After the four of them watched for a while, Dan Feng was the first to break the silence, urging everyone to take their seats.
Xianyu gave the cat a stroke and sat down at the stone table with Jingliu, who was holding it.
The High Elder sighed. "My attendants have failed to do their jobs properly. I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while for this meal."
Apart from the last mix-up, Dan Feng had never dropped the ball. What had happened this time?
Could the Dragon Preceptors be stirring up trouble again?
The other four, who knew the High Elder's ways well, all grew grim.
Yingxing frowned and asked, "Did something happen?"
In front of his friends, Dan Feng's usually unchanging, icy face showed a hint of irritation, making him look more animated.
The High Elder shook his head, his tone tinged with exasperation at their incompetence.
"I deliberately spent only a five-digit sum to hire a Private Chef team to cook here. But when they arrived, no one in the residence heard them knocking. They started a full half hour later than we'd agreed..."
Anyone who had witnessed Dan Feng's extravagant ways knew just how special the words "five-digit sum" were coming from the High Elder.
Granted, he had hired a team to customize dishes to everyone's individual tastes and come to his home to cook...
But still, that was far too frugal! Even the Dragon Preceptors would have been moved to tears!
As for how many Strales the ingredients had actually cost...
A conservative estimate would put it in the six or seven digits.
They wouldn't pry into the exact amount.
After all, this was already a huge improvement for Dan Feng.
As for no one hearing the Private Chef team knocking for half an hour...
That