I served as Li Bai's page.

We traveled in one carriage, while Madam Xu and Master Xu traveled in another, heading towards Bai Zhaoshan.

When the carriage arrived at the gate, I jumped off and walked to Madam Xu's carriage. I helped Madam Xu and Master Xu down from the carriage, and Wu Chao instructed people to move their belongings into the house.

Upon entering the inner courtyard, Li Bai said to Xiaoqian, "Change all the bedding in the guest room to clean ones so that Father and Mother are more comfortable." Xiaoqian agreed and immediately ran towards the guest room.

Mrs. Xu nodded in satisfaction and said, "With the master of the house, this is a complete family."

I escorted Madam Xu and Mr. Xu to their guest room, where Li Bai and Xu Ziyan led their two children inside. Zhang Ma brought over some pastries and fruit, and the family of six chatted in the guest room.

"Grandmother, I'm going to play with Uncle Yuehua," Pingyang said to Madam Xu as she stood up.

"Alright, go ahead." Madam Xu said, pulling Pingyang's hand.

"I want to go too." Boqin climbed down from Li Bai's lap, took Pingyang's hand, and walked into the courtyard. Actually, Xiaoqian and I had been in the courtyard the whole time, not daring to go far. When we saw the two children come out, I picked up Boqin and led Pingyang into the courtyard.

Xiaoqian and I were playing in the yard with our two children, while Li Bai was chatting with his parents-in-law in the house. At that moment, I wished Li Bai would boast a lot, even if it meant quoting classical texts.

After Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu stayed at Bai Zhaoshan for a few days, the second concubine sent Steward Wu to pick up Mr. Xu, and Mrs. Xu went back with him.

As Madam Xu was leaving, she told Li Bai, "The children are still young. Stay home and take good care of your wife and children; it is your responsibility."

"Mother, I understand. I will take good care of them," Li Bai replied.

We saw Mr. and Mrs. Xu off onto the carriage and watched them head towards Da'an Mountain.

"Young Master, I'm going to check on Xuanmeng," I said to Li Bai.

Xiaoqian came out and said, "Master Xuanmeng is no longer on the mountain; he went to Suizhou."

"When did this happen? How do you know?" I asked.

"The year after you left, just after Miss gave birth to Boqin, he came to say goodbye, saying that his master wanted him to go to Suizhou."

"Is there no one left at the Taoist temple on the mountain?"

"Another one came, a Taoist priest named Xuanzhen. He's a strange guy; he rarely smiles and speaks. When Miss and I went to burn incense, he just stood there silently, not even saying hello," Xiaoqian said.

I said "Oh," went back to my room, grabbed my bamboo flute, and headed towards the Taoist temple on the mountain.

I arrived at the entrance of the Taoist temple and saw Xuanzhen sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat in the main hall with his eyes closed. I went inside the temple, lit three sticks of incense, bowed three times, and placed them in the incense burner.

I asked, "Xuanzhen, were you banished here by your master?"

"What's it to you? You've already burned the incense, so hurry up and leave," Xuanzhen said.

"Monks are most averse to losing their temper, and even more so to being competitive. You must have violated one of these rules to have been demoted to this sparsely populated place."

"My junior brother and I went to Suizhou City to buy things. We encountered a local thug bullying him, so I beat him up badly. Little did I know he was a rich young master, and that's why Master punished me and sent me here."

"You did nothing wrong. When you see injustice, you have the courage to stand up. Master Ziyang has been unfair to you."

"My master told me to stay here for a few years, in case that person retaliates, and to go back after things have calmed down."

"That's more like it. Xuanzhen, did you bring your flute? Let's play a tune."

"Great! I'm so bored here all by myself, let's play a tune."

Xuanzhen went to the inner room and brought out a bamboo flute. We stood on the platform in front of the Taoist temple, gazing at the lush Baizhao Mountain. I played "High Mountains and Flowing Water," and Xuanzhen joined in. After one piece, we played another. Before we knew it, Li Bai and Xu Ziyan appeared behind us with two children.

"Uncle, I want it!" Boqin's shout woke me from the music. Xuanzhen and I stopped. Li Bai clapped and said, "This scene is like a fairyland, so beautiful that I don't want to leave. I don't care about wealth and glory, and I have no mind to worry about my future."

"Young master, when did you arrive? Aren't you going to sing a song?" I said.

I handed the bamboo flute to Li Bai, who took it and began to play "Moon over the Mountain Pass." The flute's sound was low and mournful, like the souls of soldiers guarding the frontier who could not return to their homeland.

After Li Bai finished playing his instrument, a brief silence fell in front of the Taoist temple. Even Bo Qin, who knew nothing about it, stopped speaking.

"Young master, this piece is too depressing. Let's play something more upbeat," I said.

Li Bai handed the bamboo flute he was playing to Xu Ziyan, then reached out to Xuanzhen for another flute, saying to Xu Ziyan, "Madam, let's play a duet of 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate.'"

Xu Ziyan brought the flute to her lips and began playing "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate" in accompaniment to Li Bai. The flute's mournful tone transformed into a beautiful and joyful melody, like a couple in love, both reluctant and eager, unable to resist each other. After Xu Ziyan finished playing, she handed the flute to Li Bai.

Li Bai said, "I never imagined that you, madam, could play the flute so well."

Xu Ziyan said, "My husband, there are many things you wouldn't expect. I've compiled all the poems and essays you kept at home into a booklet for you."

"Thank you, Madam. With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?" Li Bai said, bowing deeply to Xu Ziyan.

"Young Master, you should be even more grateful to the Young Madam for giving birth to these two lovely children for you. On behalf of everyone at Longxi Courtyard, I thank the Young Madam." After I finished speaking, I bowed deeply to Xu Ziyan.

"Look at you all, we came to Xuanzhen's place to have fun, why are you being so polite?" Xu Ziyan said.

"Isn't this just a slip of the tongue? Let's not talk about it anymore, let's continue playing," I said.

"Uncle, I want to perform a show too," Pingyang said, grabbing my hand.

Xuanzhen squatted down in front of Pingyang and asked, "Little Pingyang, what are you going to perform?"

"I want to recite a poem by my father, 'Questions and Answers in the Mountains': 'You ask me why I dwell in these green mountains? I smile but do not answer, my heart is at peace. Peach blossoms drift away on flowing water, a world apart, not of this earth.'"

After Pingyang finished reciting, I led the applause and said, "Pingyang is really good; he can recite his father's poem now."

"I also know many of the poems my father wrote, all of which my mother taught me," Pingyang said.

Bo Qin stammered, "The bright moonlight shines before my bed; I wonder if it is frost on the ground."

After listening to the two children's recitation, Li Bai was moved to tears. He looked up to the sky and sighed, "With such a wife and children, I should be content. Why should I wander aimlessly?"

We recited poems and sang songs in front of the Xuanzhen Taoist temple, attracting countless passing mountain villagers to stop and watch. The two children were extremely excited, and even after returning home down the mountain, they kept telling me:

"Uncle, I want to go again."

"Uncle will definitely take you with him when he goes," I assured the two children.

Staying at home was far more comfortable than traveling around, and life was leisurely. However, Li Bai had too much restlessness in his blood. When he first returned home, he would go to Peach Blossom Rock to read and practice swordsmanship every day, or go to Baizhao Peak to water the ginkgo trees. But after a while, Li Bai would go out early and return late to visit friends, or invite friends to Peach Blossom Rock for small gatherings, keeping the whole family busy with him, especially Zhang Ma. Whenever friends came, they had to order pastries made by Zhang Ma.

One early winter day that year, before Li Bai had even had a chance to leave his house, Yuan Yan arrived.