Menzang was in an outrageously good mood. She gripped the hem of her clothes so tightly with both hands that her knuckles turned white.
Her long-cherished wish had finally come true.
The fact that she could keep her expression composed already showed astonishing self-control.
She rose, and a group of personal guards suddenly hurried in from outside. Every face was familiar to Menzang; these men were her brother's closest kin.
At last, she relaxed completely, knowing the situation was secure.
No matter how desperately Menzang and Menzang E'pang would wish each other dead years later, once they held supreme power, or how deeply they would hate each other—to the point that Menzang E'pang might even have been behind Menzang's death—
For now, they were the closest of allies.
One provided legitimacy, the other the means.
Neither could do without the other.
The men saw Menzang but did not kneel, since they were wearing armor. Even so, their presence reassured her.
Menzang stood and motioned for the Indian Monk to follow her. To everyone else, she simply seemed to be beckoning at something behind her.
There was nothing beside Menzang.
Menzang told the men to follow her, then asked, "Where is Liangzuo?"
One of them was a Han man, a counselor serving Menzang E'pang. His principal wife was the wet nurse caring for Li Liangzuo. Li Liangzuo was not yet a year old, and his wife had conveniently just given birth herself, so she had been entrusted with the child.
Learning that her child was under heavy guard, Menzang finally gave a satisfied smile.
She picked up the Prayer Beads. Menzang was also known as Master Menzang; her official identity was neither empress nor empress dowager.
Her true identity was that of a Buddhist nun.
A nun, as in a member