I served as Li Bai's page.

Back at the inn, I ignored Li Bai, drew the curtains, and fell asleep on the bed.

"Young Master, what's all this commotion outside?" I asked Li Bai, startled awake by the noise outside.

Li Bai walked in from outside the corridor and said, "Don't you know what time it is? The guests in the next room have left, and a few young people have moved in. I heard they're here to take the imperial examinations in the fall."

"It's only July, and you're here so early." I said as I got out of bed.

After I finished washing up, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door, and a young man was standing outside.

"My name is Zhao Zhenzhong, and I live next door. I'd like to borrow your pen and ink; I just arrived and haven't had time to go out and buy them yet."

I turned around, picked up the pen and ink, and handed them to him, saying, "Here, you don't need to return them, we have more."

"Thank you, young man. Are you also here to take the imperial examination in the fall?" Zhao Zhenzhong asked.

"No, we're just passing through. We'll stay for a while and then leave," I said.

"There are too many people taking the imperial examinations this year, and all the inns near the Confucius Temple are full. Now, only these expensive inns are available," Zhao Zhenzhong said, a melancholy look in his eyes.

"Young Master Zhao, have confidence. As long as you learn well, you won't be afraid of anyone, no matter how many people there are," I encouraged him.

"Thank you, young man. I'm going back to study now." After saying that, Zhao Zhenzhong took his pen and ink and went back to his room.

Li Bai called out from the corridor: "Yuehua, who are you talking to?"

"He's a student from next door, taking the imperial examination. He's come to borrow our pen and ink," I replied.

"Just give him a painting, why borrow it?" Li Bai said generously.

"I gave it to him as you asked, and he left." I closed the door and walked towards the corridor.

Li Bai and I didn't go out all day. After dinner, Li Bai asked me to go for a walk with him. We strolled slowly along the Qinhuai River, admiring the beautiful scenery of the prosperous city that never sleeps.

"Young master, those people up ahead are talking about us," I said.

"Eavesdropping on others is hardly gentlemanly behavior," Li Bai said seriously, then added, "What are they saying about us?"

"It seems that Li Bai and his page were both martial arts masters." Li Bai couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

The group in front turned around at the sound of laughter and said, "You don't believe me? It's true! Last night, on a moonlit boat, Li Bai's pageboy knocked the young master of Nanyang to the ground with a single stroke of his pipa. Luckily, Wang An pleaded for him, and Li Bai and his companions let him go. Do you know who the young master of Nanyang is? He's the little tyrant of the Qinhuai River."

I stuck my tongue out at Li Bai and whispered to him, "We're in big trouble now."

"A person who is upright has nothing to fear, for I am here for you," Li Bai said.

Li Bai and I strolled along the banks of the Qinhuai River for a while before returning to the inn. As soon as we stepped through the inn's gate, the waiter approached us:

"Young Master Li, someone is looking for you." Meng Ning walked over just as the waiter finished speaking.

"Brother Taibai, Yuehua, it's been a long time. You came to Jinling but didn't come to see me," Meng Ning scolded.

I quickly replied, "We've looked, but we couldn't find it. We've asked around the Confucius Temple area."

"Can't you look around a bit more? We're just walking down the alley to the left of Confucius Temple, there's a Meng's Cloth Shop there, Yuehua, you're so stupid," Meng Ning said angrily.

"And how did you know we lived here?" I asked.

"What's there to hide? Everyone in the Qinhuai River knows that Li Bai, the talented scholar from Western Shu, came to Jinling with a page who knows martial arts, and beat up the little tyrant of the Qinhuai River, the young master of Nanyang," Meng Ning said.

"Oh dear, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. It gets more and more outrageous as it's spread. We'll have to be more careful when we go out in the future," I said.

"Don't stand there talking, come on, let's go inside and sit down to talk." Li Bai said as he walked upstairs, and Meng Ning and I followed him upstairs.

Meng Ning stayed with us very late, constantly pestering Li Bai to talk about ancient and modern times, which Li Bai was happy to have someone to talk to. I was so bored that I lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

Since Meng Ning arrived, we have visited Meng's Cloth Shop several times. Meng Ning would take Li Bai and three or five friends to drink until they were drunk every night at the restaurants along the Qinhuai River.

Time flies, and Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. That day, Li Bai, drunk again, was brought back by Meng Ning. I helped Li Bai to a chair inside and was about to turn around and close the door when Zhao Zhenzhong, who lived next door, came in with a brush and ink.

"I'm returning the writing brush and ink to you. I'm leaving tomorrow; something's happened at home, and I don't have the money to support my studies for the imperial examinations. Thank you!"

"Isn't the exam right after the Mid-Autumn Festival? There are only a few days left, can't you hold on?" I said.

"The rent here is expensive, and I've used up all the money my family gave me. A fellow villager told me that something happened at home and they have no more money for me. I have no choice but to give up the exam and go home," Zhao Zhenzhong said helplessly.

"I have to take the exam. If I don't go back, I'll give you money," Li Bai stammered.

"Young Master Zhao, our young master has said he will sponsor you. Continue your studies and return after you finish the imperial examination." After saying that, I took out a silver note and placed it in Young Master Zhao's hand.

Young Master Zhao thanked him profusely, took the silver notes and writing materials, and went back into his room.

Two days later, Li Bai said to me, "Yuehua, go and ask Young Master Zhao what he needs, and then go and buy it for him."

"You still remember what happened that night? I thought you were just drunk and talking nonsense," I said.

Li Bai said, "Didn't you give him money? You really thought I was drunk?"

Following Li Bai's instructions, I checked on Zhao Zhenzhong every two days, and he finally finished his exams before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Bai and I were reading in our room when suddenly we heard loud laughter and crying outside the door.

Li Bai asked me, "Has something happened outside? Why don't you go out and take a look?"

I opened the door, and several scholars from next door were passing by.

Zhao Zhenzhong burst into laughter and hugged me tightly: "Thank you and Young Master Li, I've taken the exam for several years, and I finally passed this year!" As he spoke, he started crying again, as if he had gone mad. Those who were with him, those who passed, were crying and laughing intermittently, while those who failed looked dejected, like punctured balloons.

I asked, "Why are you crying if you passed the exam?"

One of them said, "Yuehua, you have no idea how hard we've worked. Decades of hard study, all for the sake of getting into high school today. Look at me, my beard is all white now."

I actually leaned closer to look at his beard, and it really was completely white.

I said, "That's good, you don't need to worry anymore. Before long, your beard will turn black."

"Moonlight, I'm so glad you said that. I'm really free of worries now." The man said, singing as he went into the house.

I turned and went back inside. Li Bai asked me, "What happened to them?"

"Today is the day the results of the imperial examinations are released; it's a day of joy for some and sorrow for others," I said.

"Did Zhao Zhenzhong pass the exam?" Li Bai asked with concern.

"She passed the exam, and she was laughing one minute and crying the next. Then she went back to her room," I said.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and Zhao Zhenzhong came in carrying his luggage. He immediately knelt down in front of Li Bai: "Thank you, Young Master Li. If it weren't for your help, I would never be where I am today. From today onwards, I can hold my head high in front of my fellow villagers. I'm going home now. Thank you all." After saying this, he bowed to us and turned to walk downstairs from the inn.

"Is passing the imperial examination really that glorious?" Li Bai was still reeling from Zhao Zhenzhong's expression.