The next day, Bi Suo heard that Yaoying would be accompanied by Sultan Gu on the envoy to Gao Chang in two days, and firmly opposed: "I don't agree!"
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and he struggled to the ground.
"I want to see the king!"
The maids looked at each other, not daring to stop.
The gauze curtain was lightly lifted, Princess Chima came into the house with a plate of fresh melons and fruits. Seeing this, she threw away the lacquer plate and rushed to the couch to support Bi Suo, angrily saying, "Are you crazy? You're injured, what should you do? See Roja?"
Bi Suo gritted his teeth and said, "I have to see the king. Now the weather is hot and it is not suitable to travel. It will be cool after a month. My injury will be healed by then, and the princess can wait another month!"
Princess Chima put him back on the couch and sneered: "You care so much about that Han princess?"
Bi Suo frowned slightly: "Chima, the mission to Gaochang is a major event in the DPRK, don't worry about it."
Princess Chima's eyes narrowed slightly, and her hazel eyes flashed a trace of disdain: "Just because she is a Chinese girl, Gao Chang will agree to form an alliance?"
Bi Suo glanced at her and shook her head with a wry smile.
Alliances come next...
He pulled Princess Chima away, called the guards up, and asked the guards to help him take the carriage to the Buddhist temple.
Princess Chima couldn't stop him, she was furious and stood in front of the courtyard gate, looking at the back of him staggering onto the carriage, almost clenching a silver tooth.
Bi Suo took a car to the Buddhist temple, and the attendant went in and communicated, and returned after a while.
"General, Wang has retreated to practice last night, concentrated on meditation, and saw no one. The temple owner said that this time Wang will be in retreat for a few months."
Bi Su clenched her fists tightly and closed her eyes.
"Go to the zoo."
The attendant responded and drove the carriage out of the Buddhist temple, bypassing the wall that stretched across the north, and came to a vast courtyard surrounded by pines and cypresses.
The houses and pavilions in the courtyard stand on the high and low soil cliffs.
The attendant helped Bi Suo out of the carriage.
Bi Su was so anxious that she pushed the attendant away, and hurried up the stone steps in two steps, regardless of her own injury.
The sound of footsteps suddenly sounded, and the guards who were guarding drew their swords to meet them.
Bi Su took out a ghost-faced bronze medal and said, "I want to see the regent!"
When the guard saw the ghost-faced bronze medal, he carefully identified it for a while, and after confirming it was correct, he immediately put the knife back into the sheath and made way out of the way.
The sound of deliberately light footsteps could be heard faintly in the corridor, and all the guards silently returned to their original places.
Bi Suo collected the bronze medal, walked through the two rows of poplars and the courtyard with dense vines, bypassed the long secluded porch, and came to a hidden secret door.
He pushed open the door, walked down the cramped stairs in the dark, and came to the airtight, dark and dark dungeon.
The cell was silent, with no lights on, it was so dark that one could not see five fingers, like a huge beast's mouth wide open, lurking in the dark, waiting to devour its prey.
Bi Su had been afraid of this cell since she was a child, and the more she walked in, the more afraid she became, so she couldn't help but shudder.
A dark arc flashed in the corner, and a leopard stepped out of the darkness, with phosphorescent eyes flashing.
Bi Suo screamed in fright, backed away, and pulled the wound for a while, grinning in pain.
The leopard gave him a contemptuous look, then turned and ran away.
Bi Su ignored the pain, followed the leopard, passed through a long, narrow and tortuous passage, and bypassed a narrow stone crack. Suddenly, the light of the clear sky fell into the dark passage, illuminating the general outline of the cave. , The shadows beside the stone platform are chaotic, and the fog is hazy.
The mist was lingering, and a tall and straight figure stood with its back to Bi Su, dressed in black clothes, tall and slender, well-proportioned and strong.
Bi Su sighed and knelt down on one knee.
"Wang, do you really want to escort Princess Wenzhao to Gaochang in person?"
The man turned his head, his face was covered with ugly scars, and his blue eyes looked through the mist, as if separated by the Sansheng Pond, cold and high.
"I have made up my mind."
he said softly.
Every word is very gentle, but it is like the entire mountain range pressing down, with a thunderous momentum.
Bi Suo's words of persuasion were all stuck in his throat, he was silent for a long time, and then kowtowed: "I understand."
…
It was near the beginning of autumn. The day was still hot, but the night was suddenly cold. The wind was blowing all night. The grapevine leaves in the courtyard fell on the ground, and the steps were messy.
When she woke up early the next day, Yaoying found a thin layer of cold frost on the ground.
The personal soldiers who got up early and practiced martial arts gathered in front of Thin Shuang, and they all wondered.
Seeing this, the royal court attendant smiled and explained to the crowd: "Don't look at how hot it is during the day, once it gets cold, it will be frosty at night. If the wind blows for a while, maybe you will have to wear a leather jacket! It started to snow before the leaves on the top fell, and everyone said that there is no autumn in the royal court, and after summer comes winter."
Saying that, he rubbed his hands excitedly, "The Regent has issued a decree, and the Qihan Festival will be held in a few days. This year's victory, the Qihan Festival will definitely be bigger and more lively than last year's!"
Yaoying was stunned: "The Begging Han Festival is coming?"
The royal court belongs to an oasis country. It is dry and rainy in summer. It is common for it to not rain for a whole month. The water source for irrigating the farmland and nourishing the land mainly comes from the seasonal river formed by the melting of ice and snow in the Tianshan Mountains, so they will hold a grand celebration before winter comes. , begging for a colder winter and more snow to keep water plentiful for the coming year.
Yaoying heard Bi Suo mention that the Qihan Festival is one of the grandest festivals in the royal court, and Sultan Gu is also a member of the royal court. Why didn't he set off after the festival
The waiter nodded happily: "This summer is longer than usual, and everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time!"
Yaoying chuckled lightly.
No wonder the waiters are so excited. The Chilling Festival usually lasts for seven days. There are not only grand music and dance performances, but also ceremonies to pray for blessings and disasters. At that time, the people in the city will be dispatched, singing and dancing, which is extraordinarily lively. On the last day, men and women, old and young, dressed in costumes and masks, splashed water on each other to pray for blessings, which was fun and meant auspiciousness.
She asked the waiter, "Did the Prince Regent attend the Qihan Festival last year?"
The waiter thought for a moment and shook his head.
Yaoying then asked, "What about the Buddha?"
The waiter smiled: "The princess doesn't know anything, the Buddha is a monk, and the monk must obey the precepts of singing and dancing, and can't watch the song and dance. The Buddha has never attended the Qihan Festival."
Yao Ying was thoughtful.
The Statue Festival is a Buddhist festival, the Tanmaraga holds a puja, and the Qihan Festival is a secular festival, so he never attended... Why didn't Sultan Gu participate in the Qihan Festival
Could it be that he, like Yuanjue and Prajna, is also a lay disciple
In the afternoon, Xie Peng came back from outside the city and told Yaoying that the city had indeed begun to prepare for the Qihan Festival. The major government offices were sweeping the courtyards and setting up high platforms for music and dance performances. Hu merchants hired music from the Qiuci area. All the performer girls have also arrived. Recently, the inn outside the city was full of people who came to participate in the Qihan Festival.
Yaoying had doubts in her heart, and when she went to visit Ashina Bisuo the day before her departure, she tentatively said: "I heard that the festival is coming soon, and the regent is from Wang Ting, so I want to reunite with my family and friends for fun. It’s better to postpone it for a few more days and wait until after the Qi Han Festival.”
Bi Suo was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile: "According to my opinion... I should accompany the princess to Gaochang, and it would be best to postpone it for another month."
Unfortunately, Thammaraja did not agree.
His expression was melancholy, and for a while, he was in a state of mind, and there was a light blurred color in his blue eyes. After a while, he returned to his senses, smiled, and said: "The regent has no relatives and no friends, and he never participates in the begging festival. , the date of departure has been set, and the princess does not have to be embarrassed by this."
Yaoying remembered how the waiter shivered when he mentioned the sultan in ancient times.
For the waiters, the ferocious regent did not attend the Qihan Festival, so that the people in the city could celebrate the festival to the fullest.
Sultan never shows up at festivals, maybe he just doesn't want to scare people
Yaoying thought about it for a while, then put it aside for a while, her eyes fell on Bi Suo's leg, and she asked, "Is it the hand of Haidu Aling?"
Bi Su was injured and returned, and was directly taken by Princess Chima to take care of herself at the Princess Palace. She knew Princess Chima's taboos, and she couldn't find a chance to ask Bi Suo until today when Bi Suo moved back to her house.
"It's not his hand." Bi Suo's expression turned cold, "It's his personal soldier."
He leaned on the couch and said slowly: "After I arrived in Beirong, I saw Haidu Aling lying in the tooth tent and pretending to pretend every day, urging a few princes to check his wounds, the little prince read his wounds, wow. He vomited, and the second prince took a dagger and scraped off the rotten flesh from his wound, and he almost saw the bones with each knife, and he didn't even blink his eyelids."
Yaoying frowned: "Is his injury real?"
Bi Suo shook his head: "No, his injury is only a small one."
Yaoying took a deep breath.
Haidu Aling’s wound was only a small one. He deliberately did not treat it in time, and let the wound rot and grow maggots, making others think that his entire leg was useless. The second prince took a knife and scraped his flesh, but he didn’t respond at all— These are all methods used to confuse several princes!
This man really has a deep mind, and he can be so cruel to himself. No wonder Wakhan Khan and several sons were deceived by him.
Bi Su sighed: "Haidu Aling is worthy of being the number one warrior in Beirong, he can endure ordinary people can't bear it, if you hadn't reminded me, I would have believed that his legs were really broken! I remember your advice, staring at him day and night. Finally found some clues in his tent, and was about to make him 'make it real' as you said, but I didn't think he was prepared, I didn't succeed in one strike, and was eager to escape, and was slashed by his personal soldiers."
Having said this, the corner of his mouth twitched and raised his eyebrows at Yaoying.
"But I didn't make Haidu Aling proud for too long. The second prince and I cooperated with each other and attacked his tent on purpose. The second prince was really cruel and wanted to kill him. He didn't want to expose it. Later, when I saw that the assassins were all killed, I was in a hurry, jumped down and hid at the juncture of life and death, just for the second prince to see."
Yaoying understood and smiled at Bi Suo.
Now the second prince is suspicious of Haidu Aling, and Haidu Aling's plan has failed.
Bi Suo patted his leg and said proudly: "Haidu A Lingbai suffered a crime, but I didn't take this knife in vain!"
Yaoying raised her eyebrows slightly, bowed her hands to him, and said with a smile, "The general has made a great contribution, and Yaoying admires it very much!"
She was ready to go out, changed into light luggage, dressed in a brocade robe with deer pattern lapels and small sleeves, with braided hair and shawl, and a waist with a brocade belt. Upturned, looking forward to the bright and beautiful people.
Bi Su suddenly felt a heat on her face, she looked away, looked at the bright spot of light reflected on the window sill, and said, "Princess... The regent has a weird temper and doesn't like getting close to women. When you walk with him, take more care of him. ."
Yaoying nodded: "I won't disturb the regent."
Bi Su hummed.
On the third day, the team set off.
Last night, Yaoying was hesitating whether to go and say goodbye to Tan Mo Luojia. The monk told her that Luo Jia was in retreat and no one was there, so she had no choice but to do so.
With the clouds surging on the horizon and the dawn dawning, Yaoying and her soldiers, accompanied by Yuanjue, left the Buddhist temple and went out of the city along the road they entered the city for the first time.
Immediately in front of the cliff, there was a rush of voices, and it was approaching the Qihan Festival. Herdsmen from a radius of hundreds of miles were rushing to the holy city, and the market was crowded with people.
Yaoying asked Yuanjue, "Don't you have to wait for the regent?"
Yuanjue said: "The regent is not in the city, we go directly to Shacheng to meet him."
The weather gradually cooled down, and the daytime was not as hot as it was in the midsummer. They got up early to travel, stopped to camp when the noon was the hottest, and continued their journey in the afternoon. After rushing for a few days, they finally arrived at Shacheng.
The group stopped in front of the inn to refill their drinking water, and suddenly there were a few eagle chirps above their heads.
Yaoying raised her head, her veil fluttered in the wind.
A sturdy goshawk flew over their heads, spread its huge wings, and flew to a sand dune in the distance.
Yuanjue looked around for a while and whispered, "The regent is here."
Yaoying looked in the direction of his finger, the sun was setting, and he was standing on the hillside, one by one, with the sunset light on his shoulders, his figure was tall, against the light, and he couldn't see his face clearly, but the majestic figure was like an arrow in the string. The momentum must be Sultan ancient no doubt.
She wanted to go up to her, but remembering Bi Su's reminder, she didn't move.
Several people filled their water bladders and rode towards the ancient Sudan.
When a few people approached, Yaoying's eyes fell on Sultan Gu's face, and found that his grim face was wearing a grimace mask.
When he was out, his face really had to be covered, otherwise it would be too conspicuous.
But why did he choose the grimace mask
Compared to his face, the mask is even scarier...
Yao Ying was a little distracted, the strength in her hand loosened, and the mount suddenly accelerated and galloped forward, dust and sand flying.
Everyone rushed for a few days, exhausted, and before they could react, Yaoying had already flew out like an arrow from the string.
The wind whistled in her ears, and there was a nervous calling from behind, Yaoying felt nervous for a while, she calmed down, fell down | hugged the horse's back, tightened the reins, stretched out her hand and patted the horse's neck to comfort the mount.
The dark horse snorted a few times and slowed down.
Yaoying breathed a sigh of relief, sat up slowly, and gently restrained the reins.
A cold gaze fell on her.
Yaoying raised her head and glanced at Sultan Gu with a guilty conscience. The hem of his black robe was full of sand, which was splashed on him when his mount was frightened and rushed over.
It's so hot during the day, everyone puts on white robes, but he always wears black, isn't he afraid of the heat
Yaoying couldn't help but smile and said with a smile, "Isn't the Prince Regent safe?"
Sultan was silent.
Yaoying looked at his blue eyes that were not covered by the mask, and said, "The last time I was rescued by the Regent, I haven't thanked him in person. Is the Regent's injury healed?"
The girl's tone was sincere, without a trace of fear, and her voice was soft and waxy.
Sultan Gu didn't say a word, he drove the first half of his horse and stretched out his hand towards Yaoying.
Yaoying was stunned.
Sultan didn't say a word, and bent over, her slender fingers hooked up the silk rope of her stirrups, unraveling the entangled string of gold leaves.
Under the setting sun, there was a shallow scratch on the horse's back.
Yaoying reacted: It turned out that the mount was startled just now because it was stinged by the golden leaf.
Looking at Sultan Gu's profile, she felt that the grimace mask on his face was not so ugly, and said softly, "Thank you, Prince Regent."
Sultan's eyes were lowered, and he put down the smooth silk.
The horse's hoof rattled, and a few people from Yuanjue chased after him.
Sultan Guba turned around and galloped down the hillside, the image on his back condensed the sky and sunset.
The group followed silently.