I served as Li Bai's page.

After the Taoist nun left, Li Bai and I left the guest room and went into the courtyard. The courtyard was not large, shaped like a traditional courtyard house, with six rooms on three sides. The overall layout looked clean and tidy, without any of the extravagance of an imperial princess.

There were only Li Bai and I in the entire courtyard. The Taoist nun who led us in was nowhere to be found. I walked out of the courtyard, around the front hall of the Taoist temple, and into the kitchen, where there was some rice and flour.

I asked Li Bai, "Young master, are you still going to eat?"

"Let's wait a little longer and look around," Li Bai said.

I walked to where we had just entered and saw a small alley leading in. I followed the alley, and not far away, I saw a mansion surrounded by green trees, with upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters. This must be the real Jade True Villa. The Taoist nun who had led us in came out and asked me:

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, I was just looking around. Is this where Princess Yuzhen lived in Zhongnan Mountain?" I said.

"Yes, the princess has spent very little time in Zhongnan Mountain these past few years, so you'll have to be patient. If you need any help, just let us know."

"Okay, thank you, nun."

I walked back to our lodgings along the alley and said to Li Bai, "Young Master, there's a hidden paradise inside." I pointed into the alley. "That's the real Jade True Villa."

"That makes sense. This place is merely for those who come to pay their respects to Princess Yuzhen. Princess Yuzhen certainly wouldn't stay here."

Li Bai and I looked around our lodgings and then returned to the courtyard. After Li Bai went back to his room, he took out the *Tao Te Ching* and began to read. I couldn't concentrate on reading and wandered around the courtyard. It quickly grew dark, so I lit a lantern and went back to my room. Looking out the window, it was pitch black and completely silent. I couldn't imagine that a princess accustomed to a life of luxury would actually enjoy this kind of existence.

"Yuehua, are you asleep?"

"Not yet." I opened the door, and Li Bai stood outside, holding a lantern.

"I'm hungry, let's go make something to eat," Li Bai said.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

After I finished speaking, I took the lantern and headed to the kitchen. The entire villa was quiet, save for the occasional croak of a frog. I went to the kitchen, took out some flour, and quickly made two bowls of noodles, which I then brought to Li Bai's room.

"Young master, please make do with this. There's nothing good to eat in the kitchen."

"As long as there's food, that's fine. Don't be picky. Although this place isn't far from Chang'an city, the mountain roads are rugged, and everything has to be transported in by horse-drawn carriage, which is quite inconvenient," Li Bai said.

As I ate, I said, "Young Master, let's go back to the city tomorrow. It's so quiet here at night; it's kind of scary."

"Yuehua, have you ever heard of the idiom 'Zhongnan Jiejin' (meaning 'to get closer to Zhongnan Mountain')? How about we try it today?"

"Whatever you say, young master, but I don't think it's very realistic."

"Actually, what I really want is to catch a glimpse of Princess Yuzhen's beauty and get her introduction," Li Bai said.

"However, none of us knew when Princess Yuzhen would return, not even her maids."

"So all we can do is wait; there's no other way."

Li Bai and I have been waiting for Princess Yuzhen on Zhongnan Mountain for several months. We've searched almost every Taoist temple on the mountain, but Princess Yuzhen is nowhere to be seen. After the Spring Festival, a light drizzle began to fall, making the mountain roads steep and slippery. The horse-drawn carts that deliver grain from Chang'an city to the mountain haven't come for nearly half a month. Li Bai and I have run out of food, and the nuns at Yuzhen's villa are also running low on food. Li Bai and I are too embarrassed to ask them for more.

That morning, after getting up, Li Bai used his sword to carve a poem on the door of his room at the Jade True Villa: "The immortal of Jade True often visits Mount Taihua. At dawn, he sounds the heavenly drum, and two dragons soar forth in a whirlwind. He manipulates lightning without ceasing, his movements swift as the clouds. When will he enter Shaoshi Mountain, where he will surely meet the Queen Mother of the West?" He then wrote the title "Ode to the Jade True Immortal," and attributed it to Li Bai.

After writing this poem, Li Bai said to me, "Yuehua, it seems our destiny with Princess Yuzhen hasn't arrived yet. Let's go to Chang'an."

"Okay, when are we leaving?"

"Pack your things, let's set off now to have breakfast in Chang'an."

After bidding farewell to the Daoist nuns at Yuzhen Villa, Li Bai and I rode our horses towards Chang'an. The first thing we did upon entering Chang'an was to have a delicious meal at a small restaurant. Li Bai even bought a pot of wine, drank half of it, and left the other half. We then found an inn in Chang'an to stay in.

Entering the room, I took out the manuscript that Li Bai and I had copied and said:

"Young Master, we've wasted so much time in Zhongnan Mountain. Now you can take these manuscripts to visit some officials and hope to get an introduction from them."

"Of course. I still have some time this morning, so I'll go to the capital and see if I can deliver to one or two places."

Speaking of the capital, I suddenly thought of Young Master Zhang, with whom I drank the other day, and I asked:

"Young Master, who is that Mr. Zhang you were drinking with that day? Why don't you go find him?"

Li Bai said, "That was the son of Prime Minister Zhang Yue. That day, I went to see Zhang Yue, hoping to gain his recommendation through his relationship with Lord Li Ting. However, unfortunately, Lord Zhang was ill, and his son Zhang Ji came to fetch him. But Lord Zhang was unwilling to go back with him, so I struck up a conversation with him. We had many things in common, and he also quite liked my writing, so we went out for a drink. We only met once, but unfortunately, the path he pointed out—to seek refuge with Princess Yuzhen—did not work out."

"We just haven't met Princess Yuzhen yet; there will be other opportunities in the future."

After Li Bai finished speaking to me, he took his manuscript and went out. I also left the inn and strolled around the streets of Chang'an.

I arrived at the West Market of Chang'an City, where vendors gathered and the sounds of bargaining filled the air.

I saw a crowd gathered around a chicken vendor, and out of curiosity, I went over and asked someone nearby, "Is there anything special about his chickens? There are so many chicken vendors, yet so many people are gathered around him."

"He sells fighting cocks, and these cocks are stronger than those bought in the East Market. Many high-ranking officials and playboys come here to buy them."

"What's cockfighting? I don't know."

"You don't even understand cockfighting? You've wasted your trip to Chang'an. Look at the streets and alleys of Chang'an; you can set up a stall anywhere, have two people and two chickens fighting, and it will attract a crowd of onlookers."

"So you're saying people are using the fight between two chickens for entertainment, right?"

"Some are for entertainment, some require betting money."

"It's basically gambling."

That's roughly the idea.

I squeezed through the crowd, squatted down, and watched as two chickens fought in a cage. Their feathers were bristling, they were fiercely battling each other, attacking and retreating, fighting to the death. This was far too bloody, so I quickly retreated. I never imagined that Chang'an City had such entertainment.

I spent the morning wandering around without buying anything. When I returned to the inn, Li Bai still hadn't come back. I leaned against the windowsill, gazing outside, worried about whether Li Bai's journey had been successful.