He changed Tiwat

You can't expect a horse to run without feeding it—that's exactly what Director Qin is doing.

But there's no such thing as a free lunch.

There's no such thing as a reasoning game; it's about putting rice in a pot and cooking it. If you don't give people rice, they won't reason with you. Even a well-read Ming Dynasty civil servant who doesn't receive rice might resort to fists to demonstrate the six gentlemanly arts on the spot. This "humble public servant of Liyue" could, after all, pay off his large villa loan in three years with his salary. Gan Yu and Ke Qing gave him quite a bit, and Ningguang gave him even more…

Of course, these words cannot be said in front of the ensemble leader.

These moral principles about good and evil can often be elevated to metaphysical philosophical discussions, and the root of the problem lies entirely in different values. If the other party were Xing Qiu, Han Fulai wouldn't mind using his Chinese literature background to have a proper "theoretical discussion" with Xing Qiu, but after all, the other party is the acting Grand Master of the Knights, not his own brother.

Kaeya wanted to ask this "outsider monk" to "chant sutras" for Jean, but chanting sutras is selective. It's like a Mondstadt merchant going to a construction site in the Deep Rock Abyss to sell bras; if the site is full of miners, they'll definitely be looking at the breasts, not the bras.

He thought for a moment and said, "Just now, Director Qin mentioned 'moral principles,' and the problem actually lies precisely in the word 'principles.'"

He looked at Kaeya, "I once overheard the residents of Mondstadt discussing in a bar who the Knights of Favonius were the best swordsmen, and many people nominated Captain Jean."

Kaiya nodded and said, "That's right. To be awarded the title of 'Lion,' one must be the strongest in the Knights."

Qin coughed lightly and said modestly, "That's because they haven't witnessed the Grand Master's swordsmanship... The Knights of Favonius are full of talented people, and there are many who are stronger than me."

Han Fulai deliberately asked, "Then the selection criteria for becoming a Knight of Favonius must be that one's swordsmanship must be at least at the level of Commander Jean?"

Kaiya laughed: "Haha, then there probably won't be many left in the Knights Order. Anyway, I'm definitely not qualified."

Han Fulai laughed as well: "Just like there is only one Xingqiu in Liyue, there is only one Jean in Mondstadt. I heard that the titles of 'Lionfang Knight' and 'Dandelion Knight' are only awarded to the most outstanding knights of the time, so Jean should be the 'Knight among Knights', right?"

Jean wanted to be modest, but Kaiya readily agreed: "Yes, yes, let alone the others in our group, even going back to the previous captains and vice-captains, our captain Jean's character and martial arts skills are top-notch—ah, if you add her beauty, she's probably the best in history."

Qin glared angrily at Kaiya, who innocently raised his hands and looked up at the sky.

Han Fulai continued, "Wouldn't it be a bit unfair to use Commander Qin as the standard to demand that the other Knights of Favonius meet the same moral standards and achieve the same efficiency as Commander Qin?"

Kaeya laughed even harder: "Oh dear, if we use Captain Qin as the standard, our carefree and undisciplined Captain Falga would probably be the first to be expelled. He'd probably have to join the Adventurers' Guild to make a living by finding cats for people..."

"Kaiya!"

If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't lose her temper in front of outsiders, Jean probably would have already ordered Kaiya to be confined.

Han Fulai smiled and said, "I know that humility is a virtue of a knight, but I still want to say to Captain Jean, please face your own excellence. People as outstanding as you are extremely rare in all of Teyvat. Your code of conduct is probably too high for ordinary people to reach."

"Not everyone in this world has the adventurous spirit to climb to the top. When people see a mountain that is too high, their usual reaction is to 'give up and walk away'."

“If a standard is so high that it is difficult for ordinary people to reach, then it loses its meaning as a ‘standard’.”

"It's like the civil service selection exam in Liyue. I ranked first in the unified exam with a total score of 199, just one point away from a perfect score... but the passing score for selection is 140. If my score is used as the selection criterion, then I'm probably the only civil servant left in Liyue. And since my talent is not as good as Director Jean's, I'm afraid I'll be overworked to death on piles of documents."

"As expected of the renowned Deputy Minister Han of Liyue, his words are truly insightful!" Kaeya gave Han Fulai a thumbs-up in a very affected manner.

Qin remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Thank you for your suggestion, Vice Minister Han. I will keep it in mind."

Chapter Seventy-One: Snow Mountain and Black Dragon

The conversation that followed went quite smoothly.

In fact, Jean's invitation to Han Fulai to meet with her did not involve any "national affairs." After all, Han Fulai came to Mondstadt as a tourist, and Jean only heard about it this morning from Kaeya. His visit was placed alongside the report on the resolution of the meteorite incident—of course, Kaeya and Lisa received this information much earlier than Jean.

Although the general public in Mondstadt was not very familiar with Han Fulai's reputation, the higher-ups of the Knights of Favonius were.

Han Fulai's experiences in Liyue were, to put it conservatively, legendary, and Kaeya still valued him highly. To lighten Jean's workload, Kaeya secretly took care of many things in advance, such as investigating Han Fulai's intentions. Now that it was confirmed that he had come to Mondstadt concealing his identity without any ill intent, it was natural to show goodwill as a host.

Aside from thanking Han Fulai for his help to Mond in the meteorite incident, Jean's real intention in inviting him to talk was mainly to "treat him to dinner."

Even in Mondstadt, which has many festivals, the "Badminton Festival" commemorating the founding of Mondstadt is the grandest of them all—and the word "grand" is mainly reflected in the food.

The people of Mondstadt typically describe the "Badminton Festival" as including feasts and wine, poetry and music, flowers and ceremonies.

Not everyone has the talent of a bard; artistic talent is a rare commodity, and poetry and music are things that most people find difficult to engage with. Flowers and festivals are routine occurrences and not particularly unusual events, so tourists visiting Mondstadt aren't there for those reasons.

Ultimately, the biggest motivation for people to participate in the "Badminton Festival" lies in the "banquet and fine wine".

During the "Badminton Festival," long tables arranged in a circle are set up in the square in front of the church, filled with all kinds of delicious food for anyone who comes here to enjoy.

The food on the long table is usually provided spontaneously by local residents who are good at cooking. Crispy and delicious "moon pie", crunchy "Mondstadt pork cutlet", "heap" with cheese and meat piled up like a mountain, and various fried foods and roasted meats with a greasiness that is directly proportional to the happiness index... These are all indispensable banquet dishes.

Renowned wineries in Mondstadt, such as Château de la Dawn, will also transport their finest wines from their cellars to the square during the festival to create "wine towers" to satisfy the needs of all wine lovers.

In modern terms, this would probably be called a "self-service banquet".

For tourists, this is an annual "food festival" where they can eat and drink to their heart's content for free.

Besides maintaining order during the festival, the Knights of Favonius are also traditionally required to participate in the festival celebrations and enjoy themselves with the people. This is the busiest time of year for the Knights' logistics team—which is why Noelle was conscripted by Captain Hertha.

If this "all-around maid" hadn't been so determined to become a knight, she probably would have already made a name for herself in the culinary world.

The Knights will be setting up a pizza stand this year, serving "energizing pizzas" to tourists, with a menu personally selected by Master Qin.

Pizza, as one of the staple foods of Mondstadt, has been developed in all sorts of ways. The pizza specially made by Captain Jean is not only crispy, delicious and generous in portion, but also contains a lot of coffee beans - in short, eating one slice can keep you energized for a whole day of work.

In order to supply the large number of tourists during the festival, the Knights are currently modifying the ovens in the kitchen, which led to the scene just now where Noelle invited Commander Jean to inspect the results of the oven modification.

Today, Qin formally invited Han Fulai as a distinguished guest of Liyue to enjoy a grand feast at the Knights' Headquarters on the last day of the "Badminton Festival".

In short, the "Mongolian banquet" that Han Fulai had been longing for was finally realized.

Regarding the economic cooperation between Liyue and Mondstadt that he wanted to discuss, such as agricultural cooperation agreements, the promotion of fertilizers, and the application of Liyue currency in commerce, these are certainly not matters that can be settled in a few words. Jean also indicated that she would take this time to solicit opinions from the high-ranking members of the Knights of Favonius and major business representatives of Mondstadt, and that formal consultations could begin after the "Badminton Festival."

The conversation ended with a discussion about Abedo.

The topic was started by Kaiya: "I heard that Deputy Minister Han was looking for Captain Abedo at the alchemy workshop just now?"

His whereabouts were no secret to Kaia, and Kaia probably already knew about his encounter with Timaus.

Han Fulai had no reason to hide this, and used the same excuse he gave Timaus: "Yes, we recently established the 'Liyue Academy of Alchemy' in Liyue. During our research, we encountered some academic problems related to alchemy and wanted to consult with Captain Abedo. Mr. Timaus told me that Captain Abedo has returned to his laboratory in Dragonspine, so I'm planning to go to Dragonspine."

"Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain... I'm afraid things aren't very peaceful there..."

Kaiya pondered for a moment.

"Is it a monster disturbance?" Han Fulai recalled the monster disturbance caused by the meteorite incident.

“Ha, the monsters are a minor issue; the problem lies with the ‘people.’” Kaeya chuckled. “I just reported this to Captain Jean—around midnight yesterday, a group of thieves from a treasure-hunting gang tried to sneak into Mondstadt to fish in troubled waters, but I caught them red-handed. And from those people, I got some information that the Fatui are wandering around the snowy mountains, seemingly searching for something.”

"Searching for something in the snow-capped mountains...?"

Han Fulai also became more vigilant upon hearing about the Fools.

He didn't know what the Fatui were up to, but based on his understanding of them, he figured what they were looking for was probably related to the remnants of the demon god.

—For example, Clement, the Fatui debt collector disguised as an archaeologist, was actually collecting relics related to the Daedric Prince in Liyue.

Furthermore, he certainly hadn't forgotten that he was a thorn in the side of the Fatui. Within Mondstadt, the Knights of Fatui were in charge, so they wouldn't dare do anything to him, but things might be different in Dragonspine. Creating an avalanche in Dragonspine was incredibly easy… Dragonspine was so vast, there was bound to be somewhere that could bury someone.

Although he is not so afraid of the Fools now that he has the strength, it is better to be cautious.

Kaiya clearly thought so too: "So if Deputy Minister Han wants to go to the snow mountain, it would be best if someone could accompany and protect him along the way."

"Although we don't know exactly what the Fools are planning, judging from the testimonies of the treasure-hunting group, it might be related to the slumbering dragon 'Durin' in the snowy mountains. Someone in the treasure-hunting group mentioned that they were looking for something left behind by the dragon."

"This group has recently been trying to do business with the Fools. They somehow acquired a batch of stolen goods, all sorts of strange and oddly shaped odds and ends. They plan to use these items to impersonate dragon relics and swindle some Mora from the Fools... Ha, come to think of it, arresting them might have saved them. The Fools aren't as merciful as we Knights of Favonius."

At this moment, Qin interjected, "Vice Minister Han is a distinguished guest of our Mondstadt, and protecting the safety of our distinguished guest is also the duty of our Knights Order. How about this, Vice Minister Han, please wait a day, and I will dispatch the elite of the Knights Order to accompany you to Dragonspine Mountain."

Chapter Seventy-Two: Vice Minister Han's Personal Bodyguard

As a key figure in Liyue, if Han Fulai were to encounter trouble on Mondstadt territory, the Knights would certainly bear the responsibility, and sending guards would be perfectly reasonable. He didn't have any compelling reason to go to the snowy mountains alone without the Knights' knowledge, so he naturally thanked Jean for her kindness and agreed to the task.

After Qin and Kaiya saw Han Fulai off, they began to discuss the selection of guards.

Providing bodyguards for foreign dignitaries is a delicate matter. The bodyguards must be highly skilled, and more importantly, they must be of a high rank, otherwise the distinguished guest will feel slighted.

Given Han Fulai's status, it would be proper for his entourage to be escorted by at least a captain of the Knights Order.

The Knights of Favonius consist of ten numbered squads and several special squads. Four-fifths of the members have accompanied Grand Master Falgar on his expeditions. The only squads remaining in the country are the Fourth Squad, the "Guerrilla Squad," led by Yura; the Sixth Squad, the "Logistics Squad," led by Herta; and the Eighth Squad, the "Magic Squad," led by Nimf.

In addition to these three numbered squads, there is the "Investigation Squad," led by Abedo; and the Reconnaissance Squad, led and also the only member, Amber.

As for Kaiya, the captain of the cavalry squad... well, he doesn't even have a horse, let alone any team members...

Rather than calling him a cavalry captain, it would be more appropriate to call him the head of the intelligence bureau.

According to Qin's idea, Abedo is far away in the snowy mountains, Amber is always in the wild, and the other three teams all have their own missions. Of course, Kaeya, who seems to have the most free time at the moment, is the most suitable.

However, Kaiya has a new proposal.

“I suggest that Captain Yura take on this escort mission. She just returned to the city last night after finishing a monster-sweeping mission, and she happens to be free now.”

"You mean... Yura?"

Qin's face practically screamed, "Are you kidding me?"

If there's anyone in the Knights who absolutely cannot accept this mission, it's Yura.

Just three days ago, Yingmei came to her office to complain about Youla. Combined with what she heard from Kaiya today, Qin already knows that Han Fulai was also with Ying at that time—in other words, Youla probably offended even that Deputy Minister Han.

“In Liyue dialect, this is called ‘bearing thorns to plead guilty,’ which shows great sincerity.” Kaeya said with a grin. “Qin, didn’t you say that Yura violated the code of conduct for knights and that you would deduct her salary as punishment? This is a good way to make amends. Deputy Minister Han will have a capable bodyguard, and Yura won’t be punished. It’s a win-win situation.”

“That’s not the problem…” Qin couldn’t help but rub her forehead.

Yola was invited to join the Knights of Favonius by Jean, and whenever Yola was complained about or criticized, it was Jean who stepped in to appease her. As heirs to three of the greatest noble families, Jean believed she was probably the one who understood Yola's feelings the most.

The longer the history of an aristocracy, the greater the pressure on its successors.

Yura not only bore the pride and responsibility of her noble lineage, but also the sins of the Lawrence family in the past.

As a descendant of the old noble House of Lawrence, Yora carries the same blood as those who once imprisoned Mondstadt in darkness. The House of Lawrence symbolizes the ignorance and tyranny of old Mondstadt, representing the eternal pain in people's hearts.

Every time Yola appears, it's like tearing open an old wound. People despise the old nobility and naturally don't give her a warm welcome. Because of the name Lawrence, Yola has a terrible reputation among the people of Mondstadt.

She always considered herself a "sinner," and that's why.

For Jean, Yura was an outstanding knight who was no less than herself.

In her eyes, Yura was discerning, exceptionally talented, and possessed not only superb swordsmanship but also strategic acumen and courage. Yura's rise to the position of captain of the "guerrilla squad" was entirely due to her own hard-earned achievements. Even the Grand Commander, Falgar, had given Yura extremely high praise, calling her an outstanding warrior comparable to the "Dandelion Knight."

But Yura's awkward personality always gets her into all sorts of trouble.

The fact that a descendant of the Lawrence family had joined the knightly order that overthrew Lawrence's rule naturally caused a great deal of surprise and suspicion among the people.

Yura made no secret of her claim that she joined the Knights for "revenge," leading the public to once regard her as a "traitor" within the order. If anyone confronted Yura directly, her response was usually a defiant threat: "You've got some nerve. I'll remember this grudge."

Since Yura joined the Knights, she has completed almost as many missions as she has accumulated complaints.

If Yura could refrain from arguing with others, her reputation would surely improve considerably... But then again, if she could, she wouldn't be Yura.

From Yura's perspective, bringing her back to deal with the treasure-hunting group and ordinary monsters was already a waste of her talents. Sending her to be a guard? Yura would probably see this mission as an insult to her. It would be a miracle if she didn't challenge Qin to a duel on the spot.

Now Kaiya actually proposed sending Yura to be Han Fulai's bodyguard? Does he think Yura hasn't offended enough people already?

Kaiya still had a smile on his face: "I recently received intelligence that some members of the Lawrence family want to take advantage of the aftermath of the meteorite incident and have been frequently contacting the Fatui recently. And this time, when Deputy Minister Han goes to Dragon Ridge, he may also encounter the Fatui. I think this is also an opportunity for Captain Yura."

The so-called opportunity, of course, is the opportunity to prove that Yura is "not a traitor within the Knights".

While neither Jean nor Kaeya doubted Yura's integrity and loyalty as a knight, most people did not.

Kaeya's move was, in essence, to make Yura "sacrifice her own family for the greater good," demonstrating her stance as a Knight of Favonius.

If someone in the Lawrence family wants to cooperate with the Fools, then send the Lawrence family heir to sabotage the Fools' plans. This is tantamount to sowing discord between Lawrence and the Fools... This idea is indeed very much in Kaeya's style.

However... this will also cause problems for Yura's position as the heir to the Lawrence family...

Hesitation appeared on Qin's face.

As the acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Kaeya's plan was undoubtedly perfect from the perspective of protecting Mondstadt, but from Jean's personal point of view, she couldn't bring herself to ask Yura for the same thing.

This almost forced Yura to choose sides: either be the "Surf Knight" or be "Lawrence".

Yola already faces enough pressure, and Jean completely understands her feelings. She doesn't want to add to Yola's burden. Jean has long considered Yola a member of the Knights of Favonius, and even more so, a member of Mondstadt. Having chosen to be Mondstadt's "shield," Yola is someone Jean also wants to protect.

Kaiya, observing her expressions, naturally knew what Qin was thinking.

He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Commander Qin, leave this to me. I'll treat Captain Yura to a drink tonight, and I guarantee she'll take on this mission willingly."

Chapter Seventy-Three: Yura, Needs a Request

On the morning of June 8th, Yura entered the "Goethe Hotel".

To be honest, she was actually very reluctant to come to this place because it reminded her of her less-than-pleasant past.

When discussing business tycoons in Mondstadt, the first name that comes to mind is undoubtedly Lord Diluc of the Dawn Winery. As one of the three great noble families, the Legendhand family's position as the wealthiest family in Mondstadt is unshakeable. If there is any family that can rival the Legendhand family for the title of the wealthiest family in Mondstadt, it would be the Goethe family.

The Goethe family started out in the hotel business. During the era of aristocratic rule, the "Goethe Grand Hotel" was actually called the "Morning Breeze Hotel," and it was far from being as magnificent as it is now. At that time, the Goethe family was just an unknown small family.

However, through the continuous efforts of the Goethe family over the past thousand years, the Goethe family now not only owns Mondstadt's largest hotel, but also undertakes industries closely related to the lives of Mondstadt residents, such as furniture manufacturing and wedding celebrations. In the last century, the Goethe family has ventured into the real estate industry with remarkable success, owning a large number of properties and operating a thriving rental business.

The current head of the family, Ludwig Goethe, is ambitiously preparing to build an industrial empire called the "Goethe Group"—from hotels to residential properties, from "Home Inn" to "Lianjia," the "Goethe Group" encompasses everything.

Goethe was already preparing to travel to Mount Sumeru to explore the lucrative real estate market there, a veritable blue ocean of rainforests, and become a multinational real estate developer. If there were other planets in the universe, Goethe would absolutely not mind expanding the "Goethe Group" of businesses to outer space.