Chapter 619 - 613: King’s Guards
Facing Li Xingtai’s invitation, Lin You was a bit surprised.
He thought that he had already concealed all his aura, appearing no different from ordinary people to others.
Not only did he show courtesy to him, an ordinary person, but he also personally apologized. This Li Family Patriarch was quite interesting.
Either he is genuinely a kind person, or he deeply understands the art of survival, never easily offending anyone whose full background is unknown.
Just as he intended to inspect along the way to see if Song Chaoyuan had been managing the Duchy well, he smiled and replied, "Alright, then I won’t decline."
And so it was.
Under the surprised gazes of the household guards, Lin You, at Li Xingtai’s invitation, boarded an empty carriage.
Then, at a command, the entire entourage slowly started moving again, heading towards the Capital.
"Big brother, why are you being so polite to an ordinary person?"
On another carriage, Li Xingrui asked confusedly.
He had also probed Lin You’s aura just now and found that he had no power at all.
"Just making a good connection." Li Xingtai smiled slightly, "Our journey is of great significance, and we should avoid causing trouble to prevent any rumors of bullying from spreading to other powers."
"Big brother, there you go again. Haven’t you done enough good deeds usually? And yet you haven’t gained any reward?"
Li Xingrui pouted, obviously tired of hearing such words from Li Xingtai, somewhat unconvinced.
Li Xingtai chuckled, "Anyway, it’s just a minor effort. We don’t lose anything. Let’s discuss the upcoming itinerary. At this speed, we should be within the Capital’s borders in less than half an hour."
At the mention of the Capital, Li Xingrui, who had been sitting casually, immediately showed a serious expression, his demeanor turning solemn.
He hadn’t forgotten the purpose of their trip to the Capital.
While the two were discussing their schedule.
Sitting in another carriage, Lin You was checking various interfaces while observing the scenery along the way through the window.
Gradually.
A grand city wall appeared in view, with more and more pedestrians and carriages gathering, all heading toward the large city gate at the base of the wall, forming lines.
The entire area outside the city was bustling.
"Clan Leader, we’ve reached the Capital."
At this moment, a shout came from the front of the Li Family’s entourage.
Then, the whole team slowly approached outside the city gate for inspection by the guards.
"Wow! Is this the Capital?"
"The city wall is so tall, much taller than our Huayuan City!"
"After traveling all day, we’ve finally arrived."
The younger generation of the Li Family in the convoy eagerly stuck their heads out, excitedly and admiringly looking at the city walls in front of them.
Lin You also lifted the curtain, glanced around at the surroundings, and noted that the order inside and outside the city walls was well maintained, expressing a slight smile of satisfaction.
Unexpectedly.
At that moment, the Guard Commander inspecting goods at the front of the convoy happened to glance this way, witnessing his action of peeking out of the carriage.
"That is!"
The Guard Commander’s eyes instantly widened in disbelief, his expression as if he’d seen a ghost, nearly dropping his weapon in shock.
This abnormal behavior immediately caught the attention of several adjacent guards, who asked perplexedly, "What’s wrong, Commander? Is something off?"
At these words, the two Li brothers waiting for inspection both changed their expressions, fearing something improper might have been discovered.
Knowing full well.
They had spared no expense today, preparing a large amount of precious goods to make connections in the Capital.
If this batch were detained.
It would be a massive loss for them, making them exceedingly anxious.
For they’d already heard that this Commander Cui was a close associate of the Chaoyuan King.
Offending him would be akin to offending the Chaoyuan King, virtually closing off opportunities for them to establish a business in the Capital, or even bringing suppression.
However.
What they hadn’t expected was, the imagined scenario did not occur.
Instead, Commander Cui, as if stimulated by something, suddenly broke away from the team, stumbling toward the back of the Li Family’s convoy, quickly arriving outside the carriage where Lin You was.
He took a deep breath, intending to salute reverently.
"Alright, go back."
A calm voice emerged from within.
Already seated back inside, Lin You had naturally sensed someone approaching.
With a sweep of his perception, he recognized the person as a familiar from when he appointed Song Chaoyuan, indicating his identity had been recognized.
Upon hearing his voice, Commander Cui was both startled and delighted.
Not daring to defy, he bowed slightly to the carriage and quickly returned to the city gate.
"Alright, stop the checks, let them pass!"
He called back all his men who were inspecting the Li Family’s goods.
This move left the Li brothers puzzled, not understanding what had happened.
Instead, with a smile on his face, Commander Cui approached them.
"You two must be the main and secondary heads of the Li Family in Huayuan City, right? Nice to meet you, sorry for taking up so much of your time."
"Uh... Commander Cui, no, it’s us who took up your time."
Now, the Li brothers were even more baffled, glancing towards the carriage where Lin You was, their expressions a mix of surprise and uncertainty.
Just what had happened that made a character like Commander Cui suddenly undergo such a drastic change in attitude, as if he were a different person entirely.
Could it be that the young man, Brother Lin, was not an ordinary person?
But the son of a powerful figure?
Having just arrived, they didn’t dare to inquire further.
With these doubts, he had to get back onto the carriage and continue toward the city at a slow pace amidst the shouts.
Until they disappeared into the city gates.
Only then did a subordinate next to Commander Cui couldn’t help but ask, "Commander, they’re just forces from small towns nearby, why are we being so polite to them?"
Even the other people nearby cast curious glances, full of confusion.
"What do you know?" Commander Cui glared at them fiercely.
"Do you know who was just sitting in that carriage? That’s someone even our King would bow to!"
"Hiss! Even the King would bow!?"
"How is that possible!"
The guards were completely shocked, each one with eyes widened.
Soon, someone reacted, gaping in shock: "Could it be..."
"Shh!... Silence!"
Commander Cui abruptly cut off his words.
Then he leaned in and whispered a few words in their ears, instantly leaving them stunned, almost fainting from fright.
At this moment.
The convoy of the Li Family had already passed through the city gate, reaching the bustling main street, and crossing through the street amidst cries of selling, heading towards the city center.
Seeing that they were not far from the Chaoyuan Imperial Palace.
However, Li Xingtai and his companion were not paying much attention to these sights but were still discussing the earlier events.
"This Young Brother Lin’s identity is probably not simple."
Li Xingtai said with a steady gaze.
Originally thinking he was just an ordinary civilian they were giving a ride to, unexpectedly, there was such immense power behind him, even Commander Cui had to be respectful and exceedingly polite to them.
"Could he be a young master from some powerful faction?" Li Xingrui couldn’t help but speculate.
"Probably not wrong." Li Xingtai nodded silently, "Commander Cui’s strength is already at Tier Nine, to have him be so polite, it must at the very least be a faction with a Tier Nine powerhouse."
"Then why would he still enter the city with us?"
"That I don’t know, since he doesn’t wish to say more, we also don’t need to ask more. Maybe we can leave a good impression and build a connection with the power behind him, which will greatly benefit the future development of our Li Family."
"That’s true."
Li Xingtai nodded in agreement.
Thus.
After a brief discussion, they gave up on probing into Lin You’s identity.
Then amidst the rolling of the wheels, they headed towards the center of the Capital.
Not until the latter half of the morning did they finally reach the vicinity of the Imperial Palace, stopping beside a shabby small courtyard at the bustling street.
This was the courtyard they had sent someone in advance to rent.
Although a bit shabby, it was already the best place they could rent, at least it counted as having a place to stay.
After all, their family was weak, unlike those powerful factions with Tier Nine or even Tier Ten powerhouses. To have a courtyard close to the Imperial Palace to temporarily reside was already very good.
"Alright, everyone get out of the car and have a rest."
Li Xingtai said to the entire convoy.
There was still quite a lot of time before the grand ceremony at noon, ample enough to settle down and then go to network with other powerful factions.
After all, a small family like theirs was unable to directly participate in the grand ceremony or meet the new King.
So they could only get in through connections.
That was also the reason why they brought so many things.
All around, there were people coming and going, all representatives of forces rushing from various places.
Quite a few people even cast disdainful glances along with a few snickers, mocking them for residing in such a shabby place.
Compared to the luxurious and spacious mansions nearby, it was truly worlds apart.
"Who do they think they are? Once I successfully get selected for the Duchy Guard, I’ll crush them all!"
"Right! Don’t bully the poor youth!"
The younger generation of the Li Family clenched their fists, unhappily staring at those laughing at them.
"Alright, this isn’t Huayuan City, don’t cause trouble casually."
Li Xingtai sighed, also knowing that their Li Family was weak and couldn’t compare to those great families.
So coming to this capital city teeming with power, they were even more cautious, not daring to offend people casually.
Hoping everything goes smoothly, alas...
Li Xingtai sighed lightly again, then turned to start directing the servants and guards to unload cargo and sort through materials.
At this moment.
A commotion suddenly arose from the distant street.
A grand and overwhelming team, well-equipped, appeared and rushed over rapidly.
Even in the sky, there was a flying squad clearing roadblocks, forging a straight path on the street.
"It’s the King’s personal guard contingent!"
"With such a grand formation, could the grand ceremony be starting?"
"Wasn’t it supposed to start at noon? How could it suddenly be ahead of schedule?"
"No, wait! Look at the center of the formation, isn’t that the Chaoyuan King?"
"It really seems like it is! Why would the Chaoyuan King personally appear here?"
The street was full of gasps, with representatives from various factions hastily stepping aside to make way for the personal guard.
Li Family members who had just reached their lodging were also shocked and excited, not expecting to see the King so soon.
With such a grand lineup, could they be here to pick up some major figure?