Ch.137Origin Point (1)

# When Mongolia was in the midst of rapid development.

Belgutei, son of Yesugei, arrived in Solongos.

Upon his arrival, Belgutei met with the King of Goryeo and presented gifts.

“I present these gifts to the King of Goryeo, who will become my father-in-law.”

At Belgutei’s words, the king’s face showed a displeased expression.

This was understandable since although they had agreed to a marriage alliance, he never expected them to actually come.

“I accept your gifts.”

However, he couldn’t reveal his true feelings.

So he planned to accept the gifts and then make excuses later.

“You must be tired from your long journey. You may withdraw now.”

This made Belgutei tilt his head in confusion.

Normally, after accepting gifts, the bride-to-be would be presented.

But the King of Goryeo did not follow this custom.

Belgutei wanted to protest, but realizing the cultural differences between the two countries, he simply nodded.

“I will follow Your Majesty’s wishes.”

After Belgutei left, the Goryeo court fell into chaos.

“We cannot give royal blood to such lowly barbarians.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty.”

The king nodded at these words.

This was understandable since Goryeo had never formed marriage alliances with foreign countries since its founding.

That’s why when Mongolia proposed a marriage alliance, he thought it would be just a nominal alliance with only words exchanged.

But now that the groom had arrived in person, he couldn’t help but be flustered.

“How should we resolve this matter, Minister Kim?”

When the king called upon Minister Kim Bo-dang, he couldn’t say anything.

This was because the king had proceeded with everything on his own.

Being suddenly asked how to resolve this situation left Kim Bo-dang in an awkward position.

But this was just his inner thoughts.

Unable to reveal his true feelings before the king, he maintained a pleasant expression and answered the king’s question.

“Since this is a matter between nations, you must accept the marriage.”

“Minister Kim!”

“How can we allow marriage with Mongol barbarians?”

Hearing the officials’ protests, Kim Bo-dang cursed them inwardly.

Trying to undo what was already done was childish behavior.

“What’s done is done. Are you criticizing His Majesty’s decision?”

At Kim Bo-dang’s words, the officials had to keep quiet.

Again, it was the king who had initiated this matter.

This made it difficult for the officials to assign blame.

“The Minister is right. However, this requires careful consideration. It directly affects our nation’s dignity.”

Woo Bang-jae, a respected official among the scholars, stepped forward.

As he was highly regarded for his character, even Kim Bo-dang had to step back.

“Your point is valid. However, we cannot simply dismiss this issue.”

Woo Bang-jae nodded in agreement with Kim Bo-dang’s words.

Then he looked at the king and offered his advice.

“Your Majesty, what if we adopt a noble’s daughter into the royal family and then give her to the Mongol visitor?”

“Adopt a noble’s daughter into the royal family?”

“Yes.”

In fact, the relationship between the Goryeo royal family and the nobility was quite close.

In the past, when King Taejo was absorbing local lords, the Goryeo royal family arranged marriages with their children for stable governance.

Of course, this was from long ago during King Taejo’s time, so it was now a distant story.

But that wasn’t important right now.

What mattered was sending another woman instead of the king’s daughter as originally promised.

“That seems like a good suggestion.”

“This way, we can preserve the royal family’s honor.”

The officials expressed their approval of Woo Bang-jae’s suggestion.

The king also seemed pleased with the proposal and nodded.

“I will follow that suggestion.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Belgutei, the soon-to-be groom, was happily staying in Goryeo.

“They say Solongos is where rainbows appear, and it truly is a beautiful country.”

Unlike the harsh steppes, Solongos was a land full of greenery.

Having never been to a place with such diverse colors except for the Central Plains, Belgutei couldn’t hide his excitement.

“I wonder what my future wife will be like.”

Belgutei organized his thoughts while talking to himself.

The person Belgutei was to marry was Princess Hwasun, the youngest daughter of the King of Goryeo.

Although he didn’t know what kind of person she was, she was the king’s daughter, so he needed to behave accordingly.

“I’m… nervous. So nervous.”

Belgutei’s feelings were complicated.

He had spent his childhood on the steppes, where there were no cumbersome etiquette rules.

Since then, he had lived a casual life with his brothers who, though they often quarreled with their family-oriented father, were like friends to him.

Belgutei’s life changed rapidly with the expansion of the ulus.

He had become a prince of the ulus nation.

Of course, he had always been a prince of the Khamag Mongol tribe, but as the ulus grew, the social position of a prince rose steeply.

This was why Belgutei had come all the way to Goryeo to get married.

“She’s a princess who’s been raised delicately, right? Will I be able to get along with her…?”

If it had been the younger Belgutei, he wouldn’t have thought deeply about his wife.

But after his father Yesugei was poisoned by the Tatars, Belgutei was greatly influenced by the changes in his father.

The biggest influence was Yesugei’s family-oriented nature.

He cherished his wives, cared for his children, and supported their growth.

Influenced by this, all of Yesugei’s children unintentionally became devoted to their families.

This was also true for Belgutei.

“Should I ask about her hobbies when we meet…?”

While he was thinking, he heard the sound of archery from somewhere.

Unconsciously, Belgutei found himself walking toward the sound.

As he moved, he came across a wall that couldn’t be seen on the steppes.

Belgutei hesitated greatly at the wall.

“It’s just a quick look…”

Saying this, he climbed over the wall as naturally as a snake.

Then he slowly approached where the archery sounds were coming from.

When he arrived, Belgutei couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

“Gasp.”

A woman with neatly tied hair was holding a bow.

She focused all her attention on the bow and then shot at the target.

Thwack!

“This is the first time I’ve seen a woman with archery skills like my mother’s.”

Belgutei’s mother, Ho’elun, was one of the most renowned female warriors in Mongolia.

Though she spent most of her time in the ger, she occasionally went hunting on horseback with Yesugei.

Of course, in Mongolia, it was common for women to ride horses and participate in battles or hunting.

However, due to physical differences, it was difficult for them to achieve greater results than men.

But Ho’elun had such precise shooting skills that she overwhelmed Mongol warriors.

Thanks to these archery skills, all warriors praised and followed Ho’elun, calling her the mother of the steppes.

The woman before Belgutei’s eyes also possessed excellent shooting skills.

In Mongolia, there was a saying that daughters meet men who resemble their fathers, and sons meet women who resemble their mothers.

Because of this, Belgutei unknowingly had his heart stolen by this unknown Goryeo woman whose archery skills resembled Ho’elun’s.

“She’s beautiful… No, no. What am I thinking?”

Since he was to marry Princess Hwasun, Belgutei shook his head.

Although Mongols could have multiple wives, there were still certain principles to follow.

While he was thinking this, a man appeared.

Belgutei couldn’t identify who he was, but judging by his attire, he seemed to be a high-ranking military officer of Goryeo.

The man was smiling as if praising the woman’s archery skills.

He was speaking intermittently, but since Belgutei didn’t understand the Goryeo language at all, he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Still, he could roughly guess what kind of relationship they had.

“Judging by their warm conversation and similar noses, they seem to be father and daughter.”

At this, Belgutei unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

Then, realizing what he was doing, he stood up.

“What am I thinking? I should go back.”

Belgutei got up and climbed back over the wall.

Then he returned to his lodging as if nothing had happened.

It was a small escapade for Belgutei.

He thought this escapade would be a one-time thing.

* * *

“Yes! Another bullseye.”

Belgutei crouched down and rejoiced as if it were his own achievement.

This was because the woman had once again hit the center of the target with her arrow.

The reason he was outside again watching the woman’s archery was simple.

There had been no summons from the King of Goryeo.

As a result, Belgutei had to continue staying at his lodging.

Staying like that for a day or two was fine, but it became boring after a while.

So it became Belgutei’s routine to climb over the wall whenever the woman came nearby to practice archery.

“Her archery skills and the more I look at her… No, no, what am I thinking…”

Although it wasn’t every day, seeing her almost every other day made such thoughts inevitable.

Anyway, seeing the woman like this every day, Belgutei had unknowingly fallen for her.

“If only that woman were Princess Hwasun… but that’s unlikely.”

Belgutei knew that unlike in Mongolia, women in the Central Plains or Goryeo were strictly managed within the palace.

How did he know this? Because his older brother Bekhter’s wife was such a person.

As she was his sister-in-law, he had met her occasionally when they were in Western Xia.

What he realized each time was that there was a clear difference between women who had lived in the palace and those who had lived outside.

Thinking along those lines, the Goryeo woman before his eyes seemed to have little connection to palace life.

Personally, Belgutei preferred vibrant women who had lived outside rather than those who had lived in the palace.

After all, he had fallen for this woman because of her excellent archery skills and confidence, reminiscent of his mother Ho’elun.

While he was thinking this, he heard movement from beyond the wall.

Startled, Belgutei immediately climbed over the wall and returned to his lodging.

“Did you go out again today?”

At the Kheshig’s question, Belgutei gave an embarrassed smile.

Seeing this, the Kheshig could only sigh without saying anything.

“Haha… since the King of Goryeo hasn’t called for me…”

“The king has called for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

At the Kheshig’s report, Belgutei nodded.

It was the end of a long wait, so it should have been a moment of joy, but his eyes were filled with regret.