Ling Jinhua naturally understood the meaning behind Luo Liansheng's words, but he did not respond. Instead, he pointed to the platform outside, "The departure time is near, shouldn't the train be moving soon?"

Luo Liansheng saw Ling Jinhua evade the implied matter in his words but didn't mind. He chuckled, "In just over four hours, we'll be in Jinling. Perhaps some of Jinling's royal aura will have been absorbed."

Ling Jinhua didn't quite grasp the meaning of Luo Liansheng's words, so he frowned slightly, "How many times in life does the past cause heartache, yet the mountain shape still pillows the cold current. You, Sir Luo, have too many grudges, which is not good!"

"Today meets the call of the world as a home, the old fortress rustles in autumn's reed. Sir Ling, we Luo Family are not in a chaotic state, yet my whole family wanders around like in wartime. If it were you, what would you do?"

Both quoted lines from Liu Yuxi's "Xisai Mountain Reminiscence."

Wang Jun's towered ships descended to Yizhou, Jinling's royal aura dimmed and withdrew.

A thousand fathoms of iron locks submerged to the river's bottom, a fragment of surrender banners emerged from the stone head.

How many times in life does the past cause heartache, yet the mountain shape still pillows the cold current.

Today meets the call of the world as a home, the old fortress rustles in autumn's reed.

Luo Ziling was well-read on this poem. He understood it as merely a reflection on historical ups and downs, so how could it turn into mutual complaints in the mouths of these two old men?

"Haha," Ling Jinhua laughed lightly, "If it were wartime, you would still be a hermit; your son would not, he'd become a general. And your grandson, he'd surely outperform both of you. Given the chance, he'd become a king."

Ling Jinhua's words greatly surprised Luo Ziling; he never expected the old man to appraise him like this.

Luo Liansheng wasn't surprised, however. He chuckled and responded, "With your granddaughter's temperament added in, the child's character will be different. While the Luo Family is suited to being hermits, you, the Ling Family, are not."

Huang Chen sat quietly to the side, without any change in expression.

He was used to hearing these kinds of discussions from the two old men and regarded them with a certain indifference.

Huang Chen also wondered if the two old men would keep arguing all the way to Jinling.

He understood that although Luo Liansheng was a generation younger than Ling Jinhua, grandfather Luo feared him not, even being bold enough to make direct demands. An argument breaking out, even leading to red-faced quarrels, was entirely possible.

He pondered what to do if the two indeed began a shouting match.

What surprised Huang Chen further was that the two old men, upon reaching this point, fell silent and ceased to debate the topic.

Luo Ziling let out a sigh of relief, hoping Ling Jinhua wouldn't appraise him further.

After all, he lacked ambition, had no "royal aura", and certainly didn't want Ling Jinhua babbling randomly.

Yes, he thought Ling Jinhua's words were just gibberish.

Next, Ling Jinhua and Luo Liansheng prepared to play chess, with staff quickly setting up a Go board for them.

Of course, Luo Ziling sat to the side watching, but since Luo Liansheng and Ling Jinhua played slowly, he grew a little impatient.

What surprised Luo Ziling was that the two old men played chess throughout the journey.

They played two games in total, each taking about two hours.

Luo Ziling preferred fast chess, pondering moves for only a brief moment, thus his moves were swift.

His speed often disrupted his opponent's rhythm; even Ling Mingrui found it hard to adjust when playing against him.

Luo Ziling found it unbearable that the two old men pondered for ages over a single move, so after sitting for a while, he finally got up and wandered away.

The next carriage was mostly filled with highly skilled security personnel from the Security Bureau.

Upon entering that carriage, Luo Ziling felt an immense pressure.

The accompanying officer from the Security Bureau knew Luo Ziling's identity and background, so as soon as Luo Ziling entered their carriage, he greeted him warmly.

Luo Ziling exchanged some casual talk with this officer, also inquiring about the upcoming arrangements.

The officer knew Luo Ziling's father was stationed in Jinling and was aware of Luo Xusheng soon taking over Dragon Rise, thus he was very polite to Luo Ziling.

He hoped that after arriving, Luo Ziling could assist in negotiating with Jinling's security forces to jointly ensure the success of this escort mission.

Luo Ziling naturally would not refuse.

From Yanjing to Jinling, the high-speed train stopped at several platforms.

At each stop, the security personnel immediately disembarked to guard around the business carriages, preventing any bystanders from nearing. Even the elegant attendants on the train weren't allowed into these two carriages.

Fortunately, the four and a half hour journey flew by, and at 11:15 a.m., the train arrived punctually at Jinling South Station.

As the train was yet to come to a complete stop, through the window Luo Ziling already saw the people awaiting them on the platform.

His keen eyes first spotted his father Luo Xusheng.

It wasn't just that his eyes were sharp; Luo Xusheng was wearing a military uniform.

Among those welcoming them, in a military uniform, standing tall, Luo Xusheng naturally drew a lot of attention.

Judging by those standing alongside Luo Xusheng, Luo Ziling discerned they were local officials there to greet them.

It was quite a commotion; the security presence at the station was unprecedentedly strong, with special agents surrounding the train entirely.

This was when the train's drivers and attendants realized there were significant figures onboard.

Seeing so many receiving them, Ling Jinhua was slightly displeased, furrowing his brow as he scolded Huang Chen, "Why such a big fanfare?"

Huang Chen hurriedly explained, "Sir, I didn't arrange this, it's likely the Security Bureau comrades informed the locals who then made their own arrangements."

Only then did Ling Jinhua say no more.

Once the train steadied, Luo Liansheng gave Luo Ziling a look, and Luo Ziling took the cue, quickly stepping forward to support Ling Jinhua in alighting. Ling Jinhua shot Luo Ziling a peculiar glance but didn't resist, letting him assist.

As they exited the carriage with Ling Jinhua, a middle-aged man in his fifties, sharply dressed in a suit, hurried forward.

"Sir Ling, you must be tired," the middle-aged man quickly approached, bowing slightly and extending both hands to Ling Jinhua, "We received the notice at short notice and couldn't arrange properly, please understand."

The leading middle-aged man was the person in charge of Jiangbei Province, and behind him were administrative chiefs, each major group having come to greet them.

Originally, they intended to board and greet briefly before escorting Ling Jinhua off, but they weren't allowed to.

Being denied entry onto the train made the officials a bit uneasy.

Unexpectedly, Ling Jinhua publicly rebuked them, "I'm only traveling privately, why stir such a commotion?"

The officials were momentarily dumbfounded, struggling to react.

At this moment, Luo Ziling timely quipped, "Grandpa, didn't you just lose two games of chess? Why so angry?"

Luo Ziling's comment left many people momentarily astounded.

That Ling Jinhua was angry over a chess game, and those around him dared to point it out—quite peculiar indeed.

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