Most of the people that had been trained here had been handpicked as Elite guards in the palace and others had gone their way to make something out of life.
Old Master Lu had passed down the Academy to his son who had continued to recruit young boys for tutoring.
In all of the Lu Academy, only the old cook - Mi Yan - was a female. She had been with the Old Master Lu for a long time and had been very sad when he passed. She was already of old age and insisted on staying at the Academy because she had no children or family to return to. Ideally, when the Master you serve dies, you either decide to continue working for his successor or return back to your household as a free person.
'Old Yan' as she is popularly called, liked Su and Kang a lot. They were mischievous and reminded her of when Master Lu was a young boy. She hadn't been around when Master Lu was born, but she had witnessed his upbringing from an early age.
She had some assistants in the kitchen and she only gave instructions from her positioned chair where she indulged in creating new food menus and embroidery.
After their daily drills and coaching, Su and Kang would come to the large kitchen to visit Old Yan. She would sneakily give them some of the beef taffy that would be used in the next meal. She had no children of her own so she really liked the both of them a lot.
She would then say "Kang, do you see Su growing taller?"
"Old Yan, Su is indeed growing tall but i am still taller than him..."
"Old Yan, I love you the most... can i have a little more beef taffy?" Su would then give his widest smile.
This would melt the old lady's heart; everytime.
She would then happily give him another stick of beef taffy.
"Old Yan...! does that mean you like Su more than I? look, Su will grow taller than me in no time if you give him more taffies... this is unfair" Lu Kang would start to give her his most-faked 'sad face'.
"Alright, alright... here is one for my Kang too. Hahaha, i love you both so much"
Then they would both jog out of the kitchen to share what they had cheated out of the Old lady.