r18novel Page 10
Page 10
This was the first thing Lin Jiu'an said after entering the reception room.
“I can turn you from a ‘sinner’ in Mondstadt into a ‘hero’.”
"It's not even impossible to bring the Lawrence family back to Mondstadt."
Yura thought the other person had some mental issues.
However, one must admit that the opponent's experience as an "honored knight," his formidable strength, and his confident demeanor are all impressive.
The most important thing is the content of the words.
It was too attractive to her.
Conversely, Yura also had to consider whether this was a 'trap' he was trying to completely eliminate her and expel her from the Knights.
The other person seemed to sense her doubt and said with a smile, "You don't think it's natural for you to have fallen to this state, do you?"
“If it happened in the last century, it’s understandable that they remember it.”
"But that happened over a thousand years ago."
"A group of people who live only to die, but live for the sake of survival, still remember you, and even hate you so much that they cause trouble for you, and even refuse to provide you with food and lodging when they have the money to earn?"
"Don't make me laugh."
"It's been dozens of generations."
Are there even one-tenth of the people who lived in Mondstadt a thousand years ago?
"This is supposed to be a city of freedom? It's more like a city of grudges!"
"To put it bluntly, hatred is nothing more than a tool for those in power to achieve their goals."
"If needed, they can dig up hatreds from thousands of years ago and write about them at length."
"But if it's not necessary, they can selectively forget the blood feuds of decades ago with the help of the people."
"Right now, they need you and the Lawrence family behind you as an external conflict to alleviate the internal conflicts in Mondstadt that are already on the verge of exploding."
"And the common people are the most foolish."
“The higher-ups promote it, and the lower-ups spread it. Over time, they will firmly believe that this is their idea.”
That was a completely new theory that Yura had never even considered.
She always believed that the hatred of a thousand years was etched in her heart, and that it was only natural for the Lawrence family to treat her this way because of their sins. That's why she came back to atone for her sins.
Lin Jiu'an's words were tantamount to denying her worldview and even negating everything she had done before.
He broke with his family, endured the scorn and insults of the Mondstadt people, and joined the Knights of Favonius...
They were all denied.
Yura couldn't accept it at first, thinking that what he said was nonsense, but at the same time, she felt that what he said seemed to make some sense.
"If you don't believe me, replace this group of merchants."
"Without their encouragement, and if you just had some people spend some money to promote you, do you think the public's attitude towards you would change completely?"
"Perhaps in a generation or two, your Lawrence family will be able to return to Mondstadt."
"To put it bluntly, for humans who live for no more than a hundred years, how many generations can the deepest hatred last?"
Who among modern people still remembers the hatred between the Qing and Yuan dynasties?
The things the bear did to the rabbit were nowhere near as good as what the pheasant did, yet they're still not 'good brothers'.
If it were a kingdom like Liyue, where there are a lot of mythical beasts and immortals who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years, and they still harbor resentment over past blood feuds, Lin Jiu'an could understand. After all, for them, thousands of years might only be equivalent to a few decades for humans.
But Mondstadt, a country without even gods...
Yura had to admit it.
She was captivated by the grand promises the boy in front of her made.
She was moved.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Yura asked with difficulty.
Lin Jiu'an smiled.
"It's very simple."
"I want to deal with those people for certain purposes."
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
"How about we team up and build a brand new Mondstadt together?"
Everything that happened later proved that what he said was true.
But reality is never as beautiful as a fairy tale.
The knight who protects the princess will not ultimately win her heart; instead, he will die at the hands of a dragon, or...
...End of flashback...
Even if it's something that has already been proven.
Yura still refused to believe that someone was deliberately inciting hatred towards the Lawrence family among the people.
Just thinking about how she had worked hard to become a 'hero' in people's eyes, just like in her previous life, yet public opinion had not improved at all but had become worse, made Yura somewhat believe it.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just that some people keep spreading rumors, and you know, rumors always spread much faster than the truth."
"People who are unhappy with their lives often like to spread rumors that are detrimental to those who are doing well, in order to vent their hatred and dissatisfaction."
"If you don't believe me, you can go find them."
Lisa placed a piece of paper on the table.
Yura took the paper and saw that it contained the names, information, and addresses of several people.
“These are the addresses of those who spread rumors. You can go and ‘ask’ them to see if someone is directing them.”
Yura was silent for a moment, then looked up at Lisa and asked, "Why?"
“What they’ve been doing lately has become increasingly outrageous.”
"do you know?"
"Taking advantage of the chaos during this period, they engaged in rampant extortion and forced buying and selling in the city, becoming increasingly unscrupulous and causing countless families to be broken apart and lives lost."
"I think we should give them a warning."
"But the zither needs help."
Lisa then took out another document.
Yura took it and looked through it; it recorded many illegal acts committed by merchants.
The more she looked at Yura, the more alarmed she became.
The things those small business owners in the document did, which she considered insignificant, kept pushing her to her limits, making her unable to believe that such things were possible for a human being.
Seeing Yura's fingers tighten slightly, Lisa smiled and stood up, holding her wine glass.
If we compare Mondstadt to a piece of meat.
Then it is a piece of rotten meat that is completely decayed from the outside in.
The putrid smell was masked by the strong spices called "Freedom," "Romance," "Lawrence," and "Fools." Only by breaking this piece of meat down into its components and recombining it could it be reborn, just as the Gunnhild family and the common people overthrew the old nobles like Lawrence a thousand years ago.
Lisa had no interest in doing that.
In her view, Mondstadt's decay could persist for quite some time.
At least during her lifetime, before Jean's passing, Mondstadt was able to maintain a semblance of prosperity.
As for dismantling and restructuring.
Lisa didn't think she could do it, and she didn't think Qin and Yura could either.
and so.
The document she produced contained information about the merchants.
They were just small to medium-sized merchants in Mondstadt without any powerful connections or backing.
This would both distract Qin from other things and prevent her from focusing on Lin Jiu'an.
This could also alleviate the increasingly dire situation in Mondstadt and serve as a warning to those increasingly greedy merchants.
As for the new students?
Lin Jiu'an in his previous life had already proven it with everything he had.
Even he, who did many things that she considered miraculous, carving out bloody paths in the darkness, ultimately only managed to remove a portion of the rotten flesh before disappearing in disgrace amidst betrayal and abandonment.
Unless Jean and Diluc can fully support him.
But is that possible?
Even if Jean and Diluc were determined to cut off the rotten flesh from their bodies, the rest of their families would absolutely not agree.
Because the Gunnhild family and Dawn Winery are the instigators of this decay.
Chapter Twelve: Someone's coming! Let's quickly crawl under the bed!
The night is getting darker.
The banquet is over.
Lisa, Ying, Amber, and a certain emergency food item walked together toward the Knights of Favonius.
“I suddenly remembered that I need to talk to Wendy about something.”
Ying was the first to say goodbye.
After walking along the road for another two blocks,
Amber said, "I'd like to go for a walk. Miss Lisa, you should go back first."
Finally, watching Amber's figure gradually disappear at the street corner, Lisa turned and walked back the way she came.
······
"Cat's Tail" Tavern.
After tidying up, Lin Jiu'an returned to his room.
The day's work had left him somewhat exhausted, but Lin Jiu'an still fought off his drowsiness and took out a bag from under the cabinet. He opened the bag and looked at the golden Mora inside, happily counting them one by one.
Eighty-seven thousand three hundred Mora.
The 50,000 was Lisa's monthly salary plus the fee for the indecent assault; the rest was Margaret's two weeks' wages minus expenses.
He'll get paid again in a couple of days, and once he finishes this month's work, he'll have saved enough for his travel expenses.
Lin Jiu'an originally thought he would have to work for at least two or three months, but who knew he would meet such a good boss as Margaret, who provided room and board and a high salary, and also meet such a lucky charm as Lisa.
Double happiness.
Feeling Mora's cool, hard touch, Lin Jiu'an couldn't help but grin foolishly, as if he were caressing a beautiful woman's soft skin.
half an hour.
Lin Jiu'an tied up his money bag and was about to take his babies to bed when...
There was a knock on the door suddenly.
"Lady boss?"
Lin Jiu'an looked at the doorway with suspicion.
The second floor of the tavern is Margaret's own residence, where only Lin Jiu'an and Margaret live.
But it's so late, what does Margaret want with him?
Lin Jiu'an hid the money bag in the cabinet, got up and opened the door, and immediately saw a blond figure.
"fluorescent?"
"Can I come in?"
Lin Jiu'an hesitated for a moment, and then Ying walked in on her own.