( Sometimes unhappiness is something perpetuated; sometimes it's not. There's little enough they can do for a situation lived by their seniors, other than weather it as they can.

His lips quirk, the smile there then gone, and he twists around to settle a hand on Jiang Cheng's arm. )

I'll stay. Don't blame me when your knees ache later.

( A wry sort of grin that doesn't address any of the other possibilities: more corporeal punishments that may or may not come down the line. )

And of course they do. Bodyguards, maids, informants, is there anything they can't do?

( Let's have a little shudder for dramatic effect; truly only less formidable than their mistress. )