Chapter 46 Something is wrong
It was around the end of the day when they arrived at the East Chaoyang Gate in the capital. While queuing up to enter the city gate with their ID cards, household registration cards and copper fish tokens for the head of the household, Li Yaoguang noticed something was wrong.

There were very few people entering and leaving the city today, and only a few kittens left the city.

Li Yaoguang wondered, could it be that he came back at the wrong time?

But that wouldn't be the case! This is Kyoto, and if the city gates were opened one day, wouldn't the six city gates be filled with people?

Not to mention entering the city, there are even more crowds of people leaving the city. You should know that Chaoyang Gate is the only gate to go to Tongzhou Wharf. Pedestrians and merchants who want to take a boat south must pass through here. It is no exaggeration to say that Chaoyang Gate will never be idle.

With such doubts, Li Yaoguang tightened her cloak and walked towards the city. Along the way, she found that the streets that were crowded with people in the past were now sparsely populated, and the clerks and shopkeepers guarding the shops on the street seemed to have lost their spirits.

Li Yaoguang looks weird no matter how you look at him.

Could it be that the heavy snowstorm this time has affected the normal operation of Kyoto and the normal life of the people? Then Weimeilou...

Thinking of this, Li Yaoguang became anxious and quickened his pace to run towards Weimeilou.

Fortunately, Weimeilou was just in the east of the outer city, and it didn't take Li Yaoguang much effort to stand in front of Weimeilou. The familiar receptionist was leaning against the doorpost and talking idly. When he saw Li Yaoguang from a distance, several of them hurriedly came up to him.

"Sir, why are you back at this hour?"

"Um, is it wrong for me to come back? Or did something happen in the building? Brother, shouldn't we be preparing for the evening banquet at this time? Why are you all idle? Where is Shopkeeper Qian?"

Li Yaoguang asked four questions in a row, and the young men were all very upset. "Sir, this is a long story, and we can't explain it in a few words. The shopkeeper is free, so why don't you go in and see the shopkeeper?"

This attitude is wrong!

Li Yaoguang frowned, feeling uneasy for no reason, but he nodded and followed the young man into the building. He was then led to the small room behind the counter where Manager Qian had been working.

After knocking on the door and entering, Manager Qian was working at his desk looking at the account book with a frown on his face. When he looked up and saw that it was Li Yaoguang, a smile appeared on his chubby face and he quickly stood up to greet him.

When the two met, they spoke in unison.

"Here comes the sir!"

"Uncle Qian, are you okay? I'm so sorry, the heavy snow blocked the road, and I came back late. I..."

"Hey, let's not talk about that, let's not talk about that, those are all trivial matters. Why did you come back at this time? Are you safe on the way? Have you eaten yet? I'll ask the chef to prepare two dishes for you."

"No, Uncle Qian, please don't worry. I am returning with the caravan heading to Beijing. I had lunch at the inn 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'm not home that the business is down? Also, when I came to Beijing today, I saw that the situation in Kyoto City didn't seem right. Could it be because of the heavy snow?"

Shopkeeper Qian was concerned about Li Yaoguang, so he waved his hand helplessly and said with a bitter smile: "Hey, it's not because of the heavy snow, but there are other reasons."

"what reason?"

Manager Qian thought it was no secret, so he asked Li Yaoguang to sit down and asked the waiter outside to serve tea. Then he told Li Yaoguang what happened in Kyoto during her absence.

"After the master left, everything was fine in the building. Although many guests complained about his absence, they knew that something serious had happened in the master's family and it was really inconvenient. In addition, even Yaxian Pavilion had a sign for the master to rest, so the guests stopped making trouble.

Later, Fusheng brought back the news that the master had asked for another three days off. I was worried, but a heavy snow fell, and the whole city of Kyoto was closed. We knew that the master would not come back. In addition, the natural disaster came suddenly, and the snow was so heavy that it blocked the door. The people in Kyoto were busy dealing with the blizzard, so the business in the building also became depressed. It was not because of the master, but later..."

"What happened next?"

Shopkeeper Qian took a sip of tea and said, "After that, the heavy snow lasted for more than a month. When the snow was about to stop, one day, an imperial decree came from the palace, saying that the emperor had consulted the celestial master about the heavy snow, and an immortal appeared in his dream and gave him instructions. He said that if Dajing wanted to turn this natural disaster into peace, the emperor had to climb Mount Tai to pray to the heavens in person.

Within three days after the imperial edict was issued, when the sky had just cleared and the ground was not yet dry, the emperor led all the concubines and ministers in the court out of the capital and headed south to Mount Tai. It took them only a few days.

Except for a few officials who stayed behind in Kyoto, the powerful and aristocratic families left without a trace. As a result, even the playboys chasing chickens and playing with dogs were nowhere to be seen on the streets, so business was naturally not doing well. Because of this, the master has not returned yet, and I have not asked Fu Sheng to invite the master. "

Anyway, there will be no business even if we hire him, so we might as well let the child relax for a few more days and spend time with his family. After all, the official just left and we don’t know when he will be able to return.

"That's what happened, but Uncle Qian, it's normal for an official to go on a trip, so how come I didn't know about it?"

"Hey, what's the big deal? The officials and their companions have only been gone for one day. They went south by land, not by water. However, they went to Tongzhou. Your location is remote, and the caravan that followed you just entered the capital instead of leaving. It's natural that you don't know."

"That's not right, Uncle Qian. It's just a prayer to the heavens. Why do you bring along all the concubines and ministers? Is it such a big deal?"

"Haha, sir, the majesty of the royal family is not something you can underestimate. Perhaps the emperor and the court have other plans. It is a rare grand occasion to pray to the heaven, and my emperor is kind and will naturally share the joy with the people. Sir, you don't know that the team that left the capital that day was so huge that it stretched for more than dozens of miles. Many wealthy families in Kyoto also led their families out of the city to follow in order to watch the rare excitement of praying to the heaven..."

"Hiss! This... If I remember correctly, Uncle Qian, the New Year is coming soon, right? Do we still need to pray to the sky before the New Year? That's not right?" Moreover, just to watch the fun, we don't want to go home and don't celebrate the New Year?
No matter how I think about it or how I look at it, something seems wrong!
Li Yaoguang wanted to remind the person in front of her, but she didn't know how the imperial court's decree was a lie, or whether the people at that time believed in their emperor, respected and loved their emperor to the point of being completely irrational and not using their brains.

In short, no matter how confused she was or how she reminded him, the fat shopkeeper in front of her was always smiling. He didn't look worried at all because of the bad business just now. He was so pious to their Majesty, and he had such complete faith in him that he didn't think there was anything wrong with praying before the New Year. He even thought that climbing to the top of Mount Tai on the first day of the New Year was a good omen!

Li Yaoguang sighed.

What else was there to say? After hearing the news that Manager Qian was going to give her another long vacation, and taking the full month's salary that Manager Qian insisted on giving her before the end of the month, along with ten taels of New Year's money, Li Yaoguang was sent out by Manager Qian.

(End of this chapter)