Chapter Text
Ningguang sat in her office, calmly reading several reports she had compiled over the days. With Inazuma reopening their borders recently, she had been quite busy expanding Liyue’s commercial reach to the land of thunder, already establishing business deals with figures there and having some people travel there as well, since the Irodori festival was quite recent too.
And with them opening their borders, Liyue would get quite a fair share of Inazuman goods and people as well. Travelers, tourists, and business people all travel to Liyue to embark on a journey of one kind or another, and in particular it was the business section that Ningguang particularly cared about.
As such, Liyue’s commercial district had been in overdrive. The chasm opening was another blessing, allowing them to increase their stocks for ores and raw materials needed in producing goods.
She had to personally thank Aether later for it, although she’s sure the Yuheng already did that in her own special way.
Pfff. Lovers.
Anyway, back on topic.
And that is why, right now, Ningguang is scanning the documents regarding the current patrols and stations of the Milelith. She needed them to be extra vigilant during these times, though it will cool off once the effects of the Sakoku Decree being removed wears off.
However, as she read one document in particular, her face morphed into a frown.
“Tsk. That darn division is still lazing about. This ought to stop in times like these, yet they’re still just barely making the minimum attendance limit.” she muttered to herself.
See, due to the recent occurrences in the chasm, there was suddenly a lack of Milelith around to watch over Liyue. Not to mention, as Liyue expands, more people were needed by the main city area to keep it safe and in order, as well as assist where needed. This meant pulling reserve units and recruiting new men.
With the insertion of these new recruits and fresh faces into the Milelith, there had to be a significant disciplinary regulation in order to ensure that they are disciplined in their actions and tasks. This falls onto their leaders and officers, in charge of sections and areas of the Milelith, depending on their rank and assignment.
And, as bad luck would have it, one such officer is proving to be an irresponsible degenerate, assigning his division tasks at the bare minimum, and basically lazing about. She had already heard of this case a while ago, but as Ningguang tried to solve the issue, it only got worse.
The man was factually not at fault, if we’re going by the book. His men and himself had met the minimum attendance limit, albeit just. Patrols were scarce, and he held no discipline, allowing his men to take frequent breaks and laze about. Truth be told, Ningguang can’t blame them. If someone is not taking their job seriously, it's their superior’s duty to discipline them. If the superior lacks discipline and lacks disciplinary action, then the superior is more at fault here.
Lead by example as they say.
Ningguang however, didn’t have too much time to deal with the issue. She’d need to deal with it quickly before the lack of patrols got the attention of thieves and hoarders, or even worse the Fatui, if they ever dare plan to sabotage Liyue even further after they severed relations.
A knock on her door took her attention away.
“Ningguang? May I come in?” A familiar female voice echoed.
“Yes, Keqing.”
The Yuheng in question opened the door, walking in and closing it behind her as she walked. Her amethyst eyes scanned the room before walking up to Ningguang’s desk, holding a file.
“Here’s the report on last week’s landfills that you wanted.” She stated, placing the file on the desk.
“Thank you. You may leave it as is.” Ningguang says, still in thought.
Keqing notices this, and peeks at the document she's reading.
As soon as she sees the name pop up, she frowns as well in displeasure. “Ugh, him again?”
“Yes. I’m worried about this, if I were to be honest.” Ningguang says, sighing and placing the file down. “I know you are aware of the situation. We can’t let it continue.”
“We can’t. Not for a day longer, but I’ve tried many things too. Still, I end up with not enough evidence or backing to be able to take action of any kind, seeing as how nothing has gone wrong as well.” Keqing says, frustration leaking at her voice before she takes a moment to calm down.
“Either way, we need a solution.”
“Hmm, Keqing. If you have nothing much to do, or if you have spare work time, do take a deeper look into this. We’re merely looking at the surface of the problem, if we could go in deeper, perhaps we could find something out.” Ningguang says, addressing Keqing. Keqing looks at Ningguang with a slightly puzzled expression.
“What I’m saying is that this can’t go on anymore, and I’d like you to personally handle this matter if you can spare it. If not for me, then for Liyue at least.”
Keqing sighs, holding a hand on her forehead. “I’ve been wanting to deal with this problem as well. Alright then, I’ll get back to you with something when I have it. I’m going to go out for my lunch break anyway.” She begins to leave.
Ningguang raises an eyebrow. Keqing wouldn’t normally leave the Qixing offices for a mere lunch break, she’d prefer to eat in her own quarters then continue working straight away.
The only time she would ever go out is when…..
“Keqing.”
“Yes?” Keqing turns around, facing Ningguang again.
A smirk on her face gave Keqing a warning of what’s to come. “Are you going to see Aether for lunch?”
“W-what? That’s none of your business.” Keqing huffs, folding her arms and looking away. Her red cheeks however pretty much gave her away, leading Ningguang to chuckle.
“Alright, I won’t pry, but do me a favor then.” Keqing turns back around, raising an eyebrow curiously.
“If you do meet him, talk to him about this, but in private. See if he has any idea on how to go around it. He’s been through a lot, so I’m sure he has something he can think of to help.” Ningguang says.
“Haven’t we involved him in our affairs too much already?” Keqing interjects, clearly displeased at the idea of bringing her lover into the problem of Liyue again. Helping slay 2 ocean monsters, reopening the chasm, and helping their festivals run smoothly is already a large enough contribution, and she’s less than willing to push him into their issues again.
“I know, but you don’t have to involve him too much, as long as he knows about it. Who knows that he has an idea on how to solve it.” Ningguang says. Keqing takes a moment to ponder, before sighing.
“Alright, I will. But, he will certainly involve himself if I talk about it to him, even if it's not a major role. He’s just that helpful and caring of a person.” Keqing replies, unconsciously complimenting Aether before leaving the room.
Ningguang chuckles at Keqing’s defensive remarks when she pries Aether into their conversation. She didn’t want to pry, but seeing her reactions when his name was brought up was something worthy.
—---------------------------------------------------------
Keqing subconsciously hummed a tune as she walked along towards Chihu rock, where he said to meet him.
The sky was bright and the mood was light, making her forget about the things she was tasked with doing. It was nice to relax and take a break once in a while, and it did wonders to her work results too. She was really lucky to have Aether help her discover this, although she had to admit she probably treated him a bit too harshly when he did.
In the end though, she repaid him and then some more for everything he had done for her. Though, if Keqing were to be honest with herself, it would need a lot more for her to truly repay what he has done for her, and for her Liyue as a whole.
As she walked however, a pair of hands slipped around her waist and pulled her into a hug in a rather secluded spot.
Keqing was alarmed at first, but before she could pull her sword out, she recognized the touch, and the way his hands felt around her.
She sighed, though her face showed a smile.
“You should stop greeting me like this, A. I’ll attack you by accident someday.”
“And you should stop making it easy for me to greet you like this, K.”
She chuckled a bit, turning around to face the traveler before her. Aether chuckled as his golden eyes met her amethyst ones.
“Hi.”
“Hi. Miss me?”
“More than you do to me probably.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Aether let go as Keqing took a good look at him. Yep, still the same after Inazuma. “It’s very good to see you again, I’m glad you’re still hanging on.” Keqing remarks.
“Well, a lot has been happening, but I’m still kicking.” He says, gently pecking her on the cheek.
“Hmm. Hey, wait a second.” Keqing pauses and takes a good look around. Finding nothing, she turns to Aether.
“Where’s Paimon?”
“Oh, she’s at home. When I told her I’d be taking it easy today and stroll around Liyue, she opted to stay at home and do nothing all day. Typical of her on a lazy day, you know.” Aether replies.
“You know, I can never relate to people who truly can spend a day doing nothing. Not even something recreational or interesting. How is that even a thing?”
“Beats me. It’s Paimon and not me, you should ask her someday.”
“Haha, true.” Keqing giggled a bit. “Well anyways, we’ve wasted enough time here. Shall we go get some lunch? There’s something I want to confide with you, and no one else.”
“Hmm, how about the back tables at Wanmin then? They’re rather private.”
“Sounds great.”
Without a word between them, Keqing pulled Aether’s hand into her own as they walked, Aether chuckling a bit and going along naturally. Being in a relationship for a year or so does this to you, no doubt.
At the restaurant, another familiar face greeted them.
“Hi! Welcome to Wan- Oh! Aether and Lady Keqing!” The young chef at Wanmin greeted them with an enthusiastic wave. Keqing and Aether gave a friendly wave in return.
“Hi Xiangling.” Keqing greeted.
“Hello again, Xiangling.” Aether said.
“It’s been a while since I saw you two! Well then, what can I get you?” Xiangling asked, excited as she always is.
“One Golden Shrimp Ball portion, an Adeptus’s temptation, and some fresh salad as well please.” Aether orders. Keqing nods at his list of food, their tastes matching.
“Uh-huh, got it! Be right out in a sec!”
“Xiangling, wait!”
“Huh? Yes?” The chef stopped as she was heading for the kitchen, looking back as Aether called her.
“We'll take the backside table. We have something to discuss, is that okay?”
“Oh! Certainly, go on ahead!”
“Thank you.”
And with that, the couple seat themselves at the back, away from prying eyes and ears as Xiangling runs off to the kitchen to cook.
“So, what’s up? You look a little worried about something.” Aether asked. Keqing crossed her hands on the table and sighed.
“Sorry for being a sore sight, something’s come up and I didn’t want to involve you in it, but I feel like this would be a messier mess if we didn’t clean it up now.” She replied, earning her a concerned look from him.
“Don’t be alarmed, I’m not overworking myself. At least, not as much as I used to anyways.” Keqing added before he could fault her for overworking.
“I can see the effects, you’ve glowing now compared to before. Must be good for your body if you rest properly.”
“Yes, I have to thank you so much for that. Anyways, back to the topic.” Keqing clears her throat. “Keep this between you, me, and the Qixing okay? This is quite a bad situation we have right now.”
“Emergency?”
“Not quite, but it will get there if we don’t act. Think of this as a commission of sorts.”
Aether frowned slightly. “You know if you ask I’d do it regardless of whether it's a commission or not, right?”
Keqing sighed. “I know, that’s why sometimes I wish you’d take it slow as well and not just go around helping and saving every damn soul you see. People will be too spoiled if you keep doing that.”
“Well, it’s not like all of them are easy requests either.” She leaned forward and pinched his cheek at his remark.
“And I meant that too.” She said.
“Okay, okay. I’ll think about it.” Aether replied, hoping to get her hand off his cheek.
Truth be told, Keqing adored him for the fact that he was just so selfless.
“Hmph.” She pulls back, adjusting herself. “Well, enough of that. Let’s get to the point.”
Keqing proceeds to explain the situation to Aether regarding the irresponsible individual responsible for lowering the Milelith’s abilities in the region, the traveler listening earnestly. Keqing made it clear to not play down how dangerous this might be, especially since she is talking to the same man who had opened Inazuma for trade, leading to an increase in activity throughout Liyue.
Aether’s face went from one of mild interest to one of concern within seconds as she explained. So this was what she meant when it’s not looking good.
“To be fair K. I find his actions rather offensive to me as well.” Aether said as Keqing finished her explanation.
“Huh? Why?” Keqing asked.
“Well, I worked a lot to both reopen the Chasm and for Inazuma to lift their borders as well. Don’t you think that isn’t offending me if he takes his work with no interest after all I did?” Aether asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh….that’s true.” Keqing was gently reminded that she was talking to the man that lead to everything happening here in the first place. To not take care of the aftermath that Aether has left them would be disrespecting him to another level.
And in an instant, her resolve to solve the issue went through the roof. No one, and she means NO ONE, is allowed to disrespect her dearest traveler.
“Alright, well that’s the issue. We’re a little short on ideas on what to do about this, partly due to our workload as well.” Keqing said, leaning back as Xiangling appeared carrying a myriad of dishes with her.
“Here you guys go! Enjoy!” Xiangling said, dropping off the dishes, some empty plates, chopsticks, some iced tea, and silverware before she skipped away happily.
“Thanks!” Both Keqing and Aether said, before turning back to their meal. They ate with some initial comfortable silence, savoring the dishes, before Aether hummed.
“Hmm, well to be fair, one thing I’ve learned is that experience is the best teacher.”
“How so?” Keqing asked, taking a bite from another shrimp.
“Well, for one, we all learn something the best if we experience it ourselves, I’m sure you understand. In this case though, if you really want to rile him up, teach him a lesson, or even downright fire him, you could just let him experience a disaster.”
“Go on.” Keqing said, curiously. Aether chuckled, before proceeding.
“It reminds me of this commission I had a few times about stealing supplies from a hostile camp. They’re pretty much guarded but not perfectly, so I was able to slip in, steal the stuff and walk back out without being seen. The next day the camp is gone and the thugs are nowhere to be seen.” Aether takes a sip from his tea.
“Seems to me like they’ve learnt their lesson.” Keqing added, half amused.
“Indeed. But as I said, they’ve probably learned that camping out in the wild with less than stellar guards, while plotting bad stuff is not going to get them anywhere.” Aether remarked. “So yeah, if you do something to traumatize people, sometimes it’s the best way, harsh it may be.”
Keqing thought for a second.
Then her eyes shot open, lighting up with an idea. Aether looked away for a moment before noticing that Keqing’s eyes were staring at him as if she just had a breakthrough.
“K? Something wrong?”
“Ae, can I ask something?”
“Yeah? Go for it.”
“Have you ever done a heist before?”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
“You want me……to organize a team….to rob the chasm’s ore stores?!?” Aether asked, a little unsure of her request.
“Sshhh! Not so loud!” Keqing turned away to make sure nobody was listening, before continuing.
“Yes. In a way, the ore stores are the main facilities he is tasked with protecting. Although maybe Ningguang would say otherwise, I’d prefer it if he’s gone and out of our sight with how badly he’s been performing; not to mention from someone of his rank.” Keqing says, clearly annoyed by even talking about such lowly figures. Aether just hummed in thought.
“Wouldn’t this get us in trouble? Like robbing from Liyue? I know it’s for a good cause, but still we’re doing something illegal.” Aether says, clearly unsure of the idea.
“Well, for one, everything taken would be returned, of course. How that’s to be done, I’ll think about it as we go.” Keqing says, wiping her mouth clean after their meal.
“Second, if nobody is caught and no traces are found, then that would leave us clear wouldn’t it? You’re skilled, I’m sure you can come up with something.” She says. “But, I want to make this clear, I’d rather not have you in this. It’s too risky, and your fighting style is way too unique to be unnoticed.”
Deep down, she just didn’t want him in trouble.
“I suppose I can try to get people for this, but who can I take?”
“Don’t worry about mora. I’ll procure enough for your needs as long as they make some sense, I have my ways. Everything else, that’s down to you to figure out.”
Aether held his chin in thought.
“Another thing is that I can’t inform the Milelith ranks about this operation, otherwise it will give it away. I can probably tell Ningguang about it, but that’s it. Not even Ganyu.” Keqing says.
“This is quite some shady stuff we’re going into. Are you sure about this?” Aether asked, wanting Keqing to be sure of what he’s asking for.
“If you think I’m in doubt, then I’d be asking if you’ve dated me properly for the past many months.” Keqing crossed her arms.
“Haha, alright alright. It’s just a job of this scale and type is unheard of, even for me. Sure I fought archons before but this is new.” Aether remarked.
“I’ll be managing it with you as well then. Someone needs to make sure that everything you guys are doing will not cause more harm than good for us too.” Keqing says.
“So you’ll supervise as well?”
“Alongside you, yes. If we can get a solid team and plans for this, it would certainly make for an interesting few weeks.” Keqing says, a small smirk adorning her face.
“Wouldn’t it ruin the overall reputation of the Milelith though? We are talking about taking one division out but it would hit all of them for that matter.” Aether commented. This made Keqing think for a second before shrugging. “If anything, this would serve as a lesson for them. Then perhaps, after all this is done, we can stage something to make it look like the Milelith have managed to catch and recover the stolen goods.”
“Alright, if you can manage that, then there’s nothing wrong with it. We do have one issue though.” Aether says, humming in thought. Keqing had leaned back on her chair as she also thought about who to ask.
“I got an idea….” Aether said, thinking. “Let’s go to her and see then, shall we? If we’re lucky, maybe the other person I have in mind is also there with her.”
“Oh, you do?” Keqing asked. Aether nodded, prompting her to smile. “Then let’s get going.”
As she tried to get up though, she stumbled a bit. Aether grabbed her arm in time. “Whoa, you okay there?”
“Ufh, yeah. Thanks. I think we sat down for a bit too long.” She remarked.
“K, are you certain it's not because of how you still managed to get a third serving of those shrimp balls?” Aether asked, looking back at the stack of plates on their table. Keqing, cheeks red, nudged his side in annoyance. “Don’t blame me when Xiangling cooks them like that.”
“Alright, alright. Just kidding. Let’s walk there, help us digest and prevent us from being too drowsy.”
“I agree.”
After paying the bill, the two turn left and head towards the person Aether had hoped to see. Keqing silently remarked why Ganyu was always so worried about eating there. Sheesh, she’d better be careful too.
She should’ve known who it was when he knocked on the door of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
The director is probably the only one mad enough to agree to it anyway.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Did you get the limited edition ones though?”
“I sure did. It wasn’t easy with how rare these were, but my contacts to the chief editor there gave me a pass. Here.”
“Thank Xingqiu!” *Chu~* “I’ll be sure to return the favor.”
“Not needed, I’m happy to oblige.”
A knock on the door attracted their attention. Hu Tao and Xingqiu, talking by the counter, turned their heads.
“Huh? A customer?”
“Hu Tao? Are you in?”
“Oh, it’s Aether. What a bummer, I thought I’d need to prepare my promotional speeches.” She says, pouting a bit.
“Well, perhaps my liege is here for a different reason. Let’s go see.”
Hu Tao skips over to the door and opens it, finding both Aether and Keqing outside.
“Hi! Oh, and Ms. Keqing too! What a surprise.”
“Good afternoon, Hu Tao.” Aether says. Keqing gives a wave as well.
“Come in, come in! Don’t be strangers, come on.” Hu Tao gestures them inside. Xingqiu follows up with a greeting of his own inside the parlor. “Ah, Aether. It has been a while since the Irodori Festival.”
“Indeed it has. Does your arm still hurt from all that?” Aether asked, smirking. Xingqiu laughed lightly in response. “A little, but Hu’s helped me with getting it working again. I really need to start writing properly.”
“Aiya, your handwriting is already good as it is!” Hu Tao says as she prepares some tea off the side.
“Well, she says so I guess. Oh, Ms. Keqing. Good afternoon to you as well.”
“Hello, Xingqiu. Nice to see you.”
“Likewise.” Hu Tao plops over to the lounge area, her tea try in front of them as she settles it on the table. “Do take a seat and make yourselves at home! It’s not often we find yout wo visiting us. Usually you’d be going to other places for dates, not a funeral parlor.”
Keqing’s cheeks were tinted slightly red from her words while Aether chuckled. “Yeah, there’s something we’d want to talk to you about. Xingqiu’s here too, so I might as well.”
“Oh? Something that involves me? What would that be, my liege?” Xingqiu asks, taking a seat beside Hu Tao.
“Before I start, is Zhongli in?”
“Ah, that old boozer? He’s elsewhere dealing with some ritual preparation that I assigned to him. Why?” Hu asks.
“Not really, in fact, perhaps it’d be better if he was left out, since this is quite something we’d want to talk to you two about.” Aether says, turning to Keqing for approval. She gently lands her hand onto his, patting it as a sign to continue.
“Okay so, this is quite serious from us, so please keep this between just us at all times, otherwise stated. It would be detrimental if word got out.”
“Oho, a secret? Well don’t worry, Hu Tao shall not spill!” The director claims, Xingqiu chuckled as he nodded along.
“Okay, so there’s been an issue with the Milelith, and I figured that we’d need to do something crazy to work it out. I gave it a thought, and you popped up in my mind.” Aether said, looking at Hu Tao. Hu giggled in response.
“My, I never thought you would have that high of an opinion of me.” Hu Tao teased. Keqing, gave a sigh while Xingqiu just rolled his eyes with a smirk.
“Haha, well, this is probably the nutsiest one I’m going to ever ask you to do.”
“So long as I don’t have to fight an archon, I’m sure we can take it.” Hu Tao says, gesturing to Xingqiu. The young man simply looks at her slightly confused. “We?”
“Uhuh! You’re not gonna leave me out to do this alone, are you?” Hu Tao asks, turning to him. Xingqiu hesitates, looking at Aether and Keqing to confirm that he’s part of it.
“If we wanted you out, we wouldn’t have asked you to stay.” Keqing points out.
“Oh, right. Then, what needs are there?” Xingqiu asked. Hu Tao clapped slightly, before turning to Aether and Keqing again.
“So.”
“Do you two want to rob the Chasm’s Stores?”
“...”
“...”
“EH?!?”