He changed Tiwat

"No, no... Sister is right." Han Fulai smiled bitterly, praying that no one else heard him calling her "sister" along with the other children.

“They are all my reliable helpers and friends.” Ningguang introduced the two “intelligence agents” to Han Fulai, and then solemnly introduced “Brother Han” to the two children.

"How did Sister Ningguang come up with the idea of ​​having these children collect intelligence?" Han Fulai asked curiously.

“At first, I didn’t want them to gather intelligence, but they were very enthusiastic. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, just like playing a game with them. As a result, they performed very well and enjoyed it a lot, which was beneficial for both them and me.”

After Ningguang explained to Han Fulai, she asked the two children, "Where's Nannan? Why didn't we see her?"

Chapter 59 A Date with Sister Ningguang (Part 6) [4k]

At that moment, a little girl wearing glasses and with braided hair timidly emerged from behind the big tree.

She was looking down, twisting her fingers, as if she had something on her mind.

"Nannan, what's wrong? You don't seem very happy?" Ningguang asked with concern.

"I...no, um, I just...haven't figured out what to say." The little girl named Nan Nan kept her head down, looking at the ground, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact with Ning Guang.

Seeing this, Zhizhi quietly tugged at Xiaolong's sleeve. Xiaolong immediately understood and quickly told Ningguang the information: "By the way, Sister Ningguang, several large ships entered the port a few days ago!"

"Yes! The merchants were all gathered under the ship, it was very noisy, and then the people on the ship unloaded the boxes one by one. The air smelled fishy and salty. We investigated this together!" Zhizhi reported the information to Ningguang very seriously, and even emphasized that the information was discovered by everyone together, obviously to take care of Nannan's feelings.

“Oh, I see, the ocean-going fishing vessels are back. How much cargo do they have? I taught you how to tell, didn’t I?” Ningguang asked with a smile.

"Ah, I know! I paid special attention to the boat's draft; it should be fully loaded!" Xiaolong raised his hand to answer.

"Hmm, sounds like you've had a good time," Ningguang said with a smile. "Little Dragon, have you mastered the knack yet?"

"Hehe! I've memorized the waterline of different ships in different conditions!" Xiaolong rubbed his nose proudly. "I practiced according to the method taught by Sister Ningguang, and now I can tell the waterline of common ships with just one glance!"

Nan Nan, who had been silent all along, finally raised her head: "Um, Sister Ning Guang, I also have information."

“A few days ago, I heard many people around here saying that a big merchant from Fontainebleau would soon come to buy up ‘Luminous Essence’. At that time… this thing called ‘Luminous Essence’ will continue to rise in price.”

"Hmm, is that so?" Ningguang tilted her head, rested her chin on her hand, and glanced at Han Fulai beside her.

Han Fulai nodded slightly. This was something he and Ningguang had wanted to investigate before. Unexpectedly, Ningguang and her little informants had just found out about the luminous marrow.

If everything Nan Nan said is true, then it proves that his and Ning Guang's judgment in the Glazed Pavilion was flawed. Of course, this judgment is based on the premise that this information is indeed true and reliable.

“Nannan, do you remember who was talking about these things?” Ningguang asked again.

"I...I can't remember..." Nan Nan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"Then, could you repeat what they said more accurately?" Ningguang continued to ask.

Nan Nan's face showed sadness, and she lowered her head again, whispering, "I'm sorry... I don't remember either, I'm sorry..."

Xiao Long, standing to the side, scratched his head: "Are you alright? You're usually the most talkative one, why are you acting so strange today?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhizhi jumped up and tapped Xiaolong on the head.

"Idiot, when a girl is unhappy, you should comfort her, not tell her she's weird!"

"Huh? What should I say?" Xiaolong looked bewildered.

Ningguang knelt down without hesitation and embraced Nannan, not caring at all that the mud had dirtied her skirt.

"It's okay, don't make that face." Ningguang's voice was gentler than Han Fulai had ever heard before.

She gently touched Nan Nan's cheek, then magically summoned the wooden comb from her divine eye and presented it to the little girl.

"Look, I've prepared something that will make you happy."

"This is my comb! Sister Ningguang still remembers this!" As if the dark clouds had been blown away by the wind, Nannan's face immediately brightened.

“Of course, I always keep my promises,” Ningguang replied earnestly.

"Thank you, Sister Ningguang, thank you..." Nannan held the wooden comb to her chest, as if she wanted to keep it in her heart and never lose it again.

"It's nothing, don't get so worked up," Ningguang said gently, trying to calm Nannan down.

“I thought…I thought…Sister Ningguang had forgotten.” Nan Nan stammered. “They said…said…Sister Ningguang is very busy, she definitely wouldn’t remember such an ordinary comb.”

"Oh? Them?" Ningguang's eyes narrowed.

"Ah..." Nan Nan realized she had accidentally let something slip and covered her mouth.

"It's alright. It seems there's been some misunderstanding. Wouldn't it be best to take this opportunity to clear things up?" Ningguang said with a smile.

“Yes, Ningguang will definitely not blame you,” Zhizhi chimed in, speaking up for Ningguang.

Nan Nan bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and carefully put the wooden comb into her coat pocket.

Then she hugged Ningguang tightly, just like she would hug her most beloved mother.

"...I'm sorry, I actually lied to Sister Ningguang." Nannan's voice was trembling with tears.

Ningguang gently patted her thin back, telling her that she didn't mean to blame her.

"I didn't hear about the 'luminous marrow'; two adults made me say it. I said I couldn't lie to Sister Ningguang, but they said Sister Ningguang didn't care about me at all and had forgotten everything about me... and they even bought me a new comb, so I..."

As Nan Nan spoke, she took out a brand-new wooden comb with an exquisite pattern from another pocket of her shirt and held it up to Ning Guang's eyes.

"I'm sorry! I'll return the comb to them right away! No comb, no matter what kind, can replace the one that Sister Ningguang repaired and gave me!"

Ningguang smiled and nodded. "This was made by your mother before she left Liyue Harbor. It's your most precious birthday gift. I know how important it is to you... Remember to take good care of it."

"Okay, I will be very careful with this comb from now on and I won't let it break again. If Mom comes back and sees that the comb is broken, she will be sad..." Nan Nan nodded vigorously as she promised Ning Guang.

"As for this one... I'll go return it for you."

As Ningguang spoke, she took the comb that someone else had bought for Nannan from Nannan's hands.

"Can you tell me where the person who gave you the comb is now?"

"They're over there at the dock. They told me to go there and report back after I've completed my mission..."

Nan Nan described the appearance of the two merchants who had deceived her to Ning Guang.

"Okay." Ningguang gently patted Nannan's head, stood up, and said, "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

Little Dragon excitedly clenched his little fist, "Is Sister Ningguang going to punish the bad guy who lied to Nan Nan? I want to go too!"

Ningguang extended a finger and flicked Xiaolong's forehead.

"Don't treat this as a spectacle, and don't come along. I'm just going to explain things to those people—what's acceptable and what's not."

Sigh, how did my vacation turn into this?

Han Fulai, who had been standing by as a background figure watching Ningguang interact with the children, sighed silently, confirming once again that he was destined to work overtime.

He was quite certain that there was a lot more to this "luminous marrow" thing than met the eye.

As for the reason—

"Xiao Han, you must have noticed it too, right?"

On the way to the South Wharf of Liyue Harbor, Ningguang naturally asked Han Fulai for his opinion.

"Of course, this is a scheme targeting you, Ningguang. I'm very curious, who in Liyue Harbor has the guts to do this right now?"

The person who released the false information aimed to influence Ningguang's judgment through these small pieces of information.

Whether it's for speculation or to cover up other conspiracies, the person behind the scenes manipulating the price increase of Glowing Essence clearly wants to use Glowing's influence to profit for themselves.

Thinking further, this person must have the ability to find Ningguang's "secret agents" and the courage to use these children to deceive Ningguang, which narrows down the suspect pool considerably.

It's important to understand that Ningguang's power in Liyue Harbor is currently at its zenith. If anyone still dares to plot against Ningguang, besides her old rivals, the Fatui, and Han Fulai himself, there are only a few other members of the Seven Stars.

Uncle Tian is currently still cooperating with Ningguang on the matter of Zhiyi, so there's no reason for him to oppose Ningguang now; Keqing... Keqing always confronts Ningguang directly and never thinks about any schemes or tricks, or rather, if Keqing has any schemes or tricks, it must be Han Fulai's bad idea; Yaoguang Star, the successor of the Xing Clan, Xinghan, according to Gan Yu, has not been involved in Liyue's political affairs for several years.

Of the seven suspects, only those three remain.

Ningguang, however, seemed to have already identified the suspect.

Next to the cargo containers at the South Wharf of Liyue Harbor, two ants were pacing anxiously.

"Sigh, Old Ke, so much time has passed, why hasn't that child come yet? Could it be... that the deception has been exposed?" A middle-aged businessman paced around, his face full of worry, glancing towards the direction of Tiger Rock every now and then. His thick eyebrows drooped into a V-shape, looking quite dejected.

The businessman, known as Old Ke, also looked anxious, repeatedly touching the two small mustaches on his lips, as if trying to force himself to calm down.

"Old Xu, we've been waiting for so long, a little longer won't make a difference... Let's wait another half hour. If Nan Nan still hasn't come in half an hour, we'll go check on her again."

"Sigh..." Old Ke sighed again, "To be honest, isn't what we're doing... a little despicable?"

“I know this isn’t good, but there’s really no other way…” Old Xu shook his head. “Don’t think too much about it. Nan Nan is one of Ning Guang’s most trusted informants. I heard that Ning Guang is quite lenient with her. Look, she’s even willing to repair a cheap comb for her… I believe Ning Guang won’t doubt her.”

"You underestimate me and these kids too much."

Ningguang and Han Fulai, who had been listening in for a while, stepped out from behind them.

Ningguang crossed her arms, staring coldly at the two of them with an unfriendly expression. Han Fulai stood ramrod straight beside Ningguang like a protector, his tuxedo and cold smile giving him a resemblance to Sebastian from "Black Butler".

"Ning... Ningguang... Lord Ningguang!" Old Xu was so frightened that he took several steps back.

Old K simply covered his face with his hand, as if Ningguang wouldn't be able to see him if he did so.

"You know perfectly well how important that comb is to Nan Nan, yet you still exploit that to stir up her emotions, instill wrong ideas in a child, and shake her innocent mind... Don't you think that's shameful?"

"I...I..." Old Ke stammered, not daring to refute at all.

Old Xu, looking resigned, dejectedly apologized to Ningguang: "I'm sorry, Lady Ningguang, I...we shouldn't have had such evil intentions."

Ningguang snorted. "Business is inherently deceitful. If you really managed to fool me with false information, then even if I suffer losses as a result, it's my responsibility—but Mora can't be above all else! Do you know how terrible the consequences are of using children to make money?"

"...Who said that the most important thing in life is Mora? And you yourself use children to gather intelligence, okay?" Han Fulai silently complained in his heart, but his face remained cold and stern.

Old Ke glanced at Ningguang, then at Han Fulai, knowing he had no choice but to admit defeat. He sighed and said, "Actually... we had no other choice. We've been doing business together for years, but nothing has come of it. When we heard about the market for luminous marrow, we thought we'd take out all our money and gamble on it."

A self-deprecating expression gradually appeared on his face.

"We've stockpiled a ton of Luminescent Essence, and seeing its price keep rising, we thought we'd make a fortune this time. But the legendary Fontaine merchant who's supposed to buy Luminescent Essence is nowhere to be seen..."

"So we've discovered that this whole luminous marrow speculation might have been a scam from the very beginning." Old Xu's eyebrows still drooped, his face full of bitterness. "Recently, some speculators have started dumping their stock of luminous marrow and leaving the market... but we have too much stockpiled, and no one is willing to take it..."

"And then you thought of using Lord Ningguang? Are you thinking that if Lord Ningguang invests in the Luminous Essence business, other merchants will follow suit, and then you can successfully sell your goods at a high price and even make a fortune?" Han Fulai asked in a deep voice.

"Yes...yes." Knowing he couldn't hide it anymore, Old Ke simply started playing the victim. "If the goods don't sell, we'll both go bankrupt and be drowning in debt. There's really no other way..."

Ningguang looked at the two with a half-smile and slowly said, "To be honest, borrowing money to participate in this kind of speculation is completely unworthy of sympathy. Greed for material things, the pursuit of wealth, and impatience with reality can all cloud one's judgment. Now do you know how serious the consequences of speculation can be?"

"Of course I know... For so many days, we've barely slept a wink, begging people to buy our goods, only to be treated like fools and watched with schadenfreude..." Old Ke's voice grew hoarse as he spoke.

“We were wrong, terribly wrong… All our hard work and accumulation over half our lives has vanished. Now all we want is a chance to make amends.” Old Xu’s face was also full of dejection.

Han Fulai frowned. The words of Lao Ke and Lao Xu clearly contradicted what Luo Qiao had said at the Liuli Pavilion. He believed Ningguang couldn't have missed it, unless…

Ningguang pondered for a moment, then said, "Hmm... how about this, I can take this batch of Light Essence."

Chapter Sixty: A Date with Ningguang (Part 7) [4k]

"Really? That's wonderful!" Old Ke and Old Xu were overjoyed to hear Ningguang's words and quickly thanked her. Old Xu was so excited that he wanted to kowtow to Ningguang.

Ningguang waved to stop them.

"Don't rush, I have one condition. I want to draw up a detailed contract with you. The portion of my purchase price that exceeds the average market price of luminous marrow in the past must be returned to me in the form of a commercial transaction."

“Ah…” Old Ke paused, then stroked his mustache. “But if that’s the case, then we… then… won’t have any profit at all…”

Ningguang's condition was essentially to acquire the luminous marrow from the two of them at a price slightly higher than the market price. In return, she paid this price on the condition that she pre-order the business profits of the two of them for the next few years.

In other words, these two people will essentially be working for Ningguang for the foreseeable future, and their wages will be the prepayment she makes for the goods. If they earn more in the future, all the profits will belong to Ningguang. From a purely contractual perspective, this is actually quite harsh.

“Then you should go find a buyer who will satisfy you. If you're still thinking about making money at a time like this, then no one can help you.” Ningguang glared at Old K, who shrank back in fright.

"Lord Ningguang is right. We should be grateful if we can turn the goods into cash and pay off our debts. Let's not even think about making money," Old Xu advised his companion.

"Yes, yes, that's right... But, does Lady Ningguang have... connections with this batch of goods?" Old Ke's mind was relatively quick; he immediately connected the dots and realized that Ningguang's willingness to buy this batch meant she must have a sales channel. If he could also obtain that channel...

“I don’t need the luminous marrow, but with some investigation and maneuvering, there will always be a market for it,” Ningguang said matter-of-factly, as if nothing was unsellable to her.

"Then, then let's get the transaction done right away!" Old Ke couldn't wait to invite Ningguang to his shop to complete the formalities.

“Don’t rush, the transaction is a small matter, admitting your mistake is the big deal. You deceived a child, so you should come with me now and apologize to her properly.” Ningguang glanced at the two of them, and Lao Ke and Lao Xu nodded vigorously, afraid that Ningguang would change her mind.

Just as Ningguang was about to take the two back to Chihu Rock, Han Fulai spoke up.

"Isn't Lady Ningguang going to continue the investigation?" After listening for so long, Han Fulai finally couldn't hold back any longer, as Ningguang hadn't pursued the core issue.

Ningguang signing contracts with the two of them was, in effect, letting them go. Although on the surface, Old K and the others' explanations seemed to be true, in Han Fulai's eyes, this was only the tip of the iceberg; at least 90% of what lay beneath the surface remained untouched—yet Ningguang decided to let them go so easily?

Ningguang seemed to have anticipated Han Fulai's question and shook her head without hesitation: "Now is not the time to investigate. I just hope they apologize to that child immediately."

Han Fulai stroked his chin and said, "Then, in order not to waste time, I'll only ask them three questions, is that alright?"

Ningguang nodded silently.