Chapter 22: The Purple Flower Umbrella

"Do you know what kind of flower this is?" Chen Yage asked with a smile.

She hadn't expected Chaoyun to answer, but Chaoyun responded swiftly, "Purple Parasol!"

Everyone burst into laughter, showering Chaoyun with praise for her cleverness. Only Li Bai paused for a moment, but just for an instant. He bent down in front of Chaoyun and, with a gentle smile, asked, "Then do you know what this flower is used for?"

"Flower, pretty!" Chaoyun chuckled. "Purple Parasol, pretty, hee hee, pretty..."

"Did you plant this?" Chen Yage, still smiling, diverted the conversation away from Li Bai's question.

"I did, I did..." Chaoyun replied.

"You’re amazing. This flower is so beautiful. Can you tell me why you like it?" Chen Yage continued.

Chaoyun murmured, "Like it, pretty, pretty, like..."

Seeing that she wouldn’t get much more out of her, Chen Yage let the matter rest and began chatting idly with Chaoyun about all sorts of things.

An hour later, Chen Yage and her companions left Chaoyun’s house and arrived at Dujuan’s home. Wang Chaotian did his best to persuade them to stay for dinner, but they politely refused. It wasn’t for any particular reason, but the thought of Wang Chaotian, a grown man, cooking for the four of them made them uncomfortable. If Chen Yage were to cook, it would be a terrible waste of ingredients. Most importantly, they feared whatever she cooked might not kill them outright but would make them wish they were dead, which would be a terrible blow to her noble and heroic image!

Chen Yage hesitated greatly—she didn’t know if Lady Yue would allow her and Li Bai to stay in her home. More importantly, she didn’t wish to stay there, but with nowhere else to go, she needed a refuge. Steeling herself, she went to Lady Yue’s home with a sense of resignation.

Dujuan prepared two rooms for Chen Yage and Li Bai. Chen Yage’s room was next to Dujuan’s and opposite Li Bai’s. She was quite pleased with this arrangement; to be so close to Li Bai, seeing him day and night, was something she had long dreamed of!

Instead of returning to her room, Chen Yage went straight to Li Bai’s, closed the door behind her, and, as Li Bai looked at her in confusion, she snatched the cup of tea he had just poured for himself and gulped it down, giggling, "Thanks!"

Li Bai, speechless, poured himself another cup, drank it leisurely, and then asked, "What’s wrong? Why don’t you go rest?"

In life, one encounters countless sights and people, but true friends are rare. Though strangers when they met, Li Bai and Chen Yage understood each other deeply. To call them lovers might be stretching it—if there was any affection, it was more on Chen Yage’s part—but calling them soulmates couldn’t be more apt.

Li Bai saw through Chen Yage’s intentions at once. "You’re not thinking of going to Moon Lake tonight, are you?"

"You know me so well, Brother Bai!"

"Aren’t you afraid?" Li Bai asked solemnly.

"Afraid? Of ghosts?" Chen Yage burst out laughing. "If you do nothing to be ashamed of, you need not fear ghosts knocking at your door!"

"But this time, we're the ones knocking on the ghost’s door, not the other way around! If we really do encounter something unearthly, aren’t you scared?" Li Bai teased her, half-serious. Most women would be timid, and he couldn’t quite understand where Chen Yage found her courage—did she have the heart of a bear or the gall of a leopard? He was curious about the ghostly rumors too and wanted to see for himself by the lake.

Chen Yage could only attribute Li Bai’s doubts to traditional male thinking, while she herself was a modern woman, not so easily bound by old notions. To make sure Li Bai understood, and to declare her resolve, she enunciated clearly, "I once dressed as a ghost to frighten others—at worst, I’ll do it again. Let’s see who scares whom: me or the ghost? Don’t try to discourage me. I’ve always had faith in myself! My resolve is as solid as a rock—it won’t be easily shaken!"

Li Bai couldn’t help but laugh at her words. He stood up, paced behind Chen Yage, who, impatient by nature, quickly asked, "Brother Bai, have you agreed or not? Say something!"

Li Bai replied, "Do you think Chaoyun is truly mad?"

Chen Yage had pondered this question often. If she wasn’t mad, she certainly did strange things; if she was mad, she still behaved in ways normal people might. The line between real and fake madness was so blurred that even Chen Yage was confused.

After a long silence, she answered, "I think it’s more likely she’s truly mad, but I can’t rule out that she’s faking it. But why would she pretend? Does she have a secret, or something she can’t talk about? Brother Bai, I think we must visit the lake tonight!"

"To sing the same song for ten years is suspicious enough, and those Purple Parasols in the courtyard—a madwoman growing such fine flowers is truly astonishing! If we want answers, a trip to the lake is unavoidable."

"Brother Bai, will you really settle here in Peach Blossom Spring?" Chen Yage couldn’t help but ask, recalling what Dujuan had said at Chaoyun’s house. It seemed impossible for Li Bai, the great poet who had traveled half the country, to stay here long.

Love in the Great Tang: Poet Immortal, Please Stay! Chapter 22—Purple Parasol, completed!