"I'm already very grateful to you all this time, and you still have to worry about me. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."

Young Master Lin chuckled and said, "My lord, you should go and entertain the Imperial Envoy first. We can start serving the dishes in about an incense stick's time."

"good."

The Lin family frequently hosts banquets, so Young Master Lin is very familiar with the steps of serving and passing dishes.

Because the dishes were changed at the last minute, all the prepared food was sent to Lord Li's family. Lord Li's wife, Madam Yang, although somewhat willful, was still able to keep things in order in big situations.

Now that the servants had brought the dishes into the room, she looked at the twelve dishes on the table and said, "Our household is known for its frugality; how can we waste food?"

In the past, dinner consisted of only four dishes and a soup. They had one daughter and one son. Their son was away from home for many years, and their daughter was approaching marriageable age.

"Madam, this is what the kitchen prepared for tonight's banquet. I don't know why the menu was suddenly changed."

"Does the master know about the changes to the menu?"

"Know."

Madam Yang kept the braised crispy fish, stir-fried bok choy, and three-delicacy soup, while distributing the rest of the dishes to the servants.

Li Yu came over from the other side, lifting the beaded curtain: "Mother, was the official Father met tonight very powerful?"

“He is an imperial envoy, which is a much higher official rank than your father, so of course he is powerful.”

"The daughter wants to see him."

Although Li Yu did not grow up in luxury, she was still a daughter of an official, so her food, clothing, and daily necessities were above those of ordinary people.

“Daughter, although Yincheng is a small place, this imperial envoy is the same age as your father. Don’t do anything foolish.”

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Madam Yang had long guessed Li Yu's thoughts. The last time Li Yu saw the Fifth Princess, she was particularly envious and even complained to her that Lord Li didn't know how to seek benefits for the family.

"Mother, how could I marry him? I just want to admire the demeanor of this important official of the court."

Li Yu simply couldn't bear to use the things prepared for the Fifth Princess as her dowry. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and she wanted to marry in style and honor.

Instead of picking up what others have left behind, even though she was a pampered princess, she felt she was on a much lower level.

Madam Yang was heartbroken; how could she have such a vain and materialistic daughter?

"Daughter, just listen to your mother. We won't force you to get married."

“Mother, if you had married me off to a young master of the Lin family back then, I wouldn’t be eating such simple meals now. Even if we didn’t marry into the Lin family, it would have been better to marry Scholar Xiao. Maybe if he passed the imperial examination, I could go to the capital with him.”

"Nonsense! Both Scholar Xiao and Young Master Lin are married. You are still a young woman. How can you marry someone who already has a wife?"

Li Yu, standing nearby, rolled up her handkerchief and refused to eat, retreating back into her room to sulk.

After observing the banquet, we saw the Imperial Envoy sitting in the main seat, with Lord Li accompanying him on the side.

The dishes on the table were simple. The only meat dishes were smoked and sliced ​​chicken and braised pork. The rest were all vegetarian dishes: cold chicken and mushroom salad, tofu skin wrapped with shredded vegetables, stir-fried shredded carrots, white radish and soybean oil soup, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy, cucumber and fish fillet platter, stir-fried shredded tofu, roasted eggplant, vegetarian chicken with fermented bean curd sauce, braised tofu, and a plate of egg and chive dumplings.

There was also a small plate of dried beef, and a plate of six layered osmanthus cakes topped with a layer of red hawthorn sauce.

The imperial envoy came from a wealthy family and had always lived a life of luxury. Seeing the dishes on the table, he had originally intended to use the fact that Lord Li was unaware of the refugee situation to question him.

But the dishes on the table were better than even the dishes served to his servants.

Young Master Lin and Jie Dan stood outside, feeling uncertain. These dishes were only served in their family when they ate vegetarian food. Lord Li was an official, and it was really too vegetarian.

Jie Dan listened carefully to what was being said. Most of these dishes were made at home by the Xiao family, and they were indeed very delicious, but it was a bit risky to use them to entertain officials.

"My lord, my family is poor. I have heard that refugees are coming to Yincheng soon, and I plan to open the granaries to release the grain. I really dare not eat anything good. This was made by the cook in the house. I hope you will not find it offensive."

“Ah, we are officials in the same court, and we were classmates in the capital. I am aware of your situation.”

Although the imperial envoy was over forty, he looked young, like he was in his early thirties. However, he had a round belly and his eyes were full of calculation, unlike Lord Li who was kind and gentle.

Lord Li personally served him food, saying, "Please eat, sir."

The imperial envoy nodded while calculating in his mind. He casually took a bite of the sliced ​​chicken, and the taste was completely different from what he had expected.

"How did you make this? It tastes so good!"

"Although I am poor, the cook in my house has a pair of skillful hands and can make delicious meals with ordinary ingredients."

"Hmm, not bad." The imperial envoy tasted all the dishes. Each dish looked ordinary, but the taste was really good, and the aftertaste was lingering.

Especially the last thing he ate, the thousand-layer osmanthus cake. He originally wanted to make a big deal out of it, saying that Lord Li was wasting sugar, but after taking a bite, his mouth was filled with fragrance and it was also sweet and sour.

They had just eaten vegetables, and eating this osmanthus cake immediately relieved the greasiness in their stomachs.

"Lord Li, where does your cook come from?"

The imperial envoy considered himself to have tasted all the delicacies in the world, but these dishes were truly beyond his imagination. He would never normally even glance at these ordinary dishes.

"Sir, the cook is just an ordinary person; you wouldn't know her even if I told you."

The imperial envoy nodded. People are different. This cook may have skillful hands, but she is just an ordinary person. He is in a high position and should not know about her.

Once he thought about it that way, he felt better and started picking fights with Lord Li.

"When I arrived in Yincheng, I heard that refugees had flocked there. Does Lord Li have a plan?"

"I received an urgent letter from Qing Yongguan two days ago. I will prepare to open the granaries tomorrow to distribute food, hoping that the refugees can have enough to eat."

"Indeed, does Lord Li know the number of people who have fled here this time?"

Lord Li clenched his left hand: "I don't know for now."

"As the magistrate of Yincheng, how can you protect this land if you don't even know the number of refugees?" The imperial envoy finally found a way to get to the point and began to put on airs.

Officer Gu came in from outside and just happened to hear the imperial envoy's reprimand, so he hurriedly ran inside.

"Lord Li, I have ascertained that there are currently about a thousand refugees outside, and people fleeing from Qingyong Pass are still arriving in droves. It is estimated that the number will increase to three thousand tomorrow."

Jie Dan heard outside that the number of refugees was increasing too fast, with an increase of two thousand people in just two days.

Young Master Lin was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. If tens of thousands of people came, wouldn't Yincheng be trampled to pieces by them?

The imperial envoy changed his expression again: "So Lord Li has already begun the investigation. I misunderstood you earlier."

"Your Excellency is right to reprimand me. This matter is also due to my dereliction of duty. I should have made offerings outside the city as soon as possible."

"These more than a thousand refugees will keep Lord Li very busy. Tomorrow I will go with you to open the granary and distribute the grain. This trip will not have been in vain."