Makoto glanced at Ningguang, who smiled lightly and nodded. Makoto said softly,
"Then I'll trouble Miss Ningguang with this."
Ningguang felt a little moved. Merchants who had been to Inazuma said that the Raiden Shogun was cold and aloof, unconcerned with mundane affairs — that must be Ei's personality. But as an older sister… Makoto's personality was entirely different: she was like a warm, understanding big sister from next door. If not for that natural refinement and nobility beneath her bones, anyone looking once might just think her a gentle girl. Twins don't necessarily have to share the same temperaments!
(Think of Lumine and Aether — aren't they similar in contrast?)
Keqing didn't dwell on such thoughts; she asked Yae curiously, "Lumine, where's Beidou? Didn't she come back with you?"
Lumine's face fell. "We escaped because that Ei kept chasing us! Beidou stayed behind handling business with the Resistance in Inazuma."
Hearing this, Ningguang glanced instinctively at Makoto. Makoto showed no visible reaction, only a complex look in her eyes. After a moment's silence, Ningguang spoke quietly,
"I've heard that after the Sakoku Decree, our merchants were trapped on the outlying islands, and the Kanjou Commission have been in charge there. If the reports are correct, the Kanjou Commission are largely corrupt, right?"
Lumine paused and glanced at Makoto. She wasn't sure whether she should say all of this with Makoto present — but Makoto didn't seem to mind.
After all, Ei is not fit to rule a nation; as Yae said, Ei has done many wrong things. Puppet governance — could Ei really straighten Inazuma out?
Sighing, Makoto said softly, "I'd like to know as well. It's fine — I'm prepared."
Lumine nodded. "In fact, both the Kanjou Commission and the Tenryou Commission have already become corrupt. On the outlying islands, the Kanjou Commission embezzle and exploit foreign merchants: they seize cargo arbitrarily, issue arbitrary decrees about procurement, and so on to squeeze merchants dry. The Tenryou Commission are worse — they squeeze the people of Inazuma with endless conscription and taxes."
"Sister Makoto, right now only the Yashiro Commission are still trying to keep the people's livelihood afloat."
Makoto exhaled and lowered her head so her expression was hard to read. "I'm sorry—this isn't the fault of Lady Makoto or Lady Ei."
Ayaka spoke earnestly, "The Tenryou Commission and Kanjou Commission deceive and conceal from above — perhaps Lady Ei is unaware of it all…"
Makoto shook her head. "It's not unrelated. As a ruler, not knowing this is already a dereliction of duty. If the people suffer, the ruler is not doing their job."
Hearing Makoto say that, Ayaka felt unexpectedly moved. It was clear that Makoto was truly more qualified than Ei to be Raiden — maybe letting Makoto take charge of Inazuma again…
That truly was Inazuma's luck.
But right now wasn't the time to discuss that; Ningguang was clearly displeased. She took a slow sip of her tea.
"So… Liyue's merchants have been exploited in Inazuma, is that right?"
"Interesting… Our Liyue merchants have never suffered such grievances anywhere. If we don't get them justice, it would make us look incompetent."
Having said that, Ningguang turned her gaze toward Xiao beside her, smiling lightly:
"Conqueror of Demons, could you lead a team to handle this?"
Xiao nodded decisively.
He was already responsible for clearing Abyssal remnants in Liyue. But honestly, there weren't many Abyssal traces left now, and with Tongque and Lumineda resurrected, some of his work was already taken care of. With the Enchanted Golden Apple, the so-called karmic burden was no problem.
The only remaining Abyssal presence that Liyue could see was Osial at sea.
This reduced Xiao's workload significantly, but he was not someone who could remain idle. A trip to handle official duties for Liyue was good — it showed the surface attitude of the Adepti and gave him a chance to relax.
"What the Kanjou Commission took from us, I'll make them repay tenfold, even a hundredfold!"
Ningguang leisurely set down her tea cup and chuckled:
"The Dragon Rider Corps has already trained two hundred people — just perfect for taking them out for some field exercises."
Makoto pursed her lips but said nothing. After all, this was also Inazuma's fault. With cooperation imminent, it was best to let them vent a little.
As Ningguang said, even before gaining the opportunities of Ryen's world, Liyue's people had never suffered such a grievance. Now that they were stronger, anyone who dared bully them would simply be inviting a beating.
Compared to that, Makoto was more concerned with the future cleansing of the KanjKanjou Commission and the Tenryou Commission. She didn't fully understand Inazuma's current situation, so she couldn't give direct orders — wasting too much time would be troublesome.
Lumine, however, looked at Ningguang with a playful smile.
"Sister Ningguang and Beidou really are good friends — you two say exactly the same thing!"
Ningguang smiled faintly and said nothing further.
After that, they didn't discuss much else, only a general conversation about future plans.
Ryen needed more manpower — this was no joke. Conservatively, they would need another four thousand people.
The areas Ryen's group had explored on this continent were already mostly covered. But manpower was also spread thin.
The First Base of the Qianyan Army had to maintain a constant presence of personnel. First, to explore the Nether and prepare for future development in the Twilight Forest. Second, to serve as a training base to continue training manpower.
The Mondstadt base had reached normal operation. Some people were gathering resources, some were exploring the Nether and The End.
The remaining personnel were planning to go out in the next few days to build the Second Base.
The Qianyan Army still had many people here, but three new bases had just been completed recently.
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20