Arc 2: Part 30
Early in the morning, Tong Su started having people prepare the tables, decorations, bowls, chopsticks, and other items needed for the banquet.
Xiao Qingwan sent her two trusted maids to assist Tong Su.
Tong Su casually glanced at them. She spoke of assistance, but in truth, she was openly keeping an eye on them.
Xiao Qingwan stood aside with her hands folded, suppressing her excitement, and eagerly awaited the spectacle that was to unfold at Tong Su's expense. Laughter echoed coldly around her.
Could a banquet be so easy to arrange?
Although it was an informal gathering among young ladies, precisely because it was an assembly of maidens, even the slightest mishap would be scrutinized. Once noticed, it would ensue giggles and gossip. Instantly, it would become the joke of the social circle.
In her past life, Xiao Qingwan had also organized several gatherings. Each time, she was so busy that her feet barely touched the ground, and her heart was filled with apprehension.
Any oversights in how the food was arranged, or serving hot and cold dishes out of sequence, or even using subpar ingredients that tarnished her status, would be met with rampant mockery.
Little Thirteen was aware of these principles too. As soon as Xiao Lingchen's meeting with the several ministers ended, he quickly approached and asked, "Sir, could you please come see?"
"What is it about?" A head popped in from the side unexpectedly. The Prince He Lian, grinning, said, "I heard your eldest miss is hosting a banquet, inviting many noble ladies from the capital. Since beauties hail from the capital, I too would like to see. Brother Xiao, may I?"
Xiao Lingchen replied indifferently, "It's a gathering of young ladies. What are you going to do there?"
Little Thirteen glared at Prince He Lian. Where had this guy popped out from? This man who had a weakness for beauty was indeed set to crash wherever a party was hosted!
"Ah, brother Xiao, don't be so serious. Your sister is hosting the party, aren't you going to take a look?"
"I won't."
Prince He Lian pouted, "Fine then, I'll sneak in alone. You're young, yet you act like an old-fashioned elder! You don't know how to have fun!" With light steps, he vanished around the corner in the blink of an eye.
Little Thirteen sighed resignedly, and Xiao Lingchen asked, "What were you saying just now?"
"Er, Sir, Eldest Miss hasn't hosted very many banquets. In case she's inexperienced... should I send someone to help her?"
Xiao Lingchen nodded, "Go and ask her what she needs, and provide it for her."
"Yes, Sir!"
Little Thirteen nodded solemnly and left. Xiao Lingchen returned to his tent and flipped open a document.
After half a moment, he silently put down the document he hadn't even read a line from and calmly stepped out of the tent. Taking a detour to avoid people, he quietly made his way towards the location where Tong Su and the others were preparing the banquet.
But he wasn't worried about her.
He was just afraid of Prince He Lian stirring up trouble!
Yes, it was just like that.
Tong Su was instructing the maids about the order of serving dishes.
"This is a casual meet-up, there's no need for utmost perfection. However, we can't let it be too plain either. Prepare a light tea for cleansing the palate first. The first course will be a cold platter, with crystal shrimp jelly, cucumber combs, etc. When serving the hot dishes, there should be a balance of both meat and vegetable dishes. Remember which ones can't be served together......"
At first, Xiao Qingwan watched on with a sense of schadenfreude. However, slowly, the mockery on her face faded, replaced unknowingly with shock and resentment.
It shouldn't be this way!
Hosting a banquet was such a challenging task. Someone as dull-witted as Xiao Bai Zhu should've been struggling by now, making constant mistakes. However, here she was, going about everything in an orderly manner without a shred of panic. Where was the anticipated clumsiness?
In her past life, when she was hosting banquets, it was all a flurry of mistakes. Why could Xiao Bai Zhu handle it so smoothly? Why wasn't she making a fool of herself?
As Xiao Qingwan’s thoughts deepened, her resentment heightened. She bit her lip, her eyes filled with bitterness.
Why... why is it that everything she does goes so seamlessly? Why does she have such good luck!
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