"No, I’ve come at just the right time."
Shaodian Qingnu shook her head. Before she could say more, Geng Gong glanced at the sturdy man and the maidservant accompanying her and said, "Tomorrow, I will have my brothers break through the siege to escort the princess away!"
No matter what, a princess of the Han must not fall into the hands of the Xiongnu.
Shaodian Qingnu stood up and patted Geng Gong on the shoulder. "wuji colonel, do not lose heart. As long as I am here, Shule City remains."
"grand princess of Qin..."
Geng Gong was momentarily stunned by her words.
Before he could ask anything else, he saw Shaodian Qingnu produce a small, glowing pearl. From within the pearl, she began to continuously pull out grain, medicinal materials, and other supplies.
Geng Gong’s eyes widened as he stood up in shock. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "This... this... this..."
"How can the soldiers of the Han court be in such a wretched state?"
Shaodian Qingnu applied herbs to the wound on Geng Gong's face before saying to him, "Have the soldiers come to me. I will treat their wounds. Until reinforcements arrive, I will not let you lose another man. Whether it be food or medicine, I will provide it all."
"You... you are?"
Geng Gong was in a daze.
Shaodian Qingnu made a shushing gesture toward him.
She smiled faintly and said, "In this matter, let the heavens and earth know, and you and I know. I do not wish to be surrounded by too many people trying to worship me."
Geng Gong heard this and solemnly kowtowed to her. "Understood, grand princess of Qin!"
Regarding Shaodian Qingnu's true identity, there was a silent understanding between them.
With her presence, no matter how fiercely the Xiongnu attacked Shule City, the city’s defenses remained immovable.
Seeing that not a single Han soldier was lost—that even those heavily wounded on the first day were lively and defending the city by the second—the spirit of the Xiongnu and the Chushi auxiliary forces finally collapsed. Their morale shattered, and the massive army receded like a tide.
Only after the scouts reported that the Xiongnu had truly retreated did Geng Gong breathe a long sigh of relief.
But when he went to thank Shaodian Qingnu, he found that the courtyard where she had been staying was already empty. She had left behind only enough food and herbs to last them for several months.
"Truly, she is the compassionate Lady the Jade Maiden!"
Geng Gong was filled with emotion.
Reinforcements from the Han court arrived two months later, taking over the defense of Shule City from Geng Gong, allowing his men to retreat to Yumen Pass for recovery.
When the hundred or so surviving defenders reached Yumen Pass, they saw only the towering majesty of the pass.
The commander of Yumen Pass personally welcomed Geng Gong!
He clasped his hands in a respectful salute and exclaimed, "General, your righteousness is great!"
The general's righteousness was the soul of the Han army, and a pinnacle of honor!
Geng Gong's deeds greatly inspired the Han soldiers. Additionally, with Liu Da succeeding the throne, the Han court gradually stabilized, and waves of Han troops began to march west from Yumen Pass.
The brilliant Han burned with surging providence.
Bathing in this golden, magnificent aura, Shaodian Qingnu was in high spirits. The jiao horns atop her head grew a few inches longer, and her majesty became even more pronounced.
However, after all these years, she still had not grown four claws. She could not yet be considered a jiao-dragon, only a jiao-snake.
Shaodian Qingnu couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"Could it be that I have to be struck by that thieving Old Heaven one more time?"
Thirteen years later, Liu Da passed away at the age of only thirty-one.
However, the Han's providence did not decline with the emperor's sudden death. The nine-year-old Crown Prince Liu Zhao took the throne. Above the city of Luoyang, in a world invisible to humans, the Han's providence continued its slow ascent. Yet, Shaodian Qingnu let out a heavy sigh.
"Why are you sighing? Is it not a good thing that the Han's providence is rising?"
Hongluan was puzzled by her sigh.
Shaodian Qingnu explained, "The Han emperors are dying too young; they have started paying back the debt."
Paying back the debt?
What debt?
Naturally, it was the debt from the day the meteor fell from the heavens at Kunyang.
Yesterday's cause is today's effect.
Shaodian Qingnu sighed, clicking her tongue as she shook her head. "That thieving Old Heaven... isn't this a forced transaction? One day, when I become a dragon, I'll definitely give Old Heaven a good thrashing!"
CRACK—BOOM!!
A sudden bolt of dry thunder roared. A voice scolded in Shaodian Qingnu's ear, "Gluttonous snake, talk when you've actually become a dragon!"
Shaodian Qingnu rubbed her ears and pinched her earlobe. "Really now... you scared the snake out of me!"
The prosperity of the Yongyuan era was mighty and imposing!
With the help of the Xiongnu kingdom, Great General Dou Xian dealt a crushing defeat to the Northern Xiongnu and carved a stone at Mount Yanran to commemorate the victory.
The Han court sent envoys in all directions, reaching as far as Parthia and Rome. The flourishing culture of Huaxia led the countries along the route to send envoys in submission and offer tribute. Furthermore, the Han court conquered and eliminated the Qiang tribes on all sides, establishing commanderies and counties. Its prestige was at its peak, surpassing all previous generations and possessing ten thousand nations!
But all of this came to a screeching halt with the sudden death of Liu Zhao.
He was only twenty-seven when he died.
As if the heavens were jealous, after Liu Zhao's death, Empress Dowager Deng Sui presided over the court as regent. Disasters began to strike the Great Han with frequency; rivers surged with violent floods, and meteors fell to the earth.
Liu Long, who had reigned for only eight months, passed away at the age of two.
In the first year of the Yongchu era, the Four Waterways overflowed, causing catastrophic floods!
Dozens of commanderies and states were rocked by earthquakes, relentless gales, and falling hail. At the same time, mountain torrents erupted, and over three hundred counties were plagued by floods, resulting in countless refugees. Only a few short years after the peak of the Yongyuan era, the Great Han was swaying in the wind and rain.
In the third year of the Yongchu era, Luoyang, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou suffered a massive famine. People ate each other!
The Mobei Xiongnu took the opportunity to rise; the Han army was defeated, and a grand administrator died in battle. It took another year of bitter fighting to finally secure a victory.
In the fourth year of the Yongchu era, a locust plague began. By the fifth year, it swept through the Nine Provinces. In the sixth year, ten provinces were infested by locusts; crops failed across multiple regions, and the people lived in constant terror.
Shaodian Qingnu traveled through the thirteen provinces of the Great Han in just a few years.
Not only her, but Hongluan and Chunyu Tiying were also dispatched by her to comfort the people across the land.
But the natural disasters came with terrifying ferocity. She was but one person; what could she do?
She was called a goddess, yet she too could feel fatigue and pain.
She was more like an immortal beast who possessed the title of a god and some magic, yet remained powerless against the tide.
But was she truly unable to do anything?
Shaodian Qingnu wouldn't think that way. She had things she could do!
It was just that the natural floods were vast and unstoppable by human strength alone. Whenever she saw the countless displaced and helpless refugees, she couldn't help but wonder: if there truly were gods and buddhas in this world, why did they close their eyes and ignore the suffering of the common people?
Or was it that, just as the Buddha had billions of worlds, the gods also had infinite realms, and the suffering of this single world was merely a trifle to them?
"Thieving Old Heaven... how are the commoners at fault?"
Shaodian Qingnu let out a long sigh.
This time, Heaven did not answer her question.
In a trance-like state, she heard the sound of a prayer from afar... it was Deng Sui's.
The Empress Dowager had traveled from Luoyang to Chang'an to pay respects at the High Temple and the Jade Maiden Shrine.
In this era where myths and legends were gradually flourishing, legends of gods even greater than the Jade Maiden of the Azure Heavens had begun to appear.
Yet, the people of Guanzhong had worshipped the Jade Maiden of the Azure Heavens for hundreds of years and would not easily change. It was unclear if Deng Sui was desperately seeking any help she could find or if she had heard of the extraordinary efficacy of the Jade Maiden; after paying respects at the High Temple, she also held a grand sacrificial ceremony for her.
"Our Lady the Jade Maiden, please protect the people of the Great Han..."
Deng Sui kowtowed solemnly before the statue, her face etched with sorrow.
Shaodian Qingnu took all this in and let out a soft sigh. Just as she was about to leave for another location, she caught a glimpse of a fast horse galloping toward her in the distance.
The rider jumped off before the horse had even come to a stop, sliding to a kneel before Shaodian Qingnu and bowing deeply.
"Noble Lady, the Empress Dowager requests your presence!"
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