Early the next morning, Eunwoo and Minjun dress well with a few bronze coins and a basket of ginsengs. The two move southward toward the entrance of the village. 

“Are you two going to town?” The village chief approaches them. 

“Yes, but we also have the intention of giving you this gift,” Eunwoo takes out a small root. 

Yesterday when he went up the mountain in the back of the village, he dug up five ginseng roots. Four fat and one small. The small one is to bribe the village chief. One of the big ones is for them to use. The remaining three are to be sold in town. 

The village chief stares at the ginseng root and feels his stomach drop. He couldn’t refuse this special item since sickness is always around the corner, yet he doesn’t want to be used later. Will it be shameful for him to accept this all-too-good gift? How will the villagers view him if he shows the slightest bit of partiality to Eunwoo? 

Then he looks down at the small ginseng root in Eunwoo’s hand again. He convinces himself that the root is small and he is the village chief, there is nothing wrong with him being partial to Eunwoo who is of the royal bloodline.

“How could this humble officer refuse Your Highness’s gift,” the village chief smiles and accepts the ginseng root with both hands. “The town is far. Why don’t you take my donkey cart?”

“Thank you, village chief.”

The old man goes to the animal shed to the side of the yard and brings out the donkey and attaches a cart to it. As he is about to hand the reins over to Eunwoo, he says, “Riding a horse and driving a donkey is similar but different. Is Your Highness familiar?”

Eunwoo turns to Minjun who shakes his head, so Eunwoo replies, “May I ask for some of your time today, village chief?”

“Of course. I’ve been meaning to go into town and do some paperwork for the village. Give me a moment to put away the gift inside the house.”

While they ride in the donkey cart from the village chief’s house to the village entrance, the village chief asks, “So why are you two going into town?”

“Minjun was very ill for a while,” Eunwoo turns his head to the person beside himself. “I want him to be checked by a doctor. Village chief, I don’t know which clinic is good. May you advise me?” 

“Yes. That’s very important… Doctor Oh is a good one. He doesn’t ask for too much and his diagnoses are good.” The village chief touches his beard and nods in satisfaction with his quick thinking.

“Thank you. Then, we will go see Doctor Oh.”

As they approach the village entrance, some villagers who are planning to go to town greet them. They ask, “Is there room for us?”

“Sure. Hop on. It’s two bronze coins per person.”

“Okay!”

They hand the money to the village chief and get on the cart to realize Eunwoo is also riding the cart. Immediately, they want to get off but they’ve already paid the money. 

Minjun quickly gives Eunwoo four bronze coins to pay for their ride. Eunwoo gets off, gives the village chief two bronze coins, and returns the remaining to Minjun. 

“It’s crowded. I’ll walk beside the cart,” Eunwoo answers after Minjun’s confused look. 

In fact, there are multiple reasons other than the cart being crowded. He doesn’t like the looks of the villagers, the amount of weight the donkey is pulling, and it’s an opportunity for him to exercise. 

As the cart begins moving again, Eunwoo keeps pace. The villagers don’t talk or gossip to one another because Eunwoo is there and the majority of the village gossip is about Eunwoo and Minjun, but they’re more relaxed not having to sit in the same cart as him. 

At the halfway point between their village and the closest town, Eunwoo begins to sweat. Minjun offers him a handkerchief while everyone else takes note of the couple’s gesture for later gossip.

“Why don’t you get on and I’ll walk?” Minjun suggests.

Eunwoo returns the handkerchief after wiping his sweat. He shakes his head, “Not unless you want to be carried by your husband.”

Without saying a word of rebuttal, Minjun ignores him and continues to act as if those words were never uttered. In contrast, Eunwoo wears a blinding grin, feeling less tired already. And of course, the villagers and village chief who witnessed are blushing with red cheeks and couldn’t wait to tell the others. 

Once at the town, the village chief points toward the direction of Doctor Oh’s clinic and they separate. Eunwoo holds onto Minjun’s shoulder, fearing that someone might bump into his wife and unborn child. 

“Exactly like he said. A long line waiting for Doctor Oh even while the clinic hasn’t opened,” Eunwoo sighs.

“It’ll just be a while.”

Eunwoo turns to Minjun and laughs a little, “If our child receives my short temper, let’s pray that they take after your good looks. Otherwise, they’ll end up with no one.”

Minjun is flattered. His cheeks are lightly burned by a vermillion color. 

The front of the building reads Oh’s Clinic. Eunwoo looks around and notices that across the street is another clinic and pharmacy that reads Mugunghwa Clinic. The lettering is carved into the board rather than just painted on top like the Oh’s Clinic. 

Just as Oh’s Clinic opens for business, Mugunghwa Clinic is also opened. It seems that, unlike the Oh’s Clinic where the patients come to the doctor, in the Mugunghwa Clinic, the doctors go out of the building to attend to their patients. 

Eunwoo pats Minjun’s shoulders, “I’ll be back in a bit. Stay in line, alright?”

“Where to?”

“To sell,” Eunwoo points to the Mugunghwa Clinic. 

Minjun nods and watches Eunwoo cross the street. Even when he has moved up the line and the sky has become very bright, Eunwoo hasn’t come out yet. He wants to step out of the line and go look for Eunwoo. He fears that perhaps their many enemies may have caught Eunwoo. 

The moment he steps out of the line, someone tugs at his sleeve, “Where are you going?”

“What took you so long? I was going to look for you.” Minjun returns to stand beside Eunwoo.

“I sold them, and I apologize for taking so long. I happened to hear an interesting conversation and lost track of time.” Eunwoo places his arm around Minjun again, “Did you miss me? Were you worried?”

Minjun lowers his eyes and ignores him. 

“Next patient in line!”

They go into the clinic and are greeted by a boy apprentice. The boy shouts at the people still in line, “These two are the last ones for the morning. Please come back in the afternoon.”

The people sigh and disperse. The boy leads them to the back where a young man, younger than Eunwoo, writes a few words, folds it, and hands it to an older woman, “Your son should be better in two to three days, then bring him here so that I can see if we need anything more.”

“Thank you, Doctor Oh.”

The older woman sighs and keeps the note close to her bosom. The boy sits them down, “These are the last of the morning. I’ll prepare lunch shortly, Doctor Oh.”

Doctor Oh nods. Looking at the young couple, he smiles, “Who’s first.”

“My wife.”

“Alright. May I see his hand, please?”

Doctor Oh retracts his hands after a while and turns to Eunwoo, “Your wife is strong, however, his internal energy is weak. This is not good for the fetus. To best treat your wife, I want to know whether or not there’s magic involved.”

“There were.”

“Do you know what kind of magic?”

“I don’t know.”

“You need to give me more information,” Doctor Oh pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do you even care what’ll happen to your wife and child?”

Eunwoo’s eyes meet Minjun’s. Eunwoo leans forward, “Then ask me questions I know how to answer. Also, make them open-ended questions where it can’t be answered in a word or two.”

“You’re very arrogant, sir.”

“Birds of a feather know each other. So, start formulating your questions better.” Eunwoo leans back and holds Minjun’s waist.

Minjun looks at Eunwoo and then at Doctor Oh. 

“If you're nobles, why are you dressed like a commoner in a small town near the border? Why come to my small clinic when there’s a specialized rich-people clinic across the street? This is why I don’t like treating nobles. How am I supposed to treat a disease without knowing the ins and outs that may have caused it in the first place?”

“I am not trying to act like a noble. You just don’t know how to ask your patients the correct questions. You’re incompetent for blaming your patients because of your lack of ability.”

“Get out of my clinic!” Doctor Oh stands up and gestures to the young couple where the exit is.

Eunwoo is indifferent and takes Minjun out after paying a few bronze coins at the door. He says to the wife, “We’ll go to a different one.”

“Your Highness,” Minjun pulls on Eunwoo’s sleeve with a whisper. “I don’t need to get treated. I’ll be fine after another few days.”

“I was testing him.” Eunwoo explains, “I don’t trust traditional doctors. I wanted to see if he was knowledgeable and can diagnose or give the right prescription. I have no expertise in medicine, but I can still use logic… He took a pulse and immediately assumed the cause was magic and when I didn't give the response he wanted, he attacked my character. Shouldn’t a doctor care more about treating his patients than the character of his patient’s husband? I don’t know magic but he made it as if I was the one who cast an evil curse on you.”

Minjun loosens his frown. 

“I think he’s a good doctor. A great one if he isn’t prejudiced about certain people.” Eunwoo stares at Minjun’s bulging stomach, “First, let’s go eat. You must be hungry.”