Chapter Summaries

Verdant Green Maiden and Wang Yande entered Kucha City and met Wei Qingping, the young King of Kucha and Protector-General of the Pacified West. Wei Qingping explained his family’s ties to both offices and said they had held the region in accordance with Emperor Taizong’s and the Goddess’s will.

• Verdant Green Maiden and Wang Yande admired Kucha’s defenders for holding out in the isolated Western Regions.
• Kucha’s elderly defenders cautiously verified the delegation’s credentials before letting them through the city gate.
• A soldier led Verdant Green Maiden and the others to Wei Qingping, who identified himself as both the current Protector-General and King of Kucha.
• Wei Qingping showed them his father Wei Mingyue’s portrait and spoke of his father’s admiration for a poem about Heavenly Mountain.
• Wei Qingping explained that he inherited the protectorate post from his father and the Kucha throne through his maternal grandfather.

Wang Yande’s delegation learned how Kucha’s people had endured for generations, and Wei Qingping explained their loyalty to Han identity and an ancient prophecy. Yue Qiu presented Zhao Guangyi’s edict granting Wei Qingping the title of Duke of An State and authority over the Pacified West Grand Protectorate.

• Wei Qingping showed the delegation the Imperial Edict of Emperor Taizong of Tang and described how it had inspired Kucha’s people to hold the Western Regions.
• Wei Qingping revealed that elderly soldiers defended the city because generations of its people had fought and died against the Tibetan Tribes, and because they considered themselves Han people.
• Wei Qingping told the Verdant Green Maiden that the Heavenly Mountain Kingdom had been destroyed seventy-one years earlier and Kucha had been too weak to aid it.
• Wang Yande introduced the Great Song delegation, including Yue Qiu, the Verdant Green Maiden, and Princess Zhao Qingyu, and said Great Song had wiped out the Uyghur Khaganate.
• Yue Qiu read Zhao Guangyi’s edict appointing Wei Qingping Duke of An State and granting him authority over the Pacified West Grand Protectorate.

Wei Qingping asked Great Song to send troops to help the Pacified West Protectorate reclaim its lost lands, and Yue Qiu promised support before hearing the court’s objections. The Verdant Green Maiden then joined Wei Qingping to discuss the reconquest and discovered that the protectorate’s map was eighty years out of date.

• Wei Qingping demanded troops from Great Song, and Yue Qiu promised that the Great Song Imperial Guard could cross the Two Passes to assist the Pacified West Protectorate.
• Wei Qingping agreed that the protectorate would recognize Great Song’s legitimate rule if Great Song helped reclaim its lost lands.
• Wang Yande privately warned Yue Qiu that the court opposed opening another front while Great Song faced fighting in Liaodong and worried about succession after Zhao Guangyi’s death.
• The Verdant Green Maiden questioned Wang Yande’s assurances to Wei Qingping, then went to meet him with Zhao Qingyu.
• Wei Qingping showed the Verdant Green Maiden a map of the Western Regions, and she pointed out that several mapped oases had disappeared.
• Wei Qingping explained that the map was eighty years old and the Pacified West Protectorate could no longer update it.

Verdant Green Maiden discussed the Western Regions’ political situation with Wei Qingping and decided to visit the ruined Heavenly Mountain Kingdom before pursuing a plan to establish a city. She then asked Zhao Qingyu to help, warning that Han culture could not afford to lose the region to Islamic Doctrine again.

• Wei Qingping outlined the surrounding kingdoms and warned Verdant Green Maiden that the Black Khanate, which followed Islamic Doctrine, was too powerful to challenge until the Western Regions were stable.
• Verdant Green Maiden redirected the plan toward the Heavenly Mountain Kingdom and said she would travel there herself, while cautioning Wei Qingping that some Song officials opposed reclaiming the Western Regions.
• Wei Qingping agreed to look after the delegation and acknowledged that the Song court’s leaders lacked far-reaching ambitions.
• Verdant Green Maiden told Zhao Qingyu that the Song might abandon the Western Regions, and Zhao Qingyu said she felt troubled that the region’s people could be left behind.
• Verdant Green Maiden asked Zhao Qingyu to undertake a task and revealed her plan to build a city in the Western Regions so Han culture would not retreat again.

Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu found a hidden community of Heavenly Mountain Kingdom descendants in the mountains, where an old man welcomed them as Han Officials. In their tent, Verdant Green Maiden discovered the badly wounded Jingang, who said he had been struck by lightning.

• Verdant Green Maiden led Zhao Qingyu and the others into the depths of the Heavenly Mountain Range, where they found a settlement of Heavenly Mountain Kingdom people.
• Verdant Green Maiden greeted the villagers, and an old man who spoke an older form of Han Speech recognized her as a Han Official and wept.
• The old man brought Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu to a large tent where a wounded man lay.
• Verdant Green Maiden recognized the injured man as Jingang, examined his wounds, and asked what had happened.
• Jingang smiled and told Verdant Green Maiden that he had been struck by lightning, making Zhao Qingyu stare in disbelief.

Verdant Green Maiden learned that Jingang was dying from Heavenly Lightning after saving people from the Heavenly Mountain Kingdom, and stayed with him until he died. She led the survivors home, then conquered the Tibetan-held capital and declared it Saintess City, ending slavery there.

• Verdant Green Maiden treated Jingang's wounds, but he told her the Heavenly Lightning had doomed him and urged her never to submit to the Book of Fate.
• Jingang died, and Verdant Green Maiden buried him in the Heavenly Mountain without speaking.
• Verdant Green Maiden declared herself the Heavenly Mountain Saintess and led the people of the Heavenly Mountain Kingdom toward their homeland.
• More than ten days later, Verdant Green Maiden told Zhao Qingyu and the others to wait while she attacked the capital alone.
• Verdant Green Maiden killed the city's resisting soldiers and declared the territory part of the Heavenly Mountain Kingdom, renamed Saintess City, with no more slave owners or slaves.

After restoring Saintess City to Heavenly Mountain Kingdom rule, Verdant Green Maiden organized the city and endured Heavenly Punishment in Heavenly Mountain, returning with severe lightning wounds. Zhao Qingyu resolved to govern well and insisted on tending to her Master's injuries.

• Verdant Green Maiden spared the remaining Tibetan People and reassured Zhao Qingyu and Binghong that they understood why she had killed so many people.
• Verdant Green Maiden established a temporary administration for Saintess City, then secretly left for Heavenly Mountain as thunderclouds gathered.
• Zhao Qingyu worried over Verdant Green Maiden's disappearance until the thunderlight stopped, and Verdant Green Maiden returned three days later with a pale face.
• Verdant Green Maiden gave Zhao Qingyu a manual on governance and advised her to adapt its lessons to local conditions.
• Zhao Qingyu recalled seeing Verdant Green Maiden's lightning wounds and vowed to govern the city well, then rushed in to apply medicine to her Master's back.

After recovering, Verdant Green Maiden visited Jingang’s grave and vowed to avenge him, while preparing to continue her campaign in the Western Regions. Zhao Guangyi agreed to send thirty thousand Imperial Guard troops and appointed Cao Bin to lead them, leaving the expedition’s preparations underway.

• Verdant Green Maiden learned that her letter requesting troops had been sent to Kucha City, then visited Jingang’s grave with Zhao Qingyu and Binghong and promised to make his killers pay.
• After returning to Saintess City, Verdant Green Maiden prepared for the next stage of her campaign, having already requested thirty thousand Imperial Guard troops from Zhao Guangyi.
• Zhao Guangyi summoned Cao Bin and Pan Mei and told them about Verdant Green Maiden’s request for reinforcements in the Western Regions.
• Cao Bin and Pan Mei explained that Great Song could assemble thirty thousand troops by drawing forces from the Hexi Corridor and other regions.
• Pan Mei volunteered to lead the troops, but Zhao Guangyi chose Cao Bin instead and ordered the Privy Council to prepare the troop deployment order.

Zhao Guangyi defended his Western Regions campaign against ministers who urged him to prioritize the people and preserve the realm’s resources, then ordered preparations under Cao Bin. As the thirty-thousand-strong army began its march west, Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu remained in Saintess City.

• Lü Mengzheng and other ministers asked Zhao Guangyi to rescind the campaign decree, arguing that the Western Regions were distant and costly to conquer.
• Zhao Guangyi countered that the Western Regions were part of Great Song’s inherited lands and that opening the Han-Tang Trade Route would bring great benefits.
• Zhao Guangyi assigned logistical preparations to the Ministry of War and said Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu would supervise the campaign in the Western Regions.
• Zhao Guangyi charged Cao Bin with leading the expedition, and Cao Bin vowed to carry Great Song’s banners west.
• Verdant Green Maiden sneezed in Saintess City, and Zhao Qingyu wrapped her in a blanket and brought her indoors.
• Cao Bin mustered troops in Jiangnan and joined forces from Guanzhong and Hexi, forming an army of thirty thousand that marched toward the Western Regions.

After learning that Great Song had sent an army to reclaim the Western Regions, Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu set out on an embassy to Gaochang. Accompanied by Old Yellow Ox, they reached the Gaochang capital, Western Prefecture, as Wang Yande stayed behind to defend Kucha City.

• Wang Yande received a letter saying Great Song had mobilized thirty thousand Imperial Guard soldiers under the Duke of Lu to reclaim the Western Regions, and Wei Qingping announced the news to Kucha City's descendants of the Pacified West Army.
• Wei Qingping proposed leading an embassy to Gaochang, and Yue Qiu joined him while Wang Yande agreed to defend Kucha City.
• Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu selected members for the embassy and detoured to Saintess City to pay their respects to the Verdant Green Maiden.
• The Verdant Green Maiden sent Old Yellow Ox with them to carry messages and summon her if they needed rescue.
• After half a month of travel, Wei Qingping, Yue Qiu, and Old Yellow Ox reached Western Prefecture, the capital of Gaochang.

Cao Bin received Verdant Green Maiden’s new map and letter, then led thirty thousand Imperial Guard troops through Yumen Pass toward the Western Regions. In Gaochang, King Ashilan Han questioned whether Great Song would protect its allies if it eventually withdrew.

• Xu Su delivered Verdant Green Maiden’s map and letter to Cao Bin, and Cao Bin remitted the final six months of Xu Su’s penal servitude.
• Cao Bin led the thirty thousand Imperial Guard troops through Yumen Pass after its commander promised support from Hexi if they faced trouble.
• Verdant Green Maiden silenced the turbulent clouds while Zhao Qingyu discussed compiling a farming calendar and received advice about water, soil, and crops.
• Wei Qingping urged Ashilan Han to cooperate with Great Song to reclaim the Western Regions, but Ashilan Han asked what would happen to Gaochang if Great Song later abandoned the region.

Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu failed to persuade Ashilan Han to trust the Great Song, while Cao Bin followed the Verdant Green Maiden’s orders and captured Ting Prefecture. The chapter ended with Cao Bin telling the city’s people that the Great Song had returned to reclaim the Western Regions and protect them.

• Ashilan Han said he trusted the Heavenly Mountain Saintess but did not trust the Great Song, and he dismissed Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu.
• Cao Bin received the Verdant Green Maiden’s orders to attack Ting Prefecture before taking Yanqi and prepared his army to march.
• Cao Bin’s Imperial Guard reached Ting Prefecture and breached its gates by evening, overwhelming the Turk and Uyghur defenders.
• Cao Bin ordered his soldiers not to harm civilians, damage homes, or plunder as they cleared resistance from the city.
• Cao Bin told a local commoner that his soldiers were from the Great Song, not the Great Tang, and had come to reclaim the Western Regions and protect the people.

After Cao Bin captured Ting Prefecture, the victory changed how Gaochang’s court viewed the Great Song delegation. Yue Qiu and Wei Qingping decided to imitate the bold tactics of Han envoys, and Yue Qiu began provoking Gaochang’s officials over the men watching their lodgings.

• Cao Bin learned that the cheering townspeople descended from the Northern Court Protectorate and announced that Ting Prefecture had been liberated.
• The Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu heard of the victory, and the Verdant Green Maiden decided to wait and see what Yue Qiu and the others would do.
• At the relay station in Western Prefecture, Yue Qiu proposed following the example of Han envoys, and Wei Qingping agreed to pursue their plan.
• Yue Qiu confronted the men following him and accused the King of Gaochang of restricting the delegation’s movements.
• The Gaochang Prime Minister arrived to calm Yue Qiu, who challenged him by pointing out that the delegation was too small to resist Gaochang’s army.

Yue Qiu confronted Gaochang’s Prime Minister over the men secretly monitoring the Song envoy group, then lured them into the inn under the pretense of sharing tea. Wei Qingping and the envoys killed the hidden guards, leaving the Prime Minister restrained at swordpoint.

• Yue Qiu accused the Prime Minister of using guards to monitor and possibly hold the envoy group hostage, but the Prime Minister claimed he had sent them only for protection.
• Yue Qiu counted the guards as they emerged from hiding and pressured the Prime Minister to reveal that there were eighty-four in total.
• Yue Qiu led the Prime Minister and the guards into the inn and had tea served to them.
• After Yue Qiu drank first, the envoy group attacked as the guards drank, and Wei Qingping led the slaughter.
• Yue Qiu held the Prime Minister at swordpoint while Wei Qingping praised their cooperation.

Wei Qingping and Yue Qiu forced the Gaochang Prime Minister to lead their disguised delegation to Ashilan Han and demand military support. Yue Qiu seized the king at knifepoint, warning the guards that Han troops were coming and Gaochang would fall if they resisted.

• Yue Qiu told the Prime Minister that the Great Song Imperial Guard would compensate the families of the Gaochang men killed at the relay station.
• Wei Qingping ordered the delegation to change into the Gaochang Guards' clothes, and the Prime Minister agreed to take them to Ashilan Han on the condition that they not harm the king.
• Wei Qingping asked Ashilan Han to send troops to assist Great Song in conquering the Western Regions, but Ashilan Han tried to postpone the decision.
• Yue Qiu drew a concealed knife and held it to Ashilan Han's neck while Wei Qingping acknowledged that he had promised not to harm the king.
• Yue Qiu warned the guards not to move, declaring that Han troops were coming and that Gaochang would fall if they acted.

Yue Qiu forced Ashilan Han to agree in writing that Gaochang would cooperate with Great Song, then brought the news to Cao Bin in Ting Prefecture. Cao Bin ordered most of the Great Song Imperial Guard to march to Western Prefecture, while the Verdant Green Maiden praised Yue Qiu’s success.

• Yue Qiu threatened Ashilan Han until the King of Gaochang agreed to cooperate with Great Song and wrote an official letter confirming it.
• Ashilan Han agreed that Gaochang would provide auxiliary troops, guides, provisions, and supplies, while the Great Song Imperial Guard supplied the main force.
• Yue Qiu traveled to Ting Prefecture and told Cao Bin that Gaochang had agreed to cooperate.
• Cao Bin ordered fifteen hundred soldiers to remain in Ting Prefecture and marched the rest of the Great Song Imperial Guard toward Western Prefecture with Yue Qiu.
• The Verdant Green Maiden learned of the agreement and praised Yue Qiu as Zhao Qingyu asked what she had said.

Verdant Green Maiden left Zhao Qingyu in charge of Saintess City and traveled to Western Prefecture, where Great Song and Gaochang advanced their cooperation. After Verdant Green Maiden arrived at the royal palace, Ashilan Han questioned her about her identity and purpose.

• Verdant Green Maiden told Zhao Qingyu that she needed to go to Western Prefecture and entrusted Saintess City to her.
• Zhao Qingyu promised to do her best to govern Saintess City while Verdant Green Maiden was away.
• Cao Bin and Yue Qiu met Ashilan Han outside Western Prefecture, and Ashilan Han welcomed them into the city.
• Great Song and Gaochang reached agreement on most areas of cooperation, though Great Song reserved its opinion about Gaochang's reluctance to contribute more.
• Old Yellow Ox rushed out when he heard that Shao Dian Qing Nü had arrived, and Yue Qiu explained that the ox belonged to Verdant Green Maiden.
• Ashilan Han questioned Verdant Green Maiden about her life on Heavenly Mountain and whether she had come to help the Han People, and she answered yes.

Verdant Green Maiden secured Gaochang’s support for Great Song’s campaign in the Western Regions, and the allies reclaimed much of the region before Zhao Guangyi’s death halted their advance. The commanders and Gaochang’s leaders feared the new emperor might withdraw Great Song’s forces, and they turned to Binghong for answers.

• Verdant Green Maiden told Ashilan Han that she helped the Han people first, and he promised Gaochang would aid Great Song while protecting his kingdom’s interests.
• Old Yellow Ox rushed into the Grand Hall to greet Verdant Green Maiden, and Cao Bin, Yue Qiu, and their companion arrived as Ashilan Han explained the agreed terms.
• Gaochang committed thirty thousand troops, and Great Song’s forces reestablished the Pacified West Grand Protectorate and reclaimed the northern, central, and eastern Western Regions within five years.
• The westward campaign stopped after Zhao Guangyi died, leaving Cao Bin, Yue Qiu, Wei Qingping, and Gaochang’s Prime Minister anxious about the new emperor’s intentions.
• Binghong emerged from her room, and the gathered leaders crowded around her to ask what Verdant Green Maiden had said and what they should do.

Zhao Qingyu ordered the Western Regions commanders not to obey any immediate order to withdraw, and she and Verdant Green Maiden set out for Bianjing. On the road, Verdant Green Maiden intercepted Lü Mengzheng’s envoy mission, seized and tore up the imperial decree ordering Cao Bin to withdraw, and Zhao Qingyu condemned the court’s decision.

• Zhao Qingyu told the commanders to keep their forces in place and said she and Verdant Green Maiden would take responsibility for defying a withdrawal order.
• Verdant Green Maiden and Zhao Qingyu left for Bianjing the next day and encountered Lü Mengzheng’s envoy mission on the Hexi official road.
• Verdant Green Maiden demanded to see the imperial decree, and Lü Mengzheng refused because she was not among its intended recipients.
• Verdant Green Maiden defeated the guards, took the decree, and tore it up after finding it ordered Cao Bin to withdraw his troops.
• Zhao Qingyu emerged from hiding and criticized the court for putting its own interests ahead of opening the Silk Road and establishing trade relations.

Zhao Qingyu and Verdant Green Maiden refused to support Lü Mengzheng’s demand that the Western Regions withdraw its troops, and Cao Bin likewise rejected his orders without an Imperial Edict. Lü remained under watch in Saintess City as Wei Qingping proposed killing or distracting the delegation, but Cao Bin and Yue Qiu stopped him and urged him to trust the Imperial Tutor.

• Lü Mengzheng asked Zhao Qingyu to persuade Verdant Green Maiden to end the wars, but Zhao refused, and Verdant Green Maiden warned him not to heed any Imperial Edict before leaving with her disciple.
• Lü led his delegation from Yang Pass to Saintess City despite the warning and demanded that Cao Bin withdraw the Western Regions Imperial Guard.
• Cao Bin refused to obey without an Imperial Edict and placed Lü and the delegation under watch in Saintess City.
• Wei Qingping proposed killing Lü and the delegation and blaming the Tibetan People, but Cao Bin and Yue Qiu rejected the plan as rebellion.
• Wei Qingping suggested taking the delegation sightseeing, and Yue Qiu pulled him away and told him to trust the Imperial Tutor.