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

Chapter 89 About Feelings
It's a very homely soup, but this one is exceptionally delicious.

When people are hungry, physiological needs take precedence and other emotions take a back seat.

Unconsciously, Song Lingyi's appetite overcame her fear, and she just stared at the uncovered clay pot. Before she even opened it, she smelled a strange fragrance!

There is yellow croaker rice in the clay pot.

The fish is covered with golden sauce, the tender fish meat trembles slightly with the heat, and the pearl-like white rice is crystal clear and distinct.

There is less rice in the north, so people usually eat cakes, steamed bread and other pasta, millet and sorghum rice.

Not much rice is used, but the yellow croaker with thick juice and sweet meat should be paired with white rice with distinct grains.

He Qing served Song Lingyi a bowl of yellow croaker rice. Song Lingyi saw that she gave herself the large pieces of fish belly meat.

As soon as the yellow croaker rice took a bite, I forgot all the adjectives and only the word "delicious" remained.

Song Lingyi ate it spoonful by spoonful. After finishing half a bowl, she felt that her hunger for the day was gone.

"Sister He, how come you can still cook?" Song Lingyi asked after she had eaten and drunk her fill.

He Qing smiled shyly: "My mother is a good cook. She once said that only by controlling a man's stomach can you control his heart."

"..."

It turns out that this saying is not only circulated in her era...

"However, most of the female officials in Yongxiang will never leave the palace or get married, unless your majesty grants marriage - ordinary people don't have the dignity to make your majesty worry about their marriage." He Qing said.

Hearing the marriage proposal, Song Lingyi was stunned for a moment.
"But it's different, Sister Song. The Imperial Master has great respect in front of His Majesty, so he can choose a husband for you. There are many talented young men among the Imperial Guards and the lieutenants, and they are all strong and healthy..."

He Qing covered her mouth and smiled suggestively
Song Lingyi poked her arm gently with the other end of the chopsticks, "Okay... Sister He is starting to make fun of me!"

"Hahahaha" He Qing was overjoyed, "What's the big deal? These are just private conversations between friends and will never be spread to anyone else!"

Regardless of being an official or getting married, the ultimate goal is to live a good life. Just like when you are hungry you need to eat, the universal view is that meat (getting married) is better than vegetables (being a female official for life).

Song Lingyi still remembered the bet she made with Xie Yanshu, but whether she would marry him or not was still an unknown until it came to that stage.

…………

As the year draws to a close, the palace is busy everywhere.

Last time, he did not testify for Yu Youzhi in the Xuanzheng Hall. His Majesty, considering his serious injuries, allowed him not to enter the palace or attend court. Song Lingyi had not seen Yu Youzhi in the palace for nearly two months.

The Huainan families were well-behaved for a while, and Chang'an City was also peaceful.

Song Lingyi became more and more adept at her work in the Historian Bureau. Ye Xu'an taught her a set of needle techniques and made a set of human body molds for her to practice every day. In addition to needle techniques, Ye Xu'an also began to teach her some knowledge of astrology and feng shui. As the only disciple trained by Ye Xu'an, he also paid great attention to Song Lingyi's internal and external cultivation, and often talked about the Taoist temperament with Song Lingyi.

The so-called Xuanmen demeanor can be seen from Ye Xu'an. Although he is old, he has been well maintained, with a thin body and a temperament of immortals. There is a state of "standing there, even without introducing himself, people feel that he is an unfathomable immortal figure."

Perhaps out of encouragement, Ye Xuan often lamented that Song Lingyi was "beautiful", and he didn't just mean that she was pretty.

There are many beautiful girls in this world, some are charming, some are pretty, and some are charming, but Song Lingyi is born with the beauty of the metaphysical school: she is born with a kind of concentration, tranquility, elegance and coldness. As long as she pays attention to cultivating her manners, she will have the appearance of a person in the metaphysical school.

……

Winter wind blows
Charcoal cakes were burning in the Daqing Hall, and a small half window had to be left open for ventilation. The winter sun outside the window was exceptionally gentle, and the sunlight shining down was not dazzling. It just felt like flowing golden honey, making one almost want to reach out and touch a little of the sunlight to taste it, to see if it was as sweet as it looked.

Song Lingyi was wrapped in a fur coat, reading a book at the table opposite her. There was a plate of frozen pears on the table.

This frozen pear is a specialty of the north. Xie Yanshu originally kept a distance from the appearance of this frozen pear, but after tasting it under the strong recommendation of his colleagues, he thought it tasted very good, so he sent someone to deliver it from the north to Chang'an. One basket was given to Wu'an Marquis Mansion, and one basket was given to Song Lingyi.

Ye Xuan had been traveling for sixteen years and had naturally been to the north. He noticed at a glance that there was an extra plate of something in the Daqing Hall that shouldn't have appeared in Chang'an.

He walked to Song Lingyi's table, picked up a frozen pear and looked at it, with a slight smile on his face, "Disciple, what is this?"

Song Lingyi was busy pondering the contents of the book, without even looking up, "Frozen pear, do you want to try it?"

Ye Xu'an sat opposite him, tapping the table with his fingers, and said leisurely: "Disciple, this frozen pear should be a specialty of the north, where did you get it?"

Song Lingyi paused as she turned the page

After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his head and said, "A friend sent it to me..."

"Friend? The friend who sent frozen pears from a thousand miles away!?" Ye Xuan deliberately emphasized the last two words.

"..." Song Lingyi's eyes dodged, but then she thought, nothing happened between her and Xie Yanshu, so why should she feel guilty!
Ye Xu'an sighed and said, "My disciple, do you know that you can't have your cake and eat it too?"

In his opinion, it was not easy for Song Lingyi, a girl of only fifteen years old, to enter the Taishi Bureau and become a seventh-rank official. Marrying and becoming a wife would mean giving up her future.

Ye Xuan didn't want his disciples to be obsessed with love, nor did he ask them to eliminate human desires. In the mortal world, no one is immune to worldly desires. He calculated that his disciple was destined to have two romances in this life. It was just that he hoped that the disciples he valued could think through what they really wanted.

No young talent is worth giving up a bright future - a man's love affair may temporarily delay his work, but a woman's love affair will ruin her whole life!

Men have many opportunities, even if they have made many mistakes, and there is a saying that a prodigal son who returns is more valuable than gold. Men temporarily give up their careers for the sake of love, and then they change their minds and want to pursue it again. But if a woman delays for a while, it will be difficult for her to have another chance!
"Disciple knows what Master means..."

Song Lingyi buried her head, feeling somewhat sorry for her master's earnest teachings, but love is not something that can be understood overnight. In addition to the pleasant first encounter, it is more about gradually communicating and understanding each other to determine whether they share the same interests.

Ye Xuan said: "My disciple, I am not forcing you to make a choice. Some things are difficult to decide if you have not experienced them personally. I just want to remind you that you can work in the Taishi Bureau as a calendar clerk now, and you can also work in the court and discuss politics with men in the future. But whether you serve in the front court or stay in the back house, the choice is just a matter of your thoughts."

(End of this chapter)