Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 171

“Someone strong needs to pull you up.”

A soft voice with a strange sense of grace and refinement.

‘Isn’t that the scholar from back then… or is it?’

I’d have to see his face to know, but it’s so dark, and he’s covering more than half of his face with winter gear, so who knows.

“Then, I’ll ask for your help.”

“Don’t worry.”

The man who had gone down now supported Sehwa, and she came up more easily than before.

‘The clothes are thick, so I won’t hear any strange noises.’

However, Sehwa’s clothes were in worse condition than the Crown Prince’s.

If the function of clothing is warmth, then you could call it clothing, but as for appearance, it was already difficult to call it clothing.

“Are you alright?”

“Even though I look like this, I’m surprisingly not seriously injured, so there’s nothing to worry about. How is His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“We have him over there.”

The Royal Guard officials, who were checking the Crown Prince’s condition, noticed that he had a fever and his ankle was swollen, so they put a bag of ice on it and looked worried.

“We need to call a doctor quickly.”

“……I am a doctor.”

“Ah.”

As soon as she came up, Sehwa checked on the Crown Prince’s condition before her own, asked for a torch, and began first aid.

“I heard you were injured, but I couldn’t see properly inside… I’ll just do first aid here for now, and it would be best to go down quickly.”

No one spoke, as Sehwa’s appearance was so clear near the torch, revealing how disheveled she was from whatever she had gone through.

“But aren’t you also injured, Doctor Sehwa?”

“Well… I’m not too bad. Please be careful not to move His Highness as much as possible when you are escorting him.”

“Yes.”

“Could you gather some snow? I need to do a cold compress.”

“Yes!”

After splinting the leg and applying a cloth bag filled with snow, the men divided their roles, with some clearing the path and others carrying the Crown Prince, and took the lead.

Cheonho clicked his tongue as he watched Sehwa stagger and struggle to get up.

“It will be difficult for you to go down alone, so get on my back.”

“Even though I said I was okay.”

“If I pretend I didn’t see you this injured, Princess Ongju will get angry at me later. You know what kind of person Princess Ongju is, don’t you? She’ll be disappointed in me and get mad, and how can I handle that? Just think of it as saving someone’s life.”

“Pfft.”

Sehwa seemed to burst into laughter at Cheonho’s jest and nodded.

“Then, I’ll ask you to carry me like a younger brother would.”

“Yes, please do. Sis.”

Cheonho quickly carried Sehwa on his back and inwardly pouted as he watched the Crown Prince’s group already going down.

‘Is only His Highness the Crown Prince a person? I know they’re worried, but this is too much.’

It’s easy to just follow since they’ve cleared the path ahead, but it’s dark.

“Come this way quickly.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

And unexpectedly, the one holding the torch and waiting was the man who had gone down into the pit earlier to lift up the Crown Prince and Sehwa.

“Haha. I used up all my energy going up and down earlier, so I can only help by holding the torch now, so please understand.”

“No. This is a great help.”

He was strangely like a nobleman, but not quite.

Sehwa also thanked him while being carried on Cheonho’s back.

“Thank you for your help.”

“No. Actually… that was a pit I dug… um… I’m sorry.”

“Pfft.”

Cheonho and Sehwa burst into laughter at the man’s sudden confession.

Wait, so he slipped and fell into a hole he dug himself?

Cheonho and Sehwa had the same thought at the same time.

Of course, the man seemed to guess what they were thinking and looked subtly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I should have filled it in properly, but I dug it so deep that it wasn’t easy to fill in, and while I left it unattended, leaves and branches piled up, so I couldn’t even find where it was.”

“No. In a way, we survived thanks to you.”

“Yes?”

“Ah… we might have rolled off the cliff if not for that, so it’s a relief.”

“Is, is that so.”

Sehwa vaguely mumbled.

‘I’m okay, but His Highness the Crown Prince… if he hadn’t fallen into that pit, it might have been dangerous.’

But she couldn’t bring up this story rashly.

Targeting the Crown Prince was clearly treason. It was something that had to be reported to superiors in a safe place, together with the Crown Prince.

‘I just wanted to cure Princess Ongju’s illness.’

How did I get caught up in something like treason?
Treason.

‘I also wanted to investigate the treason my father was involved in.’

But there was no way a mere doctor would have such ability.

So, I thought that someday, after gaining the Crown Prince’s trust, I could ask him to reinvestigate my father’s crime, even if it meant being dragged to the Uigeumbu [a Joseon Dynasty judicial institution] later.

‘Being with His Highness the Crown Prince makes me think that I’m asking too much of someone who already has a heavy burden.’

She felt pathetic and could only sigh.

Perhaps because the tension was relieved thanks to the successful rescue, her weary body was getting weaker and weaker.

I was fine until just now.

‘Ah, but there’s something I need to make sure to tell them…….’

Soon, more and more torches came into view, and familiar voices were heard along with the commotion.

“Brother!!”

“Sehwa!!”

Sehwa saw Seongji’s face in her blurry vision and smiled in relief. And somehow, she mustered her strength and opened her mouth.

“Don’t entrust His Highness… to anyone else, please… directly……”

“Sehwa? Sehwa!”

Alarmed voices rang in her ears, but Sehwa could finally relax and lose consciousness.

‘I can rest assured if it’s Seongji.’

The physician who pushed me away was definitely smiling.

I’m not sure if it was because of personal grudges or treasonous intentions, but what is clear is that I cannot entrust someone’s body to someone who harms others.

And Seongji would surely understand her intentions.

***

‘I can’t move.’

When Sehwa opened her eyes the next day, she was in an unfamiliar room.

She wanted to check her condition, but her whole body ached and felt heavy, so she couldn’t move.

‘I was fine yesterday…….’

She was barely blinking when Seongji came in.

“You’re awake?”

“What happened?”

“What do you mean what happened? A patient with bruises all over their body shouldn’t even think about moving and just stay still.”

“I’m sorry.”

However, she was thirsty and hungry, so she had no choice but to get up.

‘No, it was the heavy cotton blanket that kept me from moving.’

Considering her status, it was excessive treatment, but even if her body was heavy, she couldn’t lift a cotton blanket.

Sehwa, frustrated with her current condition, quenched her thirst first and asked Seongji.

“How is His Highness the Crown Prince? Who is by his side now?”

“As Doctor Sehwa said before she lost consciousness, I personally treated him last, and fortunately, there are no major injuries other than a sprain in his leg. Of course, he will have difficulty moving for a while. His Highness’s people are by his side now, nursing him, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Haa. That’s a relief.”

Sehwa sighed in relief and slumped her shoulders.

“Sehwa, your whole body is covered in bruises, and your clothes were completely tattered. Are you okay?”

“Ah… there are things I need to explain……”

I should have said it last night, but I forgot and lost consciousness.

Sehwa, inwardly blaming herself, ate the porridge Seongji brought and first explained that the physician who came with her had pushed her.

“So, slipping and falling was a lie after all. How dare he tell such a lie so fearlessly.”

“At least he should have been honest about fighting and falling.”

“It’s as if he knew it would be difficult for Doctor Sehwa to return, so it’s a bit… unsettling.”

It’s a rough mountain, so he might have thought so, but she felt uneasy.

“I was surprised when you suddenly said that yesterday, and this is the reason.”

“I had no one else I could trust to leave it to.”

“Hehe.”

Seongji smiled at Sehwa’s words.

Of course, there is a royal physician who follows His Highness separately, but who knows who is on our side.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of excuses to make for pushing Sehwa. But only those who have experienced that malice without evidence can know. Besides, there was every possibility that he had conspired to assassinate the Crown Prince.

“Was it intentional?”

“Probably… it certainly seems like they were targeting His Highness the Crown Prince’s affairs as well.”

“Ah, Princess Ongju has revealed the rebellious faction targeting His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Yes?”

Sehwa’s eyes widened at the absurd statement.

“You know that there are quite a few families who suffered great losses by exposing illegal slaves last time, right? I heard that the sons of the local gentry were dissatisfied with that.”

“Do… do they do such reckless things because of that?”

“Moreover, Princess Ongju is now implementing smallpox vaccination for the public slaves, including the female entertainers [Gisaeng]. She is even thinking of taking talented female entertainers to Hanyang [old name for Seoul]. Everyone knows that Princess Ongju treats the female entertainers only as artists, so the female entertainers don’t refuse. I heard that those who were dissatisfied with that news gathered and lamented, and someone incited them.”

“Who is it?”

“It seems that hasn’t been revealed yet. I heard that the story was conveyed to Princess Ongju yesterday afternoon, and she immediately arrested the people involved and is still interrogating them.”

“But even so… isn’t harming His Highness the Crown Prince too much?”

“I’m also wondering about that… but since there is testimony that they harbored rebellious intentions, it seems difficult to avoid the crime of treason.”

“I see.”

Sehwa herself had been falsely accused as a member of a traitorous family, so she had mixed feelings, but since she was also a victim of this incident, she didn’t feel like defending them.

“Haa. Treason, it feels like I’m involved in something too big, so it doesn’t feel real.”

“Haha. Right. I never imagined it would turn out like this.”

Seongji patted Sehwa, who was sighing, and handed her medicine.

“Here, you have to take your medicine after eating.”

“Ah… I always give it to others, but why do I hate taking it myself? No, I don’t even need that medicine.”

“Just because you’re a doctor doesn’t mean you like medicine. But Princess Ongju told me to make sure you take it, so don’t say anything and eat it.”

“Yes.”

If the person above tells you to eat it, you have to eat it.

Come to think of it, Cheonho, who carried Sehwa down yesterday, said something similar.