bookbashuk Chapter 1246 The Death of the Secretary
Chapter 1246 The Death of the Secretary
……
Just as Diluc was settling in his winery employees and preparing to lead them to Nata to create something new, it was almost noon.
Shao Yun's morning grazing time was almost over, and he rode his "Radish" slowly, herding the cattle and sheep home.
The Florida cows were happy after eating their fill of pasture, occasionally swishing their tails.
The Merino sheep remained obediently in the middle of the line, their fluffy wool warm from the sun.
The proud female goat, having eaten her fill of tender grass, now walked obediently at the back, without the slightest dissatisfaction.
At this moment, Yuan Shang cleaned up the sheepfold, cattle pen, and chicken coop.
Upon seeing Shao Yun return, Yuan Shang immediately stepped forward, skillfully took the whip from Shao Yun, and assisted Shao Yun in sorting the cattle and sheep into their respective pens.
The cows went into the cowshed, the sheep went into the sheepfold, and the female goats were "specially treated" and settled in Xiaolong's dragon den.
After Yuan Shang closed the gate to the livestock pen and made sure all the animals were settled, he turned to Shao Yun and reported the situation at home:
“Mr. Shao Yun, Miss Charlotte came this morning, saying that you had invited her before.”
"She's waiting in the living room right now, would you like to go see her?"
Upon hearing the name "Charlotte," Shao Yun immediately recalled the incident in Liyue a while ago. He had indeed casually invited Charlotte to visit his ranch in Nata, so it wasn't entirely unexpected that she had actually come.
"Okay, I'll go to the living room to find her later." He paused, then suddenly remembered what happened before he left that morning, and asked again.
"Oh right, has Ningguang returned yet? She went to the Suspended Wood People's tribe to sell eggs this morning. Judging by the time, she should be back by now."
Following Shao Yun's gaze, Yuan Shang looked at the Suspended Wood People tribe, which was built on a cliff not far away.
"Oh, after you left this morning, I thought it would be good to get rid of the extra milk at home, so I asked Miss Ningguang to take it with her in the carriage to sell. She should be back in a little while."
When Shao Yun heard Yuan Shang say that Ning Guang should also take the milk to sell, his expression remained unchanged.
In his view, this was simply what Ningguang was supposed to do as a maid, and there was no need to interfere too much, so he just replied indifferently, "Oh, I see..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered a problem that had been overlooked, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"By the way, can Ningguang drive a carriage?"
Driving a carriage wasn't complicated for Shao Yun, but it was easy for someone who had never done it before to make a mistake.
Especially since Ningguang is also carrying milk and eggs, if the truck overturns on the road, the damage to the goods is a minor issue, but if something happens to Ningguang...
When Ying throws a tantrum, it's hard for her to explain herself!
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shang nodded firmly and replied truthfully, "Mr. Shao Yun, rest assured, the Ningguang Society has more than we can imagine."
"When I told her this morning that I was going to drive a carriage to the Suspended Wood tribe, she mentioned that she had worked at the Wangshu Inn when she was a child and had driven a carriage to deliver goods to Liyue Harbor. She should have plenty of experience."
Shao Yun was relieved. Since Ningguang had experience driving a carriage, there was no need to worry that she would overturn it.
However, he still habitually gave a few more instructions.
“Alright, since she has experience, it shouldn't be a problem. But for safety's sake, you should still go check on the tribe. That way, you can lend a hand if you encounter any trouble along the way.”
“I’ll be fine at home, it’s perfect for entertaining Charlotte.”
Yuan Shang replied with an "okay," turned around, picked up his straw hat, and strode quickly toward the direction of the Suspended Wood People's tribe.
Shao Yun straightened his clothes, which were covered in grass clippings, and headed towards the ranch's residence.
Charlotte has come from afar, so we can't keep her waiting too long.
As soon as I opened the door, a faint aroma of coffee wafted in.
Shao Yun looked up and saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa in the living room; it was Charlotte.
The house was very quiet at the moment. Shen He was resting with the baby in the nursery on the second floor, without making a sound. (The baby takes one nap in the morning, one nap in the afternoon, and two naps at night.)
Seth Lari, on the other hand, remained in her study, reading light novels on the bookshelf.
Charlotte was holding a coffee cup, her eyes glazed over, seemingly lost in thought.
She didn't come to her senses until she heard the door open.
Seeing Shao Yun walk in, Charlotte immediately smiled, put down her coffee cup, waved to him, and greeted him in a lighthearted tone:
"Hi, Mr. Shao Yun! Long time no see! This ranch looks really nice!"
Shao Yun raised his hand in a gesture, then stepped forward and sat down on the single sofa to Charlotte's right.
"Charlotte, when did you arrive? Was your journey smooth?"
Charlotte said in a light tone, "We just arrived around noon. The journey was fairly smooth, except that the sun in Nata is much stronger than in Fontainebleau."
"By the way, your house is quite nice, spacious and comfortable, much better than the suburban cottage you used to rent."
As she spoke, she glanced around the living room, her eyes filled with genuine admiration.
When Shao Yun saw her praising his house, he couldn't help but wave his hand and said with a smile, "Don't be so polite with your praise. It's just an ordinary ranch house. As long as you're comfortable, that's fine."
Changing the subject, he recalled Charlotte's investigation of the news in Liyue and asked curiously:
"Let's not talk about houses anymore. How's the big news you were researching in Liyue, the one about Keqing's coup? Any new developments?"
When Charlotte heard Shao Yun bring up Liyue, her smile faded instantly, and her lively tone became heavy.
She frowned slightly and said with some difficulty, "Well, it's a long story."
"I waited in Liyue for quite a while, and besides waiting for Liyue Harbor to announce the follow-up news of Keqing's coup, I also received another big news that was even more unexpected."
"Another big news?" Shao Yun's curiosity intensified. He leaned forward and pressed, "What do you mean? Is it even more important than Keqing's coup?"
He couldn't think of anything else in Liyue that could be considered "big news" than the political upheaval.
Could it be that Zhongli has risen from the dead? Has Liyue returned to the era of the Immortals?
Charlotte pursed her lips with a complicated expression and said, "Do you still remember Ningguang's three secretaries?"
Shao Yun nodded. Ning Guang's follower, of course he knew.
Then Charlotte took a folded newspaper out of her backpack; it was the latest issue of the Steambird.
"Well, you should read the report; it explains it very clearly."
Shao Yun quickly took the newspaper, unfolded it, and was immediately attracted by the bold and enlarged headline on the cover. The headline read:
Shocking! The Seven Stars intelligence network collapsed overnight: Bai Wen committed suicide in prison, Bai Shi was killed for resisting arrest, and Bai Xiao was publicly tried and executed.
The subtitle reads: Is this the final chapter of the Liyue turmoil, or the prelude to a storm? Special correspondent Charlotte brings you the latest news.
The report detailed the fates of the three secretaries: After being imprisoned, Baiwen chose to hang himself in prison, leaving behind only a suicide note in which he apologized to Ningguang.
Bai Xiao sensed something was wrong and attempted to escape Liyue in disguise, but was intercepted by the Thousand Rock Army. In the ensuing chaos, he was killed.
Bai Shi, on the other hand, was listed in front of the people of Liyue for Ningguang's "crimes," and was ultimately sentenced to death by the General Affairs Department, which was carried out swiftly and decisively.
After reading the report, Shao Yun raised his hand and patted the newspaper, utterly dumbfounded.
"This is insane... It's only been a little over half a month, less than three weeks, and Ningguang's three secretaries are already dead?"
After the initial shock, Shao Yun remained silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of the sofa.
Although he was surprised by Keqing's ruthless order to execute Baishi, he thought about it again and realized that this was perfectly normal in political struggles.
Just like the succession of a lion pride, after the old lion king is defeated, the first thing the new lion king does is to eliminate the old lion king's cubs. Bloodshed is an unavoidable part of the power transition.
"It's probably because Keqing has just taken over and can't intimidate the various forces in Liyue Harbor, so she chose this method of killing people to establish her authority."
Thinking of this, Shao Yun indifferently handed the newspaper back to Charlotte.
“Ningguang’s roots in Liyue were too deep, and her secretary controlled too many of Liyue’s businesses, which is always a hidden danger for the new leader.”
"By dealing with everyone now, we can cut off Ningguang's escape route and deter those hesitant forces from making any rash moves."
Although he felt some regret about the fate of the three secretaries, this regret remained only on the surface.
In his view, politics has always been a case of "when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down; when the drum is broken, everyone beats it." It is commonplace for the followers of the losers to end up like this, and it is not worth lamenting too much.
Charlotte took the newspaper, her feelings clearly much more complicated than Shao Yun's.
She sighed, looked up at Shao Yun, and lowered her voice even further: "It's not just the secretary... Liyue officials have also announced their final stance on Ningguang, which can be considered their characterization of this coup."
Shao Yun raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.
"The official statement says that Ningguang was extravagant and indulged in debauchery during her tenure, used her power to amass wealth, oppressed the people of Liyue, and implemented many unpopular and cruel policies. She even committed acts that 'insulted people's dignity and damaged the national character of Liyue,' saying that she was not fit to lead Liyue at all."
Charlotte repeated the official assessment, sighing, "It can be said that Ningguang has been belittled to nothing, leaving not even a trace of the dignity that Tianquan Star once had."
Shao Yun leaned back on the sofa and looked out the window.
Ningguang, who is currently selling eggs and milk in the Suddenwood tribe, would probably react differently if she knew that so much slander had been leveled against her in Liyue.