Chapter 81: Bribery In the king's tent, there was a smell of medicine and...
The king's tent was filled with the smell of medicine and the unique scent of an elderly person.
Tushetu Khan was still in good spirits, but his face was still a little haggard, and he had more gray hair.
After paying his respects, Tushetu Khan offered him a seat.
"Is it possible that you still miss me?" He half closed his eyes and said, "Have you decided on the date for departure?"
"About February. The specific date requires the help of the great lama to calculate the Mongolian calendar to see which day is suitable for travel." Mu Xue said respectfully.
"That's how it should be."
The maid brought the milk tea, Muxue took it, and Tushetu Khan closed his eyes again, as if he was resting. In short, he didn't want to talk to her any more, so the royal tent suddenly became quiet and there was no conversation for a while.
In such an atmosphere, the maids serving tea were a little nervous. They were sweating and felt uncomfortable. If the servants did something wrong or made the master unhappy, they would be whipped. She had seen the red and purple whip marks and tears on the other maids, so she was particularly afraid. After serving tea, she immediately hid in the dark and dared not make a sound.
But the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. The Khan took a sip of tea and suddenly overturned the tea bowl with a wave of his hand, splashing the tea soup far away - "Where did you get this from? Broken tea, brewed? It's so hot!"
The maid's knees weakened, and she immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Great Khan, please forgive me, Great Khan, please forgive me, I will cook it again right away."
The sudden anger made even Mu Xue's eyes twitch. In fact, she had just tasted the milk tea and didn't think there was anything wrong with its taste.
Mostly it's done for her to see.
The maid's forehead was red from knocking her head, and she immediately left, and silence returned to the king's tent.
Tushetu Khan glanced at the princess from the Qing court, but saw that the little girl was still sitting steadily, without showing any sign of being frightened.
Humph, you are really brave.
His annoyance towards the princess was not just directed at her. Getting angry over such a little girl was cheap! In fact, he was more annoyed with the power behind the princess. How could a little girl who married into his tribe be so presumptuous, leave whenever she wanted, and even get an imperial decree to pressure him? If it were when he was young and strong, no woman who married into any tribe would dare to be so presumptuous.
Even with the pressure from the Qing court, Tushetu Khan could scare Dorji, but he could never easily change his successor.
After all, they are now the vassal party.
However, Tushetu Khan had been arrogant as the lord of the northern desert for most of his life, and it was only in recent years that he was forced to surrender. Although he knew that he would have to kneel for a long time, he still felt reluctant sometimes. Emperor Kangxi was fine, after all, he had already recognized the lord and had always treated them well. Besides, he could even deal with the Dzungars, let alone others.
The most hateful thing is that they lost a lot of strength due to the Junggar Rebellion, and now even the other two tribes in Mobei are not so obedient. He even heard that Zasaktu Khan laughed at him for getting old with the tribe! Damn it! Why didn't he kill this kid at the beginning!
Whenever he thought of this, he was worried. Would the Tushetu Khanate lose its status as the leader of the northern desert? In addition, his physical pain reminded him that he was old and he couldn't refuse to admit it! With all these factors combined, he was always in a bad mood.
Tushetu Khan snorted coldly: "This tea from the south doesn't taste very good."
Mu Xue put her hands on her knees and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Yes, it's a pity that tea is not produced in Mobei, so it can only be transported from the south. If the Khan dislikes the taste of this kind of tea brick, why don't I go to Guihua and select other high-quality teas, such as Longjing from West Lake, Pu'er from Yunnan, Dahongpao from Wuyi Mountain, Guapian from Qitou Mountain and Lu'an... All kinds of tea can be transferred from Guihua to Kulun."
She smiled softly: "Whatever Guihua can find, I can guarantee that Kulun will have it. You are the prince of the Qing Dynasty, and the elder of Dorji and me. I will choose the best one for you."
Tushetu Khan said: "According to what you said, it's a good thing?"
"Whether it's good or bad, it's already a foregone conclusion, so we should naturally look for the good side." Mu Xue said, "In my aunt's generation, princesses didn't remarry. According to the Han Confucianists' philosophy, it's called being faithful to one man. Whether I'm in Kulun, naturalized, or in the capital, since I've already married Dunduobudorji, I'm his wife, the daughter-in-law of the Tushetu Khanate. This is something that cannot be changed."
She said frankly: "Please understand, Great Khan, I hope that Dunduobuduoerji will get better and better, and I hope that the Tushetu Khanate will get better and better. Perhaps you have heard before that when I was in the palace, I was just an unknown princess. My mother died early, and I have no brothers from the same mother to help me. Besides, I am already married. The better my husband's family is, the more face I will have, and the Khan Ama will pay more attention to me. Don't you think this is true?"
This does make some sense. There is no way this little girl will marry someone else! And she has always had a good relationship with her grandson.
Tushetu Khan lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then relaxed his grip on the armrest of the throne a little, but still held it.
"Then your relocation and naturalization will cause the two tribes in Mobei to laugh at my Tushetu Khanate and make us unable to keep people. Don't you know that?"
Mu Xue did not answer directly after hearing this. Instead, she said, "I thought the Khan was wise and brave, and he understood that interests are more important than the pleasure of the tongue. The tongue is on the body, and they can say whatever they want. Only interests are real."
"What do you mean by that?"
"When Galdan was wreaking havoc in the northern desert, the Khan led his people south and stayed in Guihua for a long time." Mu Xue raised her eyes and looked at Tushetu Khan. "The beautiful land and water there, the vast grassland, couldn't the Khan... not be attracted at all?"
These words calmed Tushetu Khan down.
The area was rich in water and grass, and Tushetu Khan still remembers it vividly. The vast grassland was like a spread of green silk, and cattle and sheep could grow fatter by eating the grass. It was a pity that it was not their territory. Mobei had been pacified, and everyone had to return. Many taijis were reluctant to leave, saying, "Such a good pasture, we can no longer graze in the future."
It is not enough to just not return. The enemy has been driven away. Why are you staying in someone else's territory? It makes no sense.
Tushetu Khan said: "It's a pity that it is the territory of the Tumed tribe."
"Maybe, but Khan Ama allowed me to open a government there." Mu Xue said, "The Tumed governor of Guihua City was also sent by the imperial court. There is no hereditary jasak, and the title and salary remain the same, but the land strictly belongs to the imperial court."
The maid trembled as she brought the new milk tea. Mu Xue saw this, stood up, held the bowl of milk tea herself, raised it slightly, and offered it to Tushetu Khan: "The daughter-in-law of Tushetu Khan lives in Guihua, so isn't it natural for the people of Tushetu Khan to visit Guihua?"
This is a really good reason.
Tushetu Khan looked her up and down, let go of the armrests of the throne, and took the milk tea with both hands.
He took a sip and nodded, "This tastes pretty good."
"Please make do with what you have for now. I will find better tea for the Khan."
After a moment of silence, Tushetu Khan sighed and shook his head: "I am already this old, how long can I enjoy good tea? I just hope that the Tushetu Khanate will have a better future."
He glanced at Mu Xue and said, "I can see that you are a cruel person, even crueler than Dunduobudorji. I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. But, considering that my grandson is sincere to you, be nice to him."
"There is a Chinese poem: 'Give me a wooden peach, and I will repay you with a jade. It's not a reward, but a token of our everlasting friendship!" Mu Xue said, "Treat me with your true heart, and I will definitely repay you."
After saying almost everything that needed to be said, the maid next to him came over and reported tremblingly: "Great Khan, it's time to take the medicine."
"knew."
Seeing this, Mu Xue stood up and left, and said in a softer tone, "I hope the Khan will take care of himself. You are Dunduobudorji's most respected elder. He has lost a lot of weight during these days of your illness."
After the princess left, the doctor and maids came in from outside the tent, and Tushetu Khan's concubine also came in to serve him medicine.
"The Khan seems to be in a good mood." The concubine wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said softly.
"It's okay. This princess is sensible. She remembers that she is the daughter-in-law of our tribe." Tushetu Khan was served by his concubine and lay down on the couch covered with a wolfskin mattress to rest.
He suddenly thought of something and said to the concubine, "By the way, that niece you mentioned, don't talk about it with Dorji for now."
A while ago, when she learned that the princess was leaving Kulun, the concubine shed tears for Dorji, but mentioned that she had a niece, a pure Khalkha woman, young and beautiful, who might be able to accompany the young prince as a concubine. At that time, Tushetu Khan did not say yes or no, but after meeting the princess, he remembered this matter.
"Of course I won't tell you now. We have to wait a year or two." The concubine said, "The princess chose it herself. She wants to live apart from the young prince. Does that mean the young prince will always be alone? Even if we go to Bogda Khan in the capital, he still won't let the young prince stay as a virgin? That makes sense."
"Wait two years and we'll talk about it," Tushetu Khan closed his eyes. "The princess... is a very smart and opinionated woman. Don't look down on her because she's young. In short, don't mess with her if there's nothing to do."
When he was angry, he had beaten and scolded Dorji, asking, "What kind of magic potion did that princess from the Qing court give you? Why are you so devoted to her?"
Dorji just endured the beatings and scoldings. When he calmed down, he slowly said, "First, I love her. Second, I think her wisdom and kindness can make our tribe and people better and better."
Now, Tushetu Khan had a better understanding of the meaning of the latter sentence.
The busy day finally came to an end. The tea-serving maid lowered her head and moved dejectedly back to the maids' tent step by step.
After serving tea again, she was whipped again. Her arms and forehead were burning with pain.
When she entered the tent, she suddenly heard someone calling her. It was Jiaya, who was assigned to serve in the princess's tent.
"Jia, why are you here?"
"I'm here to bring you the ointment." Jia Ya raised the paper bag in her hand.
The two maids sat on a stone outside the tent. With the help of a weak lantern, Jiaya applied ointment to the tea-serving maid. It was a strange ointment. It looked ugly, but it relieved the pain when applied. It was refreshing and cool.
"How do you know I was punished?"
"The princess specifically asked me to bring this ointment from the palace. It's very precious." Jia Ya said as she applied the ointment, "The princess said that maybe you were troubled by her presence, so she asked me to comfort you. Don't worry, unhappy things will eventually pass."
The tea-serving maid's nose was sore, "Jia, can you go with the princess?"
"Yes, it is said that the Khan will also select a few people to accompany the princess. In the future, we will have closer exchanges with Mo Nan. Maybe you can go and have a look." Jia Ya put away the ointment and gave it to her. "Keep it well. Apply it twice a day and it will get better."
The tea-serving maid nodded and said, "Thank you, and thank the princess for me. Should I go to her tent and kowtow to her?"
"You'd better not do that. Your forehead is like this already. Based on my understanding of the princess, if you go and kowtow again now, she will be angry!" Jia Ya reminded solemnly.
"Angry? What's there to be angry about?"
"I'm angry that you don't take care of your body." Jia Ya smiled and stood up. "If you really want to thank her, you can recite some sutras when you have time to pray to Changshengtian to bless the princess. Or...if there is anything bad that happens to the princess, maybe you can remind her when it's convenient."
The tea maid hesitated for a moment and agreed.
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