Chapter 46 Everything is wrong
It was already late when we arrived at Chaoyang Gate in the east of the capital. When we were queuing up to enter the city gate with our registration cards, household registers and the copper fish talisman of the head of the household, Li Yaoguang noticed something was wrong.
There were very few people entering and leaving the city today, and there were only two or three stray kittens leaving the city.
Li Yaoguang guessed that he came back at the wrong time?
But it won’t! Logically speaking, this is Kyoto. On any day when the city gates open, the six gates are not crowded with people?
Not to mention entering the city, there are even more crowds when leaving the city. You must know that Chaoyang Gate is the only city gate to go to Tongzhou Pier. Pedestrians and merchants who want to go south by boat all pass through here. It is no exaggeration to say that no gate is idle at Chaoyang Gate. The door will never be empty.
With such doubts, Li Yaoguang tightened her cloak tightly and walked into the city. Along the way, she discovered that the streets that used to be crowded with people were now sparse, and the shop assistants and shopkeepers who guarded the shops on the streets seemed to be gone. Vibrant and spirited.
No matter how Li Yaoguang looked at it, he would be surprised.
Could it be that the continuous heavy snowfall and severe damage to Kyoto have affected the normal operation of Kyoto and the normal life of the people? That delicious building...
When he thought of this, Li Yaoguang became anxious and couldn't help but speed up and run towards the direction of Weimei Building.
Fortunately, Weimei Building is located in the east of the outer city. It didn't take much effort for Li Yaoguang to stand in front of Weimei Building. The familiar welcome boy was leaning on the doorpost talking boredly. When he saw Li Yaoguang from a distance, several people came over to greet him in a hurry. .
"Sir, why are you back at this hour?"
"Um, am I right to come back? Or is there something going on in the building? Brother, shouldn't we be preparing for the banquet at this time? I wonder why you are all idle? Where is shopkeeper Qian?"
Li Yaoguang asked four questions in succession, and the young men who asked were all depressed, "Sir, it's a long story, and the young men can't explain a sentence or two. It happens that the shopkeeper is also idle. Why don't you go in and meet the shopkeeper?" ”
This attitude is wrong!
Li Yaoguang frowned, feeling uneasy for no reason, but he still nodded and followed the little brother into the building, and was then led to the small room behind the counter where shopkeeper Qian always worked.
After knocking on the door and going in, shopkeeper Qian was sitting at his desk looking at the account book on the table with a frown on his face. He looked up and saw that the person who came was Li Yaoguang. Only then did a smile appear on his fat face. He hurriedly got up and greeted him.
When the two met, they spoke in unison.
"Sir is here!"
"Uncle Qian, are you okay? I'm really sorry. The road was blocked due to heavy snow. I was late coming back. I..."
"Hey, let's not talk about this. Don't talk about this. Those are all trivial matters. Why did you come back at this time? Did you have a good trip? Have you eaten, sir? I will ask the master to get you two dishes."
"Uncle Qian, don't be busy. I came back with the caravan going to Beijing. I had lunch at a big car shop outside the city. Don't worry, uncle."
"Oh, that's good, that's good." "By the way, Uncle Qian, is everything okay in our building? Is it because I didn't return that the business in the building was sluggish? Also, when I went to Beijing today, I looked at Kyoto The situation in the city doesn’t seem to be right, could it be because of the heavy snow?”
Shopkeeper Qian felt Li Yaoguang's concern, waved his hand helplessly, and said with a bitter smile: "Hey, it's not the heavy snow, but there are other reasons."
"What's the reason?"
Shopkeeper Qian thought that it was not a secret, so he asked Li Yaoguang to sit down and asked the waiters outside to serve tea. Then he talked to Li Yaoguang about what happened in Kyoto City during her absence.
"After Mr. left, everything in the building was fine. Although Mr. was not here, many guests complained. However, knowing that something big happened at Mr.'s house, it was really inconvenient. In addition, even Yaxian Pavilion had a rest sign for Mr. But there was no more trouble.
Later, Fusheng brought back the news that my husband would take another three days' leave. I was worried at first. I didn't want a heavy snowfall to keep me from being so cheerful. In that case, the entire Kyoto city was closed. Naturally, we knew that my husband would not come back. Coupled with the sudden natural disaster, heavy snow blocked the doors, and the whole city of Kyoto was busy dealing with the blizzard, the business in the building also declined. It was not because of Mr., but later..."
"What happened next?"
Shopkeeper Qian took a sip of tea and said, "Later, the heavy snow fell for more than a month, and the snow stopped. Somehow, one day, an official order came from the palace, saying that the official asked the heavenly master for divination because of the heavy snow. Occasionally, I got advice from an immortal in my dream, saying that if I, Dajing, want to reduce this natural disaster to peace, I need to personally climb Mount Tai to pray to heaven.
According to the imperial edict, within three days, the sky had just cleared and the ground was still dry. The officials led all the concubines in the harem and all the ministers in the court out of Beijing and headed south to Mount Tai. They had only been gone for a few days.
Except for a few officials left behind in Kyoto, the powerful and aristocratic families have left cleanly. As a result, there are no traces of the dudes chasing chickens and dogs on the streets, and business will naturally not be successful. Because of this, my husband has not returned, and I have not let Fusheng Go and ask for sir. ”
Anyway, there is no business if he is invited, so it is better to let the child spend a few more days with his family. After all, the official family has just left and he doesn't know when he will return.
"That's what happened, but Uncle Qian, it's supposed to be an official trip. How come I didn't know about such a big movement?"
"Hey, what's the matter? The officials and other people have only been away for a day. They still took the land route south, not the waterway. But Tongzhou, where Mr. is, is secluded, and the caravan that came with him just entered the capital, not left it. Of course, sir, I don’t know.”
"But that's not right, Uncle Qian. He's just praying to heaven. Why do you bring a bunch of concubines and ministers with you? Do you want to mobilize an army like this?"
"Hehehe, sir, the heavenly family is majestic, but you can belittle yourselves? Maybe the officials and the court have other plans, praying to heaven for a grand view, my official family is kind, and I naturally enjoy the same happiness with the people. Sir, you don't know , the procession out of Beijing that day was huge and stretched for dozens of miles. Many wealthy households in Kyoto, in order to see the rare bustle of praying for heaven, also led their children out of the city to follow..."
"Hiss! This... If I remember correctly, Uncle Qian, it's almost the Chinese New Year, right? Do we have to pray to heaven before the New Year? Isn't it right?" And in order to watch the fun, this is not a house, the Chinese New Year is coming soon, right? Isn’t that enough?
No matter how you think or look, nothing is right!
Li Yaoguang wanted to remind the people in front of her, but she didn't know how the imperial court deceived them in issuing the decree. Or was it because the people at this time believed in their emperor, respected and loved their emperor, and were so crazy that they had no reason to use their brains? the point.
In short, no matter how confused and reminded she was, the fat shopkeeper in front of her kept smiling, not at all worried about the bad business just now. He was pious and convinced of their Majesty, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with praying to heaven a year ago. No, I even think that climbing Mount Tai in one day on the first day of the new year is a good omen!
Li Yaoguang sighed.
What else is there to say? After receiving the news that Shopkeeper Qian would give her a long vacation, and seeing that Shopkeeper Qian insisted on giving her a full month’s salary before the month was over, and ten taels of New Year’s money, Li Yaoguang was dismissed by Shopkeeper Qian. Sent out the door.
(End of chapter)