Near the open window, he could see her in the garden. She was singing softly:
"As the willows bend,
Orioles sing to me,
Their songs melt into the music of my heart."
He thought his ears were lying. It was unthinkable that she should be so cheerfully singing. He was affronted. Why was she not sighing at being abandoned? Did an Emperor's love mean so little to her? Angrily he turned away.
In the courtyard, the caravan patiently waited. But Li Po was restless to get out into the open country where one could stretch without striking a Duke and where there was pure air to breathe.
The Emperor was moody. He spoke little to anyone.
Kao Li-shih gave the order that set the caravan in motion. On the bridles of the horses and mules were small bells that tinkled faintly. Ming Huang rode a full-blooded snow-white horse, a gift from the Byzantine Envoy. The hoofs of his steed were of silver.
9.
However it was next to impossible to remain somber in the company of Li Po. There was something infectious in the merry boom of his great voice.
"Is that man yonder with the huge hat Tu Fu?" he asked abruptly.
