He changed Tiwat

Yes, Gan Yu, the selfless executive secretary of Yuehaiting, wrote a letter to Ningguang of the contemporary Tianquan, in which they discussed a business deal.

Because Gan Yu had ulterior motives this time.

Chapter Eight: Gan Yu and Ning Guang's Deal

Gan Yu's letter was quickly delivered to Qunyu Pavilion by a special envoy.

The road to Jade Pavilion isn't actually that long as it goes, less than a kilometer from Moonsea Pavilion. But this road is special. To get to Jade Pavilion, you need a special pass granted by the Liyue Septate. You have to take a private passage from Jade Peak to the top of Mount Tianheng, and then use small pieces of floating stone to fly up to Jade Pavilion.

Yes, the Jade Pavilion is a magnificent palace that floats in the sky.

It is not a government agency of Liyue, but Ningguang's private residence in Tianquan. However, Ningguang is used to working in the Jade Pavilion, so this private residence is regarded as Liyue's intelligence and decision-making body. When people talk about Liyue's administrative institutions, they often say "the Moonlit Pavilion and its various halls", and this "pavilion" refers to Ningguang's Jade Pavilion.

Even in Liyue Harbor, a city built on commerce where everyone is a merchant, Ningguang is one of the most prominent among the wealthy merchants. This prominence refers not only to Ningguang's position as the head of the Seven Stars, but also to her wealth as the richest person in Liyue.

Jade Pavilion is a sky city built upon a foundation of countless floating stones collected by Ningguang at great expense. This sky city boasts of being eternally unshaken and is even renovated annually, with top craftsmen constantly being invited to expand it. It now obscures the true silver moon above Liyue Harbor. The people of Liyue can see this sky city simply by looking up—it is a symbol of Ningguang's power and authority, a representation of her status and wealth.

In the past, flight was the exclusive privilege of demons and immortals; mortals had no power to even touch the sky. Even gliding through the air with the help of hang gliders and wind was merely gliding, and they would eventually fall back to the ground. The only known sky city was called Sky Island. Sky Island lay high above the clouds, the abode of the supreme god of Teyvat, a dreamlike sky island that only the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm and the holders of the Eye of God chosen by the God of the Mortal Realm could ascend.

But Ningguang's Jade Pavilion shattered this boundary—humans too could possess sky cities, humans too could remain forever atop the skies, and humans too could dabble in the heavens, a realm only gods and immortals could touch. Ningguang herself even declared that one day, she would let the shadow of the Jade Pavilion envelop the seven kingdoms of Teyvat.

At this moment, Ningguang was sitting upright in the study of Qunyu Pavilion, reading the letter that her secretary Baixiao had just presented to her.

Ningguang opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and was greeted by Gan Yu's delicate handwriting—Gan Yu's handwriting, which Ningguang had become familiar with from working together for the past few years.

The letter was very short, only three lines long:

"Please propose the addition of the position of Executive Vice Minister of Yue Haiting, and Chief Private Secretary of Executive Secretary of Yue Haiting."

"The candidate for the permanent deputy minister will be designated by the current permanent secretary Yue Haiting, and all expenses will be paid by the Baishui Hall Finance Department."

"The relevant interpretation will be decided by Lord Ningguang. Gan Yu."

After reading the letter, Ningguang smiled and said, "With such courage and determination, Miss Ganyu would be no less successful than me in business."

She called out to her personal secretary, Bai Xiao, who was waiting outside the study, and said, "Bai Xiao, go and inform the Seven Stars that we have gathered at Yujing Terrace. I have important matters to discuss with you."

Bai Xiao responded and prepared to leave, but Ning Guang added, "By the way, tell Bai Wen Bai Shi to prepare. You two will go to Yue Hai Ting to report in three days."

"Go to Yuehai Pavilion to report?" Bai Xiao was stunned. Even though she had followed Ning Guang as Ning Guang's private secretary for many years, she still couldn't understand this lord's sudden whimsical idea.

“Yes.” Ningguang smiled and nodded. “Your official position is Deputy Secretary-General of Yuehaiting, Chief Private Secretary of Tianquanxing, and Executive Deputy Minister of Dali Hall.”

“But, according to the laws of Liyue…” Bai Xiao subconsciously pointed out the unreasonable part of the appointment, but suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence. She knew what Ningguang meant by “having important matters to discuss”, and it was no exaggeration to say that this would cause an earthquake in the political situation of Liyue.

“I just made a deal with Miss Ganyu.” Ningguang’s tone was calm. “Miss Ganyu traded most of Jade Capital for a chance to change Liyue.”

Since its founding, Liyue's system of seven stars and eight gates has existed for over three thousand years. Over time, hundreds of the seven stars and eight gate leaders have come and gone. Even the immortals who fought alongside the Emperor during the Demon God Wars have seen dozens depart at the "Farewell Ceremony," yet Gan Yu remains the permanent secretary of the Moonlit Pavilion. There's an old saying among Liyue's elite: "Only Mora and the Moonlit Pavilion are eternal in Liyue," referring to the Emperor and Gan Yu.

Miss Gan Yu usually only does her assigned auxiliary work. Whenever Qi Xing has any work needs, whether reasonable or unreasonable, difficult or very difficult, Gan Yu will complete the work with the highest efficiency without complaint, and she will always be able to get the work done.

The previous generation of Tianquan Star left Ningguang with a warning: "I used to think that time was the most terrifying force. I even found that the Emperor would also grow old, but the Miss Ganyu I saw when I was seven years old was no different from the Miss Ganyu I saw when I was seventy years old."

Some might dismiss this, arguing that Gan Yu, as an immortal, possesses eternal youth and a lifespan far exceeding that of mortals, so it's normal for mortals not to notice changes in an immortal's appearance. However, Ningguang knows that an immortal's appearance changes with their state of mind, symbolizing their current emotional state. Some immortals retain the form of mythical beasts because they don't identify with human society, while others maintain the appearance of old people and live in seclusion because of the vicissitudes of life they've experienced.

Even the Emperor's appearance will age, symbolizing the wear and tear that time inflicts on his heart—but sweet rain will not.

All the previous Seven Stars both respected and feared Gan Yu, the Executive Secretary. They respected her for her selfless and dedicated service to Liyue for thousands of years; they feared her for her unfathomable depth. Time had never brought any change to this Executive Secretary of the Moonlit Pavilion. It seemed that anyone could say a few words to Gan Yu, but no one knew what she was thinking.

When Liyue people warn outsiders, they often say, "Ningguang knows everything." There are even rumors that Ningguang has cast a spell on Jade Pavilion, allowing her to hear everyone's whispers in Liyue Harbor. But even Ningguang, as the head of Tianquan, Liyue's intelligence and decision-making body, has secrets she doesn't know—Ganyu's inner thoughts.

So now, Ningguang was filled with curiosity, wondering what had caused such a change in Ganyu, which had remained unchanged for three thousand years. She was almost unable to contain her curiosity and wanted to observe whether Ganyu's appearance had changed, so that she could find out for herself. But Ningguang suppressed this impulse.

She wrote a line in her notebook on her desk: "Focus on investigating the newly appointed Deputy Executive Director Yue Haiting."

Meanwhile, Han Fulai, the newly appointed Deputy Chief of the Moonlit Pavilion who had already been designated, had just stepped through the gates of Liyue Harbor.

Chapter Nine: I'm the Chosen One Who's Read the Script

The saying goes, "Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death." Although Han Fulai had seen Liyue Harbor from afar an hour earlier, the sun was already beginning to set when he actually entered the harbor. Although, based on human visibility on the horizon, Han Fulai estimated that the distance from the forest where he met Ganyu to Liyue Harbor was less than five kilometers, for a modern office worker who lacked exercise and was exhausted and hungry, this distance could be called a marathon.

Han Fulai sighed inwardly. Sure enough, Genshin Impact greatly miniaturized the map to make it easier for players to explore. If the game were made according to the scale of Teyvat in reality, the distance players had to travel to complete a daily quest might be enough to make them uninstall the game.

Obviously, if the road to Liyue Harbor is longer than in the game, then the city of Liyue Harbor must also be larger than in the game.

Although Han Fulai was a veteran player, he still got lost after entering Liyue Harbor. After all, the real Liyue Harbor was at least ten times larger than the one in the game, with ten times more shops and roads. Fortunately, at least the language was the same. Although Han Fulai didn't have a GPS map, a tool for modern people, he could still ask for directions, so he wouldn't get lost.

Liyue Harbor truly lives up to its reputation as the most bustling commercial city on the Teyvat continent. Even though Han Fulai's attire was significantly different from the surrounding people, few people cast curious glances at him. Every day, a large number of merchants and tourists come and go in Liyue Harbor, and the locals are already used to it.

Thanks to the large number of outsiders in Liyue Harbor, Han Fulai, as a transmigrator, was not questioned at all and easily asked the Thousand Rock Army soldiers guarding the gate for directions to the General Affairs Office and Moonsea Pavilion. In addition to asking for directions, he also learned something very important—it was the end of the year, and soon it would be Liyue's annual "Invitation to the Immortals Ceremony," presided over by Lady Ningguang of Tianquan.

Han Fulai wasn't simply rushing through those five kilometers; he was also thinking about this world. Although he hadn't yet discovered any special transmigration-related cheat codes, he believed that his experience playing Genshin Impact in China, his familiarity with the Genshin Impact world's setting and plot, was essentially the strongest cheat code—foresight.

Although he had just transmigrated, the Gan Yu he saw didn't look much different from the Gan Yu in Genshin Impact, except that the real person was even more beautiful than the one in the game. And along his journey, the scenery outside Liyue and the local customs of Liyue Harbor seemed similar to those in Genshin Impact, except that there were many more buildings and characters.

This also means that the historical process of Liyue is very likely to follow the game's setting—the Emperor will perish during the Summoning Ceremony, and then transform into Zhongli to eat his own feast... It's just unknown whether there is a traveler named Kong or Ying on this Teyvat continent who decides to observe the Summoning Ceremony from the sidelines.

In short, as long as the history of Teyvat unfolds according to the game's script, Han Fulai will have a great chance of meeting the Rock King. While the Rock King is difficult to meet, Zhongli, a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth, is quite easy to encounter. At that point, Han Fulai could cling to Gan Yu with one hand and Zhongli with the other, and who knows, he might even meet the Traveler later. Wouldn't that be a life of luxury, with everything he could ever want?

Of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that the history of the continent of Teyvat actually unfolds according to the game's script. Han Fulai wasn't sure if his time travel would bring about any changes to the plot; he could only take it one step at a time.

Han Fulai hadn't forgotten what Gan Yu had told him: he needed to go to the General Affairs Department before sunset to register and collect his exam admission ticket. Whether it was to keep his promise to Gan Yu or to avoid the "Punishment of Eating Rocks," he should take tomorrow's exam. Besides, for a small-town exam-taker like Han Fulai, if he had any special talent in his twenty-four years of life, it would definitely be taking exams.

Although he didn't outperform the test-takers from other small towns in China, that might not be the case in Teyvat, provided, of course, that the aptitude test and essay writing test in Liyue are similar to those in China.

Han Fulai was actually quite confident about this. After all, the language and writing system of Liyue were similar to those of China, with only a slight touch of classical Chinese. This posed no challenge for a top Chinese literature student who could effortlessly recite Tang and Song dynasty poetry. It was quite possible that the exams would be similar to those in China, or even easier than the national civil service exams in China, given that Teyvat's social development was still stuck between the Middle Ages and World War I.

After passing through the relatively noisy and chaotic Chihu Rock area and crossing a wide wooden bridge, you will arrive at Feiyun Slope.

As its name suggests, Crimson Cloud Slope is filled with tall buildings, green-tiled and vermilion-painted, and the sky above seems to be tinged with crimson by the surrounding vermilion buildings. The rows of upscale shops proclaim that this is Liyue Harbor's most proud and prosperous commercial district.

Following the directions given by the Thousand Rock Army soldiers, Han Fulai quickly found a magnificent, soaring palace-like building. The arched, wind-swept roofs and the suspended gables flanking the soaring structure were the flagship restaurants of Liyue's two most famous cuisines—the "Lili Pavilion," known as a paradise of mountain delicacies where one has to wait three months to get a seat; and the "New Moon Pavilion," known as a palace of seafood, where one also has to wait three months to get a seat.

Han Fulai's destination, the Liyue General Affairs Department, is located opposite these two main stores. The Scarlet Cloud Slope bulletin board stands in front of the General Affairs Department's gate, and messages from the Glass Pavilion and the Crescent Moon Pavilion can be seen on the bulletin board, showing their rivalry.

The atmosphere in the General Affairs Office was noticeably different from elsewhere. The towering Nine-Ridge Prince was guarded by a squad of Thousand Rock soldiers, fully armed. Their neat armor and Thousand Rock spears proclaimed the majesty of the Liyue administrative institution.

Han Fulai strode up to the main entrance of the General Affairs Department and saw Xiao Zhao, the clerk of the General Affairs Department, sitting at the information window by the entrance, tidying up her desk, seemingly preparing to pack up and leave work.

Seeing Han Fulai approaching, Xiao Zhao reluctantly stopped what she was doing and pulled out a form.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Despite her less-than-friendly expression, Xiao Zhao's greeting was still very professional.

Han Fulai nodded and was about to speak when he heard Xiao Zhao say, "Please tell me your needs within two seconds."

"This doesn't have to be so realistic about NPC personalities!" Han Fulai thought to himself, but he felt more confident and more certain that the plot in his memory was likely consistent with the historical process of the Teyvat continent.

Sure enough, how could a time traveler not have benefits? I'm the chosen one who read the script!

Han Fulai smiled broadly and said, "I think..."

"Qualification exam? Tax filing? Application for going to sea? Ship berthing?" Xiao Zhao said, handing over the forms in her hand.

What kind of service would you like to conduct?

"Please hurry up, hurry up!"

"It has taken me a lot of time to receive you!"

"Are you suffering from a disease where you'll die if you don't interrupt others?!" Han Fulai almost cursed out loud, but after glancing at Qianyan Army beside Xiao Zhao, he held back.

“A qualification exam,” he replied simply, in a way that met Xiao Zhao’s requirements.

"Why didn't you say earlier that this form wasn't for the qualification exam?" Xiao Zhao took back the form in her hand and handed over a different one.

"You didn't even give me a chance to say that earlier!" Han Fulai suppressed his urge to complain, took the form, and picked up a pen from the table...

"A calligraphy brush?" Han Fulai was taken aback.

Chapter Ten: Gan Yu has already arranged everything clearly for you.

The brush in Han Fulai's hand had a wooden handle and a white outer and purple inner tip, clearly a mixed-hair brush with seven parts purple and three parts sheep hair. Only then did he realize that Liyue was definitely an ancient place, so using a calligraphy brush was the normal thing to do; it would be strange for him to take out a fountain pen.

"What? You can't write? What qualification exam are you taking if you can't write? A sedan chair carrying certificate? You don't look like one." Xiao Zhao fired off a barrage of questions.

"I can write, I can write... but I didn't use ink?" Han Fulai quickly smiled apologetically.

"You only come after I've already washed all the brushes. Aren't you wasting my time?" Xiao Zhao said irritably, pushing over an ordinary inkstone.

Han Fulai was already used to Xiao Zhao's way of speaking, so he didn't bother to argue. He skillfully dipped his pen in ink and began to write smoothly on the form.

Name: Han Fulai

Sex: Male

Age: 24

Application Program: Liyue Civil Service Examination

Position applied for: Secretary to Yuehai Pavilion

……

After Han Fulai finished filling out the form, he handed the paper and pen back to Xiao Zhao. Xiao Zhao took the form, her expression suddenly turning to surprise—Han Fulai actually wrote beautiful running script. His characters were elegant and vigorous, the strokes seemingly broken yet connected in meaning; if this weren't a registration form, Xiao Zhao would have framed it as a work of calligraphy.

Han Fu looked at Xiao Zhao's expression and chuckled inwardly. His running script calligraphy was the result of practicing Zhao Mengfu's style for over a decade; putting everything else aside, his handwriting absolutely lived up to his reputation as the top talent in the Chinese department.

Given Han Fulai's family's financial situation, they couldn't afford to learn other talents, so they could only practice calligraphy from a young age by following calligraphy models. Of course, as a test-taker from a small town, practicing calligraphy wasn't for any artistic pursuit; it was simply to make his handwriting look better and earn him some extra points on the college entrance exam.

Xiao Zhao put the form away, took out a stack of documents from the desk drawer, and found a background check file on Han Fulai.

"Han Fulai, whose ancestral home is Liyue..."

"My father, Han Cheng, used to be a merchant in Liyue. He moved to Fontaine twenty-five years ago..."

“You’re a returned child from Fontainebleau? You’ve learned Liyue script quite well.” Xiao Zhao said, opening another drawer and taking out a small wooden plaque stamped with the General Affairs Department’s seal, on which she wrote Han Fulai’s name and number.

Han Fulai understood immediately; this was the "background file that could pass the review" that Gan Yu had prepared for him. He then carefully memorized his persona as a child of Fontainebleau who had returned from abroad.

"Entry with your credentials before 9 a.m. tomorrow. The exam room is inside the General Affairs Department." Xiao Zhao pointed to the door behind her, still not letting up, "You only came to register today for the exam tomorrow? This year, including you, there are 120 applicants for the Yuehaiting secretary position, but only two people will be hired. You'd better prepare to take the exam again next year."

Han Fulai took the admission ticket and replied with a smile, "This is much easier than getting into a 985 university. When I took the college entrance exam, the admission rate for 985 universities was only 1.1%."

After saying that, he turned and left gracefully, leaving Xiao Zhao wondering with a face full of doubt what a terrible trial the college entrance examination and 985 universities were for Fengdan.

After registering, Han Fulai's next destination was the Moon Sea Pavilion, perched high on the Jade Capital Terrace.

He had thought it through clearly. After meeting Gan Yu, he wanted to ask her about the details of tomorrow's exam, and ideally, get some past exam papers to help him prepare. Of course, these weren't the most important things. The most important thing was to find Gan Yu to solve his problems with food and lodging—Han Fulai didn't have a single mora on him right now.

Yujingtai, the office of the Liyue government, is built against the mountain and is the highest point in Liyue Harbor. This is undoubtedly to show the prestige of the Geo Archon and the Liyue Sept, which is understandable. However, for Han Fulai, a corporate slave who had been starving all day and had traveled several kilometers, that long staircase was really going to kill him.

When he finally climbed up to Yujingtai, he was stopped by the Qianyan Army soldiers guarding the platform.

"A crucial meeting of the Seven Stars is being held at Yujingtai. Tourists are prohibited from entering. If you have official business, please present your receipt or identification," the soldier said sternly.

"I am... I'm a new employee at Yuehaiting, and I haven't received my credentials yet." Han Fulai tried to get away with the guise of a newbie.

"Impossible. Every civil servant in Yuehaiting has an identification document stamped and issued by the General Affairs Department, even newcomers! This rule was personally established by Lord Gan Yu, the Executive Secretary of Yuehaiting, and has been in effect for over two thousand years," the gatekeeper replied solemnly.

"I am Gan Yu's... Gan Yu's newly recruited personal secretary. Could you please inform Gan Yu?" Han Fulai asked.

"I've never heard of Lord Gan Yu having a private secretary, and Lord Gan Yu certainly doesn't need one." The Qianyan soldier waved his Qianyan spear impatiently. "Yujingtai is the main office of all the halls and departments of Yuehaiting. Not just anyone can sneak in. Let's go. Don't interfere with official business here."

Han Fulai assessed his own strength and knew he couldn't force his way through, so he had no choice but to turn around and accept the fact that he had made a wasted trip. Looking at the long staircase in front of him, he thought dejectedly that he wished he were as fat as Gan Yu when she was a child, so he could roll down the mountain.

Han Fulai knew that Gan Yu couldn't be blamed for this. Since he had specifically asked Gan Yu to keep his identity a secret, she couldn't have told the guards that she had summoned a private secretary. As for the fact that he arrived just as the Seven Stars were holding a meeting, Han Fulai figured it was just bad luck.

Of course, Han Fulai was unaware that this emergency meeting of the Liyue Seven Stars was convened specifically for him.

At this moment, the seven stars of Liyue were sitting in the conference room of Moonsea Pavilion, arguing fiercely. Ningguang proposed revising the "Liyue Civil Service Law". The topic extended from a simple law to various fields, involving the old and new grudges between the seven stars, as well as the dispute between the conservatives and the reformers. Finally, they began to discuss whether Liyue's future should be governed by humans and immortals or enter an era of human rule. The scene was simply out of control.

The meeting finally reached a conclusion—the result Gan Yu wanted—until Gan Yu, who had been silently taking meeting minutes, spoke up in support of Ning Guang.

In fact, when Han Fulai and Gan Yu first formed a contract, Gan Yu was only keeping Han Fulai, this mysterious transmigrator, by her side in the name of the contract in order to protect Liyue. On the surface, he was her personal secretary, but in reality, he was there to keep a close watch on her.

In Liyue, personal secretaries like Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao, even if they are Ningguang's confidants, have no administrative functions or authority under the law. Their salaries are paid by their employer, Ningguang, and they are not part of the Liyue civil service system. In other words, if Han Fulai only has a personal contract with Ganyu and works as Ganyu's personal secretary, he does not need to pass the civil service exam at all, and his relationship with Ganyu is simply that of boss and employee.

However, Han Fulai's performance in the previous "interview" was too outstanding. His impassioned speech about "serving the people" completely won Gan Yu's approval. In Gan Yu's eyes, Han Fulai was an ambitious young man who had abandoned the wealth and glory of being the heir to a kingdom to come to Liyue from another world in order to help her and the people of Liyue. Moreover, Han Fulai possessed Celestial-level strength, making him an invaluable talent in Liyue.

In order to allow such talents to display their abilities in Liyue, Gan Yu even made an unprecedented deal with Ningguang, which led to this temporary Seven Stars Conference.

The short three-line letter, translated by Ningguang, actually looked like this:

"Please propose the addition of the position of Executive Vice Minister of Yue Haiting, and Chief Private Secretary of Executive Secretary of Yue Haiting."

Gan Yu wants her personal secretary to have a civil service position in Liyue, which means that Gan Yu is cultivating her own political power and hopes to achieve this goal by circumventing Liyue's current laws.

"The candidate for the permanent deputy minister will be designated by the current permanent secretary Yue Haiting, and all expenses will be paid by the Baishui Hall Finance Department."

Gan Yu's desire to control personnel appointments at Moonsea Pavilion is tantamount to declaring that Moonsea Pavilion will henceforth officially become an independent political force under his control. He has also proposed that Whitewater Hall control Moonsea Pavilion's budget, meaning that Moonsea Pavilion will outwardly remain under the leadership of the Liyue Septim and subject to economic constraints.

"The relevant interpretation will be decided by Lord Ningguang. Gan Yu."

Gan Yu's proposal does not comply with Liyue's current laws, and the ally she seeks is Ningguang of Tianquan, who possesses the power to interpret and revise Liyue's laws. Gan Yu's offer is also clear: as long as Gan Yu's goals are achieved, she will support any clauses added to the legal revisions that benefit Ningguang herself, such as placing Ningguang's personal secretary within the Eight Gates of Liyue to control key departments.

Ningguang's response was unceremoniously to promote her three trusted personal secretaries to deputy secretaries-general of Yuehaiting, and to permanent deputy ministerial positions in the finance, justice, and foreign affairs departments. This represented both Ningguang's cooperation with Ganyu and her wariness of Ganyu.

After the meeting, Gan Yu returned to her office with the meeting minutes in her hands. She made sure that all the preparations she had made for Han Fulai's entry into Yuehaiting were complete and that everything was arranged clearly before she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.