Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 82

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine (82).

And Seongji also retorted at the shouting man without backing down.

“I clearly told you to boil the medicine in the prescribed amount and take it.”

“Yes, I fed it to him exactly as you gave it to me!”

“If you had fed it to him exactly as I gave it to you, he wouldn’t have these symptoms! Did you boil it twice as strong and give it to him?”

“Ah, no…….”

The man hesitated for a moment at Seongji’s words.

“Besides, looking at how his whole body is red now, perhaps… did you not only give the medicine to the child but also take it yourself?”

“No, how would I know what’s in the medicine and feed it to the child? You said you put in good ingredients! Of course, I had to eat it and check!”

“It’s not medicine for healthy people. What do you think it is, some kind of tonic?”

“Y-you little whippersnapper, where do you think you’re raising your voice at an adult? Bring a doctor! A doctor! You have to take responsibility for making the child like this!”

“The child is in critical condition, so I will see him now, but do not come here again.”

“What did you say?”

“…….”

Perhaps it was because the time we had spent peacefully had been so long. I was overwhelmed with frustration and dizziness, as if I had swallowed a hundred sweet potatoes, at the sight of a troublemaker straight out of a painting, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. (The idiom ‘swallowed a hundred sweet potatoes’ refers to feeling extremely frustrated or stifled.)

I silently tugged at Seong Gyeom-sabok’s sleeve, pointing at the shouting man, and Seong Gyeom-sabok, seeing my face mixed with annoyance and fatigue, silently isolated the troublemaker’s guardian from the doctor.

“Who are you?!”

“The young lady is feeling uncomfortable, so let’s talk somewhere quiet.”

As Seong Gyeom-sabok dragged the man away and quietly disappeared out the door, Seongji, as if exhausted, sighed and sat down weakly on the porch in the yard.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”

Seeing Seongji sweating, Ah-yeong and Jia fearlessly went into the kitchen, brought out water, and handed it to Seongji.

“Seongji unnie [older sister]. Drink some water.”

“Thank you.”

On the porch where Seongji was sitting, there was a boy panting with a fever. He was probably the son of the man from earlier.

“Is this child okay?”

“Fortunately, they brought him before it was too late, but they didn’t give me a chance to treat him…….”

Saying that, Seongji shook her head as if to regain her composure and stood up. She went inside to find the medicinal herbs and entrusted the children to boil them, then rubbed her hands a few times and took out her acupuncture kit, inserting needles into the child’s body.

The children, who were fanning the fire while boiling the medicine, shuddered as they watched.

‘It is a bit much to watch someone getting acupuncture.’

After a while, Seongji, having confirmed that the child’s fever had subsided a bit, finally took a breath and relaxed her shoulders.

Then, when she made eye contact with me, she smiled awkwardly as if she had just remembered and bowed her head.

“Thank you for your help. You are Siyoungwon Agassi [young lady of Siyoungwon], aren’t you?”

“Mmm.”

Another new title of mine had been established without me knowing.

In Siyoungwon, I was simply called Agassi, but outside of Siyoungwon, I was being called this.

“The children talk about Agassi every time I see them.”

“What do they say?”

I glanced at the children, and they all avoided my gaze and suddenly focused on the medicine pot.

“Only good things. That you gave them delicious things. That you gave them pretty clothes. That you stroked their heads and said they were good.”

Why the last one?

“And I heard that you are also teaching the children how to read. I said something rude to you before, but please forget it.”

“?”

What did I say? It was so long ago that I can barely remember.

The woman chuckled, realizing that I didn’t remember.

“But what brings you here?”

“Ah.”

I was so out of it because of that man from earlier that I was spacing out.

“Actually, I’m thinking of teaching the children who will become doctors in Siyoungwon, and I’m looking for someone to teach the children medicine.”

“Medicine, you say?”

I explained my plan appropriately, saying that I was thinking of teaching medicine to children who had talent and volunteered, regardless of their status.

Seongji was lost in thought for a moment at my words.

‘Is it difficult? If it’s difficult, it would be good if she could introduce me to another trustworthy doctor or female doctor with skills and good character.’

The woman in front of me was still young, so it seemed like she should be in the field rather than teaching.

“I’ve heard that Agassi is no ordinary person, but I didn’t know you had such deep thoughts.”

Saying that, the woman straightened her posture and introduced herself.

“I don’t think I’ve ever formally introduced myself. My name is Heo Seongji.”

Seongji lost her parents when she was young and was entrusted to her uncle, who is also the owner of this house. Her uncle used to be a royal physician in the royal hospital.

‘I don’t know why he left the royal hospital, but judging from the fact that I don’t know anything about it, he must have quit a long time ago.’

Well, there are a lot of things going on there now, and it’s a place where you can’t help but be caught up in power struggles, whether internal or external, so there must have been many reasons.

“My uncle would probably be interested if he heard about it.”

Seongji’s uncle is quite skilled and still goes to the homes of high-ranking people for house calls, so he has no inconvenience in his life.

In particular, Seongji accompanies him when examining women from noble families, so word has spread among the wives of the gentry, and many people are looking for him.

‘She’s even specialized in women’s diseases, so she’s exactly the type of person I was looking for?’

According to Seongji, her uncle even examined the Queen and concubines when he was in the royal hospital.

So, he was truly a guaranteed talent.

Thanks to that, even though he doesn’t really take other patients and lives like this, he manages to make a living.

However, Seongji feels it’s a waste to waste the medical skills she’s learned, so she takes care of the poor like she did earlier, but her uncle doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t stop her and sometimes gives her advice.

‘Well, it doesn’t make money.’

It doesn’t make money, and if something like what happened earlier happens, it would be quite burdensome for this house with only two people.

Even now, Seongji seemed busy organizing, drying, and boiling medicinal herbs all by herself.

“But isn’t unnie always working alone?”

“He’s often away. He also likes to drink.”

“Mmm.”

A doctor who likes to drink is a bit concerning.

Feeling that I was displeased, Seongji hurriedly waved her hand.

“He likes to drink, but he falls asleep after drinking only one glass, so he doesn’t drink much. He also sobers up quickly. He’s not the type of person who would ever be drunk when seeing a patient.”

“That’s a relief, but.”

“He’s out right now, so I’ll tell him when he gets back later. I don’t think he’ll dislike it.”

“Isn’t he reluctant to see patients?”

“If that were the case, how could he still be working as a doctor? But I think he’s more suited to teaching than seeing patients…….”

Ahyoung, who was listening to the voice that was losing confidence, asked Seongji, who was hanging on her knees, with a good-natured voice.

“Seongji unnie, did you learn from your uncle too?”

“Of course! My uncle taught me.”

“Did he teach you by force?”

“No, I said I would learn. Medicine was the only thing I could do here, so I was desperate. Fortunately, it suited my aptitude and I seemed to have talent. Do you want to learn, Ahyoung?”

“But it’s difficult, right?”

“Of course, it’s difficult. But it’s a rewarding job.”

“But Seongji unnie’s uncle seems to not want to do it.”

“Ahahaha.”

Seongji slurred her words, perhaps because Ahyoung’s words hit the nail on the head.

“When you go to see a patient, Seongji unnie fixes them, right? Then Seongji unnie is better at fixing them than uncle, right?”

“That’s not true, but I do the pulse diagnosis. Men and women are different, so male doctors don’t like to do pulse diagnosis. Hmm. But I can say that I’m better at diagnosing women?”

“Then can Agassi unnie also do a pulse diagnosis?”

What is Agassi unnie, Ahyoung…….

Silence fell in the yard for a moment at Ahyoung’s words pointing at me.

Perhaps they noticed that I hadn’t grown up since they remembered me. The children might have told them.

“May I examine Agassi’s pulse?”

“Sure.”

As I readily nodded, Soi, who had been absent until now, was flustered and stopped me.

“Agassi!”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I’m taking medicine, she’s just going to do a pulse diagnosis. She’s also a woman. Isn’t that right?”

“But…….”

Gayi is strict, but Soi is soft.

If I said I would do it, Soi couldn’t stop me until the end. It’s not like I’m going to do something big.

Seongji asked about my health and took my pulse on my wrist. And she frowned and was silent for a long time, but soon shook her head.

“I know that you are different from other people, but since there are no other symptoms at all, I have no idea how to treat you.”

“No one who has ever taken my pulse has known how to treat me, so don’t blame yourself. I’m not uncomfortable, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“…….”

Everyone around me had a face that said, ‘How can you not worry about that!’ but this wasn’t something that could be solved by doing that.

Of course, there were some inconveniences because I didn’t grow up in a child’s body, but fortunately, I had a lot of money and a lot of people to take care of me, so I didn’t have any inconveniences in my life.

Besides, I knew how to fix it, and I had a guarantee that someone who could fix it would appear someday.

I wasn’t even sick, so I was in pretty good condition compared to the many patients with rare and incurable diseases in the world.

“If you worry about things like that too much, it’s not good for your health.”

“Mental pain can also cause actual physical pain, so what you say is right.”

The children nodded with a face that said, ‘Is that so?’ as if they trusted the doctor’s words.

‘It would be nice if I could find psychological stability.’

My house is not a very good environment for psychological stability…….

I can’t even be independent.

‘Ugh.’

Anyway, I told her my opinion on the women’s specialized medical center. Seongji was very pleased.

“If a medical center is established under the care of Ongju Jaga [Princess Jaga] as you said, women and doctors will not have to worry.”

“I’m thinking of making it a hospital focused on children and women. Rather than covering too many fields, I think it’s better to have expertise.”

“Is Ongju Jaga thinking of gathering doctors and female doctors for that reason?”

“Yeah. That’s what it means.”

Siyoungwon Agassi was only an agent of Ongju Jaga to the outside world, so I answered appropriately.

“That’s great.”

“Well…….”

Everyone seems to think that I have great ambitions, but in fact, this is all a struggle for me to live.

There were many deadly epidemics in this era, and treatment technology was insufficient.

‘It’s not for nothing that smallpox vaccination is the rule in alternate history stories!’

If I got smallpox in this era, I would die before I could see what happened to the Crown Prince and Jihwa.

‘If there’s a rumor that a cow has smallpox, I have to go no matter what.’

The Crown Prince? He’s the main character, so he probably won’t get smallpox.

‘Even if he gets it, he’ll probably survive…….’

Of course, it would be a big deal in many ways if he got it.

I, who was almost an extra who almost died once, have to live first.

“Come to think of it, I went to the pharmacy to get medicine and heard a story about Ongju Jaga.”

About me?

As I showed interest, Seongji smiled and continued.

“The female doctors in the royal hospital are buzzing because of Ongju Jaga.”

“?”