"I want to... return to the Great Han."
Liu Jieyou spoke.
Qingnu nodded and said, "Very well, I will take you back to the Great Han."
For the first time in decades, Liu Jieyou saw the commanderies and counties of Han along the Hexi Corridor. Watching the passing merchant caravans and the galloping postal horses, her eyes grew moist. She murmured under her breath, "Bounded west by the Great River, commanderies lining the Qilian... Oh, vast Huaxia, by Heaven's will exists the Han!"
"Our Lady the Jade Maiden, have I, Jieyou, not failed the trust of the Great Han over these decades?"
Qingnu remained silent. Only after a long while did she let out a long sigh toward the sky. Gazing toward the east, she said, "You have done very well."
After returning to Chang'an, Liu Xun personally received her, providing for Liu Jieyou with the honors due to a princess.
However, Qingnu saw the yearning for the world in her eyes.
But she was old; she could no longer travel.
Qingnu sent Jingang on a trip to bring Chunyu Tiying over from Mt. Tai. She asked if Tiying could look after Liu Jieyou and take her to see the world.
Chunyu Tiying already admired this Han princess greatly, so upon hearing the request, she directly agreed!
After entrusting Liu Jieyou to Chunyu Tiying, Qingnu did not rush back to Mt. Tai. Instead, she paid a visit to Maoling.
Of course, she didn't come to sweep Liu Che's grave; the brat didn't deserve it.
She came to see Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
Though Qingnu always claimed she was teaching them on behalf of Han Xin, Han Xin obviously couldn't jump out of his grave to give lessons. In truth, she was the teacher of both men.
As a teacher, it really was irresponsible of her to have taken so long to visit her students.
Before Wei Qing's monument, Qingnu told him everything about the current state of the dozens of kingdoms in the Western Regions and the Xiongnu. She then took many offerings out of the jiao-snake pearl.
There weren't many golden cups or ritual vessels.
But it didn't matter; Wei Qing wouldn't care about those! Regardless, Qingnu had brought him many other local specialties.
There were weapons from various kingdoms in the Western Regions and pottery horse figurines fired by the Xiongnu.
"Don't look at how few things there are; I picked these out carefully from the Western Regions before bringing them back! And this wine—I heard it tastes decent, though I haven't tried it. You have a taste..."
"And these snacks, remember to share them with your sister down there."
"Don't worry, this snake has received many offerings lately. I'm very wealthy! I won't be digging up your grave today!"
"..."
The wind blew through, rustling the shadows of the trees flanking the spirit way.
Silence fell before the tomb.
After a moment of silence, Qingnu sighed softly. She stood up, rubbed her shoulders, and said, "Fine! I'll say no more, and don't you dare think I'm nagging. I'm going to see Qubing."
The wind whistled through the spears, making a ringing sound as if the Great General Wei were toying with them.
...
Over ten years passed.
Liu Jieyou passed away in Pengcheng and was buried in the Tomb of the King of Chu.
On Mt. Tai, Qingnu received a letter from Chang'an; the sender was Liu Xun.
The letter's content was brief and could be read at a single glance.
Yet after reading it, Qingnu remained silent for a long time before laughing softly. Seeing her laugh, Hongluan had a look of confusion in her eyes and asked, "What does the letter say?"
"Liu Xun says that after he dies, he will take the secret edicts of the previous Han emperors into his tomb. From then on, the subsequent Han emperors will have no more news of me."
At this point, the smile gradually faded from Qingnu's face.
The confusion in her eyes deepened as she murmured, "The first time I met that boy, he came with Liu Che as a mere toddler of two or three. The second time was at the Temple of the Jade Maiden of the Azure Heavens."
"Other than that, I've had no interaction with him. Why would he..."
Qingnu didn't understand why Liu Xun would suddenly do this, so she made a trip to Chang'an.
By this time, Liu Xun was terminally ill.
Qingnu waved the letter in her hand at him and asked, "What is the meaning of this letter? Are you using this as a condition to make me extend your life?"
It was no wonder Qingnu thought this way; when emperors were about to die, wasn't this the only thing they wanted?
"Cough, cough..."
Liu Xun coughed violently several times and shook his head. "No."
He explained his reasons to Qingnu.
"The Crown Prince relies solely on moral teaching; once he ascends, he will surely adopt Zhou policies! The one who will ruin my house is the Crown Prince! The decline of Han is unavoidable. If the future Han emperors knew of your relationship with the Han house, they would surely trouble you! The house of Han is indebted to the Maiden..."
"The High Temple, the Temple of the Jade Maiden—any place where there were records of the relationship between the Maiden and the Han house has been cleared by me."
After Liu Xun finished speaking, Qingnu fell silent.
After a moment, she asked in return, "Why not depose the Crown Prince?"
Liu Xun sighed and asked Qingnu, "After a new emperor ascends the throne, how would the former Crown Prince find his place?"
The Witchcraft Turmoil had left a massive shadow on Liu Xun. His parents and relatives had nearly all died in that upheaval. Therefore, he did not wish for his descendants to turn on one another for interest after his death.
His experiences in his youth had shaped a personality entirely different from the previous Han emperors.
Moreover, the Crown Prince was the child of Empress Xu Pingjun.
Though Liu Xun had not lived among the common people due to Qingnu's influence, when he saw Xu Pingjun during the selection of concubines, he had decided she would be his empress!
It was nothing less than love at first sight.
Qingnu understood Liu Xun's meaning. After a moment of silence, she said, "Thank you. I will stay in Chang'an to see you off."
Seeing someone off and visiting their grave was Qingnu's highest form of respect.
Others who wanted such a thing simply didn't have the merit!
Southeast of Chang'an, at Duling.
The banners of the Han army snapped in the wind as the funeral procession departed from Xuanping Gate, stretching for dozens of li.
The Han Empire was still bathed in the afterglow of the Prosperity of Zhao and Xuan.
But as Qingnu looked up, she saw the golden clouds of providence over Chang'an gather and then disperse, ultimately scattering helplessly away.
Though only a small amount dispersed, it already heralded that the peak of Han had passed, and it was entering its twilight years.
Another acquaintance had passed away.
So-called history was simply the passing of one person after another.
"In this world, there is no nation that does not perish!"
The snake girl sighed deeply. She put on her bamboo hat again, pulling the brim low, and headed east. As the setting sun shone down, silhouetting her figure, the woman in green sang a song.
"On and on, always on and on, journeying down the long, long road. A lifetime does not reach a hundred years, yet it holds a thousand years of sorrow..."
"Prosperity and decline have their seasons; a thousand years is far too long!"
After leaving Chang'an, Qingnu did not return to Mt. Tai. She sent word back for Hongluan and the others to guard the home well.
The following year, disasters broke out in the Han lands.
Seeing the suffering of the displaced people across the world, Qingnu suddenly realized—wasn't this exactly the yellow millet dream that the damned Heavens had shown her back then?
Across thousands of miles of territory, natural disasters rose one after another, and all living beings suffered.
Truly, the Way of Heaven follows its own course, and everything must have a price. It is piteous and lamentable; in both rise and fall, it is the common people who suffer.
After Qingnu saved another group of disaster victims, she looked up to see a carriage from the Han palace approaching from afar. The palace carriage was extremely luxurious, looking completely out of place in this drought-stricken land. There were many horses and carriages, but it didn't look like an inspection tour. Furthermore, in front of the carriage, there seemed to be Xiongnu women.
Was it a wedding procession for a political marriage?
Then the one sitting in that carriage... was Wang Zhaojun?
Qingnu gazed toward Yanmen Pass in the distance and saw the carriage exit the pass, entering the Xiongnu territory beyond the border.
With this departure, there would be no possibility of return.
"Alas..."
Boundless sorrow could only find expression in a soft sigh. Inside the carriage, Wang Zhaojun lifted the curtain to gaze at the vast desert of the northern frontier.
Sand blew in the wind, and wild geese in the sky beat their wings before falling straight down.
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