Chapter 4: Heading to Huadu

  After returning to the small courtyard, he greeted Yang Wenguan and was about to walk into the house when he suddenly remembered that he hadn't handed over the thing yet. Yun Qi had no choice but to turn around and beckon to Yang Wenguan with a mysterious expression on his face.

  "What's wrong?" Yang Wenguang muttered.

  Yun Qi didn't care, just walked towards the house while throwing a sentence: "Don't come and regret it later."

  Yang Wenguan had no choice but to follow hastily, anyway it shouldn't be anything bad, besides Yun Qi had never deceived him before. Maybe there's something new and interesting, Yang Wenguan thought to himself.

  After both of them entered the house, Yun Qi got up again and closed the door properly before opening a package wrapped in oilcloth on the bed.

  "Wow!" Yang Wenguan exclaimed in surprise, two bows with a faint glow quietly lay on the oilcloth. He looked at Yun Qi who was calm and composed, pointed to the bows on the bed, then pointed to himself, and said disbelievingly: "This...this...is for me?"

  Yun Qiqi nodded and urged: "Choose one for yourself."

  Yang Wenguang excitedly shouted: "Oh yeah... Master! I love you to death!" After that, he rushed up and took both crossbows in his hands, comparing them with each other. He muttered to himself: "Both seem the same, which one should I choose?"

  Yun Qi stood on one side, watching silently, and didn't respond. He knew the two swords were actually the same, and he also didn't know why Yang Wenguang was having such a hard time making a decision. After waiting for half a moment, seeing that Yang Wenguang still hadn't chosen one he liked, he casually snatched one over and said: "The two swords are the same, you can just choose that one."

  See Yang Wenguan off, who was still in a state of excitement, Yun Qi took out the new bow and wrapped it in oilcloth, putting it under the bed. He took out the one he had made earlier, wiped it with a dry cloth, and muttered to himself: "I'll take this one into the palace tomorrow."

  A night of silence...

  On the second day, Yun Qi packed up his luggage early in the morning, washed up and came to the courtyard. At this moment, everyone was busy, Yang Wenguan was waiting for Zheng Shu Mu, Yun Qi didn't go to disturb him, he sat alone in the courtyard, lit a cigarette and smoked leisurely.

  "Cloud Master!"

  Han Xueyan didn't know when she arrived in the yard, and saw Yun Qi sitting on a stone bench smoking. Although she didn't know what cigarettes were, she also felt that the smell coming out was very unpleasant, so she opened her mouth and called out from a distance.

  Yun Qi's eyes met Han Xueyan, and his heart also trembled slightly at the sound of "Young Master Yun". He hastily extinguished his cigarette, looking somewhat flustered as he asked, "How did Miss Han arrive here?"

  Han Xueyan walked over to Yun Qi and sat down across from him, asking with concern: "I heard Wen Xin say that you're going to Huadu."

  Yun Qi replied: "Yes, His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me. I will set out with Master this afternoon."

  "How long will you be gone?" Han Xueyan asked again.

  Yun Qi was taken aback, how did this girl care about him so much? Could it be that she also had feelings for him? As he thought, Yun Qi's eyes were still fixed on Han Xueyan, who felt a little shy under his gaze and lowered her head, saying in a low voice: "Young Master Yun, why aren't you speaking, and yet you keep looking at me like this?"

  Yun Qi was taken aback and hastily explained, "Uh...Miss Han, this time when I went to Huadu, I will return in three days without fail. Thank you for your concern, Miss."

  Han Xue smiled and said: "Yun Gongzi, you rarely go to Huadu, there's no need to rush back like this."

  Before the beautiful woman in front of him finished speaking, Yun Qi couldn't help but ask: "Huh? Don't rush back?" At the same time, he thought to himself: No way, it seems like he's overthinking again. He thought she was worried that he would be late coming back and would miss him, but it turns out she just told him not to come back so early.

  Han Xueyan thought Yun Qi might have misunderstood, and smiled: "Yun young master, I didn't mean anything else. These flowers are all from the southern capital, compared to Si Nan, they seem more prosperous and interesting. I was thinking that you could stay in Huadu for a few more days, play well, and not waste your trip."

  Yun Qi couldn't help but laugh in his heart, so it was like that, it seemed he had overthought things. He replied: "If what Miss Han said is true, then Yun Qi should also stay in Huadu for a few more days to experience the southern capital city as described by Miss Han. Ah! Right, Miss Han is also from Huadu, I wonder if she can introduce some fun places and good food to Yun Qi?"

  "If you want to talk about fun places, there are many in Huadu. In the city, there is a garden called Suichun Garden, where theater troupes perform every day, and there are also lantern riddles, couplets, and so on. I once went with my father and thought it was very interesting. There's also Miaoren Alley, a small street lined with vendors selling clay figurines and other small toys. When I was young, my father gave me a clay doll for my birthday, but unfortunately, I lost it later..." As she spoke, Han Xueyan's eyes became misty, and her heart felt a deep sadness whenever she thought of her father's love for her when she was young, which was now tinged with sorrow due to his tragic fate.

  Yun Qi saw this and hastily changed the subject: "Uh...the fun places you mentioned, Miss Han, should be enough for Yun Qi to play around. But Miss Han doesn't know that Yun Qi's biggest hobby is eating, hehe...don't laugh, I've had a dream since childhood, which is to eat my way through the whole country, and taste all the delicious dishes under the sky, hehe."

  Han Xueyan's melancholy emotions were suddenly dispelled by Yun Qi's words, and she continued: "If you want to talk about good food, I know of a famous restaurant in Huadu called Hua Jiang Lou. It's located in the south of the city and has chefs from all over the world who cook delicious dishes with different flavors from various countries. The place is always packed every day, so if you don't make a reservation in advance, you won't be able to get a seat from morning till night. So, if you go to Huadu, it's really a pity if you don't eat at Hua Jiang Lou."

  After chatting for a while, Han Xueyan had something to do and bid farewell. Yun Qi didn't make her stay longer, he knew that in this era, an unmarried girl staying too long in a man's residence would lead to gossip. He got up and escorted her out of the courtyard, watching as she disappeared into the distance. Yun Qi sighed to himself: "Such a wonderful woman, if I were to marry her, it would be a match made in heaven, just like Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu, and Yuji."

  After lunch, Yang Ziting sent someone to urge Yun Qi and said that the carriage was ready. He asked him to go directly to the gate. Yun Qi didn't dare to delay any longer, checked his belongings again, saw nothing missing, and walked towards the gate. At the last moment before leaving, he also remembered to put a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

  Out of the gate, a large carriage with two black horses was indeed parked. As he walked over and lifted the canvas curtain, Yang Ziting was already sitting inside with his eyes closed, meditating. Yun Qi bowed respectfully: "Master, I'm here."

  Yang Ziting responded softly and waited for Yun Qi to sit down before instructing the coachman to depart. He then fell silent, closing his eyes as if he had fallen asleep. On the other hand, Yun Qi felt somewhat uneasy; this was only the second time he had ridden in a horse-drawn carriage since arriving in this world. The first time, he had sat in the driver's seat, but now he was inside, surrounded by thick curtains that made him feel stifled and oppressed.

  Before long, they left the city gate and as the carriage rattled along the road, Yun Qi, who had gotten up early, suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him and soon fell asleep. Hearing a faint snore, Yang Ziting opened his eyes, took a look at Yun Qi, who was sleeping soundly, and then closed his eyes again to rest.

  ……………

  Dear readers, I've been extremely busy with work lately. This first update was written during my lunch break and hasn't been edited for typos. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but as you all know, the top leadership from headquarters came for an inspection, and those evil capitalists exploited my rare day off. I apologize, the second update might be delayed a bit.