Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 76

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Episode 76: Blooming Even in the Mud

The complexion of the Doctor who had rushed to the Private Residence was grim. After quickly applying acupuncture to a few spots, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a sorrowful voice,
“Her Qi and Blood have become entangled in a situation where she has not fully recovered her health. Was there an incident that could have caused a major shock?”
“…….”
Gyeong Won-ui bit his lip hard in silence. The unconscious Yoo Seo-hwa was lying on the bed.
She was not sleeping peacefully as she had been not long ago. A Fever bloomed red flowers upon her skin, and she groaned in agony, exhaling ragged breaths.
His thoughts had been shallow. He had believed that seeing the peonies, which held meaning for her and were imbued with old memories, would ease her mind even just a little.
It was an absurdly foolish blunder. It was because he had not understood Yoo Seo-hwa’s heart. It was because he had failed to cradle her pain. This time, too, it was entirely his fault.
‘Is the very existence of a human like me a poison to Her Highness?’
An abyss-like despair washed over Gyeong Won-ui. If so, what reason did he have to remain alive?
“I will write a prescription for you, but since her body was originally weak, you must use rare medicinal ingredients to calm her Qi and Blood.”
Suppressing his emotions with great effort, he parted his lips. Right now, Yoo Seo-hwa’s recovery came first.
“I will pay whatever price it takes, so speak.”
“It is a medicinal ingredient called Pildubaek, but it is a specialty of the Wu State and the imported volume is extremely small. Furthermore, seven days ago, a certain minister’s household procured Pildubaek and swept away all the inventory in the Capital City.”
“If it is a city that trades with the Wu State, like Yanghang, wouldn’t it be easier to obtain there than in the Capital City?”
“But traveling back and forth takes time. We cannot exactly take the patient all the way down to Yanghang either.”
“Is there no other way?”
Anxious, his thoughts would not spin properly. Yoo Seo-hwa’s groans, heard intermittently, felt like fire pouring over his chest.
If, by some chance, if something went wrong with Yoo Seo-hwa like this…….
“There is exactly one place where you might obtain it. Emperor Xuanwen carried out the cultivation of Pildubaek in various parts of the country, but all failed, and there is a single place that succeeded. Though it is a small field.”
“Where is that place?”
“It is Beopjisa, General.”

The Abbot of Beopjisa, Han Gak, welcomed a precious guest after a long time.
“Hoo, you say you need Pildubaek.”
“That is correct, Master.”
“Just looking at the General’s face, I can tell that the Pildubaek is urgently needed. However, since Pildubaek is a medicinal herb carefully managed by Imperial Decree, taking it outside is extremely restricted.”
“What is it that I can do?”
Seeing Gyeong Won-ui bow politely, Han Gak formed a faint smile within his white beard.
There were as many foolish people as grains of sand who would abruptly threaten with worldly power or try to entice with money to obtain Pildubaek. A person who pleaded with sincerity like Gyeong Won-ui was very rare.
‘His eyes seem to have cleared up a lot as well. When I saw him at the Buddhist Ritual, he was darkened with turbid obsession.’
“What is it that you can do?”
“If it is a necessary task, I can do anything.”
Anything. It was a word that seemed easy to say but difficult to put into action.
“Who is the person who will use the Pildubaek?”
“…….”
For the first time, Gyeong Won-ui, who had been pleading earnestly, was at a loss for words. The emotion that seeped into his face was a torment closer to despair.
“……She is my everything.”
The single sentence that barely leaked out was ordinary, and sounded that much more arduous.
“She who was more noble than anyone else has been placed in the midst of an eon-like suffering because of me, and is dying because of me. I beg of you.”
“Could it perhaps be Her Highness Princess Sukjeong?”
As he listened, a certain face suddenly came to mind. As soon as he heard the name ‘Princess Sukjeong’, Gyeong Won-ui’s painfully distorted expression replaced his answer.
“Since cultivating the Pildubaek was the imperial will of Emperor Xuanwen, it should naturally be given to Her Highness.”
Han Gak raised his voice and called the boy who was waiting on them.
“Master, did you call?”
“Yes. Go ask Monk Hanbyeong to bring one root of steamed and dried Pildubaek, Mang-a.”
“Yes sir!”
The boy named Mang-a returned in no time, as if disappearing into thin air, carrying the box that stored the Pildubaek. Handing the box to Gyeong Won-ui, whose complexion had returned slightly, Han Gak continued his words.
“Originally, once Pildubaek is dug up, its medicinal efficacy begins to drop before even a single Shijin passes, so this was steamed and dried to prepare for times of urgent use. Even the steamed and dried one is sufficiently effective, so there should be a turn for the better in her illness, but the efficacy of the unprocessed Pildubaek is the best.”
“I am sorry to ask an shameless favor, but would it be possible to obtain a freshly dug Pildubaek as well?”
Seeing Gyeong Won-ui’s anxious demeanor, as if he would grab his legs and beg, Han Gak formed a benevolent smile.
“For the young master, Gyeong, it might be a somewhat burdensome task.”
“I will do anything.”
“Then the remaining matter will depend on the Buddha’s will.”
And he motioned to Mang-a, who had not yet left.
“Child, you must help General Gyeong.”

Mang-a was dissatisfied.
Even when a decent high-ranking official demanded Pildubaek, Han Gak, who wouldn’t even budge, readily handed over the medicinal herb to some nobleman—that was his first dissatisfaction. Though that man was the first person to directly visit and bow his head to ask.
His second dissatisfaction was that he himself was selected as the guide for the herb field, and his third dissatisfaction was that he had to climb the mountain path at a time when the sun was just about to set.

Recalling the conversation he had shared with Han Gak before climbing the mountain, Mang-a, who got heated up again, pouted his lips heavily.
“Hey there, noble Lord! Go a bit slowly! It’s dark out, so going fast is really dangerous!”
His mind being anxious, Gyeong Won-ui, who had been walking up the mountain path even ahead of his guide Mang-a, only then looked back. Unlike himself whose breath was coming up to the tip of his chin, the man only sweat a little and showed no particular change, which made him more annoyed.
This was all entirely because of the condition Han Gak had set.