Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 52

I worried the food might be too hot and they’d spit it out, so I subtly moved away. Fortunately, the kids appreciated food, and there was no unfortunate incident of them ejecting what they’d put in their mouths.

Once they had something to eat, the children were quiet for a while.

Though they soon became noisy again.

“Is there anything else we can do? Huh? Any errands? I’m good at finding things!”

“Hey, why would someone who can spend money like that ask us kids for anything else?”

Songbi and Sungyoon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the child’s words, but they weren’t wrong.

There wasn’t really anything to ask these young children to do.

“Not really. Ah.”

But the moment I said that, something suddenly came to mind.

“I can’t spend money like water, but I think I can provide some food. Would you do me one more favor?”

“Huh, what is it?”

The children stopped eating and waited for my words with wide eyes.

And the two people behind me were probably frowning.

I could tell just by looking at the children’s expressions as they lowered their gaze, their eyes no longer sparkling.

And as expected, the children who heard my words looked puzzled.

“Why are you curious about how we live?”

“Besides, don’t you know what’s in the capital [Hanyang, the capital city of Joseon]?”

“Hmm. I don’t really know.”

I’m eight years old now, you guys…….

Rather, the reason I have a rough idea of the overall structure of the capital is because I vaguely remember the Seoul map I saw in my previous life. I used to look at it while waiting for the subway, and it’s surprisingly helpful.

In fact, it was a bit difficult to grasp the overall structure just by hearing where things were without a map.

‘Honestly, don’t you guys not really know either?’

Even though Hanyang is much smaller than modern Seoul, it’s still about the size of two or three districts. It didn’t seem likely that young children would know the whole thing.

“Why are you asking that? Is it some kind of game for nobles?”

“I don’t know if there’s such a game. But like me, nobles don’t really know how hard it is for other people to live. But I thought if I saw it myself and told them, they might believe me.”

“Is that so?”

The children didn’t seem to understand my words and started whispering among themselves.

‘I didn’t think it was something to worry about, but this is unexpected.’

And unexpectedly, what I said resonated with someone else.

“Agassi [Young lady].”

“Ah, sorry. I won’t do anything dangerous.”

I reflexively made excuses at Songbi’s voice calling me, but her voice sounded filled with emotion.

“I didn’t know you were thinking so deeply, Agassi.”

“Ah, um. Well.”

Even Sungyoon joined in.

“You’re still so young, but you’re already thinking about such things.”

“No, um. Yeah.”

I turned my head away, avoiding their sparkling gazes.

Sorry, it’s not that I don’t have those feelings at all, but it’s actually for my own selfish reasons.

‘Actually, it’s just part of writing a record for Joseon Dynasty life research.’

In fact, recording royal life was already in progress.

Since I was born into the royal family anyway, I wanted to leave behind data on royal life.

For that reason, since I was able to write in Hangeul—no, it’s still Hunminjeongeum [Original name of Hangeul] here, but let’s just call it Hangeul for convenience—I had been recording all sorts of miscellaneous content related to palace life in the guise of a diary.

Customs for dealing with royal elders. The way palace maids work. Superstitions secretly practiced in the palace. The characteristics and colors of the clothes I or the Crown Prince usually wear.

I even meticulously wrote about the types, tastes, and simple cooking methods of the food that came to my table every day.

Of course, the same went for the snacks I ate with the Crown Prince.

Thanks to that, Gai, who accidentally looked at my diary, thought I was interested in food and wrote about it, so he smiled contentedly and moved on.

The reason for recording these things is obvious, isn’t it?

‘Hehe. I’m planning to enrich the theses of students in related departments roughly n hundred years from now.’

By then, the language might have changed a bit, so would they have to translate it?

It’s okay. That’s not my job.

Make a historical drama based on the evidence I left behind!

I’ll make it so they can’t say they can’t do historical research because there’s no historical data!

‘Of course, it’s over if a war breaks out and it burns down. Even if it’s the Princess’s, they won’t copy and store a personal diary in multiple archives like the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty [Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty].’

Besides, historical research changes by era, so the data I leave behind will probably be closer to the mid-Joseon period.

Most of the royal cultural data remaining in modern times is based on the testimonies of people who were palace maids from the late Joseon Dynasty to the Korean Empire, so it might be different.

Anyway, if there is mid-period data, they can at least research how it changed, even if there is no intermediate stage, right?

At least if a historical drama is made based on this period, I have to make sure they refer to it.

I was planning to hire painters from the Bureau of Painting [Royal Painting Office] to draw lots of pictures and leave them behind.

“Heh.”

The children, unaware of my twisted thoughts, were looking at me with eyes that said they had seen all sorts of strange people.

How could you…… know my intentions…….

If a real history geek was reincarnated here, it would be even worse.

I just like history moderately, watch historical dramas, and occasionally look up related books, just a normal historical drama enthusiast.

‘Come to think of it, there aren’t many historical dramas that show the lives of commoners in detail, are there?’

In some ways, there are more cases dealing with the lives of slaves, but well…… let’s put that aside for now.

Regardless of whether they thought I was strange or not, it wasn’t a difficult or dangerous task, and they wouldn’t refuse since I was giving them food.

Maybe if they were adult men smirking slyly, they would have suspected and run away.

In this harsh world, it’s best to be careful.

“Okay. We only go to the places we always go, but we can tell you as much as we know!”

“What do you want to know?”

“Hmm.”

If the kids knew how to write, I could just tell them to record things and bring them to me.

‘But to do that, I’d have to…… teach them how to write?’

Even though Hangeul is easy, would they willingly learn?

No, should I give them money or something while teaching them?

Putting off troublesome things for later, I was curious about the children’s routines, so I asked them to guide me. At first, I asked about where they lived, but they refused, saying that under the bridge where beggars lived was not a place for a well-bred young lady to go.

“You’re curious about everything.”

“Then why don’t you try begging yourself, Agassi? We can get you the clothes.”

The children gave me mischievous looks and suggested I join their group, but I shook my head.

“I don’t think it’ll work because my face is too noble.”

“……Wow.”

The children, divided into a group that looked serious at my words and a group that agreed that it was true, buzzed with excitement. They seemed to have accepted it, so they rushed out to earn their keep. They’re so talkative when they’re going to go anyway.

“……Agassi.”

“Ah…… Father said he would build a house for me to live in after I get married, so I need to know a little about the outside world. It would be hard for Songbi to follow me around, so wouldn’t it be better for her to wait here?”

I blurted out words as if making excuses at Songbi’s shocked voice, and then followed the children.

“I will serve you, so please don’t worry too much…… As Agassi said, it would be better to stay here.”

“Oh my. I’ll ask you to do that.”

I heard a sigh, but Songbi didn’t really object to my words. Perhaps it was because she had been forced to witness me scratching the floor in boredom lately.

‘If not today, I don’t think I’ll have another chance like this. I can somehow hear about the lives of commoners from the palace maids or even after I get married, but it seems difficult to get close to these children unless they’re young.’

In the first place, most people don’t even think about recording their lives.

Only foreigners from other cultures are curious enough to record it.

When I thought that far, I felt a strange feeling.

‘Ah, am I like a foreigner?’

Since I’m originally from a different era and a different world, it’s not wrong.

A chuckle escaped my lips, but I quickly put on a nonchalant expression, worried that people around me would think it was strange.

While the children were begging and running around in groups, a child who was now familiar with me stuck next to me and gave me a tour.

“If you go straight here, you’ll see a stream…….”

I compared it to the Seoul map in my memory and frantically chased after the children.

‘Hmm. Is that Myeongdong over there, then?’

And Sungyoon’s face, who was chasing after me, said, ‘I could have just guided you, though?’

Sorry. I think I know how you feel…… but I like kids more than you, mister.

I wondered if it was because they were getting food from the tavern, but they seemed cleaner than before.

The children, who had officially started their work, knew the information of generous noblemen’s houses or houses with feasts like ghosts and went to find them, so it was quite fun to watch.

“How do you find out that kind of information?”

“Well, by word of mouth. If you’re going to have a feast, you have to catch meat and gather manpower.”

I asked the child whose name I still didn’t know.

“Do you ever go there to work?”

“Would they even hire us? It’s a relief if we don’t get our bowls broken.”

The child, who answered curtly, glanced at me and asked.

“But why were you so desperate to find that ring? You look like the daughter of a well-off family.”

“It was the last thing my dead brother gave me. I was carrying it around so I wouldn’t lose it, but I ended up losing it.”

“……How pathetic.”

“I guess so.”

There was no room for excuses.

The children, who were dragging me around while looking around, also explained where they had been searching for the jade ring.

“Here! We crawled around here looking for it!”

“It was black because it was in the mud! We washed it hard in the stream!”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Really?”

One of the younger children in the group was overjoyed at my words of thanks and jumped up and down. Perhaps it was because she had cried in my arms that day, but she seemed to feel a strange sense of closeness to me.

If someone saw it, they would think that the child, not me, had found the lost ring.

But unlike the young children who were simply happy, the child who gave me the ring spoke with a sunken expression when the other children weren’t looking.

“Agassi, that thing we found for you, it’s not yours, is it?”

“……Ah, I’ve been caught.”

I checked it as soon as I received it. The scratched ring was not the one I was looking for.

In fact, distinguishing it only by the scratches on the jade is a lie. New scratches could easily appear while rolling on the ground.

In fact, the jade ring I was looking for had spots that seemed to continue on both rings. The reason I didn’t tell them that from the beginning was because I didn’t completely trust the children.

“Are you pitying us?”

“It could be pity. Um. I’m just, grateful. That you found it covered in dirt like that.”

“……Everyone worked hard to find it because you were the benefactor who saved me.”

“Yeah. Thank you. Is your body okay now?”

“Well. So-so.”

What I promised was actually a slightly sloppy reward. If the children had used their heads a little more, they would have known that it was more profitable to keep receiving food without finding the ring.

At least this child in front of me seemed to have that much sense.

“Actually, you didn’t think we could find it, did you?”

“Realistically speaking. It’s already been quite a while. If someone saw it, they would have picked it up, and if it rolled to a place out of sight, it would be difficult to find.”

“Then why did you bother trying to find it?”

“It was the last thing my brother gave me before he died. It was a precious item to my brother, and I would feel sorry if I lost it. I thought it was at least my duty to make an effort to find it.”

“Duty, my ass.”

“Ahahaha.”

I thought it was a meaningless conversation, but somehow I felt like my thoughts were getting a little clearer.

‘I was thinking I had to find it, but I was still giving up.’

Somehow, it was a difficult conversation to have in the palace.

And the child, who I thought would be annoyed by my words, unexpectedly made a strange face.

“I, too, had a brother.”

“I see.”

Not ‘I have a brother,’ but ‘I had a brother?’