Zhu Bajie chuckled and said, "If this poor monk has snatched the Princess’s embroidered ball and becomes the Prince Consort, aren’t you, the Emperor, what else but this poor monk’s father-in-law?"
Zhu Bajie looked up and the Emperor finally saw Zhu Bajie’s face clearly, his brows furrowed deeper, and he asked with a puzzled look, "How come you monk look exactly like the one who was here before? And that monk also came from the Great Tang to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek scriptures."
Hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately remembered Sun Wukong’s instructions and hastily replied, "Reporting to father-in-law, the monk who came before was my eldest disciple Sun Wukong!"
"He disguised himself as poor monk to enter the palace and exchange the Guan Wen. Because there were so many people at the crossroads, poor monk, being weak, couldn’t squeeze through, so he stayed back at the crossroads. But little did this poor monk expect such a fortunate match, it’s truly a match made by heaven."
The Emperor nodded slightly, still somewhat perplexed, and continued to ask, "You say that earlier monk was your eldest disciple in disguise, but I see that you two look exactly alike. How can that be?"
Zhu Bajie smiled and answered, "Father-in-law may not know, that monkey’s Divine Skills are vast, not of the ordinary. He has seventy-two kinds of transformations; changing into someone else’s appearance is a piece of cake for him, not to mention becoming as small as a fly or mosquito. Father-in-law was unaware of this, thus you didn’t see through his disguise."
The Emperor nodded, seeming to believe Zhu Bajie’s explanation and pondered for a moment before saying, "You are a Holy Monk from the Eastern Land, indeed bound by a thread of destiny from a thousand miles away."
"My Princess, now reaching the age of twenty and unmarried, chose this day because the year, month, and time were all auspicious. Hence, she set up the decorated pavilion and tossed the embroidered ball to seek a worthy match. Despite my displeasure with you catching it, I do not know what the Princess herself intends."
The Princess quickly kowtowed and said, "Reporting to father-Emperor, as the saying goes, ’wherever the husband goes, the wife follows.’ Your daughter has already made a vow, tied to this embroidered ball, reporting to the heavens and deities, to accept a fated marriage."
"Today, having encountered the Holy Monk, it is a connection from a past life, achieved in this life. Your daughter dares not defy fate and is willing to invite him to be the Prince Consort."
Seeing the Princess so resolute, the Emperor finally showed joy on his face, nodding and saying, "Since that is so, let it be as the Princess wishes. Issue a decree for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to select an auspicious day for the Princess’s wedding, and announce it to the world."
"As you command!" The ministers quickly accepted the decree with gratitude.
Zhu Bajie, also overjoyed, hastily knelt and kowtowed, thanking the Emperor, "Thank you, father-in-law! Thank you, father-in-law."
At this time, Sun Wukong had hurriedly returned to the posthouse with Xuanzang and Sand Monk.
After returning to the posthouse, Xuanzang, somewhat puzzled, began, "How could you let Bajie disguise himself as me to snatch the embroidered ball? Now Bajie has been recruited as the Prince Consort, what should we do?"
Sun Wukong couldn’t help but laugh dumbly, putting down his teacup, and said with a smile, "Master, don’t worry, I am helping you!"
"Helping me?" Xuanzang frowned with confusion and asked.
"Of course, I’m helping you," Sun Wukong said with a smile as he explained, "Do you know why I had Bajie disguise himself as you?"
"Why?" Xuanzang asked, his brow still furrowed, "I am quite puzzled!"
Sun Wukong continued, "Do you really think that the monster disguised as a Princess is tossing an embroidered ball here to find a Prince Consort?"
"Isn’t she?" Xuanzang asked, his brow still furrowed.
Sun Wukong scoffed and said, "You’re too naive! That demon has some Divine Skills; if she wanted to find a Prince Consort, she could easily grab a few, without having to go to all this trouble."
"The demon’s true intent wasn’t to find a Prince Consort, but to capture you and drain your Yang Essence."
"So that’s how it is!"
Xuanzang looked calm, thinking to himself that it all made sense.
Sun Wukong glanced at Xuanzang and said, "When I had Bajie disguised as you just beneath the decorated pavilion, the moment the Princess saw your image, she immediately began to pray to heaven and earth, and then solidly thwacked Bajie on the head with the embroidered ball."
"It really was directed at me."
Xuanzang couldn’t help but sigh.
"Clearly, it was a trap. The so-called tossing of the embroidered ball from an elegant building was nothing but a ruse. The demon’s true target was the Scripture Seeking Monk from the Great Tang, whether or not it was you!"
"So now, Bajie has taken your misfortune upon himself!"
Xuanzang quickly said, "If things have gotten to this point, now Bajie has been recruited as the Prince Consort by that Fake Princess and can’t extricate himself, what should we do?"
Sun Wukong laughed heartily and said, "Master, you needn’t worry about this. Bajie is much stronger than you, and if he stays here to enjoy the riches and honor, it would be a kind of fate for him!"
"Now that we have exchanged the Guan Wen documents, why concern ourselves with Bajie? Let’s just leave him to be the Prince Consort here, and we can continue our journey to India for the scriptures."
Xuanzang quickly gestured with his hand and said, "No, no! This journey to the West is unlike any other. If Bajie stays here, it could bring death upon him!"
Sand Monk chuckled and said, "Master, you don’t want to abandon your disciple. But now he is the Prince Consort of Tianzhu Country, with a beauty at his side and endless wealth to enjoy. Maybe Second Senior Brother himself won’t want to come back."
Xuanzang still didn’t believe it and gestured again with his hand, saying, "Bajie isn’t that sort of person. We can’t just abandon him to fend for himself. Besides, that Princess is an imposter; she’s a monster!"
Sun Wukong grinned and said, "That blockhead Bajie doesn’t care if she’s a monster or not, as long as she looks pretty and is a Princess, that’s enough for him."
Xuanzang’s frown deepened, he turned to Sun Wukong, took a deep sigh, and stayed silent.