"We only pray that Our Lady the Jade Maiden protects us..."
"On this journey to the Western Regions, we must..."
Atop Jade Emperor Peak, the snake girl lay on a tree like an ordinary snake, enjoying an afternoon nap. The warm sun shone down from a clear sky, the heat mild, and a breeze rustled the leaves with a gentle, peaceful sound. Through the haze of sleep, she heard the sounds of prayer coming from far away.
Shaodian Qingnu opened her eyes, a flicker of confusion passing through them. After a few blinks, her gaze gradually cleared.
She stretched her limbs and let her feet dangle lazily from the branch.
"Sister Bird, what time is it?"
Hongluan replied from below, "You've only slept for an hour. It's not dinner time yet."
Shaodian Qingnu shook her head. "I'm asking about the year and month."
The year and month?
Hongluan looked up with a strange expression. "Why are you asking that?"
She called for Chunyu Tiying. "I don't keep track of such things. You'd better ask Tiying. She should know."
Chunyu Tiying looked up at Shaodian Qingnu and said, "Maiden, it is the sixteenth year of the Yongping era."
"The sixteenth year of Yongping..."
Shaodian Qingnu repeated the words, then flipped off the branch in a free fall, landing steadily on the grass.
She raised her hands high and sighed. "Ah! Time to go out for a walk."
"Remember to come back before dinner," Hongluan called out.
But Shaodian Qingnu said, "I'm afraid it might take a few days!"
Hearing this, Hongluan frowned. "Where are you going now?"
"Chang'an!"
...
Chang'an, Chang'an—enduring peace and long-lasting stability.
As the center of the world for centuries, this city had not lost its prosperity just because Liu Xiu had established the capital in Luoyang. Guanzhong remained a rich and fertile land.
After Ban Chao led his embassy to pay respects at the High Temple and the Jade Maiden Shrine, they departed from Chang'an and headed west.
"Ban Chao..."
"Ban Dingyuan..."
Standing on the city walls of Chang'an, Shaodian Qingnu gazed at the embassy in the distance.
At this time, Ban Chao was not yet the Marquis of Dingyuan.
In this era, the Great Han had been cut off from communication with the Western Regions for sixty or seventy years. On this journey, the outcome was uncertain, yet he and his embassy set out regardless, even though the path ahead was obscured.
"‘Though thousands and tens of thousands oppose me, I shall go!’ This is the true Great Han!"
Was that Great Han, the one under which everyone beneath heaven was a subject, finally about to reappear?
Shaodian Qingnu raised her hand and caught the wind, murmuring, "Since you have worshipped at my shrine and prayed to me, and since I have heard you... then I shall grant you some assistance."
Countless people prayed to Shaodian Qingnu every day. For a prayer to actually be heard by her, the person's providence had to be extraordinary.
Furthermore, she had always admired those who blazed new trails.
Not everyone was willing to step into the unknown.
After the embassy passed Yongcheng and was about to set foot on the lands of Hexi, someone suddenly spotted a green-robed woman ahead, wearing a bamboo hat and with sleeves fluttering in the wind.
"My lord, look—"
The man pointed toward Shaodian Qingnu.
Ban Chao focused his gaze. He saw Shaodian Qingnu shaking a hand-bell that produced a crisp, ethereal sound as she walked toward them, which felt even more peculiar.
When Shaodian Qingnu arrived before them, Ban Chao cupped his hands and asked, "From where does this lady hail?"
Shaodian Qingnu lightly rang the bell and said, "To the Western Regions."
The Western Regions?
Hearing her words, Ban Chao immediately became alert. He scanned the surroundings to ensure there were no ambushes before saying to her, "You intend to go to the Western Regions alone, my lady? Surely you jest? The journey there is over five thousand li!"
Shaodian Qingnu shook her head. "I am going with you."
Ban Chao was stunned. He reminded her, "The Western Regions today are not like they were during the days of trade. The road ahead is uncertain..."
Shaodian Qingnu nodded. "I am aware of that."
Ban Chao asked again, "Even so, you still wish to go?"
"If so, are you not going as well?" Shaodian Qingnu countered.
Ban Chao answered instinctively, "We are following the example of the Marquis of Bowang, seeking to render service to our Great Han!"
Seeing his response, Shaodian Qingnu nodded. "Very well! If you are not afraid, then I naturally have nothing to fear either."
Seeing her determined expression, Ban Chao fell silent. However, after thinking for a long time, he still did not agree.
He asked, "May I ask for your name, and from which noble house you come?"
"The Qin clan of Yongcheng, Auntie Qing."
Shaodian Qingnu used the name of the Qin royal house.
The karma they owed her—not to mention now, even in the coming thousands of years—could likely never be repaid. Using their identity was a minor matter.
Ban Chao was astonished to hear she was of the Qin clan of Yongcheng. He bowed and said, "I did not expect you to be of the Qin royal line. Forgive my rudeness! Since you insist, then let us travel together."
Shaodian Qingnu joined the group, but Ban Chao did not set his mind at ease immediately. He sent a man back to Yongcheng overnight to inquire about the situation.
The Qin royal clan in Yongcheng had passed down their traditions for centuries. They might have forgotten Shaodian Qingnu's true identity, but they all knew such a person existed.
Hearing the name Auntie Qing suddenly, they reacted instantly!
After confirming her identity, the head of the Qin clan even wanted to follow her himself, and was only dissuaded after much persuasion.
However, though he could not come, he gave strict instructions, saying that she was a most noble princess of their Qin clan and must be well cared for.
The subordinate returned with this news for Ban Chao.
Ban Chao no longer had any doubts.
However, Shaodian Qingnu's knowledge of Hexi and the Western Regions exceeded the imagination of Ban Chao and his men. It was as if she had lived here for many years; there was nothing she did not know about the local customs, geography, or water sources. With her presence, the embassy indeed avoided much trouble.
After passing Yumen Pass, they entered the Western Regions.
Shaodian Qingnu asked, "Where do you plan to go first?"
"What about Shanshan?"
Ban Chao proposed his idea. He took out a record of the Western Region states and said, "The state of Shanshan is not far from Yumen Pass, and they waver between the Xiongnu and our Great Han!"
Hearing this, Shaodian Qingnu looked at Ban Chao with a complex expression. Was the Central Plains' obsession with Loulan already this deep at this time?
She asked instead, "Why not go to the Xiongnu kingdom at the foot of Tianshan?"
"The Xiongnu kingdom..."
Ban Chao frowned, pondering, "The relationship between that kingdom and the Xiongnu... I fear it is not simple. If we go directly, I am afraid we would be walking into a trap."
The people of the Han dynasty had an instinctive resistance toward the Xiongnu.
"Don't worry, I am here! I have already sent someone ahead to wait for us there," Shaodian Qingnu said calmly to reassure him.
When she said this, Ban Chao was startled and quickly asked, "The princess sent people ahead? How many?"
"You will know when we arrive."
Shaodian Qingnu's words were mysterious, but after careful consideration, Ban Chao decided to trust her.
Along the way, she had given him the feeling that she was no ordinary princess. The Xiongnu kingdom it is, then! If they were going to do this, they might as well aim high!
Those who could serve as envoys to the Western Regions at this time were naturally no cowards.
At worst, they would die!
Since they dared to come, they were prepared to sacrifice themselves for the Great Han!
However, when the embassy crossed more than half of the Western Regions and arrived at the Western Xiongnu Kingdom at the foot of Tianshan, they witnessed a scene that made them question their very reality.
At the foot of Tianshan, in the capital of Dutian City, the entire population was outside.
The Tianshan Chanyu led a thousand members of the Chanyu's court at the very front, bowing to pay their respects to Ban Chao and his men.
"We welcome the envoys of the Heavenly Han!!"
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