Princess Yina was the niece of Khan Wakhan and the wife of Yuchi Damo. Last night, Su Dangu, Yao Ying, and Yuan Jue left Wang Temple separately. Yuan Jue took the Gaochang palace servant with him, planning to interrogate him thoroughly once they found a safe place. Unfortunately, their luck wasn’t good – they couldn’t escape before the lockdown and had to return to Wang Temple to hide.

The palace servant, fearing Yuan Jue would silence him permanently, cried and wailed, swearing oaths that Yuchi Damo would never dare set a trap to harm anyone. Yuan Jue found the servant’s noise irritating and knocked him unconscious, then changed into his clothes to gather intelligence in Wang Temple. By noon today, the temple’s people had withdrawn to the palace, while the palace itself was heavily guarded by Lady Yina’s troops layer upon layer. Only then did Yuan Jue find an opportunity to escape from Wang Temple.

Hearing this, Yao Ying’s brows furrowed slightly. When she first arrived in Gaochang, she had deliberately visited the market district to gather information from well-informed foreign merchants, who told her that Yuchi Damo and Lady Yina’s relationship was tense.

The Northern Rong cavalry excelled at raiding and attacking, but not at defending cities, let alone governing a region. Given Gaochang’s unique geography, Khan Wakhan believed that after conquering Gaochang, they would still need to station troops to guard it – the effort wouldn’t be worth half the reward. Instead, he chose to control Gaochang through a marriage alliance, extracting high taxes to support the Northern Rong court. He sent twenty thousand troops to besiege Gaochang, forcing Yuchi Damo to marry Yina.

At that time, Yuchi Damo had already married a proper wife from a prestigious family. The couple respected each other deeply and shared deep affection. Lady Yina was older than him and had previously married several Turkic nobles. With Northern Rong forces at the border, he had no choice but to dispose of his original wife and marry the new one.

It was said that on his wedding night, Yuchi Damo told those close to him: “Today’s humiliation shall be repaid!”

Lady Yina, relying on her status as a Northern Rong princess, acted tyrannically and lived in luxury and debauchery, allowing her subordinates to plunder precious treasures from passing merchants. Her retinue and servants oppressed Gaochang’s officials and citizens, throwing the royal household into chaos and causing public resentment to boil.

The couple was at daggers drawn. Lady Yina had publicly mocked Yuchi Damo as weak and useless, a defeated general under Khan Wakhan. Servants had seen Yuchi Damo storming out of her chambers with several scratch marks on his face.

Yao Ying asked Yuan Jue, “What’s the current situation in the palace? Why did Lady Yina station troops at Wang Temple?”

Yuan Jue replied, “The palace guards are all Lady Yina’s troops. I suspect Yuchi Damo might be under house arrest.”

Yao Ying’s frown deepened: “Has Lady Yina discovered us?”

Yuan Jue shook his head and said quietly, “I interrogated that palace servant. He said Lady Yina and Yuchi Damo have been arguing frequently this past year. Yuchi Damo had a son and daughter with his previous wife. Lady Yina wanted to send the siblings to the Northern Rong court as hostages, but Yuchi Damo refused. Recently, Lady Yina secretly sent the siblings away without Yuchi Damo’s knowledge. He flew into a rage, caught up with the siblings, brought them back to the palace, and had a huge argument with Lady Yina, calling her a venomous woman. Lady Yina was so angry she beat a maid to death.”

“The palace was under lockdown last night, and Yuchi Damo didn’t appear. This morning, several carriages left the palace heading straight for the Northern Rong court. The servant recognized the people inside – they were the crown prince’s attendants and wet nurse. They were crying, and Lady Yina’s servants were escorting them.”

Yao Ying pondered silently, her mind clear.

She understood what had happened last night.

To send her husband’s children his previous wife to Northern Rong, Lady Yina instigated a palace coup to place her husband under house arrest. Their arranged secret meeting with Yuchi Damo happened to coincide with Lady Yina’s move.

They had arrived at a too-coincidental time, getting caught up in Gaochang’s palace coup.

Looking at it this way, the incident at Wang Temple had nothing to do with Hai Du Aling, who had always been marginalized at the Northern Rong court and had no connection with Lady Yina.

Yuan Jue sighed, “Lady Yina brought over a thousand Northern Rong soldiers when she married here. The palace is heavily guarded – we have no chance to meet secretly with Yuchi Damo.”

With Yuchi Damo under house arrest, he had lost his qualification as an ally. Moreover, with his children sent to Northern Rong, would he dare ally with the court?

Their diplomatic mission might fail.

Yao Ying remained silent, looking up at Su Dangu who stood quietly to one side.

There were other ways… but…

She calculated silently in her mind.

Lady Yina had placed her husband under house arrest and sent away his children. The Gaochang nobles, fearing Northern Rong, remained silent as cicadas in winter. The royal city was peaceful on the surface, and the martial law in the city had completely relaxed.

Yao Ying’s group continued staying in the courtyard. A Lan Ruo prepared medicine daily for her to take. After taking several doses, she quickly recovered.

Two days later, Old Qi and Xie Chong, who had entered the city, finally brought her news about Xie Qing.

Xie Qing had been injured protecting Prince Jin Bo and couldn’t move for now. They were hiding in a very safe place, and no one had pursued them these past few days.

Yao Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how capable Hai Du Aling was, he couldn’t attend to everything, and he wouldn’t have anticipated they would happen to rescue Jin Bo. He hadn’t come to Gaochang, only sending people to ambush around Jin Bo. Those assassins had all died under the guards’ blades.

Confirming Hai Du Aling wasn’t nearby, Yao Ying had fewer concerns. Having made up her mind, she sought out Su Dangu for his opinion.

Su Dangu moved like a ghost – she searched for a long time before finally finding him in front of the corridor.

If not for his overly tense posture, she would have thought he was admiring the pristine snow in the courtyard.

“The Master is merciful. Having Commander Su escort me here, such deep kindness moves me profoundly…”

Yao Ying walked forward, stating her purpose and exchanging pleasantries.

Su Dangu gave her a bland glance.

That look made Yao Ying’s breath catch for a moment. She smiled and asked directly, “Will what I’m about to do cause the Commander any inconvenience?”

Su Dangu’s eyes gazed at the snow accumulated on the earthen wall: “Princess, do as you please.”

This was exactly the answer Yao Ying wanted to hear, though Su Dangu’s directness somewhat surprised her.

His tone was light, yet carried an air suggesting he could shoulder anything that might happen. Yao Ying’s tension eased slightly. As she turned to leave, something occurred to her, and she looked back at Su Dangu’s figure.

That figure was lean and straight, standing there like a mountain range, he was the pillar holding up the sky.

He had killed countless people, but none were innocent souls under his blade. His wrathful vajra eyes were for subduing the four demons and protecting peace and prosperity in the land.

Yao Ying was lost in thought for a moment before asking softly, “Commander Su, the Buddha’s son doesn’t care whether my diplomatic mission to Gaochang succeeds or fails, right?”

The guards had said Tan Mo Luo Jia’s orders were to help her transmit messages to Central Plains.

Su Dangu remained silent.

Yao Ying stood her ground, raising her voice to ask again, her tone sweet and clear.

If he didn’t answer, she could ask once more.

Su Dangu had his back to her and remained silent for a long while before slightly nodding.

Yao Ying’s lips curved slightly upward, and only then did she turn and walk away.

…

The next day, Yao Ying continued exploring the market district under Qi Nian’s guidance.

Not wanting to draw attention, she dressed like a local Hu woman, always covering her face with a veil when going out, and replaced her guard with Yuan Jue, who could speak the Hu language. For several days, Yuan Jue followed Yao Ying as she visited every market and shop, including several Zoroastrian temples and Buddhist monasteries. They mingled with the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds daily, spending Persian gold and silver coins like flowing water, acquiring a large collection of precious jewelry and fine silk fabrics.

When other guards asked him what they did every day, he was nearly in tears: Princess Wenzhao spent money lavishly, buying whatever caught her eye without hesitation, acting like a pampered noble lady spending freely – not at all like someone on official business. How could he explain?

Meanwhile, Qi Nian and A Lan Ruo went out every night, delivering letter after letter.

Though Lady Yina had placed her husband under house arrest, she hosted daily banquets in the palace for nobles to appease public sentiment. Yuchi Damo made brief appearances during these events. While the palace appeared peaceful with song and dance, undercurrents surged beneath the surface.

On this snowy day with howling winds, Yao Ying brought her guard to the market district, entering a grape wine shop and going up to a private room on the second floor.

Qi Nian and two Han men waited at the door, whispering, “Princess, everything is arranged. The Zhao, Zhang, Wang, and Yang families will all send people today.”

Yao Ying nodded.

Yuan Jue, following beside her, asked puzzled, “Princess, why meet guests in such a place?”

Having been her guard these past days, he knew she was trying to send messages to Gaochang’s powerful families, most of whom were descendants of Hexi and Helong noble houses, their hearts still with their ancestral land.

Yao Ying said, “I’m not sure if they can be trusted either. Meeting here is safer. If anything happens, we can leave immediately.”

Yuan Jue nodded, thinking to himself that the princess was thorough in her planning, and A Lan Ruo, being from the royal court, shouldn’t be exposed.

Shortly after they arrived, three maids entered carrying treasure boxes, followed by several young men from the merchant caravan carrying chests. When the young men opened their chests, the room filled with dazzling precious light.

Yuan Jue was dazzled – weren’t these the jewels the princess had bought in recent days?

Yao Ying gestured for Yuan Jue to wait by the screen, then entered the inner room.

Yuan Jue didn’t dare look inside, standing with lowered hands outside. He heard rustling sounds from within as jewelry and ornaments were brought in one by one, maids bustling in and out.

He waited a full hour, his back aching and head dizzy, until he finally heard Yao Ying call from inside. He immediately straightened up, raised his head, turned around the screen, and was stunned by what he saw.

The room was spotlessly clean with swaying pearl curtains. The floor was covered with exquisite Capricorn-patterned felt mats. There were precious couches, seats, and gold-lacquered screens covered in poetry. Several gilt lion-shaped incense burners sat before the couch, wisps of fragrant smoke rising.

A woman sat elegantly by the couch, her powdered face with rouge-touched lips finely made up, dimples in her cheeks, a green ornament between her brows. Her cloud-like hair was piled high, and adorned with gold and emerald ornaments. At her temple was a huge trembling multi-petaled peony, neither quite red nor white. She wore a fish-scale patterned gauze narrow-sleeved short jacket, covered with a dragon-patterned half-sleeve robe embroidered with red flowers and green leaves. Below was a dark-patterned silk twelve-panel crimson skirt, with mud-gold and silver bird-and-flower-painted silk draped over her shoulders. She was dignified and magnificent, radiating beauty.

Her radiance was so brilliant one dared not look directly at her.

Rays of daylight filtered through the window panels into the room, falling on that peony in her hair. Who knew where this flower came from – dewdrops seemed to roll on its pink-white petals, further highlighting her black hair and elegant features.

She smiled at Yuan Jue, her eyes bright, as if all the light in the room had suddenly poured into them.

For a moment, this place seemed not to be Gaochang’s royal city deep in the desert, but Chang’an thousands of miles away, where heaven’s gates opened to palaces and officials from ten thousand nations paid homage.

Yuan Jue stared dumbly at Li Yao Ying, his jaw hanging open.

Yao Ying winked at him, her long lashes fluttering. Her eyebrows and corners of her eyes were lightly painted with rouge halos, making her look somewhat more mature than usual. Every gesture was brilliant and charming.

“Did I frighten you?” she asked with a smile.

Yuan Jue could barely find his breath, nodding dumbly while silently reciting Buddha’s name, thinking to himself: Fortunately, the Regent didn’t come today.

General Ashina was right – Princess Wenzhao was too dangerous!

Yao Ying sat regally by the couch, her head full of jewels and emeralds, the peony in her gauze-wrapped hair trembling slightly. She said, “That’s good. You’re a martial artist with strong character – if you’re frightened, others will be intimidated by me too.”

While Yuan Jue was still silently reciting Buddhist prayers, a suit of armor was brought before him.

Yao Ying smiled lightly: “Thank you for being my guard today, help me make an impressive show.”

Yuan Jue lowered his head in acknowledgment, put on the armor, and entered the room, standing below the precious couch. Several other Han people also changed into armor, all wearing swords, looking imposing as they stationed themselves in various corners of the room.

Maids knelt behind Yao Ying, holding precious fans, incense burners, and fragrance boxes. Waves of subtle fragrance filled the room while several maids brewed tea in the outer corridor, spreading tea fragrance everywhere.

Yuan Jue stood straight-backed, not daring to make a sound.

Yao Ying looked around, confirming every corner was properly arranged, and slowly exhaled.

Back at the royal court, she had sent Old Qi to contact various righteous people. The Hexi noble families, deeply oppressed, still longed for their ancestral land. Learning she was a princess from the Central Plains, they quickly responded, including several powerful families in Gaochang.

While royal support was important, winning over the powerful families who had established deep roots in the Western Regions over many years was even more crucial. Since Yuchi Damo was temporarily under house arrest, she would first unite with these families.

Today she would meet these righteous people, and presence was crucial.

As the saying goes, even a strong dragon can’t suppress local snakes. She couldn’t make any promises yet, but to intimidate these Hexi nobles long separated from the Central Plains, she had to seize the initiative and overthrow them from the start.

She needed to show her utmost sincerity while letting these noble families see in her what they wanted to see.

When first arriving in Gaochang, seeing no one wearing Han clothing or speaking the Han language on the streets, Yao Ying had worried the noble families might have forgotten their ancestral land.

Later, as she visited the markets daily, inquiring about popular styles, makeup, and goods, she discovered some oddities. Books and scriptures written in Han characters were still bestsellers, and noble ladies eagerly bought silks, fabrics, and jewelry from the Central Plains.

Qi Nian told her many people were forced to change their customs but hadn’t forgotten their ancestral land. During festivals, they would secretly make offerings to ancestors, hoping for the royal army’s return.

Therefore, at this first meeting, Yao Ying had to show the noble families a dignified, confident Great Wei princess who brought them hope, not a helpless pitiful girl.

Her hairstyle, makeup, clothing, and the attire of her guards and maids, along with the room’s furnishings, weren’t in the current Chang’an style, but rather the northern fashion from years ago when the country fell.

The local noble families, far from the Central Plains, held this image of their ancestral land in their hearts – this would move them.

Yao Ying steadied herself and signaled the guard at the door that people could be let in.

…

Downstairs, a group of people hurriedly made their way through the busy market, gathering at the shop.

These people, both old and young, wore gold-flowered crowns, braided hair down their backs, and round-necked narrow-sleeved floral brocade robes. They exchanged glances with grave expressions, repeatedly asking, “Did you hear too?”

All were relatives who secretly trained righteous armies, knowing each other well. They huddled together, whispering, then climbed to the second floor.

The painted curtain opened, maids lifted the crystal curtain, and fragrance wafted out. In the room full of shimmering light, Princess Wenzhao glanced at everyone with a smile, her bright eyes radiating brilliance.

For the elderly, this scene was exactly their childhood memory.

In those peaceful prosperous days, their families flourished, people lived happily, the Silk Road flowed freely, and trade thrived – how gloriously prosperous Gaochang had been!

Everyone stood stunned for a long while, overcome with emotion, hearts surging with warmth as they bowed to Yao Ying.

Yao Ying felt the weight lift from her heart.

Judging by their reactions, she had done right.

…

That night, in the Gaochang palace.

A secret letter written in Han characters was delivered to Yuchi Damo. After reading it, a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Footsteps approached from outside.

Yuchi Damo turned his back, placed the paper before an oil lamp, and let the flame slowly consume it.