He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 151

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Joseon Iron Works (3)

In the 21st Century, it’s extremely rare for mothers to die during childbirth.

They say about one in 100,000 dies, which means unless you’re incredibly unlucky, there’s almost no chance of dying while giving birth.

However, in Joseon, they say the probability of a mother dying during childbirth exceeds 10%.

Thanks to my improvements in sanitary conditions, the probability of Gyeoul-i dying would be much lower than that, but…

Therefore, I hurried back Home and grabbed the female servants helping with the birth, repeatedly instructing them on the preparations to check and precautions to observe.

“Before helping with the birth, you must immediately wash your entire bodies with water and Lye Water, and change into clean clothes that have been thoroughly boiled in Lye Water! During childbirth, many wounds appear on the mother and Child’s bodies, and if anything dirty gets on them, both the Child and mother’s lives could be in danger.”

“We have already washed our bodies with water and changed into clean clothes, but…”

“As they say, ‘preparedness prevents calamity’ – only by preparing as thoroughly as possible can we safely overcome great trials when they come. If you fail to maintain the cleanliness I’ve instructed and something bad happens while delivering the Child, you will pay the price.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Thanks to my continued emphasis on hygiene, the custom of bathing is gradually taking root among the Common People not only in Hanyang but throughout the Eight Provinces.

So whereas in the past people would only wash their bodies twice a year during major holidays, except for the hot summer, now they wash at least once a week even with cold water, and infectious diseases seem to have greatly decreased…

By my standards, it’s still incredibly dirty.

You need to wash your body once a day to prevent body odor and various diseases.

Moreover, mothers right after childbirth and newborn babies are extremely fragile, so even slight bacterial infection could cost them their lives.

I have no choice but to be even more sensitive about hygiene.

“If the Child is born safely and the mother is also healthy, I will give you great rewards.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“And have a male Servant call for a Physician.”

“A Physician, you say? How could we bring a Physician into a woman’s childbirth?”

“If she develops a fever after childbirth, she’ll need to drink Herbal Medicine to strengthen her body. This is preparation for that.”

If there had been obstetrics specialists in Joseon, I would have immediately called for a specialist regardless of whether they were male or female, and asked them to oversee the entire process from beginning to end.

And I would have persuaded Gyeoul-i in advance that this was necessary.

However, there are no obstetrics specialists in Joseon.

And even if I brought in a male Physician, he couldn’t provide any help with the birth.

Because he’s a man who has never once participated in the birthing process, making him a complete novice.

However, the herbal medicine for reducing fever after childbirth must be brewed and given immediately.

There are no heroes in the face of puerperal fever.

“The thing to be most wary of after childbirth is fever. If preparations are inadequate and that fever isn’t treated in time, Gyeoul-i could die.”

In the 21st Century, mothers rarely die from puerperal fever, but in pre-modern society, puerperal fever—where infection occurs in the weakened state after giving birth, causing fever—was the leading cause of maternal death.

Difficult labor and breech birth (when the child tries to come out backwards) are serious problems too, but there’s nothing I can do about those.

Doing my best within what I can do is my limit.

“You female servants must first wash your own bodies and change into new clothes, then clean the lady’s body with boiled water, change her into new clothes, and then help her give birth.”

“Yes, My Lord. Then what will you…”

“Before going to see the mother, I too will wash my body and change clothes.”

Comforting Gyeoul-i is one thing, but more important than that is thoroughly maintaining hygiene at the birthing place.

I wiped my body with a towel that had been put in boiling water, soaked in water that had been boiled and cooled, then sprinkled Lye Water and wiped my body again.

Then I changed clothes and was about to go straight to where Gyeoul-i was, but…

“Her water has already broken and labor has begun. You must wait.”

“Damn it.”

There’s absolutely nothing I can do right now if I go into that room.

What good would it do for Gyeoul-i if someone who can’t help stays by her side?

“Gapseok, go to the Sijeon right now and buy plenty of Miyeok and Beef.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“It’s to feed the mother when she’s hungry after giving birth, so don’t worry about the price and buy only the very best.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When I finished giving instructions, Gyeoul-i’s moaning could be heard from beyond the wall.

There’s only one thing I can do.

Sit in the Sarangbang and wait while stamping my feet. That’s it.

No, there is one more thing.

Find the Talisman that Prince Hyoryeong gave us at our wedding and pray to Buddha.

I don’t know how much Buddha can help, but it’s at least better than not praying at all.

If it works, that’s good, and if not, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Merciful and compassionate Buddha, please let our Gyeoul-i have a safe delivery. If you do, I will somehow use my power to normalize Buddhism in Joseon.”

All religions are like that.

When clergy blinded by money become the mainstream, it becomes trash worse than radioactive waste, but when they pursue the ideals and goodness that the religion seeks rather than money, it becomes a teaching that benefits the world.

Confucianism also benefited the world greatly before it became Confucian Taliban, before it stagnated and rotted.

Thanks to that, it’s true that human sacrifice cultures like burial of the living disappeared from the Korean Peninsula.

While I was praying like this, my father-in-law came rushing into the room and let out a sigh first.

“Son-in-law, even if this is your first time with childbirth, isn’t it a bit much for a scholar-official to pray to Buddha?”

I have no words to refute that.

But what can I do when my insides are burning up? I have to pray to Buddha at least.

“When Queen Wongyeong suffered from a serious illness, Retired King summoned monks from Hoeamsa Temple to pray.”

“…”

“They say it was effective and her illness became somewhat lighter, so I’m trying to rely on this too.”

“Then I’ll join you.”

“Father-in-law too?”

“When my wife or concubines were giving birth, I was so anxious inside that I prayed to Buddha too. Though I didn’t pull out a talisman and pray like you.”

Joseon people are exactly the same as 21st century Koreans.

On the surface they pretend to be strict, solemn, and serious, but among grandfathers, there are those who just laugh heartily instead of stopping their grandsons from pulling and playing with their beards.

There are also people who, if their young child learns calligraphy a bit quickly, brag about them so much around the neighborhood, calling them a rare prodigy, that they get talked about.

Speaking of bragging about children, I recently heard that my parents living in Yanggu County have been bragging about me a lot these days.

‘My child is that Kim Dae-bung!’

They say that with just this one sentence, everyone shows reverence in this Confucian society where raising children well is one of life’s most important tasks, and they brag about it.

It’s not like they entered some Yanggu County child-bragging contest, what are they really doing?

“Even the great Kim Jibu can’t keep his composure in front of his wife’s childbirth. If the Minister of Taxation saw you like this now, he would probably laugh heartily.”

“Certainly, considering the performance I showed at the Ministry of Taxation, that could be the case.”

When I worked at the Ministry of Taxation, no matter how much work Minister of Finance Jo Gye-saeng assigned me, I handled everything.

And I even reviewed beyond the scope of assigned tasks, pointing out anticipated problems and providing solutions for them.

So some people who saw this whispered that I was a workaholic who wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed, only doing work.

Recalling those days helped ease my tension just a little.

“Praying to Buddha is one thing, but try to ease your mind a bit. Gyeoul-i isn’t a sickly child, and she’s young too. There’s almost no chance anything will go wrong during childbirth.”

“Father-in-law.”

“What difference does it make if you worry yourself sick? And when Gyeoul-i shows you the child she’s given birth to and asks you to hold it once, would it be proper for the husband to be fumbling around nervously?”

A married husband must strive to be the most wonderful husband in front of his wife, and a wife must strive to be the most beautiful in front of her husband.

Without such effort, that marriage is highly likely to fall apart.

Gyeoul-i would probably want to see me composed and dignified rather than fumbling around nervously in front of the baby.

“Thank you, Father-in-law. Thanks to you, I’ve come to my senses a bit. Now please go wash yourself clean like I did and change into new clothes.”

“… Is that really necessary…”

“Your name is Jang-saeng. Kim Jang-saeng.”

Others give names with meanings like Rising to Fame and Honor, or bringing honor to the family name…

But for me, what’s more important than that is for my child to live a long, healthy, and good life.

Things like Rising to Fame and Honor or family honor become meaningless once you die.

“Just live long and stay healthy.”

And I took nearly a week off work because I had a child.

The Minister of Public Works really hated it when I took time off, but when I gifted him a few ginseng roots, he approved it right away.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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