My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Even after all this, I still think Zhu Cilang is trying to trick me! (Chapter 291)

After the two sides reached an agreement, Abunai immediately felt relieved.

But the next second, as if he had thought of something, he subconsciously looked behind Zhu Cilang, his eyes revealing a searching look, as if he was looking for someone.

Zhu Cilang was incredibly intelligent; upon seeing this scene, he instantly understood that Abunai was looking for Qiqige.

So the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, with a hint of teasing:
"Stop looking. Qiqige didn't come this time. Maybe she's angry with you? Who told you to say those things to her before?"

Upon hearing this, Abuna's face immediately showed a look of embarrassment and helplessness.

In his view, everything he had said and done before was for the future of Mongolia and for the benefit of the entire tribe.

He thought his sister would understand his good intentions, but to his surprise, Qiqige didn't seem to understand him and even got angry with him because of it.

After a moment of hesitation, Abunai mustered his courage and asked:
"Could I ask someone to bring my sister back to stay for a couple of days? After all, she's my sister, and I miss her a lot."

Zhu Cilang nodded and said calmly:
"Of course, Qiqige is a guest of the Ming Dynasty, not a prisoner of the Ming Dynasty. She can return to Mongolia anytime she wants."

Upon hearing this, Abunai breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

Afterwards, both sides returned to their respective armies.

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and led his army directly away from the grasslands, returning to Xuanfu.

Accompanying Zhu Cilang back to Xuanfu was a troop of Mongol cavalry, who had been sent by Abunai to pick up Qiqige.

Meanwhile, inside the Xuanfu government office, Qiqige sat sullenly at her desk.

The plate in front of her was filled with exquisite pastries. These pastries were delicately shaped and smelled wonderful. Under normal circumstances, Qiqige would definitely have enjoyed them immensely.

But now, she had no appetite at all. She just stared blankly at the pastries, and unconsciously picked one up and squeezed it one by one.

The originally round and plump pastry gradually deformed in her hands, becoming unrecognizable.

Seeing this, Zheng Xiaomei said with a helpless expression:

"Qiqige, can you please go easy on me? You've ruined so many pastries, what a waste!"

"These pastries were all carefully made by the imperial chefs brought from the capital. You should try them; they're sure to taste great."

Upon hearing this, Qiqige seemed to wake up from a dream and then put down the pastries in her hand somewhat embarrassedly.

However, it was too late, because she had ruined all the pastries, some of them even crumbling into pieces.

Qiqige could only apologize and say:

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about other things and really didn't feel like eating."

Zheng Xiaomei wasn't angry when she heard this, because she actually knew what Qiqige was thinking.

These days, Qiqige has been absent-minded, sometimes staring blankly out the window, sometimes sighing.

She simply wanted to see Abuna, but was worried that Abuna wouldn't see her.

Zheng Xiaomei couldn't understand the relationship between Qiqige and Abunai, but she knew that their relationship was definitely not just a typical brother-sister bond.

After all, Mongolia was destroyed when they were very young, and their parents had long since passed away. They had always lived a life of wandering and relying on each other for survival.

How can such feelings be explained in just a few words?

So, Zheng Xiaomei could only offer the following words of comfort:
"Qiqige, if you really want to see him, then go ahead. After all, he is your brother, and he will definitely want to see you."

“What could possibly be so upsetting between you siblings? Just talk it out.”

Upon hearing this, Qiqige's expression immediately turned melancholy again.

She certainly wanted to go, but the thought of what Abunai had told her filled her with worry and fear.

She was afraid that Abuna would drive her away, afraid of facing that indifference and alienation again.

So immediately afterward, Qiqige shook her head, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes:
"Forget it, let's wait until later. Maybe it won't be too late for me to go find him after some time."

Suddenly, at that moment, footsteps could be heard from not far away.

The two looked up and saw Zhu Cilang striding in.

Seeing Zhu Cilang return, Qiqige quickly stood up, went to him first, and asked eagerly:
"How did it go? How did your talks go? Did you make things difficult for my brother?"

Her eyes were filled with worry and concern, and her hands unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, clearly indicating that she was extremely nervous.

Zhu Cilang found it amusing. What was Qiqige thinking? How could she ask such a question?
But then, still with a straight face, he deliberately teased her, saying:
"Why are you asking me about this? Why don't you ask Abunai yourself? I'm not your go-between."

Feeling wronged, Qiqige's face fell instantly, and her bright eyes were covered with a layer of mist, as if she were about to shed tears at any moment.

She thought to herself, if she could go, she would have gone with them already. Why would she be here anxiously waiting?

Seeing that Qiqige seemed a little sad again, Zheng Xiaomei quickly said:
"Your Highness, please stop teasing her. She was already very upset, and she even ruined the dessert."

“Look at the pastries on this table, look what she’s done to them.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang subconsciously looked at the table beside him and indeed found that a plate of pastries on the table had been squashed beyond recognition. Some were broken into several pieces, while others were flattened. It was clearly Qiqige's "masterpiece".

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang lost interest in teasing Qiqige and simply said:

"Don't worry, the talks went very smoothly this time. Also, your brother has sent people to pick you up. They are right outside the door, and you can go see him anytime."

"Stop crying here, go on your way."

When Qiqige heard this, her eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief.

She thought Zhu Cilang was lying to her. After all, Abunai had told her not to return to the grasslands for the time being, so why did he suddenly send someone to pick her up?
Her mind was in chaos, with all sorts of thoughts rushing in.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang added:
"Go ahead and don't worry. Everything has been taken care of so far, so you can go back now!"

"Don't keep your brother waiting too long; he must be eager to see you too."

Upon hearing this, Qiqige was overjoyed, and her previously dim eyes instantly lit up.

Without further hesitation, she turned and rushed out the door.

Her light and graceful figure resembled a joyful little bird, eager to return to the grassland.

As she approached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned to look at Zhu Cilang, her eyes filled with gratitude, and then smiled and said:

"Zhu Cilang, thank you."

Zhu Cilang didn't speak, but simply waved his hand with his back to Qiqige as a response.

Immediately afterward, Qiqige rushed out. Those who came to greet her bowed deeply upon seeing her and said in unison:
"your Highness."

Qiqige didn't bother with formalities and simply mounted her horse with clean and swift movements.

She then rushed out first, and the others quickly followed. The group headed straight for the gate of Xuanfu City and soon arrived on the grassland.

Before long, Abunai saw more than a dozen fast horses galloping toward him from afar on the grassland. Although they were far away, he recognized the leader at a glance as his sister, Qiqige.

In an instant, Abunai's expression also became somewhat tense, and a sense of unease arose in his heart.

Because he really didn't know if Qiqige was still angry about what happened before.

After all, there were indeed some unpleasant things that happened between the two siblings.

But now he had no other choice but to face it head-on.

As he was lost in thought, Qiqige's horse came to a steady stop in front of him.

However, Qiqige showed no intention of dismounting. She simply sat quietly on the horse, watching him without moving, her eyes filled with a peculiar emotion.

Seeing this, Abunai was even more anxious, but he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he stepped forward, gently took the reins, patted the horse's head, and whispered:

"sorry."

Although the words were ostensibly addressed to the horse, Kiki knew perfectly well that they were clearly spoken to her by Abunai.

The next second, Qiqige slowly dismounted from her horse, looked at Abunai, and softly called out:
"Brother."

Abner gave her a warm smile, then took Kiki's arm and said sincerely:
"Qiqige, don't be angry. It was indeed my fault before. I'll apologize to you, okay?"

Kikige was still a young girl and couldn't keep things to herself. In addition, she could understand to some extent the difficulties and pressures that Abunai faced as the tribal chief, so she immediately laughed.

That smile was like the spring sunshine, instantly dispelling the previous gloom.

Immediately afterwards, Abunai also started laughing.

In just like that, the estrangement between the brother and sister vanished without a trace, and they reconciled.

Upon arriving at Abuna's camp, Qiqige couldn't contain her curiosity and asked about the matters Abuna and Zhu Cilang had discussed earlier.

Abuna didn't hide anything and told Qiqige the whole story.

After hearing these words, Qiqige nodded in agreement. She felt that Abunai's actions were indeed correct and, in the long run, would only benefit their tribe.

But suddenly, Abunai changed the subject, his relaxed expression turning worried.

"On the surface, this matter does have many benefits for us, but I still have some concerns."

Upon hearing this, Qiqige quickly looked up and asked with concern:
"worry about what?"

Abuna looked at Qiqige with a worried expression, then slowly said:

“I’m worried that Xuanfu’s grain reserves won’t be enough for us. After all, we need at least 300,000 shi of grain this time. Do you think Xuanfu has that much grain to give us?”

Qiqige hesitated upon hearing this.

Because she didn't know much about the specific situation in Xuanfu, she really couldn't judge whether Xuanfu actually had that much grain.

She knew perfectly well that the grain reserves were a secret of Xuanfu, and it was not something she, as a hostage, could easily inquire about.

But then, Qiqige mustered up her courage and said:

“Brother, didn’t Zhu Cilang promise you? If that’s the case, he will definitely do it, so what do you have to worry about?”

In Qiqige's opinion, although Zhu Cilang was sometimes cunning, he probably wouldn't betray them in this matter.

However, Abunai shook his head upon hearing this, and then said in a heavy tone: "Judging from the surface, Zhu Cilang did not play any tricks this time, and he agreed to all the things that were discussed before."

"But don't forget, there are still risks involved until we get the food."

"What if we can't gather enough food and he says he'll make up for it with silver or something? We won't be able to say anything then."

Upon hearing this, Qiqige's face also filled with worry.

Although using silver to make up for the lack of food seems like a good idea on the surface, it's important to know that in many situations, silver can't buy food.

The situation became even more dire after the heavy snowfall.

Grain prices will rise everywhere, especially in Xuanfu.

This was because the roads were blocked and transportation was inconvenient after the snowfall, so no merchants were willing to continue transporting grain to Xuanfu.

As a result, the supply of grain in Xuanfu will definitely fall short of demand, and prices will naturally rise accordingly.

Grain that originally cost five taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure) might rise to eight or even ten taels of silver after a snowfall.

Wouldn't they be at a huge disadvantage in this way?
Thinking of this, Qiqige immediately frowned and said:
"Brother, what do you want me to do? How can I help you?"

Upon hearing this, Abunai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, his main purpose in finding Qiqige today was to ask her to help him find out how much grain Xuanfu had stored so that he could make preparations as soon as possible.

If Xuanfu's grain reserves are insufficient, he will take advantage of the fact that grain prices in Xuanfu have not yet risen and buy up all the grain in the entire Xuanfu to ensure the tribe's food supply.

That way, even if Zhu Cilang really intended to frame him, he wouldn't be afraid!
However, if Xuanfu has sufficient grain reserves and Zhu Cilang can provide him with that much grain, then he won't have to go through all that trouble, and it will save him a lot of trouble.

Without hesitation, Abunai directly expressed his thoughts.

After listening, Qiqige nodded in sudden understanding, and the way she looked at Abunai changed.

At this moment, she suddenly felt that her brother now really looked like a Mongol Khan!
They are becoming more and more thorough and farsighted in their thinking.

Thinking of this, Qiqige quickly said:

"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely find out the truth about this for you!"

However, upon hearing this, Abunai looked embarrassed and said:

"Qiqige, don't you think that the prince is using you again?"

Upon hearing this, Qiqige laughed and then said sincerely:

“Brother, everything you did was for our tribe, for the future of all Mongolians, so I don’t blame you.”

"Including what happened before, it was all because I acted impulsively, and I shouldn't blame you."

"If Father were still here, he would be proud of you."

Upon hearing this, Abuna was deeply moved, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Abunai originally wanted Qiqige to stay one more night before leaving, since it was a rare occasion for the two siblings to get together.

But after hearing what was said, Qiqige couldn't stay still any longer.

She was preoccupied with the issue of food supplies and felt she had to find out the state of Xuanfu's grain reserves as soon as possible so she could give Abunai an accurate answer.

Therefore, after exchanging a few more words, Qiqige rode her horse directly back to Xuanfu.

However, she knew that the matter of grain was a secret of Xuanfu, and she wouldn't be able to find out anything of value by asking around, so she decided to go directly to Zhu Cilang to ask him for clarification.

After all, Zhu Cilang was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty and the highest decision-maker in Xuanfu. He must have known exactly how much grain Xuanfu had.

Meanwhile, Zhu Cilang was chatting with Zheng Xiaomei in the room. The two were laughing and talking, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Both of them were surprised to hear that Qiqige had returned.

Because, all told, Qiqige had only been gone for less than two hours, and they thought she wouldn't be coming back tonight, but she's back now.

Despite his curiosity, Zhu Cilang immediately went to see Qiqige.

Upon meeting, Qiqige went straight to the point:

"I have something to ask you, and I hope you will answer me truthfully."

Zhu Cilang was somewhat puzzled, but he nodded nonetheless and said:

"Ask away. As long as it is within my power to answer, I will tell you the truth."

Zhu Cilang wasn't stupid; he wouldn't agree to everything. So he would only say things that he thought Qiqige could know.

Qiqige didn't seem to quite understand the meaning behind Zhu Cilang's words either, and asked seriously:

"I'm asking you, is there enough grain in Xuanfu for us? If not, are you planning to use silver instead?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang was slightly taken aback, and in an instant, he thought of Abunai.

He knew perfectly well that these were not questions that Kikige wanted to ask, but rather questions that Abunai wanted to ask.

Then he asked:
"Did Abuna send you to ask this question? Why didn't he ask it himself before?"

Qiqige said somewhat awkwardly:

“I asked him that question too. He said that even if he asked you, you would definitely say that Xuanfu has enough food and you wouldn’t tell him the truth.”

"But now I want to know the truth, can you tell me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang found it amusing.

However, he also understood that it was only natural for Abunai to have such concerns, since the food issue was related to the life and death of the Mongol tribes, and Abunai could not afford to be careless.

Without further hesitation, he said directly:

"Don't worry, Xuanfu has more grain than it can eat. Even if we give you 300,000 shi of grain, the remaining grain will be enough to feed all the people and soldiers of Xuanfu for half a year."

Qiqige was somewhat surprised to hear this, as she had not expected that Xuanfu would have so much grain.

In her mind, although Xuanfu was an important military town, it was impossible for it to have such a large grain reserve!
In fact, her idea was completely correct.

Although Xuanfu was an important military town, it never stored so much grain.

The imperial court had very strict control over grain in places like Xuanfu, and would only store grain for a maximum of three months.

The reason why Xuanfu has so much grain now is because Zhu Cilang exchanged it from the system space.

After all, having such a cheat code would be a waste not to use it, right?

However, Qiqige then said with some doubt:

"Really? You're not kidding me."

Zhu Cilang was speechless when he heard this, wondering if he was really that untrustworthy in Qiqige's heart.
Mongolia is no small country, why would he do this?
Besides, doing so wouldn't do him any good.

But in the end, he was too lazy to say anything more, so he simply summoned a member of the Imperial Guard and told him to take his badge and lead Qiqige to the granary to check.

Qiqige hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

After all, this matter involves the lives of hundreds of thousands of Mongolians, so she cannot afford to be careless.

If Zhu Cilang is indeed lying, then she must tell Abunai the truth as soon as possible so that Abunai can make plans accordingly.

And so, Qiqige soon followed the Imperial Guards to the granary in Xuanfu.

Because of Zhu Cilang's waist token, naturally no one dared to stop Qiqige.

Before long, when Qiqige saw the mountains of grain, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the vast granary, bags of grain were neatly stacked, resembling small mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Qiqige reached out and gently touched the grains, feeling their heavy weight. Only then could she finally confirm that Zhu Cilang had not lied to her.

There was so much grain in Xuanfu that "we couldn't eat it all."

Without hesitation, Qiqige immediately mounted her horse and galloped into the depths of the grassland.

She had only one thought in her mind: she had to tell Abuna the news as soon as possible.

Soon, after Abunai finished listening to Qiqige's story, his tense shoulders finally relaxed. He let out a long sigh, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"It seems that Zhu Cilang was not lying to me this time after all."

Abnai murmured softly, a hint of disbelief still lingering in his eyes.

It's no wonder he's so cautious. After all, Zhu Cilang's methods had caused him a lot of trouble before, so much so that now he has to think things through repeatedly whenever it involves this Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, for fear of being tricked again.

Qiqige had been traveling for most of the day, making two trips back and forth across the Xuanfu River grassland. By the time everything settled down, the sky was already tinged with deep twilight.

Seeing that she looked tired, Abunai said:

"It's getting late, so let's not go back. Let's stay here tonight."

After a slight hesitation, Qiqige finally nodded.

As night fell, a campfire was lit, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the night air.

The brother and sister sat on the ground, holding mare's milk wine in their hands, gazing up at the sky.

The bright moon hung high like a silver plate, and the stars twinkled like scattered pearls.

Abuna took a bite of the fragrant, caramelized mutton and suddenly chuckled:
"Do you remember when we were kids? We used to sneak out to play, only to be discovered by our brothers and made to kneel as punishment!"

Qiqige smiled, a warm light shining in her eyes:

"Back then, you always left the tenderest meat for me, while you gnawed on the bones yourself."

A gentle night breeze blew, and the firelight illuminated their faces.

They smiled at each other, their memories of the past intertwined with the warmth of the present moment, as if time had never passed.

(End of this chapter)