First 3,000+ now, another 3,000+ before midnight; the third watch should be around 2 a.m.
At the second quarter of noon, around 12:30, Sun Shaozong's carriage had barely stopped outside Prince of Beijing's Estate when the gatekeeper's attendants began passing word into the rear residence's flower hall.
By the time he crossed the inner gate under the guidance of the estate steward, Shui Rong and Wei Ruolan had already come out to greet him in person.
From a distance, Shui Rong laughed heartily. "Why has Lord Sun arrived so late? You certainly made this prince wait at home for quite some time!"
Sun Shaozong hurried forward a few steps. Only when he drew near did he stop, cup his hands, and bow. With a bitter smile, he said, "It was a coincidence. I took on a case this morning, and only just managed to settle it when I ran into two groups of Taoists cursing each other in the street. I had no choice but to take a detour."
Recently, frustrated by setbacks in officialdom, Wei Ruolan had been entertaining thoughts of retreating into monastic life. Naturally, he paid rather more attention to matters involving religious men.
Hearing that two groups of Taoists had been cursing one another in the street, displaying none of the detachment expected of those who had left the secular world, he could not help asking in surprise, "Two groups of Taoists cursing each other in the street? What was that about?"
"Ha!"
Before Sun Shaozong could answer, Shui Rong flicked the sleeve of his moon-white satin robe and snorted. "Wasn't it because yesterday Taoist Zhang of Qingxu Temple suddenly submitted a memorial asking the court to select disciples of the Dao to accompany the army to the southern frontier and pray for blessings, so the