Chapter 253 – Be Honest (1)
Lord Sungyeon stared blankly outside.
This doctor was always busy. Perhaps it was because of his title as the doctor for the wives, but not only nearby wives but also women from well-off households came from afar to seek his services.
Of course, his skills were also highly praised.
“But sometimes men come in too.”
“Yes, my… lady. If it’s a minor injury, it’s fine, but if it’s a serious injury that could be life-threatening, they say they can treat it.”
“Hmm, so only seriously injured men come here. I see now.”
Sungyeon found Eom’s answer interesting.
Even the man who just came in seemed to have injured his leg badly, but despite the doubt that he could pay for the treatment, the doctor accepted him without hesitation.
Although medicine is often called the art of humanity, if you give it to a patient who cannot pay, without thinking about the future, the result will inevitably come back as a deficit, and if it accumulates, it will strangle the doctor’s neck.
Even if donations are pouring in enough to fill the kindness, it is not infinite like water.
Yet, to give such charity, Sungyeon felt proud as a member of the royal family.
“But you’re not one of them, are you…?”
“L-lady?”
However, such charity was also a device that reaffirmed the fact that even they could not solve her problem.
‘If there really is nothing wrong with my body…’
If she really committed adultery, the problem would become even more complicated.
Her son was already born, but Sungyeon still had no news.
Even if she was a noblewoman, the label of a woman who cannot give birth to a child would make her words suspicious, and suspicions about the only woman around, the concubine, would not be accepted as a credible story.
Of course, they would not give any face to her as a noblewoman.
If necessary, there could be a situation where they would completely reject the concubine, but in exchange, the relatives of the in-laws would remember Sungyeon’s actions as unreasonable and grumble behind closed doors.
‘If there is a problem with her body, solving it and giving birth to a child is the cleanest solution…’
“By the way, I don’t see Lady Paeng. Is there something wrong…?”
Sungyeon replied indifferently to Eom’s topic, which was squeezed out of her, sensing the painful expression on her superior’s face.
Chapter 253 – Be Honest (1)
Lord Sungyeon stared blankly outside.
This doctor was always busy. Perhaps it was because of his title as the doctor for the wives, but not only nearby wives but also women from well-off households came from afar to seek his services.
Of course, his skills were also highly praised.
“But sometimes men come in too.”
“Yes, my… lady. If it’s a minor injury, it’s fine, but if it’s a serious injury that could be life-threatening, they say they can treat it.”
“Hmm, so only seriously injured men come here. I see now.”
Sungyeon found Eom’s answer interesting.
Even the man who just came in seemed to have injured his leg badly, but despite the doubt that he could pay for the treatment, the doctor accepted him without hesitation.
Although medicine is often called the art of humanity, if you give it to a patient who cannot pay, without thinking about the future, the result will inevitably come back as a deficit, and if it accumulates, it will strangle the doctor’s neck.
Even if donations are pouring in enough to fill the kindness, it is not infinite like water.
Yet, to give such charity, Sungyeon felt proud as a member of the royal family.
“But you’re not one of them, are you…?”
“L-lady?”
However, such charity was also a device that reaffirmed the fact that even they could not solve her problem.
‘If there really is nothing wrong with my body…’
If she really committed adultery, the problem would become even more complicated.
Her son was already born, but Sungyeon still had no news.
Even if she was a noblewoman, the label of a woman who cannot give birth to a child would make her words suspicious, and suspicions about the only woman around, the concubine, would not be accepted as a credible story.
Of course, they would not give any face to her as a noblewoman.
If necessary, there could be a situation where they would completely reject the concubine, but in exchange, the relatives of the in-laws would remember Sungyeon’s actions as unreasonable and grumble behind closed doors.
‘If there is a problem with her body, solving it and giving birth to a child is the cleanest solution…’
“By the way, I don’t see Lady Paeng. Is there something wrong…?”
Sungyeon replied indifferently to Eom’s topic, which was squeezed out of her, sensing the painful expression on her superior’s face.
“It’s nothing. Sometimes she has things to attend to, so she’s not always here.”
“I see…”
Come to think of it, Lady Yanghajeong seemed to be in a good mood these days.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who would openly show her feelings in front of someone who had problems, but in Sungyeon’s eyes, she seemed to be getting brighter and more energetic day by day.
It was hard to explain, but it felt like she was becoming more lively and carefree.
‘It felt like she was deliberately showing a gloomy expression only when she saw me…’
“…My Lady?”
“I’ll be stepping out for a moment. If there’s anything special that happens while Lady Paeng is away, don’t forget to inform me. Understood?”
Without waiting for Eom’s reply, Lord Sungyeon turned and walked outside.
She couldn’t sense it as a lady, but there were probably six guards following her. She walked without hesitation.
“Excuse me. Have you seen my messenger?”
She grabbed a man who looked like a doctor and asked, but he didn’t know anything and shook his head.
Then she grabbed someone who seemed to be working at the clinic and asked, but since Sungyeon and Lady Yanghajeong were a thorn in the side even within the clinic, there was no one who didn’t know Lady Yanghajeong’s face.
But strangely, no one said they saw her.
[My Lady, the guards…]
The leader of the guards sent his subordinates to search for her, but Lord Sungyeon, who couldn’t fight, shook her head in response.
So she didn’t want to search for Lady Yanghajeong like a criminal, even though she called her “aunt” as a term of endearment.
She thought she would leisurely search for her like taking a walk. And if she searched like this, she would be found soon enough, no matter how big the clinic was.
As Lord Sungyeon thought, she soon found the door of a separate building and discovered Lady Yanghajeong inside.
“Niece…?”
“Oh, Aunt. I’ve been gone for a while, so I came out to look for you while taking a walk. You were here.”
Lord Sungyeon greeted Lady Yanghajeong warmly, and then burst into laughter when she saw Gang Sohyeop’s face as he followed behind her.
“Chapter 253 – Be Honest (1)
Lord Sungyeon stared out blankly, lost in thought.
The doctor was always busy, and it wasn’t just nearby wives seeking his services. Women from well-off households came from afar to seek his skills. Even men would come in for minor injuries, and if it was a serious injury that could be life-threatening, they would seek treatment.
Sungyeon found it interesting that the doctor accepted even those who couldn’t pay for treatment. It was a noble act, but it was also a reminder that even they couldn’t solve her problem.
“If there really is nothing wrong with my body…”
If she had committed adultery, the problem would become even more complicated. Her son was already born, but Sungyeon still had no news. Even if she was a noblewoman, the label of a woman who cannot give birth to a child would make her words suspicious. Suspicions about the only woman around, the concubine, would not be accepted as a credible story.
“If there is a problem with her body, solving it and giving birth to a child is the cleanest solution…”
“By the way, I don’t see Lady Paeng. Is there something wrong…?” Eom asked, sensing the painful expression on her superior’s face.
“It’s nothing. Sometimes she has things to attend to, so she’s not always here.”
Lady Yanghajeong seemed to be in a good mood these days. She was becoming more lively and carefree. It felt like she was deliberately showing a gloomy expression only when she saw Sungyeon.
“I’ll be stepping out for a moment. If there’s anything special that happens while Lady Paeng is away, don’t forget to inform me. Understood?” Sungyeon said, turning and walking outside.
She couldn’t sense it as a lady, but there were probably six guards following her. She walked without hesitation.
“Excuse me. Have you seen my messenger?” Sungyeon asked a man who looked like a doctor, but he didn’t know anything.
Then she asked someone who seemed to be working at the clinic, but no one said they saw Lady Yanghajeong.
[My Lady, the guards…]
Sungyeon shook her head in response. She didn’t want to search for Lady Yanghajeong like a criminal, even though she called her “aunt” as a term of endearment.
As Sungyeon thought, she soon found the door of a separate building and discovered Lady Yanghajeong inside.
“Niece…?”
“Oh, Aunt. I’ve been gone for a while, so I came out to look for you while taking a walk. You were here.”
Lord Sungyeon greeted Lady Yanghajeong warmly, and then burst into laughter when she saw Gang Sohyeop’s face as he followed behind her.
Ju-yeok-seon seemed to be refusing her treatment just to fulfill her duties as a physician, but I began to suspect that there was another reason for her behavior.
“What is this place for?”
“This is an herbal medicine warehouse. Each physician comes here every morning to take the amount they need for the day and store it in their personal warehouse.”
[I was looking into operating a similar clinic for retired soldiers who were injured in battle.]
“Ah…”
Seong-yeon-gunju nodded in agreement to Yang-ha-jeong’s explanation.
Although it was the era of peace, the immigrant tribes in the borderlands continued to plunder the abundant resources of the central plains and engage in sporadic raids.
Skilled soldiers were always in short supply, and it was not easy to supply troops if the treatment of injured soldiers was not good.
If the country took responsibility and provided treatment even if they were injured, the soldiers would be able to fight the enemy without fear.
“This is truly a great idea. If I bring this up to the king… Huh?”
Something strange caught Seong-yeon-gunju’s eye as he was admiring the idea.
It was an item that he remembered vividly from his childhood, although it had been 20 years.
“I’ve seen enough here. Thank you, Kang So-hyeop.”
“No, Mrs. Paeng. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.”
As the man politely bowed his head, Yang-ha-jeong stood next to Seong-yeon-gunju and began to walk alongside him.
Seong-yeon-gunju glanced at the item wrapped around Yang-ha-jeong’s waist and then looked ahead again.
“Phew, I thought I was caught.”
For the past few days, I had been learning mainly about the work at the clinic.
Although Ju-yeok-seon was in charge of running the clinic as the head physician, since the money was managed by Tang-hye-won, I had to understand the issues related to the supply of herbs and other materials.
But on the other hand, if I could handle that, it meant that Ju-yeok-seon would take care of everything else.
“You use special characters for numbers?”
Honestly, the numbers written in Chinese characters are too long. They are difficult to read and take up too much space, so I advocated for the introduction of Arabic numerals.
Although everyone was skeptical about whether this was really necessary, Ju-yeok-seon quickly realized its value and supported it. Who would refuse the orders of the owner and the director?
It has only been a few days since we started, and we are still in the process of adapting, but Ju-yeok-seon told me that everyone is starting to realize its convenience.
Anyway, with the introduction of Arabic numerals, calculations became much easier, and as a result, I had a lot of free time on my hands.
Now, what should I do with this extra time?
I discreetly called for Yang-ha-jeong, and she slipped out of the room, and we had sex in secret.
“Doing it twice was risky.”
I usually only did it once and sent her away, but today, for some reason, maybe because of the smell of herbs, I felt strange and did it again. Just after we finished, I sensed someone approaching from a distance, so I quickly fixed my clothes and opened the door.
Since I had opened the door from a distance, I was relieved that I wasn’t caught.
“But I can’t keep doing this…”
Having sex with Yang-ha-jeong was enjoyable, but continuing like this was difficult.
For a month, we could make do with the cramped space and share it with others like a camp, but if it went on for too long, I would feel tired.
The baby in my mother’s womb would be born soon, and we needed to move before that happened, but that damn Mrs. Paeng…
“Kang So-hyeop? What are you doing here?”
“I came to get some herbs for the head physician…”
“I see. I think that’s a good attitude.”
Ju-yeok-seon looked at me as if something was strange. We usually brought the necessary amount in the morning, but if the stock was depleted more than expected, we could come to get more.
“Oh, I just came to check the stock of herbs…”
“I see. That’s a good thing to do.”
Actually, I had finished checking the stock yesterday, but Ju-yeok-seon praised me with a willing smile.
I sprayed some deodorant, so I wasn’t worried, but my conscience was pricked terribly.
Come to think of it, other physicians usually brought other apprentices or workers to carry the herbs, but there was no one next to Ju-yeok-seon.
“You came alone. If you have a lot, should I help you carry them?”
“No, it’s okay…”
“Since there’s someone here, you should use them when you can.”
Ju-yeok-seon hesitated for a moment but accepted my offer.
She looked like an ordinary middle-aged woman because of her plump appearance, but her noble heart to save people with medicine was admirable.
I felt a little embarrassed that I was using my position as a physician to hide my harem.
“Come to think of it, this woman is amazing too.”
Tang-hye-won was confident that Ju-yeok-seon’s medicine would be recognized throughout the country.
She had such medicine, and her skills in running the organization were also excellent, which made Tang-hye-won admire her.
Ju-yeok-seon may find it disrespectful to say this about herself, but she was truly a tailor-made talent for us.
“Heung, Yak-seonemong…!”
Let’s go a long way, Head Physician.
I couldn’t say it out loud, but in my heart, I said it to the back of Ju-yeok-seon’s head.