Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 135

“Looks like she took a liking to you.”

We chatted about the cat for a bit before getting down to business.

The reason I was bothering to receive correspondence in a place like this was also to meet the Crown Prince.

He’s a busy man, after all, so I couldn’t very well ask him to come all the way to my chambers.

“So, how did it go?”

“It went as expected. You have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s a relief.”

I was wondering if the Office of the Inspector-General would find fault with it.

There must have been a formal discussion today about the memorial they submitted.

As it was news I had been waiting for, it was naturally about the smallpox inoculation method.

Of course, I had already given the King and Crown Prince a heads-up about the inoculation method, and I had been preparing for the inevitable discussion in the court from early on.

I showed them the opinions of the physicians on the inoculation method, the medical texts brought by Physician Heo Yeon-tae, who had worked in the royal clinic, and also conveyed the cases of actual proof. In particular, I told them that several people, including the Gisaeng [female entertainer] Maehyang, did not contract smallpox after suffering from cowpox.

Whether it was surprising or to be expected, the King remembered Physician Heo Yeon-tae, so persuasion was easy.

‘Heo Yeon-tae, is it? Yes. That man…….’

Perhaps he is thinking about the deceased princess.

Physician Heo Yeon-tae knowing about and supporting the inoculation method also meant that the physician who resigned after failing to cure the princess who died of smallpox had continued to study smallpox.

Perhaps the King, who had lost a child to smallpox, wanted to believe it more than anyone else.

The medical text also contained the results of verifying the effectiveness of the inoculation method over several years, and the fact that it actually worked was proven to some extent by inoculating the people at the Gibang [house of female entertainers] this time.

With these grounds, both the King and the Crown Prince were convinced to some extent by my persuasion, so responding to the memorial was not difficult.

“Will this inoculation be continued in the future?”

“Of course. For now, we are only inoculating those who want it, and in the case of young children, we are following the parents’ judgment.”

The children at Siyoung House are under my protection… so I was having the older ones get vaccinated, checking their health conditions.

In the first place, there wasn’t enough inoculum to vaccinate many people yet.

“So, it’s a bit of a sorry situation, but we are forcibly infecting cows with cowpox to obtain the inoculum.”

“They would be uneasy about eating cows that had cowpox, so it might not be so bad for the cows.”

“Hmm. If you think about it that way, it might seem so. But maybe in a few years, they’ll forget all about it and eat them anyway.”

“Haha. Anyway, if it’s true, it would be good if everyone could be inoculated in the long run.”

“Because the effect doesn’t last a lifetime. And the important thing is that even if we eradicate it in Joseon [historical Korean kingdom], it will become troublesome if it comes in again from abroad.”

“We can’t forcibly inoculate the envoys. But if the effect is certain, we could spread this method to foreign countries.”

Apart from the King and Crown Prince’s trust, it would take more time to convince many people of the effectiveness of the inoculation method.

After the treatment of urgent patients was somewhat completed, the medical staff of Hyeminseo [government clinic for the poor], who had been watching the inoculation and its effects, voluntarily received the inoculation.

They knew that no one would believe it until they proved that they would not contract smallpox, so they volunteered to get inoculated to prove it.

And of course, there were no problems, and they did not contract smallpox.

As the fact that the inoculation method did not cause any problems and did not cause smallpox was spread, it became noisy again.

“Is it really possible to prevent smallpox with this inoculation method?”

“The medical officials of Hyeminseo have even confirmed it directly on their own bodies.”

Everyone was greatly shaken by the fact that they had found a way to treat and even prevent smallpox, which had been considered an incurable disease.

They laughed at it before, so it’s only natural they’re surprised now.

And if you look closely at the process of the work, it was clear who had made the contribution.

The court was in an uproar over the fact that it was a female doctor and a civilian female physician who had led the work that even the royal physicians had not been able to do.

In particular, they were very upset that the prevention method for smallpox, which even the royal physicians of Naeuiwon [royal clinic] had not been able to find, was discovered in the private sector.

Fortunately, Heo Yeon-tae, who was from Naeuiwon, was there as the private physician, so they were able to save face.

Anyway, the one who could be easily attacked was not the hot outsider, but someone belonging to the organization.

The medical officials of Naeuiwon were gratuitously criticizing the medical officials of Hyeminseo, saying that Hyeminseo had acted arbitrarily in such an important matter without saying anything to Naeuiwon.

‘To be honest, I did mention it to Naeuiwon in the beginning, but everyone was reluctant to believe in the inoculation method. Everyone was in a position to watch carefully. I guess it wasn’t a matter that happened in the royal family, and they didn’t take it seriously because they thought it was under the jurisdiction of Hyeminseo anyway.’

In fact, the people of Hyeminseo would have felt this atmosphere more sensitively than anyone else.

‘There must have been a reason why their attitude was a bit ambiguous in the beginning.’

Well, I’ve seen the people of Hyeminseo looking gloomy due to lack of budget, so I can’t help but favor them.

Anyway, even if they are medical officials, they have been rolling around in the bureaucratic society for many years, so they must have expected this to happen.

For that reason, the Hyeminseo side was taking the form of withdrawing, saying that the physicians of Siyoung House, not Hyeminseo, were leading the inoculation method, and the Hyeminseo physicians were only helping with the treatment, in order to avoid responsibility if things went wrong.

In particular, it was ridiculous that some of the lower-ranking female doctors and female physicians of Hyeminseo, including Se-hwa, were driven to do impulsive things because they were influenced by the Princess, but now their treatment has been reversed.

They were still taking a cautious attitude that side effects might appear, but if the inoculation method proved effective, they would be able to find a way to prevent and treat smallpox, so there was an opinion that honorary positions should be given to the civilian physician Seong-ji and the female doctor Se-hwa of Hyeminseo.

It was the Crown Prince, who was in charge of the regency, who brought it up.

Moreover, this was an award given directly by the King, separate from the one given by the Outer Court [government officials outside the royal family], so there were many objections, but the Crown Prince dismissed them, saying that it was natural for those who had made contributions to have their abilities recognized, and that there was no problem in congratulating them for doing things that no one else had been able to do.

There was also opposition to the fact that Se-hwa was a female doctor of Hyeminseo, so wasn’t she already a member of the Outer Court, but there were opinions that there was no problem since it was just an honorary position, and there were also opinions that it was unacceptable to give an official position to a mere woman.

Of course, they passed it on, saying that they should wait and see a little more since the efficacy of the inoculation method had not been completely proven yet.

‘Being cautious is good, but aren’t they dragging their feet too much?’

Come to think of it, smallpox spreads more easily when it’s cold, so I’m glad I got them vaccinated quickly.

Before I knew it, public opinion was flowing in the direction that everyone in the private sector should get the inoculation. Maybe it was meaningful that the children of Siyoung House rushed to get vaccinated.

‘Maybe it was meaningful to allow people who had been vaccinated to watch the play for free.’

Meanwhile, while I was unable to leave the palace, Se-hwa’s new work, no, Teacher Ji-cheon’s new work was released.

The revised manuscript was entrusted to a child in Siyoung House who was good at writing to organize it, and then it went to print, and as expected, this work was also a huge hit, following the previous one.

The second contract for the play performance had also been signed in advance, so it didn’t take long for the play to be performed.

And I spent my own money to allow those who had completed the vaccination to watch the play for free. The vaccination was being carried out mainly by Siyoung doctors and Hyeminseo, so it was not difficult to issue vaccination certificates.

Before entering the theater, if you showed the certificate and the smallpox inoculation mark on your shoulder, you could get a stamp on the certificate and enter for free.

Since you had to show your shoulder, the entrance lines for men and women were naturally separate.

The quality was not lowered just because it was a free performance, so the play was naturally fun, and the play was free, but the books and goods were not.

This time, I intentionally put mediums that could become goods here and there in the content, so the types of goods were diverse and sold well.

Thanks to that, the overall loss was not as big as I thought.

‘Actually, the state should be promoting free vaccination, but in this era, it takes a long time to establish and implement policies.’

There seemed to be many old ministers who still didn’t believe in the inoculation method, so it was difficult to persuade them.

Besides, there were many people who were uneasy about the fact that they were smearing animal pus and pricking it with a needle.

‘But the person who gets sick is the one who suffers.’

The Crown Prince wanted to get vaccinated himself, but the people around him stopped him.

It’s tough to be born as royalty.

Instead of me and the Crown Prince getting vaccinated, the palace people who served us had to get the inoculation in turn.

In the end, everyone was scared.

How do they go to the doctor if they’re afraid of needles?

Anyway, for better or worse, the names of Seong-ji and Se-hwa became widely known.

Physician Heo Yeon-tae intentionally stepped back, so his name didn’t spread as much as expected.

Seong-ji and Se-hwa were the ones who actively participated in this work, so he didn’t want his name to be mentioned.

I scolded the Crown Prince, whom I had barely met after several days.

“So, what’s going to happen in the end?”

“His Majesty has decided to give awards to those who have contributed to this work.”

“Oh.”

“The issue of giving ranks to female doctors has been sluggish, but this time it seems that they will finally be given proper ranks.”

“Does he call them in person to congratulate them?”

The Crown Prince, with a tired face, nodded at my words.

“Yes. He will grant honorary positions to the two private physicians to give them the qualifications to see His Majesty.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“Perhaps the female doctor Se-hwa will be promoted exceptionally. If she comes to Naeuiwon, we may see each other often.”

“Hmm.”

Oh, that’s good.

Se-hwa is likely to be the female lead, so she should come to the palace soon.

My savior of work-life balance! Welcome, female lead!

“And His Majesty wants to give you an award, do you want anything?”

“Yes?”

“You were the one who pushed for the inoculation method this time. I heard that everything happened under your responsibility. If this is a merit, it is also your merit.”

I don’t really need anything……?

After thinking for a moment at the Crown Prince’s words, I soon raised the word that came to mind.

“Ah, let me be independent…….”

“Denied.”

“Ah, why?”

“You’re still so young, what independence? No. Tell me after you’ve grown a hand span more.”

“Wow, that’s unfair.”

To say such harsh things to someone who doesn’t grow??

“Just you wait, I’m going to run away from home.”

“You’re already going out and coming back.”

“I haven’t even been able to sleep a night in my own house.”

“Ahem.”

The Crown Prince coughed, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed himself.

“At this point, isn’t it more like a giant warehouse with a different scale? Huh? Brother? What do you think???”

“Enough.”

I’ll hold back a little more, really.

‘By the way, it seems that Military Officer Seong is investigating Physician Heo Yeon-tae, did anything come out…….’

“Physician Seong-ji. Have you heard? It is already rumored in the capital that His Majesty the King will call you in person to congratulate you!”

“Oh my. Please don’t do that. How often does it happen that you get to see His Majesty the King? If you expect too much and it turns out to be not true later, you may be disappointed and not be able to sleep.”

“But I heard that it has already been discussed in the court.”

The person who was having this conversation with Seong-ji, who had finished preparing to go to Siyoung House, was none other than one of the Nains [palace maids] in charge of Siyoung House.

She had come to assist Seong-ji, who was going to Siyoung House because of the inoculation method, so she was not someone who would say nonsense.

Heo Yeon-tae, who knew this fact, was happier than being praised himself.

‘I’ve been recognized. Finally.’

Ah. I never thought this day would come.

Surely, the day that the book written by that person would see the light of day would not come while he was alive.

He just thought that someday Seong-ji, who had inherited all of his medical skills, would discover this book after he died. He had been waiting for the day he would die, living day by day.

How could this day have come?

Feeling his heart swell, Heo Yeon-tae stroked the medical book, ‘Douchangbangseo,’ which he had kept for many years.

At the order of Princess Jaga, he presented the pre-made manuscript to His Majesty.

How could he give the book written by that person to someone else?

Even if that person was angry in the afterlife, saying that he had taken away the opportunity for the book he had written to be in the hands of His Majesty, he could gladly accept it.

Wouldn’t it be okay?

As long as the contents of the medical book are the same.

This book is the most meaningful to me.

‘You, your daughter has been recognized in your place. Aren’t you happy? Or are you sad that you can’t receive the praise that you should have received? But don’t be too sad. It’s your only daughter who’s receiving it instead. Still, it’s better for your daughter to see her mother’s virtue than for it to be someone else’s merit.’

The name was left in the medical book.

Female doctor Geumbi.

“Is the female doctor who wrote that medical book the mother of Physician Heo Seong-ji?”

“!”

Heo Yeon-tae’s spine tingled at the voice that suddenly came from inside the room, even though he was clearly alone.

More than anything, because of the content.