Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: One Mishap After Another 

By this time, the sky was already fully bright.

The front courtyard had long since been prepared with tables and chairs. Because this was a birthday banquet hosted primarily by the female quarters, there was no separation of seating between men and women. Instead, the family sat together at dozens of low tables.

Just as they passed through the banquet-ready front courtyard—before the main gates had even been swung wide open—a matron suddenly hurried over. "Eldest Miss, something has happened. You need to make a decision immediately."

The preparations for the birthday banquet were managed primarily by Xie Ping, so the servants came directly to her to report.

Xie Ping felt a surge of annoyance. This servant truly lacked any situational awareness at all; with so many elders present, wasn't this deliberately making her lose face?

Suppressing a breath, she asked, "What has happened?"

The matron replied, "Eldest Miss, just now when preparing the ingredients, the kitchen realized that the fish delivered early this morning are all only the size of a palm. Small as they are, they're even dead! What on earth should we do?"

"What?" The Old Madam found it hard to believe. "Which family uses dead fish for a birthday banquet?"

Wasn't this courting bad luck and cursing her to die early?

Xie Ping hurriedly said, "Take me to see."

The Old Madam's right eyelid had been twitching incessantly, and she had a lingering sense of unease. "The hour is still early, and guests won't arrive for a while yet. Let's all go take a look together."

With Xie Zhongcheng, Xie Jingyu, and Xie Shian remaining in the front courtyard, the Old Madam led the retinue of female relatives toward the back kitchens.

Upon seeing the small fish floating belly-up on the surface of the water, the Old Madam's expression sank completely. "Who was responsible for procuring these fish?"

A matron answered, "Steward He handles all the kitchen procurement."

Xie Ping gripped her handkerchief tightly, her knuckles turning white.

To think she had trusted He Xu so completely, handing the vast majority of the responsibilities over to him, only for this bastard to cause such a massive catastrophe for her!

It would have been one thing if the fish were a bit small, but to actually deliver dead fish—just how much silver had he pocketed through embezzlement?!

"Old Madam, I... I failed to judge his character correctly," Xie Ping lowered her head and said. "I will immediately arrange for someone to go back out and purchase fresh, large fish."

Madam Yuan sighed. "By the time the fish are bought back, the banquet will have already begun. There's not enough time."

Concubine Tao chimed in, "Then we can simply drop fish as a dish."

"A birthday banquet cannot be without fish," Yunchu said indifferently. "These fish have only been dead for about half an hour. If we prepare the seasoning with a heavier hand, it can mask the lack of freshness."

The Old Madam looked at Yunchu. "Are you certain that will work?"

"There is a dish in the Yun residence called Sweet-and-Sour Crispy Fish. Through high-temperature frying, enhanced with the flavoring of cornelian cherry and aged vinegar, ordinary people won't be able to tell the difference," Yunchu explained. "Concubine Yu, you know how to make this dish. I'll leave it in your hands."

Her casual, unruffled demeanor made the previously panicked crowd feel as though they had suddenly found their backbone, as if a batch of dead fish wasn't such an earth-shattering crisis after all.

Tingyu stepped forward. "Understood."

Among the Madam's four principal maidservants, she was the one most skilled in culinary arts. At that moment, she felt as though she finally had a chance to put her talents to use.

Handing her child over to the wet nurse, she stepped into the kitchen. As she walked in, she heard Madam Yuan speaking: "Chuchu, our household still requires you to take charge. Thank goodness you're here, otherwise we truly wouldn't have known what to do..."

Concubine Jiang echoed, "The Madam possesses true household-managing talent; dealing with such a trivial matter is naturally a breeze for her."

Stepping into the kitchen, Tingyu bit her lower lip. Clearly, she was the one stepping up to resolve the current pressing crisis, yet everyone only heaped praise upon the Madam, completely forgetting her...

A complex look crossed the Old Madam's eyes.

She had originally intended to host a flawless birthday banquet to reclaim household management rights from Yunchu, yet a mishap had occurred even before the banquet began, forcing her to rely on Yunchu to clean up the mess...

Even she had to admit that the legitimate daughter raised by the General's estate was indeed superior to others in every single aspect.

"Inspect everything delivered by the procurement this morning thoroughly," Yunchu commanded coldly. "You are all veterans who have worked in the kitchen for a long time; handle minor issues yourselves. If something truly cannot be resolved, report it immediately."

"Understood!"

The matrons and maidservants in the kitchen chorused their compliance in unison.

Only then did the Old Madam lead the female relatives to the front courtyard to welcome the guests.

A sarcastic smirk tugged at the corner of Yunchu's mouth.

She had known this birthday banquet wouldn't go off without a hitch, but she never imagined it would suffer such a massive blunder right out of the gate.

A whole vat of fish had died before things even started; heaven only knew how many more troublesome tricks were waiting ahead.

However, would He Xu really have had the audacity to purchase an entire vat of dead fish? She had a lingering suspicion that these fish had been deliberately suffocated...

While the coarse-labor matrons of the estate held plenty of grievances toward Xie Ping, they likely wouldn't dare sabotage the birthday banquet itself.

Yunchu thought to herself that it was probably just the Old Madam's bad luck...

The Old Madam, Madam Yuan, and several younger masters and misses sat chatting in the front courtyard's reception parlor, as concubines were not permitted to attend such occasions. Meanwhile, Yunchu and Xie Jingyu, accompanied by their eldest son and daughter Xie Shian and Xie Ping, stood at the main gates to welcome the incoming guests.

The very first to arrive with birthday felicitations was Xie Jingyu's subordinate, Official Hu, who brought his wife and daughter to offer their respects.

"Lord Xie, Madam Xie," Official Hu cupped his fists in greeting. "I bring a meager token of respect, please kindly accept it."

Xie Jingyu returned the courtesy. "Shian, escort Official Hu inside to take his seat."

Looking at Xie Shian, Official Hu remarked with a sigh, "Two years ago when this humble official first visited the Xie estate, the Young Master of Xie was only this tall, and now he's grown so high."

Exchanging pleasantries, Xie Shian escorted Official Hu into the front courtyard.

Yunchu smiled as she greeted Madam Hu.

Glancing at Yunchu's pale complexion, Madam Hu observed, "I heard Madam Xie has been terribly ill, yet you're still managing the birthday banquet—it must be terribly exhausting."

"Not at all," Yunchu replied. "This birthday banquet was entirely managed single-handedly by my daughter here. I merely offered a suggestion or two, while all the major and minor decisions were made by herself. With Ping'er helping me, my load is much lighter from now on."

Looking at Xie Ping with astonishment, Madam Hu asked, "Miss Xie is only thirteen or fourteen, yet she is capable of independently managing such a grand birthday banquet?"

Xie Ping spoke up modestly, "It is all thanks to Mother's careful instruction."

This statement was tantamount to publicly confirming that the entire banquet was solely her own handiwork.

Just then, a steady stream of guests began arriving, and upon hearing that the banquet had been managed by a thirteen-year-old maiden, they could not help revealing looks of deep admiration.

Xie Ping accepted all these praises in full stride.

Right at that moment, a matron hurried over from the back quarters with a panicked expression.

Xie Ping's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "This junior still has some matters to attend to, please excuse me for a moment."

Leading the matron off to the side, she frowned and demanded, "What is it now?"

"Eldest Miss, the pork and mutton procured for the back kitchen are both short by at least ten catties," the matron said, slapping her thigh in despair. "There's no time to send someone out to buy more now..."

Xie Ping bit her lip in exasperation.

He Xu was her own maternal uncle, so why did he exclusively specialize in stabbing her in the back?

Clutching her handkerchief, she forced herself to say, "Then make the portions for each bowl slightly smaller. Today's guests are all well-established officials with deep foundations; they won't quibble over a mouthful or two of meat."

The matron opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words she wanted to say, accepting the order to hurry back to the kitchen and busy herself once more.

Composing her emotions, Xie Ping returned to Yunchu's side to resume welcoming the guests.

Every arriving noble lady made a point of inquiring after Yunchu's health. Although Yunchu claimed she had largely recovered, her pale complexion and frail frame made it blatantly obvious to anyone that she was merely forcing herself to make an appearance.

At that moment, the Yun family's carriage arrived.

When the Yun family had previously stepped forward to bury the Xie estate's prematurely deceased legitimate son and daughter right beside the Yun family ancestral graves, it was equivalent to publicly delivering a stinging slap to the Xie family's face. Everyone was naturally curious: with Yunchu falling this ill, what attitude would the current Yun family hold toward the Xie family?