Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 668

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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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Chapter 668
“Next, I need to check the ingredients… Ah…”
Suddenly, my gaze was drawn beyond the paper door.
The night scenery spreading across the imperial capital was like a painting itself.
Red lanterns lined the streets in rows, and inns and ordinary merchant houses bustled with activity.
Viewing it all from this height was no ordinary experience.
“It feels like I’ve come home somehow.”
I murmured softly to myself.
‘The area near the Baekrin Medical Guild’s headquarters should be pitch dark at night, so why…?’
There was much to wonder about, but keeping one’s mouth shut was also part of an innkeeper’s duties.
Ga Jun-hwa didn’t bother asking further.
I gathered my disheveled hair and tied it back neatly, then headed straight to the storage room.
I checked the ingredients one by one and nodded in approval.
“They’re actually using expensive ice crystals at an inn…?”
Even I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.
Even though they were very small in size, I never imagined an inn would use such things.
“Indeed, this is a major inn in the imperial capital. Ice crystals are something even ordinary merchant houses can’t possess, yet they use them here?”
I truly felt how vastly different the standards of wealth were.
‘That’s right. The amounts written in the ledger were also staggering.’
Here, they spend a month’s worth of meal expenses for workers on tea alone.
They even spent a year’s worth of food expenses on a single banquet.
‘That’s how they can even deploy small ice crystals.’
It seemed they had even called in a famous geomancer and employed formation techniques.
The wealth gap between the imperial capital and other regions was enough to make one’s tongue hang out.
It was truly the heart of the empire, boasting immense riches.
The last place to visit was the kitchen.
That’s where I was shocked.
‘…They’re not washing the knives?’
They cut fish with the same knife used for pork, cut chicken with it, kneaded flour with it, and I even saw them drop it on the ground mid-work, pick it up, and use it to cut beef.
They wiped bowls roughly with something like a rag and then placed side dishes on them before sending them out.
‘Gasp…!?’
There were almost no housekeepers who washed their hands before cooking.
“Is something strange…?”
When I thought about it, this was actually normal.
‘First, I need to introduce a waterpump.’
I shouldn’t be thinking about food hygiene laws.
‘Expecting cooking to be done the same as in modern times without running water is just hypocrisy.’
If I were ordered to work in a restaurant without running water, I couldn’t claim I’d do better than this.
‘Ah, do you not know? This is what is called hygiene.’
‘Modern Person, how impressive~! You actually know what hygiene is!’
‘This Modern Person is drawing water from a well over 1 km away, more than thirty times a day!’
‘Wow! Modern Person, that’s amazing! Are you also the one bringing all the firewood?’
That was it. In the end, modern hygiene and scientific technology were nothing but a screen to hide behind while saying, “Ahem! How primitive these ancient people are.”
Without such things, one was simply an ancient or medieval person.
In fact, these people’s memory and sense of direction were far superior to mine. They had to memorize everything since there were no phones.
The only thing I could manage here was washing my hands with soap.
But if soap consumed too much water for cleaning, people stopped using it.
There were limits to how much water could be drawn from the well.
Though Hwangdo was a place with many people and great accomplishments, it lacked the water infrastructure that Baekrin County possessed.
Of course it didn’t have it.
If such water systems were completed, management would naturally be necessary, and the management costs came from the people.
In a sense, it meant buying water with money.
From other regions’ perspective, Baekrin County was the strange one.
‘Still… I hate it. I hate it.’
The Kang Ho-in Jin Cheon-hee who had adapted to this era and the Doctor Jin Cheon-hee who was bursting with indignation watching him were simultaneously grappling with each other.
If cholera spread here, everyone would catch it.
Of course, these people strangely had stronger immunity than modern people and lacked minor illnesses like allergies or atopic dermatitis.
‘But isn’t that not an absence, but rather because they simply died before developing it?’
Considering the infant mortality rate of this era, it didn’t seem like an incorrect assessment.
“Well… let’s conduct a thorough cleaning at dawn.”
The adult had decided to compromise.
“I’ll do it right away!”
Whenever an innkeeper changed, a thorough cleaning was naturally the next step.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
At least there was no talk of firing anyone currently employed or cutting their pay immediately.
‘I want to manage the water situation, but can I renovate just one inn? Ah, now that I think about it, Sama Hyeon did this.’
I myself had either fixed entire cities like Yeonmu or conducted large-scale construction projects at the county level under imperial orders.
So renovating just one inn felt ignorant.
Meanwhile, Sama Hyeon had gradually expanded the inns belonging to the Golden Blood Hall, claiming them one by one like territorial conquest.
Because of this, I thought he would be more skilled at such construction projects than I was.
I immediately sent a letter to Sama Hyeon.
Then I tried eating at the inn in its current state.
The problem was negligence in washing knives and dishes, but compared to other inns, it was relatively hygienic.
A Middle Kingdom Man wouldn’t get an upset stomach from eating this food, unlike a modern person.
The ingredients were fresh, after all.
‘Wow, this is incredible.’
First, I tasted the inn’s specialty—duck sweet and sour soup and sea bream sweet and sour soup.
‘Wow… this is luxurious.’
A deep, rich aroma permeated my mouth.
The fried pork dishes were so good they practically called for alcohol.
‘Beer… beer… beer…’
Even I, who rarely enjoyed alcohol, found myself craving beer with an irresistible pull.
I couldn’t quite explain why.
The Head Chef of this establishment was a sorcerer who summoned beer into existence.
How could he produce fried appetizers that paired so perfectly with beer?
Crispy, succulent fried morsels that shattered between my fingertips, releasing their savory essence.
“Your Head Chef’s skills are truly remarkable.”
This establishment’s Head Chef was nothing short of a deity of frying.
I had taught him my secret technique for making chicken and had him prepare it.
Crackle!
The fried chicken began performing a bossa nova dance on my tongue.
‘This won’t do. I must brew beer myself!’
Craft beer!
And so I began renovations to transform Juru into a beer hall.
Of course, the existing menu would remain unchanged.
I simply prepared a separate beer hall on the second floor, distinguishing it from the first.
After all, even the provincial Sega families lacked ice-making techniques, yet the imperial inn possessed them.
‘And they use it not as spiritual medicine, but for ice storage.’
Floating ice in the batter before frying made chicken exponentially crispier—that was the secret.
I normally fried chicken using my own ice-making realm, but here there was no need. They had ice storage!
In this mad situation, not frying chicken would be a sin.
‘Let’s go! Chicken and beer! Fried potatoes! Onward to the imperial capital of the Middle Kingdom!’
While the inn underwent renovation, I demonstrated the dishes I would be frying to the Waiters and Cooks of Baekhaekru.
Crunch!
“Ahhh, truly the Veiled Madman prepares the finest cuisine! Oh, my apologies.”
The alcohol had loosened my tongue, and I’d called the Soggakju by his other name. But I paid it no mind.
“No matter. Please, speak freely. How is the beer that arrived from headquarters?”
“Absolutely superb!”
Indeed, to sell food, one must first enjoy it oneself.
The Waiters spoke over one another.
“The Soggakju’s touch is exquisite!”
“Can we truly indulge in such luxury…?”
“Give me just one more of those!”
Every Waiter at Baekhaekru worked with the resolve to be buried in this place.
For someone of such towering status to personally serve them food was a privilege they might never experience again.
And the food itself was exquisite.
‘Had I fried it alone, several would have suffered indigestion.’
Fortunately, I’d fried it alongside several Head Chefs, so they could eat without reservation and enjoy it fully.
“Thanks to the Soggakju, we experience such luxury!”
“Mmm, the chicken juices dance across my palate. And this spicy seasoned version pairs wonderfully with roasted peanuts—truly a delicacy!”
“Everyone, raise your cups to Soggakju!”
While I was renovating the Baek Hak Pavilion, a secret message arrived at the Eastern Palace.
It was an order to enter the palace soon.
* * *
As I prepared to enter through the back gate of the imperial palace, my eyes met those of a freshly deceased corpse.
‘Good heavens… the entrance is no joke.’
Court attendants hastily covered the corpse’s face with a straw mat and moved it away.
“The winds have been quite fierce lately.”
How could one not catch wind of this?
Without any prior notice, the Eunuch General himself emerged with both hands tucked respectfully into his sleeves.
“Yes… if the straw mat covering the corpse was blown away, it seems a veritable storm must have swept through the imperial palace recently?”
The Eunuch General covered his mouth and laughed at my pointed remark.
“Indeed. A great storm passed through. As a result, the Emperor’s mood has been quite turbulent.”
“Perhaps I should return at another time?”
“My! How could you say something so disheartening? The Emperor has been counting the days until Eun Gong’s arrival.”
Stop. That’s terrifying.
He’s definitely waiting without sleep, thinking of work to assign me.
Thus I followed the Eunuch General down the corridor.
There was not just one corpse. The bodies were lined up like an ant procession.
‘If he personally executed this many people, it must be no ordinary matter, yet I heard nothing of it.’
Still, I had not been staying at the Baek Hak Pavilion, one of the major establishments in the capital.
Information should have circulated, yet I heard no word of such a bloodbath.
Gulp—
‘How tightly is the Emperor controlling information?’
My hair stood on end. I answered thus.
“I saw nothing. Nor did I hear anything.”
The Eunuch General made a knowing gesture.
“A wise stance. However, in time the news will spread. There are court attendants among us who serve others besides the Emperor.”
“So you were concerned about palace information leaking to the outside.”
“Precisely so.”
“…But with the Emperor’s ability to read hearts, he would have severed their… ah…”
My eyes trembled slightly before I continued.
“…Warehouse cleaning is naturally done all at once.”
“Indeed, you are So Ui-seon. Now I understand why the Emperor holds you in such favor.”
“…I simply wish to live long.”
I said no more and let out a small sigh.
‘Could it be related to the Geum Sega I treated?’
Not just the Geum Sega, but several among the Imperial Eight Families surely had eyes and ears hidden within the palace.
Fearing the Emperor’s ability, a court attendant of low rank, kept at a safe distance from the Emperor.
That much might not be so bad.
‘Even if the Emperor did discover this through his ability, without evidence it’s meaningless.’
The Imperial Eight Families are the sort who could claim the Emperor had lost his mind if they merely had a pretext.
Of course, if they tried that, Ju Wang standing behind him would show them what true madness looked like by charging at them with his Eight-Foot Spear, but even though reading minds seems powerful, on the other hand it might be nothing special.
—What good is reading another’s mind if you cannot change reality itself?
My Master had mentioned this in passing long ago.
That’s why he said both Emperors’ abilities appeared formidable yet had clear weaknesses.
‘These corpses are probably the result of them thinking two or three moves ahead.’
Gaju Ga Wan would respond accordingly.
Together with the other Imperial Eight Families.
‘I suppose I can’t just live happily without a care in the world… come to think of it.’
After all, the Emperor wasn’t that sort of person to begin with.
And the Imperial Eight Families… I’ve only met the Yuk Family and Gaga, but both clans had such strong personalities.

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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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