Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight - Chapter 157.1
Princess Ina was the niece of the Wakhan Khan, and the wife of Yuchi Damo.
Last night, Sultan Gu, Yaoying, and Yuanjue had left the royal temple separately. Yuanjue had conveniently taken the palace eunuch from Gaochang with him, intending to interrogate him once they found a safe place. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side, and they failed to escape before curfew was imposed, having no choice but to return to the temple for refuge.
The eunuch, terrified that Yuanjue might silence him for good, wailed and swore that Yuchi Damo would never dare set a trap to harm anyone.
Yuanjue found him noisy and irritating, so he knocked him unconscious, put on his clothes and went to investigate. By midday today, the temple staff had already withdrawn back to the palace. The palace itself was heavily guarded, both inside and out, by Lady Ina’s personal soldiers. Only then did Yuanjue find a chance to flee the temple.
Upon hearing this, Yaoying frowned slightly.
When she first arrived in Gaochang, she had gone to the market and quietly inquired about news from the well-informed Hu merchants. They told her that relations between Yuchi Damo and Lady Ina were tense.
The Northern Rong cavalry excelled at raiding and attacking but were poor at defending cities, and even worse at governing. Due to Gaochang’s unique geography, Wakhan Khan had deemed it inefficient to simply conquer and garrison the city. Instead, he chose to control Gaochang through marriage, extracting heavy taxes to sustain the Northern Rong royal court. So, he dispatched twenty thousand troops to besiege the city, forcing Yuchi Damo to marry Ina.
At the time, Yuchi Damo already had a noble-born principal wife. Their relationship was respectful and deeply affectionate. Lady Ina was older than him and had previously married several Turkic nobles. With the Northern Rong army bearing down, he had no choice but to abandon his wife and take Ina as his new consort.
It was said that on his wedding night, Yuchi Damo muttered to his attendants, “This humiliation… shall be repaid someday.”
Lady Ina, emboldened by her status as a Northern Rong princess, acted with arrogance and indulgence. She lived in luxury, encouraging her subordinaes to loot rare treasures from passing merchants. The subordinates and slaves she brought with her oppressed Gaochang’s officials and citizens, turning the royal court into a smoky, chaotic mess, sparking public resentment.
The couple constantly clashed. Lady Ina once publicly mocked Yuchi Damo as a coward and a defeated general of the Wakhan Khan. There were even witnesses who saw Yuchi Damo storm out of her chambers, face covered in scratch marks.
Yaoying asked Yuanjue, “What’s the situation in the palace now? Why would Lady Ina station troops around the royal temple?”
Yuanjue replied, “The palace guards are all Lady Ina’s personal soldiers. I suspect that Yuchi Damo might have been placed under house arrest.”
Yaoying’s brow furrowed deeper. “Could Lady Ina have discovered us?”
Yuanjue shook his head and lowered his voice. “I questioned the eunuch. He said Lady Ina and Yuchi Damo have argued frequently over the past year. Yuchi Damo had a son and a daughter by his first wife. Lady Ina wanted to send them to the Northern Rong court as hostages, but Yuchi Damo refused. Not long ago, Lady Ina secretly sent the children away. Yuchi Damo flew into a rage, caught up to them, brought them back to the palace, and had a huge fight with Lady Ina. He called her a venomous serpent. She was so furious that she beat a female slave to death.”
“Last night the palace went into lockdown, and Yuchi Damo didn’t appear. This morning, a few carriages left the palace headed straight for the Northern Rong royal encampment. The eunuch recognized those that were inside, as the prince’s attendants and wet nurses, all weeping. The people escorting them were Lady Ina’s servants.
Yaoying paused in silence, but her mind was sharp and clear.
She understood now what had happened the night before.
Lady Ina did not hesitate to instigate a coup, placing her husband under house arrest, just to send away the children of his first wife to Northern Rong. The day they had arranged to secretly meet with Yuchi Damo had happened to coincide with the very night Lady Ina made her move.
Their timing was too coincidental, inadvertently getting tangled in the palace intrigue of Gaochang.
In this light, the events at the royal temple had nothing to do with Haido Aling. He had always been politically sidelined at the Northern Rong royal court and had no ties with Lady Ina.
Yuanjue sighed. “Lady Ina brought over a thousand Northern Rong soldiers with her when she married in. The royal palace is heavily guarded, and we won’t have a chance to secretly meet with Yuchi Damo again.”
Now that Yuchi Damo was under house arrest, he no longer qualified as an ally. And with his two children held as hostages by the Northern Rong, how could he dare ally with the Central Plains?
Their diplomatic mission this time might end in failure.
Yaoying remained silent and glanced toward Sultan Gu, who stood nearby without a word.
It wasn’t that there were no other options… but…
She ran the possibilities silently in her mind.
Lady Ina had placed her husband under arrest, sent away his children, and now held total power. The nobles of Gaochang were afraid of the Northern Rong and kept silent. The royal city appeared peaceful on the surface, the lockdown in the city had fully relaxed.
Yaoying and her group stayed in their courtyard. Every day, Alanruo boiled medicine for her and would ask her to take it. After several doses of medicine, she quickly recovered.
Two days later, old Qi and Xie Chong returned to the city, bringing her news about Xie Qing.
Xie Qing had been injured protecting the young prince Jinbo and could not move for the time being. They were now hiding in a very safe location, and no one had come after them these past few days.
Yaoying finally let out a breath of relief.
No matter how capable Haidu Aling was, he couldn’t possibly cover every angle, nor would he expect that they would rescue Jinbo. Since he hadn’t come to Gaochang himself and had only sent assassins after Jinbo, those killers had already been slain under the swords of their own soldiers.
After confirming that Haidu Aling wasn’t nearby, Yaoying felt less constrained. She made up her mind and went to find Sultan Gu to consult with him.
Sultan Gu was elusive as ever. It took her a long time before she found him standing in front of a corridor.
Had his stance not been so taut and alert, she would have thought he was simply admiring the snow in the courtyard.
“Out of compassion, the Venerable Master instructed General Su to escort me here. Your loyalty and care are deeply remembered…”
Yaoying stepped forward, explained her purpose, and offered a string of formal gratitude.
Sultan Gu glanced at her indifferently.
That look made Yaoying’s breath catch for a second. She smiled faintly, and asked directly, “What I’m about to do next… will it cause inconvenience to the General?”
Sultan Gu gazed at the snow piled against the clay wall. “Please, do as you wish, Princess.”
That was exactly what Yaoying wanted to hear, though his decisiveness caught her slightly off guard.
His tone was calm, yet carried a sense of unwavering strength, as though no matter what happened, he could bear it all alone. Yaoying felt her tension ease slightly, turned to leave, then suddenly stopped and looked back at his silhouette.
That slender yet upright figure stood tall, like a thousand peaks stacked high. He was a mountain holding up the sky.
He had taken countless lives, yet there had never been an innocent soul under is blade. His wrath, like that of a vajra, was to subdue the demons and protect a peaceful land.
Yaoying stared for a moment and softly asked, “General Su, the Buddha’s Son doesn’t truly care whether my mission in Gaochang succeeds or fails, does he?”
The guards had said, the only instruction from Tumoroga was to assist her in delivering the message to the Central Plains.
Sultan Gu said nothing.
Yaoying did not move. Her voice rose again, sweet and clear, repeating the question.
If he didn’t answer, she could ask a third time.
Sultan Gu, still with his back to her, stayed silent for a moment… then gave a faint nod.
Yaoying smiled lightly at the corners of her lips, finally turning and walking away.
…
The next day, Yaoying once again roamed the city markets under Qi Nian’s guidance.
To avoid drawing attention, she dressed like a local Hu woman, and covered her face with a veil when going out. The personal soldiers who followed her changed to Yuanjue, who could speak the Hu language.
Day after day, Yuanjue followed her through every market and shop, even visited a few Zoroastrian temples and Buddhist monasteries. Each day, they moved through packed crowds, spending gold and Persian coins like water, returning with piles of exquisite jewelry and silk brocade.
The other guards asked him what he did all day. Yuanjue was on the verge of tears.
Princess Wenzhao spent lavishly, bought anything she liked without blinking, like a pampered noble lady with no restraints, how was he supposed to explain that?
Meanwhile, Qi Nian and Alanruo slept by day and moved in night, delivering letter after letter.
Lady Ina had placed her husband under arrest, and to appease the people, hosted daily banquets in the palace for nobles and ministers. Yuchi Damo made brief appearances on a few occasions, and though the palace brimmed with music and festivities, beneath the surface, turbulent undercurrents swirled.