As the candlelight flickered against the abacus-bead glow in the Jinluan Hall of Chang'an, Doctor Li's court tablet struck the imperial steps with a sharp crack, the beads bouncing among the "Night Curfew" memorial to form the character for "Outdated": "Your Majesty! The night market disrupts the order of the morning and evening drums!" The Protagonist chuckled, swaying his scroll of the Rites of Zhou embedded with abacus beads: "Does Lord Li know? Last night the security in the East Market was even better than in broad daylight—" The beads leaped into the scroll, spelling out "Proof": "The Su Medical Clinic treated a hundred people for free, Lady Xiao penned a thousand calligraphy scrolls, and Xiaotao sold out three vats of tangyuan!"
Outside the hall, an abacus-bead lantern suddenly drifted past, the beads bouncing on the glazed tiles to form the character for "Bright"—Huwa's carved figurine was holding an abacus-bead telescope to peer from afar. Pei Hongxiu unfurled an abacus-bead tax bill, the beads bouncing among the figures to spell "Surge": "Last night tax revenues in the East Market increased by three hundred guan, enough to buy three thousand catties of abacus-bead lamp oil!" Yuqing's young Daoist acolyte followed closely, holding an abacus-bead divination slip, the beads bouncing across the verse to form "auspicious": "The Abbot observed the night sky, and the abacus-bead stars are three times as bright, foretelling a flourishing marketplace!"
At the third quarter…
Chapter 224