Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 85

“What should we do, Ongju [Princess]?”

It was a few days later that Jeong-geum and Yeon-chang came to me with tearful faces.

“Um. So, a *chambong* (參奉: a minor government official of the lowest 9th rank) is having an affair with a female doctor, and both are married?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Gai, who was listening to them, frowned.

They must have been in a hurry to come, but she probably thought it wasn’t right to tell such a story to a young Ongju.

Both of them knew that, and their faces were red with embarrassment.

“If this comes to light, the Royal Clinic will be turned upside down. Moreover, we are still in mourning for the Grand Queen Dowager.”

“They’re really making a mess of things.”

Although female doctors were government slaves, they were not court ladies, so it was possible for them to meet men and marry.

However, one of the negative perceptions of female doctors was that they met strange men and lived promiscuously! If such a problem arose, they would be attacked for not being qualified to hold their positions.

‘But adultery involves two people. Does a woman do it alone? How would they even consider giving him a rank if he’s having an affair with a married woman?’

I’m not saying this female doctor is like that, but in a society with a strong emphasis on chastity, a woman’s adultery or affair is often judged regardless of her will.

Even if she hates it, once a woman is involved with a man, the moment that fact is revealed, she is labeled as someone who has lost her honor and cannot live properly. She can’t reveal the truth, let alone report it.

Rather, she is constantly threatened by the perpetrator and forced to continue the unwanted relationship.

Even in an era where sex offenders are sentenced to death.

In a world that does not properly protect victims, criminals are more likely to run rampant.

Anyway, if things turned out like this, it would be better to take the initiative.

“Tell the higher-ups first, along with like-minded female doctors, and distance yourselves from them.”

“Yes?”

“Say you can’t work with corrupt people. And divide the departments so you don’t run into those doctors, preventing any blame from falling on you because of this incident.”

“That’s… but some royal physicians often condone or even harass female doctors, even though they know about it.”

“Will they really listen to what we say?”

“If they don’t listen, then we have no choice but to use other methods. Ah, and if they don’t listen, tell the Queen first.”

“Yes, Ongju.”

“But before that, let’s get another witness.”

“?”

I had the female doctors find out the time and place where the adulterous couple was meeting in secret, and had the court ladies in my residence pretend to witness the scene.

It wasn’t strange for our residence’s court ladies to go back and forth to the Royal Clinic because of me.

In the end, the female doctors’ accusations were ignored, and the affair of the adulterous couple, who were not properly punished, reached the Queen’s Palace. Our residence’s court ladies went through some troublesome questioning as witnesses, and the matter grew and reached the King’s ears.

The King was furious about what happened in the palace during the Grand Queen Dowager’s mourning period, and was even more angry that the royal physicians had not properly handled the situation.

I made an excuse that my court ladies were involved, and under the pretext of calming the enraged King, I went to subtly express my opinion.

“How about taking this opportunity to reshuffle the staff?”

“Are you talking about the Three Clinics (三醫院: a general term for Jeonuiwon (典醫院), Hyeminseo (惠民署), and Naeuiwon (內醫院))?”

“It may be difficult to change everyone, but isn’t it natural to clean up those who have been negligent in their work? Of course, adultery is a great sin in itself, but it is unforgivable that they have been doing such dirty things in the Royal Clinic.”

What are you doing in a sacred workplace!

Even in the palace! Do you have multiple lives!

…I think you’ll misunderstand if I say it like this, but they were caught hugging and sticking their faces together.

‘I thought the medical office would be strict, but it turns out it’s not.’

I heard that both of them were not young or inexperienced, but veteran doctors and female doctors… really…….

“It’s embarrassing that even the young Ongju has heard of it.”

Hey. I’m not young, but I’m old enough to hear things like that.

Even my core is really old.

Anyway, with my suggestion, the list of doctors was already being compiled nationwide, and the doctors and female doctors were all busy. But the fact that they were doing such things angered the doctors and female doctors in the medical office the most.

The Crown Prince, who was assisting the King, also supported my opinion.

“Your Majesty. Seeing that this has happened, I think it would be good to separate the female doctors in the long term.”

“There cannot be no female doctors in the palace because there are many women who need treatment. It would be right to separate the two, and it would be right for men to assist the doctors except when examining women. It would be good to create a new position called a nurse (看護師) that Sia mentioned.”

“When Sia first brought it up, I thought it was excessive, but I think it will be necessary.”

I was afraid that such a thing would happen, and if I thought about it, it would happen.

Even though I didn’t think a problem would really arise at this time, I had previously told the King and Crown Prince that in order to separate male and female doctors, it would be better to divide the assisting positions according to gender.

Whenever men and women are together, there is always a possibility that a couple will cause an incident without morals.

In modern times, you can say, ‘They’re weird!’ But here, they say, ‘Look, female doctors are promiscuous!’

Hundreds of female doctors who have been working together without anything happening are ignored, and the existence of male doctors who have caused problems is erased. It’s too irrational (非理性的), but the people who have been powerful and have had a loud voice for generations win.

Because the powerful who commit crimes live well.

Honestly, if they didn’t want male and female problems to arise, they should have separated them in the first place, but I don’t know why they didn’t separate the female doctors.

The King and Crown Prince were shocked by the outrageous incident that occurred in the medical office this time, and the Queen decided that it would be better to incorporate the female doctors into the outer court and manage them strictly.

The Queen did not oppose it itself, but she did not want to stand out because she did not want to be targeted.

Because of that, the training of female doctors began to gain momentum.

‘The old royal physician had to step down responsibly.’

He avoided the blame for not properly treating the Ongju, but the person in charge of not grasping the affair had to take responsibility, even though he was wronged.

In fact, it was probably a publicly known fact that those who knew it knew it, but I thought there was a higher possibility that someone deliberately revealed it in order to cause a scandal. It was true that he had failed to manage and supervise it.

I had protected him when the King was angry in the past, so he came to me to say goodbye. I gave him money and castella [a type of sponge cake], saying he had worked hard, and he looked touched.

I needed a doctor to teach the children, but it was a bit difficult to bring up that story to someone who had been dismissed so disgracefully, so I just sent him away.

It was too simple as a re-employment placement to introduce to someone who was not lacking in ability and could set up his own medical practice and live well.

It’s like introducing a neighborhood academy instructor position to a lawyer who used to be a judge.

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

Whenever something happens in this palace, it’s annoying to fight for justification.

Independence. Absolutely, definitely, I will definitely become independent.

However, it seemed like a distant matter unless Ji-hwa appeared and cured my illness or became the Crown Princess.

So I just decided to do what I could.

***

In fact, I left most of the work related to training doctors to Gai and Court Lady Min, but there were quite a few things that I had to check myself.

Court Lady Min suggested that it would be good to prepare a large site because the plan to create a school overlapped with the training of doctors, so I decided to go out with Gai after a long time to see the land.

This was also related to my business, so I got permission from the King to go out.

“I haven’t been to the private residence that Father gave me yet, so I’m thinking of going and entrusting Gai with the management.”

“Yes. It’s a pity that the owner hasn’t seen it even though it was built. I’ll give you a palanquin [a covered litter carried by poles], so take it and go.”

“How can I ride a palanquin and show off my power? I’m thinking of going lightly on a horse. I’m going to stop by Siyoungwon while I’m out.”

In response to the suggestion to go back and forth ostentatiously in a royal-only luxury vehicle with a driver, I was horrified and declared that I would go quietly in my own carriage.

“…Be careful. If possible, take Sung Gyeom-sabok with you.”

I don’t know why everyone is so eager to attach Sung Gyeom-sabok to me, but there was no reason to refuse because they said they would be relieved if I took him as a bodyguard.

In the meantime, the palace was noisy due to the affair, so I had been staying quietly in my residence and had hardly been able to go out. Going out was a long time coming.

For reference, both were naturally dismissed, but of course the female doctor was in a worse situation. It’s like going back to being a government slave (官婢).

I heard that the doctor was the one who seduced her first, but seeing that he was doing it without thinking about the other person’s situation, it was not love or anything.

‘Their names… will be remembered forever in history books in a bad way….’

Gai was the one who became busier instead of me while I was quietly in my residence.

However, Gai has been particularly busy recently because I was playing with Gai and blurted out unnecessary ideas again.

I don’t remember where I saw it before, but I heard that in the late Joseon Dynasty, there was a system in which you could pay at the first tavern and take the receipt, and then go to another tavern and settle the remaining amount on the receipt, so you didn’t have to carry heavy cash.

One day, I remembered that and told Gai. After a while, he started to connect the taverns on the way from Hanyang [old name for Seoul] to other provinces and build the system I mentioned, and gradually expanded the franchise industry.

Since it was a rural area, I thought that recipe contracts would be more common than providing manpower and supplying food ingredients, but Gai bought a field in the area and decided to supply food ingredients, so he was busy for a while.

Yes… in other words, it was all my fault….

Still, Gai seemed quite rewarded. It was like finding an unexpected aptitude?

Gai, who was addicted to making money, was more energetic than when he was in the palace.

So, I was thinking of letting him come and go freely under the pretext of entrusting him with the management of the private residence rather than keeping him locked up in the palace.

So, I came out with him today to see the private residence and the land.

‘But if Gai works so hard, shouldn’t I be able to play now?’

Originally, even if the boss plays, the subordinates work hard to increase wealth, right?

I was not a genius manager, but an ordinary gold spoon [born with a silver spoon in their mouth] who only had memories of my previous life as a student who died.

Anyway, I got permission, so I went to the private residence as planned.

“This is Ongju’s private residence.”

“Wow.”

I have such a big house, so I don’t need to do anything more, right?

As befitting the private residence of the only Ongju, the site was wider than I could have imagined, the building was large, and it was beautifully built. There were even two-story buildings, considering my hobbies.

‘Wow, I’ll display pottery here, collect books there, and the other building….’

I’ve made a lot of money, so I have to raise my children well, make doctors, and I have to pursue my hobbies.

No matter how I think about it, I think I’ve neglected my hobbies too much lately other than reading.

I have to fill the private residence with pottery and artifacts.

With dreams and hopes, I left the private residence and was happily going to Siyoungwon.

“Oh. Gisaeng [female entertainers].”

“…Agassi [young lady].”

Of course, this is not the first time I have seen a gisaeng. Don’t I have a gisaeng I know?

However, unlike Maehyang, who has an aura like a veteran, there were many gisaengs in front of me who seemed to have just become adults.

Also, perhaps thinking of holding a banquet in the mountains, several gisaengs were carrying musical instruments, and among those wearing jeonmo (氈帽) [felt hats], some young gisaengs were holding their skirts and walking hesitantly, as if they were still awkward.

‘Maybe they are children who became gisaengs around the same time as the government slaves in Siyoungwon.’

It cannot be denied that luck plays a big role in people’s lives.

It’s not like I can feel sorry for them and release them all from slavery.

It’s so difficult to release court ladies or female doctors from slavery, so it gave me a headache to think about how much fuss they would make if I said I would release gisaengs from slavery.

There are many reasons why we need government gisaengs (官妓) to entertain envoys from China, but the people who actually use them the most are those who claim that they should entertain envoys, rather than the envoys themselves.

Seeing those guys calling themselves Confucian scholars made me doubt the possibility of edification through education. Well, what can I do when the guys who teach are the same guys?

Seeing the gisaengs wearing pretty clothes and smiling, but their eyes were somehow dead, made me feel a little stuffy.

And not long after, an unpleasant sight unfolded before my eyes.

“P, please stop.”

“Why are you acting so expensive? You’re just a gisaeng.”

A young master who looked like a student started harassing a gisaeng who was walking with her head down.

‘Wow, a young guy who doesn’t study.’

Do your parents know you’re doing this?