Chapter 1: Your Highness Requests

  Dear readers and friends! Old Mo's new book "144 Days in Baghdad" has been officially approved, so let me give you a preview. This is a modern military war-themed novel, the stories and scenes that unfold are almost identical to real life. Don't ask Old Mo how he knew all this about Iraq, I can only tell you with regret that these must be kept secret, otherwise the consequences will be severe, haha! Anyway, let's get back to Book Tong's world...

  One after another, more than ten crossbow arrows were shot out. Yang Wenguan excitedly shouted: Cool! On the other hand, Yun Qi was busy running back and forth, sometimes pulling out the crossbow arrows from the wall, wiping off the dust on the arrowheads, and putting them back in the quiver, and sometimes adjusting Yang Wenguan's posture, being busy to the point of sweating profusely. After all, there were only fifty or sixty crossbow arrows, so recovering them had become a necessary procedure.

  "I say, young master, shall we stop here for today? This running around is exhausting." Yun Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead, offering gentle advice.

  "Fire five more shots! How's that?" Yang Wenguan was having a blast and didn't want to stop at all. He had been fascinated with military equipment since he was young, let alone such a powerful crossbow which he had never seen before. Naturally, he wasn't willing to end it so soon.

  Yun Qi's face was filled with helplessness as he bitterly cried out: "Are you still going to hit me?"

  Yang Wenguan saw Yun Qi's somewhat unhappy expression and looked at Yun Qi's busy appearance, also feeling a bit embarrassed, before saying: "Just the last five rounds, I promise to stop after finishing."

  "Alright... the last five shots, and I really won't let you shoot anymore." Yun Qi reluctantly compromised, if he had known earlier, he would have made two more moves to come back, and wouldn't have been pointed out by Yang Wenguang with a borrowed excuse.

  "Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh..."

  Yun Qi ran away without hesitation, standing at a safe distance by the wall, waiting for Yang Wenguang to finish shooting his five arrows. When he turned around and saw Yang Wenguang subconsciously reaching for the arrow tube again, he rushed forward in one swift motion, taking advantage of Yang's carelessness to snatch the bow from his hand. As Yang tried to grab it back, Yun Qi hastily said: "A man of honor, a real man, must keep his word!"

  "Uh!" Yang Wenguang, who had always admired heroes, could only give up.

  Yang Wenguan started to come over, with a smile on his face, and began to flatter Yun Qi: "Hehe, Master! You are indeed the all-powerful master of my Yang Wenguan! The disciple's heart most admires you! Master... Ah... Master... why did you push me? Master... don't go... Hehe... Master, can you also make a bow and arrow for me? Hmm? Do you want money? Okay, okay... I'll give you as much as you want... What? Five taels?! You're robbing me! Ah... Ah... Don't go... Can you lower the price a bit? Yeah! Master, don't go. Five taels is five taels."

  Yang Wenguan haggled with Yun Qi, wasting a lot of words, and although he spent five taels, seeing Yun Qi agree to make another bow for him the next day made him feel like it was worth it, and he looked forward to it eagerly.

  Just then, someone came in from outside the courtyard and shouted at Yun Qi: "Yun Qi, Master is calling you."

  "What did the old master call me for? What does he want me to do?" Yun Qi replied with a seemingly confused expression, but in his heart, he thought: I hope it's not because of my involvement with the bow and arrow that the old master found out, or else I'm done for, and Yang Wenguang will also be dragged down with me.

  The servant said: "I don't know either, sir told you to go directly to the front hall."

  "Oh, I see." Yun Qi was about to take a step when he suddenly thought of something and turned back into the house to grab an unopened pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, stuffing it into his clothes. He thought bitterly: Alas, there's only one pack of cigarettes left, and Taizi has already taken half of it. Last time, Lao Yezi found out and even smoked a few himself, saying they tasted great. Later on, he asked for several more, so this time Lao Yezi must have known that I got the bow and arrow, and it seems like I won't be able to avoid spending money.

  Yun Qi's heart ached as he clutched his cigarette, jogging to the front hall. As soon as he stepped across the threshold, he saw the old man sitting in the main seat drinking tea with an air of contentment. He hastily asked: "Old Master, did you call me?"

  Yang Ziting raised his head and saw that it was Yun Qi, putting down the teacup, expressionless, saying: "Yun Qi, guess what, I called you here for what reason?"

  Yun Qi hurriedly walked a few steps forward, came to Yang Ziting's front, and secretly thought: What's the matter? Still isn't it because of my made crossbow? But his mouth was a smile, hastily took out Chinese cigarettes from his pocket, respectfully handed them to Yang Ziting, saying: "Old master, don't mind what thing first, this is Yun Qi's filial piety to you, please old master accept."

  Yang Ziting's face was expressionless, but he silently accepted the cigarette handed to him and put it in his sleeve. After clearing his throat, he spoke up: "Heh heh, no need for such courtesy, did you do something wrong?"

  Yun Qi listened and exclaimed, "Master, what could a small book boy like me possibly do wrong? It's just that last time I saw you seemed interested in this cigarette, so this time when you called for me, I brought the last intact pack to give to you." Yun Qi deliberately emphasized the words "last intact pack", implying that he only had this much left and if Master wanted to smoke it all, then there would be none left. Anyway, he wasn't afraid of Master searching his house, as people in this era hadn't developed to that point yet. Moreover, scholars throughout history were supposed to have a sense of pride, and letting Yang Ziting do such things was something Yun Qi wouldn't even consider doing himself.

  "Really not?" Yang Ziting asked again.

  Yun Qi shook his head like a rattle drum and hastily replied: "No!"

  Yang Ziting didn't say a word either, he just stared at Yun Qi, his eyes seemed to want to see through him, and they remained silent for a while.

  Yang Ziting slowly opened his mouth and said, "Yun Qi, today when I went to the early court session, after the session was over, the Crown Prince found me and told me to bring you along next time. The Crown Prince wants to see you!" As he finished speaking, his eyes were fixed on Yun Qi without wavering, trying to read something from his eyes, but very obviously, apart from the sleep in the corner of his eye, he didn't see anything, and couldn't help but think secretly, could it be that the Crown Prince and Yun Qi are really just ordinary friends who know each other a bit, as they themselves said?

  Yun Qi also knew that Yang Zi Ting was looking at his own purpose, but as a special forces soldier, Yun Qi naturally wouldn't let others see through his true intentions so easily. He looked back at Yang Zi Ting with a pair of eyes that could be said to be still quite clear.

  When Yang Ziting finished speaking, Yun Qi pretended to be surprised and hastily said: "Your Highness wants to see me? I'm just a lowly servant, how could Your Highness want to see me?"

  Yang Ziting said, "Well, I won't deceive you, but I want to know what kind of relationship you have with the prince?" Although he couldn't read anything from Yun Qi's eyes, he felt that Yun Qi and the prince were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.

  "Please be assured, sir," Yun Qi hastily explained, "it's really just a normal friendship, I wouldn't dare deceive you, sir."

  Yang Ziting waited for a while before saying, "Alright, you'll follow me to Huadu tomorrow and attend the early court session with me the day after. By the way, even His Majesty is interested in you, but when I asked him about it, he didn't say anything. I also can't reveal anything to you beforehand. Remember, during the court session, be mindful of your words and actions. If you displease His Majesty, I won't be able to protect you either."

  "Your Majesty!?!" Yun Qi's eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't help but exclaim.

  Yang Ziting was startled and scolded in dissatisfaction: "Making a big fuss over nothing, what kind of behavior is this?"

  Yun Qi Yi hastily lowered her head.

  "Yun Qi, I'm asking you, who are you really? From the moment you entered the Yang Manor, I could tell that you're not just a down-on-your-luck person. The strange and unusual items on your body that day, I've never seen anything like them before. I carefully examined the things you brought with you and found a stick-like object that looked very peculiar. Most importantly, the materials used to make it were completely unfamiliar to me. Furthermore, your familiarity with the Crown Prince is also suspicious. An ordinary servant wouldn't have the audacity to speak with him, let alone become friends. Who are you? Are you brave enough to tell the truth?"

  Yun Qi: "……" His brain was completely stunned, and he couldn't see that Yang Ziting usually seemed to care about nothing, but somehow said something so accurate. He was indeed a sly old fox, but how could Yun Qi explain it?

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