HOELUN: Two days of rain have delayed our arrival. All the ferries on the Kerulen River were flooded. Praise the lord, for we finally see you safe and sound again. DAI SETSEN: Well, of course, I can see all that. They say ‘a wanderer in a foreign land swallows fat, but a homebody in his homeland swallows blood.’ The mere thought that something happened to you was putting me at the end of my wits. It’s good you have arrived and everyone is safe and sound. HOELUN: It’s been nine years since you became a matchmaker with Yesugei and entered into an agreement. Over the years, all sorts of hardships fell upon us. We ran in the forest thickets and the rocky mountains seeking protection from the leaders of tribes and clans, and only now have we finally come back to our senses. We have come to pick up our bride, if you don’t mind. Dai Setsen, like a father according to tradition, is in no hurry to give an answer and remains silent. Looking at Temujin – who has matured and has become a stately zhigite – and at his brothers, he starts a speech with a contented air. DAI SETSEN: I know very well what dangerous obstacles and traps you had to overcome, dear matchmakers. My relative, Menlik has given you all the help he can. I am glad of your arrival here, but not because I want to get rid of my daughter. In fact, I live in constant fear that I might suddenly lose her. Many want to marry her, so the doors are downright breaking from the swoops of these bulls. Outside, we put sentries, and we keep her locked up, not letting her out because angry grooms could come in crowds at night and forcibly take my daughter away. This is how, without breaking the promise given to Yesugei, I have kept Borte safe in the fading darkness, depriving her of freedom. Seeing Temujin for the first time, I exclaimed in delight, ‘There is a fire in his eyes and his chiselled face is harsh.’ Was it not us matchmakers whom the Almighty brought together? This is our contract, and I hold on to it dearly. HOELUN: Well, if you had done otherwise, would you have been able to successfully rule an entire tribe?
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