"Welcome back to Liyue Harbor, Miss Durandal."
Immediately upon returning to Liyue Harbor, Miss Durandal received an invitation from Ningguang to meet her at the Jade Chamber.
This was primarily to thank Miss Durandal for rescuing the children kidnapped by the Fatui. Although a large portion had been trafficked elsewhere, the return of these children appeased many people and also made the residents of Liyue Harbor see the true colors of the Fatui even more clearly.
Miss Durandal, who had almost put the matter behind her with the combined comforting efforts of Lumine and Shenhe, heard Ningguang's thanks, and her expression once again turned cold.
This made Lumine, who had come along, exclaim, "Not good!" This was like rubbing salt in a wound. Ningguang, why do you like to step on landmines so much?
Lumine and Paimon, standing behind Miss Durandal, desperately shook their heads, signaling Ningguang with their eyes not to continue this topic, to quickly change the subject, or something bad would happen if they kept going.
Ningguang was also a shrewd person. After seeing Lumine and Paimon's reactions, combined with Miss Durandal's response, she immediately understood that Miss Durandal did not want to talk too much about the children.
"Ahem! The Seven Stars of Liyue are already discussing how to thank you. Please wait for a while, and we will deliver the gift of gratitude to you."
..."No need. I didn't do this for any gift of gratitude."
Miss Durandal's expression became even more unpleasant. She understood that Ningguang had no ill intentions and simply wanted to thank her, but when Ningguang said it like that, it made it sound as if she had saved those children to receive some kind of reward.
She didn't care for such things. She believed that even the greedy Paimon knew what money could be taken and what money could not.
"Uh... I apologize, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that if good deeds don't receive any reward, then in the future, when others encounter such situations, most of them might choose to ignore it."
Miss Durandal was very powerful, and her material needs were not high, but others might not be the same. Among those people, there might be individuals of noble character, but more often, there were people struggling to make a living.
If in the future, an ordinary Liyue person discovered the Fatui or some conspiracy targeting Liyue Harbor, would they immediately report it to the Millelith?
They usually would, but what if they were too afraid, too timid, thinking that they shouldn't get involved, and even if they didn't do it, someone else would certainly do it? What then?
If one person had such a thought, it meant that others would also have the same idea. To prevent this situation from happening, a reward mechanism must exist.
With this reward mechanism, once the above situation occurs, even timid people will tell the Millelith, driven by the psychology of seeking wealth in danger.
Therefore, even if Miss Durandal was very displeased with this reward, she had to accept it, and she also had to publicize this matter, to let others see it and know about it.
As Ningguang explained, Miss Durandal gradually understood the importance behind this action.
Ningguang wasn't preparing to give her a reward to bribe her, but rather to encourage the people of Liyue Harbor, to give them the courage to expose certain things.
Besides such serious matters, some incidents happening in Liyue Harbor could also be reported, such as exposing some heinous crimes or providing clues for certain murder cases.
"...Just give the things to her. I don't have that much time to come here to meet you."
Miss Durandal, feeling a bit annoyed, decided not to stay here any longer. She transformed into a black mist and disappeared from the Jade Chamber, leaving only Ningguang, Lumine, and Paimon.
"It seems you still made her angry, Ningguang."
Lumine and Ningguang were already friends. Although Ningguang had manipulated her during the Osial incident, this did not hinder her interactions with Ningguang.
She had understood the plot during the last pajama party. Improving the relationship between Ningguang and Miss Durandal would be much harder than imagined.
"There's nothing I can do about it. It's like the impression merchants have of me; it's my fault for manipulating her back then."
Ningguang sighed. This was one of the worst decisions she had ever made. She should have been an ally, but instead, she earned the other party's dislike.
Fortunately, Lumine mediated their atmosphere, otherwise she would have become the previous Tianquan Star, missed by other Liyue people.
"By the way, besides thanking you for finding the missing children, I also have a commission I'd like to entrust to you this time."
This time, Ningguang had another important commission she wanted to entrust to Lumine at the Jade Chamber.
"A commission? What kind of commission?"
"This commission is related to the Treasure Hoarders. Recently, the General Affairs Department received intelligence indicating that the two major leaders of the Treasure Hoarders in the Mondstadt-Liyue area are preparing to unite for a major undertaking. They coincidentally discovered an unexcavated ruin, which is secretly guarded by the Abyss Order."
At this point, Ningguang paused, giving Lumine time to process the existing information.
"Ruins strictly guarded by the Abyss Order? Could it be... they have another conspiracy?"
"That we don't know. What we've learned is that the Treasure Hoarders believe that since the Abyss Order is guarding those ruins so strictly, there must be some treasure inside."
At this, Ningguang couldn't help but sigh.
Things generally don't end well when they involve the Abyss Order. The Treasure Hoarders used to understand this, so they would avoid places related to the Abyss Order.
But this time, she didn't know what had gotten into them. They actually set their sights on a ruin strictly guarded by the Abyss Order.
Don't they know that even if there are precious treasures and a good amount of Mora inside, they still need to be alive to spend it?
"Liyue has just undergone a major change, and there are many things that need to be handled. The General Affairs Department and the Millelith have a lot to do every day and no time to deal with such hearsay about Treasure Hoarders' activities. But Ganyu believes that anything related to the Abyss Order contains dangerous elements.
Therefore, I want to entrust you, hoping that you can investigate this matter."
On the other side, Miss Durandal, who had left the Jade Chamber, hadn't gone too far. She was still on Yujing Terrace, preparing to stroll around Feiyun Slope.
"Hmm? Isn't this Miss Durandal? You're back from Mondstadt."
"Grandma… Ping."
Grandma Ping, as usual, was still by the stairs leading away from Yujing Terrace.
She still looked at Miss Durandal with the same benevolent gaze as an elder, even though Miss Durandal was actually older in real age. However, from their appearance, this perception was more aligned with what people would expect.
Understanding this, Miss Durandal no longer fixated on the age issue. She let her have this small advantage, thinking that this made her… look a bit younger?
Hearing Miss Durandal's address, Grandma Ping's smile became even brighter. She waved, signaling Miss Durandal to come and sit with her.
Currently, Lumine was still at the Jade Chamber discussing something with Ningguang, and it seemed Shenhe had something to attend to for Cloud Retainer, so she had gone back to check on it.
With only herself left with nothing to do, Miss Durandal decided to keep her company for a while and see what she wanted to chat about.
"Miss Durandal, your mood doesn't seem very good. It looks like you encountered something unpleasant in Mondstadt."
"…Not really. I've already processed my feelings about the matters in Mondstadt. It's just Ningguang's actions that have made me a bit unhappy."
Miss Durandal told Grandma Ping about what had just happened at the Jade Chamber. After listening to Miss Durandal's account, Grandma Ping nodded.
"I believe Ningguang's idea on this matter is not problematic. Doing so helps the General Affairs Department gather intelligence."
"…I know it's the right thing to do, but I always feel like she has some other scheme behind it. One should always be cautious about anything she does."
"Hahaha~ Your reaction now is just like those merchants who do business with Ningguang."
Miss Durandal's reaction made Grandma Ping laugh. Having always lived in seclusion in Liyue Harbor, she often heard many evaluations of Ningguang, with merchants' opinions being the most numerous and overwhelmingly negative.
Ningguang was very shrewd in business; her powerful business acumen allowed her to understand how to maximize her profits.
For this, she often set traps for merchants, and even those who tried to deceive Ningguang would ultimately be outwitted by her.
Although these were common business tactics, after numerous occurrences, merchants became wary of Ningguang.
This led to Ningguang often encountering issues when conducting business later on, such as remarks like "That Ningguang offering such a good price, there must be a scheme" or "I won't sell anything to that Ningguang."
It could be considered self-inflicted. Fortunately, she did not engage in deceptive practices towards consumers in business, otherwise, she would not have been able to grow to her current position.
"However, that is Ningguang as a merchant. As the Tianquan Star, she is still trustworthy. If she were inherently bad, she wouldn't be able to govern Liyue well with the other Seven Stars of Liyue. So, I think you should try to trust her."
"…Are you advising me to forgive her past actions?"
"I have no right to force anyone to forgive someone, but you cannot only look at a person's bad side. People have both good and evil aspects. Haven't you noticed this in your interactions with other humans? If you continue to interact with Ningguang with this mindset, not only will you feel uncomfortable, but it will also affect those around you. She is not someone who can simply be ignored. Given your statuses, you will certainly interact with her frequently."
"Even for the sake of those close to you, try to get along with her. Besides, she should have paid the price for her actions, shouldn't she?"
Grandma Ping was right. Ningguang, to compensate Jean and Klee, offered many benefits in her cooperation with Mondstadt.
These were her compensations for her mistakes, and because of this series of measures, Mondstadt's economic situation became much better than before.
This was a great favor, but Ningguang wanted Miss Durandal's forgiveness, hoping she could give her a chance for them to get to know each other again.
Miss Durandal fell into thought. Grandma Ping was right, Ningguang had indeed made amends; she had already learned about this from Jean.
Moreover, her relationship with Lumine was also good. If she continued this way, Lumine would be in a difficult position caught between them.
But… she didn't want to forgive her just like that. She needed a catalyst, a catalyst to forgive Ningguang.
"Let me think about it."
"Alright."
Grandma Ping smiled and nodded. With that thought, the subsequent matters would be much simpler.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!