His Turkish wife had been as disinterestedly
solicitous for his success, before he went to Ts'i, as his Ts'i
wife was when she induced him to leave that country. On arrival in
Ts'in, he was presented with five princesses, including one who
had already been given to his nephew and immediate predecessor in
Tsin. The "rites" were of course decidedly wrong here, but his
ally Ts'in was at this time hesitating between Chinese and Tartar
culture, and in any case he was probably persuaded in his mind to
let the rites go by the board for urgent political purposes. On
this occasion his brother-in-law and faithful henchman during
nineteen years of wanderings, sang "the song of the fertilized
millet" (still existing), meaning that Ch'ung-erh was the gay
young stalk fertilized by the presents and assistance of the ruler
of Ts'in: he was, by the way, not so young, then well over sixty.
He had married the younger of two Tartar sisters, and had given
her elder sister as wife to the henchman in question. (One account
reverses the order.
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