When the Cinnabar Iron Writ was brought out, Pei Changtian could not help looking over curiously.
The earliest Cinnabar Iron Writs had indeed been made of iron, but later, as symbols of the sovereign's supreme favor, they had come to be made of gold. Throughout history, few people had been granted one, and Pei Changtian had never seen one either.
The Cinnabar Iron Writ lay inside a red-lacquered wooden box. When the box opened, it revealed a slightly curved gold plate, rounded above and straight below to symbolize the round heavens and square earth.
The gold plate was covered in engraved text recounting the Tan Household's merits and the favors bestowed by the sovereign.
The mere sight of it stirred a hint of excitement in Pei Changtian's expression.
"Once the Cinnabar Iron Writ is presented, Lord Chu will surely be safe!"
Tan Yuanshang glanced at the Cinnabar Iron Writ, gently closed the wooden box, then looked at Pei Changtian beside him, thinking silently.
Let us hope so. ...
There was no grand ceremony or advance notice. Tan Yuanshang, once wealthier than anyone under heaven, returned to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture aboard nothing more than a small, swift, ordinary merchant vessel, without exercising any special privileges.
Only a few carriages and a suitable number of attendants came to meet him at the harbor.
Tan Yuanshang had returned to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture as quickly as he could, but he was neither a supreme master of the Rivers and Lakes nor a sorcerer who could use the Divine Movement Technique. The journey had still taken some time.
Meanwhile, Pei Changtian had returned to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture ahead of him.
When the ship docked that day, Pei Changtian stood beside the waiting carriages. After the exhausting journey by boat and carriage, the sight eased Tan Yuanshang's troubled heart