Chapter Thirty-Three: The Crown Prince Sends a Letter

  For several days, Yun Qi had been in an excited state. Firstly, Han Xueyan had been visiting him frequently, and Yun Qi's panda eyes had disappeared the day before. Today, Han Xueyan came again, and during their casual conversation, Yun Qi accidentally touched her hand, making her blush and look down without speaking. Yun Qi patted his thigh, thinking that there was a chance.

  Secondly, because he had given the prince five packs of cigarettes last time, the prince sent someone to deliver a letter early in the morning, along with 200 taels of gold. Without mentioning the content of the letter, just looking at the neatly arranged and shining gold on the tray made him feel like he was dreaming. The eunuchs from the palace came to the Yang residence, asking for Yun Qi by name, which surprised Old Master Yang. When asked why they were looking for Yun Qi, they only said that the prince had instructed them not to tell anyone else about this matter.

  After the eunuch left, Yun Qi took out a five-tael gold ingot from the gold and gave it to him, and after the eunuch praised Yun Qi for being a good person and left the Yang residence with a smile, Yun Qi hid the gold under his bed and walked out of the courtyard.

  Yang Wenguan was reading with Zheng Shu, the courtyard was empty, and he sat idly on a stone bench. Suddenly, he thought of the letter from the Crown Prince that he hadn't read yet. He took it out of his pocket, and on the envelope were four big words: "Cloud Seven personally opened". After tearing off the seal and unfolding the letter, the content was as follows: It's been several days since we last met, and I miss you very much, Brother Cloud. Father Emperor is particularly fond of incense, and I've mentioned you to him many times. He's also curious about you, and I asked Teacher to ask after your well-being. There's another important matter: the Shu state is like a broken bamboo, having already defeated three counties in Chu State. The governor of Xuzhou, Wang Yan, died in battle yesterday, and now Chu State is in danger. The Shu army has surrounded the capital with 400,000 troops, and the situation is critical. I hope you'll make arrangements to return to the capital as soon as possible.

  "What is this nonsense? Yun Qi was baffled, the crisis in Chu State had nothing to do with him going to Huadu. Although if Chu State were to perish, Nan State would be unable to protect itself, but as a small book boy, he didn't have the ability to change this turbulent situation. He himself didn't believe he could turn the tide like other transmigrators' protagonists. Thinking of this, Yun Qi sighed: "Human strength is limited!"

  "What's on your mind, being alone here?"

  Cui Hong didn't know when she arrived at the courtyard, curiously staring at Yun Qi, secretly glancing at the letter in his hand a few times, and curiously asked: "Is this the letter from the Crown Prince to you?"

  Yun Qi was taken aback and couldn't help but ask: "You know all this?"

  Cui Hong walked forward, somewhat concerned and spoke in a soft voice: "The old master is calling for you, and his expression isn't very good. Earlier, someone from the palace came to find you, it was the old master who received them. You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

  Yun Qi was speechless, looking at this young girl with a mixture of sadness and amusement. "What could I have done wrong? Even if I had committed a crime, it should be handled by the authorities, not the imperial palace. The prince's letter to me is out of concern, after all, we've been to Lockstone Village together to discover new talent. The prince thinks highly of me, Cloud Big Brother, as a hidden talent in the city. Now, he wants me to go to Huadu to take office, and I'm considering whether or not to go."

  Cui Hong glared at Bai Yunzi and said in a huff, "You can be smug for now. Others care about you and come to ask about you, but you speak like this. I won't bother with you anymore. Just wait and see how Master scolds you later."

  "Scold me? Why scold me? I haven't deceived or cheated anyone. Think of me as the pride of the seventh generation of servants, a lifetime of honor and integrity, and Master's rewards are not enough to repay me. How could you possibly scold me?"

  Watching Yun Qi's mischievous appearance, Cui Hong couldn't help but burst out laughing, but thinking that Yang Ziting was still waiting in the hall, she quickly urged: "Alright, no more nonsense, Master is waiting for you in the front hall, hurry up and go!"

  "Oh, Little Cui, can you tell me what the old master wants with me?" Yun Qi got up and walked towards the courtyard gate while asking.

  Cui Hong bit her index finger, furrowed her brow, and thought hard for a moment, but didn't come up with anything. She helplessly said, "It's probably related to what happened before, but I don't know either, you'll understand if you go yourself."

  "Oh, okay, I'll go now."

  "Hello."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Be careful what you say!"

  "Got it!"

  Yun Qi arrived at the front hall, and as soon as he entered, he saw Old Master sitting in the main seat. The atmosphere was indeed not quite right. Yang Ziting sat there with a dark face, eyes closed, cultivating his spirit, and didn't even notice Yun Qi's arrival.

  "Old master, I've arrived." Yun Qi stood in the hall, cupped his hands and bowed.

  "En!" After waiting for a while, Yang Ziting finally opened his eyes and responded vaguely. Afterwards, he stared at Yun Qi, except for a slightly dark face, nothing else could be seen. Yun Qi was not afraid, he knew that the old man was putting pressure on him, and it would be easier to ask questions later. But Yun Qi's previous life was a special forces soldier, his resistance to pressure had been professionally trained.

  The old man saw Yun Qi standing at the lower head, with a respectful attitude, but not afraid. After a while, he opened his mouth and asked: "Yun Qi, I ask you, what is your relationship with the prince?"

  Yun Qi raised his head and smiled slightly, still respectfully replied: "Replying to Master Lao, I am friends with the Crown Prince."

  "Bang!" The teacup was heavily placed on the table, and the old man glared with his eyes, shouting sternly: "How dare you, ignorant little boy! What status does the prince have? You, a low-ranking servant, actually dared to call yourself a friend of the prince. It's ridiculous. Don't you confess the truth?"

  Yun Qi was startled by the sound of the teacup, but upon hearing Old Master's words, he felt a sense of discontent. He immediately stood up straight, and an air of superiority naturally emanated from him. Yun Qi's face was stern, his waist was straight as a pen, and his hands were clasped behind his back. This posture would have led outsiders to believe that he was the young master of a powerful family. Yang Zi Ting seemed to be hallucinating, and the Yun Qi before him was no longer just a book boy in the mansion, but a young talent with a deep background.

  Yun Qi spoke up, his tone neither arrogant nor humble: "Sir! Yun Qi has ended up here and first of all should thank you for lending a helping hand to take him in. Yun Qi is grateful beyond words. Although Yun Qi is just a lowly servant, even servants have their own self-respect. Why can't a servant be friends with the prince? You are a learned man, sir, even the prince is your student. Do you also think that relationships between people should be based on social status?"

  Yang Ziting stared at himself, expressionless and silent, before continuing: "Your Excellency, the Crown Prince is wise and capable. Some time ago, I followed him to Suo Shi Village and saw that his every word and deed showed his benevolence. He never looked down on the villagers as inferior people. At night, he stayed in a civilian's home and ate with the villagers. I dare ask, Your Excellency, why does the Crown Prince win people's hearts? Why is he favored by His Majesty and respected by you? If the Crown Prince were born into luxury and despised the poor while loving wealth, spending his days indulging in food, drink, and pleasure, how would you view him?"

  Yang Ziting didn't think twice and opened his mouth to say: "I will personally plead with Your Majesty to abolish..." Before he could finish speaking, he saw Yun Qi's smiling face and knew he had been deceived. With a bad temper, he said: "Good one, Yun Qi! I actually fell for your trick, humph!"

  Yun Qi hastily paid his respects and said, "Your Excellency, I dare not. I only wanted to say that the Crown Prince condescended to interact with us despite our humble status, which is truly admirable of him."

  It's all been said, Yang Ziting can't deny it, that would be equivalent to denying the prince's actions. Besides, Yun Qi just told him that the prince wanted to make friends with him, not that Yun Qi was clinging to the prince wanting to make friends. Now it's even more impossible to say that Yun Qi is wrong. Helplessly, he could only say: "This matter, I won't pursue it further. As for the content of the letter the prince gave you, I don't need to know either. I just want to ask, what is this 'fragrant smoke'?"

  "Huh? What?" Yun Qi stared at Yang Ziting with a pair of big, surprised eyes, thinking to herself: You know this too? Did the prince tell you? Geez, the prince's got a big mouth!

  ……………

  Everyone, I'm sorry that today's update was slow. Actually, I had written the chapter early in the morning, but afterwards I kept revising it and felt that it was too poorly written, so I deleted it and rewrote it until now. I apologize to everyone for this. Also, my book has dropped to third place on the new book rankings, yesterday it was still first. I believe everyone will support me, please vote for me. Finally, my brother's new work "Extreme Scoundrel" is really well-written, welcome everyone to go and support it.