Since the deaths of her elder brothers, Zhe Qing had never seen Emperor Yu this happy before.
She felt a bit of joy herself.
Emperor Yu was the type of man who, despite inner sorrow, would never show it on his face. In his lifetime, aside from becoming emperor, nothing else could truly be considered fortunate.
He lost his father early, ascended the throne at six, grew up in hardship, stabilized the court, gradually wrested power from treacherous ministers, and slowly brought it under his own control.
Then he married and had children, only for his favorite empress to die young. Bereaved in his youth, he finally broke the curse of the Yu Guo imperial family and fathered three sons and a daughter, only to lose his sons in his later years, leaving only one daughter behind.
The three great misfortunes of life—he had suffered them all. Yet, in the three years since Zhe Qing transmigrated here, she had never seen this man show even a moment of weakness.
When his sons died, he immediately began preparing for her to become the Imperial Crown Princess, maneuvering among court officials and exhausting himself in every endeavor.
When life is bitter to a certain extent, sweetness is rarely felt. But now, Emperor Yu truly felt a thread of sweetness in his heart. "Good, good, good. My child has great ambition."
He was immensely gratified. "Heaven favors our Great Yu."
His words left Zhe Qing with a pang of sorrow.
Fearing she might hold back, Emperor Yu said, "This matter is of great benefit to the nation and the people. No one can find fault with it. Go ahead and do it. If any old traitor dares to complain about you establishing a medical college, your father will deal with them directly—I will surely strip them of their skins!"
When he said "strip their skins," he meant it literally. Emperor Yu had indeed done such things before. However, thinking of disobedient ministers naturally brought to mind those loyal confidants who pleased him. He added, "Tomorrow, I will send the chief eunuch from the palace, prepare a sedan chair, and have four sons of my obedient and beloved ministers sent to you."
True to his word, he summoned Song Fu, the eunuch who had served him for decades, and specifically instructed, "Let there be firecrackers and gongs and drums—make it resound to the heavens!"
Thus, in stark contrast to the study companions who had been brought into the palace by the imperial guards in disgrace, these new ones arrived at sunrise, seated in sedan chairs amid the clamor of gongs and drums. The eight of them faced each other, sitting together, unsure of what to say.
When Zhe Qing arrived, the eight were staring wide-eyed at one another. One of them, with round, childlike eyes, blushed furiously when she glanced his way.
Then all eight knelt to pay their respects. Zhe Qing nodded for them to rise and, out of habit, glanced at the heads of the four newcomers. Hmm… nothing happened. Losing interest, she wasted no time and got straight to the point. "From now on, we are all on the same side."
"I have already discussed with His Majesty that from now on, you will enter the palace and be seated by the first quarter of the Chen hour (7:00–7:15 a.m.), have lunch in the palace, and may return at the first quarter of the You hour (5:00–5:15 p.m.). Every five days, you will have one day of rest."
The "work six, rest one" schedule was something she had fought hard to secure. Emperor Yu believed that even time spent in the privy should be used for studying—how could scholars possibly need rest?
The eight likely knew Emperor Yu's temperament well, as they showed surprise upon hearing this. However, since their superior had spoken and it was good news, they all knelt and agreed in perfect etiquette.
They all knew who the person before them was, and they understood that regardless of whether the Fourth Princess would become the Imperial Crown Princess in the future, she was still the mother of the Imperial Crown Prince, and it was highly likely that one of them would be the father.
They were all around fourteen to sixteen years old, still young at heart and unable to completely conceal their thoughts. Even the most mature among them couldn't help but steal glances at this legendary Fourth Princess.
It was said that the Fourth Princess of Great Yu was in poor health. Born to Consort Shu, whom Emperor Yu favored, she shared her mother's love for reading and seldom ventured out. Three years ago, she was rescued from a raging fire, narrowly escaping death. After surviving, she became even more reclusive, often staying in her study for days without stepping outside.
Zhe Qing thought to herself: That's because there's internet access! With her homebody nature, she could stay indoors for three months without leaving!
Now, upon meeting her, they discovered that although the Fourth Princess appeared exceptionally soft and delicate, with a petite and captivating figure, her brows carried an air of valor, and her eyes revealed the supreme dignity cultivated within the royal family. This tempered her feminine beauty by half, yet with every breath she took, the coexistence of soft delicacy and dignified authority left them breathless.
She was too beautiful.
Qin Kuan thought to himself at that moment: Grandmother said entering the palace would be difficult—but how could studying alongside such a celestial being be considered difficult?
He was already eagerly looking forward to staying up late with the Princess, discussing matters by candlelight… or rather, sitting together to study.
Sure enough, the Princess said, "Although it's already past nine in the morning, since you've all entered the palace today and the tutors are prepared, let's begin with half a day of study."
It was only a little past nine in the morning—they could easily study for the entire day before returning, getting more accustomed to the routine.
She gestured for them to proceed, and a young palace maid stepped forward to lead the way. "Young masters, please follow me."
Qin Kuan felt his heart surge with excitement along the way, eagerly anticipating the good days ahead. However, after sitting in the opulent and luxurious "classroom" for a long time, he realized something was amiss. "Won't the Princess be studying with us?"
There was clearly an empty desk at the front.
The young palace maid replied, "I do not know."
It was the elderly tutor who had just entered to teach them the Four Books who stroked his beard kindly and said, "The Princess has been occupied with other matters recently and will only return to her studies once she is free."
Qin Kuan, with the fervor of a young man in love, quickly asked, "What is the Princess busy with?"
As a young woman suddenly tasked with handling state affairs, shouldn't she prioritize her studies first?
The elderly tutor shook his head. "That, I do not know."
Zhe Qing was busy, extremely busy.
Emperor Yu had assigned people specifically to learn the production of Penicillin from Imperial Physician Yu, so Zhe Qing was temporarily focused only on matters related to the medical academy. However, even though there were tutorials available online and Emperor Yu had provided her with obedient personnel—allocating the entire Imperial Hospital staff to serve as her interviewers—there were still not enough hands.
Once again, she felt as though she were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. She had no choice but to request Emperor Yu to issue an official decree, leveraging the government's authority to recruit individuals with medical knowledge from the common folk in Jing Du and the nearby Qing Province. Whether they specialized in surgery or internal medicine, whether they had a foundation or not, as long as they wished to study medicine, she wanted them all.
To support her, Emperor Yu even specially arranged an office residence for her outside the palace, guarded by two hundred imperial soldiers. Layer upon layer of security ensured that anyone wishing to enter her medical academy was thoroughly searched, stripped naked, before being brought in for her questioning.
Zhang Yushu was a medical student from Qingzhou City. Qingzhou was the closest city to Jing Du. After the recruitment documents and news for medical talents reached Qingzhou, Zhang Yushu seized on a crucial piece of information:
—Her Highness the Princess not only wanted to establish a medical academy and needed people skilled in medicine and diagnosis, but she was also interested in "scraping bones to treat injuries" and "abdominal surgery to suture intestines." If there were talents in these areas, they could also apply.
Zhang Yushu thought long and hard, then burned his bridges by borrowing ten taels of silver to set off for Jing Du.
Zhang Yushu was now poor and had a bad reputation—his only flaw was his fascination with studying corpses. In this era, such a hobby made him seem utterly perverse, despised by everyone.
Yet he remained unrepentant, sneaking to the mass graves at midnight to study corpses. With a knife in hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement, he would cut and scrape layers of skin from the bodies, terrifying several passersby who reported him to the authorities. His family spent a considerable sum to bail him out.
Over time, no one dared to associate with him, and even his parents forbade him from returning home. The silver he used for this trip was secretly borrowed from a childhood friend.
As he left, his friend earnestly advised him, "This Fourth Princess—we’ve never heard much about her temperament or preferences. If you go like this and things go wrong, with the imperial family’s authority, you could lose your head. Are you really going?"
Zhang Yushu felt he had to go.
"Whether it’s real or not, I have to try."
Finally, here was a noble who was interested in bone scraping.
This princess, who was also interested in "abdominal surgery," was likely his last hope.
After a bumpy seven-day journey to Jing Du, he received a wooden token called a "number plate" from a palace maid at the princess’s residence. Following the "application paper" issued by the princess’s residence, he wrote what the maid referred to as a "resume" on the paper, detailing what the princess required. Then, he had to proceed to the "first-round interview."
The first-round interviewers were imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital. After asking a few basic questions, they inquired about why he wanted to become a doctor. Then, Zhang Yushu watched as they picked up their brushes and wrote a few lines behind his resume, informing him that he had passed this round and would later proceed to Her Highness the Princess for the "second-round interview."
They then handed the resume to a young maid beside them, who took it and left the room. As for where she went, he could guess—it was surely to deliver it to the princess.
Zhang Yushu grew anxious, fearing that the imperial physician’s comments might be unfavorable, causing the princess to form a "bad impression" of him "before even meeting him."
Next, he was led out by the young maid.
"This is the number plate for the second-round interview. The order in which Her Highness the Princess meets you will follow this number plate. Where are you staying, sir? When it’s almost your turn, we will send someone to invite you to come and queue."
Zhang Yushu had no silver and nowhere to stay, so he pointed outside the gate and said, "I’ll stay under that tree."
Surprisingly, the maid showed no astonishment. She nodded, made a note on a piece of paper, and turned to leave.
Zhang Yushu marveled at the rigorous, complex, and orderly nature of the interview process. He then hurried to secure a spot under a tree, thinking there must be many poor people like him—and indeed, that very night, someone tried to claim his spot.
After queuing for three days, it was finally his turn.
Although Zhang Yushu had an obsession with dissection, he was also a clever man. He had prepared his speech in advance, planning to highlight his strengths and usefulness. He even thought that since the princess was a girl of fourteen or fifteen, he might be able to appeal to her sympathy. But when he entered, knelt with his head bowed, and felt the gazes of the sword-bearing guards around him, his confidence wavered.
In truth, while he enjoyed studying corpses, scraping bones, and performing dissections, all of it had been done on the dead. He had never experimented on a living person.
He was still at the stage of "armchair theorizing."
Sweat began to bead on Zhang Yushu’s forehead. Just then, a pleasant voice spoke, "Finally, a decent surgeon has arrived."
What was a surgeon? Zhang Yushu didn’t understand. He only felt nervous, and then he could clearly sense the princess’s gaze suddenly focusing on his head.
The princess’s breath hitched.
Zhang Yushu trembled as he knelt, his hands shaking.
What was wrong with the princess? He was bowing his head—surely she wasn’t stunned by his face?
That couldn’t be. He just had an ordinary round face.
The more nervous he became, the more his mind wandered. He pinched himself hard, reminding himself to present himself to the princess. But then, he saw the princess stand up, walk over to him, and say, "I see you have an extraordinary skeletal structure and exceptional bone structure. You are excellent material for learning surgery."
Zhang Yushu: "…"
Although he didn’t understand, did the princess mean he was good?
He grinned foolishly, feeling that his luck had finally turned.
Then, carried away by his excitement, when the princess asked only one question—"Have you had any successful cases?"—he recounted his bold feat of sneaking into the mass graves at midnight to dissect corpses.
Zhe Qing: "…"
Alright. It seemed he hadn’t.
She handed him a rabbit and the crude medical instruments Imperial Physician Yu had just developed.
Whether he had real talent would have to be tested.
"Cut off the rabbit’s leg, and then you must ensure… the rabbit survives in the end."
Her voice was incredibly pleasant, but how could her words be so cruel?
For some reason, Zhang Yushu’s ears suddenly flushed bright red. He lowered his head, fidgeted with his clothes, and quickly took the rabbit.
He had experimented with small animals before, so he skillfully examined the rabbit, roughly understanding the steps he would need to take.
The rabbit’s leg was broken. Just as he was about to begin, the princess raised her hand to stop him and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. Look at the medicinal herbs beside you."
Zhang Yushu looked over, picked them up, and sniffed them, puzzled. "What is this?"
Zhe Qing smiled. "This is called Mafei San."