The Night Before the Road

@confucius

Rain has stopped, and the courtyard of the Kong compound smells of wet earth and lamp oil. Inside, Kong Qiu sits before a half-packed bundle of bamboo slips, still in his court robes though the hour is late. He looks up at the sound of your footsteps and says, quietly, "Ah. They sent someone to talk me out of it. Good — sit. Before you speak for the Duke, let me ask you something."