"You can't judge a person's good or bad based on a first impression. Humans have both good and evil sides, and Ningguang is no exception."
Walking alone on the streets of Liyue Harbor, Miss Durandal recalled Grandma Ping's words, and Ningguang's image appeared in her mind.
Because of Hulder, Miss Durandal's impression of Ningguang had always been very poor, believing that every word and every decision of hers contained some scheme.
But upon closer thought, apart from manipulating her during the Osial incident, she didn't seem to have done anything else.
It was just that due to the shadow of Hulder, she was unwilling to drop her guard against Ningguang, preventing the other party from harming those around her through subtle arrangements, just like Hulder did.
If it were just her alone, it would be fine; she could just ignore Ningguang. But Lumine often had to deal with the Seven Stars of Liyue, so she couldn't avoid contact with Ningguang.
Since Lumine would interact with Ningguang, she herself would also come into contact with Ningguang, making the above condition impossible to implement.
"Forgive her… really? Even if I force myself to accept, my heart can't acknowledge it."
She could forgive Ningguang, but she couldn't forgive Hulder. After all, Ningguang's behavior last time was too similar to Hulder's. Although it wasn't a deadly scheme, being calculated against was enough to remind Miss Durandal of the woman who had left her with psychological trauma.
Currently, she needed a catalyst to separate Ningguang from Hulder, something that would show her Ningguang doing things Hulder wouldn't do.
Even if Ningguang did things that Hulder would also do, Miss Durandal didn't know it, which would still serve as a reason for her to differentiate Ningguang from Hulder.
But… how exactly should she find it? Usually, she met Ningguang at the Jade Chamber, where she would either conduct business or handle matters for the Tianquan Star, with no time for other things.
"It seems I'll never find a reason to forgive her in this lifetime."
With this sentiment, Miss Durandal arrived at a tea house. This time, it wasn't the tea house by the small pond where she used to meet Zhongli, but the Heyu Tea House located on the second floor.
She had never been here before. The reason she came to this place was that she heard a very peculiar singing style. Although she didn't understand what the other person was singing, the person seemed to be telling a story.
With a curious mood, Miss Durandal came to the Heyu Tea House. On the storyteller's stage, she saw a Damselette, from whom the voice was emanating.
She was a very beautiful person, at least in Miss Durandal's perception, she could be called beautiful. What was most striking was her unique temperament.
Besides singing, her body also danced along with the progression of the story. As she sang, the audience below the stage entered the story she depicted.
"Truly wonderful…"
Durandal nodded in appreciation. Unlike Venti's beautiful harp performance, this style of acting had its own unique charm.
"Yun Jin's performances are indeed excellent. Even I, whenever I know the Yun Han Troupe is returning to Liyue Harbor, will come to Heyu Tea House to listen to her opera."
A familiar voice came, and in the furthest corner of the stage, Zhongli was sitting there, leisurely sipping tea.
So... does this person have nothing important to do normally? Why does it feel like every time she sees him, he's drinking tea in a tea house?
"This isn't the first time I've asked you this question. Don't you have anything to do? You're always so leisurely."
"Hehe~ When it's time to be busy, I'll naturally be busy. As a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, I usually have things to do. I always come out to listen to the opera after I've finished my work, never delaying important matters."
Heh heh~ She'll just pretend to believe him. Anyway, she wasn't interested in managing the life of this retired Geo Archon; he could do whatever made him happy.
"What about Azhdaha? I thought he'd be with you. I didn't expect you two to be separate."
"Since he wants to integrate into Liyue Harbor, he needs to have his own life. Besides Keqing from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he's also started a business selling Shitou. Now, almost all the high-end Cor Lapis, Noctilucous Jade, and other ores in Liyue Harbor come from his hands, and he's incredibly accurate at identifying Shitou, becoming a VIP to those merchants."
Speaking of his old friend Azhdaha, Zhongli couldn't help but show a hint of a smile. The other party had integrated very well into the current Liyue, with no signs of discomfort.
Not only that, he also made a lot of Mora, which both pleased and relieved Zhongli.
Currently, Childe had already left Liyue Harbor, so his bills could no longer be sent to the Northland Bank.
Sending them to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor wasn't impossible, but if it happened too often, Hu Tao would nag him.
Now that Azhdaha was earning Mora, he could hand over the bills to Azhdaha to settle, and Azhdaha had readily paid them all, relieving him of a lot of pressure.
"...I suddenly regret bringing him to you back then."
Although she brought Azhdaha over to do him a favor, she inadvertently helped him a great deal.
If she hadn't brought Azhdaha over, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor would eventually stop paying Zhongli's bills. Then... she was quite curious about what he would do in the future to clear those bills.
"Putting that aside, what do you think of Yun Jin's opera? Compared to the storytelling you usually see, doesn't it have a unique flavor?"
"Hmm, a very special art form. Although I don't fully understand it, her performance style is indeed very captivating. What kind of stories does she sing about? Are they all self-written, like those storytellers?"
Many storytellers in Liyue Harbor make up their own content. Some stories are written based on legends, and most of them are about the Geo Archon.
It must be said that the Geo Archon's past experiences are really popular; almost every resident of Liyue loves to hear stories about him.
"Hmm, she has a lot of Talents and can write operas at a young age. Some operas aren't entirely self-written; she also combines real history to create stories."
"I see, it's a bit like light novel. However, this performance style is even more appealing."
Compared to letting readers imagine for themselves, this style of performance can better convey the emotions of the characters in the story to the audience.
No matter what others thought, Durandal really liked this performance style. This kind of performance should be like storytelling, where you can give a tip at the end, right? She'd give a little later.
"Why aren't you with the others today? What happened?"
Seeing the opportune moment, Zhongli also posed his question to Durandal, asking for the reason she came to Heyu Tea House alone.
"Nothing much. Lumine and I just returned from Mondstadt today. Then the Tianquan Star called me to the Jade Chamber. She wanted to thank me for rescuing those kidnapped Children a while ago."
"Hmm, I've heard about this matter. As a member of Liyue, I also want to thank you. Children are the future of Liyue, and what you did can be considered saving the future of Liyue. Hehe~ Unbeknownst to me, the favors I owe you are growing."
Although he had already stepped down from the position of Geo Archon, he was still a Liyue person. Durandal had saved so many of Liyue's future, so he naturally had to repay her.
"If you want to repay the favor, I have some questions I'd like to ask you. As the Geo Archon who has always protected Liyue, you should know some things, right?"
"As long as I know it, I will answer you."
Zhongli wouldn't be so arrogant as to say he knew everything, but he was at least a God who had lived the longest, like Venti. And unlike Venti, who would occasionally fall into a slumber, he had always been awake.
Even if some past memories had faded, he would try his best to find whatever Durandal wanted to know from the crevices of his memory.
"I want to ask, what is your opinion of the Tianquan Star—Ningguang? Is that person evil?"
"Tianquan Star? An unexpected question. I didn't expect you to want to ask my opinion of her."
Zhongli was a bit surprised. He had thought Durandal wanted to know some secrets, but it turned out to be such an ordinary matter. He had even secretly prepared, thinking about how he would answer if Durandal asked some secret questions.
"I'm not interested in other questions. I just want to know what kind of person she really is. Before she became the Tianquan Star, she must have been a person from Liyue, right? Since she could reach her current position, her family background must be very good, right?"
Just like the other Liyue Qixing, if they didn't have some family wealth, it wouldn't be so easy to reach that position.
The Liyue Qixing are the seven people who manage Liyue Harbor, the seven highest positions. Without some status, reaching that position would be incredibly difficult.
"Hehe~ You'll be disappointed. She has no background whatsoever. In fact, years ago, she was a merchant who lived hand-to-mouth, walking barefoot from Yaoguang Shoal to the South Wharf every day, hawking her goods all the way."
Compared to the currently illustrious Tianquan Star, the Ningguang of back then could be said to have been extremely poor. Forget about being wealthy; she hadn't even reached the level of an ordinary family.
Her ability to reach her current position was entirely due to her own hard work, and even he couldn't help but praise her.
"...You're not lying?"
"Every word is true."
Hmm, Zhongli wasn't like a certain slacking Anemo God; his words could still be trusted.
Although it was hard to believe, she hadn't expected that Ningguang would have such experiences. It must be said that only those who have experienced hardship can grow to such heights.
"Is your inquiry about her related to her trying to scheme against you earlier?"
"...Mm."
Sure enough, even if he wasn't at the Jade Chamber at the time, he knew what had happened there.
That person must have been paying attention to everything happening at the Jade Chamber the whole time, and naturally noticed the near-conflict between her and Ningguang.
"Because of that incident, I associated her with people I intensely dislike. I must find the differences between them to treat them differently. Only then can I forgive her."
"I see, then I'd better speak well."
Zhongli was very happy to see Durandal and Ningguang reconcile. To achieve this, he had to carefully consider Ningguang's praiseworthy qualities to change Durandal's perception of Ningguang.
Zhongli was quite confident in this aspect, but he forgot one thing: Durandal was different from anyone else he had met.
He... would find it difficult to persuade Durandal.
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