He changed Tiwat

Under the watchful eyes of the four Seven Stars, that top-secret confession slowly turned to ashes.

Gan Yu left four words in the meeting minutes that evening.

Nothing to do today.

Chapter 104 is about Gan Yu.

The layoffs and restructuring at Yuehaiting went smoothly. However, due to the wide-ranging and significant nature of the leak, Gan Yu handled the matter through an "internal investigation."

As is customary for internal investigations, after the investigation, only the investigation results and corresponding solutions need to be issued, and no details need to be disclosed to the public. In other words, the Liyue Daily will only state that "Moonsea has dealt with XX people involved in the case, and the XX Executive Deputy Secretary-General has announced his resignation."

Mao Cai Gong and his son took on almost all the blame and responsibility for this leak.

This is a result that Liyue is very satisfied with in all aspects.

For the Liyue Septim, this safeguards their prestige; for the Moonlit Pavilion, it achieves its established reform goals; and for those responsible for the leak, it at least preserves their dignity.

Almost all the employees who were dismissed by Gan Yu for leaking secrets in this incident had no complaints. On the one hand, they knew that complaining was useless, as it was all a done deal, and it was already a good result that they were not pursued to the Dali Hall for trial. On the other hand, even if they lost their status as civil servants of Yuehaiting, they would simply go back to inherit their family businesses, and there was no serious loss.

Except for one person.

This person is now sitting in Gan Yu's office, appealing, or rather, pleading, to Gan Yu, the executive secretary of Yue Haiting.

Han Fulai recognized the man. His name was Zhao Hande, and he was thirty years old. He was the top scorer in the Liyue Civil Service Examination three years ago and worked as a secretary assistant at Yuehaiting, doing clerical work.

Han Fulai still remembers that when he first entered Yuehaiting, Zhao Hande was the one who shook hands with him particularly firmly.

Sitting in front of him and Gan Yu, Zhao Dehan looked dejected and full of sorrow. Although he was only in his early thirties, he looked like he was already over forty.

In this incident, Zhao Hande took the opportunity of helping his front desk colleague hand over confidential documents to secretly open and read them. Afterwards, he took the initiative to contact the young master of the Sheng family, who often visited the Yuehaiting office, and offered him the confidential information.

However, he did not expect that the young master's information source was not only him. The young master was only willing to pay three million Mora to buy his information. The two parted on bad terms at Liuli Pavilion, but their conversation was still discovered by Ningguang's intelligence personnel.

When the Dali Hall sent people to interrogate Zhao Hande, he immediately confessed without hesitation, and even provided the name of another secretary of Yue Haiting who had contact with the young master of Shengda. Because of his good attitude in admitting his guilt and his meritorious service, the Dali Hall said that he could be exempted from punishment.

However, this only exempts them from criminal punishment; they cannot escape administrative penalties.

Zhao Hande came to see Gan Yu this time hoping that Gan Yu could make an exception and continue to keep him in his position at Yuehaiting.

Despite Zhao Hande's desperate pleas, Gan Yu remained unmoved.

Han Fulai understood that even if Gan Yu wanted to let him go, this time it simply wouldn't work. Yuehaiting's restructuring and layoffs had the perfect excuse of a leak, but it also meant that the matter had to be handled flawlessly, leaving the aristocratic families who suffered losses with no reason to criticize it. There was no reason to let Zhao Hande off the hook.

Moreover, the mistake Zhao Hande made was not one that could be easily forgiven.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Hande knelt down in front of Gan Yu with a thud.

"Lord Gan Yu, please forgive me this time, just this once! Whether it's reducing my seniority or cutting my salary, I only beg you not to expel me from Yuehai Pavilion." With that, Zhao Hande touched the ground with his head.

Han Fulai felt a little sorry for Zhao Hande and stole a glance at Gan Yu's expression. Gan Yu also glanced at him. Han Fulai took two steps forward and helped Zhao Hande up.

“…Deputy Minister Han.” A complex emotion flashed across Zhao Hande’s eyes. He did not get up, but turned around and knelt down in front of Han Fulai.

“Vice Minister Han, you know that I have always worked diligently since I joined the company. This time I really just made a mistake. Please, Vice Minister Han, help me plead with Lord Gan Yu. I will kowtow to you.” Zhao Hande said, bowing his head, but Han Fulai quickly stopped him.

“Mr. Zhao, why are you doing this?” Han Fulai said helplessly. Zhao Hande was much older than him and had entered Yuehaiting before him. If there were no distinction in rank, he should have called him senior. Now, Zhao was calling him “little brother” and almost kowtowed to him. Han Fulai felt uncomfortable.

In fact, he was the one who orchestrated this major leak. If it weren't for him, Zhao Hande might not have ended up in such a predicament.

“Lord Gan Yu, Deputy Minister Han. I have elderly parents to support in Qingce Village, and my house in Liyue Harbor still has a mortgage of over thirty years. If I lose my job and have a criminal record, I will have nowhere to stand in Liyue Harbor!”

Han Fulai glanced at Gan Yu again, and seeing that Gan Yu was expressionless and seemed not to be going to answer, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and pull Zhao Handa up.

"Mr. Zhao, this matter... there's really nothing we can do. With your talent, as long as you don't make the same mistakes again, you might still be able to find success back in your hometown..."

“Hey, back to Qingce Manor?” Zhao Hande gave a bitter smile. “I studied hard for more than ten years, first entering Tongwen Academy and then Yuehaiting, all for the sake of leaving Qingce Manor forever.”

"Why is that?" Han Fulai asked, puzzled.

He and Xingqiu had been to Qingce Village. Although it couldn't compare to the bustling Liyue Harbor, it was a place with simple and honest people and picturesque scenery. If it were in China, it would definitely be a great place for agritourism. Besides, Zhao Hande was from Qingce Village; didn't he miss his hometown?

"Heh, I know you're from Fontainebleau, Vice Minister Han, and you've never been to Qingce Village." Zhao Hande looked at Han Fulai with an expression that was hard to tell whether to laugh or cry.

Han Fulai didn't want to refute him now, so he remained silent.

Zhao Hande continued, "If you've ever been to Qingce Village, you'll know it's a village that's slowly dying out. You can hardly find a single young person there anymore."

Han Fulai recalled his trip to Qingce Village with Xingqiu and realized that Qingce Village was indeed mostly inhabited by the elderly and children.

"There was also a small school in Qingcezhuang village, taught by the old Mr. Chang... Oh, Mr. Chang passed away several years ago."

"The villagers sent their children to the village school only so that the children could learn to read and do accounting; they never expected the children to have any future. But I seemed to have some talent for studying. Back then, Master Chang specially taught me a lot of knowledge about taking the exams and told me to take the exams for the Liyue Harbor Academy in the future."

Zhao Hande shook his head self-deprecatingly, "I didn't take it to heart at the time. I only thought that I would help my family farm or go to the Black Rock Factory to mine with my fellow villagers. So after studying for a few years, I gave up my studies and followed my parents to farm."

“Until I was eighteen, I was helping my parents plant rice in the fields. Two young people dressed in silk came up the ridge, about my age,” Zhao Hande recalled. “They were young masters and ladies from wealthy families in Liyue Harbor, accompanied by a group of servants, as if they were on an outing to Qingce Village.”

"The young lady asked her male companion, 'What are the green seedlings we planted in the field?' The young man pointed to the green seedlings in the field and said, 'Those are chives.'"

When I heard that, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Then the young master asked me what I was laughing at, and I said that it wasn't chives, it was rice."

"The young master lost face and became furious. He ordered his servants to grab me and beat me, forcing me to say that it was chives. At that time, I thought that rice is rice, and I would rather die than admit it."

“My parents rushed over and kept pleading with that young man. They even forced me to kneel down and admit that it was leeks and that I was talking nonsense.”

"The young master laughed triumphantly and told the young lady that these farmers don't read books and can't even tell what they're planting when they're farming. Then he pointed at me and said that I was just a leek, only fit to be harvested by others in the field for the rest of my life."

"At that time, I realized that if I didn't study and didn't leave Qingce Village, I would probably rot in the field forever, like a leek."

"I swear I will live like a human being, not a leek to be exploited."

Zhao Hande slowly stood up and patted his robe.

"So I returned to the village school and studied diligently under Master Chang for several years. Master Chang was very kind to me and was even willing to provide me with books from his collection for my studies. Later, I took his advice and came to Liyue Harbor to take the entrance exam for the most famous Tongwen Academy. I took the exam for two consecutive years and finally got my wish and entered Tongwen Academy to study law."

"Most of my classmates at the academy are younger than me, and almost all of them are locals from Liyue Harbor, mostly children of merchants and officials. I, a farmer from Qingce Village, am completely out of place among them."

When the word "young" was mentioned, Zhao Hande's gaze lingered on Han Fulai's face for a moment.

"Furthermore, I discovered that there are quite a few international students in the Tongwen Academy. For example, students from Inazuma, Mondstadt, Fontaine... The Tongwen Academy, which I had to study hard for years to get into, they only needed to attend a school similar to a village school and then a few months of Liyue language classes to be admitted directly."

"It turns out that simply having gone to school doesn't change anything."

“After graduating from Tongwen Academy, I tried to become a legal consultant. But I soon discovered that I had no reputation, no connections, and absolutely no cases. I simply couldn’t make it in the legal consultant field.”

"So I took the Liyue Civil Service Exam, and perhaps it was the culmination of my hard work that I got accepted into Moonsea Pavilion."

"...Then you should cherish this opportunity. Why do something that will ruin your future?" Han Fulai couldn't help but say.

As a fellow student from a small town who excelled at exams, Han Fulai felt he could understand Zhao Hande's experience, but he couldn't understand why Zhao would do something like exchanging classified information for money. If it were Han Fulai, he would definitely be thinking about keeping his secure job.

"Future prospects...?" Zhao Hande's lips curved into a smile. "After I joined Yuehaiting, I met several of my fellow secretaries. That's when I realized that some people could enter Yuehaiting without passing the unified exam, and they were promoted much faster than me. I think Vice Minister Han knows this."

Han Fulai's lips twitched. If we're talking about the person who got promoted the fastest, who else could it be but him?

“Last year, a colleague of mine, the nephew of Bai, the editor-in-chief of the Liyue Daily, was promoted to assistant deputy secretary-general. Several of us colleagues accompanied him to the Liyue night market for drinks to celebrate.”

"Everyone was drunk at the time... except me. My colleague who got promoted suddenly grabbed my shoulder and asked if I also wanted a promotion. I said yes. He laughed and said it was impossible."

"I said I studied hard for more than ten years, entered Tongwen Academy, ranked first in the unified examination, and worked hard. Why can't I be promoted?"

He smiled and asked me in return, 'You've studied hard for ten years, what makes you think you can surpass the efforts of several generations of my family?'

"That's when I realized that every seat had been arranged by the adults."

Han Fulai remained silent, and Gan Yu also kept quiet. Zhao Hande seemed to have no intention of listening to their reply and continued talking to himself.

"I finally understand that even if I reach the Jade Capital Platform and become a civil servant in the Moon Sea Pavilion, I still haven't lived a life worthy of being called a human being."

"So I decided to seize every opportunity to accumulate something for myself. I don't have the efforts of several generations, so I can only start working hard from my generation."

“But you’ve been working in the wrong direction,” Gan Yu’s cold voice rang out. “No matter what your reasons are, you have seriously violated the ‘Yuehaiting Civil Servant Employment Agreement’ and the ‘Yuehaiting Secretary Official Confidentiality Regulations’.”

"What about the others? Their violations were clearly more serious than mine, yet they only received the same punishment as me! They lost their civil service positions but simply went back to inherit their family businesses, while I lost everything I had worked for over a decade! Is that fair?!"

Knowing that the matter was settled, Zhao Hande finally stopped suppressing his emotions and raised his voice.

“Liyue is a kingdom of contracts. Violating a contract will result in corresponding punishment. It’s fair.” Gan Yu’s voice was completely flat.

"Ha, a contract? Fairness?" Zhao Hande grinned as if he had heard something ridiculous, but his smile was more like a grimace.

“Lord Gan Yu, I have always respected you. Because you truly became the Seven Stars Secretary for the sake of the contract with the Emperor, and worked for the people of Liyue. But what about those people? Those scions of noble families have never seen a contract. They become civil servants only to seek benefits for themselves and their families, and only to stand in a higher position and look down on people like me.”

"If the contract is valid, according to the employment agreement, Yuehaiting civil servants should be promoted based on their years of service and performance. But what about me? Why am I not being promoted? What about my colleagues at Yuehaiting who, like me, entered the company without any connections and only through exams?"

"If there is fairness, why should we be destined to be secretaries and assistants for life? Why should we have to buy an unaffordable house and pay off a mortgage for decades just to establish ourselves in Liyue Harbor?"

Gan Yu didn't speak, but picked up a document from the table.

Han Fulai took the document and handed it to Zhao Hande.

“You had a chance. If you hadn’t opened the classified documents.”

That was the draft proposal for the reorganization of Yuehaiting, which Gan Yu had prepared a few days ago.

Zhao Hande's name was on the list of promotions and appointments in the draft. Gan Yu wanted to give him the position of deputy secretary-general.

Looking at the draft, Zhao Hande finally broke down in tears.

After watching Zhao Hande leave the office, Han Fulai closed the office door.

Gan Yu had gotten up from her desk and was standing by the window at some point.

Han Fulai knew that when Gan Yu worked at night, she always liked to look at the myriad lights below Yujingtai. That was Liyue Harbor, which she had protected for three thousand years.

Then he heard Gan Yu's voice.

"Mr. Han."

"exist."

"Are you willing to help me change Liyue?"

Gan Yu had her back to him and couldn't see his movements.

But Han Fulai still bowed to Gan Yu's retreating figure.

"Yes, Gan Yu."

Summary at the end of Volume One

The first volume, "Yes, Sweet Rain," has ended, and with over 26 words to date, it covers most of the content to be discussed in this volume.

I've maintained perfect attendance since the series began, averaging at least 5,000 words a day. Calling me diligent is no exaggeration.

The summary is divided into three parts:

I. Plot Summary: Three grand schemes starting from Liyue.

II. Characters and Plot Clues

III. Random Thoughts on Creation

On one hand, I wrote this to help myself organize the information, and on the other hand, it can also answer some readers' questions.

Since there's a charge for anything over 1 words, I'll post this summary now and revise it gradually. (Of course, I still need to finish today's update first.)

I. Plot Summary: Three Grand Chess Games Beginning in Liyue

The entire first volume is divided into five parts and three major chapters.

Part 1: Han travels to Liyue, forms a contract with Gan Yu, and reveals his unknowingly acquired passive ability to Zhong Li, thus becoming involved in the historical events of Teyvat. This part contains foreshadowing for various subsequent plot points; for example, the foreshadowing in Chapter 7 is resolved in Chapter 86. These will naturally be revealed when the plot unfolds appropriately, so we won't go into detail here.

Part Two: The Chronicles of Smoke and Crimson. Chapters 22 to 30 mark the beginning of the covert war between Winter and Liyue. The information about the Fatui's planned uprising in the Golden House was obtained by Yelan through the trail of Winter's spy, Klosso. (I think the dice-shaped symbol should be quite a clear hint.)

Part Three: The Grand Ceremony of Summoning Immortals. Chapters 45 to 77: Zhongli fakes his death and retires. The entire process involves a power struggle among five parties: Zhongli, Ganyu, Ningguang, Xiao Han, and the Kingdom of Zhidong.

Director Zhong Li oversees the entire project and controls everything. (See the chapters titled "It's All a Show")

Producer Gan Yu, seizing the opportunity, had already prepared for "the day the Emperor is gone," as we detailed in Chapter 86. (Sir Gan Nuode, due to her high level of expertise, you might not even realize her involvement, but we've discovered that she has achieved all her goals.)

Assistant Director Ningguang aimed high and achieved only a moderate result. During the Immortal Invocation Ceremony, Ningguang used a calculated move, leveraging the Emperor's death to complete her own schemes. While her understanding of the Emperor wasn't as deep as Gan Yu's, she had done her best to respond. Although she failed to usher in a fully-fledged era of rule by man, she preserved the foundations of rule by man and the deterrent power of the Jade Pavilion, accumulating substantial political capital. Simultaneously, this event reversed her disadvantage in the economic war against Zhidong, securing a legal basis for suppressing Zhidong capital and gaining the upper hand in establishing a new monetary system.

Han, playing the lead role, skillfully maneuvered between the Celestials and the Seven Stars, leveraging the Emperor's influence. Her masterful "offering of the head" maneuver ultimately resulted in Prince Dartalia spending the most money and taking the biggest blame. In this incident, Han officially entered the fray after being mentored by Ningguang, gaining initial insight into the Seven Stars' governing philosophy and achieving a delicate balance between humans and Celestials in Liyue, while simultaneously clinging to the Emperor's coattails. —The Emperor's response: "Even after clinging to me, you still have to go back to work overtime with Ganyu, serving the people of Liyue. This old man is watching you closely."

The Fools of Winterfell, playing a crucial supporting role, contributed both money and effort, ultimately receiving Zhongli's Divine Heart as payment for taking the blame. Tartaglia, betrayed by a combined attack from Liyue and Winterfell, returned to Winterfell only to be demoted to a toy salesman (not really). His replacement, the "rich" Lord Pantarone, became his new diplomat. The economic war between Winterfell and Liyue officially began.

Part Four: The Beginning of the Guhua Sect Side Story. The Guhua Sect side story is a crucial clue for Xiao Han's acquisition of power; both intelligence and strength are indispensable. This marks the beginning of Xiao Han's evolution from a complete weakling. Now, with the help of the Guhua Sect's "minor techniques" (street performance tricks) and Chen Haihuang's mental cultivation method, he can fight ordinary martial artists with sufficient preparation, and his combat power is now enough to even defeat a wild boar. (Don't underestimate wild boars; they can kill people by charging at them, and being killed by a wild boar even grants an achievement!)

Part Five: The Xingqiu Tales Quest. In the Xingqiu Tales Quest, the deep-seated problems within Liyue are exposed. People like the Maocai father and son are numerous in Liyue's upper echelons, utterly devoid of conscience and unscrupulous in their evil deeds, while Liyue's laws and contracts fail to protect its people. Xiao Han orchestrates the entire operation, and with the cooperation of Gan Yu and Ning Guang, once again "sacrifices himself," bringing about the reform of the Moonlit Pavilion. Simultaneously, he gains the support of the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild and begins to cultivate his own Guhua faction.

In the game, the second young lady, Xingqiu, transforms from a bookish, weak, wealthy young master into a powerful swordsman. Her evolution from a weakling to a six-star water god also takes place within the Ancient Hua Sect. Clearly, the second young lady is a crucial clue and support for Xiao Han's growth. These developments begin to unfold in the second volume.

Next, we'll discuss the three grand schemes hidden within the overall plot of the first volume.

The first game: an economic war between Liyue and Winter.