Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 131

“Young Miss.”

“Oh, did you have a good rest?”

I waved to Vice-Captain Seong, who had quietly appeared while I was watching the children of Siyeongwon [a facility for orphaned or disadvantaged children] play.

“So, are you satisfied?”

“A little… Would it be alright if I investigated a bit further?”

“Hmm. I don’t make it a habit to pry into other people’s family affairs, but…”

For Vice-Captain Seong to say that, there must be something he wanted to look into.

‘I thought it would be fine since he’s from the Royal Clinic, but could there be some troublesome issue?’

Heo Yeon-tae and Seongji are key figures in teaching medicine to the children, so it would be problematic if any strange issues arose later. Especially concerning their character.

“If there’s something bothering you, go ahead. We have Cheonho now, so Vice-Captain Seong can take a little rest, right?”

“No, how can I trust that guy and leave my post?”

Behind Vice-Captain Seong’s blunt voice, a large shadow appeared.

“Ah, why do you keep calling me ‘that guy,’ ‘this guy,’ making me feel bad? I have a name, Cheonho.”

“Don’t stand behind me, kid.”

“First ‘that guy,’ now ‘kid.’”

Cheonho deliberately made an exaggerated sulky face, and Vice-Captain Seong just clicked his tongue as if he had nothing to say.

“It’s true that you’re young. Even if you’re big.”

“I didn’t plan on growing this big either, though.”

“What, are you unhappy about being big?”

“It’s not that I’m unhappy. It’s just a little inconvenient when my body is too big. But over there, shouldn’t we stop that right now?”

“Well, wouldn’t it naturally burn out if we leave it alone?”

We were joking around like this, but inside Siyeongwon, things weren’t as peaceful as one might think.

“I’m first!”

“No, I’m going to be the first to get it!”

“No! I want to be first!”

Vice-Captain Seong, who had just arrived and had no idea what was going on, looked a little tired from the children’s noisy voices.

“Did the kids collectively go crazy while I wasn’t looking? Why do they want to get hit so badly? Can I take this opportunity to discipline the rude ones?”

“It’s not that kind of meaning….”

I denied it, but I couldn’t deny that it sounded strange.

“There’s nothing particularly good about being first, so why….”

“Isn’t it said that it’s better to be hit sooner rather than later?”

I shook my head at Cheonho’s words.

“It’s not a beating.”

It’s vaccination.

I explained to the children, who were excited that I had come for two days in a row, the reason why I came again today and about smallpox.

When the children heard about smallpox, they became scared, so I also told them about vaccination.

After hearing that they wouldn’t get smallpox if they were a little sick and had a fever for a while, the children’s reactions were divided.

Some were afraid of being poked with a needle on purpose, and others had sparkling eyes, saying they would get it quickly.

And the children who were a little more quick-witted suggested another opinion.

“You fools! If we act scared, we’ll get something more to eat!”

“Ah, that’s right!”

“I didn’t know that!”

In other words, they were going to get vaccinated anyway, but they wanted to act scared and get an extra snack from me.

Thanks to that, the divided opinions began to lean towards that side.

“Hey, don’t make Young Miss tired and just get it as she gives it to you.”

“That’s right.”

“I think this side is right too.”

And then there were the admirable children on the other side.

‘I should keep a close watch on them.’

The ones who are quick-witted are suitable in their own way, and the ones who are rigid are suitable in their own way.

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily the case that the children who expressed the latter opinion were rigid.

Because they were saying that knowing that I was watching them here.

Interestingly, none of the slightly older children said they wouldn’t get it.

“No, why aren’t you guys scared? It hurts anyway, you know?”

“I don’t like being in pain, but you said it hurts more if you don’t get it. You said it’s a disease that can kill you.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded, confirming that the children understood properly.

“Besides, you don’t even know what it is, but you’re going to get it anyway?”

“Hey. But Young Miss wouldn’t do anything bad to us, right?”

“That’s right.”

This is a problem. The kids trust me too much.

Should I teach them to be a little suspicious?

“Kids. You can’t just believe everything people say.”

“But if we don’t believe Young Miss, who should we believe?”

“……”

No, I have nothing to say when they put it like that.

“That’s right. If you listen well, you’ll get lucky even in your sleep.”

“I like egg rice cakes!”

“Me too!”

Hmm. Should I give the kids a piece of castella [a type of Japanese sponge cake] each when they get vaccinated?

“Besides, they say that people who have had the pox once don’t get it again. So, if we get poked with that needle a few times, we don’t have to worry about it in the future, right?”

“Huh? Uhm.”

I hesitated for a moment to answer.

‘No, but vaccines often have expiration dates, right?’

What about cowpox?

While I was pondering, an unexpected voice answered instead.

“It’s not exact, but I think you should get it every few years to be safe. The shorter the cycle, the better.”

“Oh, Seongji? Did you already go home and come back?”

“Yes.”

Seongji was holding a book preciously in his hand.

Vice-Captain Seong hadn’t told me anything, so I could only tilt my head.

Soon, in a gathering of doctors again, Sehwa spoke in detail about the method of cowpox vaccination, and revealed that she had also been vaccinated and had a mark on her arm.

And unexpectedly, the book Seongji brought was a medical book about smallpox, and the medical book contained almost the same information as Sehwa had said.

Moreover, there were even records of checking the condition of vaccinated people over several years.

“I didn’t know there was such a book. Who wrote this book?”

“I heard it was written by a female doctor a long time ago.”

“A female doctor wrote a medical book?”

I don’t know if it was because I gave a look at the matron Im, who seemed to have a subtly dismissive tone in her words, but the matron, who met my eyes, was startled and shut her mouth.

No, I didn’t mean to give her a look.

Still, there will be many female doctors in the future, and there will be several female doctors who write medical books, so wouldn’t it be good to set the atmosphere now?

While I was thinking that, Heo Yeon-tae unexpectedly stepped forward first.

“Actually, I have tried the contents of that book myself.”

“Yes?”

“How could I have tried something unconfirmed on my nephew first? I have cowpox marks on my arm now. I checked it myself on my body, and then I gave cowpox to my nephew, Seongji, so he probably still has cowpox marks on his arm.”

It was a bit difficult for Matron Im to check the shoulders of the women, but Heo Yeon-tae and Matron Im were men, so they switched places for a while, checked, and came back. Of course, I checked Seongji and Sehwa’s shoulders.

‘Ah. Come to think of it, I saw a lot of strange marks on the shoulders of adults in my past life, so this was the cowpox vaccine mark.’

I remember seeing slightly strange skin on the shoulders because I wore sleeveless clothes in the summer even though I didn’t go to bathhouses or swimming pools, and among them, something like this protruding was probably a cowpox mark.

‘This was it, how interesting.’

After the confirmation, the discussion continued again. Heo Yeon-tae, who was even from the Royal Clinic, had verified it himself as well as his young nephew, so Matron Im’s face brightened as she confirmed that there was no major problem with the human body.

Now it was time for practical discussions.

“Then, from securing cowpox….”

“There is a ranch that raises cows in the royal family, so it would be quick to find out through that side and the butchers who supply meat to Siyeongwon and the taverns.”

“Th, that’s right.”

“I’ll pass this on to Saongwon [a government agency in charge of clothing and crafts for the royal family] and Court Lady Min. Ah, I have to tell Crown Prince too….”

“……”

Matron Im looked like she was about to faint at the word Crown Prince, so I pretended not to notice and avoided her gaze.

In this era, the royal family seems to have a mysterious strategy, so when the story of high-ranking people such as the king or Crown Prince comes out, they react like that.

‘Ah, but did I ignore the procedure too much?’

This kind of thing can be a merit for the manager, but on the contrary, it also has risks.

“It would be good for Matron Im to quickly report to the top, but it will take time for permission to be granted, so this matter will be led by the private sector in Siyeong Clinic… no, I will lead it.”

“Princess herself……!”

Hmm, I feel like there’s no point in hiding it anymore, but I have to keep the setting.

“Ahem, what are you talking about, Princess herself? You should call me Young Miss.”

“Yes. Young Miss.”

Everyone smiled and bowed their heads.

In particular, the director of Hyeminseo [a government-run medical institution] had a relieved face in many ways. Hyeminseo is not a very powerful department, so it would be difficult to step forward unnecessarily.

“And to let people know that it is safe to get this cowpox vaccination, it would be good for a famous person to get vaccinated.”

“If it’s a famous person….”

While everyone was wondering who would be good, I fearlessly recommended one of the most famous people in this neighborhood.

“So I’m thinking of getting it.”

“That won’t do!”

“Absolutely not!”

‘I want to recommend it to the Crown Prince too, but I wonder if it will work.’

In fact, vaccines always have side effects, and in very rare cases, people can die from rejection or side effects.

Even if it’s a one in a million chance, it could be a target of resentment for the person and their family. (*In the past, the probability of death from smallpox vaccine side effects was 0.00198%.)

And the role of the doctor is not only to vaccinate, but also to examine the patient’s condition as much as possible to prevent dangerous things from happening.

“The method itself is simple, so it can be done without a doctor, but it is important to check the health condition of the vaccinated person, so it would be good to have a doctor’s pulse diagnosis.”

“I think the doctors should be vaccinated first.”

“Doctors won’t believe it easily either. Above all, if they know it’s cow pus, wouldn’t everyone feel uncomfortable?”

“It seems difficult to deny that. In particular, the nobility value face, so it will be especially difficult to persuade those who are not knowledgeable in medicine.”

Those who have treated high-ranking people as patients all sighed deeply.

However, this problem was solved unexpectedly quickly.

Among those who were isolated in the gibang [a traditional Korean house of entertainment where female artists (gisaengs) perform] because of smallpox, there were famous gisaengs.

They chose to try a new method rather than tremble in fear that they might have smallpox.