Everyone in the banquet room stood up and tried to get a glimpse of the fifth prince through the open doors. Xiao Moxian came into view in the courtyard. He walked up the steps and entered the first banquet room, where the male guests were. From where she was, Wang Jingyuan could hear bits and pieces of what he was saying to the guests—something about thanking everyone for coming to the banquet and asking everyone to eat to their hearts' content. Typical birthday banquet speech. Wang Jingyuan figured that Xiao Moxian would stay in the first banquet room; since the guests were separated by sex, the most he would probably do was to acknowledge the ladies from afar.
Servants and maids carrying platters of food appeared. They funneled into both banquet rooms in neat lines and placed dish after dish on all the tables, until every tabletop was completely covered. Wang Jingyuan waited to see when everyone else would sit and begin eating. Smelling the delicious aromas made her hungry.
