Meeting the King
Upon hearing this, the Grand Tutor immediately said to Tang Xuanzang:
"I dare not hide anything from you. My Emperor's decree is only to request a marriage alliance with you, and to allow your three disciples to continue their journey to the Western Heaven Paradise after they have had their meal."
After thinking about it seriously for a long time, Sun Wukong smiled and said to the Grand Tutor:
"Grand Tutor's words make sense. We don't need to make things difficult for ourselves. We are willing to leave our master and your king here, to become husbands. Quickly change our travel documents so we can go west."
"We'll come back here to find our master after we return from our pilgrimage, and ask for some money to take back to the Great Tang."
Grand Tutor was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly said to Sun Wukong, "Thank you for your kindness."
"Grand Tutor, please don't just talk the talk. Since we've made a promise, let your king arrange a banquet first. After we've eaten and drunk our fill, then we can proceed with the engagement, how about that?"
Zhu Bajie was only thinking about food and didn't care about Tang Xuanzang's feelings at all. Zhu Bajie smiled and said to the Grand Tutor.
Upon hearing this, the Grand Tutor was overjoyed and quickly replied, "Of course! We'll go prepare the banquet now!"
After speaking, the Grand Tutor returned to the palace with his servants.
At the same time, after seeing the Grand Tutor leave, Tang Xuanzang quickly grabbed Sun Wukong and said to Sun Wukong:
"How dare you, you monkey, say such things? Why did you leave me here? Even if I were to die, I would never dare to do such a thing while you were on your journey to the Western Heaven to retrieve the scriptures."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and explained to Tang Xuanzang:
"Master, don't worry, I know your temper, but since we're here and they've already said this, let's play along."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang looked completely bewildered. Seeing this, Sun Wukong thought for a moment, then smiled and explained to Tang Xuanzang:
"If there's no way to tell her what to do, she shouldn't have given us travel permits and wouldn't have let us pass. If we were to talk to her, she would surely cut off our flesh and make sachets. How can we treat them well?"
"We'll definitely pull out our weapons and drive them away. You know how ruthless we are; we'll wipe out the entire nation in no time. Although they're trying to stop us, they're not demons, they're human."
"You're usually such a good person, you haven't killed a single person along the way, and you've even spread Buddhism. How can you bear to kill so many people now?"
Tang Xuanzang nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, then said to Sun Wukong, "If their king were to take me away, he would surely do something that would corrupt the virtues of Buddhism, which is why I ended up in the human form of this religion."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang:
"Don't rush. Once you agree to the marriage, have them get us some travel permits so we can leave."
"If we accept what you're saying, wouldn't that be deceiving them?"
Tang Xuanzang asked Sun Wukong with a puzzled expression.
However, Sun Wukong didn't care about any of that. Sun Wukong waved his hand helplessly and continued:
"The king will definitely come to pick you up then, so just go without worry. When the king announces our entry into the city, we'll exchange our travel documents, and then you can go with the king to escort us out of the city."
"I'll use a spell to freeze them all in place, then you can mount your horse and we'll continue on our way."
What do you think of this method?
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang nodded and waited quietly. Meanwhile, the Grand Tutor returned to the palace and happily reported to the King:
"Your Majesty, I have already discussed it with that Tang Xuanzang, and we can begin preparations for the engagement in a little while."
The king was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately said to the servants around him, "Quickly prepare the carriages; now come with me to fetch my future husband."
A short while later, the king arrived at Tang Xuanzang's side. Upon seeing the king, Tang Xuanzang immediately bowed, and the king slowly asked, "Which one of you is Tang Xuanzang?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang slowly stepped forward and said to the king, "I am Tang Xuanzang."
The king looked closely and saw that Tang Xuanzang was indeed a handsome and dashing man.
The king was immediately very pleased and said, "Why don't you hurry up and get in? Don't you want to ride in the carriage I've prepared for you?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang blushed and dared not raise his head, while Zhu Bajie drooled when he saw the king.
However, the king slowly approached Tang Xuanzang, grabbed Tang Xuanzang, and said, "Brother, please get on the Tang Xuanzang carriage and come with me to the palace to seek a marriage."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was so engrossed that he could hardly stand still. Sun Wukong, standing beside him, said, "Master, you don't need to be so modest. Get in the carriage with your wife first and quickly exchange the travel documents so we can go on our journey to retrieve the scriptures together."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was overcome with grief and, after touching Sun Wukong's face, burst into tears. Seeing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, please don't cry! We can't afford such wealth. Go quickly, don't worry about us."
Upon hearing Tang Xuanzang could only feign strength, wipe away his tears, and force a smile as he boarded the carriage with the king.
Upon seeing this, the civil and military officials beamed with joy and came together into the city.
Sun Wukong had Sha Wujing carry the luggage and lead the white horse behind them, while Zhu Bajie ran around aimlessly.
When Zhu Bajie saw a restaurant, his mouth watered instantly.
Seeing this, the surrounding officials said to the king, "Your Majesty, there is a fat, big-eared man right now at the entrance of the restaurant, shouting that he wants to eat and drink."
Upon hearing this, the king slowly lifted his head from Tang Xuanzang's shoulder and said to the servants, "You don't need to panic. If he wants to eat, just give him more food."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang continued slowly, "My disciple always liked to eat a lot. He would only be satisfied if I prepared plenty of food for him."
Upon hearing this, the king smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang, "You don't need to worry about this at all. I've already made preparations; both meat and vegetarian dishes are laid out in the restaurant."
Tang Xuanzang quickly said to the king, "Please don't do that! We monks can only eat vegetarian food our whole lives. If we're talking about drinking alcohol, then we only drink vegetarian wine."
The king immediately complied, and after a short while, he slowly entered the palace. Upon seeing the king, the Grand Tutor loudly proclaimed:
"Your Majesty, I have prepared everything and am just waiting for your arrival."
The king nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, and then the group went inside. The king saw that Tang Xuanzang Tang Xuanzang was very shy, so he went up to him, took his hand, and went in together.