The Right Guli King nodded and replied, "Of course! The heavenly god revered by the Great Xiongnu..."
Qingnu interrupted him directly. She stepped on the Right Guli King's shoulder, lightly waved her white gauze silk wrap, and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I am the Frost and Snow Goddess, the Holy Mother of Mount Tai, and the Heavenly Maiden of the Western Regions... I hold many divine offices, but I am certainly not the heavenly god of your Xiongnu!"
"Now, do you still have faith in me?"
The Right Guli King was dazed and speechless.
He did not understand!
She had the Moonlit Heavenly Wolf and such milky-white skin—how could she not be the heavenly god of the Great Xiongnu?
Seeing his confusion, Qingnu waved her hand to the side.
Jingang raised his head and let out a long howl that echoed throughout the entire royal court area.
"Heavenly God!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the Right Guli King slid into a kowtow.
The pride of the Great Xiongnu?
One had to be alive to talk about pride!
Besides, with Qingnu here, as long as he knelt fast enough, he was the pride of the Great Xiongnu! The Xiongnu Chanyu? Never heard of him! Who's that?
Legitimacy? It wasn't certain who would be the legitimate line in the future anyway.
The Right Guli King made the right choice, and Qingnu was satisfied.
Qingnu gave the Right Guli King two options.
"I will carve out a piece of land for you at the foot of Tianshan; it shall be the Western Xiongnu Kingdom. From now on, you will be one of the various states of the Western Regions! Of course, if you are unwilling, you can lead your people westward and cross the Congling."
"There are lands to the west, vast in territory, with people similar to those of Zhongguo..."
The Right Guli King chose to stay almost without hesitation. If one could settle down, who would want to remain nomadic?
The Xiongnu were split in two by Qingnu.
The Right Guli King became the first Great Chanyu of the Western Xiongnu Kingdom, taking the title of Tianshan Chanyu.
The Xiongnu who lost the Right Guli King's division were severely weakened. Unable to obtain supplies from the Western Regions in the short term, the Han dynasty took the opportunity to dispatch troops.
After thirteen years of recovery under Liu Ju, the Great Han had emerged from the decline of the late Emperor Wu's reign.
One Han warrior was worth five barbarians!
With the help of the Right Guli King, the tracks of the Xiongnu were fully mastered by the Great Han; after all, no one understood the Xiongnu better than the Right Guli King. On the vast grasslands, the Xiongnu were no longer the favored children of Heaven.
Xu Lü Quan Qu Chanyu could only lead the remaining Xiongnu to flee far into Mobei, as far as possible from Han territory.
However, Monan had lush grass and water, while Mobei had nothing comparable.
The Xiongnu, having surrendered the entire Monan grasslands, soon suffered a great famine and were further weakened. The Right Guli King took the opportunity to send people among the Xiongnu to propagate the existence of Qingnu!
This cycle led many more Xiongnu to come to the Western Regions to seek refuge in the kingdom he had established.
He called himself a servant of the Heavenly Maiden, guarding the lands beneath Tianshan for Qingnu.
Qingnu remained in the Western Regions for several years.
With her presence, the relationship between the states of the Western Regions and the Western Xiongnu Kingdom gradually stabilized. The secure, settled life made the Xiongnu so happy they forgot their old homes.
This year, Qingnu and Liu Jieyou met a Han general who had come from Chang'an.
His name was Zheng Ji, and he was ordered to establish the Protectorate of the Western Regions in Wulei City!
Upon learning of this, Liu Jieyou immediately declared, "For the Great Han to protect the Western Regions is an unprecedented feat. If the General has any needs, simply say the word!"
Zheng Ji bowed and said, "Thank you, Princess!"
With the assistance of the two strongest powers in the Western Regions—Wusun and the Western Xiongnu Kingdom—the establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions went extremely smoothly.
From then on, the commands of Han reached throughout the Western Regions!
Watching the Han flag fluttering over Wulei City, Qingnu said to Liu Jieyou, "I am going back. Do you want to come with me?"
"No... thank you, Immortal Maiden!"
"The Protectorate of the Western Regions has just been established and its foundation is unstable. I must stay here."
Liu Jieyou gazed at the Han flag atop Wulei City and shook her head.
Though there was infinite longing for Chang'an in her eyes, the flag of the Great Han was more important to her!
A Han princess, a Han princess...
This was a true Han princess!
Qingnu returned to Mt. Tai from the Western Regions, passing through the Qilian Mountains. She saw that the population of the Hexi Four Commanderies was gradually increasing. The area was lush with grass and water, becoming a source of military horses for the Han court. She even saw Xiongnu people among them!
There were prisoners of the Han court, but the vast majority were from the Western Xiongnu Kingdom.
They engaged in normal diplomatic relations with the Great Han, helping the Han court raise horses, while the Han court gave them preferential treatment in trade.
Such mutual benefit created a scene of flourishing prosperity.
"If only all nations in this world could be like this! Alas, individuals have their own wills, let alone nations."
Qingnu sighed.
After returning to Mt. Tai, Qingnu cleared out an empty hall in the palace at Jade Emperor Peak. She placed some large items she had brought back from the Western Regions inside, completing a palace filled with exotic Western Regions flair.
Setting these up was secondary; she had also brought back many fruit seeds.
She intended to plant them all on Mt. Tai.
The climate of Mt. Tai was quite different from the Western Regions, and Qingnu didn't know which fruits would survive.
However, Hongluan was far more attentive than she was regarding this matter. Qingnu would simply scatter the seeds and ignore them, but Hongluan tended to them day and night, looking after them through all four seasons.
There wasn't much water on Mt. Tai, so Jingang acted as the water carrier, bringing water up from the foot of Mt. Tai every day.
After a year, quite a few fruits were harvested, and Hongluan was overjoyed.
She transformed into her original form and patted Jingang on the shoulder.
"Jingang the wolf, well done!"
"Pfft—cough, cough!!"
As soon as Hongluan said those words, Qingnu, who was drinking tea, choked and coughed violently. After finally catching her breath, she looked at Hongluan and asked thoughtfully, "Bird sister, I've had a question I've wanted to ask for hundreds of years!"
Hongluan glanced at her and said, "Silly snake, if you want to ask, then ask. What's the question?"
Qingnu cleared her throat and asked, "You are an immortal bird, why do you like eating fruit like an ordinary bird?"
"Then what should I eat?"
Hongluan tilted her head and asked back.
Qingnu pointed to the dew drops that had condensed on a leaf that morning and said, "Drink dew!"
At these words, Hongluan kicked at her and cursed, "Silly snake! Where did you hear that immortal birds only drink dew?"
Qingnu twisted her body to dodge Hongluan's foot and scurried onto the roof.
Her fair little feet hung down, swaying back and forth like a snake's tail.
She said leisurely, "Bird sister, don't be angry. Anger makes you age faster. If you don't believe me, ask Little Tiying!"
Hongluan turned to look at Chunyu Tiying.
Chunyu Tiying was holding a basket and picking fruit. She was stunned to suddenly hear Qingnu mention her. After noticing Hongluan's gaze, she nodded and said, "There is such a saying—stagnant liver qi and excessive heart fire."
Hearing this, Hongluan took a deep breath and turned to glare at Qingnu.
To make amends, after the fruit picking was finished, Qingnu taught them how to make some snacks and candied fruits.
Below Mt. Tai, the incense burned brightly at the Shrine of the Holy Mother of Mount Tai, built spontaneously by the people.
Many years later.
In a trance, Qingnu heard a call from the Western Regions.
When she returned to Wusun after all these years, the Liu Jieyou before her was no longer the elegant and charming Han princess of the past.
She was old, over seventy years of age.
"Your entire life has been given to the Great Han..."
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