Inside the court of the Chanyu in Dutian City.
The current Tianshan Chanyu held Ban Chao's hand, chatting incessantly like an old friend reunited after years. As he reached the more emotional parts of his tale, tears and mucus flowed freely.
The gist of his lament was that life for their Western Xiongnu kingdom was hard, squeezed as they were between the pressures of the Western Regions and the Northern Xiongnu.
"Han envoy! You have finally arrived..."
The Tianshan Chanyu was overwhelmed with emotion.
Ban Chao's expression was one of shock. He wanted to ask the Tianshan Chanyu about the grand princess, but he found he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
He could only wait for the man to finish rambling about his sorrows.
At that moment, Qingnu was wandering through the imperial garden of the Chanyu's court. After winding past several pavilions and water features, she saw Jingang being waited upon by attendants, with Hongluan lying atop him. The wolf brother only had to open his mouth for meat to be delivered, and Hongluan had already eaten her fill of fruits.
A wolf and a bird living like this—how very comfortable!
"The waves of the Yangtze behind push those in front; every year, the new people outshine the old!"
Qingnu leaned against a white jade pillar, clicking her tongue and shaking her head with a sigh. "I spent the journey through Hexi exposed to the elements, secretly escorting the diplomatic mission here, while you two are here enjoying yourselves."
The Xiongnu women serving them were startled by Qingnu's appearance. Before they could react, they saw Jingang and Hongluan spring to their feet.
Hongluan flapped her wings, transformed into her human form in mid-air, and landed before Qingnu.
"Bird sister?"
Qingnu arched an eyebrow at Hongluan.
Hongluan responded by flicking her squarely on the forehead.
"Ouch..."
Qingnu clutched her forehead.
Hongluan glanced at her and said, "Stupid snake, you were the one who told us to come here. Now you're here saying such things? You're asking for a beating!"
"My Lady! It's a misunderstanding! They were the ones who insisted on giving me this treatment."
Jingang stepped forward quickly to explain to Qingnu, his large, fluffy tail wagging back and forth for fear she might be angry.
Qingnu waved her hand. "Alright, alright. I'm not angry, I was just joking."
Only then did Jingang relax.
The interaction between them made the Xiongnu women realize something. Although they still didn't know Qingnu's identity, she was clearly no ordinary person! They immediately moved forward to serve her as well.
The Xiongnu, who were no longer nomadic, had intermarried with Han and Western Region people over the past few centuries. Their features were not as gaunt and weathered as those who lived out on the open grasslands.
Furthermore, as maidservants of the Chanyu's court, they were naturally the best of the best.
Qingnu naturally liked beautiful women.
She accepted their service with a clear conscience, picking a large piece of meat from Jingang's bowl and swallowing it whole. She asked, "What did you say to the Tianshan Chanyu? His attitude toward the Han envoy is more enthusiastic than if he'd met his own parents. It's quite strange."
"Does anything even need to be said?"
Hongluan rolled her eyes and patted Jingang.
Jingang chuckled. "As soon as I showed myself, they stopped talking and followed every instruction we gave."
Qingnu glanced at Jingang but said nothing more, continuing to pick at the meat.
Jingang looked exactly like the heavenly wolf they had worshipped for centuries. However, people were not wooden blocks; the Tianshan Chanyu's almost flattering treatment of the Han envoy couldn't be due to Jingang's appearance alone.
It seemed that during the Han court's internal turmoil, the life of the Western Xiongnu kingdom had been even harder than the Chanyu admitted. Alas...
"Then the fault lies with me,"
Qingnu sighed.
However, this was also an opportunity for the Western Xiongnu kingdom—a chance to become the Great Han's representative in the Western Regions!
The Xiongnu acting as the Great Han's representative—that would be quite a sight.
The Tianshan Chanyu rambled on about his grievances to Ban Chao for an entire afternoon before finishing. He then personally arranged the mission's lodgings, attending to every detail.
Even after they had settled in, Ban Chao still felt a sense of unreality. Was this the Xiongnu of their impressions?
It was completely different!
Ban Chao requested to meet with the grand princess.
This put the Tianshan Chanyu in a difficult position.
Regarding Qingnu, he had already learned much from Jingang and Hongluan. But without Qingnu's permission, he did not dare take Ban Chao to see her. He could only make excuses, saying he would go and ask if a meeting was possible.
This made Ban Chao even more suspicious.
Logically, since she was a fellow Han and he was an official envoy of the court, there was no reason for this grand princess to refuse him.
As Ban Chao was pondering, he heard a knock at the door. When it opened, a maidservant stood outside, bowing to them.
"Lord Envoy, the grand princess of Qin has ordered me to deliver a message: she has already prepared the opportunity. How you seize it is up to you!"
Ban Chao hurriedly asked, "Then may we go and pay our respects?"
"The princess will not see you."
The maidservant bowed again and departed.
After she left, Ban Gu and the others looked at each other in confusion.
This matter was far too strange!
Just who was this grand princess of Qin?
After a long silence, Ban Chao sighed and said to his subordinates, "I fear she is no ordinary person..."
After connecting the Western Xiongnu kingdom with the Han envoy, Qingnu prepared to leave.
Before departing, she met with the current Tianshan Chanyu in her capacity as the Heavenly Maiden. Seeing the Heavenly Maiden—the focus of his people's faith for over a hundred years—actually appear was even more soul-shaking than the appearance of the heavenly wolf! He agreed unconditionally to every instruction Qingnu gave.
As Qingnu was about to leave, the Tianshan Chanyu asked, "Our Lady the Heavenly Maiden, my clan has herded and guarded Tianshan for you for two hundred years. Are you satisfied with the lands at the foot of Tianshan today?"
Seeing his devout expression, Qingnu sighed softly and said, "You have worked hard."
"It was no hardship!"
The Tianshan Chanyu's expression was one of intense excitement.
To receive a word of comfort from Qingnu was a supreme honor that the previous dozen generations of Tianshan Chanyus had never known!
That night, Qingnu climbed a mountain peak near Dutian City to gaze out.
She could see that the Tianshan lands within the Western Xiongnu kingdom were lush with grass and water, rich in resources. Over these two hundred years, they had indeed been diligent in herded and guarding the foot of Tianshan for the Heavenly Maiden in their hearts.
A deity only gives people a reason, an opportunity. The outcome depends entirely on the people's own choices.
Qingnu had no right to judge whether the choices of others were wrong, but these Xiongnu had undoubtedly chosen a correct path!
The Western Xiongnu kingdom had seized the opportunity of the Han court's return to the west!
With their assistance, Ban Chao's administration of the Western Regions became much easier. Within a year, Liu Zhuang issued an imperial decree to re-establish the Protectorate of the Western Regions! The Great Han—the empire that had commanded the submission of the Western nations for a century—descended once more to govern the Western Regions.
The providence of the Great Han soared, and the Western Xiongnu kingdom took the opportunity to sweep away their previous decline.
Everything was progressing well.
But at this critical moment, Liu Zhuang died.
The emperor had passed away, and the entire Han court was too preoccupied with other matters to care for anything else. This gave the Northern Xiongnu on the grasslands an opportunity.
They had long been dissatisfied with the Great Han's interference in the Western Regions. This time, taking advantage of the Great Han's national mourning, they led an army of a hundred thousand to fiercely attack Shule City. The Han garrison at Shule City numbered only a little over a thousand men!
Furthermore, the state of Cheshi betrayed them, leaving the Han army here attacked from both the front and the back.
Inside Shule City.
The Han army's campfires burned bright, illuminating their iron armor. Every soldier and officer wore a solemn expression.
The night was long; none knew when tomorrow would come.
"The reinforcements from the Western Xiongnu kingdom are blocked a thousand miles away and cannot reach us. Our combat-capable troops number less than a hundred, and the city's provisions were exhausted yesterday..."
"Your Highness, your arrival was most ill-timed..."
Beside a campfire, Qingnu sat quietly, listening to the Han general beside her describe the situation.
His name was Geng Gong, the wuji colonel of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.
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