“The proportions and preparation order are all different.”
I picked up the dark brown medicinal pill on the far left and placed it on my palm.
“This medicinal pill was made to make its effects last as long as possible. It still needs to be properly tested, but I think it should be able to maintain its medicinal effects much longer than the original pill.”
“How long?”
At Elder Ju Yeonseok’s question, I thought for a moment before answering.
“Considering the formulation and the rate at which its medicinal properties are released, I expect it could last for at least several days.”
A low murmur spread throughout the conference hall.
“However, its medicinal properties are quite strong, so one must get plenty of rest after taking it. During that time, one shouldn’t take medicinal herbs from the same category, either.”
I picked up the pale yellow medicinal pill beside it.
“This one was formulated so that its effects would last for a shorter period than the previous pill. Instead, I reduced the strain it places on the body, so after checking the patient’s condition, it can be taken again at shorter intervals.”
The last medicinal pill was the smallest and palest in color.
I picked it up between my fingertips so the Elders could see it clearly.
“The last one was made to spread quickly rather than maintain its effects for a long time.”
“Do you mean it is for emergencies?”
At Elder Nam Jino’s question, I nodded.
“Yes. It is a medicinal pill to be used when the qi and blood suddenly collapse or when breathing becomes labored.”
When I finished explaining, the conference hall fell silent.
Only moments ago, those who had been displeased by my taking the Ip-gwan Examination had been staring at me skeptically. Now, their gazes were fixed on the medicinal pills laid out on the table.
“Let me take a look.”
Elder Dam Uhyeon was the first to reach out.
He picked up the dark brown medicinal pill, brought it close to the tip of his nose, then slowly rolled it between his fingers.
After a while, he scraped a little from its surface, touched it to the tip of his tongue, and closed his eyes.
“The cold nature of Cheongmaekcho is barely apparent.”
He murmured as if to himself before opening his eyes and looking at me.
“But its ability to clear blocked blood meridians hasn’t disappeared either. How did you do this?”
I recalled the preparation process I had repeated throughout the night.
“I didn’t decoct the Cheongmaekcho together with the other medicinal herbs from the beginning.”
“You didn’t put it in from the start?”
“No. First, I sufficiently steeped the Hwangjeonggeun and Baekungeun over low heat to draw out their medicinal properties that protect the internal organs. Then, after lowering the heat once, I added the Cheongmaekcho.”
Elder Dam Uhyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“If Cheongmaekcho is added late, the necessary medicinal properties may not be extracted properly.”
“That’s why I split the stem thinner than usual.”
I took out a Cheongmaekcho stem I had brought beforehand and showed it to him.
“By widening the cut surface, I made it possible for the necessary medicinal properties to be extracted even within a short period. If it is decocted for too long, its cold nature becomes stronger as well. But I thought that if it were prepared thinly and decocted for a short time, we could obtain its ability to clear the blood meridians first.”
Elder Dam Uhyeon’s hand stopped.
Elder Heo Unbaek also looked at me with a changed expression.
“You changed not only the order in which the medicinal herbs were added, but also the way they were prepared, in order to control the time it takes for their medicinal properties to be extracted?”
“Yes.”
I lowered the Cheongmaekcho in my hand.
“Even with the same medicinal herb, the properties that emerge first differ depending on which part is used, how finely it is divided, when it is added, and how long it is decocted.”
A brief silence followed.
Elder Dam Uhyeon slowly exhaled.
“How could a young lady who has never even properly studied this think of something like this….”
There was no longer any trace of the lightness with which he had treated me like a child in his voice.
Elder Ju Yeonseok split the second medicinal pill in half.
The medicinal herb powder inside its smooth surface was evenly mixed.
“There is much less Maekhyeolja in this medicinal pill.”
He examined the split surface carefully.
“With the amount reduced, its ability to invigorate the qi and blood should also be weaker, shouldn’t it?”
It was the question I had expected.
“I reduced the amount of Maekhyeolja, but I added it later in the process.”
“Why?”
“If it is decocted together with the other medicinal herbs for too long, the strong properties of Maekhyeolja disperse first. If it is added at the end, after the decoction has been reduced almost completely, and cooked only briefly, the necessary effects can be retained even with a smaller amount.”
“But there is also a risk that its medicinal properties will spread too quickly.”
Elder Ju Yeonseok pointed that out sharply.
I pointed to the cross-section of the medicinal pill in his hand.
“That’s why I increased the proportion of honey. It prevents the medicinal pill from dissolving too quickly inside the body, keeping the medicinal properties from spreading all at once.”
Elder Ju Yeonseok looked down at the sticky powder clinging to his fingertips.
The stickiness he had felt himself was precisely the difference I had described.
A moment later, a hollow sigh escaped his lips.
“You didn’t merely adjust the amount of each medicinal herb. You even considered the rate at which the medicinal properties spread through the body.”
As his admiration faded, the murmuring among the family’s key figures grew slightly louder.
Elder Nam Jino silently picked up the smallest medicinal pill.
True to his profession as an acupuncturist, his gaze swept over not only the pill but also my face, my breathing, and even the movements of my fingertips.
“You said this is for emergencies?”
“Yes.”
“Using Maekhyeolja on a patient whose qi and blood have suddenly collapsed can place a strain on the heart meridians. Especially for a patient whose qi and blood have been weakened for a long time, like you, there is a risk that they may recover temporarily only to collapse even more severely afterward.”
It was a flawless observation.
But I knew that danger as well.
I had already experienced it countless times in my past life.
“That is why this medicinal pill isn’t a medicine that forcibly raises the qi and blood through the power of Maekhyeolja.”
I pointed to the small medicinal pill.
“I only used Maekhyeolja to open blocked pathways temporarily. It is the Hwangjeonggeun and Baekungeun that actually sustain the body’s energy.”
“Then this alone cannot completely get the patient through the crisis.”
“No.”
I did not avert my gaze from him.
“This medicine is not a treatment. It is a medicine that buys time.”
Elder Nam Jino’s eyebrows moved ever so slightly.
“Buys time?”
“If a patient cannot be completely cured, then we have to keep them alive until they can receive the next treatment. Once the medicinal effects take hold, they must immediately rest and receive another treatment within half a shijin.”
“Do you think that alone is enough?”
“As an emergency medicine, I think it is enough.”
Elder Nam Jino stared at me for a long while before slowly setting down the medicinal pill.
“You’ve distinguished between curing an illness and keeping someone alive until they can receive the next treatment.”
He turned his gaze toward Father.
“Did the Young Family Head teach you all of this?”
Father couldn’t answer immediately.
His face also held a mixture of bewilderment and surprise.
Although we had made the medicinal pills together the previous day, it seemed he hadn’t expected me to alter the preparation method this much overnight.
Father looked at me for a long while before slowly shaking his head.
“No. This is the first time I’ve heard any of this as well.”
The conference hall stirred once more.
For no reason, I curled my fingers inward.
Father’s gaze returned to me.
A faint smile appeared amid his surprise, but soon his expression grew a little heavier.
Elder Heo Unbaek slowly looked over the medicinal pills on the table.
“It seems you did not intend to make this many medicinal pills from the beginning.”
“Yes.”
“How did you come up with such a method?”
I recalled the moment when I had tossed and turned countless times in bed last night.
“At first, I also thought that I absolutely had to make the medicinal effects last as long as possible.”
I continued speaking as I looked at the medicinal pills lined up on the table.
“Grandfather said they had to last for at least a day, and the Elders also said that if I had to take medicine again every half a day, it would be difficult for me to learn and practice as a physician trainee.”
“But you changed your mind?”
“Yes. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way for a single medicine to solve every situation.”
I pointed to the three types of medicinal pills one after another.
“When I made the effects last longer, the strain on the body increased. When I reduced the strain, the duration became shorter. To gain one thing, I had to give up another.”
It had always been that way in my past life as well.
I had damaged my stomach just to breathe a little more comfortably, and because of the medicine I took so I wouldn’t collapse, I sometimes couldn’t even get out of bed for several days.
Back then, I had simply thought it was because I had failed to make a stronger, longer-lasting medicine.
But now I know.
A stronger medicine wasn’t always a better medicine.
“Then, a question suddenly occurred to me.”
I looked at the Elders.
“Patients are all different, and even for the same patient, their physical condition and circumstances can differ from day to day… So why does there have to be only one medicine?”
The murmuring in the conference hall gradually died down.
“There are days when one needs to endure for a long time, while there are emergencies when one only needs to get through a brief moment. Rather than repeatedly taking the same medicine without exception, I thought it would be safer to choose a medicine suited to the situation each time.”
I pointed to each pill in turn, from the one designed to last the longest to the emergency medicine.
“So I didn’t try to make one perfect medicine.”
I continued as I looked down at the three types of medicinal pills.
“I thought that rather than one perfect medicine, it would reduce the burden on the body to choose and use the medicine that is needed according to the situation.”
The conference hall fell silent.
Elder Heo Unbaek stared at me for a long time.
The concern and doubt that had been directed at me only moments ago had not disappeared.
But something different had been added to his gaze.
He slowly stroked his beard before speaking.
“Then let me ask you one thing.”
I looked at him nervously.
Elder Heo Unbaek’s gaze settled into an unprecedented seriousness.
“Little Lady Ryeonghwa, why do you want so desperately to become a physician?”
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