socalfunplaces Chapter 1314 Zhongli: I did it, any objections?
Chapter 1314 Zhongli: I did it, any objections?
But before she could finish speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a composed figure walked in—it was Zhong Li, carrying three urns containing ashes.
He glanced at the tense atmosphere inside the room and calmly said, "Greetings, both of you..."
The sudden sound instantly interrupted their argument, and the atmosphere in the room froze.
The moment Ye Lan saw Zhong Li, her pupils contracted sharply, and she was greatly alarmed.
She already knew Zhongli's true identity, which was none other than the Rock King Emperor Morax, who had faked his death.
Seeing him suddenly appear, Ye Lan's heart skipped a beat, and she cursed inwardly, "Damn it..."
Having learned the truth about the coup, she already held the Rock King, who had secretly orchestrated Keqing's power grab, in low regard.
But since the other party was, and still is, a god of Liyue, no matter how angry she was, she didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Zhongli. She could only suppress her anger and look at him with a complicated expression.
Ke Qing was completely unaware of the change in Ye Lan's expression, and even less aware of Zhong Li's true identity, treating him only as an ordinary guest of the Hall of Rebirth.
She suppressed her panic, tried to calm herself, and gave Zhongli a slightly stiff smile.
"Why is Mr. Zhongli here? Why isn't he at the Rebirth Hall at this time? Instead, he's come to the Rock Tea House."
Zhongli held up the urn in his hands and explained in a calm tone, "I am only here to deliver the ashes of Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao at the request of Master Hutao."
Upon hearing the words "ashes," Ke Qing's expression froze, and she let out a muffled murmur.
"Ashes...the three of them..."
The thought that her three secretaries had died because of her coup filled her with guilt, and she even began to stutter.
Upon seeing this, Ye Lan immediately stepped forward and, before Zhong Li could react, snatched the three urns from his hands, clutching them tightly to her chest. She stared warily at Ke Qing, clearly rejecting her, and said:
"It's none of your business, Ke Qing! You don't need to worry about what happens to these three people after they're gone."
She was terrified that Ke Qing might use the ashes for some kind of scheme or cause some trouble.
Ke Qing watched as Ye Lan treated her like a thief, and felt a sharp, indescribable pain welling up in her heart, as if she had been pricked by a needle.
She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
"I...I just wanted to..."
"There's nothing to say." Ye Lan interrupted her directly, coldly issuing an order to leave.
"Let's go, I don't want to see you right now, lest you offend my eyes."
Seeing that Zhongli was an outsider present, Ke Qing nodded awkwardly and replied dejectedly, "Okay, I'll be going now. I'll visit again another day..."
After saying that, Ke Qing turned and left, looking dejected.
As she reached the door, she couldn't help but turn back for a glance, only to see Ye Lan holding the urn, her back seemingly unwilling to look at her any longer.
At this moment, Keqing clearly realized that not only was her position illegitimate, but she also couldn't find a single friend among the entire Liyue leadership. Everyone was questioning and rejecting her, and this path seemed to be getting narrower and narrower.
Zhongli watched Keqing's dejected figure as she left, silently pondering: It seems I still need to give her a hand, otherwise, if this continues, her position as the one in power will collapse sooner or later...
After all, she was the one who secretly manipulated that "invisible hand" to reinstate the leader of Liyue. How could she be so easily defeated?
If he hadn't tacitly approved the coup at the crucial moment and secretly guided the situation, Ke Qing would never have been able to seize power smoothly. Now, naturally, he had to protect her.
After Keqing left, Yelan carefully placed the three urns in the cabinet and locked them. In a few days, she planned to send them to Ningguang, who was now living in Nata, so that Ningguang would have something to remember her by.
Also, to prevent these three secretaries from suffering a gruesome end.
Ye Lan locked the cabinet containing the ashes of her three secretaries, turned around, and looked sharply at Zhong Li, asking:
"There are some things I want to ask you face to face. Zhongli... no, or rather, Lord Yan, I have a question I want to ask you..."
Upon hearing the title "Emperor," Zhongli remained calm, simply reminding him, "When you're in the mortal realm, just call me Zhongli. If you have any questions, just ask."
Ye Lan narrowed her eyes, her gaze repeatedly scrutinizing Zhong Li.
After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and asked bluntly, "Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao, how exactly did they die?"
“When I was arguing with Ke Qing just now, her hesitant and unsure demeanor didn’t seem like the kind of person who would actively order someone to kill.”
"I always felt there was more to this than met the eye..."
Upon hearing this, Zhongli slowly raised his chin, his expression remaining calm and composed. Instead of answering directly, he posed a question.
"If I reveal the truth, can you support Keqing with the same dedication you showed to Ningguang? Liyue needs stability now, not endless infighting."
Ye Lan was taken aback, her pupils contracting slightly. She hadn't expected Zhong Li to steer the conversation so directly towards "assisting" Ke Qing, and she certainly hadn't expected his answer to be based on that condition.
After realizing what she meant, she asked further, "So, by saying that, you're admitting that the deaths of these three secretaries are indeed related to you?"
Zhongli crossed his arms, remained silent for a moment, and carefully considered his words.
After a while, he finally spoke: "The content of the following conversation can only be known to the two of us, and must not be revealed to a third person."
"If you ever hear even half a sentence of this from a third person, you should know that 'those who break their word will be punished by being eaten by a rock.'"
Ye Lan knew she had no power to refuse...
She grinned self-deprecatingly and said helplessly, "It doesn't matter. Anyway, you are the Emperor, holding the power of life and death over Liyue. Even if I wanted to refuse, I wouldn't have the right."
Zhongli looked at the obvious resistance on Yelan's face and simply nodded.
"Then I'll take that as your agreement, and the contract is complete."
After saying that, he stopped beating around the bush and directly summarized the truth about the deaths of the three secretaries in a calm tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
"That's right, I was indeed behind the deaths of the three Ningguang secretaries, Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao."
"Keqing has just seized power through a coup, and her foundation is unstable. There are still many people inside and outside Yuehaiting who have doubts about her, and some even secretly support Ningguang in exile."
“She needed to establish her authority, and these three secretaries just happened to be the best ‘pawns’.”
After hearing Zhongli's explanation, Yelan's pent-up confusion and anger finally erupted.
She stepped forward and questioned, "Why? Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao are all rare talents in Liyue. Keeping them would be of great help to Keqing, who has just taken power!"
"Your Majesty, this is not establishing your authority, but killing the goose that lays the golden eggs! If you kill all those who can assist Keqing, how will she stabilize Liyue?"
The three secretaries are loyal to Ningguang, but not traitors to Liyue. Opening the Growth Gift Pack as a New Player Gift Pack? This is outrageous!
Zhongli looked at Yelan's excited expression, but his face remained calm as he slowly explained the key reasons for his decision.
"After the coup, I tried to gauge the feelings of these three. I implied that Liyue needed to unite, suggesting they could set aside their loyalty to Ningguang and instead support Keqing. But what was the result?"
"Without exception, they all chose to remain steadfastly loyal to Ningguang, and even secretly colluded with their former subordinates to collect 'evidence' of Keqing's 'power grab,' trying every means to exonerate Ningguang."
"Do you think having someone like that around Ke Qing is an asset or a threat?"
"Since they are determined to fight for Ningguang, even at the cost of causing further division and rift in Liyue, then killing them to establish Keqing's authority and deter those who secretly support Ningguang from making any further rash moves is the best option at present."
At this point, Zhongli stated decisively, "The price of stability sometimes requires sacrificing some 'hidden dangers,' even if those hidden dangers were once talented individuals."
After listening, Yelan raised the most crucial question:
"I still don't understand. Keqing is inferior to Ningguang in every aspect, including political acumen, business strategy, and diplomatic skills. Why do you insist on replacing Ningguang and letting Keqing take the lead in Liyue?"
“When Ningguang governed Liyue, she managed the economy very well and also ensured that Liyue maintained a certain level of dignity in diplomacy. Wasn’t she doing a good enough job?”
In Yelan's eyes, Ningguang is the most suitable person among the seven stars of Liyue to take power, and Zhongli's choice completely violates the common sense of "selecting the virtuous and capable".
Zhongli admitted that he had always held a positive view of Ningguang's leadership abilities and her bold yet effective business strategies.
Ningguang is indeed a rare talent for governing a country. If nothing unexpected had happened, she could have become one of the best leaders in Liyue in a thousand years.
But she shouldn't have gotten involved with Shao Yun and become his dog!
"It's very simple. The leader that Liyue needs must be an independent and autonomous leader who can consider the interests of Liyue itself."
"Although Keqing is not very capable, acts impulsively, and is even a bit naive, she is at least independent. All her decisions are made for the sake of Liyue, not to please some outsider."
"In this respect, it is far superior to Ningguang."
After hearing Zhongli's explanation, Yelan pressed him sharply:
"Because of Shao Yun? That sounds high-sounding! But when Ningguang used Shao Yun's reputation to intimidate business rivals and stabilize the Liyue business world, why didn't you stand up and stop her?"
"Why didn't you say Shao Yun was a hidden danger back then? Now that Ningguang has brought Liyue under control and everything has stabilized, you've jumped out to discard him after he's done his bidding."
"So, you've replaced her with Keqing, a leader whose own hands aren't clean, and this is what you mean by 'for Liyue'?"