Sitara is roped into cataloguing the results of the Mongols’ pillaging. After all, they’re warriors (and butchers), so most of them can’t read or write. Hell, maybe all of them. Basically, they need people like Sitara to help them keep an extensive record of what they’ve stolen. In the process, Sitara stumbles upon a book on alchemy — a book that might contain a magical cure-all. We all know alchemy is nonsense, but back in the day, people would stumble upon remedies without fully understanding the underlying mechanics at play. It might as well be magic in their eyes. Moge overhears Sitara, so she drags the girl to meet Boraqchin. But she doesn’t explain anything nor does she press Sitara to explain anything either about the supposed cure-all. As a result, Boraqchin dismisses the girl.

Moge suspects that Boraqchin might have been poisoned, but it certainly didn’t sound to me like the physician actually recommended this bizarre concoction of sulfur, quicksilver, and whatever else they could throw in there. Hell, he literally said, “All who took it succumbed to the poison, resulting in shortened lifespans.” Still, all of this information helps Sitara deduce that Boraqchin has been poisoning herself all along. She’s been ingesting rahj al-gar, i.e. an arsenic sulfide mineral, in an attempt to foolishly chase immortality. This has predictably left her sick and bedridden. It’s strange to me that people will stick to their guns even when the results have been anything but good. Wow, I’m sicker than ever! Welp, let’s stay the course and keep eating this rock I know nothing about! But hey, this gives Sitara the opportunity to be the savior, so she offers up the jada stone in her possession.

Alright, it’s time for some cursory research, i.e. Google. Basically, the jada stone, better known as a bezoar, reacts chemically to the toxic compounds in arsenic. If Boraqchin has a lot of arsenic in her system from ingesting those dumb rocks, then the jada stone should help. So no, it’s not magic or alchemy. It’s all chemistry. Eventually, Boraqchin’s health recovers to the extent that she can now leave her tent. Sitara has earned the Great Khatun’s trust. Or so it seems.

Thanks to Sitara’s ability to read many of the tomes that the Mongols pilfer, she has been called to Boraqchin’s tent quite often. This seems to leave Toregene feeling… what, exactly? Lonely? After all, she has had no one to confide in until she met Sitara, who reminds her of her former stepdaughter. In any case, Sitara has been using these opportunities to plant seeds of doubt. She learns how Tolui’s conquests have also entitled him to all the captured scholars. In other words, he has both military and intellectual might in his corner. Sitara suggests that while Tolui himself might not initially want to betray his brothers, he can be swayed by his ambitious wife Princess Sorghaghtani.

Curiously, we just got two scenes with both Tolui and Sorghaghtani before this. Tolui’s campaign against the Kaifeng has barely slowed down despite resistance from the Song. He’s eager to please his brother, the Great Kha’an. Little does he know that success only makes them ever the more suspicious. Sad, isn’t it? Meanwhile, Princess Sorghaghtani thinks she’s gone unnoticed, but her former slave girl is plotting against her. But one thing is strange to me. As far as we know, Sitara hasn’t reported back to Princess Sorghaghtani in quite some time. Shouldn’t the latter be somewhat suspicious of the former? Plus, this all started because Sorghaghtani wanted to monitor Chagatai. I’m not sure if she actually does want to seize the throne or whatever; maybe she just wants to ensure that her husband doesn’t get backstabbed. But it is exactly this sort of distrust and fear that is the root cause of this whole mess.

In any case, Sitara says what she needed to say, and she seals the deal by singing Boraqchin’s praises. She leaves the tent thinking she has played the old woman. But has she? When Sitara returns to Toregene’s tent, she finds it empty; Boraqchin has summoned Toregene. Could the Great Khatun sow discord between Toregene and Sitara? Just a guess. They could be discussing something else altogether. Still, it would be nice if Boraqchin could serve as Sitara’s foil — an old woman who loves the Mongols and wants to keep the empire going strong versus a young girl who utterly hates the Mongols and plots their downfall. And if I were Boraqchin, I would find Sitara highly suspicious even if she did help me recover my health. A clever girl shows up outta nowhere, can read and write, starts whispering about how one of the princesses is suspicious, and also butters me up about how I’m fit to rule the world? Nah, can’t trust that.

But if we take a step back, it’s kinda funny how there’s nonstop political machinations behind the scenes between the women. Meanwhile, what exactly are the men doing? Just looking for more foreigners to stab and murder, I guess.

Stray thoughts & observations:

— Moge doesn’t really know what her husband Ogedei is thinking, so why not just ask?

— She really just thinks of Sitara as a helpless slave girl who gets lost easily. I guess the best way to fool your enemies is to make yourself look like an idiot.

— Moge heard the word poison and she’s running with it. She did the same when she overheard Sitara utter the term “cure-all.” This might be Moge’s fatal flaw going forward; she’s reckless and doesn’t think before she acts.

— Toregene explains that the Great Khatun used to be Ogedei’s stepmother. It’s really weird to me how these rulers will recycle women. Apparently, you can just inherit your father’s wives. Oh, you were married to my father? No biggie, just marry me now. That didn’t disturb anyone? Why am I even asking? The answer is obvious since they kept doing it. This wasn’t exclusive to the Mongols either.

— Apparently, this is the Mongols’ version of clotted cream. I’d be curious to try it.