A day within the palace restrictions seems longer than outside.
The people within the red walls and grey tiles start hoping for noon as soon as they wake up in the morning, and start hoping for the evening after noon.
The children outside the palace kick football on the streets, losing track of time until it's suddenly dark; while those inside the palace watch the sunset fall bit by bit, surprisingly slow.
The eight hundred drum beats of the bell and drum tower cease, the Imperial City gate is locked, and night falls.
All the Daoist nuns return to the rear hall; some sit in a daze on the shared bed, lost in thought, while others mend their own clothes, handing back the needle and thread to Xuan Su afterwards, pieces not missing.
Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun sit at the edge of the shared bed, whispering about something unknown.
Xuan Su sits on the shared bed, her gaze wandering between Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun, then calmly says: "Bai Li, bring me a basin of foot-washing water."
