Chapter 601 - 391: The Bigwigs Who Only Appear on the Evening News

Chapter 601: Chapter 391: The Bigwigs Who Only Appear on the Evening News

Honored Guests at the Gate

On the passageway outside the gilded main gate of the Lu Family manor, three black sedans with extremely ordinary exteriors were slowly driving in.

There were no markings on the bodies of the cars; the windows were covered with the darkest blast-proof film, sealing off the view inside so completely that only as they passed did they reflect a cold, hard metallic sheen.

At this moment, the Lu Family bodyguards who had long since lined up on both sides of the gate were all dressed in black suits, earpieces hidden along the edges of their collars, hands folded at their abdomens, their backs ramrod straight.

They had clearly been informed in advance, yet there was not the slightest hint of slackness. Their sharp gazes swept over the convoy as it slowly came to a halt, their breathing unconsciously lightened; even the arc of their jacket hems fluttering in the evening breeze seemed particularly solemn, not daring to show a trace of negligence.

Anyone capable of making the entire Lu Family receive them with such gravity was absolutely no ordinary visitor.

At the front of the crowd, Lu Yuliang was dressed in a perfectly pressed dark black suit; from the moment the convoy appeared, his gaze had been firmly locked on the sedan in the middle.

When the faint sound of the tires grinding against the ground came to a stop, a barely noticeable solemnity flickered in his eyes, and in his heart he confirmed once more: this was the honored guest he had waited for specifically today.

Behind those dark windows sat the man who could determine the entire power structure of Yifeng Province.

And this mysterious distinguished guest, who had rushed here from the Imperial Capital, had only one purpose in coming: to uproot completely the protective umbrella behind Li Gangshan.

The wrinkled corners of Lu Yuliang’s eyes twitched slightly, and an indescribable surge of emotion rose within him.

Those wrinkles hid the wind and frost of several decades of rising and falling in officialdom. From the grassroots to high office, he had witnessed the undercurrent of factional struggle and had lived through moments of saber-rattling before major decisions.

Lu Yuliang fancied himself long since tempered into a state of composure, unmoved by favor or humiliation, yet the rhythm pounding inside his chest now did not allow him to deceive himself.

Even at the peak of his own career, Lu Yuliang had never dared to hope he could see this man in person.

This was a figure on the political stage of Dragon Country akin to a sea-calming needle. A person of this rank only ever appeared in news broadcasts and top-level documents.

To him, it was more like a distant and awe-inspiring symbol; he had never imagined there would be a day of close contact.

Just as Lu Yuliang was lost in thought, the door of the black sedan in the middle slowly pushed open, the soft sound of metal hinges turning especially clear in the silence of the long street.

Likewise, almost at the instant the car door opened, Lu Yuliang subconsciously held his breath, and even the breathing of the surrounding bodyguards seemed to halt in unison.

The solemnity diffused in the air instantly solidified; even the evening wind seemed to freeze in place, not daring to disturb this moment of austere silence.

There was reverence for supreme power, trepidation at facing a living legend, and a measure of awkwardness he himself had not yet noticed.

Waves surged in Lu Yuliang’s heart, but the moment he recalled that face of his father, as calm as a still well, all his chaotic emotions felt as if someone had pressed pause, gradually quieting down.

In his memory, his father’s face always carried a kind of effortless composure, able to bear great weight as if it were light.

No matter whether he faced impasses in the business world or tangles in connections, there had never been panic in those eyes, as if so long as he was there, no problem was beyond solution.

Suddenly, Lu Yuliang understood: this great man before him had not come only to eradicate the backing behind Li Gangshan; more importantly, he had personally come to pay his respects to his father.

This respect that transcended levels of hierarchy was the fruit of his father’s reputation earned over most of a lifetime.

And that he himself could stand here, could have the chance to approach such a distinguished figure, when all was said and done, was still thanks to his father’s lingering influence, to the face his father carried for the family.

Once he had worked through this layer, the tension in Lu Yuliang’s throat quietly dissipated.

His body, which had been leaning slightly forward, unconsciously straightened a little; when his gaze fell again on that opening car door, there remained only a precisely measured solemnity and respect.

Lu Yuliang also took the chance to straighten his suit and tie, pulling his waist fully upright—he was representing the Lu Family, and must not tarnish his father’s prestige.

The driver who got out first almost jogged around to the rear, his fingers carrying a hint of caution as they touched the door handle; with a soft "click," the door was steadily pulled open.

The first thing to come into view was a pair of black leather shoes polished to a shine. Immediately after, a middle-aged-to-elderly man dressed in black casual wear slowly bent and stepped out of the car.

On top he wore a casual jacket of fine, soft pure cotton; below, a pair of crisp black trousers. There were no superfluous adornments, yet he exuded a calm steadiness that needed no deliberate display.

His hair was combed with not a strand out of place, the parting neat as though measured by a ruler.

Only, among the black strands, a few sparse silvery hairs were mixed in, lending that otherwise unremarkable face a touch of gentle warmth precipitated by the years.

Judging by appearance alone, anyone would think he was just an ordinary man in his fifties, with not the slightest trace of a "big shot’s" airs.

And at the very instant both his feet touched the ground, the doors of the cars in front and behind also opened almost simultaneously.

Two middle-aged-to-elderly men in similar attire stepped out as well—identical black casual wear, equally neat hair, even that unhurried yet composed aura between their brows was almost the same.

They did not rush forward, but instead, with practiced tacit understanding, stood one on each side of the first elder, their eyes calmly sweeping over the Lu Family mansion before them.

Though the three elders had yet to utter a single word, they made the atmosphere—already heavy—grow even more oppressively so, with a pressure that could not be seen yet could be clearly felt.

Even a fool could see that these three elders, who had come together from the Capital, were by no means ordinary people.