Ch 341: Duty

Donggungyo fixated on her older brother’s affairs throughout the journey. Only when the carriage was about to enter Sangdo City did she finally abandon her fantasies about her brother and the Angel Princess, beginning to speak of matters at the Prime Minister’s mansion.

Donggungyo said to Baek Hak-yeom,

“Actually, Prime Minister Yu Deok-an is a good person. He isn’t bad. The bad person is his wife. Upon hearing that the Main Wife said I was kidnapped, and that the mansion’s servants were causing a commotion, he ordered them to release me.

But sadly, no one in that mansion listened to him anymore. Everyone listened to the Main Wife. I secretly overheard the maids saying that Prime Minister Yu Deok-an is now just a scarecrow. After the Main Wife finishes handling everything, he’ll no longer have any reason to live.”

This was something Baek Hak-yeom hadn’t considered, but Donggungwon believed it, because he had interacted with the people of that mansion. In particular, he had known Prime Minister Yu Deok-an for over a decade, and there was a basic level of trust between them.

Donggungwon said to Baek Hak-yeom,

“In truth, Prime Minister Yu Deok-an was truly painting Gangsan-do. Although his illness was very severe, he still completed a little of the painting every day for two or three hours. He told me that there were two reasons for painting it. First, as Prime Minister, he had served the court faithfully throughout his life, but at the end of this life, he felt he had wronged the court. He had concealed his illness, committing the great sin of deceiving his lord. Although this sin was driven by his family, he wanted to repay the Emperor’s trust by doing something more for the court at the end.”

“The second reason was to protect himself. If his sin were exposed and roused everyone’s anger, he would have to protect his children and couldn’t bear the annihilation of the Yu Clan. If he completed this painting, he could partly atone for deceiving His Majesty, and he hoped that when His Majesty saw the painting, he would spare his family. Him, and… me as well.”

Donggungwon was very distressed.

“Yu Deok-an was a scholar who loved poetry and painting his entire life. He had his own perspective on the great project of Gangsan-do, so His Majesty relied greatly on him. I truly want to help him. However, unfortunately, the limits of medical skill hinder me. Therefore, Master, if possible, please help Prime Minister Yu Deok-an. Let him live for a few more years!”

Donggungwon’s words were so heartfelt that even Yeongchun’s heart softened.

But Baek Hak-yeom didn’t immediately agree, lost in thought. What had Yu Deok-an’s Main Wife done? She speculated on what the Main Wife planned while prolonging the Prime Minister’s life. It definitely wasn’t something simple, like embezzling assets. There must be another conspiracy or deal involved. And how would that affect Dongjin?

“We must save him.”

She finally spoke, having given Donggungwon’s siblings Cheongsimhwan.

“But things have changed a lot from what we initially thought. At first, I intended to use the Prime Minister’s illness as an opportunity to introduce our medicine to the market. But now it seems that saving Prime Minister Yu Deok-an must be done quietly. Or… .”

Baek Hak-yeom paused, lost in thought again. When she spoke again, she completely reversed her previous decision.

“Let’s save him! We must save him publicly. By using Prime Minister Yu Deok-an to publicize the pills, we can resolve the sin of deceiving His Majesty. If we say he fell ill while painting the ‘Geumsu Gangsando’, it will have no connection to his initial request for leave. But we can’t just save him. He must accept my conditions.”

Baek Hak-yeom didn’t state what those conditions were, and Donggungwon didn’t ask. He had already stated it before. Having accepted her as his master, he wouldn’t question whatever his master instructed him to do. He would only accept and obey, without questioning right or wrong, walking the same path as his master.

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After sending Donggungwon’s siblings home, Baek Hak-yeom didn’t go anywhere else. The plan to treat tuberculosis had already begun. She had to quickly make more pills. If she waited for patients to flock to her before making them, it would be too late.

After returning home, Baek Hak-yeom entered the pharmacy and didn’t come out again. That night, Mu-eon, a close aide to the Ninth Prince, visited Geumsaenggak. However, his target wasn’t Geumsaenggak’s Lord Baek Hak-yeom, but Baek Jin-jin, who managed the ledgers there.

Because so many people visited Geumsaenggak every day, Baek Jin-jin had been very busy lately. To do as her second older sister said, it wasn’t enough for Baek Jin-jin to become an official. She had to escape simple tasks and help with other things. She absolutely couldn’t confine herself to one place.

So she chose someone to help her—or rather, a disciple—Yu Jeon.

Yu Jeon was very intelligent. For these two days, she had Yu Jeon review the ledgers with her. During the day, she had the clerks record transactions, and in the evenings, she reviewed the ledgers with Yu Jeon. They reviewed Geumsaenggak’s income and expenses from beginning to end. Of course, the most important part was calculating how much silver and herbal medicine was lost that day, and how much silver and herbal medicine remained in Geumsaenggak’s ledgers.

Geumsaenggak’s main purpose was providing medical care, so very few people came with money. Most were poor people, so Geumsaenggak was losing money every day. Though most of what was given to the poor was herbal medicine, Geumsaenggak also had to pay its physicians and workers for food and monthly wages. When this was calculated daily, the losses were not only in herbal medicine, but also in gold and silver.

With such a large amount of herbal medicine flowing out, they had to replenish it daily. Since silver was needed for this replenishment, if it wasn’t calculated, one wouldn’t know, but once calculated, Geumsaenggak’s expenditure was truly enormous.

Fortunately, the people Baek Hak-yeom had hired were all trustworthy, all diligent and not lazy. Therefore, everything from record-keeping to investigation proceeded smoothly. Yu Jeon also quickly did her part, reducing Baek Jin-jin’s worries in many ways. Baek Jin-jin planned to return home after closing Geumsaenggak today and tell her second older sister about the past two days. She never expected to see Mu-eon enter before she could leave.

For a moment, she didn’t fully grasp the situation and blankly asked,

“How did you come? Are you here for treatment, or to get medicine?”

Mu-eon looked at the Fourth Miss Baek standing before him. Before, she always wore a striking red skirt and strode through the streets, but now her attire was incredibly ordinary and simple. Instead of jewelry in her hair, she only wore a plain silver hairpin. The numerous rings on her fingers and the many bracelets on her wrists were also gone. Her appearance was no different from an ordinary girl from a common household.

Although the color and style had changed, the fabric was still of high quality, and immediately recognizable. It was a material that ordinary families could never afford, a material worn only by noble ladies and masters in the palace.

Mu-eon began to laugh after hearing Baek Jin-jin’s question.

“It’s neither for treatment nor medicine. My master told me to deliver a message to the Fourth Miss. It’s time to keep your promise; don’t neglect your duty.”

Baek Jin-jin was stunned.

“What promise? What duty do I owe your master?”

But only after she finished speaking did Baek Jin-jin remember the duty. That’s right. At that time, to use the Ninth Prince as backing and to work outside the Baek family, she promised to go to the Sinwangbu and examine the documents.

“Right, I forgot.”

Baek Jin-jin tapped her head.

“I’ve been really busy lately.”

Then she turned to Yu Jeon and said,

“Check this alone today and make good notes. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to check again.”

After speaking, Baek Jin-jin said to Mu-eon,

“Let’s go!”

Mu-eon politely escorted Baek Jin-jin to the carriage. With a crack of the whip, the carriage sped towards Sinwangbu.

✦✦✦

The Sinwangbu servants were almost used to Baek Jin-jin’s visits, not as surprised as they were the first couple of times. However, they were much more excited than during those first few visits.

If someone said that the young lady who frequently visited wasn’t in an inexplicably close relationship with the Ninth Prince, no one would believe them.

Of course, they also knew her background very well. Judging by her previous status, she was merely the Fourth Miss of a Mun Gukgongbu and the granddaughter of a merchant family, the Hong Family, which would have made them hesitate. However, in their hearts, the Ninth Prince was like a god, and they all hoped that their master would be paired with the most outstanding young lady in the world.

But the Mun Gukgongbu didn’t have a good reputation, and the Mun Gukgong wasn’t a good person. It was understandable to hesitate. Added to this was the Four Classes of Society, and merchants were the lowest. It wasn’t a good status to hear about.

But things were different now. First, the Tenth Prince chose the Mun Gukgongbu’s Second Young Lady, raising the Mun Gukgongbu’s status by a notch. This Fourth Miss became the Tenth Prince’s sister-in-law, then her older sister stood out and became the Angel Princess. Just as the rising tide lifts all boats, the Fourth Miss’s status also rose.

And now at the Sinwangbu, everyone was overjoyed to see Baek Jin-jin. They were eager to call her Queen, but worried about offending their master’s dignity and couldn’t bring themselves to do it, even though they already viewed Baek Jin-jin as the mistress of their house. When she entered, the head eunuch even asked,

“Fourth Miss, will you be leaving today? If you’re not, I’ll give the order to prepare things. We’ll also quickly move the items that need to be brought into His Highness’s quarters.”

Baek Jin-jin blushed crimson and quickly waved her hands.

“No, no. I have to go back. Even if I don’t leave, you should prepare a guest room; what does it have to do with His Highness’s quarters?”

The head eunuch only laughed and remained silent. Guest room? What a joke! The doors are already closed; what guest room!

When Baek Jin-jin arrived, Gun Mo-cho was writing calligraphy in his study. Mu-eon led her to the entrance and left, making sure to close the door.

Gun Mo-cho tilted his head, glanced at her, and gestured.

“Come in.”

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