Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/226

RV 221 (LI PO) "Arise, General Kao. I am eager to hear what you have to say."

"Though you have heaped honor upon me," said Kao, "gladly would I relinquish it if it means that I must leave your personal service."

And the Emperor said, "From today forth and for as long as he desires, General Kao Li-shih is appointed my personal bodyguard. He shall be in charge of the Palace troops. So shall a decree be officially drawn, to which will be attached the Imperial seal."

Li Po sighed. His boots still pinched.

Nevertheless, he was not chagrined for long. In Changan he made a thousand friends but his list of enemies was growing: Li Lin-fu disliked him because he disdained his authority; Kao Li-shih detested him because of his attempt at humiliation, but far more because he was corrupting an already crumbling court; Yang Kuei-fei disliked him because she feared him. He had made the Emperor late in coming to her, on the morning of his first appearance at Court; he had accompanied the Emperor to Tai Shan. The Emperor was thrilled by his songs, his drinking, his carefree attitude toward life. Often Li Po spent long hours in the Pear Garden, writing words for which the Emperor composed music. When the Pear Garden played the tunes, Yang Kuei-fei danced divinely. When she danced for the Emperor, her fears vanished. His eyes were for her alone, even though occasionally Li Po claimed his ears.

Sometimes she sang as she danced:

RV 221 (221)