I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 165

“There’s only one thing you need to do. Keep the fire under the medicinal soup from going out. We’ll manage it during the day, so you just need to tend the fire from midnight (子時 [zishi, 11 PM to 1 AM]) to 6 AM (卯時 [maoshi, 5 AM to 7 AM]). In return, make sure you sleep during the day.”

The man nodded.

“Come with me. I’ll show you how to manage the fire.”

What the royal physician showed him wasn’t that difficult. Actually, it seemed like he was just going through the motions, showing him half-heartedly.

The man started to feel strange. ‘They’re paying me a lot of money just to do something this simple?’

It was obvious that this place was for someone in the royal family, but it was suspicious that they would bring in a drifter like him.

‘Oh well, whatever. I’ll just fill the month and get the money, and that’s it.’

Complicated thoughts just give me a headache. I just hope I can get my voice back.

As night fell, there was a commotion from the guardhouse near the entrance. Everyone except the night watch was starting to have a drink.

The seed-spreading man smacked his lips as he smelled the alcohol from there.

‘Right, I’ll just endure for a month, and when I get out of here, I’ll live like I’m drowning in booze.’

Comforting himself with these thoughts, he began to brew the medicine in a corner of Seungdeok Palace.

As midnight passed and it moved into the hour of the Ox (丑時 [choushi, 1 AM to 3 AM]), the guardhouse also went dark and quiet. Everyone seemed to have passed out from the alcohol.

He had slept enough during the day, but drowsiness washed over him as he stared at the fire in the quiet place.

“Are you a doctor?”

A cute woman appeared without a sound, approaching him with a bright smile.

The sight of the woman instantly woke him up. He opened his mouth to greet her, but no sound came out.

‘Damn it, why now…’

I should at least greet her and try to chat her up, but I can’t even do that with that cute woman who looks like a palace maid… I feel like I’m going to die of regret.

“Ah… I heard a mute herbalist was coming… I guess that’s you.”

The man nodded.

“With a handsome man like you, I bet your voice would be amazing. What a pity.”

The woman gave him a pitiful look and sat right next to him.

He couldn’t believe his luck. He had heard many stories about the women living in the palace, who couldn’t sleep at night because the only male presence they had were eunuchs.

When a woman leaves home and goes to a foreign land, she becomes more open-minded and less cautious, and as her caution fades, her body opens up too…

‘If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get a whiff of a woman’s skin today…’

The man started to get excited.

“By the way, how old are you?”

The man held up two fingers, then hesitated for a moment before holding up two fingers again.

“Twenty-two?”

The man quickly nodded.

“I’m nineteen.”

With these words, the woman closed her mouth and began to stare at the brazier.

The man’s insides were burning hotter than the brazier.

It was obvious that she wasn’t just doing odd jobs in the palace. Her hands were clean and her face was pale. If he stripped her, he was sure he’d see soft, supple skin, but he couldn’t make any progress because he couldn’t speak.

He was tempted to pounce on her, but the fear of touching a woman of the palace was greater.

“Oh, wait a moment. You’re working so hard, let me bring you some tea.”

The cute woman suddenly got up and disappeared, then reappeared with a teapot and cups.

“This is precious stuff. Only the royals drink it… Go ahead and drink it.”

The man knew very well what the woman’s actions meant.

He had experienced it countless times. Women who were smitten with his handsome looks always made sure to take care of him first.

Whether it was to feed him and make him strong, or simply out of maternal love, giving him food meant they were in love.

The man happily drank the tea.

After drinking three or four cups in a row, the woman kept glancing at his expression.

About an hour later, his eyes started to blur and his limbs didn’t move well.

He felt like he was in a daze, not fully awake, or like he was so drunk that he couldn’t control his body.

At that moment, he heard the woman’s voice.

“You’re having a very lucky day today.”

He was surprised by the sudden change in her tone, but he felt like he was going to faint when the small, delicate woman lightly lifted him up.

He was even afraid of what was happening.

Hongyeon, who had picked up the man, entered Seungdeok Palace.

Hongyeon laid the man on the bed and quietly disappeared.

The room was only lit by moonlight streaming through the window, so only blurry shapes could be seen. Or maybe everything looked blurry because of his hazy mind.

As he lay on the bed, wiggling around to try to move even a little, a woman with a fragrant scent appeared.

He thought it was the woman who had given him the tea, but the scent was different. But the curves of the woman drawn by the moonlight were so beautiful that he didn’t even think about who she was.

* * *

“You rascal! I told you to watch the fire, but you’re dozing off!”

The royal physician hit the man on the back of the head, and the man quickly lifted his head.

“You sleep so much during the day, and you’re still sleepy? Keep your wits about you and be careful not to burn the medicine, you rascal!”

Thanks to the royal physician, the man realized that the effects of the drug had worn off. His vision was clear and he could hear clearly.

The man hurriedly put his hand into his pants. Feeling his limp, warm member, he knew that he had definitely shared a night of passion. Though he wasn’t sure.

Was it a dream?

But the afterglow of pleasure still remained. The man was confused, but it became clear the next day that it wasn’t a dream.

At the same time as the previous dawn, the cute woman appeared again with the teapot.

But her tone was not as friendly as yesterday.

“I won’t say much. If you want to share a night of passion with a woman like yesterday, drink that tea. If you don’t drink it, I’ll force it down you.”

The man didn’t dislike it either. But he was going crazy with curiosity, but he couldn’t speak, so he was just frustrated.

Hongyeon urged the hesitant man.

“Drink it quickly. I don’t want to waste my energy.”

At her icy voice, the man gulped down the tea.

And he followed Hongyeon inside.

He figured it would be better to lie on the bed and fall into a hazy state than to be dragged around like luggage.

He decided to think comfortably. That one of the women in the palace was craving a man’s touch and was drawing him in.

That’s why they gave him a lot of money, didn’t light the fire to hide the woman’s identity, and made him drowsy.

Every night, as if in a dream, the woman enjoyed pleasure on his body for as many as ten days. After ten days, the woman who had been bringing the teapot disappeared.

* * *

“Are you sure? Your Ladyship.”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

Yang Ryeo-cheong answered the royal physician, who kept asking embarrassing questions, with a touch of annoyance in her voice.

The royal physician looked at the paper filled with Yang Ryeo-cheong’s menstrual records and counted on his fingers.

Based on her past condition, it should have started two days ago. If the seed was properly planted in the field, it would take at least twenty days to confirm the sprout.

“Your Ladyship. If you notice any changes in your body from now on, please let me know as soon as possible. You will definitely experience symptoms similar to a cold. You will feel cold, shivery, have a fever, cough, and your throat will be hoarse. Those symptoms will be faster than I can confirm with a pulse diagnosis, so please keep that in mind.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know immediately if there’s anything unusual.”

The royal physician bowed his head and came out, letting out a long sigh.

He was relieved.

If she couldn’t get pregnant and returned to the palace, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid a major disaster, but it seemed like she would avoid that fate.

It wasn’t certain, but seeing that her period had stopped, there was a high possibility of pregnancy. She was young and healthy, so she had been showing a regular pattern, so he thought it was certain.

That night, Hongyeon climbed over the wall of Seungdeok Palace.

Jo Gwang-yun, who had been camping out for ten days, anxiously waiting, breathed a sigh of relief at the news Hongyeon brought.

“Good. You’ve worked hard.”

“What hard work did I do…? I just moved as the leader told me to. The leader has worked the hardest.”

“You go back and tell the royal physician to send that guy out. Using the excuse of running errands for medicine.”

“Leader. If Lady Yang is not pregnant, we’ll need that man again…”

“If that happens, I’ll let him in again. So tell him to run errands for medicine. Tell him it will take at least ten days. Even if we sealed his mouth, that guy is a thoughtless, trashy loafer. He’s a guy who enjoys women every night, so it would be a big problem if he lingered around the palace.”

“Ah, yes. That could happen. I’ll do as you instructed.”

As Hongyeon bowed her head and returned to the palace, a faint smile appeared on Jo Gwang-yun’s lips.

The fact that a healthy young woman suddenly stopped menstruating meant that there was a high probability of pregnancy.

Now, if she takes care of herself and is careful for ten months, a life will be born.

If it’s a girl, all this hard work will be in vain, but if it’s a boy, I’ll make him the emperor.

And…

I also need to make a plan to make sure it’s born as a boy, not a girl.

That will be much harder than the current pregnancy plan.

The man who came out of Seungdeok Palace early in the morning didn’t know what was going on.

Why suddenly ask me to get medicine?

As he tilted his head and came down, several martial artists appeared.

“Follow us. It’s not over yet. You have to fill a month to get paid.”

From that day on, the man stayed at the inn. Although he couldn’t go outside, he ate three meals a day, so he thought this job was really a free ride.

* * *

When a month and several days had passed since they came to the hot springs, the two royal physicians carefully examined Yang Ryeo-cheong, taking great care.

It was a really important moment, but their fingers kept trembling because they were nervous, so they had to check several times.

In particular, they were expecting her to be pregnant, so they were afraid of misdiagnosing her.

“How is it? Is she really pregnant? The cold-like symptoms that the royal physician mentioned also came out, so I think it’s certain…”

Yang Ryeo-cheong, full of anticipation, urged them for the results.

The faces of the two royal physicians finally brightened.

“Your Ladyship. You are pregnant. Congratulations.”

They couldn’t shout out loud and spoke in a whisper.

Yang Ryeo-cheong quickly covered her mouth. She was so happy that she almost screamed.

“Are you sure? You know that even the slightest mistake is not allowed, right?”

“We are sure. The energy of the fetus in the womb has been detected. Our two physicians have confirmed it, so there is no way it is a misdiagnosis.”

Having confirmed the royal physician’s assurance, Yang Ryeo-cheong finally shed tears, and Hongyeon slipped out.

Outside, there was an important person eagerly waiting for this news.

“Is it true? Are you sure?”

“Yes. The royal physician guaranteed it. She is definitely pregnant.”

At Hongyeon’s excited words, Jo Gwang-yun clenched his fist.

Yes!

I have finally passed one of the most difficult hurdles. And the camping is over too.

“You’ve worked hard. I will never forget your hard work.”

“No. Leader.”

“You go back and take good care of Yang Ryeo-cheong. Make sure you don’t make a mistake and lose the fetus you worked so hard to get.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

As Hongyeon returned, Jo Gwang-yun cleanly erased the traces of his camping.

Now he wanted to go to the inn, wash away the accumulated dirt, and take a deep sleep.

Of course, he also had to clean up the things he had to take care of neatly before that.

* * *

“Wow. I can finally talk. I feel like I can finally live.”

The man said, rubbing his neck.

“Really? Have you been living like you were dead all this time? You’ve just been eating and loafing around at the inn, haven’t you?”

“Oh, my lord. Do you know how frustrating it is to be a mute? It’s really like dying.”

Jo Gwang-yun chuckled at the man’s exaggeration. He also felt a little sorry for the man, who didn’t know his fate even an inch ahead.

End