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The two scribes, Hushou and Yuandeng, usually go by their pen names. But Custard is an old dog; it has seen too much and still remembers the names they had before entering the academy.\nBack when it was a stray, two little village girls carried it home. They had plain, humble names: one was Xi'er, and the other was Qiuqiu.\nThey dressed like all the other village children and ate the same simple food, yet what they did and what they dreamed set them apart.\nXi'er taught lonely old men how to write their own names, while Qiuqiu brought warm porridge to ailing widows. Xi'er dreamed of becoming the most learned scholar in Qingzhou, and Qiuqiu longed to open a school that charged not a single coin.\nCustard would curl up between the little girls, listening to their grand ambitions. Deep down, it knew that once they achieved their dreams, they would leave it behind.\nSure enough, both passed the examinations for the Inkbound Order. Custard told itself to accept the parting, but when that day came, it still buried its head between its front paws.\nIn its daze, two gentle pairs of hands scooped it up into a bumpy journey. Peeking from their embrace, it saw a grand bridge spanning across the cliff.\n"Custard, we packed all your favorite treats! Be a good dog in Archive Hall, okay?"\n"Custard, oh Custard, do you think we will become renowned scribes one day?"\nThey will make their fortune, ride in fine carriages, travel mountains and rivers, and put all their learning to good use.