Yi Shuyuan walked down the street. There were few passersby, so naturally he saw little reaction to the news, though he occasionally heard discussions coming from the houses along the road.
In truth, most common folk could hardly tell who occupied the dragon throne. They might not feel much about a new emperor's accession either. Only those with broader horizons would have a few reflections on it.
Perhaps the people of Great Yong had little need to feel anything in particular. Its previous two wise emperors had both been extraordinary, and Great Yong's civil and military prosperity had reached its greatest height since the nation's founding, even surpassing the flourishing years that followed it. People had grown accustomed to many things. If nothing around them changed, then a change of emperor made little difference.
Of course, once the proclamation announcing the new emperor's accession went up, plenty of people still came to read it. Some even braved the rain.
Holding his umbrella, Yi Shuyuan passed the proclamation wall beside the street. People were already reading the official notice, and someone was reading it aloud so the common folk gathered around could understand its contents.
"The Son of Heaven assumes the supreme throne, and all people beneath heaven submit; above, he answers heaven's mandate, and below, his radiance reaches the mountains and rivers..."
Much of it was official verbiage. The circumstances were explained at the end, its main purpose being to announce to all the people beneath heaven that a new emperor now reigned and the era name had changed to Shaoyuan.
Yi Shuyuan did not linger at the proclamation wall. He passed the crowd and followed the prefectural office's outer wall toward the other end of the street, intending to find a restaurant and order some dishes to satisfy his