After a satisfying meal, we left Wangluo Garden. Zhou Tieyi and Feng Zikuan were both respectfully escorted out by the merchants. However, unlike the deference shown upon their arrival—which had been purely out of fear of their power—there was a genuine touch of sincerity in the farewells this time. Pressing people with authority and swaying them with profit; this was the way of the world.
Today, Feng Zikuan did not share a carriage with Zhou Tieyi. Having handled his official business, he needed to return to report to the Emperor. Zhou Tieyi sat in his own self-propelled vehicle, a large crate resting beside his seat. It was a specialty from Jiangnan, heavy and dense; if Feng Zikuan received a share, Zhou Tieyi naturally had one as well. Since the Train Chamber of Commerce was a venture beneficial to the country and its people, Zhou Tieyi dared to speak of it openly in front of Feng Zikuan, meaning he had no fear of those words reaching the Emperor’s ears.
The heads of the chambers of commerce certainly would not dare treat the two million silver taels as a bribe for Zhou Tieyi; the contents of this box were the actual "gratitude." Zhou Tieyi opened the crate, and a multicolored radiance spilled out. Inside lay a massive stone slab, identical to the one he had seen at Wangluo Garden, though slightly smaller in weight. Curiously, this slab was engraved with two Dragon Emblems.
Chapter 174