âReally?â I said in excitement after his words had sunk in.
He would really teach me all those things? To be honest, I didnât quite know what those subjects entailed but I knew well enough that they would be useful and interesting. Most importantly, not that many people in the land would be as knowledgeable as Ren so this is a great opportunity.
âYesâ¦â Ren reaffirmed.
âGreat!â I exclaimed excitedly. This is it!
Renâs eyes narrowed at me as he watched how cheerful and excited I was. I doubt he understood how much learning new things appealed to me. This is an exceptional opportunity and I felt very lucky to be offer such a chance.
âSoâ¦how many days in a week will I get?â Ren asked, almost sounding a little grumpy.
âAre women allowed to study archery?â I asked, curiously.
âNoâ¦but if we keep it a secret no one will find out,â Ren replied, sounding a little annoyed.
âOkâ¦wowâ¦thatâs great!â I replied, unable to control the enthusiasm bubbling up inside of me.
âHow many days?â Ren asked once more.
Oh right, I havenât gotten back to him on thatâ¦
If I spend three days on medical training and if I can lower my training days with Jeely to one day, then I can offer Ren two days and Iâll be left with one day of rest.
âIf youâll allow me to lower my days of training in the inner court to one day then I guess you can have two days? Then my medical training will be three days and Iâll have one day left for resting. Oh, but if things get really busy in the medical ward, I might have to call off other trainings completly in some weeksâ¦â I suggested after thinking for a while.
It would be sad to cut down my time with Jeely as I really enjoyed her company, but I would truly prefer to spend my time studying things that I was interested in.
âDeal,â Ren replied.
Finally, he seemed satisfied. I get to spend at least two days per week with Ren, that wasnât a bad deal at all.
I blinked my eyes in surprise at Renâs happily smiling face. It had been a while since Iâve seen him smiling so carefreely like this. Ren was usually so busy, so I doubt that heâll really have two days a week to spend teaching me every week. Weâll just have to wait and see how it goes, perhaps, itâll be possible in some weeks. A girl can always be hopefulâ¦
â¦
A few days later, I received a letter from the Royal Medical Office that they were finally ready to receive me and to kick-off my training. I just couldnât wait.
After a sleepless night of rolling around in bed from excitement, it was finally the first day for my medical study. Ren had volunteered to take me to the medical office on my first day and I had readily agreed. To be honest, I felt very intimidated by the royal doctors the last time that I visited, so having Ren with me might provide the mental support that I needed.
âReady to go?â Ren asked when he came to pick me up.
I turned and smiled brightly at him then nodded. I was more than readyâ¦although, a little nervousâ¦
When we arrived at the Royal Medical Office, we were immediately greeted by a few senior royal doctors. The men seemed to be in their fifties at least and they all bowed respectfully to Ren.
âWelcome crown prince and Lady White Lotus. It is our honor to welcome you here today and to assist with the ladyâs study,â one of the doctors, who I supposed was the most senior, said.
âThank you. I highly appreciate your help in assisting My Ladyâs learning. Please be patient with her,â Ren said, his tone quite serious.
The men seemed very nervous in the presence of the crown prince. I didnât understand why Ren had to sound so cold towards them.
We were shown inside swiftly and led to a room where we could be comfortably seated. I couldnât wait for my lessons to start.
âWe are honored and delighted to impart our medical knowledge onto you; however, before we can start we will need to get a better understanding of the current level of your knowledge,â one of the doctors said to me.
âI agree,â I replied with a smile.
âWell then, can you please describe your level of knowledge to us?â the doctor continued asking.
âSure. My father was a doctor and so Iâve studied a bit with him and watched as he treated the patients at his clinic. I can do basic things like dressing wounds and treating injuries. I can disinfect, stitch up, and dress wounds. For diseases, I can cure common diseases like the cold, stomach problems and the like. I know some basic medicine related to the common diseases and can prepare medicine for the patient based on medical formulas,â I explained briefly.
âI see. That is not a bad start, indeed. In order to understand more, we may need to observe your skills when you treat patients. If I may, I would humbly suggest that you start with treating patients with basic ailments and then observing other doctors take on more complex cases to learn from them,â the doctor recommended after some thought.
âThat sounds perfect!â I replied excitedly.
The doctors looked anxiously in Renâs decision as if seeking for his approval for their study plan.
âIâm fine with it if she isâ¦â Ren said.
The doctors all breathed a sigh of relief at Renâs words.
âIf I may ask, Lady White Lotus, is there anything specific that you wish to learn? So that we can perhaps start or focus thereâ¦â the doctor asked.
I could tell that the royal doctors were treating my study very seriously and that only added to my own sense of determination. Iâm going to succeed at this no matter what.
âYes, I would like to learn how to treat wounds and other related conditions associated to battle so that I can save lives on the battlefieldâ¦â I replied with absolute determination.
--To be continuedâ¦