A year ago in Chang'an, Yaoying was seeking medical treatment for her mother when she met Mondatipa in the Daci'en Temple.
At that time, she was a noble princess, and thousands of apricot flowers were blooming and flourishing in the temple, lush and beautiful, the blossoms like splendid clusters.
A year later in the Western Regions, when seeking refuge, Yaoying reunited with Mondatipa in the royal palace of the Holy City.
At this moment, she was stranded, struggling to make her way in a foreign land 8,800 miles away from her homeland, not knowing when she would be able to return to the capital and reunite with Li Zhongqian.
Nearly ten months had passed as if it were like a lifetime ago.
All the apprehension and torment slowly faded away like a receding wave. Yaoying smiled, holding back the sudden outpouring of sadness that rushed forth the moment she recognized Mondatipa. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she was still the noble Seventh Princess of the Li family as when Mondatipa first met her.
"Venerable Master's dream has been fulfilled. Congratulations."
She said with a smile, her eyes shining.
Mondatipa's light brown eyes gazed at Yaoying for half a day, and a sighing look appeared on his face.
In these troubled times, he had traveled all over the Central Plains and the Western Regions. He had seen so many noble people meeting with misfortune that he thought this delicate princess, who had suffered so many tribulations, would burst into tears and fling herself at his feet asking for help.
But she did not.
She stood there with a smile on her face, her eyes as clear as stars, sincerely congratulating him on achieving his wish.
The past hardships seemed to only be tempering for her. Underneath her soft and beautiful appearance was the most resilient soul.
Mondatipa said slowly: "All things are karma, and everything is destined. Fate gathers then scatters, clouds of smoke, while life and death are natural. The princess and this poor monk met in Chang'an and reunited in this Royal Court. Perhaps, it is the Will of Heaven. "
Yaoying didn't understand his Buddhist verses, but she could hear his consolation: This is all fate; Princess need not be sad.
Yaoying smiled: "Probably."
Fate, she believed-Li Xuanzhen and Zhu Luyun were both always alive and well, how could they not die! Moreover, every time she changed Aniang and Elder Brother's fate, she was punished.
But so what?
It was one thing to believe; it was another to resign oneself to fate!
She had to grit her teeth and hang in there.
A little bit of overwhelming aura, a thousand miles of hasty wind, flying through the air, through thousands of miles in the vast sky, straight ahead at the clear sky1.
If unable to blast through the sky like a Kun Peng2, she would try her hardest to flap her wings and soar.
When there truly happened to be no way out, why not follow the example of the Jin Dynasty's Liu Ling3 and bury her when she dies?
So, the Venerable Master's words did not comfort her.
After sighing for a moment, Mondatipa looked at the wary-looking round-faced soldier standing to the side: "Banruo, the Seventh Princess is Buddha's son's guest. You must take good care of the princess and not neglect her."
Banruo yelled in Hu, "Venerable Master, you don't know what this Han girl has done to the king!"
Remembering that Yaoying spoke Hu, he switched to Sanskrit and proceeded to yell, whining about the day Yaoying had proposed before everyone.
"How dare this Han girl blaspheme the king in public! And even said to be the king's Mordenga Maiden! She... she..."
Banruo spluttered "she" for half a day, then stomped a foot: "She is outrageous! She is shameless! If the regent had been present, he would have chopped off her head!"
Mondatipa wore an astonished look on his face.
Although Yaoying did not understand Sanskrit, a look at the soldier's indignant and gnashing-his-teeth expression alerted her to the fact that he was criminalizing her. With a slightly embarrassed look on her face, she smiled at Mondatipa: "During the crisis, I had no choice but to blaspheme Buddha's son. Ten thousand thanks that Buddha's son was kind, and still gave a helping hand. I want to meet Buddha's son, and explain my side to him. I hope Venerable Master can mediate a bit for me. "
Mondatipa seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock. His brown eyes blinked and blinked in the night, and he said gently, "Princess need not take it personally. If Buddha's son had not mentioned the princess to this poor monk just now, this poor monk would not have known that the princess had come to the Royal Court."
Without waiting for Yaoying's reaction, Banruo's eyes widened first, a look of complete disbelief on his face, "What? It was the king who asked the Venerable Master to find this Han girl?"
How could the king remember the Han girl!
Could it be that the king was touched by this shameless Han girl?
Mondatipa nodded: "Right. Buddha's son said that up and down the Royal Court, no one must neglect the Wei Empire's Princess."
Banruo's jaw dropped.
Yaoying was also full of astonishment. She thought that the holy and cold Buddha did not remember her at all. She didn't expect he would give such an order as soon as he returned to the Royal Court.
Banruo continued to shiver, pointing his finger at Yaoying and shouting in anger: "Demoness!"
Even wearing the clothes of a slave, she could seduce a person's soul. On the way to the Royal Court, from the general to the soldiers to the slaves, no one dared to stare too long at her. If she changed into a dress, wouldn't there be an uproar?
Yaoying blinked cluelessly. Her eyes were watery and flowing, looking pleasant in the dark. Just these eyes had quite a bit of gorgeous and charming allure.
Banruo's heart seemed to be scratched a few times by a cat's claw. His round face turned red from anger, then blue and purple. Not a moment later, it was a snow-white. He fiercely turned, running towards the palace.
This Han woman was an enchantress coming to spoil Buddha's son's practice! He had to stop Buddha's son!
Mondatipa shook his head and gestured for Yaoying to follow him: "Tonight, Buddha's son returned to the palace in haste and has no time to see the princess, so this poor monk will take the princess to settle down first."
Yaoying followed him, at last reaching an empty and wide courtyard that seemed to have trees planted in it. In the darkness, she could not recognize what kind they were and could only smell a faint fragrance.
The palace guards brought Xie Qing and the others over as well. Yaoying could not thank them enough, and Mondatipa assured her a few times then said goodbye and left.
After the calamity, then also meeting an old friend, the personal soldiers cheered quietly. The accumulated fatigue of the past few days suddenly hit, and the sound of snoring came not long after they laid down.
Yaoying asked for some medicine from the palace guards for Xie Qing and was relieved to see that she slept more peacefully than the previous days.
There was a lot of snoring under her window.
Yaoying rubbed her sore shoulders, leaned against the window, and smiled. For the first time in so many days, she felt relaxed.
Tumoroga was indeed a good man with a compassionate heart.
Yaoying closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Suddenly, a series of shouting and chaotic footsteps sounded in the silent-like-water night.
Yaoying broke out into cold sweat out of alarm. She sat up with a jolt, gripped the dagger hidden on her body, and listened carefully. Finding that those sounds were not directed at them, she slowly exhaled.
Haidu Aling was usually busy with military affairs, but once he was free, he would deliberately tease her, forcing her to reveal a panic-stricken appearance for his amusement.
Every night before she went to sleep, she had to watch out for Haidu Aling's visit. Hearing a noise in the night, she would wake with a start.
From next door came a yell, "Venerable Master! Venerable Master!"
It turned out they were looking for Mondatipa.
Yaoying went back to sleep. Not long after she fell asleep, footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard. This time, it was her courtyard door that was tapped.
"Seventh Princess! The Venerable Master asks to see you!"
Yaoying got up to answer the door, and Mondatipa's disciples took her directly to the main hall of the Buddhist temple, the doors of which were tightly closed. They bypassed into the main hall through a side entrance, which was dark and fragrant. The garden seemed to have many breeds of flora planted within it.
The palace was built on high terrain. Yaoying followed the disciples to climb up the high stone steps.
In front of the steps, there was a lightly swaying lamp. Mondatipa was waiting under the corridor, looking anxious: "This poor monk has something to ask the princess. I hope you will tell me the truth."