Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 85

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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 85
“Your Highness, what should we do about this?”
It was several days later that Jeong Geum and Yeon Chang came to me with troubled faces.
“So let me understand—a Cham Bong, some minor official, was having an affair with a female physician, and both of them are already married?”
“Yes, Your Highness. That is indeed the case.”
Ga-i, who had been listening to their words beside me, furrowed her brow.
I understood that both of them had come in haste, anxious for help, but it was another matter entirely to bring such talk to someone as young as a princess.
Both of them seemed aware of the impropriety, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
“If this matter becomes known, the Internal Medical Office will be thrown into chaos. Moreover, we are still within the Queen Dowager’s mourning period.”
“They really go for it, don’t they.”
A female physician was an official slave but not a palace maid, so marriage was certainly possible for her. That much was clear enough.
But one of the primary prejudices against female physicians was precisely this—that they ran around meeting men and conducted themselves immorally. If such a scandal erupted, they would undoubtedly be attacked for lacking the qualifications for rank.
‘But infidelity takes two people. A woman doesn’t do it alone. So how can the man be punished and stripped of rank without knowing that the woman he was with was someone else’s wife?’
This particular female physician might not be the only example—in a place where chastity was taken to extremes, a woman’s infidelity and adultery could happen regardless of her own will.
No matter how much she resisted, once a woman became entangled with a man, the moment the fact was revealed, she was branded as having lost her chastity—and she could not even report the harm done to her, let alone press charges.
Instead, she would become prey to the perpetrator’s ongoing blackmail, forced to continue a relationship she never wanted.
Even in an era where sexual assault carried the death penalty, this was how things worked.
In a world that failed to properly protect victims, it was the criminals who walked about boldly.
In any case, once matters reached this point, it was better to strike first.
“Have the female physicians of like mind report it to the authorities themselves and draw a clear line.”
“Your Highness?”
“Tell them they cannot work alongside people of ill repute. And rather than face the finger-pointing that will follow, ask that the departments be separated so they don’t have to encounter the male physicians.”
“But Your Highness, among the male physicians there are those who, while knowing of such matters, turn a blind eye—or worse, harass the female physicians themselves.”
“Will they truly listen to what we have to say?”
“If they will not listen, then we resort to other means. And if they still will not listen, report it first to the Crown Prince’s Consort.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“But before that, let us create another witness.”
……?
I had the female physicians find out when and where the adulterous couple was meeting, and arranged for my residence’s palace maids to happen upon the scene.
My residence’s maids went to and from the Internal Medical Office frequently because of me, so there was nothing suspicious about it.
In the end, the female physicians’ report was dismissed, the adulterous couple received no proper punishment, the matter spread all the way to the Crown Prince’s residence, my maids were briefly caught up in an unpleasant affair, the incident snowballed, and it reached the King’s ears.
During the Queen Dowager’s mourning period, the King was incensed at something that had occurred within the palace, and he was even more furious that the male physicians had failed to handle the matter properly.
I had the excuse that my maids were implicated, and under the pretext of calming the enraged King, I went to him and carefully expressed my views.
“Would it not be wise to use this opportunity for a thorough reorganization?”
“You mean the Three Medical Offices?”
“A complete overhaul would be difficult, but surely it is only right to remove those whose work ethic has been lax. Of course, adultery is a grave crime in itself, but the fact that they dared commit such shameless acts within the Internal Medical Office is something that cannot be forgiven.”
Such behavior in a sacred workplace!
And in the palace, no less! Did these people have nine lives?
……If I explain it like this, there might be some misunderstanding—they were caught embracing each other face to face.
‘I thought the medical service had strict discipline, but apparently it doesn’t.’
From what I heard, neither of them was young or inexperienced—they were both seasoned, veteran physicians and yet……
“For such a scandal to have reached even the ears of a young princess—I am truly ashamed and cannot lift my head.”
Excuse me. I’m not as young as all that—I’m already at an age when such things are becoming familiar to me.
In fact, I’ve lived long enough to understand the substance of these matters quite well.
In any case, because of my suggestion, the roster of physicians from across the realm had already been submitted, and while all the physicians and female physicians of the medical service were working themselves to exhaustion, the fact that they had committed such acts only inflamed the anger of the institution’s staff.
The Crown Prince, who served as the King’s aide, also supported my view.
“Your Majesty, given that such a matter has occurred, I am now convinced that it would be best in the long term to separate the female physicians.”
“There are many women in the palace, so female physicians cannot be dispensed with entirely. Let us separate them, and when examining a woman, let male assistants aid the physicians. The new position of Nurse, which Si-a first proposed, might also be appropriate.”
“When Si-a first brought it up, I thought it might be excessive, but it does seem necessary.”
If you assumed something wouldn’t happen, that was precisely when it would.
Even as I hoped that the situation wouldn’t explode during this period, I had previously hinted to the King and Crown Prince that if male and female physicians were to be separated, it would be best to also divide the supporting positions by gender.
Whenever men and women worked together, there was always the possibility that one pair would abandon all moral and ethical standards and cause trouble.
In the modern world, you could say “Those two are the problem!” But here, people would say “See, female physicians really are immoral!” instead.
Hundreds of female physicians who had worked alongside their male counterparts without incident would be forgotten, while the existence of male physicians who had actually caused problems would be erased—it was deeply irrational, but throughout history, the side with more power and a louder voice always won.
Those in power who commit crimes always go about freely as if nothing happened.
Honestly, if the problem of relations between men and women was something they wanted to avoid, they should have simply separated the female physicians from the start. It made no sense that they hadn’t.
The King and Crown Prince were indeed shocked by the shameful incident that had occurred in the medical service, and they came to the decision that it would be better for the Crown Prince’s Consort to incorporate female physicians into the External Court System and manage them strictly.
The Crown Prince’s Consort did not step forward because she did not want to invite trouble, but she did not actually oppose the idea.
From that incident onward, the training of female physicians began to gain serious momentum.
‘The Royal Physician should have borne responsibility and stepped down.’
He managed to escape blame for failing to treat the princess properly, but the supervisor responsible for not detecting the infidelity scandal had no choice but to accept the consequences, however unjust.
The truth was, it probably wasn’t a complete secret—those in the know already understood—but I suspect someone deliberately exposed it to stir up trouble. Still, the failure in oversight was real.
The king had raged at him before, and I’d defended him then, so when he came to my quarters to tender his resignation, I made sure to give him money and Castella as a parting gift. The gratitude on his face touched me.
I needed someone to teach the children medicine, but bringing that up with someone who’d been dismissed under such circumstances felt wrong, so I let him go.
He had the skill to open his own clinic and live comfortably—any job I could recommend for his re-employment would have been beneath him.
It was like offering a former prosecutor-turned-lawyer a position teaching at a local academy.
‘Ah, I’m exhausted.’
Every time something breaks loose in this palace, it gets wrapped in justifications and arguments until I’m sick of it.
Independence. Absolutely, without fail, I will achieve independence.
But unless Ji-hwa suddenly appears to cure my illness or becomes the Crown Prince’s Consort, it seems hopelessly far away.
So I decided to just do what I could manage.
***
In truth, most matters concerning the training of physicians were delegated to Ga-i and Min Sanggung, but there were still many things I had to verify myself.
Since my original plan to establish an academy overlapped with the physician training, Min Sanggung suggested acquiring a larger plot of land, and so I arranged to go out with Ga-i for the first time in ages to inspect some properties.
This work related to my own business venture, so I had also obtained permission from the king to go out.
“I have never once visited the private estate Father granted me, so I thought to see it and entrust its management to Ga-i.”
“Good. It would be a shame to have a house built and never see it. Take a palanquin—I’ll have one prepared for you.”
“How could a young woman presume to ride in such state? I intend to ride a horse and keep the trip modest. While I’m out, I thought to stop by Si Young Won as well.”
The king was suggesting I take the royal household’s expensive, ostentatious conveyance, but I was horrified and announced I’d go quietly in my own carriage instead.
“……Be careful on your way. It would be better to take Seong Yoon with you as an escort.”
I couldn’t understand why everyone was so eager to attach Seong Yoon to me, but having an escort for protection made sense, so I had no reason to refuse.
The palace had been in turmoil over that adultery incident, so I’d spent the time quietly at my quarters and barely ventured out. This outing was long overdue.
Both were naturally dismissed, of course, but the female physician’s situation was naturally worse. She simply reverted to the status of official slave.
From what I heard, it was the male physician who seduced her in the first place, but seeing how he acted without a thought for her circumstances made it clear this was never about love.
‘Those two will surely be remembered in history books—though not in a way anyone would wish.’
While I’d stayed quietly at my quarters, the person who’d grown busiest was Ga-i.
But what had made Ga-i especially occupied recently was my fault—I’d thoughtlessly shared another idle idea while playing with her.
I couldn’t remember exactly where I’d heard of it, but apparently in the late Joseon period, there was a tavern system where you’d pay at the first establishment, receive a receipt, and then at any other inn you visited later, they’d settle accounts based on the remaining balance on that receipt—so you wouldn’t have to carry heavy cash.
One day it occurred to me, and I mentioned it to Ga-i. Not long after, she connected a series of inns along the route from Hanyang to the provinces, established the system I’d described, and began quietly expanding the franchise business.
Since it was in the provinces, I thought it might depend more on recipe contracts than manpower and ingredient supply, as before—but Ga-i simply bought fields in those regions and committed to supplying the ingredients herself, so she was kept busy for a while after that.
Well… that was really all my fault too.
Still, Ga-i seemed genuinely fulfilled. Perhaps she’d found an unexpected talent?
Ga-i, caught up in the joy of making money, was far more vibrant outside the palace than she’d ever been within.
So instead of confining her to the palace, I decided to let her come and go freely under the guise of managing the private estate.
That’s why we came out together today—to see the private residence and survey the land.
‘If Ga-i is going to work this hard, doesn’t that mean I can rest now?’
Wasn’t that how it worked? The superior could loaf about while the subordinates labored and multiplied the wealth.
I wasn’t some genius merchant—just an ordinary person born to privilege, carrying only the memories of a past life spent as a student.
In any case, with permission granted, I set out to inspect the private estate as planned.
“This is the princess’s private residence.”
“Wow.”
With a house this large, surely I don’t need to do anything else, right?
Befitting the only princess’s private estate, it exceeded my imagination—the grounds sprawled wide, the buildings stood grand and beautifully constructed. There were even two-story structures, as if accounting for my hobbies.
‘Ah, I could display ceramics here, keep books there, and that building could be…’
I was making plenty of money. I should raise the children well, train physicians, enjoy my hobbies.
When I thought about it, my hobbies aside from reading had been thoroughly neglected lately.
I’d fill the estate with ceramics and antiquities.
Full of such dreams and hopes, I left the private residence cheerfully and was humming as I made my way to Si Young Won.
“Oh. Gisaeng.”
“……Young lady.”
Of course, this wasn’t my first time seeing a gisaeng. I was on friendly terms with one of them, after all.
But unlike Mae Hyang, who carried the aura of a seasoned veteran, many of these gisaeng before me looked barely come of age.
It seemed they were heading somewhere in the mountains for an entertainment—several gisaeng carried instruments, and among those wearing felt caps, some of the younger ones still looked awkward, clutching their skirts as they shuffled along hesitantly.
‘Perhaps these are girls who became gisaeng around the same time as the official slaves at Si Young Won.’
There was no denying that luck played a significant role in how a person’s life diverged.
But I couldn’t simply redeem all of them just because I felt sorry for them.
It was hard enough freeing palace maids and female physicians—if I spoke of redeeming gisaeng, the uproar would be unbearable.
They talked endlessly about the necessity of official courtesans for entertaining envoys from China, but in truth, the ones who exploited them most were not the envoys themselves but those same men who insisted the entertainers were needed.
Seeing such men call themselves scholars made me doubt whether education could truly transform anyone. But then, the teachers are cut from the same cloth, so what can you do.
Even dressed in pretty clothes and smiling, the gisaeng had a deadness in their eyes—and seeing that dampened the good mood I’d been in.
Not long after, an ugly scene unfolded before me.
“Please, that’s enough.”
“Why are you being so expensive? You’re just a gisaeng.”
Some young scholar-type, reeking of privilege, began to harass one of the gisaeng, whose spirit had already been worn down.
‘Lord, here’s this boy, barely old enough to shave, and he’s out here instead of studying.’
Do your parents know you’re running around like this?

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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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