Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight - Chapter 162.2

Yuchi Damo’s eyes turned bloodshot. He lifted the gilded wine cup from the table and drained it in one long swallow. Crimson liquid dripped down his pale throat, soaking into the inner lining of his robe.

Princess Wenzhao was an outsider, yet she had spoken the truth of his hardships in a single sentence.

Years of stifled resentment slid down with the cold wine. The sweetness of the grape lingered, but his tongue tasted only bitterness.

As he toyed with the empty cup, Yuchi Damo suddenly realised his thoughts had been unsettled by a single careless phrase from Yaoying. His heart jolted, and he forced himself to calm before asking slowly, “Has the Great Wei truly unified the Central Plains?”

Yaoying nodded. “Indeed.”

“And the Court has not yet reclaimed Hexi?”

Yaoying inclined her head.

Yuchi Damo gave a cold laugh. “If the Court cannot even recover Hexi, how can it speak of reclaiming the Western Regions? Princess Wenzhao cannot promise me anything. How dare I ally with Great Wei?”

Yaoying sat upright, her expression grave. “I neither dare nor wish to deceive Your Majesty with empty words. I cannot promise you anything. All I can tell you is this that once the Northern Rong grow strong enough to conquer the Western Regions, every tribe will become their slaves. The Wei court does harbour the intention of recovering Hexi. Not long ago, it already joined hands with the Hu tribes to retake Liangzhou…”

At this, Yang Qian could no longer hold back. “My Lord, Great Wei has already unified the Central Plains. Once the time is ripe, it will surely march to reclaim Hexi. When that day comes, if we join forces within and without, how could we not return east in triumph? This is our best chance to realise our aspirations!”

Yuchi Damo remained silent.

Yaoying met his bloodshot eyes. “Your Majesty, have you not already agreed to an alliance?”

Yuchi Damo leaned back against the armrest, his robe falling open. “The Princess has misunderstood. My agreement to see you doesn’t mean that I agreed to an alliance..”

Yaoying smiled. “I have not misunderstood. Your Majesty has already agreed.”

Yuchi Damo sneered, his gaze turning cold.

Yaoying said slowly, “Once, a Lord of Gaochang had said, ‘The eagle spreads its wings in the sky, the pheasant flits through the undergrowth, and the mouse seeks shelter in its hole. Great empires have their ways, and small city-states have theirs.’ That saying was in truth speaking of men like Your Majesty.”

Yuchi Damo arched his brow.

She continued, “Your Majesty knows how to yield and endure humiliation when weak. Yet when strong, you can also become a fierce eagle, soaring across the heavens, fulfilling your grand ambitions.”

Could a man who befriended Yang Qian and secretly supported his communications with the Central Plains truly be a coward without spirit?

“Moreover,” Yaoying added, “the reason I dared to risk myself in coming here was also because of a letter.”

She pronounced each word with care as she recited: “…swearing to return to our homeland even in death, longing for the imperial army from afar.”

It was the very letter sent to Chang’an years ago, a plea for aid written by Gaochang’s former Lord with his own hand. At that time, the reigning emperor was of the Zhu clan. Rebellions had erupted everywhere, and the court was overwhelmed. Zhu was too busy fleeing south to spare thought for pleas thousands of miles away.

After Li De ascended the throne, he ordered the ministers to view the letter.

He and his advisers judged the letter too old to act upon. Having the ministers read it served two purposes, partly to display the Zhu clan’s incompetence, and partly to hint that he himself intended to recover Hexi.

Yaoying had once heard Li Zhongqian mention that letter.

For generations, the Kings of Gaochang had sought ways to reach the Central Plains. From Yuchi Damo’s grandfather, to his father, and now to himself, though hope was faint, they still harboured it. At last, Yang Qian and his men had themselves set forth on the road of return to the East. Over the span of decades, countless young men gave their lives in succession, all for the sake of petitioning the Central Plains to send troops.

The dried bones of Yang Qian and the memorial of ten-thousand word letter had been discovered, but more men like Yang Qian, along with their letters, remained buried forever beneath the drifting sands.

With tears stifled, he asks the messenger, when will the six imperial armies really come?

Yaoying looked straight into Yuchi Damo’s eyes. “The former King of Gaochang did not even know whether the Central Plains were unified, yet still dared to risk sending men to seek aid. How firm was his resolve to return East! Back then, the Court had no leisure to turn westward. Now the Central Plains are united, the Wei dynasty’s armies are powerful and strong. Your Majesty is a descendant of the Yuchi clan; would you truly refuse an alliance with the Great Wei?”

When she had recited the letter, Yang Qian trembled with emotion, his tiger-like eyes brimming with tears. His father had named “Qian” so that he would never forget that their family had been forced to Gaochang. He was to inherit the will of his grandfather and father, to swear death for the sake of returning home!

He turned to Yuchi Damo, each word heavy with force. “Damo, what are you waiting for? All these years, we have exhausted our efforts contacting the Central Plains, was it not all to petition the Court to send troops?”

Yuchi Damo rested his hands on the armrest. His red hair spilled loose, his posture idle, as if he were drunk. A haze clouded his brown eyes, and he said lazily, “I have agreed to nothing.”

A vein throbbed on Yang Qian’s brow. “You—”

Yaoying gave a small smile and held back the near-bursting Yang Qian, meeting Yuchi Damo’s gaze.

Yuchi Damo was cautious. For years he had tacitly allowed Yang Qian to contact righteous men across the lands, yet he himself never showed his face. Should Yang Qian be exposed, Damo could simply wash his hands clean, pushing Yang Qian forward as a scapegoat.

This was his way. He would not offend Wakhan Khan, nor would he offend Haidu Aling, nor Tumoroga, nor Yaoying herself. He maintained a subtle balance with each faction. Whichever side grew stronger, he would lean toward them. Press and mould him as one liked, he would always find a way to survive.

Thus, one could work with him, but never fully trust him.

Yaoying smiled faintly. “I understand. The Lord of Gaochang has promised nothing, and today I have not seen King Yuchi.”

A sharp light flickered in Yuchi Damo’s eyes.

Their gazes met. Each understood the other’s meaning.