Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 70

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine (70) Episode (70/326)

Among the servants who came to Siyoungwon [a special institution or residence] this time, there were also children.

There were young children who didn’t even know what had happened to them, and there were children who were old enough to roughly understand how the world works.

They might be quiet now because they are intimidated, but there were children who used to be nobles and children who lived on the streets. I had talked with Court Lady Min about how children fight well anyway, and since these children grew up in different environments, fights might break out if they live in the same space.

But I didn’t expect this.

“No, how can you oppress servants who have owners like this?”

“What? How dare these guys confront a noble?”

“No matter how great a noble lord is, you can’t oppress innocent commoners.”

“That’s right!”

The children of Siyoungwon, whose names I gave them today, surrounded the boy who was hugging firewood and trembling, as if protecting him.

And in front of them were several boys dressed like young masters from wealthy families.

“Ongju-jaga [Her Highness the Princess] told us to speak up if anyone was bothering us, right? We are commoners, so even if you are a noble, you shouldn’t treat us carelessly!”

“Besides, this child is none other than! Ongju-jaga’s! Servant! Don’t you know? How dare you try to harm Ongju-jaga’s servant? Do you have any grudges against Ongju-jaga?”

“What, what nonsense is that!”

The young master, who had been somewhat subdued by the children flocking together and spouting words, seemed to stiffen at the mention of Ongju-jaga.

‘The children have already learned how to use borrowed power…’

Well, it’s not like they’re using it for bad things, so it’s okay if it’s for such a defensive reason.

Besides, I was honestly a little touched because they were speaking more skillfully than before, as if the education they had received had been effective.

Of course, there were still some children who were speaking a little strangely because they hadn’t studied for long, but awkward honorifics were better than speaking informally, so it was fine.

“I was just trying to greet that child because we are friends, so why are you making such a fuss?”

“You slapped that child’s face, didn’t you? I’m not sure if it’s because I’m ignorant, but I’ve never heard of such a greeting.”

“That’s right. You slapped him hard.”

“You be quiet.”

Little… Ah-yeong was fidgeting next to them and was grabbed by her older siblings and dragged back.

“If you treat us like this, we will have no choice but to report to Ongju-jaga that there are people who are harassing the servants.”

“These guys are trying to humiliate nobles by trusting in Ongju-jaga’s power!”

“Do you believe that Ongju-jaga, who is in that deep palace, will take care of you lowly things!”

She’s not in the deep palace, she’s right here right now.

I was thinking of sending Sung Gyeom-sabok or Gai next to me to stop them if the situation got worse, but in the short time I took my eyes off them, Ah-yeong, who had escaped from her older siblings’ hands, was already back in front and jumping around.

“Of course!”

“Baby… Ah-yeong-ah. You have to use honorifics.”

As the other children reached out to grab her, worried that she would be caught, she ran around and shouted.

“Ongju-nim [another honorific for Princess] said she’s a good person!”

Ah-yeong laughed, not understanding the situation, and was dragged away, while the young children chimed in one by one.

“That’s right. Ongju-jaga is a kind and generous person, and she even gave us rice so that the children wouldn’t go hungry!”

“She even gave us money to buy clothes to wear in the winter because we would be cold!”

“She taught us how to write and told us to write letters if we felt wronged!”

The people who were watching the argument began to stir at the children’s words.

“My goodness, I thought she was just giving out alms appropriately.”

“She’s not only taking in beggar children, feeding them, and clothing them, but she’s also teaching them how to write.”

“A friend who works in the palace told me that she’s always been so good to the palace people.”

“She’s so bright and meticulous that she’s receiving all the love from her superiors.”

I was watching the children from a suitable distance without being noticed, and I covered my face and groaned at the voices I heard.

“Keueung.”

“Agassi [Young Lady]. Why are you embarrassed?”

Sung Gyeom-sabok teased me, so I glared at him, and he chuckled.

“It’s not right to be unfairly beaten by nobles just because you’re a servant or a beggar!”

“That’s right!”

The children’s voices were loud.

“Ongju-jaga said that.”

“Most of the nobles don’t even treat people like us as human beings, but I guess the royal family is different for a reason.”

In proportion to that, the number of people gathering increased, and everyone started talking about me in a strange way.

‘Hmm…’

That’s how my reputation was irreversibly improving.

“When did we ever harass you? Hmph. You can’t reason with lowly things after all. Let’s go.”

Thanks to that, even the young masters retreated, trying to smooth things over with awkward voices.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Agassi.”

I was watching in case something happened, but since the children who were causing trouble retreated on their own, it didn’t seem like things would get worse. If they caused trouble all the way to Siyoungwon, it would be obvious that it would reach my ears, so there was nothing to worry about.

‘Seeing this, I don’t have to worry about them getting along well.’

I never thought that the children would protect a servant child who was being beaten by a noble.

I was watching to see if everyone was returning well when one of the children looked around and made eye contact with me. The child seemed flustered and sent the children back first, then ran towards me.

It was the little leader whose name I still didn’t know.

“Ah, excuse me…yo.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Did we, we, or rather, did I do anything that would be disrespectful to Ongju-jaga?”

He had been speaking so well to the noble young masters just now, but now he doesn’t know what to do in front of me and is rolling his eyes.

This attitude, could it be,

‘Hmm. Did he realize that I’m Ongju?’

It was also possible that he noticed it by looking at how the servants treated me and Court Lady Min’s attitude.

As if reading my expression, the child asked in a hushed voice with a confident face.

“Ongju-jaga, are you Si?”

“Eum [a soft affirmation].”

Since he asked me so directly, I could only smile.

“Don’t worry about it. Isn’t it really what I said?”

Those children probably just couldn’t distinguish between what ‘Agassi’ said and what ‘Ongju-jaga’ said.

“And it’s troublesome to call me that outside, so just call me Agassi or Agassi.”

“…Yes. Th, A, Agassi.”

“Yeah.”

“C, can I ask you for one more favor… please?”

“What is it?”

“My name.”

Did this child also want to receive a name? Then he should have said so earlier.

“C, can I ask you for Agassi’s name…?”

“Me?”

This is… Refreshing?

It seems like Gai is glaring at me with a murderous look from behind.

I hope he can be lenient enough to overlook the fact that the child doesn’t know words like hamja (銜字) [generational name] or seongham (姓銜) [full name with title] yet.

“Sia.”

“Sia…yo?”

“Yeah. That’s right. And I’m also called Suyoung Ongju.”

“??”

It’s not my role to explain the title to the child.

Court Lady Min will probably teach him later.

The smart child repeated the name and title I taught him, and then opened his mouth again as if something had come to mind.

“Then perhaps the name Siyoungwon is…?”

“Haha. It’s probably taken one letter each from my name and title.”

“Then, can’t you put one letter in my name too?”

“Similar to me?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay. Then… let’s use the wise Ji (智) and call you Jia. And ask the court ladies to use the same Chinese character for ‘A’ as Ongju-jaga. If you go back and tell the court ladies, they will write it that way for you.”

“Jia.”

The child’s face brightened as he repeated the name I gave him.

“Agassi.”

“It’s okay. He’s a smart kid.”

Gai looked worried as I waved my hand at Jia, who bowed gratefully and returned to Siyoungwon.

“Wouldn’t the servants there have noticed? That Gai and Court Lady Min are too respectful to me.”

“It’s not good for it to be known that a precious person is in a place like this.”

“Eum.”

I guess they would hate it because it would diminish the dignity of the royal family.

“Besides, teaching even servants how to write, not to mention beggars, will soon spread as a rumor.”

“Everyone else in Siyoungwon knows how to write, but if only the people who used to be servants don’t know how to write, they’ll feel left out.”

There were also servants from families whose owners were executed as traitors, although they weren’t particularly noticeable when classifying their aptitudes. They probably don’t know how to write.

“Besides, it’s not new, but what are you planning to do by teaching them how to write? If they were commoner men, they could take the civil service exam or become interpreters, but most of them are women and servants.”

“Well, it’s easier to live if you know how to write. The risk of being scammed will also be slightly lower. Um, learning to write may not be effective on its own, but it’s better than not learning, right?”

Scammers are clever in any neighborhood, so I can’t guarantee it.

“Besides, if you know a lot, your range of thinking will inevitably broaden…”

Of course, the smarter you are, the more you will feel the walls of status and gender.

As I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“Well, if there’s no use, I’ll have to create it.”

“Yes?”

“Aside from court ladies, there’s no other place for women to enter the government, but what else can women who know how to write do?”

“…Wouldn’t it be possible to become a female doctor, do transcription, or work in a merchant group?”

Of course, Gai’s answer, excluding courtesans, was not much different from what I had thought.

“Eum. If I look for more, there might be more, but for now, that’s what I think too.”

I want to expand it a little more, but honestly, I don’t know if it will be up to me.

‘Among those children, there are probably still quite a few who want to show off their abilities, although it’s strange to call it ambition.’

It’s difficult to shake off the thought that it’s impossible, but it’s also difficult to force them to do something they don’t want to do. Of course, it’s not like we’re in a good enough situation to worry about that when it comes to making a living.

I continued my thoughts that seemed to be within reach but not quite, and I moved my steps.

***

“About the story we were talking about on the way back.”

“Yes. Ongju-jaga.”

“I think I need to make some money first.”

“Yes?”

I threw those shameless words at Gai, who had secretly returned to the palace again to hide the evidence of my outing and was taking care of my bedding.

It was difficult even for Gai, who was praised by his superiors for being bright and quick-witted, to understand what I meant.

“You’re going to make money? What do you mean?”

“If you think about the operation of Siyoungwon in the long term, it’s going to be a little difficult to rely only on the income from the land I have now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. When it gets cold, people who aren’t coming in now and are holding out on the streets will eventually have no choice but to come in.”

I heard that even now, there are quite a few cases where former colleagues (?) who saw the children eating well and dressing well looked at them with envious eyes and came in as if they couldn’t help it. It was likely that either they would come in before they froze to death in the winter, or they would come in after seeing someone who had frozen to death.

Of course, there was Hwalinseo (活人署: an institution for relieving the sick and the poor), but there were already many people there, and it goes without saying that the environment of Siyoungwon was better.

“It is right that more wealth is needed, but how are you going to make money?”

“Eum. First of all, I’m going to turn the servants who are good at embroidery and sewing to that side so that they can generate a fixed income. Perhaps the children who have a knack for it will be able to become financially independent early on.”

In this era, embroidery, piecework sewing, and laundry were the main jobs for women to support their families.

‘Women support Joseon Dynasty public service exam takers who only sell books for their entire lives with their sewing.’

So marriage was essential for noble men in this era.

Even if there was no money at home, and he didn’t engage in economic activities and only looked at books, his wife would take care of earning money to support the family as a woman’s duty, take care of the housework, and of course, give birth to and raise children, and be filial to her parents-in-law.

‘Women really don’t have their own lives.’

It’s fortunate if the husband or child becomes successful and recognizes the wife’s virtue.

How many people would pass the civil service exam? It was only a small part.

Or, the wife who had been supporting her husband died early after her husband passed the civil service exam.

And the husband who remarried looked at his young new wife and lamented that his dead wife was wiser and better at managing the household.

What kind of obvious nonsense is that? Does he have no conscience? He won’t hire experienced workers (widows), but he wants a new employee (virgin) who works as well as an experienced worker?

“But that won’t be enough, will it?”

“Yeah. That’s right. So, for now, I’m thinking of increasing my wealth by using my wealth as capital.”

“You’re going to increase your wealth? Do you have any ideas in mind?”

I paused for a moment and answered quietly.

“Eum. Hoarding?”

“Yes?”

Today, I’m seeing Gai’s stupid expression twice, which is rare.

“Hoarding.”