You Hour, one of the twelve double-hours, was also known as sunset, sundown, or the sinking sun, meaning the time when the sun dropped behind the mountains.
In modern timekeeping, it corresponded to five to seven in the evening.
Bai Juyi wrote in "Drunken Song": "The yellow rooster hastens dawn, crowing at Chou Hour; the white sun hastens the years, sinking before You Hour."
At the Censorate, only one duty room still had a light burning.
Wang Kan was reviewing a stack of impeachment memorials by candlelight, his brows tightly knitted, every stroke of his brush falling heavily.
Just then, a soft knock came from outside.
"Go on ahead. I still have memorials to review. Another three quarters of an hour," Wang Kan answered without raising his head.
"We could leave at Shen Hour. Even I, Wei Punctual, was only held up until You Hour by the Ministry of Personnel's petty business..."
The door swung open. Wei Nisheng stood in the doorway with a flask of wine in his hand and said with a smile,
"Zhanzheng, your light at the Censorate burns even later than ours at the Ministry of Personnel."
Wang Kan set down his brush at those words. Looking up and seeing his visitor, the gloom in his expression melted away at once, and he rose to greet him.
"Zi'an? What brings you here?" As he spoke, he glanced at the wine in his hand.
"You never bring wine."
"Today is an exception." Wei Nisheng set the flask on the desk and sat down opposite Wang Kan.
"I was going home after work, but as I passed the mouth of an alley, I met an old fellow who said he was delivering an order of guoduo to Lord Wang.
"I asked him which Lord Wang he meant.