Chapter 2587 - 2561: Looking for Books

Manbao first went to the Hanlin Academy. She was originally a compiler at the Chongwen Pavilion, and only books involving secrets required a handwritten note from Libationer Kong to be accessed.

But Manbao had seen the catalog, and it had nothing to do with medical books. She had read all the medical books in the Chongwen Pavilion; although they weren’t medical books, she had flipped through most that involved medical knowledge.

However, over at the Hanlin Academy, because it belonged to a different system, although people from the Chongwen Pavilion could borrow books, there were many restrictions.

If they didn’t want to lend them, they simply wouldn’t. So, there were still many medical books Manbao hadn’t read.

This time, not only did the Emperor speak, but Director Xiao also spoke, and they even obtained the Emperor’s handwritten note for her. So Manbao took it as an official order and immediately went to the Hanlin Academy to find books.

Bai Shan had returned early from his leave to work and was currently taking decrees issued by the Central Secretariat to the Hanlin Academy for filing.

These original documents were to be kept in the Hanlin Academy for future historians to reference when composing history.

He was bowing his head to hand them over to the officials at the Hanlin Academy when someone suddenly bumped into his shoulder. He looked up to see the person winking at him, gesturing towards the doorway.

Bai Shan looked over and immediately saw Zhou Man in casual clothes.

He lowered his head to the person he was handing over the documents to.

Under his intense staredown, the person had to speed up their work, checking one by one and finding every document matched, so they signed them off and accepted the files.

Bai Shan took the receipt and then walked out.

The academic editor hosting Zhou Man was thrilled to see him, "Lord Bai came at the right time. He was one of us at the Hanlin Academy not long ago."

He said: "Lord Zhou, if you want a particular book, you should ask Lord Bai. If you’re not urgently needed at the Central Secretariat, perhaps escort Lord Zhou to find it."

Bai Shan chuckled: "If I wander around the courtyard, the dean might be upset. If you’re busy, perhaps let Editor Bai take over?"

The other person hesitated for a moment, realizing Bai Shan was no longer Editor Bai; now, it specifically referred to Prince Consort Bai.

After a moment of consideration, though it wasn’t precisely Bai Erlang’s job, he was part of the Hanlin Academy, so taking over was only natural, so he nodded.

He fetched Bai Erlang, handed him the list, and the academic editor swaggered away.

Bai Erlang glanced at the list with wide eyes, "So many books, so many rooms, where am I supposed to find them?"

Shouldn’t finding books be the job of an experienced academic editor?

Why ask a newcomer like him?

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have ended my leave early to return to work with Bai Shan; wasn’t a half-month vacation appealing?

Bai Shan grabbed the list and said, "I know where they are; you just need to lead us."

"You should be more familiar with the Hanlin Academy than me, and you need me to lead the way?"

"Are you silly?" Bai Shan flung an arm over his shoulder and dragged him upstairs, whispering, "You’re now a part of the Hanlin Academy; aren’t we supposed to have a guide?"

Bai Erlang instantly understood.

Manbao quickly caught up with them, whispering to Bai Shan: "Actually, all these medical books I’m looking for are ones I jotted down from hearsay."

Bai Shan: ...

"Well, there’s no help for it. Your Hanlin Academy has strict rules; they insist I give them the title before I can borrow. Hmph, if I knew the title, I would probably have read the book already; why would I need to borrow it?"

"It’s because I don’t know which book contains this medical knowledge that I have to flip through them one by one." Manbao said, "Do you know where I can see a catalog?"

Bai Shan nodded and whispered back, "The second floor up here and the first floor over there have lots of medical books and technical manuals."

Bai Erlang’s eyes went wide, "You’ve read them all?"

Bai Shan shot him a look, "I have only one pair of eyes; I can’t read this much. But last June and July, when we were drying books, we returned every book on this floor to its place according to the catalog."

So he remembered.

Bai Shan pointed out to Bai Erlang, "This June and July, when you dry books, try drying those on the first and second floors of section A."

Bai Erlang asked, "Why?"

"Because I haven’t read those floors’ books. I hear they have a lot of confidential documents, especially current and former emperors’ Daily Records, which usually only the dean and a few senior editors can peruse."

Bai Erlang: "Can I read them?"

"Give it a try. You’re a Prince Consort; the Hanlin Academy might not stop you."

Bai Erlang became excited and repeatedly nodded.

Upon reaching the second floor, Bai Erlang took the list and fetched the key, opening the door with a grand gesture, "Feel free to browse."

Looking at the rows of books inside, Manbao dashed in.

Indeed, having acquaintances was advantageous; otherwise, she probably wouldn’t even touch the library door.

Bai Shan expertly found the catalog of books in the room from the bookshelf. There were three volumes in total. He gave one volume to each person, saying, "We’ll find the books on your list; you see if there’s anything else you want to read."

"No," Manbao’s eyes sparkled, "You guys take notes and write down anything related to medical knowledge, and then I’ll choose which books to borrow."

Bai Shan: "You can only take ten books at a time from here."

"I have the Emperor’s order."

"Even so, you can only take ten," Bai Shan said, "The Hanlin Academy won’t allow more than that, but after you’ve read them, you can return to borrow more."

Manbao said, "In that case, we should take notes; next time, I’ll list the books myself."

Bai Shan thought that was a good idea and agreed.

So the three of them occupied the library table, each taking a corner to start searching.

All three were quick; a book’s title usually indicated whether it was a medical text. Their fingers slid swiftly across the pages, with many titles passing by in a flash, pausing now and then to jot down the title and location of relevant books.

Bai Shan was the fastest, having seen the catalog before, so he handed the list to Manbao to pick while he took over the catalog she was holding to continue searching.

After selecting the books she wanted this time, Manbao went to find them.

She quickly picked out ten books, set them aside, and then crouched in a corner, engrossed in reading another book.

Bai Shan came over and saw, asking, "What book is that?"

Manbao sighed, "A book of travel observations."

"Is it related to medical techniques?"

"A little bit," Manbao said, "But what interests me most is that it mentions that Hua Tuo’s handwritten relics once appeared around Huayang."

Bai Shan: "Weren’t they burned?"

"Who knows?" Manbao said, "But Hua Tuo had some research on the internal organs; I wonder what he would do if faced with a case like Zheng Erlang’s."

Bai Erlang remarked, "Hua Tuo once wanted to open Cao Cao’s skull. Manbao, you wouldn’t want to open Zheng Erlang’s skull, would you?"

Manbao glanced at him, "Do you think I’m that kind of person?"

She had a humanoid model and had opened the skull several times already, so it was no longer a novelty.

Actually, it was still intriguing, but the survival rate for open skull surgery was too low. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she was reluctant to risk patients.