After an exchange between sovereign and subject, Emperor Kangping steered the conversation toward Tang Taibai's greatest strength: the art of poetry.
"Word on the streets is that you have not only achieved much in scholarship, my esteemed subject, but also earned the name of an Exiled Immortal in poetry. Might you leave us a poem?"
Li Chen said, "At Your Majesty's command, this commoner must obey. But what shall the subject be?"
Emperor Kangping found himself at a loss, unsure what subject to propose.
Hu Meiniang, dressed in lavish finery, spoke up. "Master Taibai, would you take me as your subject?"
Emperor Kangping was delighted and promptly said, "Yes, yes! Meiniang's beauty is unrivaled in all the world, just as your talent is unrivaled. Why not leave us a poem praising her beauty?"
Li Chen glanced at Hu Meiniang and said, "This commoner obeys Your Majesty's decree."
"Attendants, bring brush and ink," Emperor Kangping ordered.
An attendant soon finished grinding the ink and brought it over with paper and a brush.
After a moment's contemplation, Li Chen wrote the first poem of "Qingping Melody."
"Clouds call to mind her robes, Huaxiangrong her face; the spring breeze brushes the railing, dew glistening thick."
"If not upon the peaks of clustered jade, then surely beneath the moon at the Jade Terrace we met."
"Clouds call to mind her robes, Huaxiangrong her face... what a fine poem!"
When an Exiled Immortal composed poetry, the result was anything but ordinary. As Li Chen brought forth the real Li Bai's masterpiece, its very first line deeply shook Hu Meiniang.
Although she was a fox woman by birth, she had lived in Great Qian's Sacred Capital for a long time. Long steeped in its culture, she could distinguish good poetry from bad, and delight welled up