Han Khan

Chapter 161, Dowry

Now such a man actually sent such a noble person to propose to me.

Sarah's heartbeat suddenly became rapid, but after she calmed down a little, she bravely raised her head and said to Zhang Zhongxian:
“Your Excellency the High Priest, Your Highness defeated the Ubili pursuers for my sister and me, and took us in when we were in trouble. You are my and my brother’s savior.

He is the Supreme Lord Haotian, his messenger and shadow in the world. Now that we are Jinhan people, we must swear to be loyal to him and obey his orders until death!"

Zhang Zhongxian looked at the brave girl with admiration, shook his head and said:
"My lord, the leader of Jin Han, His Highness Zhang Sheng is sixteen years old this year. In fact, he and the princess share the same suffering!

Your Highness lost his mother at a young age. Three years ago, our Jinshan Kingdom went to war with the Uighurs far away in Ganzhou in order to regain our land. Your Highness has been practicing martial arts and literature since he was a child, and fought with the late emperor. After the defeat in the war, the emperor died of depression a few months ago.

Later, the traitor Cao Yijin, with the support of the aristocratic families in Dunhuang, usurped the Guiyi Army and Jinshan Kingdom which had been inherited by the Zhang family for generations.

Your Highness led us, the remnants of the Jinshan Kingdom, to rise up in resistance, but was brutally killed, and then resurrected in the light.

Under his wise and brave leadership and with the inspiration of Lord Haotian, we broke away from Dunhuang and established the Jinhan tribe. Later, His Highness founded the holy religion to worship Lord Haotian and conquered all the way from Qilian Mountain to Jinshan in the north.

Now they have even controlled the north and south of Jinshan, and have united all the tribes in the grasslands into Jinhan. I wonder if the princess has ever heard the people of the tribe say these words?"

Sarah Worship says:
"I have heard about your Highness' deeds, and I feel the same way and admire you very much!"

Outside Sarah's tent, feather-like snowflakes kept falling from the sky and then dissipated on the dry grass without a trace.

It was just the wet ground that told the people of Jinhan that the winter snow had come.

Zhang Zhongxian put his hands behind his back, confident in his thinking, and spoke to Sarah:

“Princess, my lord of Jinhan, His Highness Zhang Sheng, is a young man, but he is already the head of a tribe. He has more than 3,000 elite armored warriors and cavalry, and hundreds of thousands of slaves. In wartime, he can quickly summon an army of nearly 10,000 people. He has countless cattle, sheep, horses and camels. Now he controls the vast pastures and lands between the eastern Jinshan Mountain and the western Yanran Mountain.

There are more than dozens of brave generals under my command. The princess is smart and prudent, and she is a wise person. She must know that countless girls want to marry my prince and become the mistress of Jinhan. "

Zhang Zhongxian saw Sarah nodded, and then continued:

"Your Highness saw that the princess was as beautiful as the flowers on the grassland and as brave as a warrior, and he felt sympathy for the princess's experience.

Therefore, His Highness, being greatly impressed by the princess's strength, courage and self-possession, sent me here to propose marriage to her.

May I ask if the princess is willing to marry His Highness, become his wife, and support each other?"

Zhang Zhongxian spoke very sincerely and bowed to Sarah.

Hearing Zhang Zhongxian finally state the purpose of this trip, Sarah suddenly raised her head and looked at the high priest in front of her with surprise, who was respected by many Jinhan people.

Her eyes were full of confusion, but more of anticipation.

She asked in a trembling voice:
"Your Excellency the High Priest, I am willing to marry the honorable His Highness the Special Agent. But I don't understand. My parents and my brothers have passed away. Now we are like dogs that have lost their homes. We are no longer nobles of the Karakhanid Khanate.

And there is always the risk of being killed by assassins sent by the evil Satuk. Why do you and Your Highness take such a fancy to me?"

Zhang Zhongxian smiled slightly, with a glimmer of wisdom and admiration for Sarah in his eyes. He was a man who would not be carried away by joy. He said slowly:

“Princess, your grandfather was once the Huaijian Khan who was canonized by the Tang Dynasty. Although he did not receive the canonization edict from the Tang Emperor due to other changes, this is a certainty.

You and His Highness Ilhan are direct descendants of Pang Teqin. Although you have experienced changes now, your noble bloodline still exists.

His Highness once said that whether it was the Arabs themselves or the Persians and Arabs in the west who believed in the Arabs.

And Satuk, who did unjust things, betrayed your father Khan, usurped the power of the Karakhanid Khanate, betrayed Tengri, and submitted to the Arabs.

They are all the common enemies of the Holy Religion and Jin Han, as well as all the Tang people, Buddhists, Nestorians and Manichaeans in Transoxiana and the Seven Rivers Grassland!

Next year, His Highness will definitely lead the followers of Lord Haotian and Tengri, the armies of Jinhan and the Holy Religion to avenge the princess.

And eradicate the evildoers and evil gods to save the Seven Rivers Grassland and the Tang people in the river and many Buddhists, Nestorians, Manichaeans and Tengri believers. Moreover, your beauty, tenacity and wisdom are all admired by His Highness the Special Forces.

In addition, there is a special bond between you and His Highness the Special Agent, a bond that cannot be explained in words. Perhaps it is the will of the Supreme God Haotian that allows you to meet and marry.

So, please believe that His Highness the Special Agent chose you as his wife not for any other reason, but because he truly loves you."

After hearing this, Sarah was moved.

She knew that her fate had changed from then on. She would become the wife of His Highness the Special Agent and a member of the Zhang family.

She took a deep breath, then nodded solemnly and said:
"I am willing to marry His Highness Teqin." Sarah said firmly, "and I will do my best to help him, fight against the enemy with him, avenge my father, and save the people who are oppressed and humiliated by the Great Tang Religion."

Zhang Zhongxian showed a satisfied smile, and after Sarah nodded, he said:
"Very good, Princess. Your Highness will be very pleased to hear this news.

Now the princess and your highness's parents have both passed away, so your highness sent me to propose marriage for him.

I will personally hand over the wild goose and lamb to the princess. This is the custom of proposing marriage in the Han people. Please accept them.

Today, after I return, I will immediately prepare the betrothal gift for the princess and deliver it to her tomorrow.

How about the princess marrying His Highness on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month next month?

I will arrange the wedding and make sure everything goes smoothly.”

At this time, Ilhan, who had just finished his morning lessons in the temple, had already run back. He saluted Zhang Zhongxian and said:
"Great is Haotian, may His Excellency the Chief Priest be well!"

"Well, may His Majesty the Heaven bless Teqin to be well. How are the studies and training hard?" Zhang Zhongxian asked gently to the little man in front of him.

"Reporting to Your Excellency the Chief Priest, the training is not hard, but the studies are a bit difficult!" Ilhan, who is only ten years old this year, replied to Zhang Zhongxian shyly.

Zhang Zhongxian smiled and said to Yilhan:
"Today, I am here on behalf of His Highness to propose to your sister. I wonder if the Special Forces agree that Princess Sarah will marry His Highness Zhang Sheng?"

Hearing this, Yilhan turned around and raised his head to look at his sister beside him. After seeing his sister's happy expression, he said to Zhang Zhongxian:
"Your Highness is wise and brave. It is an honor for my sister and me that he likes me. As long as my sister likes him, my opinion or not does not matter!" Yilhan said to Zhang Zhongxian in a serious tone.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhongxian looked at him with appreciation and nodded.

Sarah on the side was happy, but also said anxiously:
"Your Excellency the High Priest..."

Seeing Sarah's anxious look, Zhang Zhongxian hurriedly said:
"Does the princess have any concerns?"

"Now, my sister and I have no wealth since we fled from Karakhan. We can't afford a sufficient dowry..."

At this point, Sarah thought of her previous life of plenty and luxury, but now she has nothing, and she suddenly felt sad.

This was in ancient times! The dowry of a woman and the betrothal gift of a man were extremely important.

The girl's family must prepare a generous dowry for her daughter when she gets married. This is not only the girl's property after she marries into her husband's family, but also a guarantee that her husband's family will treat her well.

The amount of the dowry reflects the daughter's status in her parents' family, and also determines her status after she marries into her husband's family.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was even a saying that it was difficult for poor girls to get married. There were many girls from poor families who, although they were young, had to delay their marriage because they had no dowry.

This is even more so on this grassland, where many tribal leaders even fought each other over dowries and betrothal gifts.

Hearing this, Ilhan, who was standing by, tightly grasped his collar with one hand and clenched his other fist so tightly that it made a crackling sound.

He is the only male in the family now, but he has no way to help his sister.

(End of this chapter)