Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 37 Marrying the Princess
The princess could tell that Ah Zi was talking nonsense, and her face was full of disbelief.

The maid Sangzhu immediately knelt down and said respectfully, "So it is the White Snake Immortal and the Green Scorpion Immortal in person. The two immortals are incredibly powerful. Please have mercy and spare our lives! We will definitely burn incense and make offerings to them every day after we return..."

Before she could finish speaking, the princess shouted sternly, "Shut up! You lowly servant, how dare you disregard my words?"

Sangzhu murmured and lowered her head.

Jiang Mingzhe had initially felt some pity for the princess, who had been innocently ambushed and killed by his own side, and was also very beautiful. However, upon seeing her angrily rebuking the loyal maidservant who was protecting her mistress, his brows furrowed instantly. He felt his inner demons burning fiercely, and his class hatred rising intensely.

He recalled that when he was a junior salesman, he would stay up all night drinking with clients until he needed an IV drip, but the next day he was penalized for being a few minutes late.

He recalled how he had finally secured a large contract, but the finance department refused to reimburse him for expenses, citing excessive hospitality fees.

He recalled going to his boss to complain, but his boss just smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Oh dear, administration/finance has its difficulties too. I know you feel wronged, but there can be no order without rules. Young people should have a broader perspective!"

Oh, so you know I'm wronged? But what good is it if you just know!
"Heh, truly worthy of being the adopted son's daughter."

Jiang Mingzhe sneered, "This little black girl is so devoted to protecting you, why are you acting like a master? Or do you think your worthless face is more important than her unwavering loyalty? If I had a subordinate like this who would risk her life for me, I'd be busy trying to win her over and treat her well. And you? The daughter of a tribal chief, do you really think you're some kind of golden flower!"

"you!"

The princess had probably never been criticized like this before. Her beautiful eyes almost blazed with fire as she glared at Jiang Mingzhe, too angry to speak.

Sangzhu was shocked and quickly stepped in front of the princess, pleading, "Great Immortal, please don't scold our princess. She is actually very, very good to me."

Jiang Mingzhe originally wanted to call her a slut, but then he thought, the eight-hour workday system that our predecessors sacrificed countless lives for crumbled in the face of the 996 work schedule, didn't it? As a beast of burden who works overtime every day to entertain clients, I don't seem to have the right to criticize this dark-skinned girl.

He could only sigh to Azi, "They really are barbarians. They don't understand any of the principles of 'the ruler is the guide for the subject. If the ruler is not upright, the subject will flee to another country.'"

Azi nodded repeatedly: "That's right, Junior Brother makes a lot of sense. These barbarian women don't know anything about learning. But what does this phrase 'ruler and subject' mean?"

Jiang Mingzhe slapped his forehead and said, "Why did I tell Azi this?"

But having already spoken, seeing Ah Zi's eager expression, he explained, "This is the Confucian principle of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, which states that a subject should be loyal to the ruler, but if the ruler is incompetent, we shouldn't serve him and should go to another country. The following sentences convey a similar meaning..."

Before he could even finish reciting the last few lines, Princess Qingtang recited in a clear voice: "The state is the guide for the people; if the state is not just, the people will rise up against it. The father is the guide for the son; if the father is not kind, the son will flee to another place. The son is the hope of the father; if the son is not upright, the greater good will put aside even family ties. The husband is the guide for the wife; if the husband is not upright, the wife may remarry. The wife is the helper of the husband; if the wife is not virtuous, the husband should divorce her. So, do you want me to recite the rest to you too?"

After saying that, he glanced at Azi and said, "Barbarian women are not necessarily uneducated, and women who are not barbarians are not necessarily learned."

Azi was furious and immediately retorted, "What's so great about you being a scholar? Can you even write poetry?"

Upon hearing her mention poetry again, Jiang Mingzhe quickly interrupted, saying, "That's right, what's so great about being good at studying? You still have to marry that old geezer Gun Gun Gun! It seems your adopted father doesn't really care about you."

This was exactly what it meant to strike at the heart of the matter. This princess was stubborn and fearless, and even when faced with Ah Zi holding a knife to her throat, she refused to yield. But Jiang Mingzhe's words immediately left her speechless, and an indescribable look of desolation appeared on her fair and jade-like face.

Azi clutched her stomach and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, 'Gun Gun Gun,' your man's name is so funny." The princess retorted angrily, "It's Dezugun, he's the king of Guge Kingdom, not some 'Gun Gun Gun.' Besides, I haven't even gotten married yet, and he's not my husband."

Azi wasn't angry, and asked curiously, "Guge Kingdom? What kind of country is that?"

As she spoke, she looked at Jiang Mingzhe, but Jiang Mingzhe had never heard of her before and shook his head at her.

Sangzhu glanced at the princess and, seeing that she had no intention of stopping him, said in a low voice, "The Kingdom of Guge is located in the south of the snowy region, the origin of thousands of mountains and the source of ten thousand rivers."

Azi was still confused, but Jiang Mingzhe realized: the source of thousands of mountains and the origin of ten thousand rivers, isn't that the ALD district? It is adjacent to India and Nepal, and is probably only five or six thousand miles away from here.

She couldn't help but ask in surprise, "That's really far! Are you also your father's adopted daughter? Otherwise, why would he be willing to marry you off to such a faraway place?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he realized what he was doing: "Oh, it's all about befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones! These days, the Tibetan Plateau is full of kingdoms, and your Qingtang Tubo is unwilling to be caught between the Song and Western Xia anymore. Therefore, you want to form an alliance with the Guge Kingdom to unify Tubo!"

The princess stared at Jiang Mingzhe in disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. Only one thought occupied her mind: Did he guess her father's intentions just because he heard I was going to marry the King of Guge? How could there be such a clever person in the world?
In her view, it wasn't too strange that Jiang Mingzhe knew that his father, Aligu, was the adopted son of Dongzhan, the second-generation leader of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Perhaps it was intentionally leaked by some high-ranking people in the country, and he found out unintentionally.

However, Aligu intends to rebuild the Tubo Dynasty that once dominated the snowfield. Even though she is a princess and a party involved in the marriage alliance, she only vaguely guesses about it. Jiang Mingzhe, however, sees through it all. Isn't such wisdom comparable to Zhuge Liang, who could make a decision before even leaving his thatched cottage?
This princess was exceptionally intelligent, well-read, and had a very high standard of vision, but at this moment she couldn't help but feel admiration for Jiang Mingzhe.

She couldn't help but praise, "I never expected you to have such insight at such a young age. It's a real pity that someone like you is a bandit. If you're willing to come back to Qing Tang with me, I will recommend you to my father, the King, so that you can be granted an official position and a title, allowing you to put your life's learning to good use and live up to your potential. What do you say?"

Azi was taken aback when she suddenly recruited Jiang Mingzhe. She quickly said, "No way! He won't go with you. We, the White and Green Twin Demons, roam the Kunlun Mountains and have a wonderful time. Who would want to go with you to that lousy Qingtang?"

The princess shouted, "What do you know, you little vixen? He is a dignified man, and he should do something earth-shattering. That's what makes a good man and a great man. What future can he have as a pair of roadblock thieves like you?"

This princess was born when Aligu was forty years old. She had always been quite favored and had been used to being bossy since childhood. Now, even though she was a prisoner, she actually dared to lecture Azi in a grand manner.

Azi was both angry and furious: "You have such a promising future, but your father married you off to some 'rolling, rolling, rolling' guy. No, you can't even marry a 'rolling, rolling, rolling' guy!"

She ripped open her purse, swiftly pulled out the six-winged iron centipede, and said fiercely, "Hmph, I'll make you poison right now! Once you're a dead princess, let's see if you still dare to look down on this little thief!"

After saying that, he reached out and grabbed the princess's hand, then brought it close to the centipede's mouthparts.

Although the princess was unyielding in the face of the sharp blade, it was in her nature to be afraid of insects, especially since this centipede was more ferocious than ordinary centipedes. Upon seeing it clearly, she was so frightened that her body trembled like a leaf, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She struggled desperately and cried, "Kill me! No, don't let the centipede bite me!"

Sangzhu screamed and lunged at Azi to grab her hair, but Azi kicked her over and sneered, "This centipede is extremely poisonous, and one person might not even be enough for it. Don't worry, we'll reunite you and your servant in a moment."

Seeing Azi's actions, Jiang Mingzhe roughly guessed the method of the Starry Sky Sect to neutralize poison. Looking at the two girls crying with tears streaming down their faces, and then at Azi's sinister aura, he shook his head and thought to himself, "I've really become a villain."

With a helpless sigh, he suddenly used a "wrist-binding" move, grabbing and pulling away the princess's wrist from Azi's hand, and stopped Azi with a smile: "Senior sister, wait!"

(End of this chapter)