When Ming Lingyi noticed Li Yan's gaze fall on the small bird in her hand, she smiled and asked, "Do you like it? Have you never seen one before?"
Li Yan nodded honestly, then said, "When a thing reaches one's senses, likes and dislikes are formed. If these are not moderated from within and one is seduced by external things, one cannot reflect upon oneself, and heavenly principle is extinguished."
This was a passage from the Ritual and Music Records, which meant that people are easily tempted by external objects, and if they don't exercise restraint, they will lose their true nature.
Ming Lingyi was left a little speechless. 'It's just a little bird woven from grass, isn't it?' How could this be considered sapping one's will by indulging in trivial things? She was secretly annoyed, wondering just how Li Yun was educating a child who was only five years old.
