Loulan has eleven princesses,
each one stunningly beautiful and charming.
The fourth princess, Su Yeruo, is especially famous throughout the Western Regions for her unparalleled beauty and talent.
As she reaches the perfect age to marry,
King Loulan puts up notices far and wide, seeking a suitable husband for her.
The Central Plains kingdom of Xi responds in kind, sending an envoy to ask for the fourth princess's hand on behalf of its heir, Gu Yan.
The other kingdoms, wary of Xi's power, withdraw their marriage proposals one after another.
King Loulan is in a bind. He had wanted to bring a son-in-law into his household and is loath to send his daughter so far away to the Central Plains.
When the heir, Gu Yan, hears the news, he calmly places a stone on the board and says in an unhurried voice, "If the fourth princess won't marry me, then she won't be marrying anyone else, either."
From then on, King Loulan and the fourth princess devote themselves to figuring out how to make Gu Yan willingly break off the engagement...
