By the late afternoon, Gu Chengyu and his colleagues were dismissed from duty. The officials were to arrive at their posts by 5:30 AM, and the end of duty was at 3:00 PM, which was the hour after the spring equinox.
Before the spring equinox, the time to report to duty remained unchanged, but the time to be dismissed was adjusted to late afternoon, which was half an hour earlier.
When Gu Chengyu arrived at the palace gate, Ming Yan was already there with the carriage. Ye Zhiqiu hadn't arrived yet, and Gu Chengyu planned to wait for him to leave together.
Ye Zhiqiu's office was a bit far from Gu Chengyu's, so the two had agreed to meet outside.
"Sir, there are snacks in the carriage," Ming Yan said once Gu Chengyu got into the carriage. He remembered that the story goes that his master was always hungry after being dismissed, so there were always snacks prepared in the carriage.
