Chapter 26

Yeon-oh’s consciousness repeatedly woke and faded. Even when he opened his eyes, the unfamiliar surroundings stirred a strange fear, preventing him from properly collecting his thoughts.

The eunuchs and Court Ladies of the Empress Dowager’s hall guarded his side with solemn faces. The Imperial Physicians, lined up by the bedside, took turns examining him. His body, which had been burning with chills and fever, briefly calmed, but it was difficult for him to regain full awareness.

“…Fortunately…”

He could not properly grasp the sounds, as if he had submerged his ears underwater. The distant noise faded, and his consciousness broke once more.

When he became capable of thought, though still dim, he realized the place he was lying in was the bedroom of his own hall. But he had only opened his eyes. He was unable to speak or move.

‘Dawn?’

The surroundings were enveloped in a blue-tinted darkness. Though his vision was narrow and blurred, he could see, and the sounds were clear.

“Court Lady, why would you call me out.”

In the silent room, Court Lady Dong Yeong and a woman wearing a face-covering cloak stood. The woman pulled down the hood of her cloak and grumbled.

As the opulent cloak was lowered, the face of Cho Seom-neung, the Chief Steward of Namcheon, was revealed.

“Why would I bring the Chief Steward of Namcheon to a master who collapsed after drinking Ja-an-hong? Who else would I bring?”

“Court Lady.”

Cho Seom-neung furrowed her fine brow.

“The rumors are all over the Imperial Palace. It is said that Consort Gyo-bi committed a fault and, while being punished by the Empress Dowager, drank the Ja-an-hong, which allows a man to become pregnant. The name ‘Ja-an-hong’ hasn’t been mentioned directly, but since the Empress Dowager has many special things to manage the Harem, everyone takes it as fact and is condemning Consort Gyo-bi as greedy.”

Dong Yeong laughed resentfully as she spoke.

“Did Consort Gyo-bi really drink the Ja-an-hong of her own accord?”

“I cannot know, as I was not permitted inside the chamber. She may have drunk it herself, but it must have been under circumstances he could not refuse, or out of obstinacy, not greed.”

“There will be turmoil in the Imperial Palace.”

Cho Seom-neung groaned, voicing her headache. Court Lady Dong Yeong’s expression, looking at the Chief Steward of Namcheon, was calm.

“Do you not know, Chief Steward? Since the rumor is out in the palace, it is only a matter of time before it spreads through the capital. The Gyo General’s Household, which is acutely sensitive to the capital’s current situation, will soon find out. Perhaps they already know.”

At the Court Lady’s words, Cho Seom-neung’s expression turned frigid.

“What do you mean?”

“It means that if Consort Gyo-bi were to suffer an accident soon, the Namcheon Kingdom would not be able to avoid responsibility.”

“Are you threatening Namcheon?”

A menacing look crossed Cho Seom-neung’s gentle face.

“Threatening? I am asking for aid.”

Dong Yeong unrolled the silk cloth placed on one side of the bed. Inside the silk was a meticulously stacked tower of silver coins.

“W-What is this?”

“Ninety yang of silver. I know it is insufficient. But this is all the silver I have. Give me the prescription. I am seeking the Chief Steward’s aid, not begging. The missing silver can be received from the Gyo General’s Household, or from the master when he awakens, can it not?”

Dong Yeong’s words caused Cho Seom-neung’s expression to change strangely.

“A prescription. How could a Court Lady know…?”

“What does it matter how this person knows? The name Ja-an-hong may be unknown to the world, but there are those who know of a special medicine that can allow a man to become pregnant.”

Dong Yeong wiped the cold sweat from Yeon-oh’s forehead and continued speaking. Discomfort was evident on Cho Seom-neung’s face as she listened.

“Many couples in the world desperately desire a child, and such people seek Ja-an-hong. They hope that if such a unique medicine that allows a man to become pregnant is consumed by a woman, it will make conception easier. Rarely, there are also noble men who want their male descendants to bear children and establish them in the inner palace.”

At Dong Yeong’s final words, Cho Seom-neung let out a long sigh.

When Baekhong and Ja-an-hong were imported from Namcheon, the Yul Empire strictly regulated the dangerous Baekhong, but was more lenient regarding Ja-an-hong.

Many people secretly sought Ja-an-hong. The Chief Stewards of Namcheon would offer Ja-an-hong as a bribe to officials or sell it privately to earn side income.

“To buy the medicine that allows a man to become pregnant is 80 yang of silver, but to receive the prescription for the medicine that allows a man to become pregnant is 500 yang. I know that a man cannot easily become pregnant with just one bottle of Ja-an-hong. That is why one bottle of medicine is 80 yang, and the prescription is 500 yang.”

At Dong Yeong’s remark, Cho Seom-neung shook her hand with a look of understanding. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] She meant for her to lower her voice.

“Please, be quiet.”

Dong Yeong kept talking to the embarrassed Cho Seom-neung.

“Consort Gyo-bi is pure because he drank the Baekhong. Baekhong is strictly managed even in the Imperial Palace. The count of Baekhong bottles stored in the Empress Dowager’s hall has been confirmed. After drinking the Baekhong, he also showed after-effects, so he did not drink it incorrectly. His sense of direction and balance is dulled, and his taste and smell have been temporarily weakened.”

At Dong Yeong’s report, Cho Seom-neung muttered softly.

“Do you think I am a physician?”

Contrary to her words, Cho Seom-neung felt the pulse of the lying Yeon-oh. She lifted his eyelids to check his reaction and carefully listened to his breathing with her ear on his chest.

She pulled a palm-sized paper folder and a pointed charcoal stick from her sleeve and scribbled a prescription. The Chief Steward handed the paper with the prescription to Dong Yeong with a rough gesture.

“Fortunately, Consort Gyo-bi is not of a constitution to reject the Ja-an-hong, so his life is not in immediate danger. Decoction the medicine according to the prescription and give it to him five times a day. And this.”

Cho Seom-neung took out a bottle of medicine from her sleeve.

“What is it?”

“Ja-an-hong. When did he drink the first Ja-an-hong? He must drink the second Ja-an-hong before two days pass after drinking the first.”

“He must have drunk the first one last night.”

Dong Yeong raised Yeon-oh, who was looking at her with dim eyes. Cho Seom-neung came over and held him, who was trying to escape upon seeing the Ja-an-hong bottle.

Dong Yeong held the bottle to Yeon-oh’s lips as he tried to shake his head.

“Master, you must drink it. If you only drink Ja-an-hong once, you will be in an ambiguous state, so please drink it to prevent miscarriage if you conceive a child in a half-baked condition.”

The Court Lady’s firm words were cold, but worry was contained within them. Yeon-oh, held immobile by the two women, drank the second Ja-an-hong.

Heat surged through his head again.

“Is this all for the prescription and the Ja-an-hong?”

“He must drink the third Ja-an-hong as well.”

“Please procure it for me. When should I call the Chief Steward again? Since he collapses every time he drinks the Ja-an-hong, will you give me an additional prescription?”

Dong Yeong’s hands, which wiped the sweat from Yeon-oh’s forehead and tidied the quilt, were careful and affectionate.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“I will contact you the day after tomorrow.”

As she left the hall, Cho Seom-neung turned back to Dong Yeong.

“Did the Court Lady come with the master from his family home?”

“Of course not.”

“You care so much for a master you have only recently met.”

Dong Yeong escorted Cho Seom-neung to the gate of Giryung Palace.

“Consort Gyo-bi makes delicious flower tea. And who knows? Consort Gyo-bi might bear an heir and receive a great reward from the Gyo General’s Household and the Imperial Family.”

“Consort Gyo-bi’s flower tea was delicious. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] I drink Yeongsan flower tea every time I come to Yul, but that was the first time I tasted such magnificent flower tea.”

Cho Seom-neung smiled faintly with a contented look. Her eyes sparkled as she recalled the flower tea served by Yeon-oh at Giryung Palace. She seemed to have forgotten her displeasure at being forced to give a prescription.

Seeing her face, Dong Yeong regretted her words a little.

“Is that so?”

Instead of the vague comment that the Consort Gyo-bi’s flower tea was delicious, perhaps it would have been better to say that whenever Yeon-oh was attended to while writing in the morning, flower tea with a brilliant aroma was always prepared on one side of the desk.

A master who offered flower tea to the palace servants every dawn.

This was a type she had never encountered in over 20 years in the Imperial Family and the Harem.

“Very rarely, people who drink Ja-an-hong are said to emit a fragrance. I hope Consort Gyo-bi will possess an elegant and splendid bodily fragrance, just like the Yeongsan flower tea the master makes.”

Standing in front of the hall gate, Cho Seom-neung spoke like a dreamy maiden.

“Fragrance? A person is neither a flower nor a perfume pouch; what fragrance would he have?”

Dong Yeong looked at Cho Seom-neung as if she were a naive child.

“Such things happen very rarely.”

Cho Seom-neung looked at the reproaching Court Lady as if she were a narrow-minded person with no imagination. People of the mainland were indeed stifling and uncreative.

She checked her entourage and the minor eunuch assigned as the guide, who were waiting for her outside the Giryung Palace gate, and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head.

The Chief Steward gave a brief bow.

“I will contact you again.”

Dong Yeong also returned the bow to Cho Seom-neung. The Court Lady’s gaze toward the Namcheon Chief Steward, who was now covered by the opulent cloak, was clouded. Like medicine peddlers, the people of Namcheon were good at telling absurd tales.

‘A person having a fragrance, indeed.’

Dong Yeong turned her body and hurriedly headed inside. She had no time to spare, as she had to administer the prescribed medicine five times a day and care for Yeon-oh, who would be suffering through a bout of sickness.

“What good fortune did I ever wish for… Sigh, to think that one cup of flower tea I received would turn into this.”

A distressed murmur escaped the Court Lady’s lips as she headed toward the hall.