[Completed] A Tale About A: Forgotten Princess (Part 1)

Chapter 13: Medicines

While Soo Yeon curled herself into a ball, someone approached her. The footsteps stopped just a short distance away from her and the elderly man spoke.

"Young miss, have some porridge. You haven't eaten anything yet since arriving here."

Soo Yeon slowly looked up and wiped her tears with her sleeves. She took the bowl of hot porridge. "Thank you." She mumbled as she sniffed.

The elderly man sighed and made his way back into his room. Soo Yeon looked at the plain porridge in the bowl and wondered if her father had taken his dinner already? She hoped that he hadn't skipped meals just because of her.

//

Back in the palace, late at night

As King Tae Jo didn't have time to have dinner due to a load of royal duties, his servant made him supper and brought it to his chamber.

King Tae Jo picked up the copper spoon and dug it into the ginseng chicken porridge after Eunuch Lee had tasted for poison. He took a bite of the porridge and the warmth relaxes his mind.

"Yong Jun ah..." The King called.

"Yes Cheon na?" Yong Jun quickly attended to the King.

"Has the physician reached the village?" The King asked and he scooped another mouth of porridge.

"Yes Cheon na. The physician had arrived to the village this morning."

"How's the situation there?" The King asked once again.

"Many had died because of the flu virus. There aren't much medicines left for the villagers to survive." Yong Jun reported.

"What do you mean by not much medicines left? I only sent the physician there recently." The King was curious and shocked by this new information.

"Well it seemed that there was an old physician in the village. He had been treating the patients for a while now." Yong Jun explained.

"Is that so?" King Tae Jo said monotonelessly as he wondered who had sent the physician there. Clearly he had ordered the soldiers privately not to let anyone in except for the people he approved...

The next morning, there was a royal meeting and all of the ministers were gathered in the court hall.

"I'm sure that all of you had heard about the infected village not far from the capital. I would like to send some herbs to the village to cure the patients." King Tae Jo announced.

Minister Oh stepped out to share his opinion. "Cheon na, what's the point of sending medicines to an infected village which has already become worthless? There must be a better place for us to utilize the medicines..."

Minister Lee stood out to defend the King as he argued, "That is why the more we must send the medicines urgently to the village to save the other people who could be saved! Plus, the King had already sent a physician there to cure the patients!" He debated.

"Cheon na..." Minister Oh bowed as he hoped for the King to agree with his point.

"Cheon na, I certainly agree with Minister Oh that we must not waste our expensive medicines on a worthless village. Please, take your orders back." Minister Yoo left his position and stood beside Minister Oh. He stared intensely back at the King, hoping the King could at least listen to him like before.

"What sort of King would abandon his own citizens? Be it they are sick or not? This is my final order, send the medicines to the infected village instantly." King Tae Jo said firmly as he glared back at Minister Yoo, his father-in-law.