Chapter 71 The show is on
This birthday banquet was originally planned by Marquis Zheng in order to get closer to King Liang and kill two birds with one stone by betrothing his third daughter to King Liang.
However, the Regent was still in the capital and the situation was delicate, so he did not dare to act rashly. Therefore, while entertaining Prince Liang, he also cleverly invited the Princess and the Regent, trying to take care of everything.
Faced with such an important banquet, Lord Zheng did not dare to be careless at all and entrusted all matters to the shrewd and capable Wang.
During this period, in order to better manage household affairs, Wang had to use up her precious dowry. She felt physically and mentally exhausted, and every day she was thinking about when she could unload this burden.
However, once she received the order from Lord Zheng, she instantly became energetic and devoted herself to it, just like when she first took over the power.
In order to prepare for this grand banquet, Wang sold the two properties she received as a dowry from her parents, and even gave up the jadeite she had collected for many years, just to ensure that every ingredient in the banquet would be of the finest quality.
It was not until the bottom of the house was almost emptied that he finally prepared all the delicacies needed for the banquet.
Among these ingredients, there are chicken, duck, fish and meat that can be seen in daily life, as well as expensive and rare deer tendons and red bird's nests.
The value of these ingredients alone is enough to support an ordinary family's diet for ten years. Their generosity is unmatched even by the wealthy Su family.
A prominent family like the Zheng family must maintain an outwardly glorious appearance, because if they show the slightest sign of decline, they will immediately be looked down upon and excluded by others.
Therefore, Lord Zheng specifically instructed Wang that the banquet must be held in the most luxurious way to demonstrate the prosperity of the family.
Wang did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and the whole mansion seemed bustling with activity because of her busyness.
On the other hand, Su Wanyu ordered people to send the clothes tailor-made for the Regent to the Princess's Mansion. Without the embroidery work, she had some free time and naturally would not miss this much-anticipated birthday banquet.
"Miss, the eldest young lady has stored all the ingredients for the birthday banquet in the southwest warehouse in the back kitchen." Siqi reported softly.
Su Wanyu casually broke off a dead branch, her eyes deep: "The southwest warehouse has been in disrepair for a long time, it's not safe there."
The southwest warehouse is the place where the Zheng family stores precious food ingredients. It should be maintained every month, but Su Wanyu's "disrepair" obviously refers to something else.
Siqi understood, took the cloak from the back of the chair, and gently put it on her: "Miss, it may rain tonight, you should go back to your room and rest early."
Su Wanyu tightened her cloak and broke off another dead branch: "Have you prepared the tonic for mother-in-law?"
Siqi nodded, a sly look flashing in her eyes: "Don't worry, Miss, there will be a good show on the birthday banquet day."
Su Wanyu's lips curled up into a barely perceptible smile, which was meaningful.
As the night deepens, dark clouds cover the moon and a rainstorm is about to come.
Several dark shadows quietly jumped onto the roof of the southwest warehouse, lifted a tile, and quickly dropped several bags of unidentified objects.
When the dark shadow left, heavy rain began to pour down.
Raindrops pounded the roof densely, mercilessly washing away the carefully prepared ingredients. At the same time, a group of rats poured out from the sacks that were thrown down and devoured the chickens, ducks, fish and meat in the warehouse beyond recognition.
The rainstorm lasted all night. When the first ray of morning light penetrated the clouds, panicked screams were heard in the mansion.
"Oh my! It's terrible! The food! The food is all ruined!"
The maid and the mother looked at the mess on the ground, their faces pale and terrified.
When Wang heard the news, she rushed over, her legs went weak and she almost fell.
"This...what's going on? How come all the ingredients I just prepared are ruined?" Wang's voice was hoarse, her eyes were red, and her whole body seemed to have lost support.
Tomorrow is the birthday banquet. How can we hold the banquet if the ingredients have suddenly been destroyed today?
"Madam, do you want to report this to the old lady and the marquis?" the maid beside her asked quietly.
Wang fell to the ground weakly, staring blankly at the chaos in front of her, speechless for a long time.
"Madam, we can't afford this birthday banquet!" The maid knelt on the ground and said anxiously.
Wang struggled to stand up with the help of the wall, her teeth clenched, looking at the treasures that were ruined, her body trembling slightly: "No, we can't let the Marquis know. You, go and calm the others down, it's just ingredients, right? I'll go buy more."
The maid looked embarrassed and said, "Madam, I'm afraid we can't afford that much money from the account of our first house."
Wang tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, gritted her teeth, and said resolutely: "Go, find someone to buy some chicken, duck, fish and meat, and ask the chef to serve the dishes according to the menu tomorrow!"
"Madam, I'm afraid ordinary chicken, duck, fish and meat cannot be used to make the dishes on the menu." The maid said in embarrassment.
Hearing this, Wang suddenly raised her hand and slapped her hard: "Can't we let them think of a solution? It's just a few dishes. Let the chef make a few similar dishes. If we say it's swan meat, then it's swan meat; if we say it's deer penis, then it's deer penis."
The maid lowered her head, feeling aggrieved, and said no more words, only feeling mixed emotions in her heart.
At this moment, the damage to the food filled Wang's heart with unprecedented panic.
She knew very well that once this matter reached the ears of Lord Zheng, the consequences would be disastrous, and Wang herself would probably not be able to escape severe punishment.
Between despair and determination, she made a bold decision - instead of waiting for death, she might as well give it a try and try to cover up today's mistakes so that tomorrow's birthday party can go smoothly as if nothing had happened.
Wang's steps seemed a little unsteady. Although she was panicked in her heart, she pretended to be calm on the surface. She hurried back to her courtyard, her palms slightly sweating due to nervousness.
She had already sold her dowry many times, and now she had to turn her attention to the precious antique vases in the Zheng Mansion.
Each of these vases carries the family's history and glory. Normally, even within the family, few people mention their existence.
However, things had come to this point, and Wang had no choice but to let it go.
She carefully contacted the middlemen in the black market and quickly sold these antiques through secret channels at prices far below the market price.
The moment Wang got the money, she felt mixed emotions.
She did not dare to delay for even a moment and immediately dispatched her trusted servant to rush to the market with silver, in order to buy the necessary ingredients in the shortest possible time.
Time passed like sand in an hourglass, and by the next morning, only a dozen ordinary and inconspicuous ingredients had been gathered.
Faced with such limited resources, Wang could only beg the chefs to use their best skills to cook the most decent dishes as quickly as possible.
Lord Zheng’s birthday is not only a major family event, but also a focus of attention from the government and the public.