Chapter 32 I'm still your best friend, yes...

The East Palace was quiet in the afternoon. The palace servants were all on duty. Occasionally, officials would come out of Zhaohua Hall, but they all kept their heads down and walked quickly.

The most prosperous place Zhou Fuling had ever been to in her life was her maternal grandfather's house in Yongningfang. At this moment, she followed nervously behind the female official named Yang Leyi, secretly observing the scenery along the way.

The courtyard was adorned with carved railings and jade steps, and towering stone pillars stood before the hall. Everywhere she looked, from the gleaming bricks and stones underfoot to the unnamed gardens in the flowerbeds, she saw extravagant things she had never seen before.

Zhou Fuling couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that she starved herself to death after two days of fasting, or did she accidentally enter a celestial palace?

"Miss Zhou, please wait. I will report back to His Highness before calling you in." Upon reaching the entrance of Zhaohua Palace, Yang Leyi raised her hand to stop Zhou Fuling. "His Highness prefers quiet. You should stay here quietly and not talk to anyone else."

Zhou Fuling dared not be presumptuous and bowed her head in response, "Yes."

Yang Leyi came out shortly after she went in, and the Crown Prince wanted to see Zhou Fuling alone.

Zhou Fuling dared not go in by herself. She looked at Yang Le hesitantly and said, "This humble woman is ignorant of etiquette and is afraid of offending Your Highness. Sister, could you please..."

Yang Leyi refused decisively: "His Highness the Crown Prince is kind and will not make things difficult for you. Just answer his questions truthfully."

Zhou Fuling had no choice but to bite the bullet and enter the palace to pay her respects to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince ordered everyone to leave. Although Yang Leyi was curious about the background of this Miss Zhou, she could only obey the order and retreat to the eaves of the west side hall.

After cleaning the room, the palace maids in the side hall silently moved closer to Yang Leyi, occasionally craning their necks to look towards Zhaohua Hall.

"Sister Leyi, who was that person who went in just now?"

Upon hearing the voice, Yang Leyi glanced down at the young palace maid and said, "She's just a female physician. I don't know why Your Highness is so concerned about her."

Then, recalling the scene he had witnessed at the Zhou family's residence, his tone softened, "That girl is indeed pitiful."

The palace maid asked in surprise, "Your Highness hasn't left the house much in the past two weeks. Where did you meet this female physician?"

Another palace maid joined in, her expression strange, and said, "His Highness is almost of age, yet there isn't a single woman he likes in his room. I see this young lady is quite pretty; even dressed simply, her beauty cannot be hidden. Could it be..."

The palace maid stopped talking abruptly when she realized that everyone in the palace assumed that Secretary Yang would be the future Crown Princess. She exchanged glances with her friend across from her, and the two of them secretly observed Yang Leyi's expression.

Yang Leyi scolded with a stern face: "Don't think nonsense. This girl was most likely introduced by He Erlang."

"Oh!" The palace maid feigned sudden realization and said excitedly, "Master He is not young anymore, could this girl be his..."

Another palace maid scoffed, "Why send someone that He Erlang has taken a liking to to the Eastern Palace?"

"It's possible that Lady Anyuan dislikes this female physician because of her humble background and refuses to let her into the family."

Yang Leyi's eyes turned cold, and her tone became much sterner: "Don't you all have anything to do? If you have nothing to do, wipe His Highness's bookshelf clean. All you do is think about useless things all day long."

The two palace maids then put away their gossipy thoughts and sheepishly went back to their work.

As evening approached, Zhou Fuling emerged from Zhaohua Palace. Yang Leyi spotted her from afar, abandoned the female scribe who was reporting on the accounts, and rushed after her.

Just as she was about to ask her what the Crown Prince had said, the Crown Prince's voice came from inside the hall, summoning Yang Leyi in.

Inside the hall, Crown Prince Liang Yuanjun sat at his desk, holding a black cat with an all-black coat in his arms. He caught a glimpse of Yang Leyi entering the hall and loudly instructed, "Zhou Fuling's medical skills are superb. She can enter the Eastern Palace Medical Department. Go and tell Physician Zhong that I am giving her a good apprentice."

Yang Leyi was taken aback. After receiving the order, she did not leave in a hurry. Instead, she asked curiously, "How does Your Highness know that her medical skills are superb?"

Liang Yuanjun smiled and bent down to put the black cat on the ground. "Motiao, run two laps."

The black, fluffy ball rolled twice on the ground, jumped up, stretched, and then leaped onto the antique shelf in the hall behind Liang Yuanjun, using the table as a stepping stone.

Yang Leyi stared in astonishment as she watched the Crown Prince's favorite cat leap three feet into the air. Hadn't the cat just injured its leg and couldn't run or jump?

She exclaimed in surprise, "Inkstick's leg is healed?"

As if aware of the immense shock it had caused, the ink stick tilted its head back, found a comfortable angle to sit down, raised its clean front paws to lick them, then curled up its front legs and lay down, looking down at the two people in the hall.

Liang Yuanjun said with a smile, "It was Zhou Fuling who reconnected it."

Yang Leyi understood.

She certainly wouldn't be so rash as to say something like, "Being able to cure ink sticks doesn't necessarily mean you can cure other people's illnesses." Since the Crown Prince trusts Fuling, he'll let her stay at the medical office. In any case, the chief physician of the Eastern Palace is still Imperial Physician Zhong.

It would take anywhere from five to ten years for Zhou Fuling to serve the Crown Prince closely before Physician Zhong retired.

Evening, Yong'anfang.

When Yu Mingshu returned home, he saw that the Zhou family's gate was bustling with people not far away. Everyone was saying congratulations, but Zhou Qi, who was being congratulated, had a very unpleasant expression.

Isn't his family still in mourning?

Yu Mingshu found Granny Wang in the crowd and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Aunt Wang said excitedly, "Fuling has won the favor of His Highness the Crown Prince and has become a physician in the Eastern Palace. From now on, she will be a physician with an official position and a salary!"

Yu Dan clapped his hands: "Congratulations! The Zhou family's ancestral graves must be emitting auspicious smoke!"

"Why do you make such awful noise when you say nice things?" Yu Mingshu glanced at him.

Aunt Wang said, "It's strange, Fuling has always been a sheltered young lady, and I've never seen her interact with outsiders. How did she manage to win the favor of His Highness the Crown Prince so quietly today? She's truly a case of 'silent until she speaks, then astonishing everyone when she does.'"

Yu Mingshu was startled and immediately realized that he owed He Zheng another favor.

Back in her study, she twirled the unpainted pen, but didn't write anything for a long time.

Yu Dan looked at her strangely: "Sister, what's wrong?"

Yu Mingshu put down her pen, looked up and met his gaze. "Let me ask you a question. Do you know what He Zheng likes?"

Yu Dan became alert: "Why are you asking this?"

Afraid that he might misunderstand, Yu Mingshu frankly said, "I owe him a favor."

Yu Dan breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and said, "He never asks for anything in return for doing things for his friends. If you really want to thank him, just treat him to a drink."

"He Zheng likes to drink?" Yu Mingshu frowned.

Yu Dan nodded, but then noticed something was wrong with his sister's expression, so he quickly shook his head again.

"He wouldn't be considered a heavy drinker, but he would occasionally drink some trendy fruit wine when he went out of town to hunt or enjoy the spring scenery. He just liked the sweet taste of the fruit in it."

Yu Mingshu's expression softened slightly. "I understand. Go read your book."

Yu Dan unfolded the book, but the dense text made his head spin. He rubbed his temples, then his eyes darted around and landed on the pen in Yu Mingshu's hand.

He chuckled and leaned closer, "Sister, is that notebook you were writing earlier... finished?"

Yu Mingshu glanced at him, flipped through the stack of manuscripts on the table, roughly calculated how much progress was left before saying, "It'll be done soon, just wait two more days."

Yu Mingshu said he would wait two days, and indeed he only waited two days.

Two days later, the top student's notes were completed, and she began to think about how to bind them.

Currently, the books of the Great Liang Dynasty are still in scroll form, which is troublesome to flip through. It is even more troublesome to find many scrolls piled together, which is far less convenient than the thread-bound books of later generations.

The notebook had already been written on paper cut to the same size, roughly the size of a university textbook in later times. Now all that was missing was to give the notebook a cover, thread a row of small holes through it, and sew it together with thicker thread.

We only have regular writing paper at home. This kind of paper is too thin and soft, and it is easy to tear. Even if we stack two layers, it is not strong enough to make a cover.

After much thought, Yu Mingshu decided to go to the bookstore.

That morning, it was Lin Qingxian's class again. The moment the bell rang, Mr. Lin was the first to roll up his books and leave the classroom, leaving the students with a dashing back view.

"What should we eat for lunch?" Yu Dan asked, posing a cosmic question.

He Zheng said, "Let's continue eating the soup noodles from that shop in the back alley."

Yu Mingshu had no objection. The three people in the back row got up to leave, but they bumped into Xie Ansheng and Zhang Jun's group at the door.

Xie Ansheng seemed to have forgotten about almost being fired not long ago. He swept his gaze over the three people in front of him and smiled wickedly.

"He Erlang, I heard you've hidden a beauty in the Eastern Palace?"

"What am I hiding?" He Zheng wondered if he had misheard.

Xie Ansheng didn't answer, but turned and walked away chatting and laughing with Zhang Jun.

Yu Mingshu realized, "They're not talking about Zhou Fuling, are they?"

Thinking about how He Zheng had been rumored to be keeping a mistress in a golden house because he had helped her settle Zhou Fuling, and that the rumors had spread to everyone... she felt a little guilty.

He Zheng was speechless: "How could such a small matter spread to everyone? Are the people in the Crown Prince's Palace so loose-lipped?"

He dared to say it, and no one else dared to chime in.

Fifteen minutes later, the trio finished their lunch at a soup noodle stall in the back alley of the academy.

Yu Dan was about to go back and take a nap at the table when he saw his elder sister walking in the opposite direction.

He Zheng asked first, "Ming Shu, where are you going?"

Yu Dan swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue, but another question arose: When did He Erlang change his way of addressing her and start calling her by her name?

"He Er, why do you never call me by my name?"

He Zheng said, "Your name isn't as nice as hers."

Upon hearing this, Yu Dan became sullen.

Yu Mingshu turned to look at the two of them. "I'm going to the bookstore. Do you want to come along?"

"certainly."

"You go ahead, I'm going back to get some sleep."

He Zheng and Yu Dan spoke almost simultaneously, and were both stunned when they heard each other's voices.

He Zheng patted Yu Dan on the shoulder and said very understandingly, "Go back to sleep. I'll go to the bookstore with Ming Shu."

I went to the bookstore with Mingshu.

When did you two become so close?

Yu Dan's drowsiness subsided, and he stared intently at He Zheng, then turned to look at his elder sister, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

He tentatively asked, "He Er, I'm still your best friend, right?"

"What are you whispering about? Do we need to ask each other this?" He Zheng looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Yu Mingshu glanced at the sky, growing impatient, and urged in a deep voice, "If you want to go together, then let's go. Don't stand in the middle of the road blocking our way."

Yu Dan was still worried about leaving the two of them alone, so he fought off the overwhelming drowsiness and followed the two people ahead.

Seeing that there was a person's space between He Zheng and Yu Mingshu, he quietly cut in and tried to squeeze between the two. Unexpectedly, He Zheng suddenly moved a step towards Yu Mingshu, so he could only withdraw his left foot in frustration.

The bookstore is located on the street east of Chang'an Academy. The signboard is not large, but the building is two stories high.

A wooden frame stood at the entrance of the bookstore, displaying all sorts of annotated editions of the Four Books and Five Classics. Stepping inside revealed a completely different world. In the center of the first-floor lobby, there were only vernacular novels unrelated to the imperial examinations.

The shopkeeper recognized He Zheng and Yu Dan and greeted them warmly, pointing to the books on the shelf and saying, "Yu Sanlang, the sequel to 'Strange Cases of Ancient and Modern Times' that you bought last time is selling very well in our shop! Would you like another copy?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Dan was fully awake, and his body stiffened as he met three pairs of gazes, some hopeful and some scrutinizing.

Yu Mingshu looked past him at He Zheng and asked with a light laugh, "Didn't He Erlang say that you lent that book to Sanlang?"

Under the death stare, He Zheng hesitated for only a moment before betraying Yu Dan, saying, "He begged me to say that."

What happened to our promise of being best friends?

Yu Dan regretted it; he should have gone back to sleep earlier.

“That’s all in the past. I’ve turned over a new leaf!” He tried to describe to his sister a progressive concept called the statute of limitations.

Fortunately, Yu Mingshu didn't say anything, but pulled the shopkeeper aside to ask about the types of paper sold in the shop.

He Zheng followed behind and listened for a while. Taking advantage of the shopkeeper going to get the paper, he leaned close to Yu Mingshu and asked, "You want to buy paper?"

Yu Mingshu said, "I don't want ordinary white hemp paper. It has to be moisture-proof, stain-proof, and coated with oil and wax."

He Zheng said, "This paper isn't cheap, don't waste your money buying it."

Yu Mingshu glanced at him. "How can you buy it without spending money? Are you going to rob me?"

“I have plenty, how much do you want?” He Zheng’s tone was cheerful, like a generous benefactor.

After noticing the strange look in Yu Mingshu's eyes, he explained, "You know that my father and brothers are both martial artists and not literate. Yet, the palace always bestows gifts such as writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, which are piled up in the storeroom but no one uses them."

Yu Mingshu gained a deeper understanding of He Zheng's excellent qualities of diligence and thrift.

Flattered, she said, "Two are enough."

Not long after, the shopkeeper brought over a bundle of wax paper with a simple smile. Before he could catch his breath, He Zheng said, "Thank you for making this trip. We don't need this paper. I'll come back another day when I get new storybooks."

"Don't wait another day! He Erlang, please wait, we have a few best-selling volumes today..." The shopkeeper's smile faded, and he hurriedly reached out to stop him.

"Not today, I have something to do today, but I'll definitely do it next time." He Zheng replied perfunctorily, put his arms around the shoulders of the Yu siblings on either side, and quickly left.

After leaving the bookstore and stepping out of the street, Yu Mingshu belatedly realized something was wrong and grabbed He Zheng's arm.

"Wait a minute, your house is full of imperial gifts, it's not illegal to give them to me, is it?"

Yu Dan: "Theoretically, it violates the rules of propriety and law."

He Zheng covered Yu Dan's mouth and said dismissively, "That paper is no different from what you buy in bookstores. Who would know it was a gift from the emperor? It doesn't even have the imperial seal on it."

The next morning, Yu Mingshu saw the actual imperial gift of hard yellow paper. It was indeed exactly the same as the one sold in the store, without any special markings.

The only problem was that she only needed two, but He Zheng gave her a whole bundle.

He Zheng said, "Opening the warehouse is too much trouble. Is it reasonable to only bring two pieces of paper?"

Yu Mingshu reluctantly accepted this excessive aid.

She took out her handwritten notes from her bag, cut the wax paper to the appropriate size to make a cover, clipped the cover and the manuscript together, and began to thread a needle.

He Zheng had never seen this binding method before. He rested his chin on his hand and leaned on the table to watch. After she put down the scissors, he couldn't contain his curiosity and asked:

What is this?

"Study Notes of a Top Student"

"What are you doing, threading a needle?"

"Bound into a book."

Compared to other binding methods such as accordion binding, dragon scale binding, and pleated binding, Yu Mingshu personally believes that thread-bound books are the most simple, unadorned, and convenient to browse.

I would like to suggest that Daliang promote thread-bound books nationwide.

Yu Mingshu quickly sealed the spine of the book and placed the freshly printed study notes on He Zheng's desk. "I owe you a favor for what happened with Zhou Fuling before. Now, with these two sheets of paper, I owe you another one."

He Zheng glared at her and said irritably, "I treat you like a friend, but you treat me like a creditor?"

Yu Mingshu chuckled to himself.

"One should also repay kindness to friends."

He Zheng didn't want to continue the topic, so he eagerly opened his notebook and quickly scanned several pages, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

The chapters and page numbers in this thread-bound book correspond one-to-one, so you no longer have to unfold the whole book to find the part you want to read. It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

How many more brilliant ideas does Yu Mingshu have in his mind?

He read for a while before closing the book, patted the cover of the notebook, and asked Yu Mingshu with a smile, "Is this a thank-you gift for me?"

Yu Dan sat up abruptly, anxiously tugging at Yu Mingshu's sleeve: "Second Brother! Didn't you say the notes were for me?"

“This book is indeed prepared for Yu Dan.” Yu Mingshu patted Yu Dan’s head reassuringly, then turned to He Zheng and said, “If Second Brother He finds it pleasing, I will have someone make a new copy for you.”

He Zheng laughed and said, "I am unworthy to receive such a generous gift."

Yu Mingshu always felt there was a hint of sarcasm in his words, "What kind of generous gift is this? Tomorrow is a day off. If Brother He has time to visit my humble abode, I will personally cook a meal to thank him."

He Zheng's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"

“Very serious.” Yu Mingshu raised an eyebrow. “Do you need me to write an invitation by hand?”

He Zheng hurriedly said, "No need, no need, I will definitely be there on time."