Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Zhang Jingwei's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in amazement, "Oh my god, it's so lively!"

Ma Tianmao, who was standing aside, showed a smug look on his face and raised his eyebrows and said, "That's right! Don't you even look at who did it?"

Zhang Jingwei glanced at the main courtyard, only to see it filled with densely packed tables. He couldn't help but smack his lips and exclaimed, "The main courtyard is completely filled with tables. I guess there must be a hundred of them!"

Ma Tianmao crossed his arms and nodded confidently, "Of course. Today's banquet is a hundred-table banquet. Any prominent figure in Yunzhou will be here to show their support! And look at these dishes! Every table is filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat! And there's also this wine! Twenty jars of aged wine!"

Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but give a thumbs-up and sighed, "What a generous gesture! Rich people are so willful! This banquet must have cost a lot of money."

Ma Tianmao, however, looked disdainful and waved his hand, saying, "Vulgar! Talking about money hurts feelings. I have no interest in money."

After hearing this, Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Well, only you can say that!"

At this moment, Ma Tianmao suddenly seemed to remember something, patted Zhang Jingwei on the shoulder and said, "By the way, your father-in-law was just looking for you everywhere!"

Zhang Jingwei's expression tensed and he quickly replied, "Then I'll go see him right away." After that, he turned around and left in a hurry.

The main courtyard of the Marquis' Mansion is where Huangfu Changshui lives. The entire courtyard, together with the left and right wing rooms and the exaggeratedly large main house, is a total of two hectares in size.

As soon as Zhang Jingwei entered the main house, Huangfu Changshui's eyes widened and he pointed at him and cursed, "You ungrateful beast!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at Huangfu Changshui innocently and asked doubtfully, "Father-in-law, what did I do wrong to make you so angry that you insulted me like this?"

Huangfu Changshui was furious and roared, "I gave you two hundred taels of silver earlier and asked you to prepare a few tables of banquet, but you actually brought me a massive banquet with a hundred tables! Don't you know how much money this will waste? It's really pissing me off!"

Zhang Jingwei quickly explained, "Father-in-law, please calm down. This wasn't done by me alone. It was originally handed over to Ma Tianmao to take full charge."

Huangfu Changshui stared and said, "Yes, he was indeed responsible for everything, but in the end, I was the one who paid for it!"

Zhang Jingwei opened his mouth in surprise: "Ah? How could Ma Tianmao do things like this..."

Huangfu Changshui stamped his foot in anger, gesturing with his fingers and saying, "Look, just because of this banquet, the budget has exceeded by a full five hundred taels of silver!"

Zhang Jingwei said disapprovingly, "It's only five hundred taels. My father-in-law allocates tens of thousands of taels of silver to the Water Defense Camp every year! What does this little money mean to you?"

Huangfu Changshui's expression changed drastically. He quickly made a silencing gesture and warned in a low voice, "Shh! Keep your voice down! Besides you, who else knows the inside story?"

Zhang Jingwei realized he had said the wrong thing when he saw this, and quickly responded, "Don't worry, father-in-law. I understand the stakes involved and will keep my mouth shut. After all, I'm afraid of being beheaded too!"

In fact, Wang Ju also knew about this matter, but Wang Ju only told Zhang Jingwei, and the two of them kept the matter secret. So when Liu Yanzhi thoroughly investigated, he felt that Huangfu Changshui was extremely innocent in this case, but he had no evidence to prove that Huangfu Changshui was also involved.

After a while, a servant came to announce: "My Lord, a guest has arrived!"

Huangfu Changshui sighed and walked out of the room. He slowly walked to the door where he saw some generals from the garrison camp and Yunzhou Army.

Wang Caiwu, the military officer, arrived at the door with a smile on his face, struggling to carry a large pile of gifts in his hands. He stood at the door, looking inside, and shouted, "General! General! You are so generous to your subordinates!"

Huangfu Changshui stepped out with a gentle smile on his face. Wang Caiwu hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Greetings, General!" Huangfu Changshui raised his hand slightly to indicate that the formality was excused, and said with a smile, "Captain Wang, there is no need for formalities. Come in."

Wang Caiwu followed Huangfu Changshui into the house, looked around, and asked, "Where is Commandant Gao?" Huangfu Changshui stroked his beard and replied, "Commander Gao Fei had some family matters and just asked for leave to go home and pick up his precious daughter."

Hearing this, Wang Caiwu revealed a hint of realization. He then looked down at the gifts in his hands and said hesitantly, "Oh, so that's how it is. Then these gifts we prepared..."

Huangfu Changshui saw this, a sly glint in his eyes, and then he smiled and said, "How about... you leave it with me first? When Captain Gao returns, I'll hand it over to him."

When Wang Caiwu heard this, he was stunned at first, but he quickly reacted and nodded in response: "Yes, yes, yes! General, you are absolutely right! This is a banquet hosted by the general himself. It is naturally most appropriate to leave the gift with you!" As he said, he carefully placed the gift in his hand on the table beside him.

After that, Zhang Jingwei got a new job, recording gifts and gift givers at the door.

The man named Zhang Jingwei looked at the person in front of him expressionlessly and asked coldly, "Name?"

Standing before him was a businessman of somewhat portly build, dressed in luxurious attire. He quickly replied with a smile, "My name is Wang Fugui, and I'm the owner of the Jade Wine Shop in the East Market."

Zhang Jingwei narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to ask, "What is it?"

Wang Fugui quickly took two exquisite wine jugs from the servant behind him and carefully held them in front of Zhang Jingwei, saying, "These are two jugs of the best sake. In addition, there are two taels of silver!"

Zhang Jingwei took a look at the two pots of wine and silver and shouted, "Manager Wang of the Jade Wine Shop, two pots of clear wine and two taels of silver!"

However, before Wang Fugui could further explain that the sake he brought was of the finest quality and not ordinary goods, Liang Dahai, who was standing beside him, urged him impatiently, "Hurry up and go in. Don't you see there are so many people queuing behind you?"

As soon as he stepped through the door, Wang Fugui was arranged by Liu Guanjin to sit in the back.

Zhang Shiyi was piling up goods at the door. The entrance hall was full, so he simply put the more valuable ones inside and left the cheaper ones on the street, but they were all neatly stacked.

He calmly instructed Liu Guanjin, "Any distinguished guests who bring gifts exceeding one hundred taels, please direct them to the first three tables. Those who bring gifts less than ten taels, please seat them at the back. Of course, if you meet someone you know, we'll make other arrangements for their seating."

Time passed quickly, and in just one hour, the total value of the gifts and presents received far exceeded the cost of the banquet itself.

At this moment, Liu Guanjin came trotting up, beads of sweat still hanging on his forehead. He said anxiously, "Master, the back seats are almost full. Would you like to consider arranging some guests to the front tables?"

Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then replied, "There are regulations for the front row seats. You must give a gift of at least 100 taels... How about this? Go to the back and ask if anyone is willing to accept a standing ticket!"