Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 128

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Born the daughter of a concubine of the lowest rank.
Chapter 128
“Have all the children gone mad while I wasn’t looking? Why are they so eager to be inoculated? Is it all right for me to punish some of those brats who’ve been insolent up to now?”
“That’s not what I meant…….”
I denied it, but I couldn’t deny that it did sound strange.
“Getting inoculated first doesn’t really give you any advantage, so why…….”
“Doesn’t everyone say it’s better to be vaccinated first?”
At Cheon Ho’s words, I shook my head.
“This isn’t vaccination.”
Preventive vaccination, I meant.
The children were excited that I’d appeared for two days running, so I explained why I’d come again today and told them about smallpox.
When the children heard about smallpox and grew frightened, I also told them about preventive vaccination.
Their reactions split into two camps when I said that after being a little sick with fever, they wouldn’t catch smallpox.
On one side were the children who feared the idea of being pricked with a needle, and on the other were those whose eyes gleamed at the prospect of getting vaccinated right away.
And the children with sharper minds offered yet another opinion.
“You fools! We should act scared so we can squeeze some extra sweets out of her!”
“Oh, right!”
“I didn’t think of that!”
In other words, their idea was to go through with the vaccination but pretend to be frightened so they could coax at least one extra piece of candy out of me.
Thanks to this, the opinion that had been divided began to lean that way.
“Come on, don’t make it hard on the young mistress. Just get vaccinated as she says.”
“Right.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the right way.”
And there were also some admirable children who disagreed.
‘I should keep an eye on those ones.’
The clever ones have their uses, and the straightforward ones have theirs—there’s a place for each type.
Of course, the children offering the latter opinion weren’t necessarily the straightforward sort.
They knew I was watching them here.
What was amusing was that none of the older children refused to be vaccinated.
“Why aren’t you children afraid at all? It’s still going to hurt, isn’t it?”
“We don’t like pain. But you said if we don’t get vaccinated, it’ll hurt worse. You said it’s a disease that can kill us.”
“That’s right.”
I nodded, confirming that the children had understood properly.
“Besides, you don’t even know what it is, and you’re just going to get vaccinated like that?”
“Well. But you’ve never done anything bad to us, have you?”
“That’s true.”
This was serious. The children trusted me far too completely.
Should I teach them to be a little more skeptical?
“Children, if you believe everything people tell you just like that, you’ll be useless.”
“But if we don’t trust what you say, whose words should we trust?”
……
No, when they said it like that, I had no reply.
“That’s right. When you’re a good listener, even treats fall from the sky.”
“I like egg bread!”
“Me too!”
Hmm. Maybe I should give each child a piece of Castella after their vaccination.
“And besides, you said people who’ve had smallpox once never catch it again, right? So if we get pricked with a needle a few times, we don’t have to worry about it anymore, do we?”
“Hm? Well.”
I hesitated before answering.
‘But wait—don’t some vaccines have expiration dates?’
What was it like for cowpox material?
While I was thinking, an unexpected voice answered instead.
“It’s not entirely certain, but it seems you should be revaccinated every few years to be safe. The shorter the interval, the better.”
“Oh, Seong Ji? Did you go home and come back already?”
“Yes.”
A book was held carefully in Seong Ji’s hands.
Since Seong Gyeom-sabok hadn’t said anything about it, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
Soon, back in the gathering of physicians, Se Hwa spoke in detail about the method of cowpox inoculation, and revealed both that she herself had been inoculated with it and that she bore the mark on her arm.
And surprisingly, the book Seong Ji had brought was a medical text about smallpox, and it contained content almost identical to what Se Hwa had said.
Moreover, it even contained records of the condition of those inoculated over the span of several years.
“I had no idea such a book existed. Who on earth wrote it?”
“I heard it was written by a female physician from long ago.”
“A female physician writing a medical text?”
There was a subtly dismissive edge to Im Jubu’s tone, and without meaning to, I found myself meeting her gaze. She startled at the eye contact and pressed her lips shut.
Not that I’d meant to give her any particular look.
Still, there would be more female physicians in the future, and more who wrote medical texts besides. It seemed worthwhile to set the right tone now.
While I was thinking this through, Heo Yeon-tae unexpectedly stepped forward first.
“In fact, I’ve tested the book’s contents myself.”
“You have?”
“I could hardly have tried something unproven on my nephew first. I still bear the cowpox marks on my arm. Only after verifying it on my own body did I administer the same cowpox material to my nephew Seong Ji—he should still have the marks on his arm as well.”
It would have been difficult for Im Jubu to examine the women’s shoulders, but since Heo Yeon-tae and Im Jubu were men, we switched places briefly to confirm it, then returned. Of course, I examined Seong Ji’s and Se Hwa’s shoulders myself.
‘Ah. Now that I think of it, in my past life I saw strange marks on adults’ shoulders many times—was that all cowpox vaccination scars?’
Even without visiting bathhouses or swimming pools, I’d remember seeing people in sleeveless clothes during summer with oddly marked skin on their shoulders, and these raised marks must have been the cowpox scars.
‘So that’s what it was. How interesting.’
Once the examination was complete, discussion resumed at once. Since Heo Yeon-tae, who had even trained as a physician at the Clinic, had personally verified it on himself and his young nephew, it was confirmed that there were no major adverse effects on the human body, and Im Jubu’s face brightened considerably.
Now it was time for the practical matters to be discussed.
“So acquiring the cowpox material first…….”
“The royal family maintains ranches where cattle are raised, and it would be fastest to inquire through them and through the butchers who supply meat to Siyeongwon and the taverns.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
“I’ll convey this to the Saongwon and Min Sanggung. And I should inform the Crown Prince as well…….”
…….
At the mention of the Crown Prince, Im Jubu’s face went nearly ashen, so I deliberately looked away.
In this era, the royal house relied on mystique, so when talk of the king or Crown Prince came up, people tended to react that way.
‘Ah, but perhaps I ignored proper procedure too much.’
Such matters could become official accomplishments for officials, but there were dangers too.
“It would be good if Im Jubu reported this quickly to her superiors, but it will take time for approval, so let’s have this undertaken at the Clinic, privately—or rather, under my direction.”
“Your Highness……!”
Well, it feels pointless to hide it now, but I should maintain the pretense.
“Now, now, what are you saying? You should call me Miss.”
“Yes. Miss.”
Everyone smiled and bowed their heads.
Hye Minser Jubu in particular looked visibly relieved. Since Hye Minser wasn’t exactly a particularly powerful department, it would have been difficult for her to take the initiative.
“And to convince people that this cowpox vaccination is safe, it would help if someone famous received it.”
“Someone famous, you mean…….”
While everyone pondered who that might be, I unhesitatingly nominated the most famous person in this area.
“So I was thinking—me.”
“That’s impossible!”
“That cannot be, miss!”
“No way!”
“What are you saying!”
The moment the words left my mouth, they all raised their voices in unison against it.
I’d wanted to get the vaccination, but unfortunately the opposition was too strong, and my hopes were dashed.
“The medical text clearly states not to inoculate those with weak constitutions.”
“And is not Your Highness’s health delicate?”
“Moreover, how could we lay hands upon Your Highness’s precious person?”
Yes, I knew they’d object, but it was still disappointing.
‘I can’t even get a preventive vaccination……!’
Would I really have to sneak one in secret?
But if anything happened to me, I truly couldn’t guarantee my life would be spared.
I had a strange body that didn’t grow from eating strange poisons, so if something went wrong with my health by accident, the physicians would be in real trouble too.
Since treatment for me was difficult, I was honestly one of the worst-case patients any physician would want to avoid.
‘There’s no help for it, but it’s rather sad.’
If things went this way, I’d have to vaccinate everyone around me just to keep myself safe.
‘I’d like to recommend it to the Crown Prince too, but I wonder if I can.’
In truth, vaccines always carried the risk of side effects, and even with extremely low probability, adverse reactions or complications could occasionally cause death.
Even if it were one in a million odds, for the person who suffered it and their family it would become an object of resentment. (*Historical records indicate the fatality rate from smallpox vaccination side effects was approximately 0.00198%.)
And a physician’s role wasn’t simply to administer the inoculation—it was to examine the patient’s condition as thoroughly as possible to ensure no danger occurred.
“The procedure itself is simple enough that a physician needn’t perform it, but confirming the inoculee’s health status is crucial, so it would be good to have a physician’s pulse diagnosis involved.”
“I’d first like the physicians themselves to receive the vaccination.”
“Even the physicians won’t readily believe it. Above all, once they learn it comes from cattle pus, won’t they all find it repulsive?”
“That’s certainly difficult to deny. Especially among the nobility—those without medical learning will be particularly resistant, given how much they prize their dignity.”
Those who had treated patients of high rank all released a deep sigh.
Yet this problem proved unexpectedly simple to solve.
Among those quarantined in the Gisaeng House because of smallpox were courtesans of considerable renown.
Rather than tremble at the fear they might have contracted it, they chose instead to attempt this new method.
***
“I’ll do it.”
“Are you certain?”
At Maehyang’s words, Seong Ji asked again, his voice heavy with concern.
“The young lady at Siyeongwon said it was fine, didn’t she? She means to have the children vaccinated as well.”
“She wanted to do it herself at once, so we persuaded her against it for now.”
There was something in Seong Ji’s weary words that delighted Maehyang so much she couldn’t contain her laughter, letting it spill out in a bright cascade.
“If she had any doubt, she wouldn’t have said such a thing.”
“Yet she tells the children never to trust her so completely.”
“Isn’t that precisely what makes her trustworthy?”
That was a difficult claim to refute.
“Truth be told, I once thought—if I were to contract smallpox and become pockmarked and ugly, might the young lady take pity on me and keep me in her service?”
…….
“All the courtesans of name have probably harbored such thoughts. To have someone who sees me as myself, regardless of what becomes of this face—wouldn’t that be lovely?”
“Maehyang.”
“But I won’t do it that way.”
Before sympathy could cloud Seong Ji’s features, Maehyang’s eyes curved upward with an alluring smile.
“I believe without doubt that the young lady will keep me in her service one day. After all, she loves my voice most of all. If she’s going to favor me, wouldn’t she prefer a beautiful face all the more? There’s no need to become pockmarked.”
“You certainly possess confidence.”
“Yes, indeed. I am Maehyang, after all. Don’t you possess confidence in your healing arts, Physician?”
One Crane Among a Flock of Chickens—no matter how many vocalists there might be in the world, Maehyang harbored the certainty that she stood supreme among them.
“It’s not that I lack confidence. What kind of physician would I be without it? I simply must always exercise caution.”
“Then, then I’ll accept this cowpox material only from you, Physician Heo. I’ll have none other.”
“Me? Why?”
At her unexpected words, Seong Ji blinked. Seeing his reaction, Maehyang replied with an elegant composure.
“Because you are the physician most trusted by the young lady—the one most worthy of trust.”
“……Then I’ve no choice but to agree.”
The two women looked at each other and smiled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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