Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 156 Family and Outsiders
Zhu Shenzhui and Tana's yurt was not far from Ashe Temur. They had a drink with their father-in-law, which lasted from noon to dusk. When they returned to their yurt, it was dark.

Seeing Zhu Shenzhui coming back drunk, Tana hurried forward to help him sit down, and after a while she went out and came back with a bowl of yogurt.

"Why did you and Abu drink so much? Drink this first, otherwise you won't be able to handle the alcohol." Tana complained, helping Zhu Shenzhui sit up and feeding him yogurt.

Mongolian yogurt is not the kind sold in supermarkets in later generations. It is real yogurt that is pure and natural without any additives. It does not taste sweet in the mouth, but sour and fishy. However, it is undoubtedly a good thing.

After eating a bowl of yogurt, my churning stomach suddenly felt much better.

"Abu wants me to drink with him, I can't just hide, right?" Seeing Tana looking somewhat dissatisfied, Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile.

"Even if you're drinking, you shouldn't drink like this. How long have you been drinking? Besides, doesn't he know that you just came back?" Tana couldn't help but complain. Originally, Tana was very happy that Zhu Shenzhui came back, but she had just seen him for less than an hour when her man was called away by Ashil Timur. He was gone for most of the day, and when he came back he was still drunk like this.

"Haha, haven't I come back? Okay, don't blame Abu. He is the Taiji of the tribe, and he has to make decisions on all aspects of the tribe. It's normal for you to come to me to discuss things when I come back this time." Putting his arm around Tana's shoulders, Zhu Shenzhui explained softly.

"What good can he do to you? Isn't he just jealous of the things we have?" Tana rolled her eyes at Zhu Shenzhui and said unhappily.

"Why? You know?"

"How could I not know this?" Tana said angrily, "Abu came to me before you came back, and he kept nagging me about a lot of things. He was targeting your guys from head to toe."

"Is there such a thing?" Zhu Shenzhui asked in surprise.

Tana nodded: "Of course, I wanted to tell you this, but before I could say anything, you were called away by Abu. By the way, you won't agree to Abu, will you? Don't tell me that you gave the things to Abu for free after he got you drunk with a few glasses of wine. My Abu is as cunning as a fox, don't let him fool you!"

"Hahaha, how can you say that about your own Abu?" Seeing Tana's serious look, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It would have been fine if he didn't smile, but when he smiled, Tana became even more worried. She grabbed Zhu Shenzhui's hand and asked him hurriedly what Ashi Temur had said to him and whether he had really promised her Abu something.

"I say Tana, he's your Abu!"

"So what if he's my Abu? You're still my man!" Tana said naturally, "We Mongolians are like this. We obey our fathers at home, our husbands after marriage, and our sons after our husbands die. Since we're married, you're my man. Isn't it natural for me to think about my man? Even if he's my Abu, he's still an outsider. Don't even think about taking advantage of my man!"

"By the way, I remember that you Ming people were the same. Could it be that what I knew before was wrong?" As she said this, Tana showed a puzzled expression again, and her big eyes blinked as she looked at Zhu Shenzhui.

"You're right!" Zhu Shenzhui pulled Tana into his arms and laughed, "I'm lucky to have a wife like you. Don't worry, you Abu may be an old fox, but you're not stupid. How can you give away your things for nothing?"

"Hehe, I knew that my man is smart." Upon hearing this, Tana smiled instantly, and the stone in her heart fell to the ground. She happily hugged Zhu Shenzhui's neck and kissed him. For a while, heavy breathing was heard in the yurt, and two figures entangled with each other in the dim candlelight. After an unknown amount of time, the candlelight went out, and everything fell into darkness...

I had a good sleep and when I woke up the next day it was already bright outside.

Tana got up earlier than Zhu Shenzhui. When he woke up, Tana had already finished some things and was recording the goods that were delivered this time.

Although Tana couldn't even speak Chinese fluently when I first met her, within just a few months, Tana could not only speak Chinese quite well, but she had also learned how to keep accounts. The account books she kept looked quite good, although far inferior to those of the accountant, but with her current abilities, it was very good to be able to record to this level.

Seeing Zhu Shenzhui wake up, Tana quickly put down the account book in her hand and helped Zhu Shenzhui to dress and wash. After finishing, they ate something casually. Zhu Shenzhui accompanied Tana to finish the account book, and then the two chatted for a while and went to see the arranged goods together.

After two transactions, with Tana around, business became much easier. After all, Tana was now in charge of all the transactions with the tribe, and as Tana said, since she was married to Zhu Shencui, she and Zhu Shencui were a real family, and the tribe was just her mother's home.

Compared to her own family, her mother's family is an outsider. Tana is very clear about this matter. Not to mention other people in the tribe, even her Abu can't take advantage of her. What's more, it is the things that the tribe needs her man to transport from Ming Dynasty, not her man begging the tribe. Tana is very clear about this.

In order to train Tana, Zhu Shenzhui did not intervene directly and let Tana handle these things. In his opinion, Tana handled this matter very well, even exceeding his expectations, which made Zhu Shenzhui feel more at ease. Zhu Shenzhui took time out to come to the grassland this time, because he might have to wait for a long time before coming in the next few days.

It’s not that the journey is tiring, nor is it that he doesn’t miss Tana, but that after completing this trip and returning to Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shenzhui’s wedding date is almost approaching.

He and Xu Jingqiu's wedding date was the tenth day of July, and there were less than two months left. It would take at least half a month to get back to Daming from the grassland, and he had to reserve some preparation time. Zhu Shenzhui could not stay on the grassland for too long. Once this batch of goods was processed, Zhu Shenzhui had to rush back immediately, otherwise the wedding would be delayed.

Zhu Shencui did not hide this from Tana, and told her privately. Originally, I thought Tana would be unhappy, but unexpectedly, Tana said generously that she knew, and asked Zhu Shencui to go back early, and after the wedding in Daming was done, she would wait for Zhu Shencui to come back in the autumn on the grassland.

Zhu Shenzhu was puzzled by Tana's attitude. He asked her indirectly why she was not angry. But Tana curiously asked him why she was angry.

It was very common for Mongolian nobles to marry several wives. Not to mention Ligdan Khan who married eight wives, even her Abu had four wives. Tana's biological mother was only the third wife of Astemur, not the first wife.

Zhu Shencui was a member of the Ming Dynasty royal family, and his status was the same as that of the Golden Family in Mongolia. Tana knew all this when she married Zhu Shencui. Zhu Shencui did not lie to her at that time, and Tana had already accepted it calmly.

What's more, Tana was Zhu Shenzhu's first woman, which was enough for her. She was also Zhu Shenzhu's legally married Mongolian wife, and her status was equal to the wife his husband married in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, she had her own man half a year earlier than the one in the Ming Dynasty. What was there to be angry about?

If we talk about anger and jealousy, then only the Ming Dynasty would be jealous of me. Isn't this a simple truth? After hearing what Tana said, Zhu Shenzhui laughed and nodded repeatedly to praise her for being right. He loved Tana even more in his heart.

A few days after returning to the grassland, the tribal warriors who had returned from the battle in the east began to return to the tribe one after another.

In two consecutive wars, the tribe followed Ligdan Khan but did not gain any benefit. Instead, it lost hundreds of warriors on the battlefield and suffered considerable losses in supplies.

This time the campaign against Khorchin was unsuccessful again. Although those who had returned from the expedition were very happy to be able to return to their tribe, they were inevitably frustrated that they came back empty-handed.

Not to mention ordinary Mongolians, even the two brothers-in-law who led the troops to the war were quite dissatisfied. One of these two brothers-in-law was naturally Tana’s eldest brother, Ashe Temur’s eldest son Hadan Bater, and the other was Tana’s cousin, Zhu Shenzhui’s old friend Burigude.

This time the tribe took more than 2,000 warriors with them, but in the end only nearly 100 fewer people returned. Those who did not return would naturally never come back. Their lives and flesh and blood were left on the Korqin grassland, and their deaths were worthless.

In addition, they brought fewer horses with them. Due to the war and the hasty withdrawal, some supplies that were inconvenient to carry were left on the Korqin grassland and became the enemy's spoils.

To describe these two wars in one sentence, it can be said that Ashil Timur's tribe "lost the rice while trying to steal the chicken". Not only did they not gain any benefit, but on the contrary they suffered considerable losses.

On the day when the expedition soldiers returned, Zhu Shencui and Tana followed Ashi Temur and the people of the tribe to welcome them back. When they met Hadan Bater and Burigude, although they had smiles on their faces, Zhu Shencui could see that their smiles were forced, and behind them were helplessness and bitterness. When he thought of what Ligdan Khan had done, Zhu Shencui couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

Seeing Zhu Shencui there, they were all very happy and went forward to hug him warmly. Zhu Shencui was no longer an ordinary Ming Dynasty businessman. Putting aside his status as a member of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, just by marrying Tana, Zhu Shencui was considered half of their own.

Moreover, the losses of this expedition were not small. The goods that Zhu Shenzhui would transport from Daming would be an important basis for the survival of the tribe in the future. Especially Hadan Bater, as the successor of Taiji, the future leader of the tribe understood this better. It was completely worthwhile to befriend his brother-in-law.

"When are you going back?" Hadanbaatar asked this question in Zhu Shenzui's ear after they hugged each other warmly.

"I was going to go back a long time ago. Wasn't I waiting for you to come back? I will be leaving in a few days."

"It's better to go back early. We don't know what the Khan will do next. Please help get more things when you go back. Whether it's food or equipment, the tribe needs them."

"Don't worry, Abu has already told me that I will arrange this matter." Zhu Shenzhui patted Hadanbaatar on the shoulder.

Hadanbaatar grinned, very satisfied with Zhu Shenzui's answer. Then he said something else that made Zhu Shenzui stunned.

(End of this chapter)