Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 669

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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 669
Jin Cheon-hee was able to arrive at the annex under the guidance of the Eunuch General.
Crunch—
The moment the annex door opened, the sound of potato chips being chewed filled the air.
Wow, usually when such bloodshed occurs, a tyrant appears with a languid expression, tilting a wine cup while lamenting power and loneliness, listening to the sound of a seven-stringed zither in the darkness—isn’t that how it goes?
That’s exactly how he always appeared in Gangho opera dramas too, wasn’t it?
“You’ve arrived?”
Crunch, crunch—
The man who, just moments ago, had become a human butcher, slitting the throats of court attendants one after another.
Was now sitting in the sunlight, chewing potato chips.
Wow, how wellness-oriented. His spirit is wellness-oriented.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I heard you were feeling displeased, Your Majesty.”
“No matter who I am, how could I feel good after killing people? I’ve been relieving this foul mood by eating.”
Ah, I see.
The tyrant tilting wine cups in darkness has vanished. In his place stands a tyrant shoving three potato chips into his mouth at once because he’s in a foul mood.
He also didn’t forget to sip sweet rice wine through a bamboo straw with satisfied slurps.
“I was truly like a dog. I always planned to clean things up eventually, but I never expected to have to do it so hastily. So why did I spare Ga-won anyway? She’s already a clever child, and she would have been a great asset to the Geum family.”
“…Because I’m a doctor, Your Majesty…”
“Tch.”
He just clicked his tongue. He actually clicked his tongue!
Here’s an emperor of a nation, annoyed that a young girl’s life was saved.
Even watching this makes one’s spirit feel petty.
“So Eun Wang-ya…”
“How did you know I was Euni?”
“I see you often, so somehow I became familiar with your presence. Was I wrong?”
“You were right. That’s even more annoying.”
Slurrrp—
The sound of the bamboo straw hitting the empty bottom of the cup was quite adorable, actually.
Eun Wang-ya spoke.
“You’re unnecessarily clever and unnecessarily rigid—why do you trouble me so?”
“Isn’t it thanks to that I saved your life?”
They say a person is different when going to the bathroom and when coming out, so why don’t you say the same thing before and after colorectal cancer treatment?
In any case, unlike tyrants of old, Eun Wang-ya was relatively healthily(?) relieving stress and healing in the sunlight.
“Will you eat?”
“Yes, yes. I’m deeply grateful…”
“Just shut up and eat.”
With those words, he shoved a potato chip into Jin Cheon-hee’s mouth.
As Jin Cheon-hee savored the flavor of the potato, he realized that even when the imperial kitchen fried the same potato chips, something was different.
‘It’s delicious.’
In any case, when Eun Wang-ya gestured, the Eunuch General came over with an “oof, oof” groan, carrying a basket of potato chips.
Eating potato chips while throttling a Court Attendant’s neck tasted anything but sweet—in fact, it felt rather strange.
‘Come to think of it, even my own blood relative used to lop off heads left and right, and if I’d guzzled alcohol in my tyrant mode every time, I wouldn’t have a liver left.’
Prince Ju-wang was the exception.
Despite drinking like that, his liver wasn’t damaged at all—he was healthier than most martial artists.
“What was your impression of Gaju Ga Wan?”
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes rolled. This was the moment his social mode switched on.
“She struck me as exceptionally brilliant, with a keen sense of propriety and loyalty toward the imperial household.”
“That’s the official answer. What’s your unofficial assessment?”
Are you really asking that too?
But the look in his eyes suggested he wouldn’t let me off easy if I repeated the same thing, so I decided to be honest.
“Her mind works at tremendous speed, and she’s remarkably cold-blooded. In some respects, she’s even austere—I suspect that’s exactly what she should be.”
“A monster. An emotionless monster willing to do anything for her family.”
“She doesn’t seem the type to defy Your Majesty.”
“Exactly. That’s precisely why I’m safe.”
Eun Wang-ya crunched three potato chips at once.
“As long as I hold power firmly, the Geum clan will remain loyal to me. That’s the kind of people they are.”
Crunch—
He spoke again while chewing more potato chips.
“The previous Gaju of the Geum clan turned his child into a monster. Well, as a result, it was I—or rather, ‘we’—who raised the Geum clan to this level by harboring such a monster.”
He licked the salt from his fingers and rose to his feet.
“Now that we’ve finished our mood refreshment, come along.”
Eun Wang-ya signaled by flicking his fingers.
Jin Cheon-hee followed Eun Wang-ya to the area behind the garden.
And there it was—a waterpump, standing as if to show itself off.
“Ta-da!”
He even gestured with a flourish, shamelessly wiggling his fingers.
Jin Cheon-hee quickly applauded in response.
“Ohhhhh, what is this magnificent contraption! Your Majesty!”
“…Stop it. That’s your waterpump, isn’t it? Aren’t you overdoing the enthusiasm?”
“I thought you enjoyed such things.”
“I don’t dislike it, but it’s not something you should be doing.”
I see.
Maybe I need to change my flattery strategy.
‘These emperors demand social interaction while being so finicky about it.’
No wonder all his subordinates end up twisted.
Eun Wang-ya spoke.
“I had the craftsmen build it according to the specifications in the report you sent.”
“Where is the water being drawn from?”
“Over there.”
Looking up, I saw a massive water tank on the stairs above, with Court Attendants busily filling it with water.
“Huh…?”
Some of the Court Attendants collapsed, gasping and panting, unable to continue drawing water.
The wicked Eun Wang-ya found their state amusing and laughed with a cackle, “Kehehehe.”
“I was thinking of conducting waterworks construction, but first I wanted to see them pump water up, so I had them start with that.”
A scene of human exploitation.
Eun Wang-ya watched with interest as my pupils trembled violently.
“It’s better than dying, at least.”
‘…I see. So this is being used as punishment instead.’
It seemed there was a ‘water labor’ option squeezed between “execute them” and “spare them.”
‘Right. The Emperor didn’t kill everyone after all.’
I silently chanted a Buddhist prayer in my heart.
After all, trying to accomplish anything with this royal family of siblings while maintaining sanity was impossible, wasn’t it?
Simply surviving and returning alive from this mad palace was fortunate enough.
The Emperor spoke.
“Now that I’ve enjoyed myself sufficiently, I’ve summoned you to conduct the waterworks construction.”
“Huh…? Me, sir?”
“Or should I have the Geum family do it instead?”
“At a critical moment, they could certainly release poison into the system.”
Waterworks was indeed a sensitive matter to that extent.
Since everyone’s drinking water depended on it, I asked.
“But do you trust me, sir?”
“…”
Eun Wang-ya didn’t answer.
Instead, she simply raised her hand and roughly messed up my hair.
“Officially, I’ll have you in an advisory position. Are you satisfied?”
“Of course. If I openly take credit for the design, my final years will be ruined.”
“Right. The underground maps of the imperial palace should be where the Eunuch General guided you. Be prepared—you won’t be able to leave the palace until the design is complete.”
“But why do you really trust me, sir?”
Eun Wang-ya didn’t answer.
“…Go and see for yourself.”
* * *
Was this the power of Geum Wang-ya’s mind-reading ability?
That must be it.
Rather than my shoulders trembling from the heavy responsibility…
‘I want to go home.’
I already wanted to slack off.
‘Does the imperial household really have no trustworthy talent? You bastards…’
If someone could read minds, couldn’t they filter out those who seemed acceptable through telepathic signals?
My Master had something to say about this matter as well.
“A person’s heart can change at any moment. Someone loyal today might become something else tomorrow. But it’s also impossible for the Emperor to gather all his officials in a line every single day and read their true intentions.”
That’s the loophole, then.
Of course, the ability that Eun Wang-ya possesses is reading people’s hearts and memories, not knowing what they’ll do in the future.
I’ve heard manipulation is possible too, but it seems she can’t rewrite the memories of everyone in the Eight Great Families to be on her side, so I suppose reading is the primary focus.
‘It seems there are limitations to the manipulation aspect.’
Perhaps the effects wear off after a certain period, or revert when distance increases—something along those lines.
‘Maybe overwhelming power like Ju Wang-ya’s ability to shatter the pot right in front of you is actually the best ability after all.’
Absolute strength.
In the end, isn’t power in the Central Plains the magic key that makes everything easy?
“Well, yes. In the end, whether it’s blood relations or whatever, I just look like a madman obsessed with medicine, so that’s why they use me.”
Because I’m more trustworthy than the imperial experts, that’s why they go this far.
I exhaled softly and began to familiarize myself with the imperial underground passages.
Among them were several secret passages, and I wondered if they were hiding something truly important.
Actually, such things weren’t particularly important.
Once I finished the task, Geum and Eun Wang-ya would likely have various technicians modify it several more times rather than implement it as-is.
What mattered was the initial draft.
‘Alright, let me focus.’
My eyes began to glow with a blue light.
Like a star shining in darkness, I stared for a long while before finally picking up a pencil and beginning to draw rapidly.
Drawing without a ruler or protractor, erasing and redrawing, repeating the process continuously.
‘Draw water in, store it, create water pipes, create sewage systems, and the end of the sewage must be a purification facility.’
The water channels absolutely had to be easy to replace.
While I was at it, I decided to redesign the toilets as well.
Three days of designing passed like this.
“It’s finished!”
“Hehehehe, I thought it would take at least two weeks, but only three days? You didn’t just do a sloppy job, did you?”
The Eunuch General entered and took the blueprints I’d drawn one by one.
“I’d prefer if the Emperor saw it that way. Then he wouldn’t ask me to do this kind of work again.”
“This old fool knows you worked hard~”
Anyway, what a cunning old man.
“Regardless, the Emperor has ordered us to install a few in certain areas as a test, so you’ll need to help with that as well.”
‘Yes, I knew this would happen.’
They’re working me like an ox.
As I grumbled, the Eunuch General spoke.
“It seems geniuses are indeed something peculiar.”
“What?”
“Normally, when people receive such a task from the Emperor, they’d all be grateful and shed tears.”
“…Tears?”
“It’s the glory of your family, isn’t it? And on top of that, he’s not even ordering your execution now that the work is done.”
As if waiting for those words, I immediately shot back.
“I’m worried about that too. If someone found out I drew this, wouldn’t they just send assassins in the dead of night and be done with it?”
The Eunuch General responded as if I were spouting nonsense.
“If that were the case, we would have already eliminated you when we discovered the identities of the two Wang-yas. Besides, don’t you need to regularly treat both Emperors?”
“Hmm….”
“Well, as you’ve been grumbling about, it’s true that the Emperor trusts Eun Gong, and it’s also correct that he thinks of him as a madman obsessed with medicine.”
So he had been listening to all of this.
I must have complained far too much.
As I narrowed my eyes, the Eunuch General continued.
“Still, I hope you understand that there are very few whom the Emperors truly trust.”
“And I’m one of them?”
“Yes. That’s how it is.”
“….”

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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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