Upon hearing her, the queen ordered the imperial entertainment attendants to prepare a splendid feast. She also instructed her entire entourage to get ready to accompany her outside the city to welcome her husband.
The Bridal Procession
Soon she reached the posthouse. Someone then ran to inform Tripitaka and his disciples, saying:
“The imperial procession has just arrived!”
Hearing this, Tripitaka tidied himself up as best as he could and, accompanied by his disciples, went out to greet his betrothed. The queen lifted the pearl curtain and, descending from her carriage, asked:
“Which one is the brother of the Emperor of the Tang?”
The Chief Advisor answered, pointing with her finger:
“The one dressed as a monk. The one standing behind the incense-burning table near the door.”
The queen gave him a scrutinizing look and realized that he was truly an extraordinary person.
At once, the queen fell deeply in love with him. Passion took hold of her, and, opening her shy cherry-like mouth, she asked:
“Would you not like to take a ride on the phoenix, venerable brother of the Emperor of the Tang?”
Hearing this, Tripitaka was overcome with such embarrassment that he turned red all the way to his ears and kept his eyes lowered, too afraid to lift his head.
The queen approached Tripitaka, took his hand, and spoke in the most enchanting voice ever heard:
“Come, my dearest, into the dragon carriage, and let us make our way without delay to the Hall of Sacred Bells’ Treasure, where we shall become husband and wife.”
Tang Monk trembled so much he could barely stand. Sun Wukong had to come close and whisper softly into his ear:
“Do not be so timid. The sooner you get into the carriage with her, the sooner we will obtain the safe-conduct pass and can continue our journey westward.”
Tang Sanzang was unable to utter a word. He grabbed Wukong’s robe and tugged at it a couple of times, while tears flowed abundantly from his eyes.
The Royal Banquet
At this moment, the Chief Advisor approached them and said:
“Please proceed to preside over the banquet being held in your honor in the Eastern Hall.”
As soon as they arrived at the Eastern Hall, the sound of extremely melodious music began to play, and two long rows of exquisitely beautiful maidens appeared. In the center of the hall were the two kinds of food specially prepared for the occasion: both vegetarian and meat dishes were available and placed separately.
Bajie cared only about filling his stomach and was not picky at all about eating. In the blink of an eye, he finished everything on his table, simultaneously drinking seven or eight cups of wine.
He shouted in his booming pig-like voice:
“More food, quickly! Bring something more to eat right away!”
The Travel Permit
Tripitaka then rose from the table, clasped his hands, and bowed before the queen, saying:
“We can never thank you enough for the magnificent banquet you have offered us today. We have already drunk enough. It would be advisable, therefore, that you sign the safe-conduct pass and give it to my disciples. They should make use of the remaining daylight hours and set off on their journey as soon as possible.”
Sha Wujing opened the bag, took out the documents, and handed them to Sun Wukong, who in turn presented them to the queen with both hands.
When she unfolded the papers, she saw that they bore more than nine seals from the Great Emperor of the Tang, along with those of the Kingdom of the Sacred Elephant, the Kingdom of the Black Rooster, and the Kingdom of the Slow Cart. After carefully examining them, the queen smiled in an extremely seductive manner and said:
“So your beloved name is Chen?”
Tripitaka replied:
“That was the family name I carried before entering monastic life. In religion, I am called Xuan Zang, and since the Emperor of the Tang, in his boundless mercy, was kind enough to accept me as his brother, I now bear his surname.”
“Why don’t the names of your disciples appear in this document?” the queen asked again.
“Because they are not members of the Tang court,” Tripitaka responded.
“Why did they decide to accompany you on your journey, then?” the queen inquired, surprised.
Tripitaka explained:
“The three of them had seriously offended Heaven, but the Merciful Bodhisattva Guanyin took pity on their suffering and granted them freedom. Grateful, they embraced the path of virtue, vowing to practice fasting and perform all kinds of good deeds. That is why they decided to accompany me on my long journey westward in search of the sacred scriptures. This explains why their names do not appear in the travel document.”
“Would you mind if I include them?” the queen asked once more.
“Do as you please,” Tripitaka replied.
The queen requested ink and a brush to be brought to her. After personally grinding the ink, she wrote the names of Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing at the bottom of the document.
She then took out the imperial seal and stamped it. The safe-conduct pass was then handed to Sha Wujing.
Not content with that, the queen rose from the dragon couch, picked up a tray full of gold and silver coins, and offered it to Sun Wukong, saying:
“Accept this small gift. It will help you reach the Western Paradise a little sooner. When you return with the scriptures, we will offer you an even greater reward.”
The Monkey King replied:
“We who have renounced family life are not allowed to accept gifts of gold and silver. Do not worry about us. We will find people to help us along the way.”
Escape and Abduction
Then Tripitaka said:
“If you don’t mind, I would like to accompany them outside the city. I must give them certain instructions before they continue their journey. Once I have done so, I will return to your side and enjoy forever the wealth and glory you have laid at my feet.”
The queen, of course, did not realize this was a trick and immediately ordered the carriage to be brought. She got into it with him, and together they headed west of the capital.
They soon reached the outskirts of the city, stopping before the gate that opened toward the west. After confirming everything was in order, Sun Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing turned toward the royal carriage and said in unison:
“There is no need for you to go any further. We bid you farewell here.”
The Tang Monk slowly dismounted from the dragon carriage and, raising his hands in the direction of the queen, pleaded:
“Please return, Majesty, to your palace and allow this humble monk to continue his journey in search of the sacred scriptures.”
Upon hearing these words, the queen lost color in her face and desperately grabbed hold of Tang Monk, crying out in alarm:
“I am willing, my beloved, to place all the riches of my kingdom at your feet, if only you agree to be my husband. We had agreed that tomorrow you would sit upon the throne and I would become your queen. Why have you changed your mind so suddenly, especially after we’ve even celebrated the wedding banquet?”
Monk Sha snatched Tripitaka from the hands of a group of female officials and quickly helped him mount the white horse.
At that very moment, a girl broke through the crowd and began shouting:
“Where are you going, Brother of the Emperor of the Tang? Stay, and let us make love together!”
She transformed into a whirlwind, snatching Sanzang away and vanishing from everyone’s sight. Not a trace of them remained.
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