A few more days passed, and a large tower ship docked at Mingzhou Harbor. Those aboard and ashore swiftly set up the gangplank, while a carriage had already been waiting at the pier.
The ship was not particularly ostentatious, but it clearly was not a cargo vessel either, since no dockhands approached it throughout the process. Once everything was ready, quite some time passed before several people finally disembarked.
Tan Yuanshang needed no one to support him. He walked down the gangplank step by step, set foot on the pier at Mingzhou Harbor, and drew a deep breath.
Tea Province was most famous for its spring tea, so this was far from the harbor's busiest season. Even so, it remained lively, with laborers working at fever pitch everywhere, large ships loading and unloading, and no shortage of dockside markets and people coming and going.
Tan Yuanshang seemed to be savoring that familiar atmosphere. He had once spent many long years amid bustle like this.
None of those around him disturbed him. They simply waited quietly beside him.
After a long while, Tan Yuanshang opened his eyes.
"Let's go to the Mo Residence and pay Master Mo a visit."
"Yes!"
Tan Yuanshang had brought few attendants, only a single carriage. He and his elderly personal servant sat inside, with two men driving outside.
In truth, Mingzhou City had clearly expanded. Yet as Tan Yuanshang rode through the city and looked out through the carriage curtain, Tea Province felt just as tranquil as it had decades ago. That, too, was part of its enduring heritage.
Calling it a thousand-year-old city was no empty boast. In that regard, even Heaven-Bearing Prefecture paled beside Tea Province.
On a street near the Mo Residence, one building seemed particularly lively. A large ring of onlookers surrounded