This Person Seems a Little Over the Top

Although she was also curious about what the two of them were talking about, there was no doubt that there was no need to record it as intelligence.

"Understood." Baiwen tore off the page, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the wine on the ground.

Ningguang glanced at the two of them, then chose to talk to Yelan first.

—Although the simplest solution would be to pour cold water on both of them, as best friends, what they did today will definitely be met with retaliation later.

Reasonableness?

Sorry, but there's no need for justification for revenge between best friends or brothers.

"Yelan." Ningguang walked up to Yelan and put her hand on Yelan's shoulder.

"Hmm...?" Yelan bumped her head against the chair, then slowly turned to look at Ningguang behind her. "You've come, my foot-washing maid."

Ningguang: "...?"

Ningguang's composed expression was completely taken aback by Yelan's comment about her being a "foot-washing maid."

Has this guy drunk himself to death?

Ningguang tried to keep her expression as normal as possible.

"Yelan, you don't even recognize me anymore?"

"I know her! She's my foot-washing maid Ningguang!" Yelan said with a grin as she approached.

This queen?

Ningguang first avoided Yelan, then a hint of coldness appeared in her eyes.

I initially thought Yelan was drunk and dreaming, mistaking someone for someone else, but now it seems she's speaking the truth while intoxicated!

Even the maids who wash feet have come.

After knowing you for so long, how come I never saw that you, Yelan, had such a wolfish ambition?

Where is His Majesty the Emperor?

Ningguang didn't rush to argue with a drunkard, but instead chose to follow up on Yelan's words and ask further questions.

Although it was a question, a name Ningguang came to mind.

—Liu Bai.

However, to everyone's surprise, after hearing this question, Yelan glanced at Ning Ningguang.

"What... what does this have to do with you, a mere foot-washing maid? Go... go fetch a basin of water! This Empress needs to wash her feet."

"..."

Looking at the imperious manner of the drunkard Yelan Lan, Ningguang fell into thought with a smile.

Then...

Snap!

With a smile, he threw a large peacock at Yelan's face.

"This is contrary to the rites of Heaven's authority."

Ningguang shook her hand and sighed softly.

Snap!

Despite the sighs, he immediately followed up with a second big punch.

"You've gone too far, you little foot-washing maid!" After being slapped twice, Yelan seemed to finally react, clearly still a bit dizzy from the blows.

Snap!

Ningguang was too lazy to waste words with the drunkard.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap—!

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! If you keep hitting me, I'll be disfigured!"

After being slapped more than a dozen times, Yelan finally uttered a logically clear plea for mercy.

"Are you sober now?" Ningguang looked at Yelan, whose face was swollen, and smiled with concern. She put her hand down and helped Yelan up, looking like a graceful noblewoman.

It was as if she had just fed Yelan a hangover remedy and had been taking care of her ever since—although she had indeed been "taking care" of her.

"... Ningguang, you can hit people too?" Yelan covered her face. "And you've got quite a bit of strength..."

"While I was pushing my cart, working from dawn till dusk, shouting my wares all over the streets, Miss Ye, you were probably still somewhere loafing around waiting to die."

Ningguang crossed her arms, exuding the air of a noblewoman, but her tone carried a hint of mockery.

Do you really think that someone like her, who has worked her way up from the very bottom, is a weak woman who is powerless and indecisive?

She still has the strength to carry sacks weighing dozens of kilograms with ease, just like before.

Even though she's been living a life of luxury and hasn't done any physical labor in a long time, she still has the strength to slap someone.

Besides, she's even picked up seashells barefoot in the mud before, so what's wrong with slapping you a few times?

Surely no one really thinks the beach is all clean, white sand, right? Digging for shellfish and making shells is also considered "shell collecting"! You can't just find a pretty shell and then reject it because it's alive, can you?

Moreover... empty seashells whose owners are already dead have a very low success rate in remaining intact.

"Couldn't you be a little gentler?"

Yelan grinned and said, "Don't you think about what people will say about you, Tianquan, if they see this?"

"Although it violates the rites of Heavenly Authority, rest assured, there are no outsiders." Ningguang sighed softly.

It was as if slapping Yelan's face until it was swollen was actually a huge loss for her.

"Besides, I didn't get this position as Tianquan by being cute."

Liyue merchants are known for their integrity, but that doesn't stop them from exploiting others. Ningguang the Tianquan because she climbed the ladder of success from a novice to the very top of the Liyue business world through sheer strength, and her influence far surpasses that of most previous Tianquan.

Even if they dislike Ningguang, they still have to come over with a smile and try to curry favor with me.

"..." Yelan was speechless, but then her eyes lit up when she looked at Beidou, who was pounding the ground on the other side.

"Will Beidou be next?"

"Yes." Ningguang nodded slightly, looking at Yelan's expectant expression. "Baiwen, is the hangover soup ready?"

"It'll be ready soon!"

"Wait! Why is she the hangover cure?"

"First, I'm not confident I can stun Beidou; I can't withstand a slap from her backhand."

Ningguang extended one finger, then immediately extended a second one.

"Secondly, she didn't provoke me—just now someone..."

"Well, I think hangover soup is pretty good, really good..."

Although Yelan was quite drunk, she still had some Remembrance of what had happened a few minutes earlier.

I think I just got a little carried away.

Chapter 241 This guy seems a bit outrageous.

"So, you two can calm down now, right?"

In the captain's cabin, Ningguang sat at the head of the table with her legs crossed, looking down at the two kneeling figures below.

"We've calmed down..." the two replied listlessly.

Beidou has bandages wrapped around both hands, while Yelan has bandages wrapped around her forehead and some ointment on her face.

Ningguang felt truly exhausted looking at the two of them.

One was the leader of the Southern Cross Fleet, and the other was his own top agent. The two got into a fight in the canteen because they were drunk.

Putting aside whether it counts as a scandal or not, she would be ashamed to even talk about it.

"Calm down and tell me why you two started fighting."

Ningguang shifted her gaze from the two of them, casually fiddling with the blooming flowers in the vase, seemingly not caring much about the answer.

But Yelan's lips twitched—it would be strange if Ningguang didn't care.

I used to call Ningguang my "foot-washing maid"!

Beidou didn't think too much about it, and looked at Yelan with an inquiring gaze.

In her view, this was Yelan's private matter, and the drunken brawl was just a drunken act.

Loyalty should still be upheld—and logically speaking, Yelan was the one who got drunk first.

"So, because of men, right?"

Yelan tried her best not to appear too embarrassed.

"Oh?" Ningguang's eyes held a hint of teasing. "Let me guess, the man you're talking about isn't Liu Bai, is it?"

"Uh... yes."

There's really no need to guess; the only man Yelan has been in contact with lately is Liu Bai.

"Where are we at?"

"Almost went to bed with her?"

After Yelan replied.

A failed attempt at a casual fling is also called a near miss – even though normal things like confessing your feelings, dating, and kissing were all skipped.

"... Unexpected." This answer still surprised Ningguang somewhat.

She originally thought the two of them were at the stage of pouring their hearts out to each other.

"So that means you've already started preparing for the wedding?" Ningguang raised an eyebrow. Hearing this, Ningguang's desire to punish him diminished.

If your best friend has good fortune, you should try your best to be understanding.

"Uh..." Yelan scratched her face awkwardly.

Marry?

No... it's not even close to being a done deal yet.

"Not at all. Liu Bai has no shortage of Yelan by his side." Beidou decisively stabbed Yelan in the back.

Although she doesn't have a habit of undermining others, you shouldn't use that title to swindle or deceive people.

Marriage? Does Ren Liu Bai know he's getting married?

"..." Ningguang paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered the crazy things the two of them had said when they were drunk.

It seems they did say something like "it's still far from over" or "I'll settle down after I've had my fun."

"You..." Ningguang shook her head, speechless—she wanted to say something, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized there was nothing to say.

After all, she had no experience in this area, and rationally speaking, if it were only Yelan who was pursuing her, then Yelan might be blind.

But now it's clear that Yelan isn't the only one, so the problem isn't Yelan's, but Liu Bai's.

This kind of charm makes people want to see it for themselves—both Ningguang and Beidou actually think that Yelan is the one who is the hardest to settle down with.

Even Ningguang to take a step back, there was still the option of a political marriage.

"... However, you shouldn't have leaked any information to that Liu Bai, right?"

"Um... no classified information has been leaked."

"So, a lot of non-classified information has been leaked?" Ningguang raised an eyebrow. "Beidou, when dealing with traitors, we usually..."

"Drown in a pig cage!" Beidou replied cheerfully.

"Drowning your sister's pig cage!" Yelan pinched Beidou beside her. To prevent misunderstandings, she explained, "Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just to let him prepare for things on our side as soon as possible."

When Yelan brought up serious matters, Ningguang and Beidou's expressions also became serious.

"Alright, you two get up and sit down."

That's enough of the frolicking.

After the two stretched and settled into their chairs, Ningguang finally spoke and asked...