Traveling Through Journey to the West: I Am the Dragon King

After expressing his feelings, Yun Chonghua said to everyone, "Your Majesty and Your Highness, the Seventh Princess did not have an affair with a mortal. It was all a misunderstanding. The Seventh Princess was with Dong Yong only because he was a filial son who sold himself into servitude to bury his father, a deed that moved Heaven and Earth. So she disguised herself as a mortal to help him escape the suffering of being 'sold into slavery'."

"And Xiaolong's killing of Dong Yong was indeed unintentional. Xiaolong was originally a carp, and after a hundred years of cultivation, he transformed into a dragon. After years of cultivation, he also learned some techniques of controlling clouds and rain. With his cultivation, he became arrogant and wanted to try his hand at making Danyang receive some rain. He wanted to get the people to build a temple for him and trick them into giving him some incense and offerings to fill his stomach and survive."

"But Xiaolong's magic was not proficient. When he laid the arrow, he accidentally killed Dong Xiaozi. When the Seventh Princess saw Dong Xiaozi dead, she mistakenly thought that Xiaolong was a murderous demon dragon, and naturally she had the idea of ​​eliminating the demon."

"Little Dragon knew he had caused a great disaster and offended a celestial being. Out of instinct for survival, he could only flee, but he didn't expect to escape into the Jianghan region, causing so many lives to be affected by the princess's magic and die tragically. All of this is Little Dragon's fault alone. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and not blame the princess. Even if the princess is at fault, she only descended to the mortal realm without permission, and what she did was a good deed. Little Dragon believes she should not be punished. Little Dragon is willing to bear all the blame himself."

He then prostrated himself on the throne in a gesture of worship.

Hearing Yun Chonghua's distorted and contradictory words, the immortals were even more astonished. They all admired the little dragon's eloquence.

His Majesty and the Empress were both delighted upon hearing this.

Although His Majesty the Jade Emperor sat upright on his throne without saying a word, the gloom on his face dissipated at a visible speed.

Yun Chonghua's words not only completely distorted the truth and covered up the matter of the Seven Fairies' secret marriage to a mortal, but also took all the blame upon himself, completely absolving the Seven Fairies of any involvement in the affair.

Even if the Seven Fairy Maidens were to be questioned now, the most they could do would be to accuse her of "descending to the mortal realm without permission."

But some are happy and some are sad.

Yun Chonghua's distortion of the truth truly terrified the Kitchen God.

The Kitchen God was naturally afraid, knowing that the little dragon was trying to exonerate the Seventh Princess. But if the Seventh Princess was exonerated, he would be committing the heavenly crime of deceiving the emperor.

He originally hoped to receive some reward for this achievement, but he never expected that Yun Chonghua's words would bring him great trouble.

At this moment, he tried his best to drag the Seventh Princess into the mess.

So the Kitchen God hurriedly and fearfully said to Yun Chonghua, "Little Dragon, what you reported is untrue, a crime of deceiving Heaven! You and I are meritorious officials who uphold the Heavenly Laws, why must you bear such a disaster? You do not know that there are dozens of injuries and deaths this time. If you take the blame alone, you will inevitably be cut on the Dragon-Slaying Platform."

Faced with the Kitchen God's intimidation, Yun Chonghua shook his head helplessly in his heart. He exclaimed, "This child is truly hopeless. He has no sense of propriety at all."

Ignoring the Kitchen God's threat, Yun Chonghua continued, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, everything Xiaolong said is true! There is absolutely no falsehood in it!"

The Queen Mother of the West knew that the best solution was to quickly resolve the matter by taking this opportunity to save face.

So the Empress said, "Your Majesty, since the matter of Qi'er's secret marriage to a mortal is completely unfounded, then she is guilty of this crime. However, her unauthorized descent to the mortal realm and the resulting chaos that harmed the common people, though unintentional, is still a crime. I think she should be punished by facing the wall for a year, and from then on, she shall not leave the Heavenly Court without permission."

The Queen Mother looked at the Kitchen God and said, "As for the matter of the Kitchen God reporting the matter without verifying the facts..."

The Empress originally planned to simply give him a false accusation of "lax supervision" and "inaccurate reporting" to get rid of him. Afterwards, she would privately reward him with some spiritual items as "hush money," and that would be the end of the matter.

But the Kitchen God, oblivious to the truth, shouted in front of the palace, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please be wise! Everything I have said is true, absolutely true! The Seventh Princess even asked the Weaving Fairy to descend to the mortal realm and weave ten bolts of brocade overnight to redeem Dong Yong from his servitude. That brocade is still with the Fu family. Clothes woven by fairies are seamless. This is irrefutable evidence that the Seventh Princess secretly married a mortal. I beg Your Majesty and Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly." After saying this, he kowtowed repeatedly.

Upon hearing the Kitchen God's words, the Jade Emperor and Empress's expressions, which had just eased, turned serious again.

Seeing the Kitchen God's blindness, Yun Chonghua understood why, despite receiving offerings in the mortal realm for thousands of years, he was still just a mortal immortal.

However, seeing the Kitchen God's pitiful state, and out of respect for this lowly guardian deity, I also wanted the matter to end quickly.

So Yun Chonghua continued to defend the Kitchen God, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, what the Kitchen God said is not entirely untrue. The brocade was indeed a gift from the Seventh Princess. However, it was merely a means for the Seventh Princess to help Dong Xiaozi escape disaster. Even with this item, it is not enough to prove that the Seventh Princess had an affair with a mortal. It is likely that the Kitchen God was fulfilling his duty. He has to guard thousands of households every day, and it is inevitable that there will be some misunderstandings due to unforeseen circumstances."

Upon hearing Yun Chonghua plead for the Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor decided not to let the ignorant Kitchen God continue speaking.

So the Jade Emperor said, "Enough! Although the Kitchen God's report was not entirely true, he did do a good job in investigating the Seventh Princess's unauthorized descent to the mortal realm. I'll reward you with two golden flowers. Go down to the mortal realm."

Upon hearing that there would be a reward and that he was innocent, the Kitchen God quickly expressed his gratitude. Then, without lingering for a moment, he hurried down from the palace.

Afterwards, the Seventh Princess was taken to her own celestial palace to reflect on her mistakes.

No one bothered to investigate how Yun Chonghua knew the whole story, nor did anyone care. And certainly no one would act like the stubborn Kitchen God, insisting on getting to the bottom of things and creating trouble for themselves.

Then, the celestial beings in the Lingxiao Palace began to discuss how to punish Yun Chonghua.

Although everyone is aware of the hidden truth behind this matter.

However, out of consideration for face, the immortals all pretended to be ignorant, acting as if they did not know the hidden story, and all suggested that the Jade Emperor punish them according to the Heavenly Laws.

So everyone said either that Yun Chonghua would be beheaded at the Dragon-Slaying Platform or that he would be taken to the Demon-Slaying Platform for execution.

Although all the immortals present intended to kill Yun Chonghua.

But Chonghua was not afraid at all at this moment.

Because the final decision rests with the Empress and His Majesty.

Just as everyone was speaking with one voice, Venus, having received a signal from the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother, immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

Venus stepped out of the procession and immediately reported, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this little dragon caused the death of a filial son. Although it was wrong, it was unintentional. However, the Seventh Princess was also caught in the crossfire because of it, and countless lives were lost."

"In my humble opinion, this death sentence can be waived, but he cannot escape punishment. Just now, the Giant Spirit God reported that thirty-three lives were lost because of him. How about we grant him a strike of heavenly lightning for each person he injures, as atonement?"

At this moment, the Giant Spirit God said, "Ah! With these thirty-odd lightning strikes, how could it possibly survive?"

The Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor exchanged a glance. The Queen Mother nodded knowingly, and then the Jade Emperor said, "As Venus has suggested, where is the Golden Warrior?"

The Yellow Turban warriors then entered the hall.

The Jade Emperor summoned the Golden Warrior and imprisoned Chonghua in the Heavenly Prison.

Just before he was taken to the Heavenly Prison, his protective magic weapon, the Dragon-Binding Rope, was discovered and temporarily confiscated by the Heavenly Official.

Meanwhile, Yun Chonghua quietly awaited his fate in the imperial prison.

Although he firmly believed he had made the right bet, he was still somewhat afraid of being imprisoned in this gloomy dungeon.

Now he only hopes that His Majesty and the Empress will remember his good deeds.