Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Why don't we write our own storybook?" Shen Chuning said excitedly.

Birui quickly shook her head. "Miss, please forgive me. I can't write at all. You are asking too much of your maids. Not only do I have to take care of your daily life, but I also have to write storybooks to make you happy."

Seeing Birui's expression of rejection, Shen Chuning was amused. "Look how scared you are. I didn't ask you to write it."

Birui asked doubtfully, "Miss, didn't you just say that we should write our own storybooks?"

Shen Chuning held her forehead with her hand. "What I mean is, I provide the ideas, and I find someone to write according to my ideas."

Birui nodded in understanding. "This method is good. You don't have to put in any effort, and you can still see the story you want to read. But where can I find the person who wrote it?"

Shen Chuning blinked cunningly. "There are so many scholars copying books in the bookstore. It doesn't matter who they are making money from. We pay more than the data. Are you afraid that we won't be able to find people to write books?"

"Then I will go to the bookstore tomorrow to find someone. What kind of story do you want to write, young lady?"

Shen Chuning thought for a moment, "Write a story about a general who gets married and then rushes to the front, while his wife stays at home to serve her parents-in-law and waits anxiously for her husband. Who would have thought that the general would return three years later with a beautiful bride, and the general's wife would divorce him."

Bi Rui curled her lips and said, "Just bring a woman back from outside and take her back to the mansion. Why would the general's wife ask to be divorced for a thing that is not even a concubine?"

Shen Chuning: "You're right. The general insisted on marrying the woman he brought back, but it turned out that she was a spy from the enemy country. The general's mansion was destroyed, and the general's wife escaped disaster by divorcing him. Later, she found true love and lived a happy life."

Birui opened her mouth wide. "Is this what they call evil deeds being punished? I'll find someone to write this story tomorrow."

……

After resting at home for two days, Shen Chuning was able to walk slowly with Birui's help, and the day for her to enter the palace had come again.

Old Madam Shen advised Shen Chuning to rest at home for a few more days and return to the palace after she was well again. However, Shen Chuning had prepared a big gift for the Shen family, and she had to get herself out of it, so she returned to the palace early on the grounds that she could not delay her studies.

Since Shen Chuning's foot had not yet fully healed, she asked her teacher for leave from her riding class and walked towards the North Third Institute with Birui's support.

The courtyard where the fifth prince lived in the North Third House was in a dilapidated state. There was a big hole in the gate and weeds were growing on the roof tiles. Looking into the house, one could even see light coming through the roof.

There was only an old eunuch serving in the yard. When Shen Chuning went there, the two of them were sitting at the stone table in the yard eating breakfast.

This was the first time Shen Chuning had seen a master and servants sitting at the same table to eat. It was something she wouldn't see in even a modest household, let alone a prince.

Seeing Shen Chuning come in, the eunuch beside Xiao Yuanyi quickly stood up and knelt down to salute, "Your servant Cui An pays respects to Miss Shen."

Shen Chuning saw the clear porridge in front of the two of them, and in the middle was a plate of black vegetables that were obviously leftovers. She remembered what the Empress Dowager had said about the Fifth Prince being in a bad situation.

Shen Chuning took the food box from Birui and placed it on the stone table. "Fifth Prince, thank you for saving Chuning at the palace gate last time. These are some snacks that Chuning made herself. I hope you don't mind."

The fifth prince, Xiao Yuanyi, looked up at Shen Chuning with a panicked expression on his face. "You've got the wrong person. I've always been in the North Third Institute and have never left, let alone appeared in the North Third Institute."

Shen Chuning frowned, "How could I have recognized the wrong person? It was Ah Ning, the one you saved from the Sixth Princess."

Xiao Yuanyi put down his chopsticks and said, "Madam Jian from the Imperial Grandmother's side has already delivered medicine for Miss Shen's injuries. The North Third Institute is not a good place. Please don't come here in the future, Miss Shen."

Shen Chuning bit her lip lightly, and seeing Xiao Yuanyi's stubborn expression, she could only stand up and say goodbye.

"Ms. Shen, please stay." As soon as Shen Chuning walked out of the door, Cui An chased after her with a lunch box.

Shen Chuning stopped and asked, "What's the matter, Eunuch Cui?"

Cui An held up the food box and handed it to Shen Chuning. "The Fifth Prince said you've already thanked him. Please take the food box back with you."

Shen Chuning didn't take the food box. "Last time, Nanny Jian sent the ointment in my name, but it was actually the Queen Mother's order. The snacks in this food box are my gift. I just saw that the Fifth Prince's breakfast was indeed a bit excessive. Is this what the Imperial Kitchen sends?"

Cui An lowered his head and replied, "People in the palace are used to flattering the powerful and bullying the weak. What kind of delicious food can be sent to the cold palace? It's good enough if there is something to eat. The Fifth Prince is not picky."

Shen Chuning whispered, "You're going too far," and then said, "People in the palace are used to flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak, but you're an exception."

Cui An: "Sun promised me that he saved my life. I will take good care of Sun's only descendant."

Shen Chuning: "You are also a person who knows how to be grateful. Please accept this food box. I will often have people send you food that is easy to preserve."

Cui An bowed respectfully to Shen Chuning, "Thank you, Miss Shen. However, I'm afraid that sending people here so often will cause you unnecessary trouble."

Shen Chuning: "Don't worry, no one is watching me. I came here with the approval of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is worried about the Fifth Prince, and the people around her can't come often, so she asked me to come."

Cui An: "Although it was the Empress Dowager who asked you to come, I, the Fifth Prince, would still like to thank you. However, I have a request, and I am not sure whether I should say it or not."

Shen Chuning: "Please tell me, sir. If there is anything that Ning can help with, I will definitely do my best."

Cui An said cautiously, "The Fifth Prince has already reached school age, but His Majesty has not made any arrangements. I wonder if Miss Shen..."

"Will you let me go to the Emperor or the Empress Dowager and ask them to allow the fifth prince to enroll in school?" Shen Chuning interrupted Cui An. She still thought that Cui An knew how to be grateful and know when to advance and retreat. Now, she was given such a big task. She was thinking too much of her.

Seeing that Shen Chuning was a little angry, Cui An quickly explained, "No, no, if possible, could you bring a few books?"

Shen Chuning breathed a sigh of relief. If she was asked to ask the Emperor and the Empress Dowager for help, she would not be able to do it. But sending a few books would be too easy.

Moreover, she was worried that she couldn't get close to the Fifth Prince, and now the opportunity had come.

Shen Chuning: "I wonder how the Fifth Prince's learning progress is going? Has he learned to read?"

Cui An: "When Sun promised to be alive, he handed over the Thousand Character Essay, the Three Character Classic, and the Disciple Rules to the Fifth Prince, but there are no more."

Shen Chuning thought carefully for a moment. "Okay, I roughly understand. I'll prepare a list of books based on the Fifth Prince's progress when I get back, and have someone come in between to replace them. If there are any parts you don't understand, please circle them, and I'll write annotations or explain them to the Fifth Prince."

"Thank you, Miss Shen." Cui An knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Shen Chuning respectfully.