Just as Ningguang's mind was wandering, Ye Xi's vehicle gradually came to a steady halt.
Subsequently, Keqing and Ganyu stepped out of the car and waved toward Ningguang.
The Millelith soldiers immediately broke into whispers again.
"Look at that, it seems Lady Keqing and Secretary Ganyu spent the night with Master Ye Xi again!"
"Boo hoo... I'm dying of envy!"
"Not just Lady Yuheng, but even Secretary Ganyu... could it be...?"
"Sigh... who told him to be so handsome? With his looks and dashing temperament, plus his status as a wealthy merchant from Sumeru, it's no wonder Lady Keqing was charmed!"
"Indeed, in the circle of wealthy young masters in Liyue Harbor, Master Ye Xi's rating would be in the top five no matter what!"
"I heard that many girls in Yuehai Pavilion have been moved by this Master Ye Xi recently!"
"Handsome and rich, how nice..."
These days, rumors about Ye Xi had been increasing within the Millelith and the General Affairs Office. However, their understanding of Ye Xi was limited to him being wealthy and handsome. They only knew Ye Xi came from Sumeru and had discussed several business deals with Ningguang. Thus, rumors of Ye Xi being a wealthy merchant began to spread.
However, just as they were discussing spiritedly, Ye Xi got out of the car with the other girls.
When Dehya, Eula, and the others appeared behind Ye Xi, a thick scent of sour envy shrouded the entire Mt. Tianheng!
"What—!?"
"Hey, hey, hey! No way! One, two, three... seven! Seven great beauties!"
"See, I told you he was a wealthy merchant from Sumeru! Otherwise, how could he have so many wives—!"
"How can we compare to this! Why is every single one of them so beautiful!"
"His life is my dream, guys..."
"Isn't that the Traveler!? Why is the Traveler there too!"
"!!!"
"Has even our Hero of Liyue fallen? Why!"
"Despicable Outlander, actually stretching his hands towards the beauties of our Liyue Harbor!"
"Calm down! These might not all be Master Ye Xi's concubines, right? Maybe they are just traveling companions!"
"I don't want to believe it either!"
"..."
Everyone was already envious. Seeing Ye Xi surrounded by clouds of beauties without a single other man present made them envious, jealous, and hateful!
But when Ningguang saw so many girls following Ye Xi, she felt a surprise in her heart! Because this was very likely a precursor to Ye Xi moving to Liyue Harbor!
Ye Xi let the girls get off to rest for a while, then followed Keqing and Ganyu to Ningguang.
Ningguang went up to greet them with a smile: "Hard work, Master Ye Xi. The journey must have been tiring, right?"
Having become familiar after previous interactions, this time, she boldly stopped using the more distant title of "Mr.".
"It's not really tiring. Mainly, I brought them to memorize the route this time."
Ye Xi instructed: "Have them unload the goods as soon as possible, then transport them to the market for sale. They are all freshly picked; don't let them spoil."
Ningguang nodded hurriedly and gave orders to the instructor beside her. The Millelith immediately began the moving process.
"Master Ye Xi, we have prepared lunch at Yuehai Pavilion. Please, everyone, go and dine first."
"Baishi, lead the way for Master Ye Xi!"
"Yes!"
The little secretary at the side blushed slightly, hurriedly leaning close to Ye Xi and whispering: "Master, please come this way!"
This was her first time being so close to Ye Xi, and she was incredibly nervous.
Ye Xi called Dehya and the others to go eat together. Hearing there was good food, the girls' eyes lit up. Since eating breakfast after waking up, everyone had gotten a bit hungry along the way.
Ningguang walked behind with Ganyu and Keqing.
"Ganyu, a guest from Inazuma arrived last night, claiming to be your good sister."
"Eh!?"
Ganyu was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and immediately thought of that pink fox from Inazuma: "It's Little Miko! Has she come!?"
"Mn."
"I told her you were out and hadn't returned, so I settled her in the guest quarters. If you want to see her, you can go now."
Hearing Ningguang's words, Ganyu was instantly full of joy: "Thank you, then I'll go find her!"
Watching Ganyu's retreating figure, Ningguang breathed a slight sigh of relief. Ganyu couldn't know about the topic regarding Zhongli that would come up in a moment.
Now that only she and Keqing were left, she didn't rush to mention Zhongli but asked Keqing instead.
"How was last night? Did it go smoothly? Seeing Master Ye Xi bring his family members, could it be that he is willing to come live in Liyue Harbor?"
Keqing shook her head upon hearing this and said: "I didn't mention that matter."
"Eh? Is there another reason?"
Ningguang's beautiful eyes were full of astonishment. She had agreed with Keqing before to keep Ye Xi for the sake of Liyue Harbor. If Keqing wasn't willing, then this matter would come to nothing. But looking at the situation, Keqing was already with Ye Xi. Since they were already a pair, why suddenly not mention this matter!?
She didn't believe the Yuheng would give up her concern for Liyue.
Seeing Ningguang take the bait, Keqing secretly laughed in her heart and explained: "I feel that this request is too unreasonable."
"Think about it. Do you know how many wives Master has in Sumeru?"
Asked this, Ningguang was somewhat at a loss. She subconsciously shook her head: "Uh... are there many?"
"Many!"
Keqing stood with her hands on her hips: "I counted; there are a total of eight! And every single one is no worse than me!"
"Think about it. Even with me, it's impossible for Master to give up the entire forest for a small sapling like me!"
"If you put yourself in his shoes, if you, Ningguang, also became Master's woman, would you resign from the position of Tianquan for Master?"
Ningguang's gaze instantly dimmed.
Yes. These words were not wrong at all. She really hadn't expected Ye Xi to have so many women in Sumeru! If that was the case, then her plan was a total loss! It could only be described with the word 'naive'!
Seeing Ningguang fall into thought, a trace of slyness flashed in Keqing's beautiful eyes, and then she threw out a question: "Do you know who Master's wives are?"
Ningguang hesitated for a moment and guessed: "Could it be the Sages of the Akademiya?"
"You underestimate Master too much!"
Keqing shook her head and said solemnly: "The correct answer is, the Dendro Archon!"
"What did you say!?"
Ningguang froze in place, her heart filled with shock! She simply couldn't believe it, even suspecting her ears had heard wrong!
Seeing Ningguang's dubious appearance, Keqing said in a deep voice: "Ningguang, Master is the hero who saved Sumeru! Lord Dendro Archon also gained freedom because of Master!"
"Even... even Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who passed away five hundred years ago, was resurrected by Master!"
"Now, both the current Dendro Archon and the previous Dendro Archon are Master's concubines. They are willing and extremely loyal! It has reached the level of 'greeting and hugging Master upon returning home'; one could say they are obedient to his every command!"
This remark brought Ningguang shock that could be said to be unprecedented!
The little secretaries Baishi, Baiwen, and Baixiao on the side were also incomparably horrified. They kept a distance from Ningguang precisely so they wouldn't hear private topics. However, they saw Ningguang's expression at this moment! One had to know that Ningguang's expression control was extremely powerful. No matter how amazing the news, it would produce almost no reaction in front of Ningguang. Even during the invasion of the Demon God Osial and the revenge of the Vortex's aftermath, Ningguang had been very calm.
Yet at this moment, a look of horror incredibly appeared on Ningguang's face!
Ningguang was truly scared. To make two gods so submissive, was this something a human could do?! That was the God of Grass of Sumeru! Rumors circulated throughout Teyvat that the God of Sumeru was the God of Wisdom. If Lesser Lord Kusanali was a new god of five hundred years and developed a dependency on Ye Xi, that wouldn't be unexplainable. But for Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who had ruled Sumeru for thousands of years, to submit—there was truly no possibility of explanation!
That was a god!
This also showed that Ye Xi's wisdom had already surpassed the two Gods of Wisdom!
Ningguang took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions in her heart. She sighed: "It seems our thoughts were too simple."
Just as Ningguang wanted to give up, Keqing suddenly spoke up: "Now, there is only one way!"
As soon as these words came out, Ningguang's beautiful eyes were full of curiosity, and she asked closely: "What way?"
Keqing could no longer hold back the smile at the corners of her mouth. Seeing Ningguang, whose brain was usually full of schemes, actually turn into this appearance before her eyes... she really was about to cock her tail in pride!
"The method is to let more beauties keep Master here~"
How could Ningguang not think of this method, only...
"Keqing, even if we have more beauties, how can we compare with the two Dendro Gods of Sumeru?"
This was the place that made her despair. The other party was a god; their status in Ye Xi's heart was naturally extraordinary! With a mortal body, on what basis could one compete for favor with a god?
Keqing sighed helplessly, spreading her hands: "Ningguang, how come you become stupid as soon as you talk about this kind of thing?"
"Eh? Did I?"
Keqing said earnestly: "In Master's eyes, all wives are equal. If there are many of Master's people in Liyue, would he have the heart to leave everyone behind in Liyue?"
"Master dotes on his wives especially; he will naturally think of a way to solve this problem! You actually think Master would compare women? Are you really looking down on Master's character?"
Facing Keqing's series of questions, Ningguang felt increasingly astonished.
This really couldn't be blamed on her! She simply didn't know about Ye Xi doting on his wives. In Liyue Harbor, those wealthy young masters also had many concubines. For them, it was always 'having a new love and forgetting the old love'. So, after many women crossed the threshold, they would be pampered for a few days and then given the cold shoulder. A woman's identity and background directly determined her status in the family!
Her inertial thinking made her mistakenly believe Ye Xi was also such a person.
She really didn't expect Ye Xi's character to be so excellent, not looking at his women with a discriminatory gaze!
Thinking of this, Ningguang breathed a sigh of relief: "... I understand. If that's the case, let's introduce more beauties to Master Ye Xi!"
"Though Keqing, it surprises me that after having a man, you are actually siding with Ye Xi so much."
"Eh!?"
Keqing blushed instantly, not expecting Ningguang to turn the tables on her. She hurriedly counterattacked: "Ningguang, I think you shouldn't look for other beauties first! Why don't you come first! Master admires you very much too!"
"Cough cough..."
Ningguang averted her gaze, not replying.
"Eh? Ningguang, why aren't you talking anymore?"
Keqing crossed her arms, teasing: "You aren't scared, are you? Asking me to sacrifice myself for Liyue, and then retreating yourself? You said before that as long as Master took a fancy to you, you wouldn't decline. Why do you not dare to look me in the eye now?"
Seeing Keqing's playful gaze, Ningguang's heart was full of guilt. Although she had said with her mouth and thought in her heart that she wouldn't decline or refuse, when it really came time to make a decision, she was still a bit panicked inside.
Under Keqing's relentless offensive, Ningguang hurriedly changed the subject: "B-By the way, Keqing, there is serious business! Do you know about the matter of Master Ye Xi subduing Azhdaha?"
Hearing there was serious business, Keqing restrained her playful attitude and said seriously: "Your news is very well-informed! I was on the scene at the time!"
"You were there too!?"
Ningguang asked hurriedly: "Then did you see the Adepti! Adepti other than those who fought against the Vortex Demon God back then!"
This question made Keqing stunned. When fighting Osial back then, the Adepti were all there. Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, Conqueror of Demons, and Madame Ping. Yesterday on Mt. Hulao, Conqueror of Demons and Madame Ping didn't come.
After she recounted her intelligence to Ningguang, she asked: "Why do you ask this?"
Ningguang spoke of the matter Yelan encountered at Wanmin Restaurant.
"You are saying Master's friend in Liyue is Zhongli?!"
"Correct! And this consultant is very likely also an Adeptus."
Keqing had heard of Zhongli; that person was a talent with very broad knowledge. Ningguang had even had thoughts of recruiting him before.
Suddenly, Keqing's eyes lit up: "Ningguang! I remember! Yesterday, when Master and I went to the outing at Mt. Hulao, the fog was very heavy! Although it was very blurry, I did indeed see a very familiar back! Could he be Mr. Zhongli!?"
Ningguang nodded gently: "I think it is mostly like that. The key is, at that time Yelan heard Zhongli say he would lead the Adepti! This sentence obviously has deep meaning."
Hearing Ningguang say this, Keqing remembered the conversation with the Conqueror of Demons yesterday. She remembered Xiao saying something about being afraid the Lord of Geo would blame him in the future! At the time, she thought he had misspoken.
Now thinking about it carefully, Ganyu's attitude at the time was also very strange. Not only that, when going to Sumeru for the first time, Ganyu was also very abnormal.
Combining all of this...
Could it be...
An incredible notion formed in Keqing's mind, and she immediately asked: "Ningguang, this Mr. Zhongli, could he be the Lord of Geo!"
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