He liked the sound of the carriages: the neighing of the horses, the creaking of the wheels, the shouting of the drivers.
He liked the sound of the marketplace: the calls of merchants, the bustle of the crowds, the laughter of children.
Even here, in this parched and arid place where people had to fight the land itself, they lived bravely.
That was a wonderful thing, his mother had taught him. The boy was often with her, and had heard her say it many times.
His mother worked with birds; she surveyed the whole world from a desk. She would laugh and tell him that one day, he would be able to do this too. Sometimes she would look deep into his eyes and appear to be thinking about something. Or sometimes, it seemed to him, remembering someone.
"Just make sure to protect this city," she had said. The boy nodded assiduously. "Help it grow big and strong."
The boy told her that he understood.
"Grow up to be just like your father," she told him, and he replied with laughter that of course he would.
If the boy grew big and strong, so would the town.
They would have such abundance that a bad harvest would mean nothing to them, such strength that they would fear no enemy attack...
He wanted to be like his mother with her kindness; carry himself with his father's authority.
He wanted these things so that his home, the western capital, could be richer and more beautiful than anywhere else.
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The Apothecary Diaries Book 11
FantasíaI-sei Province is still reeling in the aftermath of the insect plague. Jinshi resolves to do everything in his power to help the people of this land-but how far does his power really go in the western capital? And will he regret his efforts when all...
