Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“There’s not much time left. Liyue is now under the Eighth Seat’s responsibility, and your plans in Liyue are being handed over to you in full.” The Scattered Soldier said coldly. “I have already contacted the Winter Palace, and the appointment letter will be issued soon. This is just an advance notice.”

The words "full handover" caused the young master's expression to change slightly, but he ultimately said nothing. Instead, he smiled nonchalantly and looked at the lady: "Then it seems I have a rare vacation ahead of me."

But he didn't expect the woman to be so resistant.

"Liyue? Liyue shouldn't be my responsibility. I should be heading to Mondstadt during this time! The Heart of Barbatos is what I should be taking!" the woman said bitterly. "You should know how important Mondstadt is to me. I have my own reasons for taking charge of Mondstadt!"

"Going to Liyue won't prevent you from going to Mondstadt. Besides, that otherworldly person is also going to Liyue. An outsider whose strength surpasses that of an Enforcer and is close to that of a Demon God's familiar cannot be ignored. He is someone who can easily stir up trouble. Since you and Shen Liang are on good terms, then you will take responsibility." The soldier's tone left no room for refusal. "The Eighth Seat is also the Winter Palace's decision. Do you dare to disobey it?"

"You!" The woman almost gritted her teeth to powder, but swallowed it down, and said in a deep voice, "But at least, the one in charge of Mondstadt must be me. I want to personally tear out his Heart of God... I want to personally humiliate him!"

"That's natural; there are currently no plans to replace Mond's diplomats."

Given this guarantee, even though she was reluctant, she reluctantly accepted the identity of a diplomat from Liyue.

However, the woman herself was well aware of this.

She and Shen Liang were merely casual acquaintances. She was astonished by Shen Liang's miracle of reviving the dead and tried to befriend him, but Shen Liang didn't consider her much of a friend. In comparison, those court ladies and sorcerers whom she indulged and allowed Shen Liang to take whatever he wanted were probably more favored by Shen Liang than she was.

This time, she rescued the person he wanted to kill from his clutches, and their already meager friendship has likely plummeted to rock bottom. Even she herself doesn't hold out much hope for the supposed goodwill the soldier speaks of.

—How exactly should we make up for it?

—Well, let's just take it one step at a time.

----------

Kiyosu came out of the servants' quarters of the Kanjō Magistrate's Office carrying a basin of laundry. She immediately saw a boy with a high black ponytail and a girl in a noble kimono standing in the courtyard.

"Sen... Senri-san?" Kiyoshi hurriedly put down the basin and was about to bow to the girl in the kimono, but she was not quite sure about Inazuma etiquette and was about to kneel down when Hiiragi Senri grabbed her arm.

Hiiragi Senri lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and finally said, "I'm sorry."

Qing Yiling was stunned for a moment, then realized something, and her face turned slightly pale.

"I'm here to tell you that your sister was very powerful, but she still lost, and was killed," Shen Liang said. "You should be prepared for this."

Qing Yiling's fingers trembled slightly, but she remained unmoved and said softly, "Is that so?"

"The Hiiragi family has decided to buy you all. We have already taken care of your identities. From now on, you will be servants of the Kansei Magistrate," Hiiragi Senri said in a low voice. "The Hiiragi family keeps its word. Your sister is very brave, so as agreed, you will have a normal life."

"Thank you." Qing Yiling bowed. "Thank you very much."

Shen Liang turned and left the courtyard. Hiiragi Senri quickly followed him and ran out. It wasn't until they had run quite a distance that she heard Shen Liang say in a very soft voice, "What a messed up era."

Hiiragi Senri didn't dare to reply, but when she turned around, she saw that small figure finally kneeling at the entrance of the courtyard, covering her face with her hands, her body trembling slightly.

She suddenly felt as if she was living in a strange place. Her life, which had been peaceful and quiet for more than ten years, was now slightly fragmented and unsettling.

This is a messed-up era where even the courage to cry is gone.

------------

In the afternoon, Shen Liang returned to the inn at Shenying Dojo.

His plan to stay at the inn for several days was ruined. He only had one final match to play, and the final match could only be held at the castle tower. He no longer needed to stay at this inn.

However, he still has some things left here, so tonight is the last night.

As soon as Shen Liang pushed open the door, he noticed something was amiss.

The two young ladies from Shifuku, dressed in the inn's kimono and yukata, sat obediently on the tatami mats, their heads bowed, looking like wives who had made a big mistake, timidly waiting for their husbands to come home and scold them.

"You two are still here?" Shen Liang was taken aback.

"Then...where else can we go?" Lyudmila answered weakly, while Tatiana next to her lowered her head awkwardly.

When the two of them woke up, they heard the widely circulated news of Shen Liang's duel with the young master. Although there was no one at the Shenying Dojo at the time, most of the audience members who left last noticed that Shen Liang was not going to let the young master go. Two geniuses who were disliked by Inazuma were fighting. This kind of news was not only welcome, but it was also widely praised.

Shen Liang thought for a moment, "You don't know the young master's plan?"

"No, no, no!" The two Russian girls, one big and one small, quickly waved their hands. "If we knew, we wouldn't have slept until now. Unlike Yegor, we were just randomly grabbed by the young master to form a four-person team. If we knew the plan, we would definitely have work to do too, but we just woke up."

Shen Liang could guess that these two girls were definitely unaware of the mission status of their executive officer. Even if the young master originally wanted to reveal the plan and arrange work for them, he would definitely send them away once he discovered that they had a past relationship with Shen Liang.

The young master is indeed meticulous in this respect.

"We really don't know anything! Lady Ryoko, really!" Tatiana looked pitiful as she crawled over on her hands and feet while still kneeling, cautiously looking into his eyes. "If you... if you want revenge, don't come after us. It's not our fault that we didn't kill them... it's not our fault that we didn't kill them."

“Yes, yes, we were the first to give up yesterday,” Lyudmila said fearfully. “Lady Ryoko, please spare us! You can’t take your anger out on the other Fools… I… I haven’t done anything wrong yet. At most… at most, I came to see you without Yegor’s knowledge on Haigi Island…”

Shen Liang vaguely heard a ghost in his mind trying to suppress a laugh.

"No, what kind of image do you all have of me? Someone who kills people indiscriminately?" Shen Liang said, both amused and exasperated. "And you! Hey, so you knew she liked you!"

“Indeed, he is a ruthless killer…” Tatiana whispered.

"She certainly does things as she pleases..." Lyudmila whispered in return, "As for that, I just like Ryoko-sama more..."

Shen Liang helplessly ruffled the hair of the two girls, and both the mature and alluring lady and the petite and cute sorceress breathed a sigh of relief. Tatiana hurriedly got up to go downstairs to call the inn to send dinner up, but just as she was about to open the door, she heard a knock on the door.

Shen Liang and the two Russian girls were startled.

"Ryoko, are you there? I'm coming in." Ayaka Kamisato knocked three times politely, then waited quietly for a moment before deciding to open the door.

The doors of inns are different from those of hotels on Earth. They have latches and no locks. Ayaka Kamisato can tell from a touch that the latch on the back of the door is not engaged, meaning that Shen Liang is either not there or is resting.

In the past, Little Egret certainly wouldn't have just pushed the door open and come in, but how should I put it... she's a completely different person now!

She wanted to try this little bit of "impoliteness," she really wanted to! After all, she had always envied Xiao Gong's ability to casually and voluntarily enter Shen Liang's room, but constrained by the young lady's etiquette, she could only envy her.

But now she's... even closer to Shen Liang than Xiao Gong was, isn't she? This kind of impolite thing... is it permissible to do it now?

Almost simultaneously, Tatiana, Lyudmila, and Shen Liang met each other's gazes. The two beautiful girls from the Fools' Clan very sensibly stepped aside, quickly grabbed the dress and coat they had changed out of yesterday, and rushed to the window with speed comparable to that of a battle, and jumped down immediately!

Fortunately, Shen Liang was only on the second floor, and this distance was no problem for the Fools. When Ayaka Kamisato stepped into the room, she saw the wind blowing the wide-open Old Wang's Happy Window swaying back and forth.

Shen Liang leaned against the window, turned around, and looked perfectly at ease, even showing a hint of surprise: "Linghua? When did you come in? Oh, I was looking at the scenery and didn't hear you knocking."

"Looking at the scenery?" Ayaka Kamisato was a little confused. It was afternoon, what scenery could there be to see in broad daylight? But she didn't think much of it, took off her shoes and came in, saying urgently, "Ryoko, it's already six o'clock in the afternoon, where is Mother? I remember you brought Mother into the light screen..."

Shen Liang's expression froze instantly.

He was so engrossed in the battle that he forgot about the move he had made at the beginning!

Judging by the time, it's been almost five hours since he left that silver-haired married woman at Neuschwanstein Castle!

Chapter 249 The War of Women

With a "ding," the elevator stopped on the sixth floor of the main castle of Neuschwanstein Castle, and several young ladies from the Schariac family strode out.

As soon as the door opened, the view opened up to a magnificent hall that had been transformed into a reception hall. This floor served as the reception room and library for the Shaniat family, and it was as splendid as ever. The dome was painted with rubbings of the Madonna painted by Raphael during the Renaissance period. A walkway covered with wool carpets led around the hall to the viewing balcony on this floor.

"How were we treated?" Maria asked in a low voice as she walked.

"The refreshments have been arranged. The Second Miss is currently in charge of contacting her. Her condition is stable, and she has been quietly listening to our arrangements, but she is very curious about everything around her." The young girl next to her immediately replied, "There is no Honkai energy reaction on her body, and her physical condition is basically the same as that of an ordinary person. She looks like an ordinary human being no matter how you look at it."

“An ordinary human?” Maria took a deep breath.

“She still claims that she was forcibly sent here by Little Pandora,” the girl hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “Lady Maria, she…is very friendly, and she also wants to see you.”

"See me?" Maria frowned her delicate eyebrows. "Why?"

"She said that as her daughter's in-law, she also wanted to meet 'Ryoko's mother'."

A girl opened a sliding door on the sixth floor, letting in the twilight sunlight. This was a spacious terrace, not large, decorated with a few flowers and plants, and featuring an artificial stream made of white stones and green grass—a small spot for the Shaniat family members to relax and chat after reading. But now, a woman in a kimono was already sitting opposite a small stone table on the terrace, gazing at the Alps. Her silver hair was styled in an updo, and her gentle demeanor and beautiful features made her look like a quiet, demure wife straight out of a period drama.

Next to it was a small cart with afternoon tea and snacks prepared on it, and next to the stone table was a white fluffy ball dozing off with its chin resting on its hand.

Upon seeing Maria enter, the silver-haired woman in a kimono withdrew her gaze from the beautiful scenery, rose, and gave a slight bow.

“Oh, Aunt Maria, you may not have seen this before. This is the person my junior brother brought back from the God Space…” Kiana, who was drowsy, quickly introduced Maria when she saw her come in.

The Main God Space? What nonsense.

She completely ignored Kiana's introduction, tried her best to put on a gentle expression, and stepped forward to extend her hand.

“Maria Shaniat, I am the Shaniat family’s external representative during the absence of the head of the family.” Maria smiled and shook hands with Kamiri Huadai. “Good evening, Mrs. Kamiri. Please forgive the family for being a little rough with you when you first arrived. After all, the Shaniat family rarely sees outsiders.”

When she received the report, it was said that the family's maids had discovered an unfamiliar woman emerging from Pandora's room and wandering around the castle without any precautions. Her nonchalant demeanor made the maids unsure whether they should arrest her.

But to everyone's surprise, her explanations after being arrested made Maria uneasy.

Kazuyo looked at the woman with long chestnut hair and wearing a nun's habit trimmed with gold and white. She looked to be only in her early twenties, and was as beautiful as a young girl. But Kazuyo could tell from her smile that she was indeed the leader of this family. Her smile even seemed somewhat insincere, as if she rarely needed to smile at people, and only people of high status could be unaccustomed to smiling.

But Kayo Kamisato was used to people of high status, and what she was more curious about now was the beautiful, almost girlish chestnut-haired woman in front of her... who was actually Shen Liang's mother?

"It's alright, it was Hua Dai who was being presumptuous. I didn't expect Ryoko's world to be so extraordinary. My curiosity overcame my politeness, I'm very sorry." Kayoko smiled. "German tea has a unique flavor."

Maria was aware that Maria was subtly revealing her friendly relationship with Shen Liang through casual use of the term "Ryoko" in conversation.

An exquisite black tea set was laid out on the table. Maria wasn't actually the type of person who enjoyed afternoon tea. To her, it was better to leisurely waste that time drinking cola and having a braised pork knuckle, or even just going to sleep.

"Do you already know this is Germany?" Maria looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Miss Kiana just told me that it’s a beautiful country, a beautiful world,” said Kayo Kamisato. “Ryoko often says that Earth’s civilization is far more advanced than Teyvat’s, but only after coming here can I see that what she said is true. It’s peaceful, harmonious and free. No wonder she hates the order of our world.”

“Pandora… oh, you mean Ryoko, what is she doing on Teyvat?” Maria asked.

Kayo Kamisato gently put down her teacup, looked up at her, and asked, "Are you asking me this as a powerful person, or as Ryoko's mother?"

Maria frowned, vaguely sensing that just a moment ago, Kazuyo Kamisato had felt a sense of resistance.

"What's the difference?"

“If it’s the former, I refuse to answer,” Kazuyo Kamisato said softly. “Kazuyo doesn’t know what Ryoko’s status or life is here. His affairs are his secrets, and as someone who has received Ryoko’s kindness, I cannot reveal any information… even if you are his family.”