Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 77

Of course, fans of the original novel might disagree.

‘No matter what I do, there will inevitably be hardships. But I should at least alleviate the discrimination.’

Let’s speed up the plot.

These days, everyone dislikes slow-paced parts anyway. They like it when the protagonist overwhelms with skill and the story progresses quickly.

Of course, historical dramas are likely to be a bit intense in the beginning.

‘Don’t they usually kill off at least one parent at the beginning to kick things off?’

Of course, this isn’t always the case with historical dramas featuring real historical figures as the main characters.

Other elements would include beauty, talent, survival skills, and connections.

In any case, in that regard, Jihwa was remarkably well-equipped with the elements of a historical drama protagonist, almost to an unlucky extent.

‘Even if I create systems now, they won’t be immediately applied in the field, and changes in perception take time.’

In fact, the persuasion process for establishing these systems is likely to take quite a while.

While the King and the Crown Prince are important, the most significant obstacle in this matter is the Queen.

Therefore, I’ve been subtly laying the groundwork with the Queen for quite some time.

‘The Queen suffered the most because of the Dowager Queen.’

When discussing the expansion and advancement of female medical personnel, the most relevant case was the Dowager Queen.

No matter how skilled the royal physicians were, they couldn’t exclude female doctors from treating women, and there were inevitably difficulties in the treatment process, which must have been frustrating from her perspective.

The person who was most anxious while the Dowager Queen remained in her position for so long was the Queen, and the reason was simple.

‘It’s unfortunate, but how can we discuss the Crown Prince’s marriage while Her Majesty is ill?’

‘I will speak to the Dowager Queen.’

‘She is upset about Prince Gyeong-eon’s matter, so it will be difficult.’

‘It has already been a year since Prince Gyeong-eon received the poison. Shouldn’t the Crown Prince have his wedding now?’

Why did they have that conversation when the Crown Prince and I went to pay our respects? Thanks to that, we had to sit there uncomfortably, keeping our mouths shut for a long time.

Anyway, with the family they were planning to marry into becoming traitors, the Crown Prince’s marriage fell apart, leaving only bad rumors. It was clear that the longer it was delayed, the fewer truly good daughters of noble families would remain unmarried.

Some might say they could just take a young Crown Princess, but one of the reasons for marrying early is to see descendants quickly, so there was no reason to welcome a young Crown Princess.

However, the Queen’s efforts were not well-received.

‘A wedding? Can’t the Queen see that this old woman is still holding on?’

‘But, Dowager Queen.’

‘Why! Are you worried that this old woman will pass away and delay the Crown Prince’s wedding?’

‘How can you say such a disrespectful thing? Please take it back.’

‘Yes, if you are so worried about this old woman dying any day now, then we should hurry and have the wedding! Yes, indeed!’

Saying they should choose a Crown Princess after hearing these words would make her the most unfilial daughter-in-law in the world.

‘The Queen must be a role model for all the people! If the Queen is so unfilial, who will look up to her as the mother of the nation!’

‘Dowager Queen, please calm yourself.’

‘Calm down? If something happens to this old woman, it will all be because of the unfilial Queen!’

The Queen, who was attacked by the Dowager Queen for being an unfilial daughter-in-law, had to act like a sinner in front of the Dowager Queen for a while.

The Dowager Queen, who seemed so healthy and about to get up at any moment while shouting in anger, eventually did not recover.

The person who is most complicated now that the Dowager Queen has passed away is probably the Queen.

‘In the end, the Crown Prince won’t be able to marry for three years [the traditional mourning period].’

From the perspective of someone who knows the story, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Seeing that the incident where Jihwa’s family was accused of treason and collapsed eventually happened, it seems likely that the subsequent events will follow.

In other words, the next Crown Princess candidate is likely to be harmed.

‘Wouldn’t it be better than sending away another candidate and unfairly accumulating a reputation that the Crown Prince seems cursed?’

Of course, I couldn’t say such crazy things to the Queen, so I just comforted her by saying that she would definitely find a good match later.

In that situation, the Queen’s distrust of the royal physicians was considerable.

In fact, the Queen was one of those who often called the royal physicians because she was weak.

So, to summarize, the royal physicians couldn’t cure the Queen’s illnesses, couldn’t cure the Dowager Queen’s illnesses, and couldn’t cure the Princess’s illnesses.

‘Saying it like this, it sounds like all the major royal women are sickly.’

I’m not sick, though.

Anyway, in fact, there were many women who the royal physicians had to take care of exclusively.

Inside the palace, the royal men were, at most, the late king, the king, the crown prince + unmarried princes, and the crown prince’s son, but the women could be the Grand Dowager Queen, the Dowager Queen + concubines, the Queen + concubines, the Crown Prince + concubines, princesses + princesses, and princesses + princesses.

Of course, the king also sent royal physicians to the officials, and people working in the palace also sought the royal clinic when they were sick, so the royal clinic didn’t only treat the royal family, but the proportion of palace maids among the resident staff in the palace was also high.

‘Thinking about it, unless we abolish the concubine system, it would be better to train proper female doctors.’

Why do they live so frustratingly?

Of course, there were cases where people said, “How can a woman be in the position of a royal physician?” but if you asked them if the male royal physician would hold the wrist of the Queen, concubine, unmarried princess, or princess to take their pulse, no one would say yes.

It was strange that they didn’t raise their voices to foster professional female doctors for their mothers, even though filial piety was important.

‘Well, it’s not like they’re sick.’

Besides, they don’t even use the existing female doctors properly.

‘We need both female doctors who are on par with male doctors and the current female doctors who mostly play the role of nurses.’

Female doctors took care of the Dowager Queen, but the actual treatment was naturally done by the royal physicians.

Even now, of course, capable female doctors were appointed as royal female doctors, and sometimes they were recognized for their abilities and became the king’s personal physician and were freed from slavery, but it was not common.

Moreover, the position of royal female doctor was ambiguous.

‘And the other royal physicians don’t like it.’

The Queen, who had often heard my grumbling, seemed to have no objection to the idea of raising female doctors, but she was cautious about giving them ranks and incorporating them into the Oemyeongbu (Outer Court for Women).

She agreed with the Queen that the existing official system would not accept women, even though it was a miscellaneous examination, and that it would be right for them to be affiliated with the Nae-Oemyeongbu (Inner and Outer Court for Women) under the Queen in order to manage them properly.

However, she hesitated to include those who were likely to come into contact with external men in the Naemyeongbu, which was considered the King’s women, so she suggested including them in the Oemyeongbu.

It seemed like she didn’t want to incur the King’s displeasure by appearing to be making a political move.

Of course, I also laid the groundwork with the King.

I indirectly conveyed it through the Crown Prince because I was afraid that the royal physicians’ lives might be in danger if I said something wrong.

Apart from my visit to the Queen’s Palace, I started the conversation while having snacks with the King and the Crown Prince, the three of us together.

“Sia is old enough, so how long can we entrust her pulse to male doctors? It would be better for a capable female doctor (yeoui) [female physician] to take her pulse.”

“Yes, it’s a sensitive issue, so it would be good to do so.”

Of course, it wasn’t a very sensitive issue for me, who lived in modern times.

Everyone was being careful not to upset me because I was sad that I wasn’t growing up and they weren’t treating me properly for my age, so my opinion surprisingly had a voice.

“Father, how about we train more female medical personnel on this occasion?”

“Are you talking about female doctors? Even now, we are selecting children from among the young government slaves to become female doctors and teaching them.”

“But most female doctors are only assistants to the doctors. Isn’t it difficult to fully demonstrate their abilities if they are not given proper positions?”

In addition, I also told them that royal women had difficulty confiding in royal physicians even when they were sick.

Everyone was embarrassed and reluctant to speak, but I was still a child.

“I’ve heard that even in common households, women can’t easily talk about where they hurt, so their illnesses get worse.”

Besides, men can’t do separate research on female patients.

Even in modern times, cases are often studied only based on men, but here, women are more careful about talking about women’s diseases, so they often make illnesses worse.

“And isn’t it strange that those who take care of the health of the Queen and the Dowager Queen don’t even have ranks?”

Are you giving such important work to contract workers?

“That… it makes sense when you say that.”

Seeing the King lost in thought meant it was half successful.

First of all, it’s important to recognize the need.

‘It would be good if there were more female doctors (yeoui) [female physicians] in the private sector.’

Should I create a women-only clinic that only accepts female patients?

I have many slaves under my ownership, so should I select them after proper training and raise them as doctors?

If I want to send them out later, they all need to have the ability to make a living, so wouldn’t a professional job be the best?

‘Should I ask the royal physicians if there are any retired doctors or anyone they can turn to for education?’

However, I wasn’t very inclined to do so because I had seen many doctors who had a strong sense of elitism, thinking they were the best because they had worked hard to pass the national exam and rise to the position of royal physician.

‘Actually, it’s not like my goal is to raise royal physicians, so it doesn’t matter if they’re not royal physicians.’

Anyway, their opinions are also important, so I have to ask them directly.

After returning to my residence and reviewing the conversation with the King and the Crown Prince, I decided to go out when that thought occurred to me.

After all, doctors have a high workload, not just work fatigue, so it was difficult to force them if they didn’t have the will.

“So, you’re going out again?”

“Yeah.”

“I am concerned that the Princess is going out of the palace too often.”

“If things were normal, I should have already gotten married and moved out, so think of it as me staying at home for too long?”

“Princess.”

“I was just rolling around on the floor for a while.”

“You were in mourning.”

“It’s not over yet.”

“Please, Princess……”

The one who was nagging me like this and following me now was not Gai or Songbi.

Gai was busy properly growing the businesses I had roughly started, and Songbi had to control the palace maids in the palace while Gai was away.

For that reason, the one following me now was Soi, Gai’s younger sister.

She was a Jo Nain [junior palace maid] who had been strictly educated by her sister, but she was softer than Gai, so I was a little worried when I saw her.

She was perfect for going out and playing, though.

Leaving the palace, the first place I visited was the old rental bookstore that I had acquired.

The rental bookstore was crowded with people, wondering if any popular new books had come out.

It was a bit funny to see courtesans, daughters of noble families, and servants gathered there, regardless of their status.

As I entered the rental bookstore, the owner quickly ran over.

“Oh, young lady, have you come?”

“Yeah. How is your wife doing?”

“She’s much better thanks to you, young lady.”

The original owner of this place, Mr. Jang, was trying to sell the bookstore because he couldn’t raise the money to cure his wife’s illness.

I heard about it while wandering around, and I thought it was a good opportunity, so I impulsively bought the rental bookstore.

Since I couldn’t manage it anyway, I decided to hire Mr. Jang as he was, and I felt sorry for him, so I told him that I would pay for the treatment in advance, so he should go to other doctors and treat his wife first.

Thanks to that, I heard that his wife fortunately showed improvement after a while and is now recovering.

“How’s business these days?”

“It’s going well. I have to work hard and repay your kindness, young lady.”

“Just do it to a reasonable extent.”

Since I’m entrusting the business to the owner who originally did well, it can’t help but be successful.

“It seems like our kids are good at copying?”

“Of course. I’m a businessman, so I don’t do business that loses money.”

“That’s a relief.”

When I acquired the rental bookstore, I had the children who learned to write at Siyeongwon [a type of government office] do copying work for those who wrote quite well, and it seemed not bad.

‘It’s a waste to teach them and not know how to use them.’

Thanks to that, they seem to be falling into novels.

New children who come in also desperately learn to write in order to read novels, so it was worth buying the rental bookstore.

“I heard you were coming, so I prepared it in advance.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

Mr. Jang naturally handed the bundle to Soi, who was behind me.

This place was my property, and Mr. Jang knew that I liked novels, so when a new bestseller came out, he would naturally set aside my share of the novel separately and take it out when I came.

Soi, who knew that fact well, sparkled her eyes as she left the rental bookstore.

“Is this the new book?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since it came out, and the back volumes came out at once.”

“Can I read it first after you’re done reading it, young lady?”

“Whoever reads it first among you will eventually copy it if you like it.”

The books I bring are naturally given to the palace maids in my residence after I read them first, and everyone is quite competitive to read them first.

“If we gather and copy it together, it won’t take long to copy.”

“Our residence is a bit quiet.”

“Ah, no!”

“It’s okay. Have you ever seen me say anything about that?”

“Oh, young lady.”

While grumbling, Soi hung the heavy bundle of books on Jeok-a’s [a type of carrying device] side and followed me.

There was no Seong Gyeom-sabok [royal guard] today, and only Soi was following me, so my body was light.

‘Seongyun was caught by the Crown Prince today.’

Even if you don’t want to, there are days when you are forcibly drafted as long as you remain in the palace.

If he had known that I was going out today, he would have tried to follow me desperately, but to be honest, it’s a bit annoying now.

‘Now I’m used to the market.’

I was lost in various thoughts while enjoying the pleasant walk and watching people.