"Gasp—! That's the Su Family's carriage! I once caught a glimpse of it from afar when I went into the city. The Su Family produced three provincial governors in their ancestral line, and even now they have people in the imperial court's inner circles, people who share old ties with the Su Family's ancestors!"
"That's the Liu Family! The Liu Family's cloth and silk business stretches across all of Yan Province. They rake in gold by the day—a true great financial clan!"
"And Luoying Martial Hall, Hongri Martial Hall, and Tianhe Martial Hall—the three premier martial halls—have all come too! The disciples of these three hall masters are spread throughout Yan Province, and rumor has it that several of them hold important posts in the army!"
"That's the Zhang Family. Bright Moon Pavilion, the largest restaurant in our Pingjiang City, was opened by the Zhang Family."
Inside the houses lining both sides of Tong'an Alley, the common folk peered through cracks in their doors and windows. Their eyes spun, their heads swam, and they felt as if they had been dropped into a dream.
They could hardly believe it. These great figures, people they would normally never even have the chance to lay eyes on, the true rulers of Pingjiang City, had actually gathered in such a filthy place.
As one distinguished and noble figure after another arrived, they were so stunned their eyeballs nearly fell from their sockets.
Then, two carriages with gold-plated wheels and banners embroidered with purple bramble flowers arrived before Tong'an Alley, along with a figure dressed in official robes and boots, wearing a black gauze official's cap.
The entirety of Tong'an Alley—or rather, all of East City, which had already drawn countless gazes—erupted into an uproar!
"People from the Sikong Family have come too!"
"My