Heir of Haishan

The Conspiracy: Daggers and Deceit

It was a very pleasant and amusing morning inside the Northland Bank, the base of operations for the Fatui in Liyue. Inside the office of the manager, Andrei, was a large table, where the independently-minded Tartaglia was seated and enjoying his breakfast. Ekaterina walked in on Childe as he sipped at his black, pungent coffee, saluting. "Your Lordship, The Steambird's front spread is all about the internal turmoil in the Qixing, while one of their columnists has called for the Millelith to outright seize the Crux Fleet's ships and block their cargo from entering Liyue Harbour."

"This is truly out of control," smirked Childe, as he wolfed down his Snezhnayan cheese pancakes, hot tea, and buckwheat porridge. He smirked to himself. "The Steambird is having a laugh. The Alcor brings in critical supplies for the Qixing year-round. No one will admit it, but Beidou's seafaring and piracy are quite integral to Liyue's economy. The more serious hit job is the front page's news." Ekaterina came closer and handed Childe the newspaper, and he crossed his legs, lifting the broadsheet to read more closely.

"Hm. The headline's slowly turning up the heat, but hasn't gone ballistic: Turning on the Tianquan: Qixing Members Divided Over Ningguang's Ties to Beidou. See, The Steambird's trying to pile pressure on Ningguang by insinuating that she's facing discontent from within. A disunited Qixing, after all, means a chaotic trade environment, and the business of Liyue is business. If Ningguang can't keep her people together, then even her position could grow shaky."

Childe tapped on the paper, where there was an elegant drawing of Ningguang and Keqing. "Anonymous sources have confirmed that at least three among the Qixing have raised concerns about Ningguang's reliance on Beidou, the prominent pirate captain that is accused of ransacking Yanshang Teahouse and attacking the Yuheng, Keqing...

"The uncrowned lord of the ocean's indiscriminate attack on the teahouse has led to a variety of prominent corporations, business associations, trade guilds, and financial institutions to call for the outright criminalization of the Crux Fleet and the arrest of Beidou herself...

"The same anonymous sources tipped off The Steambird's reporters that Ningguang faced direct calls to abandon her long-standing, discreet business relationship with Beidou. Ningguang responded with a willingness to consider censuring the Crux Fleet, but questioned who might fill the vacuum should Beidou lose her role in importing precious ores, minerals, and items of wealth. In other words, who might benefit from supplanting the disgraced sea captain. The debate between Ningguang and the other Qixing members continues, with far-reaching ramifications for Liyue's commercial world."

Childe put a finger to his lips. "No mention of why Beidou attacked Yanshang Teahouse in the first place. Why?" he wondered aloud. Was she misdirected? Coerced? Set up?

He also sensed another omission. "Either the Yuheng's keeping mum about something that involves her reputation and dignity, or, one way or another, her take isn't being reproduced in the pages of prominent papers like The Steambird. Are they ignoring her? Has she reached out already? What was her perspective about what happened that night?"

And... yes. The reporter of this article did let slip an important consideration. Who is doing this? Who might want to displace Beidou?

Childe's smile slowly faded as he considered the implications, putting two and two together. "Your Lordship?" asked Ekaterina nervously.

"Summon Andrei and all available senior Fatui," said Tartaglia, "and I hope you have pen and paper ready for what I'm about to dictate to you."

"Y – yes, sir!" cried Ekaterina, fumbling about and lifting up a notepad and Liyue-style brush. "You're personally sending a letter back home?"

"To Zapolyarny Palace, to the Tsaritsa herself. That's how heavy the import of things happening here is," cried Childe, standing up from his seat, his breakfast forgotten.

"Your Majesty, I shan't waste your time. Liyue may look peaceful but is in the midst of a corporate conspiracy. Someone is attempting to turn the wealthiest business bodies against a powerful pirate called Captain Beidou. They'll stop at nothing to displace her, from turning the press against her to Things are already turning violent for her given the fortunes and profits at stake."

Childe continued dictating: "Yet Beidou is only one half of the coin. By making an example of Beidou, our plotter is striking at the very heart of the Qixing, the Tianquan Ningguang herself. For it is common knowledge that Ningguang and Beidou are partners-in-crime, and it would be extremely difficult for anyone supplanting Beidou to work with Ningguang..."

Childe's arctic cold eyes narrowed. "Unless, they also intend to unseat Ningguang, to cast down both women: Ningguang from her lofty view in the Jade Chamber, and Beidou from the Alcor's deck and into the waves. Hence the division within Qixing, the attempt to turn members against her leadership. It all hinges on starting a war with Beidou, knowing that her righteous rage and inability to overlook injustice will, ironically, doom Ningguang."

Ekaterina looked up, staring at her leader. "This is your conclusion from a simple lead piece in The Steambird?"

"Of course not. I've been investigating on my own, and talking to Ningguang myself. Ningguang is trying to balance what she sees as an angry trade community and Beidou's interests. But there's a hidden hand. And even though we of Snezhnaya, and interests like those of the Court of Fontaine, stand to benefit from this Liyue chaos, we're not the ones behind this. The conspirator has covered their tracks almost impeccably: it's almost logical that we would want to do something like this. Yet here we are, innocent, even if Ningguang has every reason to be suspicious of Northland Bank's involvement with the dark money going to Yanshang – just like every major company or bank here."

Childe glanced at Ekaterina. "One final note I want to leave Her Majesty: this is a formidable plan, and if Ningguang and Beidou are crushed, Liyue is up for grabs. Yet! Yet. All this is predicated on the plotter's idea that they can set Beidou up to fall, and she'll just mindlessly let herself be puppeteered."

Childe smirked. "True, Beidou did fall into our mysterious conspirator's trap by attacking Yanshang Teahouse, but now she's surely onto the sinister machinations behind that dramatic night. What will you do when she strikes back with her own plan, conspirator? And what if Ningguang sees through your deceit, too?"

Childe began to snicker, blood boiling. He hugged himself with one hand while pressing the other manically against his curling lips. "How angry Beidou and Ningguang must be! They risk to lose everything: their pride, their city, perhaps even each other. What if they truly fall, but what if they uncover their true enemy? The fight that culminates at the end of all this will be truly hateful and violent – just the way I like it!"