He changed Tiwat

Chapter Thirty-Five: Better Late Than Never, Three Cups of Self-Punishment

The night is dark.

Han Fulai sat on a rock, closing his eyes to rest. He couldn't leave before Ke Qing led his troops to Qingce Village, so he could only take a short rest now.

Behind him was the entrance to the cave where fireworks were stored, where several servants of the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild patrolled in shifts to ensure everything was in order.

Waiting is a very boring thing, especially when there is no phone to browse.

Even though Han Fulai wanted to clear his mind, the events of the day kept replaying in his thoughts.

As a former test-taker from a small town, Han Fulai developed a habit unique to test-takers. The high-EQ way to describe it is "post-exam summarization and review," while the low-EQ way is "always thinking about checking the answers after finishing the test."

He had now done everything he could to deal with the situation. If this fireworks theft were a test, Han Fulai had answered all the questions he could. So, he instinctively wanted to check his answers, but reality wasn't a test, and he didn't have a standard answer key at hand.

The answer he seeks lies with Peng Yi, and he can only find it by returning to Liyue Harbor, but unfortunately, he cannot go back now.

Although there was no standard answer at hand, it did not prevent Han Fulai from verifying the solution process in his mind.

Based on all the currently known clues and intelligence, Han Fulai sees the entire fireworks theft case unfolding as follows:

1. The mastermind behind the scenes instructed Peng Yi to plan this bombing that destroyed the dike and flooded the fields, and provided Peng Yi with more than 20 million Mora in funding.

2. Pengyi used the money to hire Xingxiu, the leader of a treasure-hunting gang with whom he had business dealings, and devised a plan to supply fireworks to the gang under the guise of theft.

3. Pengyi gave him a layout plan for building fireworks and asked him to lead a group of thieves to steal fireworks from various parts of Liyue. He also circled the dams to be destroyed on the layout plan.

4. Their theft plan began last night, and they decided to blow up the dam tomorrow, so the looting group needs to complete the collection of fireworks today. According to the original plan by Peng Yi and Xing Xiu, they could have completed the collection as scheduled. Even if Ke Qing returns to Liyue Harbor tonight, she won't receive news of the stolen fireworks until tomorrow, leaving insufficient time to investigate and stop the plan to destroy the dam and flood the fields.

5. However, due to Han Fulai changing Keqing's itinerary and Bai Zhu meeting Keqing while gathering herbs at Dihua Island, Pengyi realized that he would definitely encounter Keqing when escorting the second batch of fireworks to Qingce Village. He had no choice but to change his plans, suppress the second batch of fireworks, and report to Keqing in advance that the fireworks had been stolen.

6. Han Fulai noticed the flaws in Peng Yi's words and actions, and during the investigation in Qingce Village, he confirmed that the fireworks theft was Peng Yi's own doing, and that there was a bigger scheme behind it. Based on the industries and terrain of Qingce Village, as well as the flammable and explosive nature of fireworks, Han Fulai connected the possibility of breaching the dikes and flooding the fields.

7. Kang Sheng and other members of the treasure-stealing gang were sent by Xing Xiu to ambush the farmland near Qingce Village, intending to use a roadside robbery as cover to receive the second batch of fireworks that Peng Yi was supposed to escort to Qingce Village that day. However, because Peng Yi changed his plans at the last minute, and the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce happened to be in Qingce Village to deliver supplies, Kang Sheng was captured by Xing Qiu.

8. Based on the traces left by the escaped treasure hunters, Keqing and Han Fulai tracked them down to Xingxiu's fireworks storage site. Han Fulai clarified all the doubts from the conversation between Xingxiu and Xiuyong, and quickly arranged for Keqing to return to Liyue Harbor to implement three countermeasures. At the same time, with the help of Xiao, they captured Xingxiu, the leader of the treasure hunters, and stopped Pengyi and Xingxiu's plan.

As for Han Fulai's answer to this test question, which is the three things he arranged for Keqing to do, the explanation is not complicated:

Countermeasure 1: Arrest Peng Yi, the key figure in this case. Peng Yi, the fireworks master, and Xing Xiu, the leader of the treasure-stealing gang, are the executors responsible for carrying out the plan to destroy the dikes and flood the fields. By taking control of these executors, the plan will naturally be stopped. If the mastermind behind the scenes wants to continue the plan, he will have to send new executors.

Countermeasure Two: Have Keqing return to Liyue Harbor and remind Ningguang to strengthen the defenses of the "Sky Lanterns". This is partly because Han Fulai knows that the "Sky Lanterns" also contain flammable and explosive materials, and if the mastermind wants to create an explosion, the "Sky Lanterns" are a possible target; on the other hand, it is also a subtle reminder to Ningguang through Keqing's words that someone is planning to use fireworks to create an explosion.

When Ningguang spoke with Han Fulai in front of the Moonlit Pavilion, she specifically warned him to be careful of fireworks explosions. Clearly, Ningguang had contingency plans in place for such incidents during the Lantern Festival. As long as Ningguang is prepared, her opponent will always be somewhat hampered. Furthermore, Ningguang possesses Liyue's largest intelligence network and is very likely to uncover clues about the mastermind behind it all.

Countermeasure Three: Have Keqing mobilize the Qianyan Army's mobile squad to guard the river embankment at Qingce Village. This is as a precaution; if the mastermind behind the scenes has other backup plans or has dispatched other personnel to carry out the tasks that Pengyi and Xingxiu failed to complete, this preparation can completely ensure the safety of the river embankment.

Han Fulai's three countermeasures also served another important purpose: to help Ke Qing salvage the situation and salvage the fireworks display.

The fireworks display was proposed and organized by Ke Qing, who was also in charge. What should have been a joyous occasion for the people turned into a dangerous "explosive event" due to the presence of the traitor Peng Yi, who was also exploited by others, and nearly caused serious consequences such as the collapse of dikes and flooding of fields.

Depending on the circumstances, if the fireworks festival causes a major flood disaster, severely impacting Liyue's agriculture, it could easily lead to unrest, political instability, and even internal strife.

Furthermore, Liyue is currently in a period where the Geo Archon has just retired, becoming the only atheistic nation among the seven kingdoms of Teyvat. Under such circumstances, the overall policy of the Liyue Seven Stars government must and inevitably be—stability above all else!

Without this fireworks display, the dangerous situation of placing explosives like fireworks throughout Liyue wouldn't have arisen. Tomoyuki wouldn't have had the opportunity to manufacture large quantities of explosives, nor would he have gained the authority to set up fireworks displays across Liyue, creating such a significant threat. And the person directly responsible for these security breaches is Keqing.

Keqing, as one of the seven stars of Liyue, is the star of Yuheng. Her insistence on hosting a fireworks display has ironically become the culprit disrupting Liyue's stability. If a severe flood were to occur at this critical juncture, it could even cause political instability and unrest in Liyue. This would directly impact the prestige of the seven-star government and threaten Liyue's safety, giving already hostile enemies an opportunity to exploit the situation.

Han Fulai's earlier statement to Keqing, "If you're even a step too late, it will be war," wasn't entirely an exaggeration. If Liyue were to descend into internal strife, either ambitious figures within the country or external enemies could potentially ignite a war.

Ke Qing, the person in charge of the fireworks display, is naturally to blame for this situation.

Of course, the above are all based on the worst-case scenario.

Han Fulai had already averted the worst outcome through these three countermeasures. Once Ke Qing returned to Qingce Village with the Thousand Rock Army, Han Fulai prepared to explain the next steps to Ke Qing.

The first step is to have Keqing personally interrogate Pengyi. If they can find out who the mastermind is and arrest them, then capture the mastermind and change the nature of the incident to "Lord Yuheng successfully thwarted the conspirators," turning Keqing's mistake into Keqing's achievement.

If the mastermind cannot be found or is difficult to catch, then treat this as an ordinary fireworks theft case. In that case, the nature of the matter would become "Peng Yi embezzled and conspired with the thief gang to resell fireworks," and then the matter would be downplayed and dismissed, with "Lord Keqing being negligent and punishing himself with three cups of wine as a sign of repentance."

And next, of course, is to continue holding fireworks displays. After all, we've made so many fireworks, might as well set them off. As long as we can make sure the fireworks go up in the sky and not down on the ground, that's fine.

The fact that the fireworks display was held so successfully and joyously while ensuring safety is undoubtedly a testament to Lord Yuheng's excellent leadership. Just as the Lantern Festival was a successful and victorious one, all crises vanished without a trace, leaving only a facade of peace and joy.

As the saying goes, "It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost," Han Fulai believed that his arrangements were flawless—but a sense of unease still lingered in his heart.

Chapter Thirty-Six Everything Has a Reason

Han Fulai knew very well where his unease came from.

Because there are still a few mysteries he hasn't solved yet. In Han Fulai's words, this is called "skipping steps in solving a problem, which may result in a deduction of points for the process."

For a test-taker, this is quite common. After all, one of their problem-solving techniques is called the "substitution of special values."

For example, in a math exam, when you get to the final, most challenging question, you might only have five minutes left, which is simply not enough time to finish. However, as a seasoned problem solver who has reviewed countless questions, Han Fulai can apply values ​​that have appeared in similar question types, calculate according to the question's requirements, and with a bit of luck, he might stumble upon the answer.

After finding the answer, Han Fulai would write down the initial calculation steps, then omit the middle steps and say "easily obtained," and finally fill in the answer at the end. Of course, in this case, some points would be deducted for the steps, but deducting some points is better than getting no points at all.

Anyway, if the answer is correct, you'll get points.

From the moment Han Fulai and Ke Qing met Peng Yi at the Wangshu Inn in Dihuazhou, to their journey to Qingcezhuang to investigate the theft scene, and then to finding Xingxiu, the leader of the treasure-stealing gang, all of this happened in just over two hours, with more than an hour of that time spent traveling.

Discovering the suspicious points about Peng Yi, finding clues to deduce the truth, devising countermeasures and putting them into practice, thwarting the plot to destroy the dikes and flood the fields—Han Fulai did all this in less than an hour!

Judging from the confession given by Xing Xiu afterward, Han Fulai's response was not only correct but also timely. Even someone as efficiency-conscious as Ke Qing had to admit that Han Fulai was more efficient than her.

The mysteries that Han Fulai has not yet figured out do not prevent him from providing the correct answers.

The mystery boils down to two points.

The first mystery: Who is the mastermind behind this?

The second mystery: Why did Peng Yi get involved in this plan?

Everything has a cause. There is a reason for every effect, and a motive for every action.

Han Fulai is currently unaware of the other party's motives for these actions.

When Han Fulai was in China, he watched "Legal Report" quite often while eating. The typical police investigation process involves discovering a crime, conducting on-site investigation, narrowing down the suspect pool based on the criminal motive, and then combining this with evidence to identify the suspect.

Han Fulai is currently completely unaware of Peng Yi's motives. However, Peng Yi has revealed too many flaws, and all the evidence points to him, so it's not necessary to know his motives to identify him as a suspect.

Han Fulai tried to extract answers to these two mysteries through torture, but unfortunately, Xingxiu didn't know either. However, even if the mysteries haven't been solved yet, it's only temporary. As long as Keqing captures Pengyi, everything will be revealed.

Logically speaking, Han Fulai shouldn't have to worry about such a trivial matter. After all, he wasn't a soldier of the Qianyan Army, so he didn't have to follow any case-handling procedures or worry about writing case closure reports. He was just a secretary, and a model secretary at that, working overtime to help his superior guard Qingce Manor.

But Han Fulai remained troubled by these two mysteries, like knowing the answer to a problem but not having time to write out the solution. It's always a bit of a regret to have the ability to get a perfect score but not achieve it.

"Sigh, if only we had more time to investigate," Han Fulai sighed softly.

Given more time, he was confident he could uncover the other man's motives. He had already noticed so many flaws in his brief meeting with Pengyi; given more time to investigate Pengyi, he was sure he could find even more clues from him…

"Wait!" Han Fulai suddenly slapped his thigh and stood up.

Time...it's time!

Han Fulai finally found the key to understanding that he had been struggling with all along.

His unease about the fireworks theft stemmed not only from the unsolved mysteries, but also from the sense of unease he felt about the case—the time was too rushed!

The fireworks in Qingce Village were stolen last night, and Xingxiu and Pengyi's plan was to use them to blow up the riverbank tomorrow. In addition, they also needed to transport fireworks from various places in Liyue, such as Qiaoying Village, to Qingce Mountain. All things considered, they only had less than two days to steal the fireworks. And once they had collected the fireworks, they were to immediately blow up the riverbank.

Why the rush? Of course, it's because news of the stolen fireworks will reach Keqing's ears within two days.

Because Keqing's trip to visit the immortals and her return to Liyue Harbor will only take two days at most!

This plan was entirely based on the timing of Keqing's visit to the Celestials! If Keqing doesn't leave Liyue Harbor, Ponyo will remain under her jurisdiction, and this plan simply won't work.

Han Fulai quickly took out the scroll he had found from Xingxiu from his satchel, and by the light of the lanterns that the Feiyun Merchant Guild servants had hung at the entrance of the cave, he carefully compared it with the scroll he remembered seeing on Keqing's carriage—he wasn't comparing the handwriting, but the locations of the fireworks setups.

Exactly the same! The location of the fireworks display is exactly the same as the one Keqing showed him!

When Han Fulai first found the scroll on Xingxiu, he simply thought that since both locations were set up by Pengyi, it would be normal for them to be the same. This only proved that Pengyi had indeed provided the scroll to Xingxiu.

But then he remembered something: this fireworks display plan was the latest version! There was a previous version too! The plan from two days ago was different from the current one!

This planning map was made by Peng Yi in front of Ke Qing when he was seconded to another post two days ago!

He still remembered the time when he met Keqing at Qingce Manor, and how Keqing scolded Pengyi—

“Pengyi, didn’t I tell you? We need to add a few more locations for setting up the fireworks. We need to have a broader perspective, not just limit ourselves to the city. Do you think the people of Qingce Village don’t celebrate the Lantern Festival?”

After that, Keqing said this—

"Then let's hurry. I still need to inspect the fireworks setup with Deputy Minister Han. I hope that when I return to Liyue Harbor, I will see your plan in the General Affairs Department."

This plan was the latest version that Pengyi rushed to finish two days ago, the night that Keqing and I went to "Xiaoshi" to see the lanterns!

In other words, Pengyi's plan, from stealing fireworks to destroying dikes and flooding fields, all started that night!

That night, after saying goodbye to Keqing, Keqing went to prepare gifts for the immortals the next day. Then she stayed up all night in Yuehaiting's office processing documents. When Pengyi finished the planning drawings that night and handed them to Keqing, he would naturally see Keqing preparing gifts for the immortals.

He only began contacting Xingxiu and providing this planning map after learning of Keqing's plan to visit immortals.

In just two days, while Keqing was away visiting immortals, Pengyi had to prepare the funds and then find a group of desperate thieves to carry out the plan. They would use the theft of fireworks as a pretext to blow up the river embankment of Qingce Village within two days... This plan was not only rushed, it was downright reckless.

This is just like a kid who hears that their parents are going on a two-day trip and rushes to an internet cafe to stay up all night – Pengyi's plan is probably this level of party planning.

That's why Pengyi's plan had so many flaws—because he didn't have time to prepare beforehand!

Everyone knows that Keqing disrespects immortals and gods. Keqing's responsibility for delivering gifts to the immortals during this year's Lantern Festival was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and no one could have predicted it. Of course, Pengyi couldn't have specifically prepared for the opportunity to seize upon Keqing's visit to the immortals.

This plan was a spur-of-the-moment decision, made on the spur of the moment when Keqing was away visiting immortals for two days!

What motive did Peng Yi have to suddenly decide to blow up the riverbank? He had no motive whatsoever.

His behavior beforehand was just like that of countless miserable civil servants under Keqing, working 996 every day, with no time to think about blowing up the river embankment. Even if he wanted to take revenge on society, he should have blown up Keqing's office, not the innocent Qingce Village.

Similarly, the mastermind behind the scenes did not actually have the motive to blow up the river embankment on a whim.

Whoever he is, if he really wanted to destroy the dikes and flood the fields, he shouldn't have come up with such a ridiculous and forced plan—this plan would be ruined by Keqing's last-minute change of itinerary, by the Feiyun Merchant Guild who went to Qingce Village to offer help, and by the petty thieves from the treasure-hunting gang who left footprints at the scene of the theft...

No shrewd schemer would have even the slightest expectation of this plan to destroy the dikes and flood the fields.

This is why Han Fulai saw so many flaws in this plan that he needed to take notes—it was never a plan that was actually intended to be implemented! Destroying the dikes and flooding the fields was not the mastermind's goal!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: An Unsolvable Situation

If the mastermind's goal wasn't to destroy the dikes and flood the fields, then what could it be? Han Fulai asked himself.

He didn't know the answer.

Because of a lack of information, he had no information whatsoever about his opponent. The mastermind behind the scenes was still shrouded in the thick fog of war, and Han Fulai knew nothing about them. Only by understanding the opponent could he determine their objectives.

As Sun Tzu's Art of War states, "If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will win one and lose one."

In layman's terms, it means that if you understand your own side but not the enemy, victory or defeat is up to fate.

But this evenly matched outcome is based on the premise that the opponent is also "unaware" of the other side.

So how much does the enemy know about their own side?

Now the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the open. Based on the principle of being overly cautious in our assessment of the enemy, let's assume that the enemy has a considerable understanding of us—what if even our existence and our responses are within their calculations? What if he and Keqing are already caught in a trap set by the mastermind behind the scenes?

As for the mysterious mastermind, under the current circumstances, the mastermind has already secured victory.

He has only just seen through the mastermind's pretense of destroying the dike and flooding the fields, which means that his reaction is probably much slower than the other party's.

Even so, Han Fulai could not give up thinking.

Han Fulai gritted his teeth. He forced himself to calm down, sat back down on the rock, rested his chin on his hand, and once again assumed the "Thinker" pose.

He must return to the starting point and rethink the entire incident, taking into account that the destruction of the dikes and flooding of the fields were not the mastermind's goal.

In fact, when he pointed out the flaws in the lie about building the bridge to Keqing and asked her to return to Liyue Harbor to mobilize troops, he realized that the whole incident might be a scheme orchestrated by the mastermind behind it all.

However, Han Fulai's logical sequence at the time was to start with the result of "dam destruction and flooding of fields" and work backward from this result to conclude that Ke Qing was framed and harmed.

Keqing is the overall person in charge of the fireworks festival. If the dike is breached and the fields flooded, and it was caused by Pengyi, one of Keqing's subordinates, colluding with a group of thieves to blow up the dike with fireworks, then Keqing will have to take responsibility. Whether considering Keqing's own character or the political impact, she will not be able to keep her position on Yuheng Star.

Because of Keqing's serious and persistent personality, her status as a representative of the reformist faction, and her tendency to imitate the style of the Rock King, she has made many enemies at work and has no one around her who can be considered "one of her own".

Even Ningguang, a fellow Seven Stars colleague, or Ganyu, the executive secretary, had to show concern for Keqing subtly, without hurting her pride. Moreover, Keqing herself was a workaholic who didn't need anyone's care or help—of course, she had always been able to get things done, so Keqing never thought of changing this style of doing things.

It was under these circumstances that Han Fulai was seconded to serve as Keqing's temporary personal secretary, and was also tasked by Ningguang with assisting Keqing in organizing the fireworks festival—Han Fulai was even slightly jealous of Keqing's status as the group's darling because of this.

To some extent, Han Fulai felt that he was now Keqing's only "one of his own," the only guardian knight by Princess Keqing's side—he was even a little smug.

Therefore, he quickly adapted to his role as Keqing's personal secretary, proactively considering things from Keqing's perspective. His current actions are all based on Keqing's point of view, aiming to help her resolve this political crisis.

But now, everything is different.

Han Fulai realized his blind spot—he was too immersed in the role! For the past two days, he had been acting as Han Fulai, the personal secretary of Ke Qing from Yuheng Star, instead of Han Fulai, the transmigrator from China! He had limited his thinking to Ke Qing and lost the overall perspective!

Once Han Fulai shifted his focus away from the narrow-minded notion that "someone wanted to sabotage the fireworks display and frame Ke Qing," he suddenly felt a sense of clarity.

What if this plan started even earlier? Even earlier than when Han Fulai was transferred to Ke Qing's side, and even earlier than when Ke Qing decided to hold the fireworks display!