Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 84

Moreover, I couldn’t just abandon him. Luckily, I knew a doctor nearby. We took the passed-out drunkard to Seongji’s place.

“Oh, Uncle?”

And we were quickly able to identify the drunkard who had collapsed on the street.

Seongji, surprised, checked his forehead and pulse, then let out a sigh of relief.

“This person is your uncle?”

That uncle who used to be a royal physician?

Seongji blushed with embarrassment and nodded.

“He has shown an embarrassing side…”

Hmm. I’m a little worried about entrusting education to this person. He wouldn’t drink while teaching the children, would he?

“He suddenly fainted when he saw me.”

“Yes? Ah, well, the truth is, my uncle is a little… wary of young children.”

“But the streets of Hanyang [the capital city of Joseon dynasty] are full of children…”

In this era, children aren’t sent to kindergartens or academies; commoner children spend their days running around and playing in the streets. How does he live like that?

“It’s not that he dislikes them, but rather he finds them a bit difficult. I’ve even wondered if perhaps he had a bad experience treating a child in the past…”

“Ah…”

Well, since he’s a doctor, he might have had such an experience?

‘If he was a royal physician…’

I’ve heard that many children died before my time, so perhaps he was in charge of one of them.

And a child being sick is a huge emotional blow…

When I was in the hospital because of my previous life’s parents, seeing babies with IV drips and all sorts of unknown tubes attached to their bodies made me feel so sorry that I felt like crying.

He might have lost several children while working as a royal physician, and it might have traumatized him.

“Then wouldn’t it be difficult for him to teach children after all?”

“Children learning medicine would be at least thirteen or fourteen years old, so there won’t be a problem. And this is the first time he’s ever fainted like this… It might be because of the alcohol. I need to make him quit drinking, or I might lose my only uncle first.”

Seeing Seongji looking so bitter, I felt sorry for him in his own way.

Having lost my own parents, I couldn’t be cold-hearted when he spoke like that.

After promising Seongji that I would make sure to thank him later, we had to pass the same road four times before returning to the palace.

‘Well, I’m glad I didn’t leave him behind.’

I let out a deep sigh.

***

Anyway, I had something to confirm on my end, so I returned to the palace and summoned a royal physician with some experience.

Since I had to get regular check-ups after being poisoned and collapsing, summoning a physician was an easy task.

“Are you referring to Heo Yeon-tae?”

“That’s right. I heard he used to work in the royal clinic. Is that true?”

It felt a bit strange to speak informally to a white-bearded old doctor, but this was a hierarchical society, so if I used honorifics, it would make the other person more uncomfortable.

Of course, there might be benevolent superiors like the deposed Queen Shin, who was Consort to Yeonsangun, who used honorifics to everyone, but if I did that, Gaya and Songbi, who had to assist me, would be criticized for not teaching the princess properly.

‘Besides, I’ve gotten used to speaking informally like a baby since I was little.’

After pondering for a moment at my question, the physician soon nodded and replied.

“Yes, he worked in the royal clinic a long time ago. He was a diligent and studious physician who passed the medical examination at a young age.”

His real-life impression is very different…

“Do you happen to know why he quit?”

“I am sorry, but he suddenly quit, saying he had a family matter, so I do not know well.”

“I see…”

“However, how does the Princess know about Heo Yeon-tae?”

“Well, I’m trying to teach medicine to children at Siyoungwon [a kind of orphanage], and I was looking for someone to educate them, and he was the person I was recommended.”

“He was an outstanding person when it came to medicine. His only flaw was that his character was too upright… I wonder if teaching children would be appropriate.”

“Is that so?”

Upright? Kang Ji-ik? Is that the uprightness that uses the characters for ‘strong’ (剛) and ‘straight’ (直)?

While I was confused, the physician stepped back, and soon, as always, the court ladies brought in herbal medicine.

The court ladies who were in charge of my residence always kept a close watch and brought the medicine, though the medical women were the ones who prepared it. I am sure the medical women felt wronged by this.

Of course, that didn’t mean the medical women who prepared the medicine didn’t come to my residence; as the person in charge, I had to watch them to make sure I drank it.

“Princess, this is your sweet treat.”

“Okay.”

Today, as always, I drank the medicine and Songbi put a sweet treat in my mouth as I slightly frowned.

The medical women always stayed in my room for about half an hour (1 hour) to check if there were any problems after drinking the medicine and massaged me before leaving.

They visited me often, so they were now used to it and would sometimes engage in light small talk with me, but lately, they had been quietly watching me for some reason.

‘What happened?’

Come to think of it, the story that I was going to give the medical women ranks was already circulating in the market, so the medical women must have known about it.

“Is there anything you want to say to me?”

“No, Princess.”

Right. It’s Korean style to decline once out of courtesy. But that’s a bit annoying too.

“If you ask me now, I’ll answer right away, so don’t decline and ask right away.”

“…Actually, there is something I would like to ask the Princess.”

And as expected, an answer came right away.

“Is it true that the Princess said that medical women should also be given ranks?”

“It is true that I said that to His Majesty.”

“!”

Where and how did the rumor spread that they don’t know the source? The palace is wide if it’s wide, but it’s also narrow if it’s narrow.

“Why, are you unhappy with it?”

“Ah, no.”

“No, let’s ask this time. What are the opinions of the medical women themselves?”

“Some of the medical women in the royal clinic like it, and some say they don’t like it.”

What’s there to dislike?

“Even if they receive ranks, they can remain medical women without ranks if they don’t want to. They will just have to follow the instructions of the female doctors with ranks.”

“…”

The medical women looked surprised at my words.

“Well, what about you?”

In fact, I don’t know how good these two people who are in charge of me are at medicine.

All I know is that their names are Jeonggeum and Yeonchang, and I know how they grew up and where they work from the occasional personal stories I’ve heard.

They always just bring medicine and massage me, so how can I know how good they are at medicine?

But looking at their sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks now, they both seemed very motivated.

“It’s not confirmed yet. I petitioned my father, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agreed. But I don’t know what the officials or royal physicians will think.”

It meant that it would be difficult if the opposition was severe.

“And if female doctors receive ranks and take pulses, it also means that they have to take responsibility when problems arise with the Queen and my health. Are you okay with that?”

“We are medical women, so how can we not know that we have to take responsibility for taking pulses?”

“Other royal physicians might harass you?”

“I heard that if we receive ranks, we may belong to the outer court. In that case, even if we work in the royal clinic, our superior would be the Queen.”

“And even now, there are not many people who respect us.”

They are full of enthusiasm.

I thought it was already out of my hands, but seeing them sparkle like this, it seemed to be a more desperate issue than I thought.

Jeonggeum was the one who asked the first question earlier, and this time it was Yeonchang who opened her mouth.

“Is it true that the Princess will train female doctors from the common people?”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard while running Siyoungwon, there are not many medical women, so women experience many inconveniences.”

“…”

“But what could be more foolish than hoping that the number of medical women will naturally increase? Since there are many children in Siyoungwon who know how to read, it would be good if there were children among them who could learn medicine.”

“It would be good if that were the case.”

Unlike before, the medical women nodded with soulless voices.

This must have just been a question out of curiosity.

It’s better than being wary of competing with civilian doctors for no reason.

But just in case,

“Besides, when medical women like you in the royal clinic leave the royal clinic in the future, there will be a path to teaching future generations, although being a doctor is good too.”

“!”

The two began to praise me with brightened faces as if they had gained enlightenment.

“The Princess is truly a wise person.”

“Isn’t it right that those who are capable should receive proper treatment? It wouldn’t have been easy to become a medical woman in the royal clinic, so it would be good if you could receive proper treatment.”

“Yes, Princess.”

To the medical women who were so motivated that they seemed ready to run and open medical books right now, I gave a final request. I don’t know if this will be meaningful.

“And remember, if medical women cause problems while this is being promoted and before it is established, everything could unfairly fall apart.”

“We will keep that in mind.”

The medical women left happily like that.

And the expressions of the court ladies watching those medical women were not very good.

“It seems like it’s only good for the medical women, so you don’t like it.”

“It’s not good for us.”

“Aren’t the medical women going to try to be on par with us?”

Hmm. The starting point must have been mostly similar, but people’s hearts are so fickle.

“Even if the medical women receive ranks, how can they be compared to the status of the court ladies who serve the royal family closely? Even now, there is no one who dares to treat the court ladies carelessly.”

“That’s true, but.”

“Besides, there are many court ladies who are from government slave backgrounds, so the possibility of them being freed will also increase.”

“Yes?”

“I told His Majesty that government slaves who have served as medical women or doctors for 10 years should be freed. But aren’t the court ladies the ones who serve the royal family for decades?”

“!”

“It may be a story that is irrelevant to the court ladies who are not from government slave backgrounds, but everyone must want to get rid of the stigma of being commoners.”

The court ladies closed their mouths at my words.

Because there were quite a few court ladies in this place, including Songbi, who were not originally from the Jigil [a specific group of court ladies]. It wasn’t intentional, but I naturally ended up doing that after replacing the Jigil court ladies who had mistreated Songbi several times when I was young.

Thanks to that, only the children who were originally from the Jigil had round personalities, and everyone had suffered together since I was young, so their sense of camaraderie was strong, and they seemed to be shaken even if it wasn’t their own business.

“If the path to freedom is opened for medical women, it will be easier for court ladies.”

“Princess!”

“How could I prioritize medical women over you?”

The court ladies, moved by my words, knelt down in unison.

Don’t do this. It’s burdensome.

“Besides, my birth mother wasn’t from a very good background either. Maybe?”

“Oh, what are you saying, Princess!”

“Those who have experienced Youngbin, no, Hong Suk-won [referring to the birth mother’s title and name], would know what I mean. Or not?”

Now everyone is lying flat in front of me, but in the past, there were people who gossiped about my birth mother’s status. The court ladies who had served me since I was young had a lot of experience being ignored because of that.

In fact, my birth mother didn’t even know properly whether she was a commoner or a slave. She just said that she had come in as a court lady instead of a government slave, so everyone seemed to think she was a government slave.

“I am sorry, Princess.”

“Okay, okay, go and do your work. I need to lie down and rest.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Ah, and you know that this shouldn’t leak out, even among the court ladies, right? If they know that the scope of freedom is increasing, the opposition may become severe.”

“Yes, Princess.”

I lay down and slowly recalled once again if I had said anything wrong.

‘But the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel.’

Surely not. A scandal that is just right for this time wouldn’t happen, would it?

And as always, what you don’t expect is what gets you.