Manbao carried a bundle as she accompanied Zhou Liru to her dormitory. The environnt here was not as nice as the neighboring Imperial Academy, with ten people sharing one room that had five small beds lined up side by side, and only two tables near the window.
Zhou Liru had secured a good spot, taking the first bed on the left as you entered the room. Among the ten people in the dormitory, she was the only one with a small shelf beside her bed for placing things.
Zhou Liru placed her books on the table and unpacked the bundle to show Manbao the clothes inside, "Look, Aunt, this set is for winter, and this set is lighter. Director Xiao said that no matter what we wear inside, we must put on the academy uniform outside. We can’t be less proper than those at the Imperial Academy."
Manbao nodded, reached out, and touched the clothes, saying, "I didn’t expect Lord Yang to be quite generous, to provide you with such good winter clothes."
"We also thought they were good," Zhou Liru whispered proudly, "On the day of enrollnt, Grandpa and Grandma ca early to register , so I was able to grab such a good bed spot; the rest were left by ."
Just as she finished speaking, soone pushed the door open and entered. The newcor saw Zhou Man and was taken aback for a mont, then imdiately placed her things down and knelt to kowtow to Manbao, "Greetings, Teacher."
Manbao was surprised for a mont, then quickly went forward and helped her up, looking at her before smiling and asking, "I rember you, your na is Suye, right?"
Suye nodded vigorously, "Teacher, I’ve always rembered the na you gave , but you can also call Daya."
Sanya Zhou Liru: ...
Manbao: "...I think I’ll call you Suye."
She bent down to pick up Suye’s things from the ground, but Suye quickly took them with a smile, placing them next to Liru’s bed.
"Teacher, I’ve heard that you’ll be teaching our class?"
"No," Manbao said, "I’m only teaching three classes of Pulse Canon, your class isn’t one of them, Liru’s class is."
Initially, she only wanted to teach two classes: one in Acupuncture Studies and one privately appointed to be taught by her.
However, in the Imperial Hospital, after so discussions, they found that incoming students had varied levels of knowledge, with so not needing to start from Pulse Canon.
For instance, Zheng Gu and Ms. Doctor Liu, these two had already finished the four basic dical books, Zheng Shao was slightly behind.
They were occupying slots in Acupuncture Studies only due to their age, but by the next year, they could take the bureau’s exam to move to the Physical Therapy Departnt.
Entering the Physical Therapy Departnt ant they didn’t need to start from scratch; everyone could take three or four months to get familiar, and by next spring, these students could be reassigned according to their abilities.
The courses needed to be taught would differ by then, and Director Xiao considered Zhou Man’s capabilities, insisting she take a class of Pulse Canon in the Physical Therapy Departnt.
Manbao couldn’t refuse and had to agree.
Thankfully, there weren’t many courses at the beginning, and Director Xiao even selected a recently joined young assistant from the Imperial Hospital to be her aide.
So it wasn’t particularly busy.
Zhou Liru, having learned so dical skills earlier and recognized many herbs, along with being literate, was among the first batch of girls to pass the Physical Therapy Departnt exam.
Apart from her and a few other female students, the remaining twenty-three slots in the Physical Therapy Departnt were all taken by palace maids.
They were literate and knew so dical principles, so they barely managed to pass the exam.
Director Xiao always sought convenience when organizing and directly shuffled the thirty girls into five classes; dormitory-wise, Zhou Liru and five other girls were placed with four other girls from Acupuncture Studies.
Anyway, Manbao herself had no idea how the grouping was decided.
Suye pulled out a box from under her bed, fumbled inside, and retrieved a package to give to Manbao.
Manbao asked, "What’s this?"
"Jerky," Suye said, "My mother specifically made it for you, Teacher."
She added, "Although you’re not teaching our class, it was your recomndation that got in, Teacher. My mother said you’re my benefactor now; my family has even prepared cured at for you, and I’ll bring it next ti."
Manbao: "...Thank you, but there’s no need."
"Oh, but there is," Suye insisted, pushing it into Manbao’s hands, earnestly saying, "You’re my second parent; how can you refuse?"
Manbao: ...
Zhou Liru: ...
While they were embroiled, the other dorm mates returned and upon seeing Manbao, they all put down their things and greeted her.
There was no other choice; the girls admitted into the Imperial Hospital had mostly been personally interviewed by Manbao amidst a row of male doctors, with her appearing around the sa age as them, drawing attention from everyone.
So everyone rembered Manbao.
Seeing many people show up, Manbao quickly seized the chance to leave and instructed them to tidy up and get to class.
Manbao ran back to the office and exhaled in relief.
Imperial Doctor Liu and others were sitting and drinking tea. Seeing her rush in from outside, they asked with a laugh, "What’s the rush?"
Manbao exhaled and said, "Isn’t class supposed to start by late morning? It’s almost ti now, why hasn’t it begun?"
Imperial Doctor Liu leisurely sipped his tea, "Director Xiao’s speech was late, and since books needed to be handed out, everything got delayed."
He chuckled, "If it’s late, it’s late. Everyone can eat lunch, take a nap, then attend class; it amounts to the sa thing."
Manbao: "...Is it really this casual? We registered the day before, why weren’t books distributed?"
Imperial Doctor Liu replied, "Books were supposed to be handed out yesterday. But yesterday, sothing happened in the palace; the Eastern Palace summoned all the maids and attendants, and inspection was required for items leaving the palace."
"A batch of books left in the Bureau of Docunts was withheld; it was only yesterday evening when Lord Yang personally intervened that they were released, leading to the delay."
Manbao didn’t inquire further.
Imperial Doctor Liu scrutinized Zhou Man’s expression, pondered a bit, but ultimately didn’t ask her what had transpired in the Eastern Palace.
In the Imperial Hospital, he had only vaguely heard that a palace maid had committed suicide.
But beyond that, nothing was known.
Currently, palace news isn’t easily discerned.
For those like Imperial Doctor Liu and others who routinely enter and exit courtly environnts and interact with palace insiders, it’s challenging to procure news, let alone for outsiders.
Palace news suddenly beca sequestered from external realms; they only caught snippets about "a palace maid’s suicide," while the rest was wrapped under scrutiny with many attendants and maids being taken away for investigation.
Thus, outside the palace beca a lull zone with even the officials appearing oblivious, continuing with their daily duties as if unaware of palace movents.
But because many were pulled for questioning, it’s not just a disruption of communication channels; it’s that no one dares to propagate palace secrets, so outsiders only grasp fragnts, lacking a complete picture.
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