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The urgent voice of a woman heard outside the Janggyeongjeon Hall of Changdeokgung Palace was that of Lady Ui of the Seong clan (宜嬪 成氏: Queen Seong), a concubine of King Jeongjo.
“Your Majesty! Please come to your senses!”
The voice of Lady Hyegyeong Hong, who was filled with sorrow, was also heard.
Lady Hyegyeong Hong was the grandmother of Crown Prince Munhyo and the mother of King Jeongjo.
“Crown! Get up! You must be strong!”
The desperate cry also burst out in the voice of Queen Hyowi, the queen consort.
In front of the three people, the royal physicians were sweating profusely as they examined Crown Prince Munhyo’s condition.
But as the time approached, the breathing, which had already been shallow, became irregular.
The prince’s measles was improving, but then suddenly got worse.
“What are you all doing? Hurry up and open the Crown Prince’s eyes!”
At the angry cries of Lady Hyegyeong Hong, the royal physicians injected needles into Prince Munhyo, whose entire body had turned red with a rash.
There was no way to treat Crown Prince Munhyo, who had already lost consciousness due to a high fever.
When measles broke out, there was no treatment, and only symptomatic treatment for cough and high fever was available.
‘It was said that the skin’s heat was clearly cooled and the spots disappeared refreshingly… … .’
Jeongjo took steps that were as complicated as his inner thoughts.
“What happened?”
Jeongjo, who was waiting with a burning heart outside the hall, asked the maid who was coming out of the room carrying a basin.
“He still hasn’t come to his senses.”
“Ah! How could heaven give us such a trial…?”
At Nine’s words, Jeongjo had an ominous thought.
Jeongjo, who was well-versed in medicine, knew better than anyone else the fear of Hongjin.
‘Sun(㬀), you must cheer up. For this father’s sake too… … .’
King Jeongjo loved and cherished Crown Prince Munhyo, who was born to Lady Ui, who was kind and not greedy, more than anyone else.
The birth of Crown Prince Munhyo, the first child and eldest son of the devoted and relied-upon Queen Seong Ui-bin, after two miscarriages, was an indescribable joy. Moreover, he was a precious child born at the late age of thirty-one.
King Jeongjo held a special ceremony to commemorate the birth of the prince, and he was so fond of him that he was appointed crown prince when he was three years old.
That was when.
“Crown Prince! Crown Prince! How can I leave this mother behind…?”
“Mom! Come to your senses.”
“Donggung! How am I supposed to live like this… Ah, sob, sob!”
“Crown! Crown Prince! Open your eyes, sob sob sob!”
Urgent voices and the wailing of women were heard.
At the sound of the crying, Jeongjo hurried into the room.
The air in the room was heavier and darker than usual.
“What happened to the Crown Prince?”
No one answered Jeongjo’s question.
Just looking at the scenery inside the room was enough to understand the situation.
Seong Ui-bin was unconscious, and Jeongjo’s mother, Lady Hyegyeong Hong, was seen sobbing while embracing Crown Prince Munhyo, who was growing colder.
Next to him, the queen held onto the crown prince’s feet and cried out loud.
“……Your Majesty, please kill me.”
Only the royal physicians bowed their heads on the floor and answered King Jeongjo’s words.
“How could this happen, the Crown Prince…….”
Jeongjo also staggered at those words and collapsed to the floor.
Even the king’s dignity was nothing in the face of the death of his beloved son.
“Quickly take care of the royal concubine’s condition.”
At King Jeongjo’s words, the royal physician and the eunuch examined Lady Ui’s name.
The lips of the fainting Seong Ui-bin lost their color, and tears flowed endlessly from her closed eyes.
Seong Ui-bin was not single, but pregnant.
“Donggung! Take this old woman too! I can’t live without you… Aahhhh!”
King Jeongjo forced himself to stand up to support Lady Hyegyeong Hong, who could not accept the death of Crown Prince Munhyo.
The sadness and heartache weighed heavily on me like a billion pounds, but I couldn’t lose even my mother.
‘Of all the billions of people living on this earth, why did you take the crown prince? Is it because my sins are so great?’
As he walked step by step towards where the Crown Prince lay, Jeongjo’s heart was torn and he felt resentful towards heaven.
When Crown Prince Munhyo’s illness worsened, King Jeongjo not only offered prayers twice at the Jongmyo Shrine to pray for his recovery, but also devoted himself to the point of establishing the Office of Medicine and personally preparing and administering medicine.
Perhaps because of this, Crown Prince Munhyo’s condition improved, and the king was so pleased with this that he even issued a general amnesty.
In addition, he led the country into a festive mood by implementing special examinations and reducing taxes.
“Your Majesty, open your eyes quickly. Didn’t Grandma say so? Quickly!”
Lady Hyegyeong Hong, as if she could not believe that Crown Prince Munhyo was dead, caressed his face and shed tears.
As Jeongjo looked at that sight, his eyes turned red and large tears flowed down his face.
“Oh my, the Crown Prince is by our side…….”
Jeongjo was unable to continue speaking.
He wanted to cry out loud like his mother, but he couldn’t because of the weight of being a king and the need to maintain balance.
But in Jeongjo’s heart, tears of blood were shed from the sorrow that felt like his heart would stop.
“No, Your Majesty! The Crown Prince was just tired and took a nap. Please don’t say anything like that.”
“Oh my, the Crown Prince is sobbing……!”
At his mother’s words, Jeongjo finally burst into tears that he had been holding back.
It was when King Jeongjo’s shoulders shook helplessly in the throes of passion.
Prince Munhyo’s body shook slightly.
“Where am I? Who is crying so sadly?”
It felt like I had woken up from a long nightmare.
I remember the plane being enveloped in a white halo, but I can’t remember anything after that.
“Phew—!”
I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids wouldn’t open as I would have them.
Instead, he let out a long breath.
“The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince is breathing!”
The queen, who heard Crown Prince Munhyo’s breathing for the first time, spoke loudly.
‘Why are you all like that…? Isn’t this a hospital?’
Jeong Jung-ho thought he was lying in a hospital room.
As I strained my eyelids again, the scenery inside the room came into view dimly.
“The Crown Prince has opened his eyes. What are you doing, Royal Physician? Quickly examine the Crown Prince’s body!”
King Jeongjo also became astonished and gave orders to his royal physician.
Something happened that was absurd based on the medical knowledge I had.
“The Crown Prince opened his eyes? The Crown Prince!”
Seong Ui-bin, who had lost consciousness, came to her senses at Jeongjo’s words.
‘What? A crown prince…?’
Jeong Jung-ho turned his head to the side at the repeated mention of the crown prince.
What caught my eye were people wearing traditional Korean clothes.
“Oh my! How could this happen…? You don’t have a fever, and the rash in your mouth is gone. Everything is normal!”
The royal physician, who had examined Prince Munhyo’s body thoroughly, spoke with a surprised expression.
“Heaven has answered your prayers.”
“Don’t ever do anything to this mother that she can’t handle, Crown Prince.”
At the king’s words, Lady Hyegyeong Hong and Consort Seong took Crown Prince Munhyo’s hand and said.
“Your Majesty! You are truly admirable. You are admirable.”
Queen Hyowi, the queen, also wiped away her tears and said.
“Hahaha! That’s right. Our ancestors truly protected the well-being of the royal family.”
King Jeongjo could feel that the traces of illness had disappeared from the noticeably changed complexion of Crown Prince Munhyo.
‘The royal family? Then could this be…?’
* * *
After coming to my senses, I lay down for a while to sort out the current situation.
The reason he immediately realized that his original body had disappeared and he had entered the body of Crown Prince Munhyo, who had died of measles, was because the memories of the young crown prince remained intact in his mind.
“Whew! My body has disappeared and my soul has entered Crown Prince Munhyo’s body?”
I knew I had regressed to the past, but I couldn’t understand how my mind could have entered someone else’s body.
“Is there really some mysterious power in the Bermuda Triangle? Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened…”
The disappearance of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda Triangle was a well-known mystery, giving rise to countless conspiracy theories.
‘I somehow ended up becoming the protagonist of something that changed history.’
Prince Munhyo had to die of measles at the age of five.
That was when.
“Your Highness! It is time to take the herbal medicine.”
The voice of Sangyak was heard.
Sangyak is a third-rank eunuch in charge of medicine used in the palace and a person trusted by King Jeongjo.
King Jeongjo, who suspected that the Crown Prince’s condition had suddenly worsened, did not entrust the royal physician with the herbal medicine, and Sangyak was put in charge of taking care of Crown Prince Munhyo’s body.
‘Ugh! It really hurts. I can’t even say I’m completely better… ‘
A moment later, the door opened and Sangyak came in with the kitchen maid preparing food.
“If you take this herbal medicine for a few more days, you will be able to wake up feeling refreshed.”
Sangyak said, holding out a plate containing the herbal medicine.
“Your Majesty, please slowly rise.”
The maid of honor put down the medicine and plates she had brought and quickly supported Prince Munhyo’s body.
After taking the bitter medicine, I soothed my bitter mouth with sweet medicine.
“I think I can stop drinking now.”
I don’t know what herbs were used, but it was more bitter than any herbal medicine I’ve ever taken.
“This is to strengthen His Majesty the Crown Prince’s health. It is a herbal medicine that contains a prescription to relieve the aftereffects of illness, so please take it all.”
“i get it.”
Prince Munhyo took the medicine that Nain had picked up, held his nose with his hand, and drank it in one gulp.
“Ouch, write!”
As soon as I finished drinking the herbal medicine, a child’s whiny voice came out.
“Please put this medicine in your mouth.”
When I put the medicine that Nine had given me into my mouth, the bitter taste became less bitter.
“I feel stuffy, so could you open the door a little wider?”
Prince Munhyo looked at the servant girl in the East Palace behind him and said.
When the maid looked at Sangyak as if asking him a question, he nodded.
Rattling!
As the door opened, the warm spring air poured in, pushing away the shadow of death that had filled the palace.
“Your Majesty, you should quickly gather your strength and go out like before.”
“That’s how it should be. The world looks so vibrant….”
The fragrant scent of flowers and the lively sounds of birds could not have been more pleasant.
‘The air is so refreshing. In modern times, we’ve suffered from yellow dust and fine dust… .’
I remembered the time I suffered from the terrible yellow dust that I encountered when I visited Seoul to attend an academic conference.
The hazy sky at that time was as unsightly as a dark bruise.
“I sense energy in your voice. If you act as you wish, your frustration will soon be relieved.”
It was not the voice of the crown prince who was on the verge of death, as the promise had said.
He had returned to the bright and lively voice he had before his illness.
* * *
After the wedding, Prince Munhyo rose from his seat and looked out at the scenery outside, lost in thought.
‘The 10th year of King Jeongjo’s reign is 1786… … It’s the 10th anniversary of America’s independence, and the French Revolution is still three years away. The Qing Emperor Qianlong’s Thousand Water Banquet would have been held last year, and Japan would have continued to be in turmoil due to the Tenmei Famine and other events… … ‘
The world timelines I had in my head during my time at Korea University came to mind.
“Well, if Joseon is to improve from what it is now, it will need new changes…. For change, we need people fit for the new era…. No, those people alone might not be enough. We will also need new people who will set their minds right and attempt to bring about change….”
Jeong Jung-ho, who entered Crown Prince Munhyo’s body, thought of many Silhak scholars and people who had given strength to King Jeongjo.
‘I used to wonder what would have happened if Crown Prince Munhyo had not died, but I never thought that would become a reality.’
“……The world will be different from now on.”
One of the things I always regretted during my time in the Department of Oriental History at Korea University was that King Jeongjo’s reforms were not completed and were halted.
I wondered what history would have been like if Jeongjo had lived as long as Yeongjo, or if Crown Prince Munhyo had inherited the throne without dying.
“I said I won’t be studying for the time being, so I need to think about what I’ll do for the future.”
While Prince Munhyo was recovering, he did not have to study at the Sejasi Gangwon (世子侍講院), which was in charge of the education of crown princes.
“Whew! Can I go back? Or should I just keep living?”
He thought about how to get back, but the only idea that came to mind was to go to the Bermuda Triangle, which had sent him back to the Joseon Dynasty.
But the problem was that there was no guarantee that something like that would happen again, and there was no guarantee that he would return to his original body.
