At three quarters past the fifth hour, the Forbidden City was shrouded in the bluish-gray of pre-dawn.
Outside the Fengtian Hall on the white marble steps, the night dew had yet to dissipate, and within the hall, the silence was profound enough to hear the drip of the copper pot clock.
Rumble~
The drum of the fifth hour sounded, and guards wielding halberds pushed open the heavy vermillion doors of the hall.
The courtiers entered in single file according to rank, their expressions obscured under their official hats.
The court's morning assembly protocol normally required officials to gather outside the palace gate during the hour of the ox, wearing official robes and holding "ivory tablets."
After the bell rang on the Meridian Gate tower, they would line up by rank, civil on the left and military on the right, proceeding over the Golden Water Bridge to the Fengtian Gate square.
