Before her conversation with her father, Meiying might have found the awaiting dinner and it's host to be of pleasing conversation. Time well spent, but suddenly there was a different kind of pressure. The choice had been ripped out from under her, if it had ever really been there to begin with. Yet it wasn't even that which bothered her as she made her way through the palace. Instead, that irritation and pressure had turned into fear. Her father had been clear about what he expected from her, but he simply couldn't grasp how different things had become since his time courting her mother. It was a much different world.

And then there was Kennet, who had seemed to understand the situation that Meiying was in, though she gave Mei only a short answer and then excused herself. Mei couldn't blame her, not really. She hadn't seemed to be happy about it, but she also hadn't seen angry with Meiying, and that was about the best outcome that the counselor could have expected.

When she arrived and knocked on the office door, her eyes widened somewhat as she looked Hadrian over. He seemed much different from when she'd last seen him, cleaned up and put together, and looking much less distraught than he had been. When he complimented her, she did her best not to look down at the dress she was wearing. If it had been up to her, the neckline would be higher, the dress a little looser, and maybe blue and white instead of red and gold. This one had been chosen by her mother. It wasn't necessarily immodest, but it hugged in all the right places and showed off her neck and chest. In rare form, her hair was styled more to frame her face, rather than being tucked away from it behind her ears.

"Thank you, Commander Usher, you look exceptional yourself. I feel as if you're an entirely different man from when I last saw you," she smiled, brown eyes moving past him to look into the office. Once more her eyes widened a bit, surprised by the lengths he had gone to. So much so that she lifted a hand to her chest. "Goddess, I recognize your office even less. It's a rather lovely set up to be wasted on matters of business," she grinned back at him as she referenced his letter to her father, her tone lighthearted and verging on playful. "Shall we sit?"

Meiying smirked in response to his tease, but nodded her thanks as he pulled the chair out for her. She tucked her dress underneath her and sat down, running her hands over the skirt of the dress that rested over her thighs in order to smooth it out.

Dark eyes looked up and watched him as he poured the wine. She found herself watching his face, hoping that when it rested, whatever expression covered his features wasn't one of displeasure. Despite his compliment when she'd first entered, she couldn't be sure that it was how he truly felt. He had been the one to reach out, so one would assume that he at least found her attractive. That was the easiest part, though. The nervousness she felt was unfamiliar, something she hadn't felt at all when on her outing with Aldrich Abbott. Maybe that rejection had been what prompted the nerves to begin with.

So when he offered the glass, it took her a moment to snap out of the trance and pulled her eyes away from his face to take the wine glass. "Thank you," she said, holding onto the glass but waiting for him to sit or lift his own glass before she took a drink. "Oh, you do?" She asked, a bit surprised but not displeased by the prospect. At least speaking of work could break them into conversation more naturally than trying to find something non-military related to speak about. "Of course, Commander, please speak freely."

Once Hadrian lifted the glass to his lips, Meiying mimicked the motion. She took a much more modest sip or two, but licked her lips when it was done. The wine was sweet and the aftertaste was pleasant. She hadn't expected anything cheap from him, but she'd found that more often men chose harsher spirits than the kind she liked. Instead, this wine was lighter, and smoother.

"Ah," she rested the glass of wine on the desk and let her hands fall into her lap. "I suspected that might happen soon, though it is a shame that it took an attack on their kingdom for it to come about." The, now former, queen of Arynn Frey had been quiet in the last couple of years. She'd begun to isolate her people from the world, and restrict their access to the magic that made them so great. Then she all but disappeared, and meanwhile, her son had become more active than ever. Meiying, with the information that she'd gotten from @alinore of her time in Arynn Frey, had expected the seat of power to change sooner rather than later, though one could never truly predict what circumstance might bring it about. Certainly no one had predicted the circumstance that had.

Dark, bold brows were raised slightly at the mention of human experimentation and augmentation. Rather than the polite, pleasant expression that had covered her face moments before, she slipped into one of deep though. One hand came up, her chin resting on the backs of her index and middle fingers as she considered what he spoke of. "I suppose," she began, though clearly careful, "It would be a matter of consent." She was relieved to hear that he was hesitant to accept such a proposal. While it would have obvious advantages, as he spoke of, it could also have unforeseen disadvantages.

"I am curious, though, why the Prince wishes to extend such experiments to the witches, and not our male, unpaired soldiers? They would have the most to gain." The implication there went without saying. While everyone in the Nevermeran army were the best trained, most experienced soldiers in the kingdom, the unpaired men were still their weakest link. If they could strengthen that link, all of the soldiers would stand on equal ground.

"Regardless, it should be a select few who we test first. The most loyal and disciplined among us, soldiers who volunteer for the trials knowing what they may go through. I believe that is the safest route. We can watch them and see how they respond to the experiments, and then decide if it is something the other soldiers would be ready for."

With her thoughts on the matter made clear, her expression returned to a more relaxed smile as she took up the wine glass once more. "That's just my opinion, of course, Commander."