Lady Zhenguo pondered for a moment: "My lord, don't worry, I'll go to the palace right now and discuss it with A-Yue. With so many clever ideas, she'll definitely be fine."
As she spoke, she got up to prepare to enter the palace.
"Alright, then please be careful, Madam." After giving his instructions, the Duke of Zhenguo sent someone to escort her into the palace.
Since entering the palace, the Duchess of Zhenguo had been scheming. She decided to first pay her respects to the Empress and, incidentally, find out what the palace was saying.
"I've come to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress. Please inform her." She had just arrived at the entrance of Fengyi Palace when she had someone announce her arrival.
The palace maid bowed to her and ushered her inside: "No need, Her Majesty already guessed you would come and said you could just come in."
The Duchess of Zhenguo nodded.
"May Your Majesty the Empress enjoy boundless blessings and peace." She went in, bowed to the Empress, and was then offered a seat, where they began to chat.
The Empress had already guessed it. She had just instructed Xu Yuehuai to prepare for the Duke of Zhenguo's birthday banquet when the Duke's wife rushed into the palace. The meaning behind this was all too obvious.
However, it is the Emperor's business to relay this message once.
She has to say it again.
As she spoke, she didn't forget to look at the expression on the face of the Duke of Zhenguo's wife: "I heard that the Duke of Zhenguo is about to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. The Emperor and I have discussed having Princess Heyue make preparations for him."
Although the Duchess of Zhenguo had heard the news long ago, hearing her say it now, she couldn't help but feel worried.
"It would be wonderful if A-Yue could prepare it," she said with a wry smile.
The Empress had already guessed what she meant, so she simply went along with it and did her a favor. She smiled slightly and said, "Amber, you should quickly take the Duchess of Zhenguo to see Princess Heyue."
The Duchess of Zhenguo looked puzzled upon hearing this.
"I think you must be thinking about A-Yue. Go and see her quickly, and it will also be a good opportunity for you two to have a chat," the Empress immediately explained with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, the palace maid named Amber stepped forward and led the Duchess of Zhenguo away.
Seeing the Empress so happy, the Duchess of Zhenguo bowed and expressed her gratitude before following Amber away.
"Madam, the residence of Princess Heyue is just ahead." Amber led the Duchess of Zhenguo to Xu Yuehuai's door and prepared to return to report.
"Thank you." The Duchess of Zhenguo nodded in acknowledgment, then hurriedly pushed open the door. Inside, she indeed saw A-Yue sitting on the bed. "A-Yue..."
"Godmother, what brings you here?" Xu Yuehuai was also unable to contain his excitement upon seeing the Duchess of Zhenguo.
Her days in the palace were naturally quite difficult, but seeing the Duchess of Zhenguo now made her feel much better.
"I heard that the Emperor and Empress ordered you to prepare a birthday banquet for your godfather. That's why I came to see how your preparations are going." The Duchess of Zhenguo felt much more at ease upon seeing Xu Yuehuai, but she began to worry again when she thought about the birthday banquet. "I helped organize the birthday banquets in previous years. You have never managed birthday banquets in the palace before, so you must not know how to do it."
Seeing her worried expression, Xu Yuehuai knew that she must be afraid that she couldn't handle it, which was why she rushed into the palace to discuss it with him.
Thinking of this, she was slowly moved. Although she was called her godmother, she felt a deep affection that even her own mother had never given her.
"Mother, don't worry, I've already made all the preparations for the birthday banquet." Xu Yuehuai said, helping her to sit down by the bed.
"Really?" The Duchess of Zhenguo was pleasantly surprised, but her joy quickly turned to pride. After all, that was Xu Yuehuai, her goddaughter. As the manager of Tianxiang Restaurant, organizing a birthday banquet was a piece of cake for her.
Perhaps she had been too flustered beforehand, but she was still a little worried, after all, there would be many important people at the birthday banquet.
“Mom, it’s true.” Xu Yuehuai reassured her, “I’m planning to make a buffet using delicacies from all over the country. There will be a wide variety of food for guests to choose from, so that the taste won’t be wrong, and it will also be novel and interesting.”
The Duchess of Zhenguo was pleasantly surprised: "A-Yue, your idea is really good."
She could finally relax; Ah Yue was incredibly clever and always came up with new ideas.
She also told A-Yue about the etiquette and manners to observe on the day of the birthday banquet, as well as the special tastes of the guests.
"Mother, with what you've said, I'm sure I can handle it well, so please don't worry." After hearing the key points she mentioned, Xu Yuehuai felt even more confident.
Meanwhile, the Emperor has put Princess Heyue in charge of the Duke of Zhenguo's birthday banquet. Although no official decree has been issued, many people have already heard the news.
Zhao Min heard the news that very day, and a burning jealousy made her feel terrible.
No, she had to go find her aunt, the Imperial Concubine. How could she let that vile woman, Xu Yuehuai, keep stealing the limelight?
Thinking of this, she couldn't wait any longer and hurriedly went to Consort Min's palace.
"Auntie." Zhao Min called out resentfully from outside even before she went inside.
"What's wrong, Min'er? Who has upset you again?" Consort Min heard the call and hurriedly went outside.
"The Emperor and Empress have ordered Xu Yuehuai to organize the Duke of Zhenguo's birthday banquet. She'll be even more smug then," Zhao Min said, her face full of resentment towards Xu Yuehuai.
"She should have no reason to care about the Zhao family."
Consort Min's expression changed instantly upon hearing this. The Zhao family had already incurred the enmity of Xu Yuehuai. If they did not take advantage of the moment to suppress her, she would be even more untouchable once she achieved fame and success.
Thinking of this, she immediately made up her mind: wasn't she going to prepare a birthday banquet?
Consort Min pondered this, and her expression subtly shifted.
"Auntie, do you have an idea?" Zhao Min asked hurriedly when she saw her like that.
"Isn't she preparing a birthday banquet? Let's make all the chefs in the imperial kitchen suffer from stomach aches and diarrhea, and see how she manages to do it all by herself?"
After Consort Min finished speaking, she and Zhao Min exchanged a glance, and then both of them revealed unfathomable expressions.
...
"Princess Heyue, Chef Sun has suddenly developed severe diarrhea."
“Princess Heyue, Chef Liu is also.”
...
Xu Yuehuai panicked because all the chefs in the imperial kitchen were sick. With no one to help her, she wondered if she could still manage to put on a good birthday banquet and where she could find help.
Xu Yuehuai's preparations seemed insufficient, and she felt somewhat flustered.
Suddenly, Xu Yuehuai had an idea. Since the people in the palace couldn't be trusted, she would bring in people from outside the palace.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to invite Zhou Wan and San Niang Tianxianglou from outside the palace to help her.
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