Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 132

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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 as the daughter of a concubine of the lowest rank.
Episode 132
There must have been a formal discussion today regarding the petition submitted from the Saganuon.
Since it was the news I’d been waiting for, it was naturally about the Vaccination Method.
Of course, I had given the King and the Crown Prince advance notice about the Vaccination Method, and I myself had been preparing from early on for discussion to arise in the Court.
I showed the physicians’ opinions on the Vaccination Method and the Medical Text that Heo Yeon-tae, a physician who had once worked at the Royal Medical Institute, had brought, and I also conveyed the cases of actual proof. In particular, I reported the fact that several people, including the courtesan Mae-hyang, had not contracted smallpox even after suffering from cowpox.
Whether it was unexpected or natural to say. The King remembered Heo Yeon-tae, so persuasion came easily.
‘Heo Yeon-tae. Yes. That man….’
Perhaps he was thinking of the dead princess.
The fact that Physician Heo Yeon-tae knew of the Vaccination Method and supported it also meant that the physician who had resigned after being unable to treat the princess who died of smallpox had continued to study smallpox all this time.
Perhaps the King, who had once lost a child to smallpox, wished to believe in it more than anyone else.
The Medical Manual contained contents verifying the efficacy of the Vaccination Method over several years, and the fact that it actually worked had been proven to some extent this time by inoculating the courtesans.
With this evidence, both the King and the Crown Prince were persuaded to some degree by my argument, so responding to the petition was not difficult either.
“Will you continue inoculating with this cowpox in the future?”
“Of course. For now, we are only inoculating those who wish it, and for young children, we are following the judgment of their parents.”
The children at Siyeongwon are under my guardianship, so we’re having the older ones inoculated gradually while observing their health.
Besides, we didn’t have enough to inoculate many people yet anyway.
“So while I’m somewhat sorry about it, we are forcibly transmitting cowpox to cattle to obtain the vaccine matter.”
“Since the cattle would also be uneasy about being slaughtered after contracting cowpox, it might actually not be a bad thing for them.”
“Hmm. Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case. Though I suppose in a few years they’ll have forgotten it entirely and be slaughtered anyway.”
“Haha. In any case, if the facts bear out, ideally everyone would be inoculated in the long term.”
“The protection doesn’t last a lifetime. Moreover, the important thing is that even if we eradicate it in Joseon, if it enters again from abroad, it becomes a nuisance.”
“That said, we cannot forcibly inoculate envoys either. Of course, if the effect is certain, there would be a way to transmit this method to foreign lands as well.”
Separate from the trust that the King and Crown Prince had, more time was needed to give many people confidence in the efficacy of the Vaccination Method.
Once the treatment of urgent patients was largely completed, the medical staff of Hye Minser, who had watched the inoculation and effects of the Vaccination Method from the sidelines, voluntarily submitted to inoculation.
They understood that people would not believe unless they themselves proved they did not contract smallpox, so they took it upon themselves to be inoculated and provide proof.
And naturally there were no problems whatsoever, and they did not contract smallpox.
As news spread that the Vaccination Method produced no serious problems and did not result in smallpox, things became noisy again.
“Is it truly possible to prevent smallpox with this Vaccination Method?”
“Even the physicians of Hye Minser have confirmed it on their own bodies directly.”
Everyone was greatly stirred by the discovery of a method to not only treat but prevent smallpox, which had been regarded as an incurable disease.
After mocking it so much, it was only natural, one might say.
And if one examined carefully how the matter had progressed, it was crystal clear who had made the achievement.
The Court was in an uproar over the fact that what the royal physicians had failed to accomplish had been led by a Medical Woman and a civilian female physician.
Particularly, there was considerable displeasure at the fact that a method of prevention for smallpox, which even the physicians of the Royal Medical Institute had not discovered, had been found in the private sector.
That at least Heo Yeon-tae, who was from the Royal Medical Institute, was among those private physicians helped preserve some face.
In any case, when things turned out that way, the target that could be easily struck was not the outsider who had become trending, but those belonging to the organization from within.
The physicians of the Royal Medical Institute grumbled about the physicians of Hye Minser and complained that without any warning from the Royal Medical Institute, Hye Minser had acted arbitrarily in such an important matter.
‘Honestly, I did try to inform the Royal Medical Institute in the beginning, but they hardly believed in the Vaccination Method. Everyone took the position that we should observe cautiously. Perhaps because it wasn’t something happening in the palace, they thought it was Hye Minser’s jurisdiction and didn’t take it seriously.’
This atmosphere was something that the people of Hye Minser felt more keenly than anyone else.
‘There must have been a reason the attitude was ambiguous at the beginning.’
Well, having seen the disheartened people of Hye Minser a few times due to budget shortages, I admit my bias is toward them.
In any case, even though they were physicians, they were people who had rolled around in bureaucratic society for years, so it seemed they had anticipated this outcome.
Because of this, Hye Minser took the form of distancing itself by having the physicians of Siyeongwon, rather than Hye Minser, be the main force leading the Vaccination Method, and the physicians of Hye Minser merely helped with treatment, as it were.
In particular, a few Medical Women and female physicians of Hye Minser, including Se Hwa, had been portrayed as rash figures influenced by Si-a, but now the treatment had reversed, which was quite amusing.
Although they maintained a cautious stance that side effects might still appear, if the Vaccination Method proved effective, they were capable physicians who had discovered and treated a way to prevent smallpox, so an opinion also arose to grant Seong Ji, a civilian physician, and Se Hwa, a Medical Woman belonging to Hye Minser, honorary positions.
It was a proposal put forth by the Crown Prince, who was currently serving as Regent.
In fact, this was a reward given directly by the King, separate from those of the External Bureaucracy, so there was no small amount of opposition, but the Crown Prince dismissed the objections, saying that it was natural for those with merit to have their abilities recognized, and since they had accomplished what no one else could achieve, it was only right to commend them.
Some objected that Seong Ji was one thing, but Se Hwa was a Medical Woman of Hye Minser and therefore not currently under the External Bureaucracy, while others thought there was no harm in an honorary position, and still others were displeased, saying it was unthinkable for a mere woman to hold office.
Of course, since the efficacy of the Vaccination Method had not yet been completely proven, the matter was tabled with the suggestion to discuss it again after observing further.
‘Caution is good, but isn’t this dragging things out too much?’
Come to think of it, smallpox spreads more readily when the weather is cold, so it was good timing to have pushed for inoculation.
Already in the private sector, public opinion had shifted toward everyone needing to receive the Vaccination Method. The children of Siyeongwon rushing forward to be inoculated probably had significance in that regard as well.
‘Perhaps the free theatrical performances for those who had received preventive inoculation had meaning too.’
Meanwhile, while I could not leave the palace, Se Hwa’s new work—or rather, Master Jicheon’s new work—was published.
The revised manuscript was organized by one of the children of Siyeongwon with good handwriting, then sent to print, and contrary to expectations, this work too was a massive success following the previous one.
Since the contract for a second theatrical performance had been concluded in advance, the staging of the play did not take long either.
And I instructed that those who had completed preventive inoculation could watch the play for free, using my personal funds. Since preventive inoculation was being carried out primarily by Siyeongwon and Hye Minser, issuing Vaccination Certificates was not difficult.
Before entering the theater, one could show the certificate and the vaccination mark on one’s shoulder, have the certificate stamped, and gain free admission.
Since one had to show one’s shoulder, there were naturally separate lines for men and women entering.
The production quality didn’t suffer just because it was free, so naturally the play was entertaining, and even though the play was free, the books and merchandise certainly were not.
This time I’d deliberately woven merchandise potential throughout the content in subtle ways, so merchandise sales had been surprisingly robust and varied.
Thanks to that, the overall losses weren’t as severe as I’d feared.
‘In truth, the state should be pushing for free vaccination, but in this era policy-making and implementation take forever.’
There were still many of the old guard who didn’t trust the Vaccination Method, so persuading them seemed difficult.
And plenty of people were squeamish about the whole business of applying animal pus and piercing the skin with a needle.
‘But if someone falls ill, that’s their own problem,’ I thought.
The Crown Prince had wanted to step forward for vaccination himself, but those around him talked him out of it.
In any case, being born royal comes with its own hardships.
Neither the Crown Prince nor I could be vaccinated, but the palace attendants who served us had to take turns receiving the cowpox.
Still, everyone was terrified of it.
People are afraid of needles, yet somehow they manage to visit clinics.
In any case, for better or worse, the names of Seong Ji and Se Hwa had become widely known.
Perhaps because Heo Yeon-tae had deliberately stepped back, his name hadn’t spread as much as theirs.
It appeared he didn’t wish his name to be mentioned, since it was Seong Ji and Se Hwa who had actively driven the initiative.
After several more days had passed, I finally saw the Crown Prince again and pressed him for details.
“So what happens now?”
“His Majesty has decided to bestow rewards upon those who distinguished themselves in this matter.”
“Ah.”
“The question of conferring rank upon female physicians had been dragging on, but it seems this time we’ll finally see proper ranks awarded.”
“Does His Majesty wish to summon them directly to offer his congratulations?”
The weary-faced Crown Prince nodded at my words.
“Yes. The two private physicians will also be granted honorary positions and receive the qualification to meet His Majesty.”
“Excellent, that’s wonderful.”
“The medical woman Se Hwa will likely receive an exceptional promotion. If she enters the Royal Medical Institute, we may well see each other often.”
“Mm.”
Oh, this is perfect.
Since Se Hwa is likely to be a lady-in-waiting, she’ll be moving into the palace soon.
My savior for work-life balance! Welcome, milady!
“And His Majesty wishes to bestow a reward upon you as well. Is there anything you desire?”
“Me?”
“You were the one who pushed the Vaccination Method forward, were you not? I’m told all of this occurred under your responsibility. If this is a merit, then it is yours as well, is it not?”
There isn’t really anything I need though…?
Pondering the Crown Prince’s words for a moment, I soon let out the idea that had come to mind.
“Ah, could you grant me independence—”
“Rejected.”
“Why not?”
“You’re still so young. Independence is out of the question. Don’t ask again until you’ve grown a bit more.”
“Wow, how unfair.”
How could he say that to someone who wasn’t growing?
“Mark my words, I’m running away from home.”
“You’re constantly coming and going as it is.”
“But I’ve never even spent a single night at my own residence.”
He cleared his throat.
Perhaps embarrassed by his own logic, the Crown Prince made a noise.
“Isn’t what we’re talking about less a residence and more some sort of enormous warehouse of unusual proportions? Don’t you think, brother? What’s your opinion???”
“Now, now, that’s enough.”
I can endure just a little longer, truly.
‘Still, it seemed like Seong Gyeom-sabok was investigating something about Heo Yeon-tae. I wonder what he found….’

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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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