#plays at qiaoying village at night

[genshinmp3]

Camellia Night from Jadeite Redolence Dimeng Yuan, HOYO-MiX

[paimonial-rage]

indulgence- wriothesley

[random writing event] | requested by anon

With a stiff smile on your lips and a bead of sweat trailing down the back of the neck, there you were as the Duke himself sat sipping a cup of tea before you. This was the fourth time he came to visit you this month, and despite having had conversations with him every time, you still had no clue the reason behind his visits. If you had to be honest, you were on your last limbs. You hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for weeks. You couldn’t even taste the cup of Chenyu Brew you had imported before you.

It was mind-boggling, really. You were a long time resident of the Fortress, having decided to stay after your sentence was over. And, objectively speaking, you were engaged in illicit acts. While you were known for building custom meks and weapons for people in the Pankration Ring, you weren’t above fixing in a few illegal dangerous components for the right pay. You had them special ordered and smuggled in from abroad. Though it all was technically a secret, it only took a bit of asking around to lead the curious customers to you. So if that was the case…

Why hadn’t he arrested you already?

“This tea tastes pretty good. What kind is it?”

You jumped nearly a foot in the air, causing half of your cup to spill over.

“I-It’s Chenyu Adeptea, Your Grace,” you stammered. “Imported straight from Qiaoying Village.”

He hummed as he took another sip, taking a moment to savor the taste.

“It’s fantastic. Is there a specific importer you go through?” He asked curiously.

There was a specific vendor you went through, but as much as you tried to focus on his question, all intelligible thought escaped you. After all, was he trying to speak in code? Did tea stand for illegal components? Was this his way of interrogation to get the truth out of you!?

“Th-The Komaniya Express, Your Grace,” you finally got out after floundering for a few moments.

“I see,” he replied. “You mentioned the last few times that you use them also for matcha from Inazuma, chai from Sumeru, and chamomile tea from Mondstadt. You’re quite the tea connoisseur.”

As he spoke that last line, his eyes locked onto yours causing your spine to stiffen in fear. You were positive of it now. Tea was code for the components you’ve been smuggling. How in the world did he figure out you smuggled them in by hiding them in the cases of tea you ordered from abroad? You wanted to cry. What was he looking for? A confession?

Unable to take the tension anymore, you broke.

“You… you’re right. I use them for everything. I order tea from at least twenty different vendors from across Teyvat and use them for my customers here,” you finally let out with a bow of your head, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Twenty different vendors, huh?” He whistled. “That’s impressive.”

You kept your head down as your eyes filled with tears. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Though you enjoyed building meks and testing your skills to the limit, you knew when to call it quits. What would happen now, you wondered. Would you get moved to a dingier bunk? Would they force you to work in the production area till you dropped dead? Would you be forced to the lower tier meals at the Coupon Cafeteria?

At the sound of him standing, you shrunk even more into yourself. This was it. This was the moment. He was going to pull out his handcuffs and you were going to be arrested and then–

“Look at the time. Sigewinne should be calling me soon, so I’ll leave you be. Thank you for the tea. Treat me to a new one next time, hm?”

And with that, he stepped around you and there his footsteps went away becoming softer and softer until you could hear them no longer. Confusion quickened your heart rate as you lifted your head and looked around. You were alone. He was completely… gone. You didn’t understand. You began to hyperventilate at this point. Did he actually believe you or was he playing with your mind still?

And what did he mean by ‘next time!?’

[orchideae]

!!!!!!!!! I don't want to turn my camera so people don't see Qiaoying Village (but these two are directly looking down to the village from atop a hill next to it) if they haven't seen it yet. Now, I know through Yelan's signature dish, that Yanshang has a delivery route directly to this village. Like I knew this, but seeing people here has me absolutely buzzing. Also, also, also, also, also. I'M BUZZING. BUZZING!! I'd put all of this under a read more, but I need it for the actual little spoiler tied to a HC (non-canon-based) at the bottom, so excuse my mania.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S CRUMBS OF MY GIRL. But also!!! This makes me so happy, it's not just a casino at night, it truly is a proper teahouse during the daytime. Aaaaaaa, I'm not a 'I'm right!!!' kind of person, but it's just... it's just nice to be like 'Okay, I'm on the right track' It's like a little confirmation that she clicks, and makes sense to me, you know? God, but also, I'm so proud. She's so multi-layered and multi-faceted and this is kicking so much more motivation into my heart even if I didn't need any more (and just need my brain to calm down after months of severe stress so I can focus), but god, she's just such a good one. I love her immensely, for so many reasons. But just, this whole thing isn't even ambition, because WE LITERALLY KNOW that she isn't ambitious per se (since she refused the position of Tianshu, even if part of the reason why is also because she doesn't want to be tied down to Liyue Harbor), she simply wants Liyue and its people to be safe (like so many who live in it, I LOVE THIS REGION WITH SUCH A BIG PART OF MY HEART, guys), it's also why she patrols the Chasm. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Also, a little liberty of a HC that isn't tied to canon, and I wouldn't suggest peeking under the read more unless you don't care about very minor spoilers (it doesn't touch on the main SQ at all, it's tied to 'The Roaming Abode', ultimately tied to a house at a tiny distance from the village itself). So if you haven't played that specific WQ yet, don't peek! But, 1005 headcanon that Yelan has 'purchased' property here, and let me talk about it under the read more.

The Roaming Abode is a WQ that starts with a little girl who tells you that her grandfather has gone missing, or rather that he's gone to get 'blessed waters' from Mt. Xianluan for this 'divine plant' that he claimed he kept in his yard that needed that kind of water. Throughout this shorter quest, you learn that this man died (and you're left to question who the little girl is, or whether she's a little girl at all), and left behind a home in Qiaoying Village. This is what's said about both the man and his home by Uncle Luo:

Uncle Luo: He was an outsider, and we discovered that he was a bit... touched in the head the moment he arrived. He claimed that he'd picked divine herbs, but the pharmacy couldn't recognize them — much less buy them from him. Uncle Luo: But he had no other skills, and couldn't make the Mora needed to feed himself, so he had to knock on doors to ask for help. We took pity on him, and decided to feed him. His house was also built using Mora the villagers pooled together.

And then continues:

Uncle Luo: No one expected something that terrible to happen to him afterward, but once it did, everyone thought that this must've been him repaying us by protecting the village! Uncle Luo: Everyone thanked him, and thus people have been reliably caring for his own home. We're almost there, by the way.

This is the house, and the view from it. Now, I think most of us know that when a house isn't lived in, it'll inevitably fall into disrepair, no matter how much people may try to take care of its exterior and even cleaning inside if possible. A house needs to know the kind of maintenance that you can only truly give it when it's lived in. So, it's a little headcanon that as Yelan actually has a good tie to Qiaoying Village, and especially as she ages (and in my main verse, develops a tie to Fontaine), that she comes to negotiate and purchase this. Not out of greed whatsoever, but because she comes to thoroughly enjoy its environment (and if you know of her lines in the teapot, Yelan greatly enjoys tea drinking and the social aspect of it through which she learns about people), and also because it's a shame to let things get neglected to a point where they may perish at some point (I mean remember, most of Liyue consists of ruins). It's not a base of operation like Yanshang is, but it is simply a home, along with the one she has some distance away from Liyue Harbor, or she may simply replace one with the other.

Also, important to note: on top of all the above, this also works in the favor of the village in general, as now the cost of its maintenance will no longer have to keep coming from the villagers who take care of it (just like the mora to build it came from them), it will come from Yelan, which can be done through the likely decently substantial profits of Yanshang.

And to note: no, she doesn't 'take it over' as she did with Yanshang Teahouse, she literally purchases it, which also feeds money into the local community. Which is something that, based on the references above in terms of her character, Yanshang's new reputation, her loyalties, her foci— I'm confident in saying wholly fits her character.

[genshinmp3]

Brocade Dreams from Jadeite Redolence Yang Lee, HOYO-MiX