[18+] Locked in Jade

[guoba]

If you're a merchant in Liyue, and the Tianquan of the Qixing summons you, you go. It doesn't matter that Xiangling doesn't particularly trust the older woman, or doesn't want to risk her meddling in the affairs of her father's restaurant. The Mora that flows from the Jade Chamber-- and the Tianquan's connections, which can make or break a business-- is just too much to pass up.

Even if Xiangling doesn't really understand why she's been summoned. Something about a consultation for a banquet's menu, or whatever. (That sounds like a terrible idea, really. Nobody in all of Teyvat can cook her recipes. Why not just hire her?)

In a normal time, Xiangling might have been tempted to tell the Tianquan to go pound rock slimes. Her cooking spoke for itself, and Wanmin always had clientele from near and far forming lines out the door. Even the Qixing can't extert influence that beats out famously good cooking.

But it's not a normal time. Just the other day, one of her cooking experiments had gone wrong... much more wrong than usual. The kitchen of Wanmin had been all but destroyed, and they can barely feed a tenth of their normal clientele. Her father is too stubborn to ask for loans, not wanting to be in debt, but without a massive cash influx, how can they repair their kitchen?

But that's her own problem. Surely even the Tianquan doesn't know about that. Nobody knows what happened in Wanmin's kitchen. She'll just have to solve the problem herself.

But as the platform elevates her into the sky above Liyue to the Jade Chamber, Xiangling can't help but wonder if she's somehow been found out. But how?

She shouldn't underestimate Ningguang...