The emperor went to Xuanwen Prison for the purpose of having a private meeting with a woman. If he thought so, he would be unjustly accusing Zhou Jun.
After the news of Zuo Xiang Gao Shi's death in Chang'an was reported back to Liangcheng, all the ministers and workers in the court were filled with sadness.
One of them was as shocked as a bolt from the blue after hearing the news.
And this person was none other than Li Bai of Xuanwen Supervisor.
Li Bai's reputation as a literary talent was widely spread in the Northern Tang Dynasty, but he had a bold and unrestrained nature and did not stick to trivial matters.
There are rumors that Li Bai and Gao Shi had a bad relationship.
So Prime Minister Zuo died in Chang'an, and others speculated that Li Bai should have felt nothing.
But unexpectedly, after hearing the news of Gao Shi's death, Li Bai, who used to be free and unruly, froze in place for a long time and did not move. Afterwards, he felt heart attack and fainted on the spot.
In the following days, Li Bai was bedridden. Not only did his condition not improve at all, but it became more and more serious.
This time, Zhou Jun specially chose his free time to visit the poetry immortals in the history of the Tang Dynasty.
After entering the outer courtyard of the Xuan Wen Prison, a group of officials from the Wen Prison accompanied the emperor and walked towards the side garden.
Zhou Jun frowned and asked Du Fu, the Minister of Rites beside him, "What did the imperial doctor say?"
Du Fu, who has silver hair, looks quite rickety.
Facing His Majesty's question, Du Fu looked sad and shook his head slightly.
Zhou Jun sighed and quickened his pace.
Stepping into the gate of Bieyuan, Zhou Jun couldn't help but be shocked by the scene in front of him and stopped in his tracks.
Countless white banners with poems written on them are hung on the branches, covering shrubs and dwarf trees. Looking at the entire garden, there are poems and songs everywhere, like an endless sea of literature.
Taking two steps forward, Zhou Jun took out a couplet from the pile of poems in front of him and read softly: "The autumn night in the country of water is not the time to be far away. Chang'an is like a dream, when is the time to return."
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Zhou Jun carefully put down the banner and asked, "Where are the others?"
Du Fu's short figure led Zhou Jun, and the group walked forward for a while, and finally came to a small courtyard nestled between mountains and rivers.
Slowly opening the courtyard door, Du Fu said, "Li Hanlin, His Majesty is here to see you."
Zhou Jun entered the small courtyard and saw someone in the room. He stretched out his hand to stop Du Fu and walked in quietly.
In front of the desk in the room, stood a thin old man who was composing a poem.
The old man's hair was disheveled and his clothes were ragged. From a distance, you could smell the smell of alcohol.
Zhou Jun looked down and saw wine bottles everywhere on the ground, most of them empty.
Du Fu took two quick steps and came to Li Bai's side. He lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty is here!"
Li Bai turned a deaf ear and kept moving his hands, as if he was possessed by an evil spirit, and kept writing poems.
Zhou Jun came to the desk and found that Li Bai's whole body was tortured by illness and was no longer human-like. Only his hands that wrote poems were like the roots of an old tree, with protruding blood vessels and a strong sense of strength.
Du Fu shouted several times, but Li Bai turned a deaf ear, seeming to isolate his spirit from the outside world and no longer care about the world.
At the end, Du Fu didn't retreat at all. He could only look at Zhou Jun apologetically and whispered: "Your Majesty, he has been like this for a long time. He doesn't care about anything else and just keeps writing poems."
Zhou Jun: "What about eating and drinking medicine?"
Du Fu shook his head and said: "Occasionally, when he is in a daze, his servants will serve him, but at other times, he neither eats nor drinks medicine. In addition to composing poems, he just drinks."
Zhou Jun looked at Li Bai who was forgetful about things and myself.
This poet of the Tang Dynasty seemed to have suffered some stimulation after Gao Shi's death. He kept writing poems all the time, almost to the point where he was exhausted.
Zhou Jun sighed softly, retreated outside the house, and asked Du Fu, "Did the imperial doctor ever say how much time is left?"
Du Fu closed his eyes: "It's probably the past few days."
Zhou Jun put his hand on his forehead and sighed.
Du Fu: "Your Majesty, I have said hello to my family. These days, I plan to stay in the other courtyard of Xuanwen Prison. This can be regarded as my last journey with Taibai."
Zhou Jun gently patted Du Fu's shoulder, nodded, and then left the courtyard.
That night, Du Fu checked into the small courtyard and went to bed early.
Vaguely, Du Fu fell into sleep.
Liang Shui creates wind, and Dongshan Xianhuan.
Du Fu stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the rushing river under the cliff, and felt lost in thought for a moment.
"Zimei, what are you looking at that makes you so entranced?"
Hearing this voice, Du Fu was startled and turned around to look.
I saw only two young men, one in white robes and the other in black robes. They were Li Bai and Gao Shi.
Seeing that the two of them were in high spirits and showed no signs of aging, Du Fu was first surprised, then pleasantly surprised, and finally burst into tears and wanted to rush over to talk.
Li Bai stretched out his hand to stop Du Fu and said with a straight face: "You were born a man, why do you act like a girl!"
Du Fu wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said with choked sobs: "I just saw the two of you, and it's hard for me to be in love."
Gao Shi came from the side and said to Du Fu: "Every situation will have its own destiny, gatherings and separations will eventually come together. There is no need to feel sad about Zimei. Everything has been determined for a long time."
Hearing Gao Shi's words, Li Bai was a little unhappy: "Long live the name, loneliness, you can see things after death... I ask you, does Gao Zuo have no nostalgia for this worldly thing?"
Gao Shi was stunned, silent for a moment, and then said: "When it comes to the word nostalgia, I just feel that it is a pity that this life has been too hasty and I have not been able to see His Majesty's future achievements."
When Li Bai heard this, he smiled and said, "What you said reminded me of something."
Gao Shi: "What's the matter?"
Li Bai: "In the third year of Tianbao, the three of us traveled together in the Liang and Song Dynasties. When we came to the top of Dongshan Mountain, we spoke freely to Sichuan and showed our ambitions. I said at that time that it would be better to stay away from the hustle and bustle instead of living in the world. But you Gaofu said,
If a man is not satisfied, his way is definitely unsuitable... After all these years, I ask you, have you ever found your 'way'?"
When Gao Shi heard this, a smile appeared on his face for the first time: "I have found the 'Tao'."
Li Bai then laughed and said, "I knew you would say that."
Gao Shi looked at Li Bai: "What about you? Haven't you found it yet?"
Li Bai puffed up his chest: "Of course I found it!"
Gao Shi and Li Bai looked at each other and laughed in unison.
Du Fu on the side looked puzzled.
Gao Shi turned to look at Du Fu, first sighed softly, and then said: "Taibai and I are destined to reach this point. The road to find the path will eventually be difficult, and I will no longer be able to accompany you, my old friend."
When Du Fu heard this, he felt sad and couldn't help but burst into tears.
Li Bai took out the jug from his waist and drank wine while saying, "Compared to me and Dafu, you can walk a longer distance and see more things in the world. This is a great blessing in the world, so why bother crying?"
Gao Shi nodded: "Zimei, I have never asked you for anything. It's just that from now on, I am not here to assist His Majesty in court affairs. I can only ask you to take care of me."
Seeing that the fog was getting thicker at the foot of the mountain, Li Bai put away the wine bottle and said to Gao Shi, "It's time to leave."
Gao Shi nodded and bowed to Du Fu.
In the end, the figures of Li Bai and Gao Shi slowly disappeared into the haze.
After a while, Du Fu heard movement outside and slowly woke up from his sleep.
Several officials in charge of night patrol came to Du Fu's bed and stopped talking.
Du Fu had a vague guess in his mind, but he just said softly: "What's wrong?"
An official lowered his head and said: "Du Shangshu... Li Hanlin in the next room left just now."
This chapter has been completed!