The journey brought them to Liaozhen, a coastal stronghold situated in the eastern reaches of Jiangsu Province.
Liaozhen was a city of dual nature—a bustling commercial port and a strategic naval base. While a formidable fortress loomed over the landscape, the heartbeat of the city was defined by commerce and fishing.
“We’re going to take a boat from here.”
Woof?
“I’m not tricking you. I’m telling you, I’ll ride you for real when we get to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
Grrr.
“Shall I cook you some fish?”
Woof!
Jin Cheon-hee was busy soothing Hwanggu as they approached the castle gate when a soldier stepped forward, blocking his path.
“Are you perhaps Deputy Magistrate Jin Cheon-hee, the Blue-Eyed God?”
“Hm? How do you know me…?”
“It is him!”
At the soldier’s confirmation, figures dressed in pitch-black martial arts uniforms erupted from the shadows. Their faces were obscured by masks, their presence radiating a strange, heavy pressure.
The Eastern Depot…?
Why was the Eastern Depot lying in wait here, and why reveal themselves now?
Dumbfounded, Jin Cheon-hee stared blankly as the figure wearing the most splendid mask among the agents stepped forward.
“Deputy Magistrate Jin Cheon-hee, disciple of the Earl of Medical State, receive the Imperial Command!”
Holy moly, what is this?
It was sudden, but habit took over. He knelt immediately, paying his respects.
“Long live, long live, long live the Emperor!”
The Eastern Depot agent unfurled a scroll and read the contents with a booming resonance.
“His Highness Eun is critically ill! You are to enter the palace urgently!”
His Highness Eun? The Silver Prince?
As Jin Cheon-hee’s mind went blank, the agent rolled the scroll back up with a sharp clack-clack.
“That is the situation. It seems you must depart for the Imperial Palace immediately.”
Where had the booming voice gone? The agent spoke quite politely now.
“Uh… I… am in a situation where I have to go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace…”
Considering an Imperial Command had just been dropped on his head, the answer that tumbled out was clumsy at best. But this felt less like a summons and more like a surprise kidnapping!
And why was it exploding at this timing?
And the Silver Prince is sick? He was definitely very healthy when I checked his pulse last time.
A relapse? Surely not a cancer recurrence?
To Jin Cheon-hee, whose head was spinning with worst-case scenarios, the Eastern Depot agent offered a soothing assurance.
“We will prepare your journey to the Northern Sea Ice Palace later, so do not worry.”
And just like that, Jin Cheon-hee found himself boarding a military ship prepared by the Eastern Depot.
Wow… I never imagined this.
He had been directly, and officially, kidnapped to the Imperial Palace.
***
No, what on earth? What is happening?
Chaos reigned in his mind. About a million question marks floated in the void, yet no answers manifested.
He grasped at straws, praying to every deity he could name—Heaven and Earth Spirits, Allah, God, the Son, the Father, Buddha, Apollo, Shamash, Odin, Hastur, and anyone else listening.
Please, just don’t let it be metastasis.
Medical arts in this era had their limits. If the cancer had metastasized, there was no answer.
It hadn’t seemed likely based on the last pulse check, but that was ultimately just a hunch inferred from experience; the human body rarely adhered to a doctor’s will.
He remained in a daze throughout the voyage. Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, he was ushered straight to His Highness Eun.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
“Give me your wrist.”
“Right. I will.”
Jin Cheon-hee didn’t waste time with pleasantries. He immediately placed his fingers on the radial artery. After a moment of silence…
“…You are normal.”
“Hm. You guessed it right away.”
Did they say a sovereign has no shame? Was this man truly declaring his feigned illness so proudly, wearing an iron plate over his face?
“Ah, aaaaaah…”
The tension left Jin Cheon-hee’s body in a rush, and he squatted down right there on the floor. He had no energy left. Why on earth was this human like this?
“Is it fun to tease a physician like this?”
“Hm. I didn’t do it for fun, but seeing your reaction, it is rather entertaining. Can I use it one more time?”
“Change your attending physician.”
“Ey, where is there an attending physician as good as you to say that?”
Change him, change him, you human! You should be moderate!
Fifty thousand thoughts raced through Jin Cheon-hee’s mind.
“Ha, since I know your jade body is healthy, I will return now. Your Highness—no, Your Majesty. Ah… I don’t know. I’m going.”
As Jin Cheon-hee stood up and turned to leave, His Highness Eun spoke, “Wait a moment. Although We feigned illness, there is a valid reason.”
“…”
“Will you listen?”
Jin Cheon-hee stopped walking. “It seems like it will be incredibly troublesome work.”
“Heh heh heh, only my attending physician talks to this regal like that. Sit here.”
Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be guided back to a seat.
As if waiting for this moment, His Highness Eun snapped his fingers, and the Eastern Depot agents began piling up food like a mountain. Luxurious refreshments of the Imperial Family were displayed in all their glory. But prominently placed among the traditional snacks was a magnificent pile of french fries.
Had he been eating them continuously since Jin Cheon-hee taught him the recipe back then?
You’re just going on a gourmet tour.
Well, since he had checked the pulse and found no body healthier than this, what did it matter?
Crunch—
The golden exterior of the french fry broke crisply in his mouth, the fluffy interior pouring onto his tongue.
“Do you know that a place called the Ayesha Kingdom actually exists in the frozen lands where the Northern Sea Ice Palace is located?”
“Yes. I know it from maps.”
“Acting coy. Aren’t they importing a huge amount of Ondol from there?”
“Well…”
It was true. The Ayesha Kingdom was importing the heating system with terrifying momentum. Was it because it was a matter of survival in the frozen north? He had heard that Ondol was spreading like wildfire.
“While you’re going, conclude a friendship treaty with the Ayesha Kingdom and return.”
“I am not an envoy, however.”
“I heard the prince there is suffering from Severed Meridians. If you cure that, they will become a friendly neighbor ally, so there is no need to worry so much.”
“…No, are Severed Meridians this common?”
At that, His Highness Eun replied nonchalantly, “If it were another disease, I would have sent another physician. But regarding Severed Meridians, one cannot beat the medical arts of the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. But surely the White Qilin Divine Physician wouldn’t listen to me. He would just throw back an answer that he’s sick and can’t go, then go into hiding.”
Suddenly, Jin Cheon-hee imagined his master raising a middle finger with a damn annoyed face.
“Well… Master isn’t an easy person.”
“So am I not using the less difficult disciple?”
Ah, this human really! Is being royalty everything?!
He pondered for three seconds whether to pull those hateful cheeks and start a coup d’état. Were Imperial cheeks sturdier than common cheeks?
“Hahaha, of course I don’t intend to work you for free. And… don’t forget. I am dying to officially hire you as an Imperial Physician. But Sister is blocking it, so I cannot hire you.”
It was so.
The reason the Golden and Silver Princes’s kidnapping sack was closed was because Wangya Ju had laid down the law, stating she would block his path to government office to repay the kindness of saving her life. He didn’t know what kind of life-saving kindness was repaid by blocking a government career, but regardless, the blockade held.
“I will give you a decent reward.”
“What will you give me?”
To the grumbling Jin Cheon-hee, His Highness Eun only smiled instead of answering. It was a smile designed to make a person curious, leaving him wondering whether to dig deeper or not.
“The management of White Qilin Prefecture is quite something. I have heard well of the current status.”
His skill in subtly changing the subject was professional. Indeed, if one is an Emperor, must one be able to maneuver conversations this deftly?
“Especially, I heard the infant mortality rate has dropped to one-thirtieth compared to other regions. Not only that, tax revenue increased by thirty percent after it became White Qilin Prefecture, public order improved significantly, and even the number of farmers migrating from other regions has increased rapidly.”
His Highness Eun fell into thought and asked, “How did you perform such a magic trick?”
“You must have already received the documents.”
“Right, you organized it neatly and sent it up.”
“Just organizing flood control through civil engineering, making kids who do paperwork do some field work, forcing soap usage, forcing smallpox vaccination.”
Ha, thinking about it again is thrilling.
This is power.
He could make everyone wash their hands.
Jin Cheon-hee felt a surge of self-satisfaction.
“You unified weights and measures too.”
“That is the basis of taxation, after all.”
Did it make sense for taxes to be determined by the length of an official’s leg? Furthermore, civil engineering for flood control required precision, so weights and measures had to be standardized.
Like that, they exchanged stories about White Qilin Prefecture. His Highness Eun rested his chin on his hand, listening seriously.
“But this is possible because White Qilin Prefecture is barely a size I can handle. If it gets bigger, administrative gaps will appear again here.”
“I suppose so.”
“I just do what I can. Only up to what my hands can reach.”
At those words, His Highness Eun laughed softly and looked at Jin Cheon-hee for a long time.
“You always say the same thing.”
Jin Cheon-hee scratched his cheek.
His Highness Eun was uncomfortable to deal with. It might be because of the secret of his birth, but that strangely inscrutable attitude made a person even more anxious.
Phew, but I can’t ask about the secret of my birth either.
If it were a Jin Cheon-hee who had only lived one life, he would have opened this Pandora’s box. Curiosity killed the cat. Even the cat must have been curious, so it opened the box prepared to die, right?
But now, daily life had become too precious.
Even if there were some things he didn’t know, and perhaps even if it was a daily life covered in lies or pretense.
What did that matter?
Adults have no intention of letting go of what they hold just to learn something new.
“I will perform Marrow Cleansing for you.”
“Wow, you don’t ask until the end. Stubborn. How stubborn.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, but since I’m here, I’ll do it for you!”
“Are you really not going to ask? Usually, aren’t people dying of curiosity? Who is their birth mother, things like that.”
Aaaack, I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you!
Whether his blood was connected to His Higness’s or not—what was it to him?
When Jin Cheon-hee showed obvious signs of refusal, His Highness Eun’s eyebrows twitched.
Look at this fellow.
He must be dying of curiosity, but seeing him holding out without asking until the end made His Highness Eun feel mischievous.
If they were royalty in turbulent times, perhaps it would be dangerous, but wasn’t he royalty in peacetime? An opportunity for status elevation. It wasn’t for nothing that street novels milked such tropes endlessly.
With such a secret of birth dangling right in front of his eyes, this physician bastard kept his mouth shut tight and played dumb.
“Nephew? Little brother? Which one do you think it is?”
“Aaaack, you are saying something tremendous. Your Highneeeess!”
Thud!
“Kuaaaack! Forehead, my forehead!”
“I will say it again. Since I am here, let’s just do Mar. Row. Clean. Sing and I’ll leave.”
Jin Cheon-hee huffed with a red face, holding needles between his fingers like hidden weapons.
***
No, why do you keep trying to open the gate? I’m done organizing. Let’s be strangers!
Jin Cheon-hee thought furiously while performing the Marrow Cleansing.
Rather than be Pung Cheon-hee, I’d rather beg Master to just let me be Zhuge Cheon-hee!
If Master got married later and even had an heir, Cheon-hee planned to beg somehow to become Jin Cheon-hee again, asking Master to dig him out of the family register.
What if he said no because of the Zhuge Clan’s grudges?
Ugh, since he knew nothing about the secret history of the Zhuge Clan, it was hard to guess. He only knew it was deep and dark.
Jin Cheon-hee only knew that the feelings his master held for the clan weren’t ordinary. Other clans decorated lavishly on memorial days, but Master just planted one incense stick on the anniversary and ended it. Especially for the previous Clan Head’s spirit tablet, he didn’t even wipe it himself but ordered Yoo Ho to do it.
Something he didn’t completely forget, but couldn’t throw away either.
Jin Cheon-hee knew. He knew, but…
Still, he was the man’s only disciple.
Surely his master wouldn’t let him be dragged into the Imperial Palace?