I served as Li Bai's page.

This is my third day as a page.

After accompanying Li Bai in practicing swordsmanship and reading aloud in the morning, I went to the mountains opposite and picked a handful of wildflowers. When I got home, I found an oval-shaped ceramic jar, put them in it, and prepared to place it in Li Bai's study.

When I brought the flowers to the study, Li Bai had not yet left.

"Young Master, aren't you going out today?"

"I'm not going out. My junior brothers are coming here to eat the fish you made."

Why didn't you say so sooner? I could have prepared.

"It's not too late to prepare now. Isn't it better to eat fish fresh?"

I had nothing to say, so I had no choice but to call on the woman in purple to go fishing.

The pool water was icy cold in the morning. Fearing that Ziyi would catch a cold if she went in, I asked:

"Do you have a fishing rod? We want to catch fish to eat."

"Yes, it was bought by Young Master in Qinglian." After saying that, Ziyi skipped home to get the fishing rod.

I used a knife to dig up some earthworms in the bamboo grove and baited my fishing hook. In half an hour, we caught four crucian carp.

When Ziyi and I returned home with the fish, Li Bai's fellow disciples and his other friends were already discussing loudly in the study.

Hearing that we had returned from fishing, they all rushed to see us: "Purple Robe, you went fishing, why didn't you call us?" said Li Bai's junior brother.

"I was afraid of disturbing your discussion, so I didn't dare call you," I said. "I had to eat lunch today, and I didn't dare to follow the example of Jiang Ziya, so I didn't have time to play with you."

"Yuehua, who is Jiang Taigong? Why would you want to learn from him when you're fishing?" Li Bai asked curiously.

I suddenly realized I'd said too much again: "Because Jiang Taigong fished without bait, letting those who were willing take the bait."

"There are people like this? When will he ever get to eat fish?" said Li Bai's friend.

"It's not a question of whether or not you can catch fish. Jiang Taigong was probably fishing while waiting for someone to discover him," Li Bai said.

"Smart. Jiang Taigong is the protagonist of a novel. He was highly skilled, but he was not given important responsibilities. So he sat by the river fishing all day without baiting his hook, just waiting for the person who would give him a chance," I explained to Li Bai.

Li Bai's friends and fellow students unanimously exclaimed, "So that's how it is!"

"I'm not going to follow Jiang Ziya's example; it's too risky. If he never finds someone to discover him, he'll never accomplish anything in his life," Li Bai said.

Li Bai and his companions then engaged in a heated discussion about this issue.

I pulled Ziyi along and quietly went into the kitchen.

"Yuehua, bring out my best tea, and take this bouquet of flowers to the reading platform. We're having a gathering there today."

After Li Bai finished speaking, he picked up the paper, brush, ink, and inkstone from his desk and walked towards the reading platform by the pool. The others followed in turn.

The atmosphere on the reading platform was lively, with people sometimes reading aloud, sometimes having heated discussions, and sometimes remaining completely silent.

As noon approached, the man in purple called out, "Young Master, lunch is ready."

"Bring the food to the reading table; we'll eat here today. Also, bring the three jars of wine from the cupboard," Li Bai called out.

Ziyi and I brought the food and wine to the reading table. As soon as we opened the wine bottle, the aroma of the wine filled the air, along with the slightly spicy fragrance of the fish. Everyone exclaimed, "We're so hungry!" and began to eat heartily without waiting for the host to speak.

Amidst the clinking of cups and the passing of wine, Li Bai drew his sword, looked around, and loudly recited Zhang Ruoxu's "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River":

"The spring river rises with the tide, level with the sea; the bright moon rises with the tide. Rippling waves stretch for thousands of miles; where on the spring river is there no moonlight?..."

As Li Bai sang, the crowd either danced with swords to add to the merriment or used tables as drums, joining in the chant. Song after song was sung, and wine was drunk jar after jar, until Li Bai and his friends finally collapsed drunk on the reading platform.

The early summer nights in Qingcheng Mountain were quite chilly; even the slightest breeze made us shiver. Li Bai and the others were all wearing only light summer clothes. Ziyi and I tried to help them back inside, but the ladder to the reading platform was too high, and we couldn't manage to get them down. So we gathered some firewood and started a fire on the platform. Then we moved them all to the fire so they wouldn't get cold.

Ziyi and I were sitting idly by the fire when suddenly an idea struck me: "Ziyi, let me draw a portrait of you! Come, sit near the fire next to the young master, hold him with your right hand, look at the fire, and don't move."

I picked up my pen and first roughly sketched out a general outline. Then I started drawing carefully, and after two hours, a painting of Li Bai drunk was presented in front of Ziyi, who was extremely excited.

"Yuehua, your drawing is so lifelike! The young master's drunken state is so realistic. I'm going to take it back to show the master so he can discipline him."

"It can't be that bad, can it? Don't tell the master that the young master is a wine connoisseur." I said.

Zi Yi said worriedly, "I'm afraid he'll harm his health and make mistakes by drinking."

When Li Bai woke up, it was already late at night. Seeing the bonfire, he exclaimed, "Who came up with this idea? Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! It's so creative! A bonfire party on the reading platform. Everyone, get up, let's continue." The crowd gradually woke up at Li Bai's urging, looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Young Master, let's call it a day," said the woman in purple. "We can't move you, and we were worried you'd get cold, so Yuehua came up with this idea. Yuehua and I are just too tired."

"Don't worry about us, go and get some more wine, then you can go back and rest," Li Bai said, before drawing his sword to begin his dance.

I pressed my hand on Li Bai's sword: "Young master, you can't drink anymore, you can't sing anymore. If you keep singing, the whole Qingcheng Mountain will be awakened by your singing." I firmly disagreed.

Seeing that Ziyi and I were determined not to let Li Bai continue, everyone had no choice but to take their leave.

"I'm sorry everyone, that's all for today. Let's get together another day. Please go home!" Li Bai glared at me and then politely clasped his hands in apology to everyone.

After seeing the guests off, Li Bai returned to the house dejectedly, ignoring me and Ziyi in a huff.

"Young master, can't we be reasonable? You are China's greatest romantic poet; you can't afford to neglect your health," I said.

"Which country is China? Thank you for the compliment, but I won't go."

"Even if you want to go, I won't let you. You can't go anyway," I said stubbornly.

"You tell me not to go, but I'm going anyway. Tell me quickly, where are you?"

Li Bai was so stubborn and naive. The more I thought about it, the funnier it became, and I couldn't help but let it show.

"Yuehua, I'm punishing you by making you copy ten chapters of the Tao Te Ching. You can go to sleep after you've finished copying them." After Li Bai finished speaking, he walked into the study and slammed the door shut.

The woman in purple made a face at me and said, "I can't help you either." Then she went to sleep.

I went into the room, picked up paper and pen, and started copying seriously. Ten articles were not difficult for me, and if I had a computer, I could finish them in no time.