Gaochang was situated along the central route of the Silk Road, connecting all directions. To the west lay Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, and other regions, while to the east lay Yi Province. Crossing eight hundred li of desolate Moheyan Desert would bring one to Yumen Pass, and further east lay Gua Province and Sha Province.
At present, the Hexi region was entirely under the control of the Northern Rong, causing severe disruptions to trade routes and the decline of Gaochang's commerce. In the past, there had been rows of inns and post stations built along the oases, bustling with merchants from various nations, and singing girls and musicians skilled in dance and music. Now, camel caravans traveling between the Central Plains and the Western Regions were rarely seen on the trade routes, with most merchant groups setting out directly westward from Gaochang, Yi Province, and other places.
As the weather grew colder, it was the ideal season for merchant caravans to travel.
To avoid detection by the Northern Rong, Yaoying and her companions disguised themselves as a silk-trading caravan, with several large carts fully loaded with goods. These goods not only served to conceal their identities but would also be sold locally upon reaching Gaochang, with the proceeds used to bribe the nobles of the Gaochang Royal Court.
Old Qi accompanied Yaoying on the journey. Having wandered in foreign lands for many years, he spoke several languages of the Western Regions and was well-informed.
Throughout the journey, Yaoying asked him about the prices of silk fabrics, jewelry, and jade in Gaochang. As a former steward, he had some knowledge of everything and answered with clarity and detail.
Their companion, Su Dan Gu, was taciturn and elusive, seemingly responsible only for vigilance, while other matters were handled by Yuanjue.
Yaoying felt that Bi Suo had been right—Su Dan Gu was indeed eccentric, almost never speaking to anyone and never removing the mask from his face.
The guards dared not disturb him. Whenever there was something to report, they would inform Yuanjue, who would then relay the message to Su Dan Gu.
The agile Falcon followed them all the way, its massive wings occasionally sweeping over their heads, casting shadows below.
From the Royal Court to Gaochang, the terrain sloped from high in the northwest to low in the southeast. They first traversed a vast area of rugged, undulating hills, and as the land gradually leveled, they followed the foothills for several days until an endless plain appeared ahead, crisscrossed by deserts and dotted with oases of various sizes like scattered stars.
Just as the Royal Court attendants had said, shortly after the weather turned cold, signs of snowfall quickly emerged. Fierce winds raged, the sky turned gloomy, and leaden clouds loomed overhead. Traveling through the vast wilderness, the only sound in their ears was the mournful howling of the wind, and the world seemed desolate and barren. Only when approaching an oasis would they occasionally catch glimpses of other camel caravans.
Yaoying was grateful she had prepared thick fur coats in advance, and her guards had also followed her instructions to bring winter clothing. Having come from the Central Plains, they could not endure the severe cold and wrapped themselves in layers of fur coats every day, resembling stuffed dumplings.
Within a few days, the temperature plummeted, and fierce winds mixed with snow pellets whipped against their faces. Everyone donned windproof and snowproof masks, trudging forward with difficulty through the snowstorm.
When a lodging house providing food and shelter for merchants appeared in the vast desert, the group could not help but cheer and urged their horses to gallop faster.
Yaoying glanced back and saw Su Dan Gu lagging at the rear of the group, a solitary figure on his horse, isolated and aloof.
Throughout the journey, he had either scouted ahead alone or followed silently at the back. After more than ten days of traveling together, Yaoying had yet to exchange a single word with him.
A few clear cries echoed in the wind as a Falcon swooped down, circling and gliding around Su Dan Gu.
Su Dan Gu raised his arm, and the Falcon immediately landed on his left forearm.Yaoying frowned slightly. She had seen the falcon landing on Su Dan Gu's arm several times over the past few days.
The guesthouse, built in the middle of the desert, was quite rudimentary—just a few earthen houses. Fortunately, it was kept very clean. The innkeeper, a foreigner with brown hair and brown eyes, had eagerly come out upon hearing the sound of hoofbeats. Seeing the fine horses ridden by Yaoying and her companions, he grew even more enthusiastic and personally brought them hot water and soup.
The main hall had a stove burning, its interior glowing red. After dismissing the innkeeper, everyone removed their face coverings and gathered around the stove to warm themselves, while two guards stood watch by the door.
Yaoying drank a bowl of hot soup, feeling her hands and feet warm up, and glanced around.
Su Dan Gu was nowhere to be seen.
Apart from Yuanjue, everyone else was afraid of him. Whenever he was present, even the most lively and active Xie Chong dared not speak loudly.
He probably knew they feared him and often stayed alone.
Yaoying asked Yuanjue, "I’ve seen a falcon these past few days. Is that the Buddha Prince’s falcon? Why is it following us?"
Yuanjue was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and replied, "The King is in seclusion. This falcon follows us so that if the Regent has urgent matters to report to the King, it can deliver messages. With proper training, a falcon can serve as a scout too."
Yaoying nodded and asked further, "Was the falcon raised by the Buddha Prince?"
Haidu Aling’s Abù was captured and raised by him in his youth. Among the Northern Rong, it was considered a remarkable feat for a teenager to tame a falcon. Haidu Aling was very proud, always boasting that Abù was one in a thousand, a divine falcon.
Yuanjue said, "When the King was young and confined to the Buddhist temple, this falcon was injured and fell from a cliff. The King happened to rescue it and entrusted someone to return it to its nest... but that person not only failed to do so but nearly crushed the falcon to death. So, the King kept it by his side, saving his own food to feed it. Eventually, it became his falcon."
Yaoying sighed softly upon hearing this.
On the day Tanmoroqie was born, unusual phenomena appeared in the Holy City, with the sunset glow spreading across the sky. As the posthumous child of the previous Royal Court monarch, he became the new ruler at birth. Each generation of Royal Court monarchs was accompanied by various legends. At that time, someone had offered the legendary Udumbara flower, symbolizing the descent of the Buddha, to the Royal Court. Combined with the prophecies of the monks, rumors spread that he was the reincarnation of Ananda.
Back then, the nobility controlled the court and did not want Tanmoroqie to gain the people’s reverence. They confined the newborn to a Buddhist temple.
Despite being imprisoned and struggling to survive, he still saved his own food to feed a falcon—truly a compassionate heart.
Yuanjue, reminiscing, also felt emotional. Pointing to the nearby guards, he said with a smile, "Bore, them, and I were all orphans with no one to rely on, sold as slaves to nobles. While serving them, we made mistakes, and the nobles flew into a rage, publicly whipping us in the square, intending to beat us to death. It was the King who saved us, granting us commoner status. Our names were all given by him! Most of the central army guards are noble-born like General Ashina, but we come from humble backgrounds."
He beamed with pride and admiration, his tone full of unreserved reverence.
The nearby guards also grinned, chattering animatedly, each adding their own stories about Tanmoroqie’s deeds in helping the people.
Xie Chong, Xie Peng, and the others, who could now understand some of the foreign language, listened with great interest, constantly asking for more details.After traveling together for over ten days, the group gradually grew familiar with one another. When the topic turned to Tanmoroqie, the atmosphere became even more harmonious, filled with laughter and lively conversation.
Yet Yaoying’s heart gave a sudden jolt upon hearing this.
The greatest conflict between Tanmoroqie and his ministers lay in his refusal to distinguish between noble and commoner—he regarded every citizen as his own people. However, the Royal Court was not like the Central Plains. Here, there was no Confucian teaching, no deeply ingrained concept of loyalty between ruler and subject. Nobles could buy and sell slaves, and every great noble owned land and all the people on it, much like feudal lords. In the eyes of the nobility, the common people were their slaves.
Thus, when the Northern Rong threatened invasion, what the nobles worried about most was not the lives of the people, but whether they could preserve their family fortunes. It was much like during the turmoil in the Central Plains, where some powerful families, for the sake of their own interests, did not hesitate to incite wars or collude with external enemies.
Ten years ago, when the Northern Rong army pressed down on the border, the nobles decisively abandoned the city and fled. Without Tanmoroqie holding the fort, the four armies would never have turned back to defend the Holy City.
This was likely also the reason why Tanmoroqie was now bedridden with illness—not only did he have to intimidate powerful enemies, but he also had to guard against petty schemers within the court.
In the end, he exhausted his heart’s blood, like a candle burning down to ashes.
Yaoying was lost in thought for a while before she put on her veil, ladled a bowl of soup, picked up a few soft, freshly baked flatbreads, and left the hall. Her gaze swept around and, as expected, she spotted that tall, straight figure on the second-floor corridor.
Throughout their journey, whenever they stopped to rest, Su Dan Gu would always be on guard in a place with a broad field of vision.
He was a man who killed without batting an eye, exuding a fierce and intimidating aura that kept everyone at a distance. Yet Yaoying felt an unusual sense of security traveling alongside him.
Carrying the soup bowl, she climbed to the second floor.
As she turned the corner, a sharp cry sounded from ahead. A Falcon swooped down from above, lunging straight at her. Its massive wings, carrying a gust of fishy wind, swept directly toward her face.
Yaoying hurriedly shielded the soup bowl and stepped back, but her foot caught, causing her to stumble backward.
A figure in black flashed by, and a hand reached out, wrapping around her shoulder to steady her. Through her thick fur coat, the arm felt solid and powerful, but the embrace was icy cold, devoid of any warmth.
Clutching the soup bowl, Yaoying fell back into Su Dan Gu’s arms. Glancing down at the staircase beneath her feet, she shuddered with lingering fear and let out a soft sigh.
If she had fallen from the second floor and broken an arm or leg, how would she ever make it to Gaochang?
Thinking she had regained her balance, Su Dan Gu quickly released his hold.
Yaoying, still staring at the staircase and not yet fully recovered, suddenly lost her support. Her body swayed with the momentum, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp.
Su Dan Gu paused for a moment, then his arm reached out again.
Afraid of spilling the soup, Yaoying leaned back into his embrace. She could feel his body tense up and felt a bit embarrassed. Turning to face him, she quickly stood steady, still holding the soup bowl securely.
Holding up the bowl, she lifted her head and blinked at Su Dan Gu, her long, thick lashes fluttering. With a smile, she said, “General Su, would you like something to eat?”
Su Dan Gu withdrew his arm. His green eyes, hidden beneath the mask, glanced at the soup in her hand.
Yaoying had been shielding the bowl with her sleeve, so the soup was still steaming hot. Wisps of heat curled upward from the snowy-white broth, in which floated shreds of flatbread, now soaked and gleaming white and translucent.
Su Dan Gu remained silent and showed no intention of taking the soup bowl.Yao Ying extended her hands forward: "This soup warms the stomach and dispels the cold, General. Please have some. We don’t know when we’ll see an inn again as we continue forward."
Su Dan Gu’s gaze fell on her fingers. Worried the lamb soup would cool, she had brought it over while it was still hot, and her delicate fingers and palms were flushed red from the heat.
He silently took the bowl.
Yao Ying then pulled out a few round flatbreads and handed them to him. These were the ones she had asked Xie Qing to carry. Lightly toasted over the fire, their crusts were crispy and golden, while the insides remained tender and fluffy. Even Yuanjue and the others had praised them earlier.
Su Dan Gu accepted the soup and flatbreads, then turned and walked away without a word.
Yao Ying couldn’t help but smile faintly. She glanced toward the nearby platform, where the falcon stood with drooping wings at the windy edge, its sharp eyes fixed coldly on her.
It had given her quite a fright earlier!
She asked Su Dan Gu softly, "General Su, may I feed it some dried meat?"
She had seen Yuanjue, Su Dan Gu, and other guards feeding the falcon. Though proud, the bird did not attack people indiscriminately.
Su Dan Gu glanced back at her, his expression unreadable beneath the mask.
Yao Ying had already taken a small piece of dried meat from her sleeve. Standing before the falcon, her eyes sparkled with anticipation, dark and bright.
As if the one who had startled her earlier wasn’t this very bird.
Su Dan Gu said, "It nearly caused you to fall earlier."
Yao Ying smiled. "It was keeping watch for you, General. I approached uninvited, so it was only doing its duty to alert you."
Su Dan Gu studied her for a long moment before nodding.
Yao Ying’s face lit up with joy. She took a few steps forward, opened her palm toward the falcon, and asked gently, "Do you like this?"
The falcon glanced at her disdainfully.
Yao Ying patiently coaxed it in a soft voice, "I haven’t thanked you yet. You’re far more majestic than Haidu Aling’s Abu."
The falcon seemed to understand her words. It flapped its wings arrogantly and lightly pecked her outstretched fingers with its sharp beak, causing a slight sting.
Yao Ying didn’t pull back, keeping her palm open.
The falcon snatched the dried meat from her hand.
As she watched the bird, Yao Ying pondered silently: Both the Northern Rong and the Royal Court trained messenger falcons. Here, falcons ruled the skies. If messenger pigeons encountered them, they would surely be hunted. How wonderful it would be if she could have a messenger falcon of her own.
I wonder if those resourceful Hu merchants could help her buy a few.
Leaning against the earthen platform, she lost herself in thought while amusing herself with the falcon. The proud bird paid her little mind, only tugging impatiently at her sleeve after finishing the dried meat in her palm, urging her to produce more.
Yao Ying dared not overfeed it. She spread her hands open, signaling that there was no more.
The falcon lifted its claws and strode away.
Yao Ying chuckled softly and glanced back at Su Dan Gu.
He stood with his back to her, drinking the soup without a sound. Though the guards had praised the soup enthusiastically, he drank it as indifferently as if it were plain water.
Yao Ying watched his figure for a long while when suddenly, a rapid drumming of hoofbeats echoed from afar.
She turned toward the sound. To the east, dust clouds billowed as over a dozen swift horses galloped toward the inn. The riders wore thick fur coats and face coverings, making it impossible to identify them.
Su Dan Gu, ever vigilant, immediately set down his bowl and stood by the earthen platform, scanning the distance.
"They’re Northern Rong."
Yao Ying’s heart skipped a beat. "How can you tell they’re Northern Rong, General?"Su Dan Gu's voice was hoarse and low: "The sturdy horses they ride are from the Northern Rong horse pastures."
Yaoying's heart sank slightly.
The Northern Rong occupied vast grasslands rich in water and pasture, including several locations that were originally the largest horse pastures in the northern desert. The horses bred there were strong and well-fed, providing warhorses for the Northern Rong cavalry. Since Su Dan Gu spoke with such certainty, he probably hadn't mistaken them.
Su Dan Gu gestured to the guards stationed downstairs. Understanding his meaning, the guards quickly rushed into the hall, reminding everyone to cover their faces with scarves and prepare to depart.
The group had already eaten and drunk their fill, so they briskly stood up, packed their belongings, and left the inn.
The Northern Rong men moved swiftly, arriving at the inn in the blink of an eye.
The man at the forefront removed his face covering, spitting out the dust and sand from his mouth with a few disgusted sounds. He was robust, built like an ox, with curly hair cascading over his shoulders and light brown eyes. Dressed in a fur-lined coat and leather boots, he dismounted while cursing and complaining about the weather.
The inn had no back door. Yaoying, Su Dan Gu, and the others kept their heads down, arranging their belongings. The Northern Rong men, assuming they were ordinary merchants, glanced at them briefly before passing by. One of them impatiently urged the innkeeper, "Is there any food? Whatever’s hot, bring it quickly!"
The innkeeper repeatedly assured them.
Yaoying mounted her horse, her gaze falling on the burly man. Her expression changed, and she immediately averted her eyes.
Remaining composed, she guided her horse to Su Dan Gu's side and whispered, "General Su, that man is a prince of the Northern Rong."
Su Dan Gu glanced at her.
Yaoying lowered her voice further: "He is Wahan Khan's most favored youngest son. He usually remains at the royal court, so you may not have seen him before, but I’m certain I haven’t mistaken him."
Su Dan Gu grunted in acknowledgment.
The group left the inn without drawing attention, their figures disappearing into the vast, snowy wilderness.
Yaoying’s heart grew heavy.
Why was the young prince here? Was there any connection between this and Haidu Aling?
...
When Yaoying and Su Dan Gu set out from Sand City for Gaochang, another team was advancing toward Yi Province, thousands of miles away across the boundless Gobi desert.
The carriage jolted along the rugged mountain path. The woman inside, unable to bear the bumpy ride, lifted the curtain and asked the accompanying guard, "How many more days until we reach Yi Province?"
The guard clasped his fists and replied, "Princess, please endure a few more days. We will soon arrive at Yi Province, and you will be able to see Yiqing Grand Princess."
A glimmer of anticipation appeared on the woman’s face. She let the curtain fall and retreated into the carriage.
She would soon see her aunt.
The guard slowed his pace, deliberately falling back a few steps.
Another guard rode forward to ride alongside him.
The first guard whispered in dialect, "Find an opportunity to send a message back. Fukang Princess will soon reach Yi Province. We have gained her trust. Once we arrive, we will find a way to inquire about Princess Wenzhao’s whereabouts."
The other guard looked troubled: "Everywhere is tightly sealed off now, with several checkpoints guarded like iron barrels. How can we send word to Chang’an that Princess Wenzhao might still be alive?"
The first guard scoffed: "You’re such a blockhead! How did the Northern Rong secretly communicate with Fukang Princess? We’ll use their own people to deliver the message!"
The other guard suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.
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