episode_0009

August, 1417, during the reign of Taejong.

The envoy heading to Ming gathered for the first time a few days before departure.

Chinese envoys Hwang Eom, Han Hwak, Hwang’s sister-in-law Kim Deokjang, Han, and Hwang along with six maids accompanying the two women, two court officials.

Six military officers, including me, were also present as escorts.

Although there was no escort at the moment, they were expected to join in the Pyeongan Province.

During this time, I diligently trained every day while carrying out my given tasks.

“Finally seeing them?”

Han, a woman of remarkable beauty who would become a concubine of Yeongnakje, was curious.

After a brief wait, the two women appeared, leading maids on either side.

Judging by their appearances, both seemed to be around my age.

One of them stood out in appearance, later revealed to be Hwang, not Han as I initially thought.

I thought Han was prettier, but that wasn’t the case.

“Oh, a beauty ahead of her time.”

Whether Han or Hwang, both seemed like celebrities from the future, centuries ahead of their time.

Especially due to their petite faces, their proportions were extraordinary.

While the Korean people are known to be tall, perhaps due to poor nutrition, the average height for men is around 165cm. For women, maybe 155cm?

Mostly encountering people with average builds, seeing an eight-head beauty made heads turn based on her figure alone.

Both of them easily surpassed 160 centimeters in height.

As I admired them, Han turned her head slightly towards me, her expression changing so drastically it seemed like she was taken aback.

“Why is she acting like that? Is she interested in me?”

Oh well!

“It’s probably because I stand out with my height and sturdy build compared to most men.”

Thinking this way, I tried to maintain composure, but it seemed like she might have actually fallen for me.

The evidence was her blushing face.

Since customizing and investing in myself, I had been improving daily. The way women looked at me had changed significantly, which was not new.

Even when I saw my reflection by the water, I found myself quite handsome.

With daily training, my body had become even better.

If one were to nitpick, I resembled a muscular Jung Woo-sung or Won Bin type.

After receiving attention from women for over a year, I had grown indifferent to it.

“Could she really have feelings for me?”

Though I sometimes caught glimpses of longing looks, I pretended not to notice.

“What should I do? It seems she really has feelings for me.”

While I might ignore advances from ordinary women, she was not just anyone; she could potentially become a woman of Yeongnakje!

“Honestly, I’m better than some old man.”

Yeongnakje was an elderly man with little time left. He would die in 1424, leaving Han to become a widow.

So, this woman only had about seven years left to live.

“I’d like to spare her, but there’s no way.”

If it were love, I would kidnap her and run away to the ends of the earth, but that wasn’t feasible.

Moreover, Joseon was not in a state to wage war against Ming.

If the woman designated as a concubine went astray, there would be no defense against potential accusations.

Since King Sejong had not yet ascended the throne, Hangul had not been introduced.

“To change history for one woman is too burdensome.”

Helplessly, I averted my gaze.

After a few days, the envoy departed from Hanyang.

Moving at a steady pace, they passed through Kaesong and arrived in Pyongyang.

They waited for several days in Pyongyang until the escort troops assembled.

During this period, I explored various places in Pyongyang without rest.

Because it was my first time setting foot in the northern capital.

While wandering, I wondered if Pyongyang was the birthplace of Doochang, but I couldn’t find any traces.

Once again, with the escort troops, they left Pyongyang and arrived in Uiju.

Up to this point, Hwang had remained unchanged, and Han’s gaze that occasionally fell upon me was still the same.

Meanwhile, as I delved into researching Han and Hwang through the internet, I came across a new fact.

Before entering Beijing, Hwang suffered from abdominal pain. Despite doctors prescribing medication, it was of no use. She mentioned craving kimchi stew but ended up receiving a scolding from the Chinese envoy, Huang Eum.

Furthermore, during her bout of abdominal pain, she passed a lump of flesh while urinating.

The maid disposed of it secretly, only to be caught by other maids.

“So, she will likely miscarry almost upon arriving in Beijing.”

Lastly, as mentioned before, Hwang is not being sent back to her home country but is remaining in Beijing as a court lady.

“Haha. Quite ironic. Even though she is pregnant, they are keeping her as a court lady until the end.”

In any case, I decided to twist history.

I chose to use the bacteria causing dysentery that I had stored in a liquor bottle since childhood.

Not knowing what might happen, I brought along bottles containing other bacteria.

It wasn’t because of my feelings for Han.

Come to think of it, even if I entered Beijing, chaos would ensue due to Hwang. There was a high possibility that the embassy would be confined to the room, unable to move freely.

Perhaps they might end up in a prison instead of a room.

Thanks to Han, the situation might be resolved, but it was certain that I wouldn’t be able to roam around Beijing freely.

“Better make Hwang fall ill and miscarry in advance.”

It was when we were crossing the Yalu River.

I wondered if the bacteria I had kept for six years in the bottle were still alive. After filling it with water here, I kindly offered it to the military officer accompanying me when he expressed thirst.

“Alcohol?”

“No, it’s water. Please drink only from the top as there might be dirt at the bottom.”

“Hehe. It would have been better if it were alcohol.”

The officer drank without much thought.

And a few days later.

Cough, cough, cough, cough.

Influenza spread widely throughout the embassy.

Despite the long six years that had passed, the bacteria revived once water entered the bottle. It seemed like the sealing was done well, although not vacuum-sealed.

Originally a famous bacterium causing dysentery, it brought about a flu accompanied by fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and body aches, forcing the embassy to stop in a village near the border.

Despite receiving imperial orders and mobilizing all physicians, the situation did not improve at all.

At that time, I also caught the flu, but by frequently washing my hands, maintaining cleanliness by going to a nearby stream to bathe, the flu passed by much more lightly for me than others.

Perhaps having higher stamina than others was one of the reasons I could withstand dysentery so well.

Huang Eum, suffering from body aches, irritatedly grabbed people and vented his frustrations.

But disease is fair to everyone; can anyone really blame another!

I approached the maid who often served Hwang, taking care of her and getting close to her under the guise of affection.

Not because she liked me, but to extract information.

Young and attractive, I raised the charm to its limit. Women are weak against tall, muscular men.

“Um, you seem to be gradually recovering despite feeling quite unwell. You’re not bleeding.”

It was a disappointing response.

“Should I release another bacterium?”

The second one I brought out was the bacterium causing enteritis. When I gave it to the maid to eat, it led to both her and Hwang contracting diarrhea.

However, since dysentery had already spread, others thought it was just a resurgence.

After a few days, I even brought out a small self-contained bottle containing bacteria causing eye diseases.

Several bacteria were used in this manner.

Occasionally, some bacteria died, rendering them ineffective. However, many of them, like dysentery or enteritis, showed clear effects.

They set up tents in a village near the border and stayed for a month, which turned into over three weeks.

The era being what it was, although there was some flexibility in the schedule, this delay was considered far too significant by the authorities.

It wasn’t anything unexpected; the epidemic had caused delays, and it was a situation that couldn’t be rushed forcibly.

Thanks to careful management, the initial severe dysentery didn’t spread elsewhere, and due to the urgent request from the court known as the “Sasin-dan,” officials were sent over to take care of things.

As a result, not a single person died.

However, it was inevitable that dysentery would spread to surrounding villages from where we stayed, resulting in quite a few deaths.

Most of the deceased were poor commoners living in squalor due to extremely poor hygiene.

#

Before we knew it, August and September passed, and October arrived.

Finally, we could hear the long-awaited news from the maid.

“You finally went out for a stroll!”

Ha, what nonsense for a pregnant woman to go out for a stroll!

It was clearly a miscarriage.

The maid’s expression was dark, and it was evident that this was no ordinary stroll.

‘Please, don’t get caught.’

Unlike in the past, everyone was currently preoccupied with consecutive cases of smallpox.

Fortunately, there were no incidents of other maids getting caught.

After managing to cover it up somehow, we set off again, passing through the commotion.

Whether in villages or cities, every time we stopped, I searched for commoners while on the move.

The reason was to find those afflicted with the plague.