“Because the royal court’s ruler is the Buddha’s Son, I dare make such an agreement with the Buddha’s Son,” Yaoying smiled and said softly.

She had painted a grand picture for Tanmoluojia. Whether they could achieve it, no one could say for certain.

Would Gaochang agree to an alliance? Could they successfully send news back to the Central Plains? Across thousands of mountains and waters, would something go wrong by the time their message reached the Central Plains?

All of these remained uncertain.

But with each step forward they took, there was one more glimmer of hope.

If the royal court were still controlled by nobles like Kang Mozhe, Yaoying would never have proposed an alliance with the royal court. People like Kang Mozhe who only cared about their family’s interests wouldn’t care about a Central Plains dynasty eight thousand li away. Her proposal would not be taken seriously and would only be met with mockery.

Moreover, allying with Kang Mozhe would mean constantly guarding against being used and harmed by him.

Tanmoluojia was different. He took the lives of the royal court’s people to heart and had far-reaching vision and broad perspective. As clever as he was, he surely understood how faint the hope was, but he would be willing to try—one more ally meant one less enemy. He didn’t know how long he could hold on and needed more allies.

So Yaoying didn’t need to make elaborate promises or give any guarantees.

Whatever the outcome, Tanmoluojia wouldn’t make things difficult for her, even if he had no intention of allying with the Central Plains.

Yaoying was certain of this.

The man before her made her feel very at ease. In the half year since she’d drifted to the Western Regions, she’d been constantly on edge. Only after coming to the royal court could she finally sleep soundly, without startling awake every night.

He had deep, penetrating eyes that seemed able to see through everything. Facing him, she didn’t need to hide anything or scheme—she only needed to speak what was in her heart.

Yaoying continued: “The supreme military strategy is to attack the enemy’s plans, next to attack their alliances, next to attack their army, and last to attack their cities. To defeat the enemy through strategy and subdue their forces without fighting is supreme. The Buddha’s Son, with his compassionate heart, surely agrees with this point.”

The fifteen-year-old girl was in the prime of her youth and beauty. Her black hair was bound with a red silk ribbon that fell against her snow-white neck. Her skin was like snow, her face like a beautiful flower, so radiant that the entire inner hall seemed brighter.

Just as the poem says: The east wind releases thousands of flower trees in the night.

The daylight flickering on the four white walls of the hall shimmered slightly, golden light rippling before the long table where an opened sutra lay, its pages yellowed.

Tanmoluojia’s gaze fell on the sutra.

“After the Image Procession Festival, Ashina Bisuo will escort the Princess to Gaochang.”

A brilliant smile bloomed on Yaoying’s face: he had agreed!

“This matter cannot be leaked. I must trouble Princess Wenzhao.”

Yaoying nodded: “The Dharma Master need not worry. I know what’s appropriate. This agreement remains just between us.”

She let out a breath and smiled.

“Far from the Central Plains, with no soldiers or generals by my side, I’m grateful the Dharma Master is willing to trust me—how could this be trouble? If I can return to the Central Plains, I will certainly work hard to bring about the alliance.”

Tanmoluojia’s fingertips brushed over the sutra. After a moment of silence, he said: “The Princess need not be so humble.”

Her courage and keen insight were worthy of his trust.

That year when he was thirteen, he had led just a few thousand central army riders to meet the Northern Rong who had never known defeat. He had no chance of victory then, but in the end, he won.

Tanmoluojia covered his mouth and coughed once, weariness showing between his clear brows.

Yaoying’s gaze moved across his face as she asked softly: “Has the Dharma Master experienced heart palpitations or fever these days? Do you sweat at night?”

Tanmoluojia raised his eyes to look at her.

Yaoying’s expression was worried as she studied his complexion, her concern obvious: “The water mang grass is poisonous and cannot be taken long-term. If the Dharma Master feels unwell, you must tell Mondatiba.”

Tanmoluojia gave a faint sound of acknowledgment.

Remembering he was still recovering from serious illness, Yaoying rose to take her leave: “The Dharma Master still needs to prepare for the sutra debate assembly. I won’t disturb your meditation.”

There was no sound from behind her. As she left, she glanced back—Tanmoluojia was lowering his head to look at the sutra on the table, his profile thin in the flowing golden light.

Yaoying returned to her courtyard and took out the dowry register, instructing her guards to gather all the Buddhist sutras and texts to send to the temple.

“The Buddhist scriptures from the Central Plains differ slightly from those circulating in the Western Regions. The Dharma Master and temple monks will soon debate sutras with monks from various countries—these scriptures might prove useful.”

Besides the sutras, she also ordered her guards to send all the Buddha statues of gold and jade to the temple. The entire royal court was preparing for the Image Procession Festival—these Buddha statues were of no use to her, better to give them away.

The royal court revered Buddhism, and temples and pagodas could be seen throughout the city. Yaoying’s gift of Buddha statues wasn’t unusual, but the Central Plains Buddhist texts quickly caught the attention of the temple monks. They eagerly passed around several Sanskrit manuscripts, debating the scriptural interpretations intensely.

When Prajña learned of this, he was shocked and hurriedly called for the temple master: “Where are the Buddha statues Princess Wenzhao sent? Gather them all and return them exactly as they were!”

The temple master replied: “The festival is in a few days. The Buddha statues Princess Wenzhao sent are exquisitely carved and have already been used to decorate the dharma hall. The Princess was generous and even gave several gold statues to common people for worship. The people are very grateful to the Princess.”

Prajña stamped his feet and sighed deeply, anxiously pulling at his ears and scratching his head: “What about the scriptures Princess Wenzhao sent? Did you accept all of those too? Quickly return them!”

“The scriptures the Princess sent are beautifully written with profound meaning. The temple monks have been so absorbed in studying their true meaning they’ve forgotten to eat, and the Chan Master hasn’t taught Chan for several days.”

Prajña looked desperate: “What… what else did you accept from the Princess?”

The temple master thought for a moment and answered: “The day before yesterday, the Princess had people send a cart of silk fabric to make dharma robes for all the monks to wear at the festival… Yesterday the Princess’s guards brought offerings…”

In short, they’d taken the money, used the Buddha statues, read the books, and already made the dharma robes.

What, return them?

The temple master pressed his palms together and shook his head sheepishly.

Impossible.

Prajña felt dizzy and staggered several steps, nearly crying.

This was quite a situation—not only had the King used the water mang grass from the Princess’s dowry, but the temple had accepted her Buddha statues, scriptures, and silks… Even the royal court’s common people had received items from the Princess’s dowry!

Prajña hurried back to the palace with heavy steps and entered the inner hall.

“My King, Princess Wenzhao has ulterior motives—she’s almost given away her entire dowry! I suspect she’s doing this deliberately. She wants to stay with you forever!”

Tanmoluojia sat by the window in his snow-white kasaya, reading sutras. Hearing this, he raised his head, frowning slightly.

“Please summon Princess Wenzhao.”

Yaoying thought Tanmoluojia wanted to discuss the Gaochang matter with her. But entering the inner hall, she saw many people standing before the throne. Ashina Bisuo and the palace steward were there, hands clasped, looking somewhat guilty.

Prajña, Yuanjue, and other guards stood at the door. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy.

On the precious throne, Tanmoluojia held a sutra, reading with elegant ease.

Below the throne, everyone was sweating profusely.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing Yaoying enter, Bisuo let out a quiet breath, scratched his head, and saluted her: “Princess, I was negligent and failed to look after things properly.”

The palace steward also bowed to Yaoying.

Yaoying looked bewildered, hastily returning their courtesies.

Bisuo turned to face Tanmoluojia on the throne: “My King, the Princess’s treasure register from the Central Plains is still here. Those items given away cannot be returned. I will take the Princess to the treasury now and let her choose freely from the treasures there. We won’t let the Princess suffer any loss.”

Tanmoluojia said nothing, just waved his hand.

Bisuo and the others bowed respectfully to him. He winked at Yaoying as they withdrew together.

“Princess, this way please.”

Bisuo led Yaoying to the palace treasury.

“Princess, just tell me how many items you gave away and their worth—don’t worry about it. The water mang grass and medicines must have been very valuable, right? And those precious scriptures and fine silks—in the Western Regions, one bolt of Central Plains silk is worth a hundred gold pieces. The Princess’s dowry should always belong to the Princess; it shouldn’t have been taken by people of the royal court. The King just punished me and the palace steward.”

Yaoying didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Please tell the Dharma Master that the palace steward didn’t neglect me. I gave away those scriptures and silks willingly—it has nothing to do with the steward.”

Bisuo smiled: “The King knows the Buddha statues, scriptures, silks, and offerings were given voluntarily by the Princess. No one forced you.”

Yaoying was startled: “Then why did the Dharma Master still punish the steward?”

Bisuo’s face was wreathed in smiles. “The Princess is alone in a foreign land with much on her mind. You gave away your dowry to feel more at ease in the royal court.”

Yaoying nodded, then shook her head: “Without the royal court’s help, how could I have retrieved those treasures? I gave away the scriptures and Buddha statues both to build good karma and because I’m grateful to the Buddha’s Son. There’s absolutely no hardship in it.”

Bisuo raised his eyebrows slightly. “Is the Princess truly willing to part with them?”

Yaoying smiled lightly: “I’m already very grateful that I could preserve my life.”

There were indeed people in the royal court who coveted the cartloads of treasures the central army had brought back from the Northern Rong. Besides showing gratitude to Tanmoluojia, Yaoying had her reasons for conspicuously giving away her dowry. There was no hardship in it.

Giving them away was more beneficial to her.

Admiration showed in Bisuo’s eyes: the Princess was indeed clever.

When the carts loaded with treasures and jewels entered the palace, who knew how many eyes were fixed on the treasury every day? Wealth moves people’s hearts—sooner or later someone will have designs on the dowry. By actively giving away her dowry, and sending it all to the King’s temple no less, who would dare lay hands on a temple?

This way, she could not only protect herself but also win a good reputation, leaving the greedy ministers no opportunity to act—achieving multiple goals at once.

Bisuo clapped his hands: “The Princess is decisive in knowing what to keep and what to give up. I admire that! But the King said the Princess is the royal court’s guest and shouldn’t have to make such decisions. Moreover, the King used the Princess’s medicines and should make compensation.”

He gestured for the steward to open the palace treasury.

“Princess, choose whatever you like!”

Yaoying followed him into the treasury, and her eyes met a dazzling sea of golden light and floating precious energy.

Even though she was used to worldly wealth and splendor, she couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

These monks were wealthy!