I served as Li Bai's page.

With the birth of his daughter, Li Bai spent less time going out and less time reading at the study. He spent more time in his study, reading and writing while watching little Pingyang. When Pingyang began to babble, her first word was "Dad." Li Bai readily agreed, and the father and daughter smiled foolishly at each other.

Seeing this, Xu Ziyan found Li Bai increasingly endearing. Not only did she not restrict his drinking, but she would also sometimes bring him wine and even urge him to have a couple of drinks. Gradually, Li Bai began to drink without restraint again.

"Young Master, although the Young Madam doesn't restrict your drinking, you still need to be moderate and not always get drunk, it's not good for the baby," I said.

"I know. Just take good care of my manuscripts and the children. Also, check on the Reading Rock side from time to time and keep it clean."

"I understand, young master. When I went to Da'an Mountain yesterday, Steward Wu gave me a ginkgo tree. I'd like to plant it in front of our gate. What do you think?" I asked Li Bai.

"This tree species is so precious, I want to plant it on the summit of Baizhao Peak. Let's go plant a tree."

I handed Pingyang to Xiaoqian, but Pingyang refused and cried loudly, insisting that I hold him.

Li Bai said, "Carry her on your back and come with us to plant trees."

"Carrying Pingyang up such a high mountain will probably exhaust me," I said.

"Then you won't go. I'll have Wu Chao come with me."

"No, I have to go. Bring Wu Chao along."

"You're not stupid, you really are. Take my daughter and call Wu Chao."

I went to the inner courtyard where Wu Chao lived and called out:

"Wu Chao, your son-in-law wants you to come with us to plant trees."

Wu Chao came out of the room, and we walked up the stone steps in the back garden to the top of the mountain. Wu Chao and I took turns carrying Pingyang on our backs. The two-year-old child wasn't heavy, but it still left me panting.

We arrived at the summit, where a few scattered temples dotted the landscape. Li Bai went to the temple at the highest peak, took the hoe from Wu Chao, and personally planted the ginkgo tree. Pingyang walked up to the tree and tried to pull it out, but Li Bai slapped him. Pingyang then turned around, hugged me, and cried pitifully.

Li Bai picked up the child and comforted him, saying, "Pingyang, don't cry. You have to be punished for doing something wrong."

"Young Master, she knows she was wrong, why do you still need to hold her?" I took Pingyang a little angrily and turned to walk towards Xuanmeng's Taoist temple.

"Your uncle will spoil her rotten. Where are you going?"

"We're going to find Master Xuanmeng. You and Wu Chao should go back first."

"We want to go too. Let's go see Xuanmeng; we haven't seen him in ages."

The four of us arrived at Xuanmeng's Taoist temple on the south side of Baizhao Peak. Xuanmeng was meditating inside. I carried Pingyang over and called out, "Xuanmeng."

Xuanmeng stood up and said:

"Young Master Li, Yuehua, you've arrived. Please come inside and have a seat. Is that Pingyang you're holding? She's grown so much."

Pingyang called out crisply, "Hello, Uncle."

Xuanmeng smiled and clasped her hands together: "Pingyang is good."

I always felt something was off. The cheerful, innocent, and straightforward Xuanmeng from before was gone. In just a few months, Xuanmeng had become deep, melancholic, and quiet.

"Xuanmeng, have you been to Suizhou these past few months? I've come several times but haven't been able to find you," I asked.

"Yes, I went to the Bitter Bamboo Monastery to cultivate, but my cultivation was too shallow, and my fellow disciples laughed at me. My master looked at me but didn't speak up for me. My fellow disciples are all very talented, but I've been cultivating here for so many years and I still can't do anything. The only thing I'm good at is growing vegetables." Xuanmeng sighed as she spoke.

"Xuanmeng, that's because you were sent here by your master when you were too young. You have to be self-sufficient and have no one to rely on, so you grow vegetables so you won't go hungry," Li Bai said.

Li Bai continued, "Don't have any mental burdens. Just do what you need to do. Don't compare yourself to your fellow disciples. On the path of cultivation, you need to have your own understanding and individuality. Just follow your master's example. If you want to learn anything, you can always come to my house to find Yuehua. He knows a bit about poetry, songs, and various musical instruments; he can at least impress your fellow disciples."

"Thank you, Young Master Li. I will study and understand it thoroughly, and I will ask Yuehua for guidance when I have time."

After sitting at the Xuanmeng Taoist Temple for a while, the four of us returned home. As soon as we entered the gate, Xiaoqian ran over to take Pingyang and said, "Young Master, Miss has vomited again. Wu Ma and Zhang Ma are with her."

Li Bai paused for a moment, then smiled and hurriedly walked towards the inner courtyard.

"Honey, what's wrong? Are you pregnant?"

Xu Ziyan glared at him and said, "I sent Xiao Peng to fetch a doctor, but it's still uncertain."

Aunt Wu said, "It's almost certainly true. Congratulations, son-in-law, you're going to be a father again!"

At this moment, Pingyang broke free from Xiaoqian's hand and rushed towards Li Bai, shouting loudly, "Father!"

Aunt Zhang said, "Children also compete for attention, son-in-law, you'd better treat them all equally from now on."

Li Bai was very pleased with what everyone said.

Xiao Peng led the doctor into the inner courtyard. I brought two chairs and placed them in the courtyard for the doctor to sit down. Wu Ma helped Xu Ziyan out.

After taking Xu Ziyan's pulse, the doctor said to Li Bai, "Your Majesty's pulse indicates pregnancy. Congratulations! Your family is expecting another member."

Li Bai happily instructed, "Everyone will be rewarded. Xiao Peng, see the doctor off. Zhang Ma, prepare plenty of good food tonight to celebrate."

When Xu Ziyan became pregnant for the second time, the Xu family of Da'an Mountain sent over a great deal of food, clothing, and other necessities, which were personally delivered by Master Xu and his wife. Master Xu said to his daughter, "I hope this time it's a boy, so he can carry on the Li family line."

Madam Xu's face immediately darkened, and she said, "Are you disgusted by my daughter? Without this daughter, where would you get this renowned son-in-law? You're just saying things that are detrimental to unity."

Master Xu chuckled foolishly twice, then dared not speak again.

Madam Xu said to Li Bai, "Son-in-law, don't listen to your father-in-law. Both men and women are your children. Today I brought you a letter from my nephew."

Madam Xu handed the letter to Li Bai. After reading it, Li Bai remained silent for a long time before saying to Master Xu and Madam Xu, "Father and Mother, please make yourselves at home." He then walked towards the study.

By lunchtime, Li Bai still hadn't come out. I went to the study and called out, "Young Master, lunch is ready. Master Xu wants you to have a couple of drinks with him."

"I'm not drinking anymore. Let him drink it himself. I'm replying to Prefect Meng; I haven't finished writing it yet."

I entered the study and saw that Li Bai had written several lengthy pieces, titled "Reply to Prefect Meng's Letter on Behalf of Shoushan": "...Yesterday, at the residence of the hermit Li Bai, I saw your letter, in which you rebuked me for my many oddities, scolded me for my exceptional talent, and spoke at length about the beauty of the Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks, saying that I, a small mountain without fame or virtue, am hailed as such. Looking at these words, how utterly absurd! Have you not heard, my son, that the nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth, and the named is the mother of all things? Even if one were to perform sacrifices at the Fengshan Temple, how could it be worthy of the Great Way's criticism? Yet all of this is wasteful of manpower and resources, killing animals for sacrifices, squandering plants and trees, and even if one were to carve inscriptions on metal and stone for record-keeping, it would still be considered worthless. Moreover, the enlightened Zhuangzi often had a saying, 'Even a bird cannot envy the roc, and a hair can be compared to Mount Tai.' From this perspective, what difference is there between small and large?"

"Young Master, did Young Master Meng blame you?" I asked.

Li Bai replied, "I understand him. The grand plans we discussed now seem a bit far removed from my own reality."

After finishing his sentence, Li Bai gazed wistfully out the window.