The poisons master

Chapitre 6

But Yi-seo was only worried about the King. She was convinced that Lord Park was responsible for her mother's death, and now, he was trying to kill the man she loved. Maybe her father and her were wrong and there was nothing suspicious about the King's illness but she wasn't going to just sit back and wait to see what would happen. If there was a poison involved, she needed to find out which one it was and take action. She asked her father to gather all the information he could get about the King's symptoms from the royal physicians and she spent several days going through all her notes. But she couldn't find anything useful. Her knowledge of poisons wasn't enough, so she decided to write to Seol-geum and ask for her help.

                    * * * * * * * * *

As Yi-seo expected, her friend came as soon as she could. She welcomed her with joy and relief.
Ae-wol, her servant, agreed to share her room and once the healer had settled in, Yi-seo took her to her room.

- I'm so glad to see you.
- I'm glad to see you too. You're so beautiful ..., Seol-geum answered, while gently caressing the young woman's face. There's nothing left of your illness.

The healer hadn't seen Yi-seo since she'd left Chungcheong Province, but she knew that she was completely healed as the young woman had sent her a letter to tell her so, with a package of rare herbs that could be useful to her. But seeing it with her own eyes wasn't the same as reading about it and Seol-geum was overwhelmed by happiness and relief.

- It's all thanks to you, said Yi-seo. I'm so grateful.

The healer smiled tenderly and took Yi-seo's hands in hers.

- You owe me nothing. I'm glad that I was able to help you. Speaking of which, your letter said you needed me urgently. What's going on ?
- First of all, you must keep everything I'm about to tell you a secret.
- Don't worry about this.
- Do you remember the wounded young man that was at my house ?
- Of course. And I remember how miserable you were after he was gone, even if I pretended not to notice. Did you happen to meet him here again ?
- I did, Yi-seo said softly. And it turned out that he was the Crown Prince, and now, he's the King.
- Oh, I see ... What an unexpected twist of fate. But King or not, I'm sure you still like him and I guess he's the reason you asked me to come.
- Yes. The King is ill and I fear that someone may be poisoning him.
- Tell me everything you know, said the healer gravely.

After Yi-seo did so, Seol-geum took some time to think.

- Why do you believe the Queen may be involved ?
- Because she's Left State Councilor Park 's niece. If someone wants the King dead, it's definitely Lord Park.
- But if the tea or the treats she shares with the King are poisoned, she would be ill too. And so would be the person who test them ... Unless they take an antidote beforehand. From the symptoms you described, I can think of several poisons that could be involved. I'll make a list of the ingredients used in both the poisons and their antidotes. Then we'll have to find out if some of them have been purchased recently. We'll only focus on the expensive or rare ones.
- Fine, Yi-seo said. Let's do this tomorrow.

She paused for a few seconds then added :

- There's something else I must tell you. Lord Park's wife ... . She offered my mother the beauty powder that may have killed her and disfigured me.
- Why would she do such a horrible thing ?
- At the time, my father was working at the palace and he kept getting in Park Chi-gook's way. After my mother's death, my father resigned and left Hanyang and Lord Park got what he wanted.
- Did you say Park Chi-gook ? Said Seol-geum, her face going suddenly pale.
- Yes, why are you so surprised ?
- Do you remember that I told you that I have a younger sister, Deok-geum ?
- Yes. She left the village and went to work for a provincial official.
- That's right. I wish she'd stayed with me, she'd have been a great healer. She was really gifted ... But she never liked to live there and wanted a better life. One where you don't starve to death, like our parents did. So she left and went to work for the family of the Province Governor. She came back one day, to say good bye. Her master had been promoted and she was following him to Hanyang. His name was Park Chi-gook.

Yi-Seo stood silent for several minutes, her heart shrinking in her chest. She then stared at her friend.

- If your sister's working for Lord Park, that means ...

She couldn't go on.

- That means that she made the poison that killed your mother, Seol-geum said. And now, she's involved in an attempt to kill the King. I feel so ashamed ...
- You're not responsible for your sister's evil deeds. She left you so long ago, I'm sure you raised her the best way you could so she would become a decent person. You can't blame yourself because she chose another path.
- I'm so sorry, Yi-seo ! the healer said with tears pouring on her cheeks. When I think of all these years of pain you've been through ... and my own sister did this to you !
- And you saved me and made up for this. I'll help you find your sister. Maybe you can convince her to choose a righteous path.
- I'm afraid it's too late for this. Let's take care of the King first, the healer answered with a soothing voice. Then, I'll go and find Deok-geum. I won't let her down but she'll have to take responsibility for everything she did.