I served as Li Bai's page.

We followed Lu Qian and his son to the living room. Lu Qian pulled Li Bai to sit down with him, and the two had a lot to talk about. After lunch at the Lu residence, both Li Bai and Lu Qian were completely drunk. Lu Qian's father wanted Li Bai to rest at the Lu residence, but Li Bai refused. I had no choice but to help Li Bai to the street to hail a carriage and head home.

When we got home, Xu Ziyan was sitting in the pavilion reading, and the two children were playing in the yard. I wanted to help Li Bai to the study to rest, but Li Bai insisted on going to the pavilion to read with Xu Ziyan, so I had no choice but to help him there.

Seeing that Li Bai was drunk again, Xu Ziyan said, "Yuehua, do you think you really need to go?"

"Your Majesty is wise. Of course it's necessary. Otherwise, how would I get home?" Li Bai said, waving his hand around in front of Xu Ziyan with a grin.

Xu Ziyan helped him to a chair and instructed me, "Yuehua, go and make your young master a cup of hangover tea."

"Okay." I agreed and went to the living room to make a cup of hangover tea. I brought it to Li Bai, and Xu Ziyan helped Li Bai drink a few sips. Then she helped Li Bai walk towards the study, but Li Bai struggled and insisted on staying in the pavilion.

"Yuehua, come help me get him back to the study to rest." Xu Ziyan said, helping Li Bai up and heading towards the study. Li Bai resisted, pulling hard and almost knocking Xu Ziyan over. I quickly ran over to support Xu Ziyan, but Li Bai fell to the ground. After Xu Ziyan regained her balance, I went to help Li Bai up, but he lay on the ground, refusing to get up, stammering, "Getting up will only make me fall again, so I might as well not get up." Xu Ziyan and I both laughed.

"Husband, get up, I promise you won't fall," Xu Ziyan coaxed Li Bai.

"Madam, you must keep your word." Li Bai stretched out both hands, and Xu Ziyan and I each grabbed one of his hands, struggling to lift him up and help him to lie down on the couch in the study. Xu Ziyan sat beside the couch, watching over Li Bai, while I came out of the study.

"Uncle, my brother and I want to fly kites. Can you make one for us? Look, there are so many kites in the sky." Pingyang said, leading Boqin as he ran up to me after I came out of the study.

After listening to Pingyang's words, I looked up at the sky and saw all kinds of kites flying up from different courtyards, swaying left and right in the spring breeze.

"Uncle will look around the house to see if there's any bamboo. If I find any, I'll make it for you," I coaxed Pingyang and her brother.

"No need to look, can't we just cut one from that bamboo grove outside?" Pingyang said.

"How do you know there are some outside?" I asked.

"My brother and I saw it outside," Pingyang said.

"Who gave you permission to go out? There are bad people outside. From now on, you are not allowed to go out without an adult's permission."

"My brother and I went out to see if Dad and you had come back, and then we saw a large bamboo forest. There were people cutting bamboo there. They said they were cutting it to make kites, so we wanted some too."

I went to the kitchen and got a knife. I went to the yard and said to Pingyang and Boqin, "Come on, Uncle will take you to cut bamboo. But you must promise Uncle that you will not go out on your own without an adult's supervision."

"Okay, Uncle, we promise you, we'll go cut bamboo!"

I took my two children to the bamboo grove at the end of the alley, selected two bamboo stalks, cut them in half, removed the top and bottom, and took the middle section home. I split the bamboo into pieces, preparing to make kites.

At this moment, Li Bai sobered up and came out of the study with Xu Ziyan. Seeing us cutting bamboo in the courtyard, he asked:

"Moonlight, would you like to make a kite?"

Pingyang quickly replied, "Yes, Uncle is going to make two kites for us, one for my brother and one for me."

"Okay, Ziyan, go get me two large sheets of paper. I'll draw two butterflies, and we'll make two butterfly kites," Li Bai said.

When the two children heard Li Bai say he was going to draw butterflies, they excitedly ran to the pavilion to wait for him. After Xu Ziyan brought the paper and brush, Li Bai began to draw. I cut bamboo into very fine pieces and wove them into the shape of butterflies, waiting for Li Bai to finish the drawing so I could stick it on.

Our whole family spent the afternoon making kites. When the two butterflies successfully took flight, everyone was as happy as children, especially Li Bai, who immediately made a promise, saying:

"Tomorrow I'll take you to Beihu Park to fly kites."

"Father, you have to keep your word, don't lie to us," Pingyang said.

"Of course, Father's word is law. Let's go by boat," Li Bai said.

Xu Ziyan said to me, "Yuehua, we're going to Beihu Park tomorrow. Prepare some food for us."

"Yes, Madam, I'll get ready to go right away."

I went to the street and bought some fruit and sweets. When I got home, I imitated Zhang Ma and made some pastries. I packed them in bags and boxes, and also prepared two water bottles, filled them with water, and put them on the table. The two children would come and look at them from time to time.

"Pingyang, Boqin, don't bother coming to see us anymore. We're really going on a trip tomorrow," I told them.

"Uncle, Dad hasn't changed, has he? I'm worried he'll get drunk tonight and won't go tomorrow."

"No, don't worry. Go and call Father and Mother for dinner," I instructed Pingyang.

After dinner, before it got dark, Xu Ziyan and I played with the children in the yard, while Li Bai went to the study to get his pen and washed it by the fountain ditch.

I quickly ran over and said, "Young Master, let me do it."

"I'll do it myself. You go and keep Pingyang and Boqin company," Li Bai said.

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside.

I went to open the door, and Aunt Liu walked in, supported by Li Shiwu, followed by several of Li Bai's cousins.

"Madam, young masters and young ladies, please come in," I said.

Li Bai and Xu Ziyan were delighted to see their sixth aunt arrive with her children and went out to greet her.

Li Bai said, "Sixth Aunt, brothers and sisters, please come and sit in the pavilion."

I moved a few stools into the pavilion, and then placed some fruit, pastries, and sweets on the table inside. After brewing tea for everyone, I said:

"Madam, young masters and ladies, we are new to Rencheng and haven't had time to prepare many things. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

"Let's take a look around first," Aunt Liu said, leading everyone on a tour of the yard and rooms. "Now this should look like a home. You've kept it clean and tidy, unlike when your father lived here. Apart from the study, the living room, and his room, everywhere was dusty."

Li Bai said, "It must be really hard on my father. He lives here alone for so long, and besides his attendants, he doesn't want to hire a caregiver. It must be very difficult for him."

"It's good that you understand your father. He's been traveling back and forth between Rencheng and Xishu all these years. He really deserves to come home and rest," said Aunt Liu.

"I understand him. Although he rarely stays by my side, we know how hard he works." After the tour, Li Bai accompanied his aunt to the pavilion.

I carried the kettle to refill everyone's tea. Pingyang was standing next to Xu Ziyan, but Boqin was nowhere to be seen.

I put down the kettle, looked around the yard, and went into the house, only to find Boqin sitting at the dining table looking at the things he needed to bring for tomorrow's trip.

"Boqin, why don't you go out and play with the guests?" I asked.

"I'm not going. I'll guard my things and not let them touch them."

"Silly child, no one will touch you. If you took it, Uncle will make up for it. Go out and play, go find your sister."

I led Boqin to Xu Ziyan's side, and the child shyly threw himself into Xu Ziyan's arms.