The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 28
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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 28
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At that same moment.
Yeon Hui-cheon was passing through the Corridor behind the Medical School.
After morning classes had ended, the courtyard and Corridor were filled with groups of medical students gathered in small clusters, talking amongst themselves.
Ordinarily, the moment he appeared, they would have fallen silent and cleared a path for him.
But today was different.
The children were so absorbed in one piece of news that they didn’t even notice him approaching.
“Is it really true that Yeon Yeong-hwa is taking the Entrance Examination?”
One of the medical students asked, his face full of disbelief.
“The Family Head gave his direct permission, didn’t he? I heard he even showed the elders a Medicine Pill she’d made herself?”
“She made a Medicine Pill? The one who could barely walk just a short time ago?”
A low murmur of laughter followed.
But one boy among them lowered his voice, his face bright with excitement.
“But I heard it wasn’t just any ordinary pill. All four elders were amazed, they say. Elder Ju Yeon-seok even told her to keep researching it at the Pharmaceutical Chamber.”
Yeon Hui-cheon’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
He pressed himself into the shadow of a pillar and listened intently to what the children were saying.
“That fierce Elder Ju Yeon-seok?”
“Even Elder Dam Woo-hyeon praised it, saying it was a prescription that put the patient first. All the people in the Pharmaceutical Chamber have been talking about that pill since this morning.”
“Then she really does have talent?”
At those careless words, the corners of Yeon Hui-cheon’s eyes narrowed.
Talent.
That word had always belonged to him.
When he memorized the positions of Meridians at a young age and distinguished medicinal materials faster than anyone else, people called him the future of the family.
But today, that name had changed hands.
To Yeon Yeong-hwa, who until recently had lain on a sickbed waiting only for death.
“Everything’s changed since the Sub-family Head came back. If Yeon Yeong-hwa passes the Entrance Examination, doesn’t the succession picture change entirely?”
Another boy glanced around before lowering his voice even further.
“Then what happens to Young Master Hui-cheon?”
A brief silence fell.
The children exchanged glances, as though they’d uttered something they shouldn’t have spoken aloud.
“Still, Yeon Yeong-hwa’s health has always been weak.”
“But I heard her condition improved a lot after taking the Medicine Pill. Since the Family Head himself allowed her to take the test, things are different now.”
“And besides, she’s the Sub-family Head’s own daughter.”
At those words, Yeon Hui-cheon’s fingers slowly curled into fists.
His nails bit into his palm, but the words echoing in his ears were far more piercing than any physical pain.
The Sub-family Head’s daughter.
No matter how outstanding his own talents proved to be, he could never take that position from her.
Until now, because Yeon Yeong-hwa had been sickly, it hadn’t mattered.
Yeon Baek-gang was absent from the family, and his only daughter hadn’t merely refrained from studying medicine—she hadn’t even left her own chamber.
If things had remained as they were, one day Yeon Baek-gang would lose his standing as Sub-family Head as well.
That was why Yeon Hui-cheon had believed without doubt that the Heir’s position would eventually fall to him.
“The next Sub-family Head will certainly be you. So you mustn’t neglect your training, even while I am away from the family.”
These were the words his mother, who was in the Imperial Palace, always spoke to him.
But Yeon Baek-gang had returned, and Yeon Yeong-hwa had risen to take the Entrance Examination.
‘Surely not…….’
Yeon Hui-cheon’s mouth went dry.
Could it really be that he, like Yeon Do-pyeong, would be pushed to the margins of the family?
At that moment, an attendant following behind him called out cautiously.
“Young Master.”
Yeon Hui-cheon quickly composed his expression and turned around.
The twisted grimace from moments before vanished without a trace, replaced by his usual composed smile.
“What is it?”
“A letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
The attendant offered forward a Letter sealed with a Red Wax Seal, presenting it with both hands.
The moment Yeon Hui-cheon confirmed the insignia carved into the seal, his smile faded.
It was from his mother.
Mindful of the eyes around him, Yeon Hui-cheon slipped the letter into his sleeve.
“Let’s go to my room.”
He passed in front of the Corridor where the medical students had gathered, as though nothing at all had happened.
Only then did the children notice Yeon Hui-cheon, and they fell silent in surprise.
“H-Hui-cheon, young master.”
Yeon Hui-cheon smiled at them warmly.
“Seems you were sharing something amusing.”
“No, it’s just…….”
The children exchanged glances but could find no words.
Yeon Hui-cheon swept his gaze across their flustered faces, then departed with a smile still in place.
But the hand hidden within his sleeve gripped the letter as though to crush it.
Back in his room, Yeon Hui-cheon dismissed all his attendants before unfolding the letter.
Once he closed the shutters, the clamor outside receded into distance.
Only the whisper of paper breaking the silence remained.
Yeon Hui-cheon sat before his desk and tore open the red wax seal.
Neat, forceful characters came into view.
[To Hui-cheon,
Even while I remain at the Imperial Palace, I hear word of you without fail.
I’ve been told your recent examination scores have fallen short of before. I wish to dismiss it as a minor stumble, yet for one who aspires to become the Family Head’s heir, there is no such thing as a small mistake.]
Yeon Hui-cheon’s brow creased slowly.
The letter bore not a single line of warm greeting—it went straight to his failings.
He tightened his jaw and let his gaze descend to the next passage.
[Moreover, I hear the Sub-family Head has returned.
Surely you did not take it lightly, given that Yeon Yeong-hwa is sickly.
The world does not divide positions by skill alone. Yeon Yeong-hwa is the Sub-family Head’s own daughter.
Now that the girl has begun to stand before people once more, you ought not comfort yourself thinking you will hold the same place as before.]
Yeon Hui-cheon’s eyes halted at the final passage.
[While you hesitate, if Yeon Yeong-hwa gains the Family Head’s trust, do you truly believe the heir’s seat will wait for you?]
Yeon Hui-cheon’s hands began to tremble.
Crunch.
The crumpled letter gave a dry, papery sound in his grip.
Grinding his teeth, he read through the entire letter once more.
‘If Yeon Yeong-hwa passes the Entrance Examination…….’
The whispers he’d overheard moments before echoed back in his mind.
“The succession structure itself would shift, wouldn’t it?”
“She’s the Sub-family Head’s own daughter, after all.”
Yeon Hui-cheon shot to his feet and hurled the inkstone from his desk.
Bang!
Black ink spattered across white paper in all directions.
The attendant outside the door started in alarm. “Young master, are you all right?”
“Young master, are you all right?”
“Do not enter.”
Yeon Hui-cheon answered curtly, teeth clenched.
Yet his voice remained surprisingly composed.
He drew his ragged breath in slowly, letting it settle.
At the very least, he had no wish to appear shaken before others.
Yeon Hui-cheon threw the crumpled letter into the brazier.
As the ink darkened and curled in the flames, his turbulent heart gradually grew still.
Yeon Hui-cheon stared at the charring paper for a long while.
‘The Entrance Examination…….’
Yeon Yeong-hwa had not yet become a physician.
She had only gained the opportunity to take the examination.
Then.
‘I need only ensure she fails.’
The light in Yeon Hui-cheon’s eyes slowly faded to something else.
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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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