- Yusuf: I am a servant who has but one function.
- Marco Polo: Which is?
- Yusuf: I speak truth. It is this respect I show my Khan. My days are driven by this alone. How do I best serve Kublai and his kingdom? There is clarity in service but you lack this.
- Marco Polo: Yet here we are.
- Yusuf: Yet here we are.
- [first lines]
- Tulga: My Lady, they are upon us!
- Kokachin: The Khan has come. Run for the desert.
- ChangYang: Lady Kokachin! You're protected by your blood. They will not harm you.
- Kokachin: Harm me? No. Take me into Kublai's harem? Yes.
- [unsheathes her dagger]
- ChangYang: Is it not better than death?
- Kokachin: No, Nergui. To live under the yoke of a Khan is not better than the Eternal Blue.
- [impales herself]
- ChangYang: [gasps] Lady Kokachin!
- [sobbing]
- Prince Jingim: Good New Year to you, brother.
- Byamba: I worry when you call me brother instead of bastard. It precedes a request.
- Prince Jingim: [chuckles] I need not request. I order.
- Byamba: I await your command, Jingim Khan...
- Empress Chabi: [sarcastically] 'Tis a powerful man who injures little children.
- Lin Lin: I miss my mother.
- Jia Sidao: We all do, Sunflower but I've arranged to speed her journey. Now look away, child.
- [tightens foot bindings]
- Lin Lin: [whimpering]
- Yusuf: My suspicion of Marco has waned, but for now. To be safe, those whom lack your trust, kill.
- Kublai Khan: There would be few left living if I heed that counsel. Should I trust *you*, Yusuf?
- Prince Jingim: You slayed Ariq single-handedly.
- Kublai Khan: Why was that necessary? Why did my brother challenge me? He saw me as weak. Despite what I did, people still rumor of my decline and they worry for succession.
- Prince Jingim: The line is clear.
- Kublai Khan: But not guaranteed, Jingim.
- [last lines]
- Kokachin: It is time for Jingim to take a new wife, I think.
- Kublai Khan: A more fertile bitch, I hope. The rest are barren as my Gobi. I trust you have someone in mind?