I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 107: Plum Blossom Appreciation Banquet
"Whether I have inkstone or not, I am always a positive and energetic girl who lives a good life. I read poetry and work as a female official, but that doesn't mean I will choose to live out my life alone. Why can you men have ambitions, build a career, start a family, and build a country and secure its people, but women can't have both?" Song Lingyi's tone and expression were so calm and peaceful from beginning to end.

"I am a greedy person. I want both."

Lu Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a cold tone: "You know that the world is difficult, and it is not easy for a woman to build a country and maintain peace. How do you know that those female officials who choose to marry have never been greedy and want to have their cake and eat it too. The wife of Marquis Wu'an is not an open-minded person. She will not want her daughter-in-law to show up in public all day long. When you really marry Xie Yanshu, can you still stick to your words and deeds today?"

"Everything depends on human efforts. Knowing that the road ahead is long and the world is difficult, I am willing to do my best to realize my inner ambitions." Song Lingyi said.

The streets are still bustling
The two looked at each other in silence
There was a faint voice calling her. When Song Lingyi turned around, she saw Xie Yanshu, who was so anxious that he pushed aside the pedestrians and came to Song Lingyi, panting and saying, "Lingyi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She gave Xie Yanshu a comforting smile, and saw the moon-white figure leaving from the corner of her eye. "It's my fault. I lost my way without paying attention. I wandered around the streets for a long time and couldn't find the way. I wandered around like a headless fly, which delayed me for so long. I'm sorry to have made you worry."

"I'm glad you're okay." Xie Yanshu looked her up and down, and seeing that she was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. After a while, his handsome face was filled with self-blame, "It's all my fault. I blamed myself for not holding your hand."

"How can I blame you for this?" She held his hand, comforted him kindly, and then softened her tone and said, "I'm really a little tired, let's go back."

The carriage with a green canopy and pearl tassels rumbled along the smooth street and finally stopped at the gate of the Song residence. The boy and girl said goodbye and went home.

…………

In the early morning of the Lantern Festival, snow fell in Chang'an. The crystal white snowflakes looked like catkins and pear petals, floating and falling. In the early morning, Chang'an was all white.

On the way to the princess's mansion, many snowmen were piled up on the roadside, and the laughter of children could be heard in the carriage.

Ever since her fifth sister got engaged to Xie Yanshu, Song Changling has had a stern face all day and didn't want to see her. If today wasn't for the plum blossom viewing banquet at the princess's mansion, she wouldn't have ridden in the same carriage with them.

Song Changling smoothed his black hair and said sarcastically, "Everyone in Chang'an knows about Lele's marriage to the young marquis. When we sit down to the banquet later, I'm afraid we will be implicated."

Before Song Lingyi could speak, Song Lingwan spoke first, "We are all sisters, there is no need to talk about getting implicated or not. But third sister, if you are afraid of being implicated and attracting attention, you don't have to go to the princess's mansion." After the previous banquets, she had become accustomed to the various situations that might arise at banquets.

"It's easy to say, but if I can have Young Marquis Xie as my son-in-law, I will be hated by thousands of people."

Song Lingyi didn't care: "I hate it if I want to, but should I stay at home and not socialize just because I'll be hated?"

Song Changling curled his lips, looked away and stopped talking to them.

……

Today, the princess's residence was crowded with people. The three sisters were led by the maids to the plum garden. The plum blossoms in the plum garden were in full bloom, and the fragrance was fragrant. The pavilion in the center was separated from the male and female seats by a long green bamboo gauze screen. As soon as they entered the female seats, as expected, as the maids sang the names of the guests, the female relatives all looked at them in unison, like a dense rain of arrows. Song Changling was the first to be frightened and took a step back. He almost turned his head and left. After he came to his senses, he quickly distanced himself from the two of them and found a farther seat to sit down.

The noble ladies looked at Song Lingyi directly and without embellishment, with expressions of anger, jealousy, curiosity, etc. The older ladies were more reserved, and after a few sidelong glances, they quickly turned their heads away, revealing meaningful expressions on their faces.

But no matter young or old, the women's discussions finally ended in whispers. After all, Song Lingyi was a seventh-rank female official in the court, not a traditional lady from an aristocratic family. If she talked about court officials without permission, she would be punished with a stick if investigated.

Song Lingyi, who was at the center of the storm of public opinion, walked to the table as if she was unaware and behaved as usual.

Zhao Yinxian also came today, and under everyone's gaze, she pulled Song Lingwan and Song Lingyi to her corner. She didn't have many noble ladies in Chang'an with whom she had good relations, but even though she was outnumbered, due to her status as the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, no one dared to provoke her easily.

Soon, all the women were seated, and vegetables and water were served.
Because Princess Qi Yang had not yet arrived, the atmosphere at the banquet was quite relaxed.

A woman in yellow sitting opposite Song Lingyi put down her bowl and said in a sarcastic voice, "It's been a while since I last saw Miss Song. After the Zhuxia Banquet, Miss Song first became a female official, then was accepted as a disciple by the Imperial Master, and now she has an engagement with the young marquis. Things in this world are really unpredictable. We dare not look down on Miss Song now."

A Needle in a Cotton Bag
Song Lingyi didn't hesitate to argue with her

But there are always some people who like to watch the fun and even chime in with a few words:

"Who says it's not true? Everyone has their own destiny..."

"Miss Song is a talented woman from Chang'an. She is smart and clever, and knows that being a court lady is hard. It would be better for her to marry a good husband and enjoy happiness..."

Song Lingyi heard the ladies' jokes and felt it was very ironic.
"What are you talking about? Why are you so jealous?" Zhao Yinxian glared at the two noble ladies.

The woman in yellow chuckled and said, "Sister Zhao, you are very generous. Don't bother with us. We are just complaining, and we haven't done anything to steal someone's husband."

Zhao Yinxian gnashed her teeth. Didn't she hear that this person was trying to be mean to her in various ways?
"Who did you say had her husband robbed?!" She and Xie Yanshu had a connection before, but the two families had not yet engaged, it was just a tacit agreement. But after hearing what this person said, it sounded like she was so incompetent, as if her husband had been robbed.

"Don't be angry, Sister Zhao. Sister Wen is not talking about you." Another noble lady tried to smooth things over.

The woman in yellow is named Wen Yang. Her father is a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Works, and her brother is an assistant minister of the Honglu Temple. Relying on her good family background, she behaves arrogantly. Also, because her family are all civil servants who are well-read in poetry and books, they don't think highly of Zhao Yinxian, a daughter of a general who comes from a family of military commanders.

After hearing this provocation, Song Lingyi silently glanced at Wen Yang opposite her, her lips slightly raised, with a smile that did not reach her eyes: "It is true that everyone has their own destiny. Sister thinks that I am smart and clever, so I chose to get married. That's not true. In life, you have to have choices before you know how to go. Whether it is being a female official or getting engaged to the Marquis's Mansion, those are the choices in front of me, and I just go with the flow." The implication is that she has the choice, and you can only be jealous.