0037 The Princess Sent for Marriage

The princess saw through A-Zi’s nonsense, her face clearly etched with disbelief.

The handmaiden, Sangzhu, however, immediately knelt, speaking with profound reverence: "So it is the Great Immortal White Snake and the Great Immortal Green Scorpion standing before us. You two immortals possess boundless power; I beg you to show mercy and spare our lives. We shall surely burn incense and offer prayers to you every day upon our return..."

Before she could finish, the princess barked sharply, "Silence! You lowly wench, have you forgotten my commands so easily?"

Sangzhu lowered her head, murmuring in submission.

Jiang Mingzhe had originally felt a twinge of pity, seeing this beautiful princess caught in an ambush by their group, but watching her berate the loyal handmaiden, his brow furrowed in irritation. The spirit of the overworked laborer within him stirred, and a surge of class resentment ignited.

He remembered when he was a junior salesman, forced to endure IV drips after drinking with clients all night, only to have his pay docked the next day for being a few minutes late. He recalled the agony of finally landing a major deal, only for the accounting department to deny his reimbursement on the grounds that the entertainment expenses exceeded the limit. He thought of how he had gone to his boss to plead his case, only to be met with a smarmy, conciliatory smile: "Oh, the admin and accounting departments have their difficulties too. I know you feel aggrieved, but rules are rules. Young man, you need to broaden your perspective!"

*Oh, so you know I’m aggrieved? What good does knowing do!*

"Heh, you truly are the worthy daughter of a usurper," Jiang Mingzhe sneered. "This poor girl is devoted to protecting you, and yet you put on such airs of superiority? Do you honestly think your pathetic pride is worth more than her absolute loyalty? If I had a subordinate willing to risk her life for me, I’d cherish her and treat her well. And you? Just the daughter of a tribal chieftain, acting as if you’re some precious, golden-leafed royalty!"

"You!"

The princess, likely never having been lectured like this, stared at Jiang Mingzhe with eyes that seemed to spit fire, rendered speechless by sheer indignation.

Sangzhu, panicked, hurried to shield the princess, pleading, "Great Immortal, please do not scold our princess. She is actually very, very kind to me."

Jiang Mingzhe initially wanted to call her a spineless wretch, but a second thought struck him: the eight-hour workday, won by the lives of his ancestors, was already crumbling in the face of the 996 culture. As a corporate drone who worked overtime every day, he hardly had the standing to criticize this girl.

He could only sigh to A-Zi, "Truly barbarians. The principles of 'the ruler is the guide for the subject; if the ruler is unjust, the subject may serve another' are utterly foreign to them."

A-Zi nodded repeatedly. "Indeed, Junior Brother, what you say is very wise. These barbarian women know nothing of scholarship. But what does that saying about the ruler and the subject mean?"

Jiang Mingzhe slapped his forehead, wondering why he had brought it up. But since the words were out and A-Zi looked so eager to learn, he explained, "It’s a principle from the Confucian Three Bonds and Five Constants. It means a subject should be loyal to their sovereign, but if the sovereign is a tyrant, we shouldn't assist them; we should simply move to another state. There are a few more lines to it..."

Before he could continue, the Princess of Qingtang recited clearly: "The state is the guide for the people; if the state is unjust, the people shall rise against it. The father is the guide for the son; if the father is unkind, the son shall seek a new home. The son is the hope of the father; if the son is unjust, the father shall uphold righteousness over kinship. The husband is the guide for the wife; if the husband is unjust, the wife may remarry. The wife is the aid of the husband; if the wife is unvirtuous, the husband may divorce her. How about that? Do you need me to recite the rest for you?"

She cast a sharp glance at A-Zi. "Barbarian women are not necessarily uneducated, and women who are not barbarians are not necessarily knowledgeable."

A-Zi was furious and retorted, "What’s so great about being well-read? Can you write poetry?"

Hearing her mention poetry again, Jiang Mingzhe quickly interjected, "Exactly! What’s so great about reading? You’re still just going to be married off to that old geezer, 'Roll-Roll-Roll'! It seems your foster-father doesn't care for you all that much after all."

This was the fatal blow. The princess was strong-willed and fearless, refusing to submit even when A-Zi held a blade to her, but Jiang Mingzhe’s words left her wordless, a look of profound loneliness washing over her jade-pale face.

A-Zi clutched her stomach, laughing hysterically. "Hahahaha, 'Roll-Roll-Roll', your man has such a funny name!"

The princess said indignantly, "His name is Dezu Gun. He is the King of Guge, not 'Roll-Roll-Roll'. Besides, I have not yet married him; he is not my husband."

A-Zi remained unbothered, asking curiously, "Guge? What kind of country is that?" She looked to Jiang Mingzhe, but he had never heard of it either and shook his head.

Sangzhu glanced at the princess, and seeing no objection, whispered, "The Kingdom of Guge is south of the Snowlands, the ancestor of a thousand mountains and the source of ten thousand rivers."

A-Zi still didn't understand, but Jiang Mingzhe realized the truth: the ancestor of a thousand mountains and the source of ten thousand rivers—was that not the Ngari region? It bordered India and Nepal, thousands of miles away.

He asked in surprise, "That’s incredibly far. Are you also a foster child of your father? Otherwise, how could he bear to marry you off to such a distant land?"

As soon as the words left his lips, he deduced the motive himself: "Oh, 'ally with the distant, attack the near'! With the Snowland plateau filled with rival states, your Qingtang Tubo no longer wants to be squeezed by the Song and Western Xia. You want to form an alliance with Guge to unify the Tubo!"

The princess stared at Jiang Mingzhe in disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. One thought raced through her mind: *He guessed my father's plan just by hearing I was to be married to the King of Guge? How could there be such a brilliant man in the world?*

To her, Jiang Mingzhe knowing that her father, Aligu, was the foster son of the second-generation ruler of Qingtang Tubo, Dongzhan, wasn't that strange—perhaps some high-ranking official had leaked it. But Aligu’s ambition to rebuild the ancient Tubo empire, which had once dominated the plateau—even she, as the princess and the one being married off, had only vaguely suspected this. Yet Jiang Mingzhe had laid it bare. Such wisdom was surely comparable to Zhuge Kongming, who had mapped out the world before ever leaving his thatched cottage.

The princess was naturally intelligent and well-read, her standards high, but she couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for Jiang Mingzhe.

She couldn't resist praising him: "I never expected someone so young to possess such insight. It is a pity for a man like you to be a bandit. If you are willing to return to Qingtang with me, I will recommend you to my father. You could have an official rank and title, allowing you to use your talents to their fullest and do justice to your stature. What do you say?"

A-Zi, not expecting the princess to try and recruit Jiang Mingzhe, panicked. "No way! He won't go with you. We, the White and Green Duo, roam the Kunlun Mountains—we’re happy as can be. Who wants to follow you to some backwater Qingtang?"

The princess chided, "What would a little demoness like you know? He is a man of stature; he should be achieving earth-shattering deeds. That is what makes a great man. What future is there in being a pair of roadside thieves with you?"

This princess had been born when Aligu was forty and had always been indulged; she was used to ordering people around. Even as a prisoner, she was now lecturing A-Zi with an air of authority.

A-Zi was both angry and offended. "You think you have a future? You’re being married off by your father to some 'Roll-Roll-Roll'—no, wait, you can't even marry him now!"

She pulled off her pouch and swiftly drew out the six-winged iron centipede, her expression fierce. "Hmph, I'll have you poisoned right now! Once you become a dead princess, let’s see if you still dare to look down on thieves!"

She grabbed the princess’s wrist and thrust it toward the centipede’s fangs.

The princess had been unyielding before the blade, but it was a woman's nature to fear insects, especially one as hideous as this. Seeing it clearly, she trembled like chaff in the wind, tears streaming down her face. She struggled desperately, crying, "Kill me if you must, but don't—don't let the centipede bite me."

Sangzhu screamed and lunged to pull A-Zi’s hair, but A-Zi kicked her aside. "This centipede is unimaginably toxic; one person might not even be enough. Don't be so anxious; I'll reunite you and your mistress soon enough."

Seeing A-Zi's actions, Jiang Mingzhe roughly guessed the Star Sect’s method of merging toxins. Watching the two girls weeping like flowers in the rain, and A-Zi radiating malice, he shook his head, thinking, *I really have become a villain.*

He sighed helplessly, suddenly executing a "Wrist-Entangling" technique. With a flick and a parry, he pried the princess’s wrist from A-Zi’s grip and stopped her, smiling, "Wait a moment, Senior Sister!"