Chapter 39: A grand toast to welcome the guests, and a large group of people singing and dancing...
There was a grand welcome, and a large group of people sang and danced, singing auspicious folk songs.
Not only women were dancing, but also many broad-shouldered and strong-armed men, with their feet on the ground, showing a heroic temperament. Mu Xue was stunned by the sight.
She was still reserved, but Dorji beside her was already excited.
Finally home!
"Dundubudorji, you are finally back with your bride!" A bearded uncle came forward and laughed.
"Yes, I'm back!" Duoerji turned his head and introduced to Muxue, "This is my uncle Chaolu."
On the way, Dorji introduced her to her uncle Chaolu, who was Dorji's most familiar relative in the Tushetu Khanate. Chaolu was a brave warrior and a general under Tushetu Khanate. He also made a lot of efforts in the conquest of Dzungar.
Muxue smiled and called him the same way as Dorji, saying, "Hello, uncle."
"Okay, okay," Chao Lu smiled so hard that his beard trembled, "If my sister could see you, she would be very happy. Come, the Khan is in the royal tent, waiting for you to drink the horse wine."
The group moved and rode their horses straight to the king's tent.
Mu Xue rode on the horse, looking intently at everything around her.
Although unlike the Forbidden City, which was bounded by many palace walls, Tushetu Khan's royal tent also had its own strict guards. The outermost circle was a continuous circle of white tents of soldiers, connected by thick ropes, with occasional sentries with long spears, tightly encircling the territory within the royal tent.
When everyone walked to the rope, they could see many wooden barbed wire poles.
Chao Lu dismounted and clasped his fists towards the Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince and Fourth Princess: "My dear lords, according to the rules, you must dismount to enter Mancheng. But you are all distinguished guests who have come from afar from the Qing court. The Khan specifically instructed that the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince and Princess Heshuo can ride horses to the front of the king's tent, but the rest of you, please dismount and walk in."
Tushetu Khan is a prince conferred by His Majesty. No one here is higher than him in terms of title.
The Fourth Prince said calmly, "It is reasonable."
He gave the order, and the rest of his followers dismounted.
Beside Muxue, Duoerji also dismounted neatly and smiled at her: "We do follow this rule. It's just right. I can help you lead the horse."
He took the reins and slowly led Muxue into the Man City.
After walking for a while, they could see the king's tent in the distance. In front of the tent were six long spears, each with a brave sentry guarding it.
In front of the king's tent, there was a large felt carpet. On the carpet, there were several long tables, and I didn't know what they were used for. Mu Xue was thinking about it when she suddenly heard the sound of a horse-head fiddle, followed by the sound of a four-stringed fiddle, a huobusi and other instruments.
Amid the vigorous and majestic music, Tushetu Khan, then 64 years old, came out surrounded by his subordinates.
He looked quite wealthy, and with his hands behind his back he said with a smile, "A distinguished guest has arrived. Please drink some horse wine."
As soon as the voice fell, a maid came out and placed the carved silver wine cup and the jar of mare's milk on the long table.
Tushetu Khan poured wine to entertain the guests one by one.
When it was dusk, she imitated the actions of the Fourth and Fifth Princes. She first dipped the wine in tribute to the sky, the earth, and the ancestors, and finally drank the mare's milk.
She held the bottom of the silver wine cup to Tushetu Khan and showed it to him. Not a drop was left.
Tushetu Khan laughed and said, "My boy, you didn't offend the princess during the journey, did you? I told him many times to be respectful to the princess."
Dorji raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and said with a smile, "Of course, if the princess says east, I dare not go west."
"Who asked you to speak? I want to listen to the princess." Tushetu Khan raised his hand and patted his shoulder. "If he dares to bully you in the future, just tell me and I will beat him."
Mu Xue smiled and said, "No? No, my husband treats me very well."
Tushetu Khan nodded and said, "That's good. Come, let's talk in the tent."
Once you enter the king's tent, it's almost the same as entering a palace. The floor is covered with soft blankets. Because it's hot in summer, the windows that can be opened are open, and a gentle breeze blows on your face, so it's not stuffy at all.
In the middle of the meeting hall in front there is a large ox-horn chair with a tiger skin hanging on the side rack. It is estimated that it was covered on the chair in winter, but it is hung up now because of the hot summer weather.
Tushetu Khan sat down on the big chair and greeted the Fourth and Fifth Princes. He asked about the health of Emperor Kangxi, whether they had encountered any trouble on the way here, and thanked the Qing court for its attention to Tushetu Khan's tribe and its willingness to marry the princess.
They are all polite words.
In such a crowded place, Mu Xue usually doesn't talk much unless it's necessary. She just sits quietly and observes everything in the tent.
The seats in the big tent were arranged. The left seat was reserved for the distinguished guests from the Qing court who came from afar, and the right seat was for the nobles of the Tushetu Khanate. The first seat on the right was undoubtedly the future heir, Dunduobuduoerji, and the second table was occupied by a middle-aged man who looked a little gloomy because of his heavy eye bags.
Muxue thought about what Dorji had told her on the way. This person was probably Dorji's uncle, Tushetu Khan's second son Ahai.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Ah Hai looked up at her.
Ah, look, he was caught.
Mu Xue was a little embarrassed. She smiled awkwardly and lowered her head to pick up a cheese stick to eat.
The cheese served in the king's tent is naturally of the best quality in Mobei, with a strong milky flavor.
After eating two pieces, Tushetu Khan finished exchanging greetings with the Fourth Prince and others.
The fourth prince asked, "Where is the great lama?"
"He is in the temple. You can go and have a look." Tushetu Khan called to Dorji, "Take the distinguished guest there."
Dorji agreed, led a few people out of the king's tent, and rode towards the temple.
From afar, I saw a newly built temple surrounded by other Buddhist tents.
Originally, the temples here also existed in the form of tents. During the period of avoiding war, the great lama went to the capital and stayed there for several years. He discussed Buddhism with Emperor Kangxi and the Empress Dowager, and visited many temples in and outside the capital. He admired the temples there very much. After returning, he presided over the construction of the temple.
However, the place is far away and the stone materials are not enough, so only one big temple is almost completed. The row of white pagodas outside are particularly new and white as snow.
The Great Lama and Tushetu Khan are brothers. Now that they are older, they look more and more alike.
He smiled and presented Mu Xue with a Hada: "I wish the princess happiness and health here."
The two important people in power had greeted each other, the sky had darkened, and the grand welcoming banquet began at dusk.
It was a meat-based feast, with the aroma of roasted whole lamb and roasted whole beef filling the air.
Duoerji was worried that Muxue would not be able to get used to the food. She had been very particular about food in the capital before, and she did not seem to eat much of this kind of rough food. So he took a small silver knife and cut off the meat from the meat one by one and put it in the bowl.
Several Mongolian taijis looked at him and laughed, saying jokingly, "Oh my, Dunduobudorji is so particular now!"
Mu Xue felt a little embarrassed and whispered, "It's okay, I'll take it and eat the same."
"Well, I'll finish this one." Dorji didn't care at all, and just said to those people, "Who told me that I'm lucky enough to have a princess as my wife? You don't even think about it."
Muxue picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks and ate while laughing.
She was very touched by Dorji's frankness.
A local banquet would not be complete without wine. The most common wine is kumis, but there is also white wine, and there is also sweeter fruit wine specially prepared for female guests like Muxue.
Tushetu Khan's second son, Ahai, held up a full bowl of wine and toasted the fourth and fifth princes: "This bowl of wine is for three happy events. The first is that I, Khalkha, have met a wise ruler in the northern desert. The second is that our master, Master, has killed that son of a bitch Galdan from Junggar, so that we can return to the grassland to graze. The third is that Master, Master, has married his beautiful daughter to my nephew and sent two young heroes to escort her here. For this happy event, I'll do it!"
As Ah Hai said this, his eyes were fixed on Tushetu Khan. Seeing his father's satisfied smile, he also smiled, tilted his head back, and drank three bowls of wine in a row.
Chaolu was originally sitting next to Dorji. Seeing this, he frowned and whispered in Dorji's ear: "He knows how to show off."
It would be more appropriate for Dorji to say these words!
Mu Xue was also nearby and heard everything. She thought that the situation in the Tushetu Khanate had never calmed down.
Dorji did not comment, but just said: "Is this uncle's temper?"
With such a high-sounding reason for a toast, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince had no choice but to drink bowl after bowl of wine.
This was not enough. "I heard that you were newly conferred a title. This is a great joy. Come, come, have some wine."
The one on the right said, "I heard that your concubine has a child? This is also a happy event. Let's have another drink."
…
After all, they were both princes who lived a life of luxury in the capital. How were they going to compete in drinking? They made these people who drank wine like water drunk quickly look tipsy.
Mu Xue was watching from the side. She put down her chopsticks and became a little restless.
If the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince get drunk and make a fool of themselves, it would not only be their faces that would be embarrassed!
She wanted to find some excuse, such as packing bags, tired from the journey, etc., to let them stop here. Just as she was about to get up, her hand was held by Dorji.
He squeezed her hand and smiled: "I'll go."
After saying that, Dorji changed to a large bowl, filled it with wine, and stepped out: "Uncle, are you enjoying your drink? Come, have a drink with me, your nephew."
Ah Hai glanced at him and laughed, "Okay, I'm just afraid that my nephew has stayed in the capital for too long and has learned some of the nobles' habits, so he can't get used to our grassland wine."
"Just give it a try and you'll know." Dorji held out his wine bowl and clinked glasses with Ahai's. The wine bowls collided and a lot of wine spilled out.
Seeing Dorji and Ahai drinking together, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The atmosphere among the people around became lively. When they saw someone finish a bowl, they cheered and some even applauded.
Mu Xue looked at it and frowned.
These people are simply crazy. Just have a drink to relax you? That's fine, but they have to drink like a competition.
If she were the guest of honor at the banquet, she would have to replace all the wine with milk tea!
Still drinking.
Dorji was young, and unlike Ah Hai, he did not drink as much as before. After drinking several large bowls of wine, his expression remained calm.
Ah Hai is not doing well. He looks like he wants to vomit but is trying hard to hold on.
Seeing his appearance, Dorji rode his donkey down the hill, and finally held up a bowl of wine to toast Tushetu Khan.
"This cup of wine is for the wise Khan. Thank you for your hard work over the years. Now we can drink here in peace."
While he was going forward to toast, he whispered, "Grandfather, that's enough. If you get really drunk, you'll be angry later."
Tushetu Khan looked at his proud grandson, affectionately scolded him as "cunning little fellow", then raised his glass and stood up: "Come, let's drink one last glass. Cheers to the immortality of God!"
Everyone raised their glasses together: "To the immortal heaven."
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