I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 81

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

Episode 81. Antibiotics and Fever Reducer (1)
The air in the shop turned cold in an instant.
So Yeon-hui found herself looking at Ju Ha-yoon without meaning to. He stood frozen in bewilderment, unable to speak.
‘He’s quite shocked, it seems.’
Yet as she watched, something felt wrong. His defensive posture seemed excessive for merely hearing alarming news of an uncle’s wife—almost as if something had been triggered.
‘What is it? Could some trauma have surfaced?’
Seeing his ashen face and the difficulty he had breathing, So Yeon-hui suddenly found herself thinking of her own past.
Since her mother’s death, she too would freeze in terror whenever she heard that someone had died.
‘Come to think of it, his mother, Wi Miin, also passed away from Postpartum Fever, didn’t she?’
It was a situation that felt like a past nightmare coming to life, so his reaction was entirely understandable.
But what shocked her was—
“…… I cannot give it.”
His voice was so low and resolute that it was hard to believe it came from a frightened person.
“Your Highness!”
The servant’s face contorted.
“My lady stands at death’s door, and yet you speak with such coldness! Though she shares no blood with you, she is your uncle’s true wife—is she not your kin as well?”
The servant pressed Ju Ha-yoon hard, his loyalty to Gyo evident in the way his neck veins bulged.
He seemed to have momentarily forgotten the fact that his opponent was of the Imperial Family.
Though such rudeness might have been offensive, Ju Ha-yoon said nothing in return.
Without rebuttal or explanation, he simply bowed his head in silence, his fists clenched so tightly that the veins on the backs of his hands stood out.
‘…… It doesn’t seem like he’s deliberately refusing. Could there be something wrong with the medicine itself?’
So Yeon-hui carefully observed his expression. With his lips pressed shut and his brows furrowed, he looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
“Is it possible… that the medicine called ‘Cheonbodan’ contains ingredients harmful to someone with Postpartum Fever?”
At So Yeon-hui’s sudden interjection, Ju Ha-yoon’s head snapped up in surprise.
“How did you…”
The confusion in his eyes confirmed her suspicion. Perhaps the very reason this man was so afraid had to do with that medicine.
“I don’t sell Hawthorn Candied Fruit to pregnant women. While hawthorn is good for Blood Stasis, if a mother consumes it, she risks miscarriage or hemorrhage.”
All medicine can become poison, and all poison can become medicine when used correctly.
This is a truth acknowledged by healers and pharmacologists across all ages and lands.
How could anyone be certain that even a precious elixir concocted from Imperial Family secrets could save a dying mother?
Finding So Yeon-hui’s words persuasive, the servant tempered his aggression somewhat and turned to Ju Ha-yoon. “Is… is that true? Does Cheonbodan really contain ingredients harmful to my lady?”

Ju Ha-yoon’s gaze turned slowly toward So Yeon-hui. With trembling eyes, he swallowed quietly, then gave a short nod.
“Once, long ago, I gave that medicine to someone suffering from a Postpartum Condition, and something went terribly wrong before my eyes.”
Watching Ju Ha-yoon wince as he uttered even this single sentence, So Yeon-hui let out a quiet sigh. Now all his actions made sense.
‘If that’s the reason, no wonder he developed such trauma.’
She felt sorry for the servant, who had rushed here treating Cheonbodan like a cheat code, but Ju Ha-yoon could never give it. The medicine, offered with good intentions, had already harmed someone. How could he repeat the same mistake?
Especially not with his uncle’s wife, who suffered from the same Postpartum Condition.
The one fortunate thing was that So Yeon-hui happened to hold the key to solving this problem.
So Yeon-hui carefully removed her apron and spoke.
“I have medicine for Postpartum Fever. It can reduce fever and diminish inflammation. Might I be permitted to see the lady of the Wi Household?”
* * *
So Yeon-hui left Yeon-su and Yeon-u briefly at Jang’s Butcher Shop, gathered her Emergency Medicine Bundle, and hurried with Ju Ha-yoon to the Wi Household.
Even amid the sudden shift in circumstances, her younger siblings sent her off without fear, cheering her on with “Come back safe!”—their encouragement lending her strength.
Though time hung in the balance in this critical moment, So Yeon-hui was able to move forward boldly, without fear.
Meanwhile, the inner chambers of the Wi Household were already in turmoil.
Servants rushed about frantically, and shouts demanding that something be done filled the air from every direction.
It looked as though war had broken out.
‘In this chaos, the patient can’t possibly rest and recover.’
So Yeon-hui clicked her tongue quietly to herself, tidied her clothing, and stood with Ju Ha-yoon before the door to Gyo’s room.
“Uncle, it’s Ha-yoon.”
The door burst open before he’d finished speaking. A heavy smell—stale sweat mixed with Traditional Herbal Medicine—assaulted her nostrils.
‘Her condition is grave.’
The smell alone told her so.
Indeed, deep within the inner chamber lay Gyo, her face flushed red, laboring to breathe.
Her eyes flickered intermittently, even as she moaned softly in semi-consciousness.
“Your Highness, you’ve come!”
Wi Hyo-gwang, who had been assessing Gyo’s condition with the rest of the family, rushed toward Ju Ha-yoon upon seeing him.
“Your Highness, nephew! Please, give us the Cheonbodan! The physician is helpless, and at this rate, something terrible will happen!”
With his wife’s life hanging by a thread, he looked ready to weep at any moment.
But Ju Ha-yoon had his own circumstances. He took his uncle’s hand firmly and spoke in a low voice.
“Forgive me, Uncle. I cannot… give you the Cheonbodan.”
“…… What?”
Wi Hyo-gwang’s expression went blank for a moment.
But soon his voice filled with bewilderment as he asked, “Why? If it’s a matter of price, name any sum. I know the medicine is beyond price, but I would sell the entire Cheongpyeong Wi Household if it meant……!”

“Even so, Uncle, that medicine can never be given to my aunt.”
Ju Ha-yoon spoke with firm resolve.
Then it was Wi Jung, Ju Ha-yoon’s closest friend and sworn brother, who raised his voice.
“Ha-yoon! Or rather, Your Highness. Truly, you would do this? Have you already forgotten how my mother treated you?”
Betrayal was written across his pallid face, resentment plain in his eyes.
‘Shouldn’t he at least ask why he’s refusing? He knows this man’s character—how can his own family treat him like this?’
However impossible the situation was to misunderstand, being suddenly branded a traitor by those he’d trusted most and held closest was more than So Yeon-hui could bear to watch.
Her blood was practically boiling.
Yet Ju Ha-yoon, though his face twisted with pain, swallowed his voice and spoke quietly.
Rather, he even fell to his knees before his uncle and the other members of the Wi Household gathered there.
His face hardened as he opened his mouth.
“Uncle, Wi Jung, and honored family—I must confess something. A terrible sin I have hidden away for so long in my foolishness.”
Alarmed by the gravity in his voice, Wi Hyo-gwang hastily tried to stop him. “Your Highness! What are you doing? Your station as of the Imperial Family is sacred—you cannot……!”

But Ju Ha-yoon paid no heed. He brushed aside his uncle’s hands.
Then, inclining his head, he began calmly to confess his transgression.
“When I was young, my mother fell ill with Postpartum Fever after a sudden Stillbirth. To her, I gave the Cheonbodan. Because it was a precious medicine bestowed by the Emperor himself only upon his favored Imperial Sons, I believed it must surely be efficacious.”
The confession that spilled forth was something none had anticipated.
And yet it was a story whose ending all of them already knew.
Baek, the Senior Lady, closed her eyes as foreboding washed over her.
Even Wi Jung, who had moments before shown betrayal and resentment, seemed to have lost all words, his face frozen and drained of color.
Ju Ha-yoon, accepting all these gazes calmly, continued.
“But after she took that medicine, her condition only worsened. And in the end, she closed her eyes.”
His voice—so often steady and firm—wavered like a candle before the wind.
His clenched fists had already turned white as he fought to contain his fear.
Yet still he confessed.
“By my mistake, my mother lost her life.”
The room fell silent.
“It is all my fault. I am a criminal.”
A single tear traced down Ju Ha-yoon’s cheek.
Whether guilt, anguish, or both at once—he could say nothing more.
A silence so heavy it seemed suffocating descended upon the room.
Though Ju Ha-yoon’s confession was shocking, the greater problem was the truth: Cheonbodan was ineffective against Postpartum Fever.
The Wi family, realizing that the Imperial secret medicine could not be used—that they could not use it—plummeted into despair.
“Then…… is there truly no way to save my wife?”
Wi Hyo-gwang murmured in a daze.
But there was one person who had been waiting for this very moment.
At last, So Yeon-hui opened her mouth.

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