About how to arrange that menu, Hua Xiaomai indeed felt quite indecisive.
Since learning of the news of this scholar banquet last night, she had been unable to fall asleep, while Meng Yuhuai beside her had long been breathing deeply and evenly. But she kept tossing and turning, her mind crammed with all sorts of ideas. She would consider one for a while, then feel it was no good, hastily discard it, and end up feeling more clueless the more she thought.
This banquet, with guests from the County that included various scholars, was really not an easy crowd to deal with. These people were learned and had wide-ranging knowledge but were peculiarly averse to officialdom, preferring a quiet life. Most probably had a bit of a temper, and pleasing their tastes with a single banquet was definitely no easy task.
She was just a downright commoner, after all. How could she know what these "hermits" liked or loathed?
