Chapter Text
Another day was about to end in Liyue Harbor, with soft shades of orange painting the skies and a gentle breeze slowly moving the tree leaves. The sea was calm and all the merchant ships had docked, except for one. Ningguang placed her empty tea cup on the table with a sigh. Beidou was late again. She delicately stood up and stared at the wall full of documents in front of her. Her tasks were almost done and as soon as the Alcor docked at the harbor and she got her wares from Beidou, she would tear all those papers into pieces and toss them from the Jade’s Chamber’s windows.
After waiting for almost thirty minutes, she noticed the said ship emerging on the horizon. It was about time. The Tianquan went to her quarters and grabbed a silk scarf to cover her shoulders, stopping for a moment in front of the mirror just to check if her appearance was acceptable. She ordered the guards to not let anyone in while she was gone, not even Keqing or anyone else from the Qixing, and made her way to the shipyard.
While she was walking, politely greeting the merchants as she passed, Ningguang could not avoid having thoughts on Beidou. Every single trader on the entire Teyvat would give all they could to get on the Jade’s Chamber and get a chance to make business with Ningguang. But Beidou never seemed to care. She continued to do things her way, always acting as if she and Ningguang were friends or something like that. It made the Tianquan uneasy. Obviously, it enraged her. It was like the captain didn't respect her or her position. However, she had a little esteem for those behaviors. It made her feel that Beidou was a person she could trust, who would always be honest with her. Maybe she did like the Crux’s captain, maybe she liked her more than she thought she should.
However, any feeling that was emerging on the back of Ningguang’s mind would have to wait, cause she was already at the harbor and Beidou was already directing the first words to her. “Oh, missed me that much?” Beidou said with a wide smile and a laugh, leaving the ship to meet the other woman on the wood walkway. “You are, as always, remarkably late. Because of that, I thought we could skip the part where you meet me at my office and gets on my nerves with less than ten words, and came right here to check on my wares.” Ningguang said, crossing her arms. “Ok, ok, I don’t wanna waste more of the great Ningguang’s time. Also, I have my own business to do around here anyway so you are somehow wasting my time too” Beidou answered with a smirk, knowing this was enough to provoke the woman standing in front of her. The captain gave the order for her crew to leave the ship and go eat something. They all ran to Wanmin Restaurant, of course. All of them missed Xiangling’s food, so they ate there whenever they stopped by Liyue.
“May I ask what kind of business you intend on doing around here?” Ningguang asked, trying to hide her irritation and keep her composure. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to fine me today. I just found some Mora, and I intend on spending it on things I can sell at Mondstadt” she chuckled, talking to the Tianquan as they entered the ship. “What do you mean with finding Mora?” Ningguang asked, raising a brow at Beidou. “While I was entering Mondstadt territory, and almost getting killed by a giant hurricane ball I had never seen on my life, to get Dandelions for you” Beidou started, crossing her arms and raising a brow back at the other woman “Part of my crew was at Sal Terrae looking for some Cor Lapis and found a chest filled with it. As far as I know, I didn’t inflict any law.” Beidou smiled at her and shrugged. All Ningguang could do was facepalm herself. It was impossible for an experienced merchant such as Beidou to not know that all the Mora found in ancient chests in Liyue territory had to be returned to the Golden House.
“It was worth the try. Let 's make a deal. You let me keep it so I can guarantee the good quality products that arrived on today’s ships and you compensate it by giving my part in our deal to the Golden House. Since your men always take quite some time to pay me…” the captain smiled at her and waited to see if her teasing was working. Of course it was, but the woman in front of her would not let it show that easily.
“You get paid when the wares you bring me start to sell, you know that. Whatever, I’m not in the mood to deal with you today. We can do it your way this time” Ningguang sighed “Now could you please show me what you got?”. Beidou laughed once more and led Ningguang to the basement of the ship, where there were plenty of boxes filled with all kinds of Mondstadt specialties. "Dandelion, Cecilia, Valberry, Wolfhook and Lamp Grass. All here. Satisfied?” Beidou asked her and she nodded “I also got rid of those hilichurls you asked me. The ones that were delaying the Noctilucous Jade mining at Mingyun village”, Ningguang looked at her and nodded in satisfaction, the hint of a smile on her face. She decided that now it was her time to tease Beidou. “Now I understand why you were late” she said, with a smile on her lips. “Because I did a great job and got you everything you wanted?” Beidou asked, arms crossed, back resting on the wood wall and a convinced smile on her lips.
Ningguang started walking around checking the boxes in silence, then she said “You had to deal with those hilichurls, that must have been hard”. With those words Beidou’s smile disappeared. There it was. Ningguang knew that if she wanted to mess with the captain, all she had to do was a comment on her fighting skills. But this time Beidou didn’t argue about her skills, or told any of her stories that, although she’d never admit it, Ningguang liked to hear. She just smiled and said that if she wanted to see the reason for the delay, she should come to the captain’s quarters.