The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 20

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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 20
Father turned his head back to me, asking a belated question.
“Yeong-hwa, what do you think?”
“I—I’d love to! I want to become a physician!”
I hadn’t expected the Coming-of-Age Examination to come up so suddenly, but all the same, it was welcome news.
I fumbled for words, barely managing to speak.
“Wait.”
Grandfather gently cut me off.
As I looked at him with hopeful eyes, he briefly averted his gaze before speaking carefully.
“Yeong-hwa’s condition has certainly improved from before. But you haven’t fully recovered yet. That means you still need rest.”
So it was still too soon. I’d expected as much, but my shoulders sagged nonetheless.
Then Grandfather added, with some urgency.
“Yeong-hwa, the path of medicine is no easy thing, even for the healthy. It’s demanding, lonely, and exhausting beyond measure.”
I bit my lip silently.
It was a speech I’d heard countless times in my past life too.
That with a sickly body, I could do nothing; I should simply lie still and be obedient.
I understood their concern lay behind every word, yet each time I heard it, my heart grew tight with frustration.
And yet, there were things I wanted to do regardless.
“I’m not telling you to give up. Why not recover your strength first, then take the examination three years from now?”
The old me—the me from my past life—would have been overjoyed at those words alone.
I knew Grandfather was speaking out of concern.
But I didn’t have three years to spare.
‘By then, Jeok Yeon-hu will have arrived as my betrothed.’
I needed to establish my foundation before that happened.
“I want to learn as soon as possible.”
My voice was small but clear, and both men’s eyes turned toward me.
“Because my body was ill, I couldn’t learn all this time. I want to know so much more… and I want to save people too.”
I clasped my trembling hands tightly together.
“Because I want to live myself.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Father studied my face for a long moment, then folded his arms.
“Then let’s do this instead.”
His voice carried a note of certainty unlike before.
“Yeong-hwa and I will create a Medicinal Pill that can correct her twisted Qi-Blood. With that, we’ll prove her body can withstand the examination.”
Father met Grandfather’s gaze directly.
“If we succeed, please grant Yeong-hwa permission to take this Coming-of-Age Examination.”
A tense silence stretched between them.
“You mean to oversee Yeong-hwa’s recovery yourself?”
“That is my intention.”
“Everything from inspecting the medicinal ingredients in the central supply to crafting the pill?”
“Yes. If I sense any strain whatsoever, I’ll have her stop immediately.”
Grandfather’s expression remained doubtful.
Then he looked at me.
I quickly straightened my back and met his gaze.
I wanted to tell him I was fine, that I could absolutely do this.
But I worried that speaking again might seem like I was rushing him, so I simply pressed my lips together and put all my determination into my eyes.
Grandfather studied me for a long time, then released a deep sigh.
“When you two conspire so openly like this, what more can I say?”
“Does that mean you’re giving your permission?” Father asked at once.
Grandfather’s expression immediately turned stern.
“Hear me out. Merely completing the pill is not enough. I must personally examine Yeong-hwa’s pulse and determine that she can withstand the examination.”
“Of course,” Father replied.
“And if her condition deteriorates even slightly, she abandons the examination immediately.”
Father looked down at me instead of answering.
I swallowed my disappointment and nodded vigorously.
“I understand!”
Only then did Grandfather’s expression soften.
“Very well. If you both honor these conditions, I will permit Yeong-hwa to take this Coming-of-Age Examination.”
My heart swelled with joy.
I wanted to cry out in excitement right then and there, but instead I gripped the teacup and let my smile say what my voice could not.
At last he had gained a precious opportunity to take his first true step forward.
* * *
Yeon Baek-gang returned to the Byeol-dang with Yeong-hwa and kept vigil at the child’s side well into the night.
The girl was utterly exhausted and fell into a deep sleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
Pale moonlight filtering through the window settled on her wan cheeks.
Yeon Baek-gang stood motionless beside the bed for a long time.
Relief at the child’s recovery was overtaken by a remorse that came too late.
The thought of what this small girl had endured alone in his absence pressed down on his chest like a stone.
He gently tucked her small hand, which had slipped free of the quilt, back beneath the covers, then carefully brushed her forehead with his broad palm.
“Sleep well, my daughter.”
His voice was unusually soft and low.
Treading quietly, Yeon Baek-gang left the Byeol-dang and made his way to the Bon-dang.
The Hoe-rang, which had bustled with people during the day, was wrapped in profound silence.
“Has Yeong-hwa fallen asleep?”
At the deep, heavy voice, Yeon Baek-gang halted in his tracks.
Yeon Baek-yu stood before him.
“Yes, Father. She’s just drifted off.”
“Then come share a cup of wine with me for a moment.”
Yeon Baek-gang’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“You’ve always emphasized how a physician must avoid spirits. For you to suggest it first—has the sun risen in the west today?”
“If you’d rather not, forget it.”
“Not at all. How could I let slip such a rare opportunity?”
Yeon Baek-gang laughed heartily and answered at once.
Yeon Baek-yu gave his son a disapproving look before heading toward a small pavilion behind the Bon-dang.
A pale mist hung over the pond, where a full moon hung reflected in the water.
Between the lotus leaves, the occasional splash of a jumping fish could be heard.
Once the two men were seated, a servant set down a warmed bottle of wine, two cups, thinly sliced meat, and dried fruit, then withdrew.
As the cups were filled, Yeon Baek-gang ventured to ask, “Father, what do you intend to do about the Imperial Court?”
“I will not return.”
Yeon Baek-gang’s hand stopped.
“You mean you won’t return to the Imperial Palace?”
“That’s right. I intend to stay at Yak-ryeong for the time being.”
“Surely you cannot refuse an Imperial Order.”
No matter how renowned a physician Yak-ryeong was, one could not take an Imperial Order lightly.
Moreover, Yeon Baek-yu had long been stationed in the Imperial Palace at the Imperial Court’s request.
“The circumstances of our household have changed.”
Yeon Baek-yu’s voice grew heavy and grave.
“While both the Head of Household and the Secondary Head of Household were away, the very foundation of Yak-ryeong was shaken. Patient deaths were concealed, family assets were misappropriated, and the conditions of our kinfolk were manipulated, as was their contact with the outside.”
He had believed this was a clan he had protected.
Yet in his absence, the rot within Yak-ryeong had festered far deeper than he had imagined.
“For now, the restoration of the household must come first. If I explain the situation, His Majesty cannot simply demand my immediate return.”
Yeon Baek-gang gazed at his father in silence for a moment.
This was a man who had devoted his life to serving the Imperial Court and upheld the laws of his house more strictly than anyone.
For such a man to decide of his own will not to return to the Imperial Palace was no trivial matter.
It also meant that whatever had occurred within the house was that grave.
“But what of the Divine Artifact?” Yeon Baek-gang asked.
Yeon Baek-yu’s eyes dimmed.
The Divine Artifact of the Imperial Household, said to bear the power of celestial beings.
He had been promised it as compensation for spending ten years in service at the Imperial Palace.
It was the thing he had believed to be his last hope of correcting Yeong-hwa’s twisted Qi-Blood.
To obtain it, Yeon Baek-yu had spent long years separated from his family, dwelling in the Imperial Palace.
“Now I will not look only to the Divine Artifact and neglect to treat Yeong-hwa’s condition.”
“I share that view. Since Yeong-hwa has found a way to ease her own affliction, there must surely be other methods of treatment as well.”
“That’s so.”
Yeon Baek-yu set down his cup.
“And truth be told, my reason for remaining at the Imperial Palace was never the Divine Artifact alone.”
Yeon Baek-gang regarded him with curiosity.
“Was there another reason?”
Yeon Baek-yu did not answer at once, instead peering out beyond the pavilion.

The attendants had withdrawn to a distance, and only the sound of insects drifted softly across the pond.
“Keep this to yourself, just in case.”
His voice dropped lower.
“There is someone in the Imperial Household suffering from a peculiar ailment.”
All trace of playfulness vanished from Yeon Baek-gang’s face.
“Someone from the Imperial Clan?”
Yeon Baek-yu neither confirmed nor denied it.
Yet his silence was answer enough.
“What sort of illness?”
“That’s what I cannot determine.”
Deep exhaustion settled around Yeon Baek-yu’s eyes.
“The pulse shows no clear abnormality, nor do the Qi-Blood channels. I’ve found no trace of poison or dark arts. And yet the patient grows weaker with each passing day.”
“Medicine and acupuncture have been of no use?”
“None.”
Yeon Baek-yu’s brief answer fell heavily.
“For the past two years, there has been no improvement whatsoever. If I continue dwelling in the Imperial Household, nothing will change by the methods we’ve been using.”
Yeon Baek-gang set down his cup and folded his arms.
“The fate of the Imperial Household hangs in the balance, then.”
“The future of the Cheonmyeong Kingdom itself depends on it.”
Yeon Baek-yu paused, then gazed at the jade vial on the table.
A small black medicinal pill gleamed with a soft sheen beneath the moonlight.
He had made it himself the day Yeong-hwa returned.
“And perhaps the one to cure that illness may not be me at all.”
The corners of Yeon Baek-gang’s mouth slowly lifted.
“You speak of Yeong-hwa.”
“I have no intention of burdening that child with such a weight.”
Yeon Baek-yu drew the line immediately.
“I don’t know how much of the Medical Art she can master in her current condition. But she is a child who, without proper instruction, discovered how to blend medicinal ingredients and ease her own symptoms through trial alone.”
He recalled Yeong-hwa extending those small, delicate hands with the medicinal pill.
Perhaps the answer he had failed to find might be discovered by that child.
“I will remain here and treat Yeong-hwa. I intend to examine the medical texts and prescriptions of Yak-ryeong from the beginning anew, and to guide her studies as needed.”
“A sound judgment.”
“I didn’t make this decision to earn your praise.”
“Nor did I offer it seeking any particular response.”
“You always have to quibble over every last word.”
Yeon Baek-gang laughed softly.
After a moment of gazing into his cup, he spoke quietly.
“I, too, intend to remain at Yeong-hwa’s side.”
Yeon Baek-yu’s brow twitched slightly.
“You won’t return to the Northern Region?”
“No.”
His answer was without hesitation.
“What of the medicinal herbs you were researching there?”
“I’ll have someone bring the records and materials.”
“Will that suffice?”
“Even if it doesn’t, I won’t be returning.”
Yeon Baek-gang slowly rolled the cup in his hand.
“I departed to the Northern Region to save Yeong-hwa. But all this time, that child has endured alone, believing herself abandoned by me.”
The wine within the cup rippled faintly.
“I never realized that leaving to save her would become an act of leaving her behind.”
Yeon Baek-yu said nothing.
“There’s no great likelihood that remaining in the Northern Region longer will yield any new answers soon. Meanwhile, Yeong-hwa has already found a way to ease her own condition right before my eyes.”
Yeon Baek-gang’s gaze hardened with resolve.
“So this time, I will search beside her—for the herbs, for the prescriptions, for the path to healing itself.”
“Baek-gang.”
“I will not let Yeong-hwa stand alone again.”
Yeon Baek-gang drained the remaining wine from his cup in one long draw.
Yeon Baek-yu, who had watched his son in silence for a time, lifted the wine bottle and refilled the empty cup.
“Do as you see fit.”
Though his tone was indifferent, Yeon Baek-gang understood it as permission.
“Yes, that’s my intention.”
Clink.
The two cups touched lightly.
The clear sound stretched out, lingering in the quiet night air.
* * *
The next morning.
“Father’s here, Yeong-hwa.”
My father had come to the Byeol-dang early in the day.
With Ryu Jin’s help adjusting my dress, I sprang up eagerly at his arrival.
“Father!”
“You were in the middle of getting ready, I see.”
“Yes! Oh dear.”
I quickly gathered the hem of my skirts and bowed with proper respect.
“I offer my morning greetings to Father.”
After finishing my bow, I lifted my head with a bright smile, but my father stood there rigid as stone.
“Father…?”
Startled at his silence, I called out—and he seemed to come to his senses, hastily averting his gaze elsewhere and clearing his throat awkwardly.

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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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