of charm.

In an instant, the wind blowing on my face became gentle.

Everyone present couldn't help but hold their breath.

In the silence, Yao Ying heard the sound of Prajna grinding her teeth.

"The people of Vimala are so shameless!" he said angrily.

The people of Virūmali viewed dance as a way to communicate with the gods. Every sacrifice and celebration included dancing to the gods. Dance was more like a religious ritual. The Virūmali people expressed their blessings by dancing, and the royal court officials could not refuse.

I heard that Princess Manda learned dancing in the temple since she was young. Her dance is classical, graceful, and full of temptation, which can arouse men's desire. She dances in the name of worshiping gods, but she has no good intentions!

Prajna looked at Princess Manda and her face turned pale.

Yao Ying tried not to laugh so as not to add fuel to the fire.

Off the stage, Princess Manda was already dancing to the music, her waist twisting, her hands moving in ever-changing gestures, the gold bracelets on her wrists and feet jingling to the rhythm. The wind blew and the snow whirled, the phoenixes flew, the pearl strings shone like stars, and the flowers and vines fought in the bushes like dragons and snakes moved.

Elegant, moving and extremely charming.

Everyone was fascinated by the sight. Several men stood up blankly, craning their necks, wishing they could get a closer look.

When Yao Ying was young, she was weak and the miracle doctor suggested that she learn dancing to strengthen her body. She learned aerobic and soft dancing from Ms. Hu and was fascinated by them.

When the song ended, the music suddenly became slow. Princess Manda's eyes moved, and she slowly took off her veil. Her delicate feet stepped on the Persian red carpet and moved towards the main hall step by step.

Behind the curtain, Yao Ying couldn't help but admire: No wonder everyone says Princess Manda's dancing skills are superb, her dancing is agile and elegant, strong and soft, full of vitality, and has an indescribable religious meaning of nobility and grace, holiness and charm combined in one, which is almost breathtaking.

Princess Manda has moved to the main hall.

Tanmaraka never watched singing and dancing, so the kingdom of Viruma could only let her dance under the pretext of worshipping the gods. She knew that this was a rare opportunity, so she put all her skills into the dance, with her dance moves sometimes light and sometimes brisk, her figure vaguely visible under the gauze, looking rich and gorgeous.

Princess Manda danced to the front of Tanmaragha's bed. Her dance became more and more graceful. When she leaned over, her legs slightly parted. The veil fell off, revealing her skin with a honey-colored glow. The temptation was ready to burst out, and there was a faint sense of lust flowing in the felt tent.

Prajna's face slowly began to turn purple.

Yao Ying came to the front of the curtain, her eyes closely following Princess Manda, who was as gorgeous as a blooming flower. She was staring at her intoxicated, when she felt a cold gaze falling on herself. She shuddered and looked towards Tanmaragha.

He looked at her, expressionless.

Yao Ying felt guilty again and she shrank back awkwardly, closing the curtain.

The situation must be very awkward for him; she shouldn't be so interested in watching the fun.

The music outside the curtain continued. Princess Manda looked at Tanmaragha with her watery gray-green eyes. When she realized that he was not looking at her at all, her heart sank.

Can this monk really cut off all lust?

She danced with great skill, and while spinning rapidly she kept a close eye on Tanmaragha, noticing that he would occasionally glance at the curtain beside the bed, then twist his waist slightly and move closer to it.

Tanmarajiva frowned slightly.

Princess Manda rolled her eyes, leaned forward, and used her slender fingers to brush aside the curtain.

Behind the curtain, Yao Ying reacted quickly and pushed Prajna out.

Princess Manda was stunned when she saw his angry face with distorted features, and she took a step away in confusion.

Prajna was so angry that she jumped up and closed the curtains. She rushed to Tanmaraka's side and said, "King, I will ask the musicians to stop playing!"

Tanmaraka said calmly: "Since it is a gift from another country, let them finish playing it."

Prajna gritted her teeth and agreed.

The song is over.

Princess Manda bowed, looking charming and graceful.

Tanmaraka looked at her.

There was silence both on and off the stage.

Everyone looked towards the platform.

In the silence, Tanmarajiva flicked his fingers.

Prajna immediately shouted, "Next!"

There was a commotion among the audience, like a stone falling into water, creating ripples, and the sound of discussions spread out in circles.

Princess Manda's body froze, with shock, confusion and humiliation flashing across her face. She slowly stood up and left at Prajna's urging.

…

Inside the felt tent, Yao Ying heard the music outside stop, and quietly opened a thin slit to look out.

Princess Manda's back was still graceful as she left.

Tanmarajiva tilted his head and glanced at Yaoying.

Yaoying grasped the curtain with both hands, revealing only half of her face, and smiled at him. She knew that he would not be fooled by Princess Manda's magic dance.

Her eyes were clear, and besides respect and admiration, there was also a hint of apology for causing him trouble.

Tanmaraka withdrew his gaze.

…

Next, various countries continued to present birthday gifts.

When it was Yaoying's turn, Yuanjue came over to call her, and she tiptoed out and left the tent from the other end of the long stairs. Bisha and Mobiduo changed their armor and were climbing the stairs. When they saw her coming out of the main hall, they paused.

Yaoying didn't have time to say hello to Bisu and hurriedly walked down the platform from the other side.

Prajna sang out Yaoying's title loudly.

In an instant, the music and talking stopped, and even the sound of hunting disappeared quietly.

Yao Ying did not enter the hall. She stood in the snow below the stage, facing countless gazes that were either curious, vigilant, disgusted or contemptuous. She smiled slightly, looked around, her eyes moving like clear autumn water.

There was still silence on and off the court.

Yao Ying motioned for the royal court ceremonial officer to come forward and said, "I want to offer a gift to the Buddha. Princesses, please come closer and watch."

The ceremonial officer was horrified. He looked at her and saw a smile in her eyes. He knew she was not joking, so he sent someone to tell the other princesses.

The princesses were alarmed and doubtful, suspecting that Yaoying was up to something bad, but if they refused to go, they would be looked down upon. Moreover, they also wanted to get closer to see what Yaoying was up to. So they looked at each other, thought about their superior numbers, snorted coldly, and walked out of the felt tent.

Soon, the seats of princesses from various countries were moved to the stage.

There was a great uproar on the field.

On the stage, Bi Suo frowned, "Princess Wen Zhao wants all the princesses to come closer and look at her gift?"

Prajna gnashed her teeth and said angrily, "I thought Princess Wen Zhao was calm, but I didn't expect her to be jealous!"

Yuan Jue was trembling with fear, looking around: "The princess won't hit anyone, right? Should we hold the princess?"

Only Mo Biduo looked at Yao Ying below the stage, with a smile on his face: "Princess Wen Zhao challenged all the princesses openly, why can't she do that?"

Bisa looked towards Tanmaragha.

Tanmarajiva frowned slightly, looked at Yaoying in the audience, and nodded at him.

Bishuo understood and hurried down the platform.

In the icy and snowy ground, Yaoying was wearing a narrow-sleeved robe, with two personal soldiers standing behind her. She glanced at the other princesses in front of the stage.

Princesses from various countries had different expressions on their faces, staring at her without blinking, waiting to see what gift she would present.

A princess whispered, "Is she going to dance too?"

Others sneered: "Princess Manda's Heavenly Demon Dance can't even impress the Buddha, can she dance better than Princess Manda?"

Amid the discussions, Bi Suo stood in the corner, looking at Yao Ying.

Yao Ying remained calm and clapped her hands.

The personal guard came forward holding a curved-necked copper kettle. She uncorked the kettle, took out a small bottle, and slowly poured the boiling water in the bottle into the kettle. She made a lotus shape with her hands and chanted something.

After a while, wisps of colorful clouds emerged from the mouth of the pot and spread out. When the sunlight shone on them, they were dazzling and eye-catching.

Yao Ying stood on the snow, with a slender figure and graceful demeanor, surrounded by clouds, like a goddess in a fairyland in a mural.

Everyone was stunned, and no matter how hard they tried to hide their astonishment, they could not hide it.

Yaoying pointed at the five-colored cloud and said in a loud voice, "I once saw a towering tree in my dream, with golden flowers blooming on it. It was majestic and beautiful. Today, I want to offer the Buddha's birthday gift, which is the golden flowers I saw in my dream."

Everyone looked at her, then looked at the empty snowy world, with a look of suspicion on their faces.

Someone burst into laughter: "Where can flowers come from when there is no grass growing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Ying waved her sleeves lightly, and in the colorful mist, the shadow of a big tree appeared faintly. As the mist gathered and surged, the outline of the big tree became clearer and clearer. A green area suddenly appeared in the snow, and a big tree rose from the ground, with lush branches and leaves. After a while, dense flower buds began to emerge on the tree, and each flower was brilliant golden.

Everyone was stunned and couldn't help but stand up.

In the snow, the trees are full of golden flowers in full bloom, shining brightly. It is solemn, holy, gorgeous, dreamy and beautiful beyond words.

In the haze, there seemed to be music coming, melodious and lingering, like the sound of immortals.

There was silence both on and off the stage.

In the mist, thousands and thousands of golden flowers bloomed, showing no signs of withering.

After a long while, someone on the platform, with tears in his eyes, shouted excitedly: "Udumbara flower! It's Udumbara flower!"

"It takes three thousand years for the Udumbara flower to appear in the world. When it blooms, the tree is full of golden flowers. That is the Udumbara flower mentioned in the "Buddha's Nirvana Sutra"!"

"The Buddha has infinite merits. The gods and Buddhas told the Chinese woman in her dream so that the Udumbara flower would appear at the Buddha's birthday!"

Everyone has heard of the legend of the Udumbara flower. Believers firmly believed that gods and Buddhas appeared in dreams, and suddenly they realized something. They showed fanatical expressions on their faces, knelt down one after another, put their hands together, and bowed in the direction of Udumbara.

Congratulations echo through the sky.

The diplomatic corps of various countries were all dumbfounded and shocked, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Bi Suo in the corner looked at Yao Ying in the mist with a shocked expression.

The yaoying lines did not move, the mist began to dissipate, and the outline of the tree gradually became blurred.

When the messenger Viromara came to his senses and saw that the atmosphere in the venue was being led by Yao Ying, he became angry and shouted to the sky: "The flowers are gone!"

Everyone looked up at the sky, and Jinhua became dim. They looked at each other with anxious expressions.

Yao Ying was not in a hurry and stretched out her hand to grab in the air.

The clouds and mist dissipated, the music disappeared, and the ground was still covered with thick white snow. There were no big trees, let alone flowers.

Everyone looked regretful and looked at Yao Ying, hoping that she could perform a miracle again.

Yao Ying slowly opened her hands, with golden light floating in her palms.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise: She was holding a bunch of blooming golden flowers in her hand!

Everything that just happened was not an illusion, the Udumbara flower really appeared!

"The Udumbara flower has once again descended upon the world, and the royal court will surely enjoy long-term peace and prosperity!"

One person shouted this out loud, and the others followed suit, forming a huge wave of sound.

Prajna couldn't believe it, she was surprised and happy. When everyone calmed down, she rushed down the stage with a smile on her face, carefully took the golden flower from Yaoying's hand, placed it on the golden plate, and presented it to Tanmarajiva.

Below the stage, princesses from various countries came to their senses and looked at each other in bewilderment.

They lost. Princess Wen Zhao received enlightenment from gods and Buddhas in her dream and even presented Udumbara flowers to Buddhist disciples. How could they compare with her?

Yao Ying presented the golden flower, but did not leave immediately. She looked at the princesses with a smile.

The princesses' hearts skipped a beat, their hair stood on end, and they had a bad premonition.

…

The ceremony is over.

The people were still immersed in the joy of the appearance of the Udumbara flower, and there were laughter and joy everywhere.

In the big carriage back to Wang Temple, Prajna held the golden plate respectfully with a smile on her face.

Tanmarajiva glanced at the golden flowers on the plate with a calm expression.

There was a sound of hurried horse hooves coming from outside the curtain. Yuan Jue reined in his horse beside the carriage window and said with a salutation, "Your Majesty, after the ceremony, Princess Wen Zhao did not return to the royal temple immediately."

Tanmaraka raised his eyes and asked: "Where did you go?"

Yuan Jue hesitated for a moment and said, "Princess... the princess left the other princesses behind, and it seems that she wanted to compete with them. General Ashina accompanied the princess... I didn't hear the others clearly..."

Tanmaraka frowned slightly, "You go over and watch."

It's fate that makes you turn your horse around.

When Tanmarajaga returned to the royal temple, the monks in the temple had already heard that a miracle had occurred at the ceremony, and they rushed over to see the Udumbara flower.

He ordered Prajna to put away the golden flower, take off the crown, return to the meditation room, hold the beads in his hand, and close his eyes in meditation.

Half an hour later, as it was getting dark, a guard returned to report.

"King! Princess Wen Zhao and princesses from various countries are confronting each other outside the city."

"Princess Wen Zhao said that she truly admired the king and was punished by gods and Buddhas in her dreams. She was burned with fire, beaten with wood, and drowned. Her life was worse than death, but she was still sincere to the king. Princesses from other countries who wanted to stay here like her had to go through the same punishment as her."

"Princess Wen Zhao's personal guards set up a ritual altar outside the city, with a blazing fire in the altar. The princess said that whoever dared to walk through the fire would have the right to say that he admired the king. When the people heard this, they all ran to see the excitement."

"Princesses from other countries tried to throw a piece of gauze into the fire, but it burned into a wisp of black smoke, and the princesses were too scared to go forward."

At this point, the guard kneeling outside the meditation room suddenly raised his voice.

"Princess Wen Zhao stepped into the fire altar in full view of the public!"

"The princess's clothes immediately caught fire, and she started crying out of fear..."

The meditation room was quiet for a moment.

The next moment, there was a harsh sound of Buddhist beads rubbing against each other, and Tanmarajiva opened his eyes.

…

The dusk is deep and the sky is filled with sunset glow.

A horse-drawn carriage drove up to the corner gate of Wangsi.

Bi Suo and Yao Ying jumped off the carriage one after another, and Yuan Jue followed suit. The three of them chatted and laughed as they entered the Wang Temple. As soon as they passed through the corridor, they met several guards who hurried over. When they saw Yao Ying, they stopped in front of her without saying a word.

"The king summons the princess."

Bi Suo said, "Wait a minute, the princess needs to go back and change her clothes."

The guard was unsympathetic and said, "Please forgive my rudeness, but the king has ordered that no matter what the princess is doing, we must take her to the meditation room immediately without delay."

Bi Suo frowned slightly.

Yao Ying thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. The wizard is looking for me, so it must be something important."

As he said this, he glanced at the cloak on Bisha and said, "General, lend me your cloak."

Bisa took off his cloak and handed it to her. She took it, put it on herself, and followed the guards to the meditation room.

Candles had been lit in the meditation room. The guards opened the felt curtains, bringing up a breeze. The flickering candlelight shone on the face of Tanmaragha, who was sitting on the cushion. There seemed to be ripples in her emerald eyes, which always showed no emotion.

"Mage?"

Yaoying walked in and asked softly.

Tanmaraka lifted the curtain and glanced at the cloak on her body, "Untie it."

The tone was indifferent, without a trace of emotion.

Yao Ying was stunned and held on to her cloak tightly.

Tanmarajiva frowned slightly and pointed his chin at the cushion beside him.

Yaoying walked over, sat on the mat, and looked up at him.

He looked down at her with a stern gaze, "Untie it."

There was an unusual severity in his tone.

Yao Ying knew that he might know about the fire altar, so she had to lower her head and untie her cloak. The warm yellow candlelight reflected on her body, illuminating her clothes. The narrow sleeves of the robe were tattered, and the sleeves and hem of the robe had been burnt to a black.

Tanmaraka looked at her, and the words of the guards rang in his ears.

Princess Wen Zhao stepped into the fire altar!

The clothes are burnt, where is the person?

How can a mortal flesh and blood withstand the burning of fire?

He looked down at her, his eyes dark.

The gaze falling on her seemed to become a physical object, cutting Yao Ying inch by inch with great force. Her heart began to beat wildly and cold sweat slowly seeped out of her palms.

"Mage?" She called him reluctantly.

Tanmaraka remained silent.

Yao Ying choked up. Just when she was about to break out in a sweat, Tanmo Luojia lowered his eyes and said, "Stretch out your hand."

His tone returned to his usual gentle tone.

Yao Ying breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out her hand.

Tanmaraka took a look at her burnt cuffs, rolled up the burnt part, stretched out two fingers, and gently felt her pulse.

"Is it burning?"

he asked suddenly.

Yao Ying shook her head: "Master, rest assured, the fire altar was set up by my personal soldiers. When they were in Chang'an, they often used this method to scare people. It looks scary, but it's just a trick. It won't hurt anyone at all. I deliberately wore clothes made of this special cloth today, and tied up my hair. These burning places..."

She raised her other sleeve and waved it at Tanmaraka.

"These are the only ones that don't have special dragon cloth, so they will burn when they come into contact with fire, but they won't be damaged."

She smiled slyly.

"There has to be some flames to scare away the other princesses."

Before, when she interrogated Zhu Luyun, she deliberately attracted spies from princesses of various countries and spread rumors to make the princesses afraid. Today, she first used magic to confuse people, and then convinced them with Udumbara flowers, so that the princesses would doubt her dream of being punished by gods and Buddhas. Finally, she threw herself into the fire, and the other princesses were so scared that they could not move.

In addition, by offering the Udumbara flower, Dammaraka would be more loved by the people, and she hoped to make up for the damage she had brought to his reputation.

The Udumbara flower is actually a tree species that grows in India. Because the Buddhist scriptures record that it only blooms when gods and Buddhas appear in the world, and because of various fabricated associations, it is regarded as a rare and supernatural flower. The golden flower she asked the craftsmen to make was almost real, and the Indians who had seen the real flower could not tell the real thing from the fake, and the people in the royal court could not tell the difference.

Yao Ying spoke the story in a nonchalant tone, and finally said: "This way, no one will dare to mention imitating the Modanga girl in the future."

If anyone dared to mention this matter again, the people of the royal court would jump out and demand that they step into the fire and burn themselves.

Yao Ying looked at Tanmarajya, wrinkled her nose, and said apologetically: "I have brought a lot of trouble to the master. I could have told everyone at the ceremony that I have been enlightened by the master and have stopped having any thoughts. From now on, I will never appear in front of the master again... But Haidu Aling has not lost his power yet. I have concerns in my heart. I can only find another way. This way, I can stop other people's thoughts. Then the master can be completely pure in the future."

Tanmaraka remained silent.

Yao Ying lowered her voice and continued, "Master, please rest assured. After the one-year term is up, no matter what the situation is, I will definitely leave the Holy City."

Tanmaraka remained silent.

Yao Ying thought that he might not want to discuss the matter of the Modanga girl, so she kept silent.

After a while, Tanmarajiva withdrew his fingers.

Her pulse was steady.

Yao Ying withdrew her hand and lowered her sleeves.

Tanmaraka looked up at her, was silent for a long time, and asked: "Have you ever been punished by gods and Buddhas in your dreams?"

Yao Ying was stunned and shook her head: "No, those words were to scare other princesses. I didn't dream of gods and Buddhas."

Tanmo Luojia hummed, "Princess, please don't say such prophecies in the future."

Yao Ying nodded, a little embarrassed, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Master. I will copy a few volumes of scriptures tomorrow and apologize to the Buddha."

She told too many lies in front of him, a monk, and he must have disagreed in his heart.

Tanmaraka noticed her discomfort, looked away and stared at the flickering candle flame.

He wasn't blaming her.

The reason why she was not allowed to say such prophecies was because... he would take it seriously.

The candle flickered.

His heart also began to waver.

The author has something to say: "The pearl threads dazzle and the stars shake, the flower vines fight in the bushes and the dragons and snakes move." Quoting an ancient poem.

The magic tricks performed by Xiao Qi were based on Pu Songling's "Han Yue Fu Qiu" and some ancient magic stories.

The legend of the Udumbara flower is quoted from Buddhist scriptures.

…

Question: Why do you have to perform magic tricks and use fire to scare people?

Yao Ying: Because only magic can defeat magic.

…

…………………………………………

I'm still exploring how to write, and there are many areas that need improvement. I've taken everyone's suggestions seriously, but the slow pace of the story isn't really meant to keep people on suspense. When I decided to write about a monk as the main character, this was the emotional rhythm I expected.

Luojia is a monk. He broke the precept of killing for the ideal in his heart. He chose a different path, but he is still a monk and a monarch. It is impossible for him to abandon his responsibilities and beliefs and live together with a foreign woman who is destined to leave.

Since he can't let go of his belief in responsibility, he won't express his feelings or take the initiative to get close to her, because that will only hurt Yaoying.

Don't look at it from a modern perspective or from a God's perspective, thinking that Luo Jia can return to secular life in a few minutes. People like Bishuo never thought that Luo Jia would return to secular life. They were wary of Xiao Qi because they were afraid that Luo Jia would go astray or break his vows.

In the book, so far, no one has ever thought that Luoga would return to secular life, including Luoga himself.

Then Xiao Qi felt guilty towards Luo Jia and would not think of Luo Jia's kindness to her as love between a man and a woman.

If you feel that your relationship is progressing too slowly, you can try to nourish it. Pick the parts that interest you to read, but don't read them to the point of being uncomfortable. The purpose of reading a novel is to be happy.