Early morning.
A layer of sea mist, thin as gauze, draped itself over Yujing Terrace.
While most of Liyue Harbor was still fast asleep, the brightly lit conference hall atop Yujing Terrace was already bustling. The Liyue Qixing were holding an internal meeting.
Ningguang's three personal secretaries, Ganyu of the Yuehai Pavilion, as well as the principal heads of the Eight Trades, were all seated around the table as observers. Each held pen and paper, diligently recording every detail of the discussion.
Ningguang gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window. She took a slow draw from her pipe, exhaled several rings of smoke, then walked gracefully to the center of the hall and took her seat.
"Colleagues," she began calmly, "the Rex Lapis has been in seclusion for several days now. As a result, the Golden House has ceased production entirely. Liyue is currently unable to mint Mora—something unprecedented in our history."
"The purpose of this meeting is to pool our collective wisdom and address this extraordinary challenge. Stabilizing the market will be our highest priority in the days ahead."
One by one, the attendees voiced their opinions.
However, due to a lack of precedent and insufficient experience, no one could accurately predict how events would unfold. The proposed measures remained vague and largely theoretical.
After more than half an hour of discussion, someone muttered quietly,
"If only the Snezhnayan Prince were here…"
The conference hall fell instantly silent.
That single remark voiced what many were thinking.
If the Prince of Snezhnaya were to assume the position of Regent, his extensive experience in governance would undoubtedly resolve the issues at hand.
Clearly, many hoped Ningguang would once again seek his counsel—or invite him directly to participate in policy discussions.
Ningguang, however, responded coldly.
"Enough. Collect yourselves. Yes, the Snezhnayan Prince is formidable—but are all of you here fools?"
"You are the elites of Liyue's industries. You understand this market far better than he does. Since Rex Lapis entrusted Liyue to us, we cannot rely on outsiders. Governing this nation must depend on ourselves."
Her words served as a deliberate wake-up call.
"Do not forget—at the Jade Chamber banquet two days ago, the Snezhnayan Prince initiated a commercial war against us. Only if we win will he assume the role of Regent and assist us wholeheartedly in reforming Liyue."
"But if we lose," Ningguang said coolly, "all of our accumulated wealth will be reduced to nothing."
The room sank into silence once more.
At this moment, Keqing, the Yuheng, spoke up.
"Ningguang, has the Snezhnayan Prince made any moves these past two days?"
As the head of Liyue's intelligence network, Ningguang replied,
"Yesterday, he visited your residence. After that, he went to Wanmin Restaurant with Beidou."
Noticing everyone's gaze shift toward her, Keqing sighed lightly.
"There's no need to look at me. We discussed some private matters."
Ningguang pressed further.
"What kind of private matters?"
"I invited the Prince to my estate to discuss the philosophy of rule by humans. He also warned me that he could use tactics such as real estate speculation to break my monopoly over the housing market."
"Keqing," Ningguang asked, "do you believe his methods could defeat you?"
"Yes."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
If even Keqing believed she would lose, then the other monopolized industries present might not fare any better under the Prince's offensive.
Psychological pressure mounted sharply.
Especially Tianshu, who oversaw the food industry. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he asked anxiously,
"Ningguang, tell us—what did the Snezhnayan Prince do at Wanmin Restaurant? Is he planning to use Wanmin to seize control from me?"
"He simply ate a meal," Ningguang replied. "But he did make Grilled Tiger Fish extremely popular. Also, everyone should already know—whoever deposits the most Mora in the Northland Bank gains his exclusive endorsement."
Tianshu was puzzled.
"That's strange. He didn't approach Xiangling for cooperation. He isn't acquiring assets or shops, nor is he using Snezhnayan capital to start businesses in Liyue. Then what exactly is he using to wage this commercial war?"
Traditional commercial warfare revolved around competing for market share.
Yet the Snezhnayan Prince had declared a commercial war—while seemingly doing nothing at all.
They couldn't even discern his opening move. How were they supposed to counter it?
"In any case," Ningguang concluded, "everyone must closely monitor all actions taken by the Snezhnayan Prince and the Fatui in Liyue. Maintain absolute vigilance."
"I second that."
A consensus was reached.
At this point, Baizhu, the Tianquan, asked,
"Ningguang, may I compete for the Prince's endorsement?"
"As long as it's legitimate commercial behavior, it's permitted," Ningguang replied. "However, it would be best if everyone participated anonymously."
With that, she set the tone.
After the meeting adjourned, Keqing remained behind with Ningguang.
"Keqing, is there something else?"
"The Prince approached me for a specific piece of data," Keqing said quietly. "He wanted to know how much Mora is held in the Golden House's strategic reserves. Only you have the authority to access that information."
Ningguang smiled faintly.
"So the two of you really do share secrets."
"My intentions are no secret," Keqing replied. "Rule by humans is the ideal I've pursued all my life. With the Prince's help, that dream could become reality. My only concern is whether he intends to use that data as part of his commercial war."
She spoke honestly.
After all, she was still one of the Liyue Qixing, and Liyue's interests had to come first.
After a moment's thought, Ningguang said,
"The amount of Mora in strategic reserves is just a number. Telling him won't hurt. As long as we firmly maintain control, it will be fine."
"Ningguang, thank you. I thought you might make things difficult for me."
"Since you didn't hide anything from me, I have no reason to doubt you."
Like sisters, the two clasped hands and smiled at one another.
Ningguang continued,
"With Rex Lapis suddenly entering seclusion and no fixed date for his return, this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate rule by humans."
Keqing nodded in agreement.
"As long as the Qixing stand united, we can overcome any difficulty. Even the Snezhnayan Prince won't be able to bring us down."
...
That same morning, Severin received the intelligence Keqing had sent him.
According to the report, the Golden House's strategic Mora reserves amounted to one hundred billion.
One hundred billion Mora was no small sum.
It seemed the Liyue Qixing had always maintained solid safeguards against risk.
This significantly increased the difficulty of Severin's currency war.
But it didn't matter.
He was confident he could overcome any obstacle.
"Your Highness, something has come up at the Northland Bank. They require your presence."
Severin, who had been reading historical records, received the report from a Mirror Maiden.
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