Father belatedly turned his head toward me and asked,
“Ryeonghwa, what do you think?”
“Good……! I like it! I-I want to become a physician!”
I hadn’t expected the topic of entering the family’s medical institution to come up this quickly, but either way, it was good news for me.
I stumbled over my words as I tried to gather my thoughts.
“Wait.”
Grandfather gently interrupted me.
When I looked at him with hopeful eyes, Grandfather briefly averted his gaze before carefully opening his mouth.
“It is true that Ryeonghwa’s condition has improved compared to before. But she has not completely recovered yet. That means she still needs to remain stable.”
In the end, it meant I still couldn’t do it yet.
I had expected as much, but my shoulders drooped on their own.
Seeing this, Grandfather hurriedly added,
“Ryeonghwa. The path of a physician is not easy even for someone who is healthy. It is arduous and lonely, and it consumes a great deal of energy.”
I quietly bit down on my lip.
It was something I had heard constantly in my previous lives as well.
You can’t do anything with a sick body, so just lie quietly and rest.
Even though I knew everyone said those things because they were worried about me, every time I heard them, a corner of my heart felt stifled.
But even so, there was something I wanted to do.
“I am not telling you to give up. How about recovering your health first, then taking the examination three years from now?”
If it had been me in my previous life, I would have been happy just hearing those words.
I knew Grandfather was saying it because he was worried about me.
But I didn’t have three years to wait.
‘By then, Jeok Yeonhu will come as my fiancé.’
Before that happened, I needed to establish my footing as quickly as possible.
“I want to start learning as soon as possible.”
At my small but clear voice, both of their gazes turned toward me.
“I want to learn as much as I can because I wasn’t able to study while I was sick…… and I want to save people, too.”
I clasped my trembling hands tightly together.
“Because I want to save myself, too.”
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Father stared at my face for a moment before folding his arms.
“Then let’s do this.”
Unlike just moments ago, there was certainty in his voice.
“I’ll make a medicinal pill with Ryeonghwa that will correct her disrupted qi and blood flow. With that, we’ll prove that Ryeonghwa’s body is capable of enduring the examination.”
Father looked straight at Grandfather.
“If we succeed, please allow Ryeonghwa to take this year’s entrance examination.”
A tense silence continued for a while.
“You intend to personally look after Ryeonghwa?”
“That’s what I intend to do.”
“From checking the medicinal herbs in the central medicinal herb repository to making the medicinal pill?”
“Yes. If I think it’s putting even the slightest strain on her, I’ll be the first to make her stop.”
Grandfather still looked doubtful.
Then he looked at me.
I quickly straightened my back and met his gaze.
I wanted to tell him that I was fine, that I could definitely do it.
But I was afraid that if I spoke up again now, it would seem as though I were pressuring him, so I simply kept my lips tightly closed and put all my resolve into my eyes.
Grandfather stared at me for a long while before letting out a deep sigh.
“With the two of you so determined to go through with this, what more can I say?”
“Then you’ll allow it?”
Father asked eagerly, and Grandfather immediately put on a stern expression.
“Listen to the end. Simply completing the medicinal pill will not be enough. I must personally examine Ryeonghwa’s pulse and determine that she is capable of enduring the examination.”
“Of course.”
“And if her condition worsens even slightly, she will immediately give up on the examination.”
Instead of answering, Father looked down at me.
I suppressed my disappointment and nodded as firmly as I could.
“I understand!”
Only then did Grandfather’s expression soften slightly.
“Good. If you abide by all those conditions, I will allow you to take this year’s entrance examination.”
My heart swelled with joy.
I wanted to shout right then and there, but instead, I simply held my teacup tightly and smiled brightly.
At last, I had been given a precious opportunity to properly take my first step.
***
After Yeon Baekgang returned to the detached residence with Ryeonghwa, he stayed by the child’s side until late into the night.
Perhaps she was terribly exhausted, because the moment she lay down on the bed, the child fell deeply asleep.
Faint moonlight filtering through the paper window settled upon her pale cheek.
Yeon Baekgang remained motionless beside the bed for a long while.
Rather than relief at seeing that the child’s condition had improved, belated guilt came rushing over him first.
Whenever he thought about what this small child must have endured alone while he was away, one side of his chest felt heavily weighed down.
He tucked Ryeonghwa’s small hand, which had slipped out from beneath the blanket, back inside, then gently stroked her forehead with his large hand.
“Sleep well, my daughter.”
His voice was unusually low and gentle.
Yeon Baekgang left the detached residence with his footsteps muted and headed toward the main residence.
The corridor, which had been bustling with people during the day, was now filled with deep silence.
“Has Ryeonghwa fallen asleep?”
At the low, heavy voice, Yeon Baekgang stopped walking.
Yeon Baekyu stood across from him.
“Yes. She just fell asleep.”
“Then let us have a drink.”
Yeon Baekgang’s eyebrow rose slightly.
“The person who always emphasizes that physicians should stay away from alcohol is offering me a drink first. Did the sun rise in the west today?”
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
“No. How could I pass up such a precious opportunity?”
Yeon Baekgang answered readily with a hearty laugh.
Yeon Baekyu shot his son with a displeased look before heading toward a small pavilion behind the main residence.
A thin mist lay over the pond beneath the round moon.
Every now and then, the sound of fish leaping could be heard among the lotus leaves.
Once the two men sat down, a servant set down a bottle of warm liquor, two cups, thinly sliced meat, and dried fruit before withdrawing.
As the cups were filled, Yeon Baekgang casually asked,
“Father, what do you intend to do about the Imperial Family?”
“I will not return.”
Yeon Baekgang’s hand stopped.
“You’re saying you won’t return to the Imperial Palace?”
“That’s right. I intend to remain in Yakryeong for the time being.”
“You cannot refuse an imperial decree.”
No matter how great Yakryeong was, they could not take an imperial decree lightly.
Moreover, Yeon Baekyu was someone who had been summoned by the Imperial Family and had stayed in the Imperial Palace for many years.
“The situation within the family has changed.”
Yeon Baekyu’s voice sank heavily.
“While both the Family Head and the Young Family Head were away, the foundation of Yakryeong was shaken. A patient’s death was concealed, the family’s assets were misappropriated for personal use, and even the illnesses of blood relatives and communications with the outside world were manipulated.”
It was the family he had believed he had protected.
Yet while he was away, the inside of Yakryeong had festered far more deeply than he had imagined.
“For now, restoring the family comes first. If I explain the circumstances, His Majesty will not be able to simply order me to return.”
Yeon Baekgang silently looked at his father for a moment.
He was a man who had followed the Imperial Family all his life and adhered to the family’s laws more strictly than anyone.
For someone like Yeon Baekyu to decide of his own accord not to return to the Imperial Palace was no trivial matter.
It also meant that what had happened within the family was that serious.
“But then, what will happen to the divine relic?”
Yeon Baekyu’s gaze sank.
The Imperial Family’s divine relic, said to contain the power of a divine beast.
He had been promised it in exchange for remaining in the Imperial Palace for ten years.
It was something he had believed to be the last hope for correcting Ryeonghwa’s disrupted qi and blood.
To obtain it, Yeon Baekyu had spent many long years away from his family in the Imperial Palace.
“I will no longer focus solely on the divine relic to treat Ryeonghwa’s illness.”
“I feel the same. Since Ryeonghwa has found a way to alleviate her condition on her own, there must certainly be other methods of treatment.”
“That’s right.”
Yeon Baekyu set down his cup.
“And in the first place, the divine relic was not the only reason I stayed in the Imperial Palace.”
Yeon Baekgang looked at him curiously.
“There was another reason?”
Yeon Baekyu did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced outside the pavilion.
The servants had withdrawn some distance away, and only the gentle chirping of insects spread across the pond.
“Just in case, you should be the only one who knows this.”
His voice lowered.
“There is someone in the Imperial Family suffering from a strange illness.”
The playfulness disappeared from Yeon Baekgang’s face.
“A member of the Imperial Family?”
Yeon Baekyu neither confirmed nor denied it.
But his refusal to answer was enough.
“What kind of illness?”
“We could not determine that.”
Deep fatigue spread around Yeon Baekyu’s eyes.
“There are no obvious abnormalities in the pulse or the qi and blood. We could not find any traces of poison or sorcery, either. And yet the patient’s body grows weaker day by day.”
“Did medicine and acupuncture not work either?”
“No.”
Yeon Baekyu’s brief answer fell heavily.
“There has been no improvement whatsoever for the past two years. Even if I remain in the Imperial Palace, there is little chance anything will change if we continue treating it the same way.”
Yeon Baekgang set down his cup and folded his arms.
“This is a matter that concerns the fate of the Imperial Family.”
“It is also a matter that concerns the future of Tianming.”
Yeon Baekyu paused for a moment before looking at the jade bottle on the table.
A small, black medicinal pill gave off a faint sheen beneath the moonlight.
It was one he had personally made on the day Ryeonghwa returned.
“And perhaps I am not the one who will cure that illness.”
The corners of Yeon Baekgang’s lips slowly rose.
“You’re talking about Ryeonghwa.”
“I am not trying to place such a heavy burden on that child.”
Yeon Baekyu immediately drew a line.
“We do not even know how much medicine she will be able to learn in her current condition. But she is a child who, without proper instruction, compounded medicinal herbs and managed to alleviate her own condition.”
He recalled the sight of Ryeonghwa offering him the medicinal pill with her tiny, delicate hands.
Perhaps that child would find an answer that he himself had failed to see.
“I will remain here and treat Ryeonghwa. I intend to go through Yakryeong’s medical texts and prescriptions from the beginning again, and I also plan to have her study what she needs.”
“That isn’t a bad decision.”
“I did not decide this to receive your praise.”
“I wasn’t praising you, either.”
“You always have to argue back.”
Yeon Baekgang let out a low laugh.
After staring down at the liquor in his cup for a moment, he spoke quietly.
“I also intend to remain by Ryeonghwa’s side.”
Yeon Baekyu’s eyebrow twitched.
“You mean you won’t return to the north?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
“What about the medicinal herbs you were researching there?”
“I intend to have someone bring the records and medicinal herbs here.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Even if it isn’t enough, I won’t be going back.”
Yeon Baekgang slowly rolled the cup of liquor in his hand.
“I left for the north to save Ryeonghwa. But in the meantime, that child was left to endure everything alone, believing that I had abandoned her.”
The liquor in his cup rippled faintly.
“I never imagined that leaving to save my child would instead mean leaving her all alone.”
Yeon Baekyu said nothing.
“There is little chance that staying in the north any longer will suddenly produce a new answer. On the other hand, Ryeonghwa found a way to alleviate her condition on her own, right before my eyes.”
Yeon Baekgang’s gaze hardened.
“So this time, I’ll search for the answer by her side. The herbs, the prescriptions, the treatment.”
“Baekgang.”
“I will never let Ryeonghwa endure everything alone again.”
Yeon Baekgang emptied the remaining liquor in his cup in one gulp.
After silently looking at his son for a while, Yeon Baekyu picked up the bottle and refilled his empty cup.
“Do as you please.”
His tone was indifferent, but Yeon Baekgang understood that it was permission.
“Yes. That’s what I intend to do.”
Clink.
Their cups lightly touched.
The clear sound lingered in the quiet night air.
***
The next morning.
“Father’s here, Ryeonghwa.”
Father came to the detached residence early in the morning.
With Ryujin’s help, I was adjusting my clothes when I sprang to my feet in delight.
“Father!”
“Looks like you were getting ready.”
“Yes! Oh, right.”
I quickly gathered my skirt and properly composed myself.
“I, your daughter, respectfully offer Father my morning greetings.”
After finishing my greeting, I lifted my head slightly and smiled brightly, only to find Father frozen like a stone statue before me.
“Father…?”
When I called out to him in surprise, he seemed to be belatedly come to his senses. He awkwardly turned his gaze elsewhere and cleared his throat.
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