Chapter 14: The Poet Sage's Downfall (Second Update)

  Li Changguo was taken aback by these words and almost choked on his own saliva. "Uncle, have you traveled through time? Otherwise, how could you speak with such a tone?"

  Just as he was about to turn his head, the old man continued: "This Du Fu is busy entrusting his gate, discussing his livelihood, which doesn't look like a scholar. Is there such a scholar who reads until he has no food to eat?"

  Du Fu spent ten years in Chang'an, saying he was living in Chang'an, but actually he was trapped in Chang'an, poor and destitute, even eating became a problem, had to rely on others for food and livelihood.

  Although Li Changguo had long known that Du Fu was having a very difficult time, when this news was confirmed, Li Changguo still couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion: "The great poet's talent has fallen to such a state, he can't even afford to eat, it's really unthinkable!"

  This old fellow is really a chatterbox, after mocking Du Fu for a few sentences, he continued to mock: "Reading books should naturally follow Li Hanlin's example. Think about that Li Hanlin, who loves wine all his life, and when he gets drunk, he sleeps in the taverns of Chang'an City. Even if Your Majesty sends someone to look for him, he dares to say 'I am an immortal in wine', you can go."

  Li Changguo pursed his lips and forced back a smile as he looked at Li Bai.

  Gao Mei Li covered her small mouth with her right hand, a smile on her face, gazing at Li Bai.

  Li Bai touched his face, looking rather embarrassed.

  This matter has been passed down as a wonderful story for later generations, especially when Du Fu wrote with his brush "The Emperor calls out to come aboard but doesn't go up the boat, self-proclaimed minister is an immortal in wine", letting countless later people admire.

  But as the person involved, after sobering up, I still feel a bit embarrassed.

  "You praise him so much, do you know Li Hanlin?" Li Changguo asked with a hint of implication.

  "Li Hanlin is a genius of the highest order, with learning that fills five carts, and he's a dragon among men - how could someone like me possibly recognize his worth?" The old man shook his head in admiration, saying: "One should read books like Li Hanlin!"

  Li Bai stood right in front of him, he praised for half a day, but didn't recognize him. What's the saying "having eyes but not recognizing Mount Tai"? This is it.

  "Goodbye, old man." Li Changguo suppressed his smile and bid farewell to the old man, then went on to visit Du Fu.

  This time, with the clue provided by Lao Zhang, it was much easier to find. They found Du Fu's former residence in Furen Alley, which was a small room that could only accommodate one person, worse than modern slums.

  "The Poet Sage's decline is indeed thus!"

  Li Changguo was shocked again, although he had long known from historical books that Du Fu's life was very unfortunate, being trapped in Chang'an for ten years, but it did not occur to him that the poet saint who was famous for thousands of years was actually worse off than a poor commoner.

  "Du Xian-di, you... Alas, it's all my fault. When we parted ways back then, I didn't give you more wealth." Li Bai's eyes shone with tears as he blamed himself.

  When the two men first met, Li Bai had just been "granted gold and released", with a lot of gold and silver on him. He intentionally wanted to give more to Du Fu, but Du Fu did not accept.

  Unfortunately, this was where Du Fu lived a few years ago, but still didn't see Du Fu.

  Li Changguo and his men followed the trail, going to seven neighborhoods in a row, but they only saw Du Fu's residence without seeing Du Fu himself.

  Du Fu's residence was as before, narrow and simple, only enough to accommodate himself.

  That day, they chased all the way to Yongning Square, stirring up a commotion.

  The owner of the residence was a woman over forty years old, short and stout, quite fierce. As soon as she heard that Li Changguo and his companions were looking for Du Fu, she immediately became enraged and interrogated them: "Are you friends with that bookworm surnamed Du? Hand over your money!" Her plump right hand stretched out very far.

  "How can you be so cruel?" Gao Miaoli frowned, very displeased.

  "What's wrong with being fierce?!" The woman became even more ferocious and shouted loudly.

  "Shut up!" In dealing with this ferocious and overbearing woman, there was no need to be polite. Li Changguo let out a loud roar, like thunder booming, which shocked the fat woman into a daze, intimidated by Li Changguo's fierce aura, her arrogance finally subsiding.

  "Has Du Xian owed you money?" Li Bai's eyebrows were tightly knotted.

  "Owe money? That's even more detestable than owing money!" The fat woman heard this and her anger flared up again.

  "What's more hateful than owing money?" asked Gao Miaoli in confusion.

  This was exactly what Li Changguo and Li Bai were thinking in their hearts, staring at the fat woman, waiting for her response.

  "He owes me rent, and he wants to pay with his crappy poems." The fat woman cursed loudly, spitting everywhere: "What a scholar, just a swindler. He says his crooked poems are worth a thousand gold coins, but I was kind enough to let him off the hook, yet no one wants to buy them."

  "You've heard that a poem is worth a thousand pieces of gold, and you're greedy for wealth, so you've come up with some crooked ideas, haven't you?" Li Bai's gaze was piercing, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the plump woman.

  At first, Du Fu had no money to pay the rent, and offered to pay with poetry instead. The fat woman was unwilling. Later, after hearing that Du Fu's poems were worth a thousand pieces of gold, the fat woman immediately smiled and accepted the poem.

  Li Bai's words hit the nail on the head, and the fat woman was stunned for a moment before spluttering: "He owes me three hundred taels of silver, his crappy poem isn't worth a single penny, what a swindler!"

  "What about the poem?" Li Changguo raised an eyebrow, not wanting to get entangled with this fat woman, and said: "You bring it here, I'll buy it from you for ten taels of silver."

  "Really?" The fat woman immediately changed her expression, layers of flesh piling up to form a layered smile: "You didn't deceive me?"

  Li Changguo took out a silver ingot and tossed it in his hand, even his words were returned.

  "Please wait." The fat woman's tone was extremely respectful, and her eyes were filled with delightful little stars as she happily ran off, her entire body of fatty flesh jiggling like a mountain of meat.

  Money can make a ghost push a mill, after a short while, the fat woman ran back, holding half a draft of poetry in her hand and handed it to Li Changguo.

  Li Changguo took it in his hand and looked at it. The words on it were like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing, strong and powerful, revealing a proud air. He couldn't help but loudly praise it, worthy of being written by the Poetic Sage.

  The poet was poor and destitute, but his will remained unchanged. He was upright and unyielding, earning the praise of later generations. Recognizing his character from his words is enough to know what kind of person he was.

  "In the morning, I knock on the gate of a wealthy family's mansion, in the evening, I follow the dust of fat horses. The leftover wine and cold dishes are everywhere, secretly suffering bitterness!"

  Li Changguo whispered, with tears rolling in his eyes.

  The Poet Saint's life was full of sorrow and hardship, he never achieved his ambitions in his lifetime. Especially during the ten years he was trapped in Chang'an, it was the lowest point of his life. This poem reveals this without a doubt, evoking deep sadness in people's hearts.

  "Alas, dear brother, it's all my fault!" Li Bai read on, tears streaming down his face, and again he reproached himself.

  Gao Mei-li looked at Li Bai again, then read the poem again, with a face full of sorrow and grief.

  "Ah!"

  Li Changguo let out a long sigh and murmured softly: "Without experiencing wind and rain, one cannot see the rainbow. Perhaps it was this very hardship that tempered Du Fu's poetry, making it even more moving. Later generations read the poems of the Poet Sage with unending praise, all born from such hardships, yet how pitiful for the Poet Sage!"

  "What about the others?" Li Bai asked the fat woman.

  "That broken poem of his is worthless, I'll just use it..." He said up to this point, Fat Face turned red and stopped talking.

  "You..." Li Bai pointed at the fat woman, almost scaring her to death.

  "Ah!"

  A cracking sound was heard, and the fat woman took a look, only to see Li Changguo's right hand clenched into a fist, his hand back turned blue from excessive force, and an unusually frightening fist the size of a vinegar jar made her shriek: "What are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to beat you up! I'll beat you back to your mother's womb! You have the nerve, desecrating the poet saint's manuscript like that!"

  Li Changguo gritted his teeth and roared word by word.