Chapter 81: Don't let me catch you, or I'll definitely make you pay!

No. 7 Changqing Street, Imperial Capital.

Wu Qi had a streak of bad luck yesterday; he was tortured to the brink of death by spirit beasts in a wild Mystical Realm. In the end, he had to hide in a tree hollow and wait out the two hours until it ended before he could leave the Mystical Realm.

After coming out, Wu Qi sighed, thinking how good it was to be alive.

If anyone asked him to go to such a low-level Mystical Realm again, he would rather die than go.

Early in the morning, Wu Qi left the place where he resided.

The Wu family had shops in the Imperial Capital. He was responsible for managing them, and while he was at it, he visited friends and sought knowledge to boost his reputation in the Imperial Capital.

This was to pave the way for inheriting the family business in the future.

Originally, Wu Qi's purpose in coming to the Imperial Capital was to make more friends, ideally to integrate into the elite circles of the younger generation and befriend the children of the powerful.

After arriving in the Imperial Capital, he did indeed work hard to integrate into the younger generation's circles.

That was until he met Chu Ruoyan; he forgot all about that goal and spent a long time acting as a sycophant.

Not only did he fail to make friends, but he also made enemies with quite a few people because of Chu Ruoyan.

Take Liu Hao in that circle, for instance; that guy was the son of a great noble. Not only did Wu Qi fail to build a good relationship with him, but they had already become bitter enemies.

This was simply a case of reverse operation.

Some time ago, the family seemed to want to recall him and replace him with another disciple.

The implication was clear: Wu Qi's ability was insufficient, and they intended to replace him to cultivate a new successor for the Wu family.

Thanks to a bit of sycophancy toward Li Chen a few days ago, he used the excuse of being acquainted with His Majesty to secure some support within the family, which allowed him to continue staying in the Imperial Capital.

Otherwise, he would certainly be receiving friendly greetings from his own father in Huju City right now.

Ever since Chu Ruoyan left this circle, Wu Qi had returned to normal; his cultivation speed was accelerating, and the business at the shops was thriving.

However, these were secondary; cultivation was not a matter of a day or two, and the shops would function even without him.

Wu Qi was thinking that as long as he could latch onto the connection with Li Chen, it would be worth more than befriending all the elites in the Imperial Capital.

Li Chen was the true core of power in the entire Imperial Capital.

But the key point was, how could he grovel before Li Chen?

He only had money; he didn't have any power like Liu Hao.

Aside from the channel through Chu Ruoyan, he couldn't think of a second way.

He had heard that the Chu family was holding a grand housewarming banquet in the first ring of the Imperial Capital. Naturally, a junior like Wu Qi wasn't on the Chu family head's invitation list, but he was prepared to be thick-skinned and go anyway.

After all, having been a sycophant for so many years, he had managed to become a familiar face to the Chu family head; he figured that if he went, they would let him take a seat.

Now, he was preparing to get some gifts; he couldn't go empty-handed.

Wu Qi thought that Chu Ruoyan would likely be there, and if he could at least get a word in with her and ask her to point him in the right direction, that wouldn't be impossible.

Ideally, he would find another opportunity to introduce his aunt to Li Chen, and then he, too, could become a popular figure in the Imperial Capital, just like the Chu family head.

That said, his aunt had been absent-minded ever since she returned yesterday, and he didn't know why.

Because attending the Chu family banquet was something Wu Qi could handle on his own, and it wouldn't be very reasonable to bring someone else, he chatted with Wu Nanzhi for a bit and then left the residence.

Ever since Wu Nanzhi returned yesterday, she had been thinking about whether that man had actually heard what she said.

Would they ever meet again?

Clearly, that man's behavior was despicable, making her walk through the forest naked—that was a supreme humiliation!

Yet, she couldn't help but think about this matter.

Facts proved that as long as a man had the means, if he was bad enough, he would definitely make a woman remember him.

Whether she wanted to deal with Li Chen or thank him, she could never forget this incident; she might never forget it for the rest of her life.

But ever since she came out of the Mystical Realm yesterday, until nightfall, that man hadn't appeared, as if he had evaporated into thin air.

This morning, she was also wondering if that man had been too busy yesterday.

But now it was the second day, why hadn't he come yet?

Could it be that he really didn't hear, or were there other reasons?

The reason Wu Nanzhi was letting her imagination run wild was simply because she was bored.

The flowers in the courtyard had almost all been plucked apart by her.

"Hmph, don't let me catch you, or I'll definitely make you pay!"

She 'guessed' that Li Chen might be playing hard to get, but this tactic had indeed taken effect; Wu Nanzhi's calm heart had already begun to ripple. Every time she thought of Li Chen, she was so angry she gritted her teeth.

And Li Chen, who was on her mind, was currently attending the morning court session.

Today, the house arrest order for Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun was finally lifted, and he couldn't wait to attend the morning court session early in the morning.

It had to be said that military generals were truly bad at speaking; one after another, they came up to congratulate Guo Guo Po Yun.

Guo Guo Po Yun was puzzled; what was there to congratulate? Congratulating him on his 'release from prison'?

It wouldn't be too late to congratulate him once he obtained the supreme command of the Northern Expedition.

Then again, Guo Guo Po Yun had originally intended to start begging Li Chen today, but Li Chen had already said that the supreme command of the Northern Expedition would be decided at the Spring Hunt.

If he brought it up now, wouldn't he be defying His Majesty again?

Being punished with house arrest was a small matter; Feng Huai's fate was the big one.

Therefore, Guo Guo Po Yun still honestly attended the court session without too many other thoughts.

He was also determined to win the Spring Hunt.

!

He didn't believe that anyone could outdo him in this regard.

He had quite a few followers in the court.

Moreover, among these military generals, how many dared to compete with him, and how many dared not to give him face?

I have decided on the command; you all can fight over the other positions yourselves.

Before Li Chen appeared, Guo Guo Po Yun wouldn't be polite to anyone.

As a legendary general of the May Tian Ce Dynasty, he had rendered great service to the dynasty.

When he was leading troops in battle, most of these military generals were still nursing; why should they compete with him?

Just by him casting a glance, these military generals would feel their stature shrink by half.

When Guo Guo Po Yun's gaze swept over to Pang Jin, he paused for a moment.

"Yo, I haven't attended court for a few days, and there's a newcomer here."

"This subordinate pays respects to General Guo." Pang Jin also acted very honestly.

His position was not low, but Guo Guo Po Yun's was higher.

Moreover, he was indeed a newcomer to the court, and in any case, he needed to understand some etiquette.

Furthermore, he had heard of Guo Guo Po Yun's legendary deeds before, and now that he could see the person in the flesh, he was a little excited.

Guo Guo Po Yun patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him to work hard and share the burden for His Majesty.

Pang Jin also expressed that he would definitely do his best to repay His Majesty's cultivation.

In any case, Li Chen hadn't appeared for the court session yet, so Guo Guo Po Yun continued to greet people in the court.

He did this appearing to be enthusiastic, but in reality, he was telling everyone here that although this old man hadn't come for a few days, he was still the head of the military generals, and they should be more polite when speaking in the future.

Don't provoke me, or I'll make you suffer the consequences later.

He indeed had the qualifications to give these court officials a deterrent.

Because among his duties, one of them was exactly this.

Both the head of the military generals and the head of the civil officials needed to establish a certain prestige here.

Zhao Wenyuan was still in his usual frail and senile state, standing at the head of the civil officials, squinting his eyes to rest his mind.

Guo Guo Po Yun walked over and probed, "Have there been any major events recently? I heard there has been progress in the Crown Prince's case?"

Zhao Wenyuan slightly opened his eyes and replied, "You should go ask the Minister of Justice about this matter; why ask me?"

His speech remained watertight; outside of his own duties, he basically had nothing to disclose.

Even if he knew, it was impossible for him to say it here.

The two of them just started chatting like this, one digging a hole, the other avoiding it.

This was the norm for decades in the court.

With Li Chen's arrival, the civil and military officials finally returned to their positions and respectfully bowed to Li Chen.

Seeing Guo Guo Po Yun's arrival, Li Chen asked symbolically, "Minister Guo, I haven't seen you for many days; are you in good health?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 82 =====