I served as Li Bai's page.

"Yuehua, get up, we should go." Li Bai's voice and knocking came from outside. I woke up with a start and realized that I was sitting on the edge of the bed. I didn't know when I had fallen asleep.

I got out of bed and opened the door for Li Bai. I saw Li Bai carrying Wu Zhinan's skeleton on his back, sword in his right hand, standing at the doorway. I looked out the window again, and there was only a faint, dim light.

"Young Master, it's not even dawn yet, are we leaving already?"

"Let's go, it'll be dawn soon. Can't you see the first rays of sunlight already rising?"

"Okay, go wait for me in the lobby. I'll wash up and be right there."

"Then hurry up." Li Bai said, turning and walking towards the hall.

After I finished packing, I slung my sword over my shoulder, went to the hall, paid the room fee at the inn counter, and Li Bai had already led two horses out of the stable.

We mounted our horses and rode towards Ezhou City as the first rays of dawn broke.

When we arrived at the plot of land east of Ezhou that Li Bai had chosen, it was already past four in the afternoon. Li Bai invited some friends to the site and, according to local custom, buried Wu Zhinan there. To thank his friends for their help, Li Bai hosted a banquet for them that evening at a restaurant in the city. Li Bai got drunk again.

The day after burying Wu Zhinan, there was no point in Li Bai and I staying in Ezhou any longer. I got up early, packed my luggage, and went to Li Bai's room. I heard him reading, so I bought two breakfasts and brought them to his room. After Li Bai finished his morning reading and ate breakfast, I said:

"Young Master, the luggage is packed. Let's go back to Anlu."

Li Bai stood up and paced back and forth in the room, occasionally going to the window to ponder.

"Young Master, you're not planning to go somewhere again, are you? Madam and Pingyang are waiting for us at home," I said.

"Yuehua, you were right this time. It seems you understand me better after all. We're not going back to Anlu; we're going to Chang'an."

"How are we going to explain this to the young mistress and young lady? They're waiting for us to get back."

"I'll write a letter and ask anyone I meet on the way to Anlu to take it back to me, then they'll know where we're going."

"But the young mistress is pregnant. If we go to Chang'an, when will we be able to return? Will we be able to return when the young mistress gives birth?"

"No problem. Let's go!"

"Then finish writing the letter before you leave."

I laid out paper and pen for Li Bai, and he sat down and wrote a letter to Xu Ziyan. After the ink dried, I folded it and put it in my pocket.

We mounted our horses, left Ezhou city, and galloped towards the official road to Chang'an. When we passed Jiangling, I stopped my horse and said:

"Young Master, we're not far from home now. Shall we go back home first before we continue?"

"If I go back, I'll be even more reluctant to leave. But if I don't go back, I can't be content with the status quo like what Young Master Meng said. The Young Madam will support me."

"But we're already at our doorstep."

"You have read the Records of the Grand Historian and know the story of Yu the Great controlling the floods, passing by his home three times without entering. I also want to emulate Yu the Great and pass by my home without entering for my political ideals."

"Young Master, you're just making excuses," I said.

"Stop arguing. Get to Chang'an soon, and if things go smoothly, return home as soon as possible."

"I'll go find someone to take the letter home," I said.

Li Bai and I arrived in Jiangling City, looking for people who were going to Anlu. We found a merchant who had come from Anlu. After he finished buying things, he was going back to Anlu. I handed him the letter and told him the name of the Xu family of Da'an Mountain in Anlu.

"Uncle, please give this to Steward Wu of the Xu family and ask him to pass it on to Miss Xu of Bai Zhaoshan."

"Don't worry, Manager Wu often buys things from me, I'll definitely give them to him."

Li Bai then took out another letter and handed it to him, saying, "Give this letter to him as well. Thank you."

The merchant carefully put away the two letters and drove off in his carriage.

Li Bai and I mounted our horses and headed towards the official road. Along the way, I asked:

"Didn't you only write one letter? When did you write the other one?"

"It was written before you even got up."

"Then why didn't you say so, and instead wrote another letter?"

"The letter you wrote is about the present, while the other is about the future."

"Young Master, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, if things don't go well after we go to Chang'an, and time drags on, the child will be born and we'll need to name him. I've already chosen a name in the letter: Boqin for his formal name and Mingyue Nu for his nickname."

"What if it's a girl?"

"As I stated in the letter, Ziyan will collect it."

"Young master, you went prepared."

After I finished speaking, I whipped the horse and galloped off on the post road.

After more than ten days of travel, when we finally arrived at the south gate of the ancient capital Chang'an, both we and our horses were exhausted. Li Bai and I dismounted and gazed at this prosperous ancient capital with its long history. Li Bai was extremely excited. He had finally arrived in Chang'an, the city he had longed for, and was now under the emperor's nose. He felt that he was one step closer to his ideal.

"Yuehua, let's not go into the city yet. Let's find a place outside the city to rest for a while. I need to be well-rested so I can enter the capital of my dreams in the best possible condition."

We led our horses to a town outside the south gate. Although it was a town, it was adjacent to the capital and its prosperity surpassed that of many major interstate cities. The main street was bustling with traffic and people, and shops lined both sides of the street, all doing brisk business.

Li Bai and I found an inn to stay at. After the waiter led the horses to the stables, he led us to our room and said:

"Gentlemen, please feel free to ask if you need anything. I hope you have a pleasant stay." With that, he withdrew.

Li Bai said, "After all, this is the capital city; even the innkeeper's assistant is different."

"Young Master, isn't that an exaggeration? What's different?"

"Didn't you hear them say they hope you have a pleasant stay? That's the difference."

I thought about it carefully. I had stayed in countless inns along the way, and this was the first time I had heard a waiter say something like that. I couldn't help but feel a little more hopeful for Chang'an.

I put down my luggage, looked out the window. It was still early before dark. I said to Li Bai, "Young Master, let's go out for a walk and buy some clothes. You didn't explain this clearly when we left home. Look at our clothes; they're filthy, and the ones we washed aren't even dry yet."

"Alright, buy some more paper and make more copies of the manuscript. I'm going to pay my respects to the important officials in the capital."

When Li Bai and I arrived on the street, Li Bai's first thought was to buy paper. At a paper-making shop, Li Bai bought a stack of paper and held it in his hand.

"Can't we buy it later? It's so inconvenient to hold it in your hand now," I complained to Li Bai.

"I was just worried about the store closing too late. I'll get it myself."

Li Bai took the stack of papers with him. I was relieved and walked ahead.

We entered a clothing shop. The shopkeeper, a young man, greeted us as we came in and said:

"Esteemed guests, would you like to buy ready-made clothes or have them custom-made?"

I pushed Li Bai in front of him and said, "Get him two sets of clothes, good quality, well-tailored, so he looks handsome and dashing."

The shopkeeper smiled, took out two sets of clothes, and said, "Please try them on, sir."

I took the paper from Li Bai and told him to try on the clothes. Li Bai held the clothes, looking a little lost, and said, "Isn't it fine as long as they look wearable? How can I try them on in public like this?"

"Boss, why don't you take him to try it out? He's such a bookworm, doesn't he even know to ask?"

The boss smiled again.