However, sabotaging the examination or tampering with the medicinal pills would be foolish.
Now that the eyes of the Family Head and the Elders were all on Ryeonghwa, even the slightest irregularity could make him the first person suspected.
There was no need for him to act directly.
Ryeonghwa had never properly learned medicine until now.
Only seven years old.
And a terminally ill child who was said to have spent her entire life bedridden.
If such a child suddenly appeared at the Ip-gwan Examination and said she would examine patients, who would willingly entrust their own bodies to her?
Medicine was not built on skill alone.
A patient would never entrust their body to someone they could not trust.
Yeon Hwi-cheon slowly returned to his chair and sat down. The anger from moments ago had vanished without a trace.
As he wiped the ink splattered across the desk, he spoke toward the door.
“Bring Baek Cheonho in.”
A moment later, Yeon Hwi-cheon’s guard, Baek Cheonho, entered the room.
Baek Cheonho glanced at the ink splattered across the floor and the ashes of the letter that had been burned, but asked nothing.
“Did you call for me, Young Master?”
Yeon Hwi-cheon took out a fresh sheet of paper and picked up his brush with an expression as though nothing had happened.
“I hear Ryeonghwa is taking the Ip-gwan Examination this time as well.”
“Yes. I just heard about it too.”
“What an astonishing thing.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yeon Hwi-cheon’s lips.
“I wonder when a child who has spent her entire life bedridden managed to learn that much medicine.”
Baek Cheonho’s eyes subtly changed.
Yeon Hwi-cheon continued writing neat characters on the paper.
“Don’t you think the people coming as patients for the Ip-gwan Examination will wonder about it too?”
“……”
“Whether it’s really all right to entrust their bodies to a seven-year-old child who has never properly learned medicine.”
Only then did Baek Cheonho understand the hidden meaning behind his words and bowed his waist.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What will you keep in mind?”
Yeon Hwi-cheon stopped his brush and asked back with an innocent expression.
Baek Cheonho remained silent for a moment before immediately correcting his answer.
“Nothing, Young Master. You were merely concerned about the patients.”
Only then did Yeon Hwi-cheon smile in satisfaction.
“Exactly. I was merely stating the facts.”
It was just as Baek Cheonho bowed once more and was about to leave.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon called him back in an indifferent voice.
“I heard there is one patient among those who came this time who is suffering from a rather difficult condition.”
Baek Cheonho raised his eyes.
“I only heard about it.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon smiled.
“The examination must be fair, after all.”
After Baek Cheonho left the room, Yeon Hwi-cheon looked toward the brazier again.
The corner of the last remaining letter collapsed into black ash within the flames.
Do you think the position of successor will wait for you?
His mother’s question echoed in his ears once more. Yeon Hwi-cheon slowly rolled the brush between his fingers.
The slender bamboo handle bent precariously between his fingers.
Snap.
At last, the brush broke in two and fell to the floor.
Even as he looked down at the broken brush, he wore the exact same smile as before.
“Do you really think I’ll let you take my position from me?”
The small whisper, too quiet for anyone to hear, scattered through the room.
***
The morning of the Ip-gwan Examination.
“Little Lady, you need to take this too!”
Early in the morning, Ryujin suddenly thrust a small bundle into my arms.
“What’s all this?”
“Clothes to wear over your outfit in case it gets windy while you’re taking the exam, and a handkerchief, and water, and……”
“All of this?”
“Ah! There’s this too!”
“Again?”
As if she had been waiting for this, Ryujin turned around and picked up another bundle.
“I packed some snacks so you won’t get hungry, and I put in some candied fruit in case you get dizzy, and enough medicine for two doses!”
“Ryujin……”
“Yes?”
I looked down at the mountain of luggage that had piled up before me.
“I am going to take an exam, right? I’m not going somewhere to stay for a few days, am I?”
“But you never know!”
Ryujin’s eyes were utterly serious.
“What if you don’t feel well during the exam? You can’t be hungry, you can’t be thirsty, you can’t get tired……”
“T-then when am I supposed to take the exam?”
“……”
Ryujin fell silent.
Heo Jinbyeok, who had been watching from the side, gave a low cough.
“I think it would be better to reduce the amount of luggage somewhat.”
“Right?”
“It is difficult to tell whether Little Lady is taking an examination or moving out.”
“My lady! Hmph……”
Ryujin bristled.
I eventually burst out laughing.
“Fine. Just bring the medicine and water.”
“……What about the snacks?”
“Hmm…… Those too.”
Only then did Ryujin’s face brighten.
“I knew you’d need them! Ah, and!”
As if she had been hiding her secret weapon, Ryujin reached into her clothes and pulled something out.
[Wishing Little Lady Ryeonghwa Success!]
“Tada!”
“……”
I stared blankly at the fluttering cloth with those huge letters printed across it.
When on earth had she even made something like that?
“There’s this too!”
It wasn’t even the end.
This time, Ryujin pulled out a red cloth headband and tightly tied it around her forehead.
[Soon! Genius Physician Yeon Ryeonghwa]
What exactly does “Soon! Genius Physician” even mean…?
“……Ryujin.”
“Yes, Little Lady?”
“When you enter the examination hall, I’ll stand outside and cheer for you with this!”
“Don’t.”
“Little Lady Ryeonghwa! Top of the Class!”
“It’s the Ip-gwan Examination.”
“Little Lady Ryeonghwa! Greatest Physician Under Heaven!”
“I’m not even a physician trainee yet.”
“Little Lady Ryeonghwa! The Future of Yakryeong!”
“This is getting more and more burdensome.”
Ryujin paid no attention and clenched both fists.
“The moment you come out, I’ll scatter flower petals too!”
“When did you even prepare flower petals!?”
“I picked them last night!”
I slowly looked toward Heo Jinbyeok.
“……You didn’t stop her?”
“I did.”
Heo Jinbyeok answered with a troubled expression.
“Then she made one for me as well.”
In his hand was a headband that read:
[Soon! Genius Physician Yeon Ryeonghwa]
“There’s one for you too, my lady! You can wear it together with me!”
“I absolutely will not.”
“I made it to fit your head perfectly……”
“That is not the important part right now.”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. I felt the tension that had been weighing on me ease a little.
“Fine. Thank you for cheering me on, but let’s leave the headbands and the cloth here.”
“What about the flower petals?”
“Those too.”
“……Can’t I scatter just a little?”
“No.”
“Hmph.”
After barely calming Ryujin’s excessive concern and enthusiasm for cheering me on, we left the detached quarters.
***
It was still before dawn had completely broken, but the main residence of Yakryeong had already awakened to the footsteps of countless people.
A hazy dawn mist slowly drifted between the tiled roofs, while the dew gathered at the ends of the eaves glimmered softly in the sunlight that had only just begun to rise.
Once every three years.
The gateway had to pass through to be recognized as an official physician trainee of Yakryeong.
Since failing even once meant waiting another three years, a tense atmosphere hung over the courtyard in front of the main residence.
The preparation tables to be used for the examination had been arranged in neat rows at equal intervals. Mortars, medicinal pots, acupuncture cases, and medicinal herb boxes had been meticulously organized on top of them.
Attendants bustled about, making a final check of the quantities of medicinal herbs, while the examinees silently checked their own tools or closed their eyes and steadied their breathing.
Then, a small whisper drifted from one side of the courtyard.
“……Is that Little Lady Yeon Ryeonghwa?”
The gazes of those nearby naturally followed in the direction one person was looking.
Below the steps of the main residence.
A young girl dressed neatly in pale green clothing stood quietly, holding an acupuncture case and a medicinal herb box in her arms.
“She looks much younger than I expected.”
“They say she’s seven.”
“But has she ever properly learned medicine?”
At someone’s question, the person beside them lowered their voice.
“I heard she spent her entire life bedridden.”
“And yet she’s suddenly taking the Ip-gwan Examination……”
“Still, I heard the Council of Elders personally gave her permission.”
“I heard she’s good at making medicinal pills. But making medicine and actually examining patients are two different things, aren’t they?”
Several people nodded silently.
No one openly mocked her.
But they could not hide their doubtful gazes.
I quietly inhaled as I listened to their conversation from a distance.
‘The rumors have already spread, I see.’
A seven-year-old child who had spent her entire life bedridden.
That was all the Ryeonghwa they knew.
They knew nothing of the medical knowledge I had accumulated through ten lifetimes, nor of all the time I had spent facing countless patients and making medicine.
So there was no reason for me to feel wronged.
How much skill I have. And whether I am qualified to become a physician trainee.
I only had to show them today.
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