The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 8

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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 8
Until now, Grandfather had never met me face to face, learning of my circumstances only through my uncle’s reports.
That was likely why he had harbored no particular doubts.
But this time, I had sought out the Main Hall myself.
And seeing my uncle’s startled expression when he laid eyes on me, along with Yeon Hui-cheon’s reaction, the odds that he’d noticed something amiss were substantial.
Which explained why Heo Jin-byeok was here.
‘This is the perfect opportunity to lay bare the servants’ misdeeds in their entirety before Grandfather.’
I rose quietly from my seat.
“Young Mistress?”
Hong Dan-i’s sharp voice followed at my heels.
I shuffled toward the window.
Creak—
Then I reached out and made to close it.
“Young Mistress, what are you doing?”
Hong Dan-i frowned sharply and strode closer.
“Why are you closing the window, Young Mistress?”
“Why not? There’s a problem with closing it?”
Cough—
I suppressed a cough and protested; Hong Dan-i let out a scoff as if thoroughly exasperated.
“Why? Because—”
She gestured, plugging her nose.
“You stink!”
“…What?”
I deliberately raised my voice and widened my eyes as though wounded.
My voice would carry clearly out through the window.
Thinking I was hurt, Hong Dan-i grew even bolder.
“You reek, Young Mistress! Ugh, that sick-bed stench!”
Watching Hong Dan-i pour out words exactly as I’d intended, I suppressed the smile threatening to surface.
And I pushed the situation further.
“So what you’re saying is… because I smell like sickness, I have to keep the window open? Cough! Even though I’m this ill and cold?”
“Ha! You only think of yourself, Young Mistress? What about me, stuck in this filthy, foul-smelling sick room? Hmm?!”
Hong Dan-i, blessedly still oblivious, continued without restraint.
I nodded slowly.
“Then…”
My gaze shifted.
It moved to one corner of the room.
To where my Jade Case sat—the thing Hong Dan-i rummaged through as though it were her own.
Looking at it, I asked quietly.
“But why did you go through my Jade Case every single day?”
“…!”
Hong Dan-i’s chatter stopped dead.
“That is… well…”
I spoke louder and more deliberately on purpose.
“You said I’m filthy. Doesn’t that mean my things are filthy too? So why did you steal valuables from my Jade Case?”
At my first direct accusation, Hong Dan-i faltered, as though her feet had gone numb.
“That… you gave me permission to take them, Young Mistress! Did I ever take anything without asking? Hmm?!”
“You never gave me permission. You announced it unilaterally and took what you wanted.”
I gazed at the Jade Case as I added,
“And some things you stole while I slept.”
Hong Dan-i’s eyes wavered.
Soon shame and fury mingled in her face, flushing it red and purple.
“What… what does it matter?!”
Hong Dan-i suddenly shrieked, her voice sharp with malice.
“You’re not even going to use them anyway! You’re dying soon anyway! It’s better that someone living uses them!”
At those words, I could not help but smile quietly.
Startled by my unexpected reaction, Hong Dan-i froze. And then—
“I have heard enough.”
A cold, clipped voice rang out from beyond the door.
Turning around, I saw a man in a black robe standing there—Heo Jin-byeok.
Realizing the gravity of what had just transpired, Hong Dan-i’s lips began to tremble.
“W-who…?”
“I’ve come on the Family Head’s orders.”
Heo Jin-byeok declared it flatly, without so much as a blink.
“You there. Take this arrogant wretch who doesn’t even obey her own mistress and remove her at once.”
Hong Dan-i’s legs gave way beneath her, and she crumpled to the ground.
“No, no! This is a misunderstanding! I only—agh!”
Heo Jin-byeok’s men, who had been waiting outside the Annex, rushed in and seized Hong Dan-i’s arms roughly.
“Let go! Where do you—ugh! Young Mistress! Young Mistress!”
Hong Dan-i cried out, reaching toward me with outstretched hands.
“Young Mistress, please! Save me! I was wrong about everything! Please!”
I looked down at her, tears and snot streaming down her face as she begged.
“You said yourself that I was already dead.”
Dwelling on all the violence and humiliation that had been heaped upon me across the years, I spoke each word with crystalline clarity.
“So now—who dies first?”
I turned away without hesitation, as though there was nothing left to say, and Hong Dan-i’s face twisted with terror.
“Ahhh!”
She was dragged away.
“Hah…”
Only then could I finally exhale the breath I’d been holding so tightly.
“I pay my respects to the Young Mistress.”
Heo Jin-byeok approached and bowed formally.
I accepted his bow graciously and spoke words I had wanted to say for far too long.
“Search Hong Dan-i’s quarters and return my belongings to me.”
……
At my request, Heo Jin-byeok’s expression grew uncertain for a moment.
I continued matter-of-factly, as though nothing were amiss.
“They were gifts from my father, so be careful they aren’t damaged.”
“Yes, Young Mistress.”
After giving Heo Jin-byeok his instructions, I picked up the Porridge Bowl again.
I thought it would be completely cold, but when I brought the spoon to my lips, there was still a faint warmth remaining.
That small warmth alone brought a wave of abundance that was almost impossible to describe.
It was as though it were gently wrapping a wound that had festered for so very long.
‘Strange… I’m so drowsy…’
Perhaps it was the release of tension. As soon as I’d eaten a little, exhaustion crashed over me again.
Slip…
I fell asleep after managing only a few spoonfuls.
* * *
A short while later.
“What? The Family Head has heard about that girl?!”
Yeon So-taek’s booming voice rang out through the Main Hall.
Those who followed behind him hunched their shoulders nervously, keeping their eyes down.
‘Damn it, what am I to do…’
Yeon So-taek heaved a deep sigh and his mind raced rapidly in those brief moments.
“Dishevel my appearance. Now.”
“Pardon? What do you—”
The servants who came running exchanged confused glances.
“What are you standing there for?!”
When Yeon So-taek’s face twisted savagely, they no longer dared hesitate.
“Pardon the liberty, sir.”
One of them reached out with trembling hands to twist open his collar, while another loosened the sash at his waist.
The Jade Belt that had been neatly fastened now hung askew, and the straight lapels of his robe fell sloppily to one side.
The attendants quickly wiped his temples and the nape of his neck with a damp cloth.
Then they dusted the cuffs of his sleeves with traces of medicinal powder, creating the appearance of someone who had just rushed out from finishing a consultation.
Yeon So-taek deliberately rubbed his eyes roughly with the back of his hand.
His eyes reddened at once, and his already pale complexion looked even more drawn.
“That will do.”
One of the attendants announced briefly, and Yeon So-taek surveyed his disheveled appearance once more.
“I’m going to the Annex.”
He crossed the corridor in quick strides and entered the passage leading to the Annex.
“Stop.”
In that moment, a heavy voice halted Yeon So-taek in his tracks.
He turned, caught sight of Yeon Baek-yu, and hurried to bow.
“Father. My respects.”
“Are you going to see Ryeong-hwa?”
Yeon Baek-yu, dressed in a white robe, stepped forward to meet him.
“I’ve just come from there and was on my way back. She’s sleeping soundly—don’t disturb her needlessly.”
Yeon So-taek weighed the situation at once, his expression clouding with concern as he studied his father.
“Yes, Father. I heard that the servants in Ryeong-hwa’s quarters have been conducting themselves poorly in secret, and I was worried. I was heading to the Annex to look into it.”
He then bent his waist deeply, lowering his body.
“It is my failing, Father.”
Yeon So-taek apologized first, and Yeon Baek-yu swallowed what he had been about to say.
“Come. There are too many eyes watching.”
Yeon Baek-yu then took the lead, his hands clasped behind his back.
Yeon So-taek slowly lifted his bowed head, his eyes now cold and desolate.
“The rest of you stay here. I will follow alone.”
After signaling the servants who stood behind him to withdraw, he followed his father’s footsteps.
* * *
The two men entered the Inner Chamber of the Main Hall, where only the Family Head was permitted to go.
It was a place even the household staff could not freely approach.
As the door closed, a delicate silence fell between them.
“I’ve come in haste from my rounds and my appearance is not presentable. I beg your pardon.”
It was Yeon So-taek, following behind, who broke the silence first.
Only then did Yeon Baek-yu turn to examine his son’s appearance.
His clothes were indeed disheveled, as though he had just finished his rounds and hurried over.
Yeon Baek-yu exhaled softly and offered him a seat.
“Sit for now.”
“Yes.”
The two men sat facing each other with teacups between them.
Yeon So-taek bent his waist deeply and bowed his head once more to his father.
“Henceforth, I shall strictly oversee those who attend to Ryeong-hwa so that such a thing never happens again.”
“You were truly unaware of this matter?”
At his father’s question, Yeon So-taek’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“That is…”
His face had gone pale, and he hurried to offer an explanation.
“The servants conspired together to deceive my eyes and acted on their own. If it had been one or two, perhaps I might have noticed, but when they all plot together to hide something, how could I have possibly discovered it?”
“Then there are others besides that servant who harbor intentions to harm Ryeong-hwa?”
At Yeon Baek-yu’s sharp question, Yeon So-taek hesitated for a moment.
Then a wry smile crossed his lips—a laugh that carried something cold and unsettling.
“It is not Ryeong-hwa’s fault, but it is true that her illness has thrown the household into disarray.”
Yeon So-taek continued carefully.
“Therefore, the unkind glances of certain people are, I have thought, unavoidable.”
He was subtly shifting blame onto Ryeong-hwa.
Yeon Baek-yu closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again.
“I am disappointed.”

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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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