Chapter 104: Just do good things, don't worry about the future (5k for the big chapter, 12k per day, monthly votes requested)
The ceremony of inviting the immortals to the temple is over.

But the subsequent storm has just begun.

Yu Hengxing broke the rules several times during the ceremony, and finally asked a shocking question:
This caused countless devout followers of the Emperor to begin to denounce her frantically.

They tried to defeat Yuhengxing, as if that would make the shocking question disappear.

Different from the reaction of these believers, the Seven Stars, who were supposed to be loyal to the Emperor, kept silent about the matter.

It was obvious that the Seven Stars were not completely clueless about Keqing's questioning of the Emperor this time.

Liyue, slum area, orphanage.

"So, you can't go out now?"

Wang Hao poured a cup of tea for Keqing with a smile, with a hint of teasing in his tone.

Keqing said calmly, "Ningguang said that it would be best to let public opinion die down before I can resume my work."

"That's right. You are in the spotlight now. It's better not to go out and provoke everyone." Wang Hao also thought it made sense.

Keqing's actions in the ceremony of inviting the immortals were utterly outrageous.

If she went out at this time, the Emperor's fanatical followers would really attack her directly.

Don't think that the Seven Stars' identity is infallible. It is precisely because of the Seven Stars' identity that it is more likely to cause attacks.
In the eyes of many of the Emperor's fanatical followers, Keqing's questioning during the Immortal Summoning Ceremony was almost the same as betraying the Emperor.

If the emperor left with a scolding instead of a chuckle.

It is not certain whether Keqing can sit in front of Wang Hao now.

“The Emperor… has protected these people too well.” Keqing was still a little unhappy. “Have they never thought about what would happen if the Emperor stopped protecting Liyue one day?”

"Besides, does Morax really know everything?"

She believes that the development of Liyue should be contributed by others, rather than putting everything on the Emperor.

It can be understood that she does not trust the emperor, or it can be understood that she wants to share the emperor's worries.
Of course, to outsiders, it seemed that Keqing was questioning the Emperor.

"Oh, this is normal, because the Emperor has protected Liyue for more than 3,700 years. People like you who think about whether the Emperor will leave us are truly a minority."

"The thing that is more terrifying than belief is habit.

The people of Liyue have become accustomed to the existence of the Emperor. The doubts you raise are a denial of this habit. Anyone who has this habit will subconsciously oppose you."

Wang Hao was still smiling, and did not have any other reaction to Keqing's disrespectful words.

He had seen Morax transformed into Zhongli,

Although he respected this god in his heart, that kind of fanatical belief was impossible for him to have.

Keqing, who was originally furious, suddenly looked at him and said, "What about you? What do you think?"

She just stared at Wang Hao, with expectation and worry in her beautiful eyes.

She hopes her friends can understand her, but she is also afraid that even her friends cannot understand her.

If Wang Hao also denied her ideas at this time, the girl would be really sad.

Seeing Keqing's suddenly soft eyes, Wang Hao's heart trembled slightly, and he suddenly felt the girl's inner uneasiness.

His eyes softened slightly, and Wang Hao stared into Keqing's eyes: "I can't confirm whether the Emperor will leave us."

Keqing's eyes were slightly lost, and even a little panicked. Could it be that he didn't recognize her either?
But soon Wang Hao continued, "But I know that no matter what the situation is, it is always right to be more prepared."

"So..." A glimmer of hope appeared in Keqing's eyes again.

Wang Hao smiled and said, "So, I support your opinion. Whether the Emperor will leave us or not, we must be prepared to move forward alone."

Wang Hao then comforted her, "Keqing, those people cannot understand you because they don't need to consider these things. They live under the protection of the Emperor and the governance of the Seven Stars. Everything about them is arranged. There may be some twists and turns, but it's basically the same.

But you are different. You are Yuheng, one of the Seven Stars. What you have to consider is never the life of one person or one family. Your sights are on the entire Liyue.
Therefore, it is destined that most people cannot understand you. "

The life of Liyue people is stable. Although some are rich and some are poor, it is generally stable.

Keqing's proposal actually destroyed this stability in a sense.

When most people, or even everyone, were still enjoying the sense of security brought by the Emperor,
Keqing was thinking about what to do if the Emperor left one day.

This radical idea is doomed to be unacceptable to most people.

Being one step ahead is a talent, being ten steps ahead is a genius, but if you are one era ahead, that is heresy.

And Keqing has undoubtedly taken half a step into the level of heresy.

"..."

After hearing what Wang Hao said, Keqing was silent.

Doesn't she understand? No, of course she does.

But she just felt unwilling to accept it. What she did was obviously right and necessary, but why couldn't others accept it?

In the past two years, she has traveled all over Liyue and seen too many things. Under the protection of the Emperor, many Liyue people have gradually become lazy and idle.

Especially some civil servants,
In the words of these people, Liyue has a long history and individual efforts are insignificant because the Emperor is in charge of everything.

It was this lazy mentality that further aroused Keqing's dissatisfaction.

That's why she asked the Emperor, "For the next thousand years, and the next thousand years, will you really be with us forever?"
It was this question that blew away the fig leaf of some people, which is why there is such a loud condemnation against Keqing now.

Seeing Keqing's unacceptable look, Wang Hao said softly: "Just do good things and don't worry about the future. Follow your heart and don't worry about the east or the west."

【Pioneers are always misunderstood. 】

【Some things cannot be left undone, so we must do them. 】

[Just because nothing has happened yet, we can’t just assume that nothing has happened. ]

【Keqing is truly a person who truly serves the people. 】

【According to Liyue's setting, all the seven stars are like this. 】

[Yes, Ningguang seems to make money from everything, but she is not controlled by money. Instead, she controls money. ]

【…】

The comments were sighing in their eyes.

Keqing looked slightly dazed, but when she came to her senses, she looked at Wang Hao with softer eyes: "Thank you."

"Ha, you're welcome." Wang Hao waved his hand and changed the subject, "You don't have to work now, so who is responsible for the shantytown affairs?"

“The General Affairs Department will be responsible for promoting it, and Ningguang will be responsible for supervision,” Keqing said.

She was originally responsible for these things, but now the accusations against her from all over Liyue are too loud.

As the affairs of the shantytowns could not be delayed, they had to be handed over to the General Affairs Department, with Ningguang supervising them.

"Is that so? Then you should be fine recently, right? How about we go out for some spring fun?" Wang Hao also wanted to take Keqing out for a walk to relax. "It just so happens that Xingqiu said last time that he read ancient books and found a lot of information about scenic spots and secret places. It's a good way to relax."

Hearing this, Keqing rolled her eyes and said, "It's already summer, why are we still going out for a spring outing?"

Then she thought about it and nodded: "You can go out for a walk, but not too far."

She was still thinking about work. If she went too far, it would be inconvenient for her to come back if something happened.

Having said that, Keqing stood up.

Wang Hao was stunned: "What are you doing?"

Keqing said naturally, "Go find Xingqiu. Going out to relax requires planning. How to go out, where to go, what to bring, when to come back, and what to do if something unexpected happens..."

[…As expected of Keqing. ]

[This way of planning and taking action is really very clear. 】

【If you waste too much time, you won’t be able to finish your work. 】

【…】

Keqing said a lot of words in a row, which not only confused Wang Hao, but also reduced the number of comments.

Do I have to make so many preparations just to go out and relax?

After all this preparation, why would you want to relax? Wouldn't it be easier to just study at home?
"Stop, we are going to relax, not to work. Listen to me, you don't need to prepare anything, just bring a few changes of clothes." Wang Hao said.

Then he whispered to the person behind him, "Number Three, go and ask Xingqiu to come over."

A shadow left from the corner.

Wang Hao smiled and said, "Let's just wait here, so we don't have to walk. We can just wait for Xingqiu to come over by himself."

Keqing glanced at the shadows around the courtyard and said unhappily, "You're getting lazy now too."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "It's not laziness, it's saving time. I used to do everything myself because I had no one to rely on. Now I have No. 3 and the others to help me, so why should I do everything myself?"

This is also the difference between Wang Hao and Keqing in their political philosophy.

Wang Hao is willing to distribute the work to different people.

But Keqing would rather grab everything.

Of course, it’s not that Keqing is dictatorial or authoritarian, but that others cannot keep up with her processing speed. If the tasks are assigned to others, it will delay the processing time.

For now, Liyue can keep up with Keqing's speed in handling government affairs and can help Keqing handle them.

There were only Wang Hao and Gan Yu's secretary from Yue Haiting. The two continued chatting in the orphanage.

Soon, there was a knock on the door.
And Xingqiu's cheerful shout: "Wang Hao, Keqing, here I come."

The voice had just come in when a figure appeared in front of the two of them.

Xingqiu was still dressed in classic blue, with a happy smile on his face.

He looked impatient, "How about it, where do you want to go?"

Ever since Wang Shanting returned, he has been helping his family run the business and hasn't gone out to have fun for a long time.

Of course, this was also partly intentional on Xingqiu's part.

He knew that Keqing had been having a hard time recently, so he deliberately acted anxious and led the conversation to going out to play, avoiding talking about topics that Keqing "didn't want" to talk about.

Wang Hao knew what Xingqiu meant and quickly replied, "Haven't you been studying a lot of ancient books recently? Is there a place closer to Liyue Harbor? How far is it..."

Having said that, Wang Hao hesitated for a moment and looked at Keqing.

Keqing continued, "The round trip should take less than seven days."

Seven days is the longest vacation Keqing can give herself.

Even though she is still at the center of public opinion, she cannot give herself a long vacation with peace of mind.

"Within seven days?"

Xingqiu began to think.

To be honest, there are many beautiful places in Liyue, but if the round-trip journey is controlled within seven days, there are not many.

"How about we go to Tianheng Mountain for a stroll?"

Tianheng Mountain is very large, with many hillsides, wild forests, rugged rocks and picturesque scenery. It is also close to Liyue Harbor and has Thousand Rocks troops patrolling the road. As long as you don't go too deep, it is indeed a good place to relax and many ordinary people will go there.

"Tianheng Mountain...let's say goodbye. We've been looking at it for so long." Wang Hao looked resisted.

No matter how beautiful the scenery is, you can’t bear to look at it every day.

Tianheng Mountain is right behind Liyue Harbor, and I have been seeing it for more than ten years.

If there are many people, we can have a barbecue or something.

If you just want to see the scenery and relax, then don’t do it.

Keqing also nodded: "Many people will go to Tianheng Mountain, and it is not convenient for me to show up now."

The storm has not yet subsided, and Tianheng Mountain is too close to Liyue Harbor.

If someone saw Keqing relaxing, it might exacerbate the conflict.

"That's right." Xingqiu nodded, "Then I'll think about it..."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "Why don't we go to Guyun Pavilion?"

"Guoyun Pavilion?" Wang Hao and Keqing were both stunned.

They were naturally familiar with this place. The Solitary Cloud Pavilion, which was across the sea from Liyue Harbor, was transformed from the rock spear that the emperor once threw.

There are basically no people there, and only the Qianyan Army occasionally goes there for patrol.

Of course, there are also fleets sailing by sea.

As for what I did in the past, I don’t know.

"Well, Guyun Pavilion is sparsely populated, with basically no ordinary people here, and the scenery is pretty good. It is said that there are also some monsters, so we can practice with them."

As he spoke, Xingqiu raised an eyebrow at Wang Hao.

Wang Hao understood that this was to let Keqing go over and vent.

It’s better to fight than to sulk.

Fighting, cool~
After a fight, you can vent your anger and naturally everything will be fine.

Keqing's eyes lit up: "Not bad, not bad, then let's go to Guyun Pavilion."

Deep down in her heart, she also wanted to see the Emperor's power up close.

"Okay, you guys wait here, I'll go arrange the boat." Xingqiu said, and was about to leave.

Wang Hao quickly pulled him back: "No, just go to the dock. Southern Cross should be resupplying at this point. Sister Ningguang recently revised the mooring law, so they are cruising in the waters of Lonely Cloud Pavilion. We can go and take advantage of their boat."

As a member of the General Affairs Department, Wang Hao is well aware of a lot of information.

Among them, the Southern Cross Fleet, one of Liyue’s largest ocean-going fleets, naturally would not escape Wang Hao’s sight.

Especially Captain Beidou of the Southern Cross, who seemed to have some entanglement with his own sister Ningguang.

"Southern Cross? I've heard of them. It's a good opportunity for me to go and visit them this time." Keqing became interested.

Xingqiu's eyes lit up as well: "My father once said that in the entire Liyue Harbor, only Captain Beidou dares to win Tianquan's money."

So the three of them packed up their things, disguised themselves, and headed for the pier.

When we arrived at the dock, we saw a huge warship anchored in the port, and a large number of workers were carrying goods between the warship and the dock.

Move the goods from other places down and then move some supplies onto the ship.

On the other side of the battleship, a heroic woman was looking at the tax collector in front of her with a confused look on her face.

[It's the Big Dipper. ]

[Anyone support Beidou and Ningguang? ]

【I like to knock on the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross. 】

【Evil CP is crawling. 】

【…】

As soon as the barrage in his eyes reminded him, Wang Hao knew that he had found the person.

Close to the past,

Beidou is arguing with the tax officer.

To be precise, it was Beidou that was unilaterally exporting, but the tax officials blocked it all.

"What? Why do we have to pay so much tax?"

"Captain Beidou, most of what you brought back this time are gemstones. These are considered luxury goods and require additional taxes."

The tax officer, who was wearing the uniform of the General Affairs Department, had a calm face and didn't care about the ferocious look of the captain opposite him.

"In addition, the Death Star is a giant battleship and requires additional berthing fees."

"Damn it, has Ningguang changed the regulations again? There was no such thing as luxury tax the last time I came back." Beidou looked angry.

The tax officer remained calm: "According to the regulations of the General Affairs Department, the local commercial market is protected to a certain extent. Captain Beidou, Liyue is the largest exporter of gemstones. Your act of importing gemstones will affect the local industry, so taxes need to be increased."

Beidou was so angry that he was speechless.

If the other person is a warrior, she will definitely make him look good.
However, the tax collector was a woman, and a weak one at that, which actually restrained Beidou.

"Ha, big sister, let me do it." A girl dressed in Liyue costume came down from the Death Star and smiled at Beidou, "There's a guest looking for you over there."

The girl pointed at Wang Hao and others not far away.

Beidou took a fierce look at the tax officer in front of her, and then felt discouraged. She dared to confront Ningguang, but she couldn't "bully" an ordinary tax officer.
This may be the reason why Ningguang never shows up in person every time she punishes the Southern Cross Fleet.

Let the tax collector be handled by the crew member just now.
Beidou walked up to Wang Hao and the others with a shaky step. "Hey, little guys, what do you want to talk to me about?"

She didn't recognize the identities of the three people and just thought they were children who admired her.

As the uncrowned Dragon King and captain of the Southern Cross Fleet, Beidou has a very high prestige in the dock area.

Not only at the dock, almost every Liyue resident knows the reputation of Beidou, the big sister of the "Southern Cross" fleet, and they like to talk about her after dinner.

At the dock, the crew members vividly described the scene of Beidou killing the giant monster "Kaishan" from the underworld sea.

At the dinner, businessmen vied to discuss the repeated illegal business operations led by Beidou and the sky-high fines they incurred.

But for the crew of the "Southern Cross", the most noteworthy thing is that Beidou won Mora from Ningguang.

Beidou is the only person from Liyue who has won money from Ningguang so far.

It’s not that others can’t, but that they dare not.

"Captain Beidou, are you going to Guyun Pavilion next?" Wang Hao asked.

Beidou raised an eyebrow: "Why, kid, you want to get on my ship too."

She had seen many children who were excited to get on her boat.
Of course, she persuaded them to go back in the end.

Just when she was about to persuade the three to leave, Wang Hao spoke again: "I'm from the General Affairs Department, Captain Beidou, can we go to the ship to talk?"

General Affairs Department?
Beidou was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Wang Hao and nodded: "Okay."

He turned and walked towards the boat.

　There is another chapter at noon

　　
　
(End of this chapter)