"Beidou!" Ningguang shot her a glare. "Is this really the time for you to undercut me?!"
"Ahem." Beidou immediately lifted her teacup and took a long sip. "Go on, go on. Pretend I'm not here."
She didn't have the guts to clap back at Ningguang the way Keqing did.
Ningguang turned back to Keqing, clearly simmering. "You, the Yuheng, haven't shown up to handle paperwork in a whole week. If you want to slack off, that's your problem."
Her voice sharpened. "But you keep dragging Ganyu away too—what is that supposed to mean? Do you think I'm not busy enough already?"
The more she spoke, the angrier she got.
For days, she'd been staying up late, thinking Ganyu could share the load, only for Ganyu to be nowhere on Yujing Terrace. Once or twice would've been fine, but taking her away every day was ridiculous.
"Don't talk nonsense," Keqing snapped. "Haven't I been coming in to sign off on updates and fixes?"
She lifted her chin. "And even if I'm not here, so what? My husband has been here helping with the work."
The moment the words left her mouth, her face heated up. Then she immediately straightened her thinking out.
So what if my husband helps me?
If something goes wrong, fine—I'll take the scolding. I'll own it.
But his efficiency is insane. What right does she have to lecture me?
"You…" Ningguang pointed at Keqing, so angry she almost laughed.
"What, 'you'?" Keqing folded her arms and glared right back. "You're just jealous. If you've got the skill, go find one too."
She leaned in, merciless. "Honestly? Nobody dares to take you."
"Keqing!" Ningguang clenched her fists.
Ryou hurried forward and pulled Keqing back. Watching them bicker was entertaining, sure, but Ningguang looked two seconds away from throwing hands.
"Alright," Ryou cut in. "Weren't we here to talk about the real issue?"
He flicked Beidou a look.
"Oh—right." Beidou snapped back to it and stepped in, laying everything out for the three of them.
Once it shifted to business, they all sat down.
Ningguang stayed quiet, worry written all over her face. Keqing, by contrast, looked relaxed, calmly sipping her tea like she had all day.
Ryou didn't add much either.
"Those explosions were the spark," Beidou said, looking straight at Ningguang. "I've got a bad feeling. It won't even take half a month—three months at the latest, something's going to happen."
Ningguang turned to Keqing and Ryou. "Do you two have any suggestions?"
Keqing didn't even put her cup down. "Are you forgetting we've got Rex Lapis and several adepti? We just need to watch and respond."
She added, casually, "And I got a promise from the Anemo Archon. If things go sideways, she'll step in."
"What did you just say?" Beidou stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
"The Anemo Archon?" Ningguang's eyes narrowed. "You mean Barbatos of Mondstadt?"
Even Ryou was confused.
When did Keqing get a promise out of Venti?
Wait—Venti did say Keqing agreed to talk to him about "processing" his wine.
Did Keqing trade that… for a promise?
Seriously, Venti. You're that easy?
"That's right," Keqing said. "I can't tell you the details yet. I'm only saying it so you can relax."
"If you've already got plans in place, I feel a lot better." Beidou stood and looked at Ningguang. "I'm not leaving Liyue during this time. If you need me, tell me."
Her expression turned hard. "I'm from Liyue too. I'm not going to sit by and watch some god smash my home."
"Good." Ningguang nodded. "Then I'll be counting on you."
"Alright. If that's it, I'm heading out." Beidou turned and walked straight out of the Jade Chamber.
Once she was gone, Keqing glanced at Ningguang. "We're going back to Yujing Terrace to work too."
Then her tone sharpened. "But stop dumping your files on our Ministry of Civil Affairs. We've got different responsibilities."
She gestured vaguely. "If something leaks, don't come crying to us after."
Ryou and Keqing left.
Ningguang stared at the mountain of paperwork and finally let out a long sigh.
Another night of overtime.
But where on earth had Ganyu run off to?
…
Back at Yujing Terrace, Ryou left the handling to Keqing. Officially, Keqing was still the one in charge—he was just a staffer.
Ryou exhaled twice, slow and steady.
[Qi! – Mind Surge]
[Effect: Forcefully increases mental energy by 60%]
[Duration: 3 hours]
…
[Qi! – Efficient Work]
[Effect: Forcefully increases work efficiency by 75%]
[Duration: 3 hours]
Keqing stood outside watching them process files and quickly realized she was basically useless.
She flipped through a few documents, and the dense, complicated sections made her head throb. Then she looked at Zhongli—he calmly skimmed a page or two, wrote "Approved," and moved on.
Keqing checked the content.
No problems. At all.
She started to wonder if something was wrong with her brain. Why did it look so simple when he did it, while she couldn't untangle it?
File after file, she just got more frustrated. She raked her fingers through her hair.
She couldn't compare to Zhongli. The man was a monster.
With a heavy sigh, she went back to her office.
The moment she stepped in, she flopped into Ryou's arms, curled up against him, and mumbled, "Ryou… am I useless?"
"What's wrong?" Ryou stroked her hair.
"I read those files and it takes me forever to think through them," Keqing said. "But Zhongli just glances at them and he's done."
She tilted her head up, looking genuinely upset. "Am I just… stupid?"
"How could you be?" Ryou kissed her lightly. "My wife is smart."
He hugged her closer. "You're the manager. If your people are competent and handle things well, that's a good thing."
"Mmm… I get that," Keqing said, still sulking. "But I used to do a lot at the Ministry. Now I can't help at all."
She forced out a dry laugh.
Before, she had to handle all kinds of issues. Now, anything involving projects or operations just needed the Ministry to send out a plan—and the staff executed it faster than she ever could, and better too.
It was honestly crushing.
Sure, she didn't have to do much anymore… but that only made her feel strangely hollow.
Ryou lifted her a little higher in his arms. "You used to have no time to shop or relax or just drink tea. Now you finally do."
He smiled. "Isn't that a good thing? You can take it easy."
"And we get more time together," he added. "I heard some shops in Liyue reopened. There's this thing people are selling—fruit candy, I think. We can pick some up. Maybe some clothes too…"
"Mm." Keqing stayed wrapped around him, quietly listening.
By evening, work was done.
Keqing barely handled anything at the Ministry that day. She read a few files, listened to Ryou and Zhongli break down the situation, and then… she had nothing to do.
She felt unbelievably light.
She imagined Ningguang's tired, miserable face and couldn't help smiling.
Ningguang works herself to death every day.
Me? I spent the whole day lounging at the Ministry.
Next time, I should bring a bed and put it right there, just to make her furious—
No, no bed. If I do that, my husband won't go easy on me.
She stopped that thought immediately and told herself to behave.
…
Ryou took Keqing out to buy sweets and fruit, plus some ingredients and medicinal herbs. By the time they got home, the sky was already dark.
"Ryou-sama, Keqing-sama!" the steward rushed over.
"Steward?" Keqing startled. "Why are you back? Why aren't you resting at Bubu Pharmacy?"
"I'm fine." The steward shook his head. "Sorry for worrying you. It was nothing."
He hesitated, then admitted, "I just… if I'm not here, I worry the house will fall into chaos."
"Steward…" Keqing's heart warmed.
Ryou took out a handful of fruit, infused it with spirit energy, and placed it into the steward's hands. "This happened because of me. Eat these. They'll help you recover faster."
"T-That's not appropriate!" the steward panicked and tried to refuse. "Baizhu-sensei already told me about this."
He looked at the fruit like it was too precious to touch. "I'm practically halfway into the grave. Giving this to me… isn't that just wasting it?"
"What kind of talk is that?" Ryou's brows knitted.
He pointed at Keqing. "Keqing told me you raised her, and you've always taken care of her. This will help you. It'll extend your life."
His tone left no room for argument. "From now on, I'm giving you some every day. That's an order."
Truthfully, the steward had simply been unlucky. Ryou had been testing that qi at the time, and the steward walked in at the worst possible moment.
At his age, surviving at all was already a miracle.
"I…" The steward stammered, completely overwhelmed.
"Take it," Ryou said. "This house still needs you."
He leaned closer, making sure the message landed. "And eat it yourself. Don't hand it off to anyone. Understood?"
"Yes!" the steward nodded hard. "Thank you!"
After dinner, Ryou and Keqing returned to their room.
"Ryou… thank you." Keqing hugged him tightly.
She knew he'd done it out of kindness, and it genuinely moved her.
This man was upright, didn't chase women, treated people well, and he was handsome too.
She'd hit the jackpot.
Ryou stroked her hair. "Why are you thanking me? If you want to thank me…"
He lowered his voice. "I've got an idea. I need you to cooperate."
"Ugh—bad man." Keqing shot him a look, even though her face was already burning. "The mood was so perfect and you had to ruin it."
She hesitated, then mumbled, "F-Fine. Just once."
"Then let's go." Ryou scooped her up, and the two of them vanished from the room.
…
[Ding! Keqing's stamina has increased by 10%!]
Ryou glanced at it, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
While he was out cold, [Eyes], [Hand], and [Ears] teamed up and snuck out.
[Ears]: If the master finds out we came out, he's going to be furious.
[Hand]: He's exhausted. He passed out the moment his head hit the pillow. He won't notice us. Let's slip out and have some fun.
[Eyes]: Exactly. We just have to be careful.
[Ears]: This is all your fault anyway. Why were you spying on Yanfei for no reason? Now those women are working together.
[Hand]: Yeah, seriously.
[Eyes]: Oh, shut up. You've got the nerve to blame me? You said you went out to "learn massage," so explain why I watched you grabbing women.
[Hand]: I was learning. What's wrong with touching? And anyway, Xiangling didn't feel that great. Hu Tao's too small. Not even close to Keqing.
[Eyes]: …
[Ears]: …
[Ears]: I've got it the worst. One of you can see, one of you can touch, and I can only listen. I'm going to die mad.
[Eyes]: That's life.
[Hand]: I still need you to keep watch, don't I?
[Ears]: Have some shame.
[Eyes]: Less whining. Move.
[Eyes], [Ears], and [Hand] appeared inside Liyue Harbor. The moment they arrived, they all felt it—something was closing in.
[Hand]: Something feels off. Ears, Eyes—look around!
[Eyes]: I don't see anything.
[Ears]: No—wait. I hear them. It's those people from before. They're lying in wait for us. Run—if we don't move, we're done.
[Hand]: Damn it.
[Eyes]: I'll check, but I can't help much. We have to go back. If the master wakes up and finds his Eyes gone, his Ears gone… we're finished.
Before they could finish speaking, four forces tightened the net around them.
"They're in this building." Cloud Retainer's voice was ice-cold.
"Master, wait," Shenhe said. "I'll go drag them out."
"I'm coming too!" Yanfei surged with adeptal energy and followed.
[Ding, Hand is entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding, Hand: Darkened Mode active. You can evolve into Berserk Strength at any time!]
[Ding, Hand is rapidly entering Darkened Mode. You can enlarge the palm. In this state, power increases by 200%!]
[Ding, Hand is frenzied in Darkened Mode. You can strike from the sky with a giant palm. Area increases by 500%, power increases by 300%!]
…
The notifications kept ringing.
[Hand] slammed down.
A crushing force roared in, and the strike dropped in an instant.
"Watch out!" Cloud Retainer grabbed Shenhe and Yanfei and shot backward through the air.
Boom!
A massive palm-print crater appeared in the area behind them. The ground caved in dozens of meters, and a strange aura spread outward like a stain.
And the same thing happened in seven places across Liyue Harbor.
[Eyes]: Holy—Buddha Palm!
[Ears]: That slap almost broke Liyue Harbor in half. That was insane!
And just like that, [Eyes], [Hand], and [Ears] all escaped.
Not far below, Cloud Retainer, Shenhe, Yanfei, Ganyu, and the others stared at the gigantic handprint in dead silence.
[End of chapter]
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