Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 83

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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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I was born as the daughter of a concubine of low rank.
Chapter 83
“There’s already a rumor spreading that Si-a suggested giving official ranks to the female physicians who serve the elders of the Royal Family.”
“News travels fast.”
The rumor had already reached the Market.
“As word spread that they might receive ranks, quite a few female physicians have begun studying, I’m told. It seems they’ve concluded that if ranks are granted, they won’t be able to avoid an examination.”
“They didn’t study before?”
“Some did, others didn’t.”
I’d already been laying groundwork for reforms to the female physician system, and now the rumors were spreading on their own.
‘The rumor itself isn’t harmful.’
If granting ranks fell through, people would be disappointed, but establishing this hopeful atmosphere wasn’t a bad thing in itself.
“But if ranks are truly granted through examination, what happens to those who fail?”
“If we select through examination, we’d end up with ranked female physicians and unranked medical apprentices.”
That way, the medical apprentices would continue doing exactly what they’d been doing until now.
‘I need to separate the two roles.’
In essence, I’m separating physicians from nurses.
Besides, if I start laying groundwork and preparing now, the actual implementation won’t happen for several years.
The best excuse for creating the female physician rank is that the Royal Physicians couldn’t cure the Queen Dowager’s illness because they’re all men and had difficulty thoroughly examining a female patient’s condition.
So around the time of the End of Mourning three years from now would be perfect for formal implementation.
Of course, there’s also the reason that it takes time to establish and implement state policy.
After a few years, even if imperfectly, things would settle into place properly.
‘By then, wouldn’t the heroine return as well?’
Honestly, I feel like I’ve twisted the original story quite a bit in strange directions, but still—shouldn’t I leave some possibility for the male and female leads to meet?
Well, the genre is what it is, and they’re the protagonists, so there’s this vague feeling that no matter what I do, they’ll manage to find each other anyway.
“I’ve also heard that fallen yangban families are encouraging their daughters to learn Medical Arts,” Seong Ji said.
“Fallen yangban families? Why? To get ranks?”
Even if female physicians do receive ranks, considering that most would be from slave backgrounds, I didn’t think it would acknowledge their yangban status.
‘Though it wouldn’t hurt if it did.’
That had actually been one reason I could advocate for giving ranks to female physicians.
If I suggested adding women to the Civil Examination or Military Examination, the scholars would probably rise up like a swarm of bees, crying out “That cannot be, Your Highness!” and might even grab axes in protest.
“Wouldn’t they be able to grow closer to members of the Royal Family?”
“Ah…”
My thinking had been naive after all. Everyone had their own calculations.
But reaching that position wouldn’t be easy in the first place.
“Medical Arts cannot be mastered in a day or two, can it? Just from the rumor, there are quite a few people trying to learn—not many, but those who can read Medical Texts are mostly yangban youths.”
“Oh, could it become difficult to find physicians to teach the children?”
My words made Seong Ji’s eyes widen.
“It might be. And lately, with the state examining physicians about this and that, they’ve all been quite busy.”
“Ah…”
That’s probably because of me too.
“Did they come here as well?”
“Yes. But since my uncle was a Royal Physician, he didn’t have new Medical Texts to show, and since he didn’t see many patients, it was quite manageable. A Medical Clinic seeing many patients would have found it quite difficult.”
“I see.”
I feel a bit sorry for making things difficult.
“But I think it’s an excellent method. A proper physician should keep records of patients’ symptoms and illnesses, and compile data on which diseases are most common. If we could learn the most effective treatments from records across the nation, wouldn’t that be beneficial?”
“Yes.”
Hearing that from someone actually in the field is quite reassuring.
“In fact, the physicians I’ve met found it bothersome, but they expect that if a proper Medical Text is created, it will be of great help.”
“That’s a relief.”
Though from my position of needing to find a teacher for the children, it’s somewhat ambiguous.
“Then would everyone be skeptical about teaching the children?”
“There must be those exhausted from caring for patients—those advanced in years, for instance. We might also find someone among the female physicians. As I mentioned, many medical apprentices and female physicians gather at the Medicinal Herbs Shop, so if we make inquiries there, it shouldn’t be difficult to find someone. After all, it’s work Your Highness is undertaking, so employment stability would be assured.”
Employment security matters in every era, it seems.
“But we can’t know a person’s ability or character beforehand. Since it involves teaching children, I’m concerned.”
“As for character, we’d have to listen to what people say and meet them in person. In fact, my uncle might not be said to have good character by others’ accounts.”
Ah. An honest, unflattering assessment from my nephew.
I like it.
“But he’s someone who doesn’t treat Medical Arts lightly or handle life carelessly. I can guarantee that.”
“I’ll trust that.”
Though I’ll need to meet people directly to know for sure.
Even as he said this, Seong Ji named a few renowned physicians he knew.
It seemed that unless one was a genuinely famous physician, everyone had to rely on local gossip and reputation.
In any case, we hadn’t come away empty-handed, so my steps leaving Seong Ji’s house felt noticeably lighter.
Thanks to sharing the Castella I’d brought along, my load was lighter on the return journey as well.
“Sister, is it really all right if we ride the horses?”
“You’ve already walked quite a lot getting here—your feet must be sore, no?”
“We usually walk everywhere, so it’s fine.”
“I usually walk everywhere too.”
On the way back, I had the children ride the horses. Partly because they seemed to have sore legs, but mostly because they had that look in their eyes—they wanted to try riding.
It was fortunate that Jeok-a was lenient with the children.
Still, since they weren’t used to horses, we decided to walk at a slow pace.
Ji-a and A-yeong were seeing horses for the first time and couldn’t stop craning their necks and exclaiming in wonder from atop them—though Ji-a did seem a bit nervous about it.
And since something had been bothering her for a while now, she began to lecture A-yeong.
“A-yeong, Min Sanggung told you that you need to speak formally to the young lady, didn’t she?”
“Nnnno. I don’t wanna.”
“How old are you to be throwing a tantrum?”
“Young lady sister—Ji-a sister is being mean to A-yeong!”
“Ha, ha, ha.”
This was amusing. It strangely brought back old memories.
“It seems the matter resolved well, my lady.”
“Yes. You worked hard too, Seong Gyeom Sabok.”
“It was no hardship. It simply took time to make him understand without… stronger persuasion.”
That he’d managed to talk sense into the man without his fists made it all the more impressive.
The man who’d returned with Seong Gyeom Sabok apologized quietly to Seong Ji and left with his son on his back.
“Do you think the boy will be all right?”
“The parents leave something to be desired, but the child seemed to have sense enough, so it’s fortunate.”
Fortunately, once the boy had come to his senses, I’d made absolutely certain he understood to take his medicine in the prescribed amounts—now it was up to him to look after his own life.
“From what I heard, those two were of the butcher class. They couldn’t stand up to those who treated them poorly, yet they turned violent against someone who offered them treatment in good faith. People are truly incomprehensible creatures.”
“They’re weak in the face of the strong and strong before the weak. That’s no virtue.”
“My lady.”
I could be called a strong person, a rogue in social standing, but I worried about the children of Si Yeong Won—they couldn’t necessarily be called the same.
“We’re already teaching self-defense at Si Yeong Won. We’re also teaching archery as a basic skill.”
“Yes.”
“What if we direct the children who show real talent in martial arts down that path? Later, when I open a medical clinic, there’s no guarantee that such people won’t appear there either.”
“An excellent thought, my lady.”
“Let’s accept both girls and boys without discrimination.”
There are commoner children among them too, and I’d be pleased if those with exceptional martial talent could even attempt the Military Examination, but that’s no easy position to attain.
Even General Yi Sun-sin failed the Military Examination, didn’t he?
Above all, I’ve heard that learning Mounted Combat is terribly difficult.
‘So the examinations truly uproot the very foundations of a family.’
It means a family without horses can’t even attempt the Military Examination.
It’s not that I can’t buy horses for Si Yeong Won. In fact, I’ve kept one on hand for urgent matters, telling people to send word when needed. But teaching all of them to ride would require more horses than Si Yeong Won could reasonably keep.
It would be wasteful to maintain enough horses to teach every child.
‘Which is why they’re so eager to ride like that.’
With only one horse at Si Yeong Won, letting the children ride whenever they wished would be animal cruelty.
“My lady. If you’re planning to go all the way to Si Yeong Won, your legs must be sore. Would you allow me to carry you?”
“It’s fine.”
Seong Gyeom Sabok used to be the sort to act as though laying hands on royal blood carelessly would bring disaster, but familiarity had changed even him—now he spoke this way naturally.
‘Though I suppose my own small stature has something to do with it too.’
It’s true I’m small and delicate for my age, so perhaps there’s no helping it.
“Hnngh—”
Just then, a strange groan reached us, and someone came staggering toward us.
‘A passerby who’s had too much to drink?’
Even from a hundred paces away, his gait screamed of intoxication.
The sun was still high—where could he have gotten so drunk? He’d be lucky if he could find his way home at all.
But Seong Gyeom Sabok moved ahead, shielding me behind him, while So-i gripped Jeok-a’s reins firmly, steering the horse away from the man’s approach to keep the animal from becoming unnecessarily agitated.
Fortunately, the man seemed oblivious to us, humming some drunken tune to himself as he shuffled along.
‘But wait… why does that song sound familiar?’
Where exactly have I been singing?
As I was sinking into self-reproach, the stumbling man finally lurched forward and collapsed face-first into the middle of the road.
“…….”
“…….”
We watched, uncertain whether to let this go, and carefully skirted around the drunk to keep Jeok-a from stepping on him, moving in single file.
“This way, young lady.”
“All right.”
Just as Seong Gyeom Sabok—sensing my unease—moved to lift me into his arms, the drunk suddenly jerked his head up.
Our eyes met.
“H-hyeeeeeek!”
The middle-aged man whose gaze had locked with mine let out a shriek, began trembling violently, and collapsed right where he stood in a dead faint.
“……What on earth?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea, my lady.”
What was that about? Why did he pass out the moment he saw me?

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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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