The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 39

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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 39
* * *
After the Entrance Examination concluded.
Yeon Dohwa did not linger long at the celebration.
Though she had only just returned from the Imperial Palace, she addressed Yeon Hwicheon first, her words clipped and brief.
“Follow me.”
At those words, his shoulders tensed. But he quickly recovered his usual gentle smile.
After a light bow to those remaining nearby, he trailed behind his mother as though nothing were amiss.
They made their way to the Annex Building, where Yeon Dohwa stayed whenever she was at the Main House.
The moment the door closed, the laughter and congratulations from outside fell suddenly distant.
The room held that particular chill of a long-abandoned space.
Yeon Dohwa walked to the upper seat and handed her robe to an attendant.
Despite the weariness evident from her long journey, her clothing was immaculate and her posture unbending.
“Mother, I’m relieved you’ve returned safely.”
Yeon Hwicheon lifted the teapot before the attendant could, filling a cup.
“It must have been a long distance from the Imperial Palace to the Main House. I trust there were no difficulties? Had I known of your return sooner, I would have gone to meet you myself.”
Yeon Dohwa did not answer.
Yeon Hwicheon maintained his smile with effort, setting the teacup before her.
“You must be exhausted. I think it best if you rest first. I’ll see that a meal is prepared separately.”
But no reply came.
As the silence stretched, his smile grew progressively rigid.
Then Yeon Dohwa finally spoke.
“Bring me the Thin Rod.”
The air in the room froze.
Yeon Hwicheon’s hand, lowering the teapot, stilled in mid-air.
The attendant waiting nearby lifted his head as though to confirm he’d heard correctly, then caught Yeon Dohwa’s icy gaze and hurriedly bowed.
“Yes, madam.”
Once the attendant had left, composure drained from Yeon Hwicheon’s face.
“Mother.”
He asked carefully, clinging to his smile.
“Why do you command the Thin Rod be brought?”
Yeon Dohwa’s gaze turned slowly toward her son.
“Do you truly not know?”
Her voice was low.
But the chill it carried made his Adam’s apple move faintly.
His mind raced.
He sifted through his recent actions, searching for anything that might have displeased her.
The way he had failed to respond properly after Yeon Baekyu’s return.
The way he had not achieved what was expected of him at the Medical Institute lately.
Meanwhile, Yeon Ryeonghwa had passed the Entrance Examination at the top of her class and received the Needle Armor, which the family head had worn for years.
But he could not know how much his mother understood.
Yeon Hwicheon moved closer, his brows drawn down as if aggrieved.
“If there are shortcomings in me, please tell me. How can I correct my mistakes if I don’t know what has angered you?”
Yeon Dohwa regarded her son’s face calmly.
It was a face so virtuous and upright that anyone else would have believed him entirely.
But she showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Your recent accomplishments have fallen short of expectation.”
His eyes wavered for an instant. Then he knelt immediately.
“I have failed.”
Apology came before excuse.
He knew well what his mother detested most.
“I was careless this time. From now on, I will not disappoint you.”
Yeon Dohwa did not stir.
“Careless?”
A faint sneer crossed her lips.
“While you were careless, a seven-year-old child claimed first place in the Entrance Examination.”
His head bowed lower.
“Yeon Ryeonghwa simply displayed unexpected talent. She’s still a child who hasn’t even had proper instruction yet, so soon enough…….”
“That’s precisely why you should be ashamed.”
Yeon Dohwa cut him off.
“That child hasn’t even received formal instruction yet. And her body isn’t strong to begin with.”
Tap, tap.
Slender fingers drummed slowly across the table.
“Yet even such a child has advanced this far.”
Yeon Hwicheon’s hands stilled against his knees.
His nails dug into his palms, but he betrayed no sign of pain.
“I apologize.”
“What good is an apology to me?”
Yeon Dohwa’s voice cut cold as winter.
“If something is lacking, you fill it.”
At that moment, an attendant returned bearing a long, slender thin rod.
Without a word, Yeon Dohwa extended her hand.
The instant the rod touched her palm, Yeon Hwicheon’s face drained to ash.
He had strived countless times to earn his mother’s approval.
He’d studied harder than anyone, conducted himself each moment as a proper heir should.
He’d cut his sleep short and forced smiles when none came naturally, determined not to fall a single step behind her expectations.
Yet Yeon Hwicheon understood this much.
To his mother, process meant nothing.
Only results mattered in the end.
“Strike your calves.”
His lips quivered infinitesimally.
“Mother, I swear I will make good on this. This matter——”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
The warning fell short and sharp.
Yeon Hwicheon’s mouth closed. His trembling hands grasped the hem of his trousers.
Slowly he drew the fabric up, revealing thin, pale calves.
Yeon Dohwa tapped the rod lightly against the floor.
Tap.
At that small sound alone, Yeon Hwicheon’s body flinched.
“Stand straight.”
He pushed himself slowly upright, gripping the table’s edge.
His head hung low, yet his gaze had already turned to ice as it fixed upon the ground.
Yeon Dohwa raised the rod.
“If you wish to become the heir of the Yak Ryeong Clan, remember this.”
Crack!
The rod cut through the air with a sharp, splitting sound.
“You must be brilliant enough that no one could shake you, no matter who appears.”
Slash!
A dry, violent crack echoed through the Annex Building. Yeon Hwicheon’s grip on the table edge tightened with desperate force.
His body lurched forward in the instant of impact, but he clenched his teeth hard to stifle even a single cry.
“If you felt your position threatened by a single seven-year-old child——”
Again the rod lifted.
“Then that is not the child’s fault.”
Slash!
The second blow tore through the heavy silence of the room.
Vivid red welts rose across Yeon Hwicheon’s calves.
“It is yours.”
Yeon Hwicheon’s head bowed further. Moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes in the grip of pain, yet what burned within them was no sorrow.
It was something cold and bottomless—hatred.
“I will not forget.”
Yet it was not his own shortcomings that echoed through his mind, but a single name entirely different.
Yeon Ryeonghwa, cursed with a limited lifespan.
He had thought her worthless, beneath his notice.
Yet that girl had claimed the top rank at the Entrance Examination, and now she held her grandfather’s Needle Armor in her arms, smiling as though the world itself had been given to her.
Basking in both father and grandfather’s love at once.
As if she were stealing, piece by piece, every gaze that should have been his.
‘Yeon Ryeonghwa……’
Yeon Hwicheon clenched his teeth.
* * *
Once her conversation with her son was finished, Yeon Dohwa wasted no time, heading straight toward the clan head’s study deep within the Main House.
She stood before the heavy blackwood door, adjusted her collar once, and knocked softly.
Tap, tap.
“Come in.”
A low, weighty voice sounded from beyond the door.
Creak.
As she entered, a rich medicinal aroma drifted gently through the air.
One wall of the study was entirely lined with books and medical texts, while a large blackwood desk dominated the center of the room.
Yeon Baekyu, seated behind it, set down his brush and looked at his daughter. The sternness in his expression softened, if only slightly.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes, Father.”
Yeon Dohwa bowed respectfully.

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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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