In the morning, when the sky was barely lit, a group of men, wearing Mongol costumes and horse riding, was rushing frantically along the official road on the outskirts of Qing County. The constant galloping of the horses' hooves were like drumbeats, and they kicked up dust along the road like a cloud of smoke. When they arrived at the Xiaoyaoshan Manor on the outskirts of the county, some of them dismounted, and one stepped forward, furiously pounding on the manor's main gate.
"Open up, open up——"
The guard, behind the gate of the manor, shouted impatiently, "Who is it, in the early morning!"
Outside the gate, "Quick, bringing an urgent message from the capital, hurry up and open the gate!"
The gatekeeper, hearing about an urgent message from the capital, ran over in two or three steps and opened the gate.
By then, the master of Xiaoyaoshan Manor was already up and waiting, ready to go.