53 The Soldiers

"Lan Chang, how aware are you of the soldiers who return from the wars and their general conditions?" the Imperial Physician asked, his voice tensed and coiled.

Lan Chang, to her own credit, looked down to the floor, clenched her fists and hissed through her teeth, rather than arguing back and shooting off another insult at the man.

The ones that were fortunate to survive, and return from the bloodiest battles with distinction, were often granted slightly raised positions, and if they were able to make use of their new statuses to their fullest extent, further promotions would come their way.

And for those who, with their managerial and tactical experience, who managed to secure themselves careers within the palace, reaching the honour of not having to go out to war on each and every occasion, unless forced, often requested their meals match the standards of those still on the battle field.

Back when Lan Chang had been lower down in the hierarchy, she had found herself on the business end of held up furniture, sharp office supplies, and sometimes centimetres away from devastating blows that destroyed the wood beside her head as she dodged.

Those sentiments were particularly prevalent in the winter, and all the ex - soldiers were kind enough to apologise to her and then take their meals from her, forgiving her for not carrying out the proper ceremony and bows for it.

She still bowed down to them anyway.

They were the ones who kept the enemy physically away with nothing but their bodies and a few armaments.

She should have expected Ming Cheng to develop the same complex as those soldiers, take on some of their attributes now that he was off his own battlefield and in a safer, more loving place.

She remembered the times when baby A-Yuan used to gurgle and giggle, a long, long time ago when he was still a baby, and she also remembered the day when he stopped speaking.

She couldn't fault Ming Cheng for his experiences now.

All she could do was provide him more love, try and find out what made him anxious and set him off, and avoid accidently sneaking up and scaring him.

She could do this.

She knew that she could do this.

If that psychopath of a man, that she just had to send off somewhere else, could do it with A-Yuan, then she definitely could do the same with her son, and she was sure that she had a bigger heart than his.

And she knew that A-Yuan had stolen one of the scrolls in the little, quick collection of the office, a selection of the most common conditions just practically sitting there, gleaming like a diamond.

If he hadn't stolen one of the scrolls to help Ming Cheng, then she would have done the same thing anyway.

It was no consequence to her, after all.

Having A-Yuan helping Ming Cheng would only be better for Ming Cheng, after all.

Having a friend was always nice.

Lan Chang wished that she could've had proper friends like the children that she presided over.