I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 50 Dishes

As he spoke, Cai Yong's face was filled with happiness.

Liu Bian could clearly feel the envy of the eunuchs around him, as if there were a bunch of people who had just the right amount of lemons.

Most of the eunuchs active in Dongguan had sufficient literary literacy and did not participate in politics. In the eyes of scholars like Cai Yong, they were completely different from Zhang Rang and others.

In contrast, these eunuchs were also relatively close to the scholars, and the relationship between them was very close.

Soon a eunuch praised her: "The daughter-in-law of Mr. Cai's family is very talented in literature and calligraphy, and she is also filial in everything. She is really enviable."

The speaker was Zhao You, who was valued for his erudition.

With the student in front of him, Cai Yong was inevitably a little proud of the praise, and he blurted out the words to show off: "Zhaoji's music is especially good at calligraphy. At the age of nine, she could tell which string of my piano was broken by hearing it."

After saying that, Cai Yong realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Of course, the atmosphere these days is relatively open, but although a woman's name is not a top secret, it is still not disclosed as freely as a man's.

Liu Bian had previously only known that Cai Yong had a little daughter in his family, but he was not quite sure who it was.

Cai Yong's slip of the tongue made him feel relieved from the complicated mood caused by Emperor Ling's "last wish" insistence on going on tour.

He also asked Cai Yong if he needed help in compiling Hanji. Cai Yong just said that he could not work day and night.

While we were talking, it was time for lunch.

When Liu Bian first studied in Dongguan, he would also eat here.

Guo Zhi asked in a timely manner: "It's time for dinner. Does Your Highness want to dine here?"

Liu Bian obeyed and nodded in agreement.

……

Naturally, people like Cai Yong will not eat in the office. There is a special area in Dongguan.

These days, officials who are familiar with each other do not have any rules about not speaking after eating, and on the contrary, government affairs communication during meals is actually more efficient than when at the government office.

There may even be situations where people leave things to communicate during meals.

Of course, people like Cai Yong who are responsible for editing books tend to engage in small talk rather than academic discussions.

Liu Bian sat next to Cai Yong, waiting for the arrival of the person who went to get food.

In the past, when Cai Yan prepared Cai Yong's meals, he would prepare more so that Cai Yong could share the food with his colleagues who brought the public food. This was also a thoughtful gesture from his daughter's family.

Cai Yong originally wanted to eat together, but Liu Bian said that it was freezing, and even if there was a heater in Cai Yong's lunch box, it couldn't be kept warm for too long, so he could just wait while it was hot.

Then, Cai Yong noticed Liu Bian staring at the food he took out.

He asked tentatively: "Your Highness, would you like to have a taste?"

"Okay! Thank you Master Cai."

In the conscience of heaven and earth, Cai Yong was really just being polite.

Then, he watched helplessly as Guo Zhi, the eunuch beside Liu Bian, handed out half of the meal his daughter had prepared for him one by one, not even sparing the soup.

Fortunately, after Liu Bian's exclusive meal was delivered, it was all left to Cai Yong, which soothed his injured heart a little.

For more than a year, Liu Bian has become accustomed to the diet of this era.

The dishes prepared by Cai Yan were slightly different from those in the palace. When Liu Bian tasted them at first glance, he felt they had a different flavor.

"Master Cai, are these meals...prepared by Zhaoji's sister? The taste is commendable."

When Cai Yong suddenly heard Liu Bian's name for his daughter, he seemed to be choking on his rice. It took him a while to calm down, and then he said with a strange expression: "My daughter is two years older than your highness."

It took a while for Cai Yong to react, and replied: "It was indeed Zhao Ji who went into the kitchen to cook it. Before that, I took Zhao Ji to live in Wu, eating and drinking in the back alleys. It was inevitable that I would be affected by the local customs. Influenced by this, Zhao Ji’s food has some flavor of Wu, which is probably why His Highness praised it.”

Fortunately, Liu Bian took advantage of his younger age. Cai Yong just thought he was curious and didn't think much about it. Liu Bian enjoyed this meal very comfortably.

After the meal, Liu Bian asked Cai Yong: "There is a bad thing that will definitely happen. Intervening may make things better or worse, but the greater possibility is that the bad thing will still happen as scheduled. If It’s Master Cai, how would you choose?”

After hearing Liu Bian's convoluted words, Cai Yong thought carefully and then replied: "I don't know what is causing His Highness to be troubled. Why don't you give His Highness a message, introspection and no guilt, why should I worry or be afraid?"

There is no guilt in introspection, Liu Bian remembers, this is a saying in the Analects of Confucius. Someone asked Confucius what it means to be a gentleman, and Confucius replied that he has no worries or fears.

"Master Cai reminds me of a saying that says, 'You will not be ashamed of heaven when you look up, you will not be ashamed of others when you look down, and you will not be ashamed of your heart'."

Just have a clear conscience.

Thinking of this, Liu Bian said goodbye to Cai Yong.

As for the next thing, do whatever you have to do.

Liu Bian decided to take a short vacation for himself first.

Liu Bian, who had been tense for more than a year, suddenly relaxed and felt a lot more relaxed.

Then, I don't know whether it was because he drank too much cold wind or because he suddenly took a break from busy work. After Emperor Ling, Liu Bian also suffered from a minor illness.

When Cai Yong heard the news, he doubted whether the problem was with his own food.

Fortunately, after diagnosis and treatment, the imperial doctor came to a conclusion and confirmed that it had nothing to do with diet.

Lack of Qi and blood, overthinking...

In short, it means thinking too much, doing too much, and getting tired.

After the sudden relaxation, the stress in the body shows up concentratedly.

Overall, nothing serious.

Just rest for a few days.

During this period, Queen He took close care of her.

Emperor Ling had not yet recovered, so he dragged his sick body over for a visit.

The only thing that surprised Liu Bian was that although Empress Dowager Dong from Yongle Palace did not arrive, she sent someone to bring symbolic supplements and Liu Xie's greetings.

One time when Liu Bian woke up, he saw Queen He with red eyes and said, "If anything happens to Bian'er in the future, don't keep it in your heart. You can just tell my mother. Even if my mother can't help, I can still go to you." Two uncles, if your two uncles are not willing to help you, just tell grandma!"

"Okay, I'll remember it." Liu Bian's voice was hoarse.

Sickness comes and goes quickly.

One day later, Liu Bian had recovered and became lively again. But Queen He was still worried and still let him lie down on the couch to cultivate himself.

Liu Bian, who had nothing to do, suddenly had a whim and told Queen He that he wanted to eat Cai Yong's vegetable soup.

It's not that Liu Bian is greedy for that bite...

Well, Liu Bian admitted that he was very curious about Cai Yan, who was said to be more talented than Zhuo Wenjun and whose works also influenced the five-character poetry styles of Cao Zhi and Du Fu.

Queen He would not refuse this small request.

In fact, if it weren't for Cai Yan's father being Cai Yong, a famous Confucian scholar and Liu Bian's teacher, with Queen He's style, Cai Yan, who could make these dishes, would have been in the palace by now.

However, Queen He also noticed that Cai Yong, who taught her son's studies, also had a very talented daughter.

　One hundred thousand words, thank you all for your support!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)