I served as Li Bai's page.

We traveled day and night, and returned to Bingzhou a few days later. Lord Yuan was as happy as a child, taking Li Bai and Yuan Yan's hands and saying, "You're finally back! Did you have a good time? Come drink with me tonight."

I unloaded the box of wine I bought at Yanmen Pass from my horse. There were two flasks inside, which I had left behind with Li Bai and Yuan Yan. I took them out and handed them to Lord Yuan, saying, "This is something we specially brought back for you from Yanmen Pass. Don't go out to eat; just cook a few simple dishes and eat at home."

"It's kind of you to go to such lengths to bring me back two jugs of wine from so far away. Alright, I'll have them go buy groceries, and we'll eat at home tonight."

Lord Yuan instructed his servants to buy a lot of food and cook a large table full of dishes. The three of them toasted each other and quickly finished two jugs of wine. Not yet satisfied, they took out another jug ​​of wine from the house, and all three of them got completely drunk.

After returning from Yanmen Pass, Li Bai and Yuan Yan truly made the effort to spend more time with Lord Yuan. During the day, they would stay at home reading and practicing swordsmanship, and after Lord Yuan returned from the government office, they would meet up at a restaurant for drinks. More often, they would go to the painting studios on the Jin River to drink and enjoy singing and dancing.

After some time had passed like this, one morning, Li Bai was reading in the courtyard after his morning exercise, while Yuan Yan and I were tending to the flowers and plants. A gust of wind blew by, rustling the leaves and swaying the flowers and plants. I suddenly felt a chill and casually said:

"What a fine autumn day!"

Li Bai paused, then asked, "Is it already autumn? Time flies. When I left Anlu, it was still early spring. Autumn has arrived, the fruits are ripe, but I have gained nothing."

Li Bai wandered around the courtyard, casually reciting: "The year ends and all flowers fade, the time for the Great Fire Star to shine. Frost's might arrives early beyond the border, autumn clouds drift across the river. My dreams linger around the border city moon, my heart flies to the towers of my homeland. My longing for home is like the Fen River, flowing endlessly day after day."

As soon as I heard that, I quickly found paper and pen and wrote it down.

"Young master, what is the title of this poem?"

"Let's call it 'Early Autumn in Taiyuan.' Bingzhou is Taiyuan."

Yuan Yan stood up and clapped, saying, "What a fine frontier poem! It's vigorous and powerful, perfectly capturing the longing of those guarding the border to return home."

"Brother Yuan, you flatter me. I was just writing down my feelings; I really do want to go home."

"I should also return to Qiao County. Let's go together," Yuan Yan said.

However, when Lord Yuan returned that evening, he brought back some incredibly good news.

As soon as Lord Yuan entered the courtyard, he hurriedly called out, "Yan'er, Taibai, I have good news for you."

Li Bai and Yuan Yan came out of the house and looked at Lord Yuan.

"Father, tell me quickly what good news it is?" Yuan Yan asked eagerly.

"His Majesty has already departed from Chang'an for the Shanglin Garden hunting trip. Taibai could go and pay his respects; perhaps he could even reach the Emperor directly."

Upon hearing this, Li Bai was filled with ambition and said to Yuan Yan, "Brother Yuan, let's hurry to Shanglin Garden."

The three of us bid farewell to Lord Yuan and rode our horses towards the Shanglin Garden outside Chang'an. After two days and nights of travel, we finally arrived at the gates of the Shanglin Garden. Several days earlier, the Emperor had already entered the Shanglin Garden's temporary palace. The gates outside the garden were heavily guarded, with the Imperial Guards setting up several checkpoints. The three of us could only lead our horses and observe from a distance. We weren't the only ones watching; many people were waiting there, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Emperor.

"Father, may we go to the high mountain next to Shanglin Garden to watch the Emperor's hunting?" A boy of about ten years old said to the man next to him who was carrying a hunting rifle.

"Alright, come with me." After saying that, the man led the little boy toward the path next to Shanglin Garden.

Yuan Yan gestured with his lips towards me, and I immediately understood what he meant. I tugged at Li Bai, and the three of us, leading our horses, followed.

The man led the little boy in front, and we followed behind. We crossed several rivers and arrived at the foot of a high mountain on the outskirts of Shanglin Garden. We tied our horses in the woods and followed the man up the mountain. The man turned back to us and said:

"You've all come here to watch the Emperor hunt, haven't you? From this mountain, you can see the entire hunting scene. Whenever the Emperor comes to Shanglin Garden to hunt, we all like to watch from here. There might already be people up there."

"How often does His Majesty go hunting?" I asked.

"At least once a year. The last time I saw the Emperor hunt was around this time last year," the man replied.

We followed the man to the top of the mountain, where several people were already sitting on a platform looking down. The three of us found a spot a little further back and stood with our backs against the rocks.

Looking out over the Shanglin Garden, one sees palace walls standing in a neat and orderly fashion, a vast hunting ground with dense trees, and several rivers crisscrossing the area, where the water plants are lush and abundant. Occasionally, one can see animals running around among them.

"Father, why hasn't the Emperor come out yet?" the little boy asked.

"His Majesty also needs to rest. I heard that he hunted a deer yesterday," the man replied.

"The Emperor isn't going to skip coming out today, is he?" I said.

"Probably not. I saw the Imperial Guards being mobilized earlier. The Emperor must be making preparations," one of the people on the platform said.

"Brother, you have excellent eyesight. I can only see some mountains and rivers, and some animals nearby," I said.

As we were talking, horns sounded in the distance, banners fluttered, and the Emperor finally emerged. We were thrilled.

"Father, why doesn't the Emperor come this way? I can't see him at all." The child had the courage to tell the truth. Actually, I didn't see anything either. Even the swaying of figures and the fluttering of flags were blurry.

"The Emperor will come. He will chase after any prey that runs this way. Be patient," the man said.

As everyone gazed at Shanglin Garden from the platform, discussing the Emperor's majesty, we were unexpectedly treated to witness this spectacle firsthand. A wild horse was driven into this area by the Emperor's army. We could clearly see the warhorse neighing and galloping wildly. Several generals in battle robes escorted a man dressed in imperial robes, wearing a crown, riding a crimson horse, and wielding a long sword as he chased after the wild horse.

The little boy excitedly shouted, "Daddy, isn't that the Emperor?"

I quickly reached out and covered the little boy's mouth, whispering, "Don't speak loudly. It would be such a shame if they mistook us for assassins and shot us."

The little boy was so frightened by my words that he hid behind his father.

Li Bai said, "Don't frighten the child. The Emperor can't hear us from this far away. If he could, I'd like to recite a poem, 'The Great Hunt,' for him."

I glanced back at Li Bai, knowing he was writing in his mind again. Looking back at the hunting grounds, the exciting hunting scenes flashed by; the Emperor and his entourage had already galloped far away.

We descended the mountain, mounted our horses, and arrived at the gate of Shanglin Garden. The crowd there was growing larger and larger. At that moment, a military officer emerged from Shanglin Garden and announced to everyone, "Disperse, His Majesty will not be returning to Chang'an today."