Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 144

‘Okay, hurry up and leave.’

He seemed displeased, but he grumbled silently when I frowned at him.

Seriously, he was acting like an older brother awkwardly joining his younger sister’s friends. And a high-ranking boss at that.

“Hmm. I should be going now. Princess, please take good care of them.”

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

My words were polite, but I was mouthing ‘Go, go’ repeatedly. The Crown Prince, with a solemn expression, also mouthed ‘I’ll see you later’ as he disappeared.

“Now that His Highness the Crown Prince is gone, you can relax a bit.”

“I… is it really alright to do so?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as I gave my permission, the two of them let out small sighs and slumped their shoulders in relief. It would normally be rude to act like this in front of a princess, but I’m lenient.

Normally, the strict and proper Gae would have given them a warning, but perhaps because they were physicians who were going to treat me, he simply raised an eyebrow once and let it go.

“Are you scared?”

“N, not at all. It is a great honor to be in the presence of the nation’s foundation, but we feel like our hearts are going to stop from the tension.”

“I didn’t know that even a physician like Seongji could be nervous.”

“Physician Sehwa is usually never nervous, but it seems even she was a bit nervous coming into the royal presence. Your voice was trembling earlier, wasn’t it?”

“Of course, it was.”

Perhaps because the Crown Prince was gone, the two of them bickered lightly with slightly more relaxed faces. They seemed friendly before, but it seemed that going through smallpox together had made them even closer.

Hmm. Come to think of it, the Queen has seen Jihwa once before, even if the King hasn’t. Maybe Sehwa was a bit nervous because of that.

‘Even if she was a candidate for Crown Princess, it’s unreasonable to remember someone you saw once about eight years ago.’

Even though the Queen only lives in the inner palace, she still meets the wives of officials from the outer court besides the palace maids, so there were many faces to remember.

She might think Jihwa’s face looks familiar, but she would probably just think, ‘Who does she resemble?’ and move on.

‘There are so many people in the world who look alike, even if they’re not related.’

In my past life, there were quite a few celebrities who looked alike even though they had no blood relation.

I tried to remember Sehwa’s old face, but now that I’m more used to her current face, I couldn’t quite recall what she looked like before. She seems similar, though.

Unlike modern times, where you see photos often, and since I keep meeting new people, old memories are bound to fade.

“How is it being in the palace?”

“I’m so nervous that I can’t think straight.”

“Well, this is still a place where people live, but there are many things to be careful about. You’ll have to stay alert in the future. At least it’s a bit easier since there aren’t many members of the royal family.”

At my words, the two of them made faces that I couldn’t tell if they should cry or laugh.

Did I scare them too much?

But even the concubines are quiet, so it’s a palace where they don’t have much presence.

Sometimes, I think I’m the loudest person living here.

“Now, let’s relax and have some tea. I’ve prepared some rare snacks, so be sure to try them. Since you’re here at the palace, you should take a look around. If not today, you’ll only be going to work from now on.”

“Ah… I see.”

Actually, I thought about sending the two of them away with the Crown Prince, but they looked so nervous because of him that I was worried they wouldn’t even know if the tea was going into their mouths or their noses, so I deliberately gave the Crown Prince a hint to leave early.

Once the two of them seemed a bit more relaxed, I introduced them to the palace maids who they would see often in our residence, and also told them about other people they would frequently encounter.

“You know Seong Gyeom-sabok [a low-ranking palace guard], and, um, you know Cheonho, right?”

“Yes, we know him.”

“He’s really made a name for himself.”

Because he was running errands for me, everyone knew about Cheonho.

The two of them, despite their large builds, looked at Cheonho, who was much younger than them, with proud faces, congratulating him on his success as if he were their younger brother.

Cheonho felt the same way.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t Cheonho doing almost the same job as a Byeolgam (別監) [a type of palace attendant or guard]…?’

He’s also good-looking, and these days he dresses neatly, so he feels even more like one.

Originally, a princess who marries early doesn’t really need one, but usually there are people like the Daeyeon Byeolgam (大殿別監) [attendant for the Queen] or the Donggungjeon Byeolgam [attendant for the Crown Prince] who escort or run errands for their superiors.

Come to think of it, Byeolgam have a bit of a face-of-the-establishment feel, so they look at appearances… but when I think about it, they look at the appearances of people working in the palace, including Gyeom-sabok.

‘Hmm….’

It’s not just Joseon [Korean dynasty] in this era, but in modern times, most countries choose royal guards based on appearance.

There’s nothing I can do about it, so I decided not to think too deeply about it.

After drinking tea, I took Sehwa and Seongji out and gave them a brief tour of the palace, also teaching them about the layout.

Everyone gets lost when they first come to the palace.

The tour was a tour in name only, and I just took them to the most important place.

“Princess’s presence.”

“Um. Get to work. I just came to show them around.”

The royal physicians had already heard about Seongji and Sehwa’s positions through the chief physician in the royal presence, but the physicians who were seeing them in person for the first time blinked their eyes.

They had separated the female and male physicians, but the physicians who worked in close proximity due to the storage of medicinal herbs and medical books had complicated expressions.

They had been scolded for not being able to cure my illness for a long time, and they had worked overtime, been promoted, and overworked because of me, but I had also taken care of them because they had suffered, so the Royal Clinic was a place where they had gone through all sorts of hardships.

But suddenly, these newcomers were saying they would cure my illness, so they couldn’t help but feel complicated.

“Everyone has heard about these two, so please take good care of them so that they don’t have any difficulties in the future.”

“Yes, Princess.”

I don’t know if they really understood what I said.

Hmm… the looks in their eyes are a bit unsettling. Will it be okay?

It seemed that they had a bit of leeway in their minds because the compilation of medical books had progressed a lot these days.

‘In times like these, giving them work is the best thing to do.’

New work. What could that be?

“Are there any physicians here who are interested in surgery?”

“Surgery, you mean…”

In fact, surgery wasn’t a completely unfamiliar concept to physicians. Didn’t it even appear in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms [a famous Chinese historical novel]?

Cutting and sewing up people’s bodies originally started with treating external injuries, not illnesses. If an arrow is shot and the arrowhead is stuck in the wrong place, you have to cut it open to get it out, right?

In other words, it was a field that developed through war.

But Joseon was a place where people were horrified even if you just cut their hair. You can’t even perform an autopsy on someone of high status. They were poisoned, but they can’t perform an autopsy… it’s absurd, but the values that are considered important vary greatly depending on the era.

“Everyone has heard the rumor that Physician Sehwa here recently treated an illness with surgery.”

At my words, the royal physicians who were gathered stirred.

The physicians who had already been in the job for years and had established themselves had somewhat reluctant faces, but the physicians who were still young and full of energy had faces full of curiosity.

“In the future, while you’re in the Royal Clinic, how can you only treat my illness? If there are new medical techniques, it would be good to learn and master them together.”

“But isn’t it an unverified method yet?”

“So isn’t it your job to verify it?”

“……”

Oh, damn it.

This wasn’t my thought, but the physicians’ inner thoughts.

“Of course, I’m not telling you to do it. Not all physicians need to learn it. Those who want to learn it can do it. You can only know if it’s the right method or not if you learn it yourself.”

I’m not telling you to do self-improvement. But if you learn it, it will all become blood and flesh, right?

I’m not forcing you, but the more capable you are, the more advantageous it will be for promotion, right?

That’s strange. That wasn’t my intention, but why do I feel like I’ve become an evil boss?

“Ah, just in case, I’m saying this, but don’t worry, I’m not going to use surgery on me.”

“Yes. Princess.”

Some of them seemed to be relieved, showing it openly.

It seemed that there were some physicians who didn’t like Sehwa, but most of them seemed curious about surgery.

“So, is there anyone who wants to learn?”

And those who were watching started to step forward one by one, saying they wanted to learn. Sehwa also said that she would teach anyone who wanted to learn.

‘If you just come in as a new employee, you’ll just get pushed around, but if you’re in a teaching position, it’s a bit different.’

Even if you’re a special recruit with experience, people in the existing system will see you as just a rolling stone.

‘But first, I need to gather the female physicians and persuade them a bit.’

Now is not the time for the female physicians to compete with each other. If someone stands out and achieves something, their status will rise together.

If Sehwa achieves something and receives an award, the female physicians will also be recognized for their potential.

It’s a simple principle, but when it comes to their own work, people become obsessed with the fear of losing their rice bowl.

‘I’ll try to persuade them, but if it doesn’t work, I’ll have to use my power to suppress them.’

But female physicians are actually easy to handle.

Since the female physicians were separated and their treatment was improved, more women have come forward to become physicians, but most of the female physicians are still from the public slave class. In other words, their greatest goal was to be freed from slavery.

There was no reason for them to disobey me.

‘The problem is the existing royal physicians.’

Let’s watch for now.

Afterwards, Sehwa officially started working at the Royal Clinic, and teaching surgery was also made an official duty.

Of course, there seemed to be quite a few who didn’t want to learn and tried to boycott it, but most of the physicians from the Hyeminseo (혜민서, public health center) [a government-run clinic for the common people] said they would learn, and surprisingly, some ambitious royal physicians also gathered with dissatisfied faces, so quite a few people gathered.

“Isn’t surgery cutting people’s flesh with a knife? I don’t know why everyone is interested in such bloody medicine.”

Soi said with a shudder.

“I don’t think everyone is doing it because they like it.”

“Then why are they trying to learn it?”

“Some people may want to save people with medicine, but others may think that their pride is hurt if others can do it but they can’t.”

People are surprisingly simple. Moreover, there is already someone who has survived surgery, so they consider it somewhat grounded.

For reference, I heard that the person who received surgery from Sehwa had scars on their body but was recovering safely.

‘Because she’s a woman from a noble family, everyone is eager to see the wounded area, but they can’t dare to ask.’

I shook my head, suddenly remembering seeing the scar of a friend who had appendicitis surgery in my past life.

What Sehwa is doing now is not such open abdominal surgery, but if it develops, wouldn’t it go that far?

How far did it go in the novel?

‘Hmm. Is the story of cutting open the stomach and taking out parasites from here, or from somewhere else?’

It’s meaningless for me to think about this.

Sehwa’s existence was causing quite a stir in many ways.

It seemed that the story had eventually been conveyed to the Queen.

Without knowing why, I went to pay my respects to the Queen at the Junggungjeon (中宮殿, Queen’s residence) [the Queen’s residence] with the Crown Prince after a long time. After discussing the treatment I was receiving from Sehwa, the Queen naturally brought up this topic.

“Isn’t there anything different from usual yet?”

“How can there be an effect so quickly? Please wait patiently, Your Majesty the Queen.”

“If Physician Sehwa’s medical skills are so outstanding, it would be worth believing and waiting. I heard that she has been teaching surgery recently. The Princess must have heard about it too, right?”

“Yes. I was the one who encouraged the physicians to learn if they had the will.”

Oh, you know everything.

“I’m worried that teaching surgery will make her neglect treating the Princess.”

“I’m only using acupuncture and herbal medicine right now. I’m not researching an unknown disease, but using a known treatment method, so please don’t worry too much. How is the atmosphere in the Royal Clinic these days?”

There must be a reason why she brought this up to me and the Crown Prince.

“They seemed to be more concerned about whether they could do surgery than learning it itself.”

“Hmm. I thought it would be difficult too.”

It’s probably a bit like that.

“But it seems that there are more difficulties in learning than expected, so wouldn’t the Crown Prince and the Princess take a look?”

“I understand. Your Majesty the Queen.”

What’s going on?

‘Is there anything I can help with? Besides, if it’s a minor matter, it would come directly to me instead of the Queen?’

Even though the person in charge of the female physicians is the Queen, it’s impossible for the physicians to feel more comfortable with the Queen than with me, so this meant there was another problem.

For that reason, I took the Crown Prince and had a meeting with Sehwa.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Ah, it’s not that, but surgery is something that requires practice, so we can’t do it in the palace, can we? It’s okay now, but we’ll need a space to teach outside the palace later.”

“It’s not just space that you need.”

“……Yes.”

“?”

The Crown Prince didn’t seem to understand, but I, who had memories of modern times, seemed to know what kind of practice was needed for surgery.