Bai Zhiyi thought to herself, "This Zhao Xiyue isn't as cunning as her grandfather. It seems she doesn't know about the servants' pranks on me. I might be able to take advantage of her."
She said to Zhao Xiyue, "Miss Zhao, the General's Mansion has been subsidizing the Northwest Camp, and it's not making ends meet. I knew the young master was coming back, and I was afraid the General's Mansion wouldn't have enough to offer, so I specially prepared eight dishes and a soup to welcome him. Please go and tell the General that Miss Bai has a small token of her appreciation."
The maidservant chimed in, saying to Zhao Xiyue, "Miss Zhao, look at our young lady, she ruined her eyes from cooking for the young master. You must convey this sentiment to him."
Zhao Xiyue was very naive and had no idea that Bai Zhiyi was acting.
She could probably tell that Bai Zhiyi was pursuing Wei Jingzhuo. Seeing that Bai Zhiyi's eyes were even ruined by the smoke from welcoming Wei Jingzhuo, and then looking at herself, having done nothing, she couldn't help but feel ashamed. At the same time, she was moved by Bai Zhiyi's efforts and said with tears in her eyes, "Miss Bai, please don't say anymore, I understand. I'll go and tell Grandpa to have my cousin come to your welcome banquet later."
After saying that, Zhao Xiyue ran towards the reception room.
The maid watched Zhao Xiyue leave and whispered to Bai Zhiyi, "Miss, we spent nine hundred taels on those vegetables and gave that Zhang San one hundred taels as hush money. In the end, you didn't touch a single vegetable, and we lost a thousand taels of silver. How are we going to explain this to the master and madam when we get back to the capital?"
Last night, Zhang San brought over the food, but Bai Zhiyi, for some reason, didn't eat any of it. Instead, she gave Zhang San some silver and told him not to tell anyone that the food was bought in Youzhou.
Zhang San took the money and did the job, leaving the food untouched in the kitchen to be reheated.
The maid didn't understand at the time, but now she finally understood what her mistress meant. She planned to use these dishes to entertain Wei Jingzhuo; it was truly a wonder she had endured it all night.
"It's alright," Bai Zhiyi said, touching her lower abdomen. "Let me have a couple of sips of water later. This time, I want to personally entertain Your Highness."
Bai Zhiyi was an outsider and had no right to attend the welcome banquet. But since she cooked the food, it was different; she had to have a place at the banquet.
“You’re so hungry you’re staggering,” the maid advised. “The dishes have been kept warm in the kitchen. At least eat a couple of bites to fill your stomach.”
"I want to eat with His Highness; I can't miss this opportunity," Bai Zhiyi said resolutely. "Help me to the entrance of the reception room."
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