He changed Tiwat

As they brushed past each other, Han Fulai whispered, "Miss Yelan, you are a smart person."

Ye Lan nodded expressionlessly and announced loudly, "Wen Yuan, Shang Hua, Wu Pei, follow Lord Yu Hengxing's instructions!"

Seeing this, Wen Yuan and the others had no more hesitation and retreated as well.

In less than two minutes, the actual controller of this secret room changed from Zhiyi to Yelan, and then to Keqing... Of course, all of this was within Han Fulai's calculations.

After confirming that Wen Yuan and the others, along with the Qianyan Army, had all left, Ye Lan, still with her hands behind her head, coldly asked, "Vice Minister Han, what do you mean by this?"

Han Fulai replied with a smile, "As the new owner of Yanshang Tea House, Miss Yelan should be familiar with the magic trick 'Three Immortals Return to the Cave,' right? It's also recorded in our Guhua School of Minor Arts. As you know, it involves a chopstick, two bowls, and three small balls. Wherever the dealer points, the balls go."

His words were pointed, much like the current unpredictable situation.

Ye Lan snorted coldly: "Heh, is Vice Minister Han so certain that he is the one who is the chopstick?"

Han Fulai nodded and replied, "I think it's more appropriate for me to take charge of this matter. Please rest assured, Miss Yelan, all of this is for Liyue's sake."

"Really? Then how does Vice Minister Han explain this?"

Ye Lan slightly turned her head and glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye. With just this one movement, she felt a chilling killing intent—the Disaster-Suppressing Spear was half an inch closer to the back of her neck.

Han Fulai smiled and whispered in Ye Lan's ear, "'The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to deceive.' Miss Ye Lan is indeed very beautiful, but unfortunately... I haven't formally introduced her to you yet. Shen He is my fiancée."

Ye Lan, who was being held at the height of the Calamity-Suppressing Spear, finally emerged from the shadows of the secret passage. Only then did Zhi Yi and the others realize that Ye Lan's hands were frozen behind her back by frost.

Shen He, who had completed a series of actions in just over ten seconds, including collapsing the secret passage to cut off the retreat and commanding the spirit to capture Ye Lan, followed out calmly, only showing a faint smile when his eyes met Han Fulai's.

Han Fulai sat down in the seat Zhiyi had previously occupied with, smiled, and surveyed the "audience" around him before uttering six words—

"I'll be the dealer in this round."

Chapter Thirty-One: The Winner Takes All

Of the six people present, the only one who was kept in the dark from beginning to end was Ambassador Yusupov, who was still struggling between life and death.

Seeing the situation take a sharp turn for the worse, Yusupov's hope was rekindled—because he saw a sword at Zhiyi's neck, and the one holding the sword was none other than Yuheng Star Keqing.

It was Zhiyi who wanted to kill him, but now that Zhiyi is under Keqing's control, does that mean that Keqing doesn't want to kill him? Besides, Keqing's reputation for being intolerant of injustices on Yuheng Star is well-known. She is a person who follows the rules. For Yusupov, Keqing is undoubtedly his best protection right now. Even if he wants to get information from him, he has to let him live, right?

With this thought in mind, Yusupov's survival instinct grew even stronger. Ignoring the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he desperately reached out towards Keqing, crying out, "Help...me..."

The way Yusupov reached out to Keqing for help with a ferocious expression was utterly terrifying.

“Shut up and save your energy, Mr. Ambassador,” Han Fulai said.

Yusupov's eyes were bloodshot as he looked up at him.

Han Fulai ignored Yusupov and instead extended his hand to Zhiyi.

"Antidote."

Zhiyi glanced at Yelan, who was still being restrained by Shen He, shook his head, and was about to speak when Han Fulai interrupted him directly: "You don't need to lie to me, I know you have the antidote on you."

"You're a genius when it comes to poison. You chose to poison Yusupov with the strong liquor from Crescent Moon Pavilion, using the liquor's spiciness to mask the smell of the poison. You struck when Yusupov was half-drunk and at his lowest point, succeeding in one fell swoop. I noticed just now that when you poured him that cup of poisoned liquor, you shook the pot, pretending to estimate how much liquor was left, but in reality, you were mixing the poison hidden in the pot with the liquor, right?"

“Yusupov has been wondering how you poisoned it. It’s actually quite simple—” Han Fulai picked up the wine jug beside him, opened the lid, and showed it to Yusupov. “Mr. Yusupov probably thought there was a hidden compartment in the jug, but such things are easily discovered once the jug is inspected, so they’re not very secure. Moreover, tracing the jug’s origin afterward would easily expose the deception. So what Zhiyi did was smear the poison on the lid of the jug…”

He mimicked Zhiyi's earlier actions, shaking the wine pot up and down, "like this, pretending to estimate the amount of wine in the pot, naturally letting the poison on the lid mix with the wine. Afterwards, as long as the pot is cleaned, he can even continue drinking from it."

"Of course, this approach is risky. If the person pouring the wine is not himself, the poison may accidentally mix with the wine beforehand... But by observing Mr. Yusupov's current condition, we can see that although he has lost the strength to walk, he can still move his wrist at least... With Zhiyi's intelligence, it is impossible that he would not prepare an antidote just in case. In this way, even if the two of them drink the poisoned wine at the same time, Zhiyi can take out the antidote and take it."

"Sigh, as expected of Deputy Minister Han." Zhiyi sighed, took out a packet of medicine powder from a hidden pocket in his sleeve, and tossed it to Han Fulai.

Han Fulai held the powdered medicine, but instead of handing it to Yusupov, he leaned forward slightly and waved the antidote in front of him.

"Then, Mr. Ambassador, answer one question for me, and I will give you the antidote."

"Okay, okay..." Yusupov nodded with all his might.

"What is the treasure in Qingxupu?" Han Fulai asked.

“…I, I don’t know…I really don’t know…” Yusupov was almost crying. “The higher-ups only said…that I…arrange the Qingxupu development project.”

Han Fulai nodded. "Then let's change the question. What is the significance of this treasure to the Winter Solstice Kingdom?"

"I...don't know..." Yusupov had to catch his breath after saying a few words, and it was clear that he was about to pass out.

"Oh, well, this is your last chance." Han Fulai weighed the antidote in his hand. "Who's your boss?"

“It’s… Panta… Rone.” Yusupov finally had a question he could answer, and stared at the packet of antidote with hopeful eyes.

Han Fulai put the antidote into his pocket.

"...You!" Yusupov was so enraged that he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"Yes, I lied to you." Han Fulai said calmly. "I overheard your conversation with Zhiyi just now. Not only did you instruct Zhiyi to poison Tian Shu Star, but you also wanted to kill Lord Ningguang and Lord Keqing next? As Lord Keqing's personal secretary, I have to remember this grudge for Lord Keqing. In addition, I will not wish you peace. I guess this is not the first time you have ordered your subordinates to carry out assassinations, right? You deserve such a painful death."

Ke Qing pursed her lips and gave Han Fulai a deep look.

Yusupov's eyes were wide open, and he finally breathed his last in resentment and despair.

"You just let him die like that?" Ye Lan squinted at Han Fulai, her voice icy.

“Miss Yelan, you saw it too. He basically knows nothing; he's just a pawn used and discarded by the ‘rich.’” Han Fulai smiled. “Moreover, you tacitly approved of Zhiyi poisoning Yusupov, didn’t you? I still remember your words, ‘The main event of tonight is about to begin.’ You saw through Zhiyi’s poisoning attempt back then, but your choice was to film it instead of stopping it.”

“I want to do the same thing as you, but I will give him the antidote,” Ye Lan replied.

“Then I will repeat what I just told Zhiyi to you—you don’t need to lie to me.”

Han Fulai shook his head and looked directly into Ye Lan's emerald green eyes.

“From the moment I was invited by Uncle Tian to meet you at the Rock Tea House three days ago, Zhiyi has been under your control, hasn’t he? Everything that happened afterward was just a show! You’ve been lying all along… lying to Yusupov, lying to Zhiyi, lying to Uncle Tian, ​​and lying to me too!”

"You lied to me?" Even Zhiyi, who was usually calm and collected, showed a look of surprise.

Han Fulai asked seriously, "Zhiyi, did Miss Yelan tell you that as long as you provide the antidote for Uncle Tian, ​​poison Yusupov, and hand over the incriminating evidence against the adjutant Theofan to her, the matter of poisoning Uncle Tian will be wiped clean, and as the chief examiner, she can guarantee that you will pass the test and be selected as Tian Shu Star?"

“…Yes.” Zhiyi nodded.

“She’s lying to you,” Han Fulai sighed. “Not only will Yusupov die, but in her plan, you will die too! The Black Rock Factory’s mole, the adjutant Theofan… everyone will die!”

Upon hearing this, not only did Zhiyi show a look of horror on his face, but even Ye Lan's expression, which had remained unchanged, finally changed.

In Ye Lan's eyes, the clever but somewhat naive younger brother Ning Guang mentioned is now qualified to be included in her "dangerous people list," in the most dangerous category.

Those who can see through this plan are very intelligent; those who see through the plan but still try to stop it are very dangerous.

"Miss Yelan, was this plan devised by you, or... Lady Ningguang?" Han Fulai asked in a deep voice.

Ye Lan remained silent.

“...I know even if you don’t answer, it’s Ningguang. This Seven Stars Selection Mission was a setup from the very beginning. Yusupov, Zhiyi, the Black Rock Factory mole, and even that adjutant Theofan, were all bait to lure out the real mastermind. Only when all these pawns on the surface are swept off the table can the real mastermind personally clean up the mess.”

"Why can I see through it? Heh, because I'm very familiar with this trick—after all, I've used it on her more than once."

Han Fulai’s tone was quite self-deprecating. In this plan, according to the “Five Spy Strategies of Military Strategy”, Theovan was a “double agent” and Zhiyi was a “suicide agent”.

The "saving people" he spoke to Gan Yu at the Moon Sea Pavilion the night before meant saving Zhiyi, this "death spy" who was gradually courting his own death.

This is Ningguang's version of... "The Young Master Offers His Head".

The "prince offering his head" was a true case where someone had to hand over their head.

In fact, if he had returned from Mount Ozang a day later, all of this would have happened quietly, just as Ningguang wished.

However, perhaps it was fate, he happened to return to Liyue Harbor on the very day of the Seven Stars Selection, and Uncle Tian found him on that day as well.

“Miss Yelan, as you know, when the house wins, they take all the winnings, big or small. I promised Uncle Tian that I would help him choose the most suitable successor.”

Han Fulai stared at Ye Lan's face and said, word by word, "Zhiyi, I've got your back."

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Breakthrough in Chess (Part One)

Ye Lan and Han Fulai looked at each other for a long time before finally letting out a bitter smile.

She shook her hands, which were bound by Shen He's magic: "Let's talk."

Han Fulai nodded. "Ahe, untie Miss Yelan. Also, thank you for Lord Keqing's help. I believe they are now willing to sit down and talk with us."

Ke Qing and Han Fulai exchanged a smile, sheathed their swords, left Zhiyi, and sat down in the place where Yusupov had previously been. The sight of these two sitting opposite Ye Lan made her acutely aware of what it meant to have one's position reversed. Just days ago, she had been the examiner assessing the future Seven Stars; now, it was her turn to face two strict examiners.

Shen He pointed a finger, and a flash of silver light broke the frost binding on Ye Lan's wrist.

Ye Lan tried to move her hands, then glanced back at Shen He. Shen He remained expressionless, as if their fight had never happened.

...Tian Shu Star relied on him as an ally, Gan Yu trusted him completely, Ke Qing from Yu Heng Star was willing to cooperate with him, and Shen He, a top-tier martial artist, was completely obedient to him. Ning Guang, do you know that your adopted brother is now beyond your control? Ye Lan's eyes flickered, and she couldn't help but feel emotional.

With the threat of the longsword gone from Zhiyi's neck, his expression grew even more grave: "Deputy Minister Han, you just said that Uncle Tian...?"

“Yes, Uncle Tian is saving you.” Han Fu glanced at Zhiyi. “Uncle Tian has been in the fishing industry for most of his life and has a deep understanding of fish cooking. How could he not know that there was something wrong with your fish soup? The fishermen in the vicinity may not know you, but everyone knows Uncle Tian. How could Uncle Tian not find out about your so-called ‘secret recipe’? But even so, he was still willing to drink the fish soup you served him. He was even very regretful that he probably wouldn’t be able to drink your fish soup many more times in the future…”

"Stop talking..."

Zhiyi lowered his head, his voice gradually trembling as it went from high to low.

"...Don't...say anymore..."

Han Fulai sighed again and turned to look at Ye Lan.

"And Miss Yelan, your and Lord Ningguang's biggest mistake was underestimating Uncle Tian."

"Oh?" Ye Lan's gaze sharpened slightly.

“At first, I thought that Uncle Tian wanted us to compete with each other to find the most suitable candidate for Tian Shu Star. Then I realized that our real job was to conduct a political review of Zhi Yi, using our reputations and influence to endorse Zhi Yi’s rise to power… But this was just a smokescreen put out by Uncle Tian.”

Han Fulai pointed at Ye Lan, then at Zhi Yi.

"You're deceiving Uncle Tian, ​​deceiving his most prized disciple to his death; Uncle Tian is also deceiving you, deceiving you into accepting my involvement, leaving Zhiyi a glimmer of hope!"

Ye Lan's eyes narrowed. "You mean, the reason Uncle Tian asked you to come and investigate Zhi Yi was to give Zhi Yi a chance?"

“Yes.” Han Fulai rested his chin on his hands, striking a standard pose like Ikari Gendo. “Imagine, if Uncle Tian wanted the two of us to take up positions on Tian Shu Star, he would only need to communicate with Lord Gan Yu and Lord Ning Guang; but if he had doubts about Zhi Yi and wanted to conduct a full investigation of him, then Miss Ye Lan, your abilities would be more than enough… No matter how you look at it, I am superfluous in this matter.”

“The examiner that Uncle Tian initially invited was you, Miss Ye Lan. You also controlled the entire examination process. Not only that, all the subsequent investigations into Zhiyi were also carried out by you and your subordinates. I was just a juror. I'm not being modest. Given my current administrative position and status, it should be me, the presiding judge, who should be in charge of making the decision, and Miss Ye Lan, you, the juror, who should be in charge of handling the affairs.”

"My initial doubts stemmed from this. Uncle Tian is worldly-wise, and he shouldn't have done something so unconventional. But not only did he do it, he even got Lord Gan Yu's approval. Of course, at first I thought it was because I had just returned from a business trip and Uncle Tian couldn't contact me before, so I didn't take it to heart."

"But when Uncle Tian spoke with me at the teahouse on the rock, even after I declined the position of Tian Shu Star, he still insisted that I join the review process, and his pleas were quite earnest. This made me realize that Uncle Tian might have other intentions. What truly reminded me was the last thing Uncle Tian said to us that day—"

After a moment's thought, Ye Lan recalled what those words were: "Uncle Tian said... 'Remember, you must... investigate thoroughly.'"

"Yes, he said that specifically to me." Han Fulai nodded.

“I’ve been wondering why Uncle Tian has become suspicious of Zhiyi, but he’s unwilling to say it outright and just wants us to investigate. With Uncle Tian’s sense of responsibility, if he really wanted to target Zhiyi, he could have disqualified him on the spot and waited for the investigation results. Even if he wanted to save face for his disciple, he should have explained the reasons to us and provided more clues.”

"It wasn't until I worked alongside Miss Yelan for a day and discovered many suspicious points during the investigation that I understood the true meaning behind Uncle Tian's arrangement..."

"...He didn't want you to investigate Zhiyi, he wanted you to investigate me. Bringing you in and giving you the status of a juror is to make it easier for you to stay by my side and supervise my actions throughout. At the same time, it's also to use your position as a constraint, forcing me to adhere to procedures during the investigation." Ye Lan sighed. "The Yun family is using one tiger to devour another; you're the tiger, I'm the wolf... Should I say that experience counts?"

“Since Uncle Tian still calls her ‘Sister Gan Yu’, then Yue Haiting is Tian Shu Star’s most steadfast ally,” Han Fulai said with a smile.

"Then may I ask Vice Minister Han what mistakes I made in my work?" Ye Lan smiled as well, but there was no warmth in her eyes.

"Of course, we're all colleagues, we can encourage each other and make progress together."

Han Fulai's smile remained unchanged.

"The initial flaw was the tracking incident that occurred at the dock."

"Miss Yelan, do you remember that on the evening of the candidate interview, we went to the dock to gather intelligence and happened to run into Linlang, the owner of Zhiyi and Xiguju?"

"Are you trying to say that this is too much of a coincidence?" Ye Lan snorted.

“A coincidence is a coincidence, but more importantly, it cannot happen,” Han Fulai said.

"Why not? Zhiyi and Linlang's transaction was legal and compliant, and we witnessed it ourselves," Yelan asked doubtfully.

“Because it shouldn’t have happened at that time, nor should it have happened in that place,” Han Fulai replied.

"Miss Yelan announced Zhiyi's selection at Yuehai Pavilion yesterday morning. Why did Zhiyi go to Boss Linlang to prepare celebratory wine sets on the same day the interview ended? Did he know he would be selected three days in advance?"

Ye Lan curled the corners of her lips slightly but remained silent.

“Of course, you could say Zhiyi is very confident,” Han Fulai smiled. “But in any case, they shouldn’t have brought business to the docks, for two reasons.”

"First of all, Xiguju is far away in Feiyunpo. Why did Linlang and Zhiyi come to the dock to discuss the business of wine utensils instead of in the shop? For Linlang, this is a fair trade, not some shady business that needs to be kept out of sight, right?"

"Secondly, I happen to have met Boss Linlang a few times, so I know her a little. Boss Linlang has a habit of taking walks and enjoying the scenery during the day, and only doing business at night."

Linlang is a well-known NPC in Liyue Harbor among Genshin Impact players, and Han Fulai naturally knew her habits and routines. Moreover, Han Fulai had even taken Zhongli's advice and specifically visited many residents of Liyue. Therefore, he discovered Linlang's unusual behavior back then.

“I also met Ms. Linlang during the day and talked to her about the business in the store. This is what she replied: ‘I’m so sorry, the antique shop is not open yet. Please come to Xiguju to find me later. It’s my time for a walk now.’”

"For those familiar with Boss Linlang, it would be more suspicious if she went out to talk business with people... And Miss Yelan instructed Zhiyi to go to the dock that day to talk about wine utensils, so that we could follow and eavesdrop on their conversation and deliberately leak the clue about wine utensils to me - after all, we can't go to Xiguju and sit next to them and listen to them talk business, right?"

"Sigh... So you realized it was a trap from that time on." Ye Lan shook her head and sighed.

"This is something you taught me, Miss Yelan: 'Seeing is not necessarily believing,'" Han Fulai said with a smile.