Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 160

Yongcheon-gun frowned at those words.

“Hmm. But wouldn’t that be against the rules?”

“She’s not a prince, but a princess. It’s not unprecedented for her to live in the palace even after marriage.”

“If the princess really grows up, whoever becomes her husband will surely be at the center of power.”

For now, everyone saw her as a child, so they were postponing choosing a husband, but if she really recovered and grew up, they would have to marry her off before it was too late.

Although the Crown Prince had not yet taken a Crown Princess, if they waited for the Crown Prince, there was no telling when the princess would marry.

Moreover, welcoming the princess as a daughter-in-law could be more beneficial to the family than bringing a daughter in as the Crown Princess. Who didn’t know how wealthy the princess was?

“If they were to find a husband, they would choose very carefully. It would be no less difficult than selecting a Crown Princess.”

“There were even rumors that many of the young officials around the Crown Prince were originally candidates for the princess’s husband. Seeing that the princess wasn’t growing up, they all gave up one by one and got married… There must be plenty of unmarried young men from prestigious families.”

“Of course, that’s if the princess really grows up…”

Yongcheon-gun paused for a moment at those words.

“What if the princess doesn’t grow up?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be much different from now? It would just mean one more family gaining power.”

Yongcheon-gun was silent for a moment.

“But it might not be that difficult.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t they say that herb is essential to curing the princess?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t know exactly what herb it was, but such rumors naturally reached his ears without much effort.

“There are many doctors who dislike that female doctor anyway.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Didn’t they say that female doctor is going to Gangwon-do to get the herbs herself? All we have to do is interfere with that a little.”

“Yes? But would that be okay…?”

“No, I’m not killing anyone. What big deal would it be if the princess’s treatment is delayed a little now?”

“If you put it that way, it seems like that’s true, but…”

“Haha, am I going to do anything big? Don’t worry and have some wine.”

“Haha. Yes. Let’s do that.”

If you have money, it’s not difficult to win people over.

Yongcheon-gun smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his bewildered drinking buddy.

Going on a long journey for the first time in this era was quite a chore.

Riding in a palanquin [a covered litter carried on poles] was interesting at first, but it was actually quite boring. Of course, I sometimes rode a horse, but that was also tiring when I had to ride for a long time.

Of course, other than me, Jeok-ah seemed happy to be going far away and was a little excited.

“Don’t get too excited and go ahead.”

“Haha. It seems like Jeok-ah wants to run.”

“Because it’s the famous horse chosen by Crown Prince Seonghyeon.”

Jeok-ah, who was getting faster and faster with excitement, calmed down a little when I stroked its mane.

‘Should I let him run later?’

Either way, I couldn’t go fast alone because there was a procession.

I scheduled it separately because the military training might be a hindrance and I might get in the way.

However, my father and the Crown Prince were worried about sending me alone (though I don’t think you can call it alone considering the number of people following me), so one of the royal relatives, Muyeong-gun Lee Jeong, went with me.

Even his younger sister, Song-an, came along.

“Is it okay for Song-an to ride a horse too?”

“Contrary to her appearance, she likes horses, so it’s okay. However, when it’s cold, I think it would be better for Song-an and the princess to ride in a palanquin…”

Thanks to us riding horses, the palanquin bearers were now just carrying empty palanquins.

‘But wouldn’t that be good for the palanquin bearers?’

Since doctors and court ladies were following behind us, the speed couldn’t be very fast.

Seongji and Sehwa came with me, of course, and another doctor from the Royal Clinic who knew how to ride a horse accompanied us.

It seemed that one of Seongji or Sehwa would have to take care of me, and the other two would go to find the herbs together.

‘By the way, I heard that information has been sent to the children in Gangwon-do in advance. Is this okay?’

Apart from the postal system I was thinking about, the children seemed to be exchanging information little by little through people who stopped by the inns.

‘Actually, the public servants are fine, but the children from Siyoungwon [a type of orphanage or school for underprivileged children] haven’t been vaccinated yet… I had to get them vaccinated.’

I had already met the children and teachers from Siyoungwon in some of the areas I had passed through, and they had already exchanged information among themselves, and the children had persuaded not only the servants but also the surrounding tenant farmers.

‘We were wondering when we would be able to get vaccinated.’

The child, who is no longer a child but anyway, said with a smile. They held out their shoulders, saying that they should be vaccinated first.

They even knew that cowpox was needed and had 구해 소까지 미리 구해 놓은 덕분에 소에게는 미안하지만 이후 우두를 얻는 것도 수월했다. [They had even obtained cows in advance, so although they felt sorry for the cows, it was easier to obtain cowpox afterward.]

‘It’s worth raising them well.’

The children who came as teachers were in groups of six or seven, so after they all learned the vaccination method, about two of them were vaccinated as a demonstration first, and the remaining teachers helped vaccinate the others.

In that way, after a few days, when those who had been vaccinated first recovered, they would take turns vaccinating.

‘You guys are Koreans after all… You want to maximize efficiency like this.’

Most of the children from Siyoungwon who had a certain level of education knew each other, so communication was fast. Whether they were close or not, they seemed to have something in common, so when I explained it roughly, they quickly understood and moved without saying anything.

“The princess seems to be in a good mood.”

“Well, because the progress is going smoothly.”

It was the same in the village we arrived at this time.

This place had a gibang [a traditional Korean house of entertainment, similar to a geisha house], so the gisaengs [female entertainers] had to be vaccinated. Of course, the magistrate and other guys sometimes wanted to interfere with what I was doing, but I had my father, the invincible shield, behind me, so there was no problem.

When we performed the vaccination like that, the women were naturally separated and vaccinated, so they could only be with each other.

Therefore, all the men who managed the gisaengs were kicked out, and I was able to talk to the gisaengs.

Of course, the head gisaengs would leak everything later.

The gisaengs couldn’t resist and were dragged away, anxiously clinging to Sehwa and Seongji.

“If I get this, will I really not get smallpox?”

“That’s right.”

“But what if unsightly scars remain?”

And as they were feeling uneasy, Maehyang started a quarrel.

“Are you so afraid of a small scar on your arm that you don’t think about what will happen if it appears on your face?”

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Since you’re so scared, why don’t I show you what it looks like?”

Whether they recognized each other or not, the other gisaengs [female entertainers] knew Maehyang was a gisaeng right away, even though she wasn’t particularly dressed up, and they spoke harshly to her.

“Here, is this enough now?”

“Oh my, how can she go around with such an ugly thing?”

“You’ll all have them soon, so what’s the worry? Besides, I don’t have to sell myself by showing off my skin, but it seems like you do?”

“What?”

Kekekek!

Then, she started an argument with the heated-up gisaengs, subtly boasting about Siwolgak and praising me at the same time.

“That’s right. Didn’t Her Highness treat us as artists, saying that gisaengs shouldn’t be treated carelessly?”

You don’t have Her Highness, do you?

We do!

Kya-ha-ha!

And I, who happened to be listening to it from the opposite side of the building, felt a little embarrassed.

“…Do I have to keep listening to this?”

“Please bear with it. It’s not like she’s saying anything wrong.”

Gai and Soi stopped me, who wanted to run away.

“It’s not like you’re hearing it for the first time, are you?”

“Yeah. But it’s always new and thrillingly embarrassing every time I hear it.”

“Pfft.”

“Hey, don’t laugh.”

“Yes.”

While I was warning Cheonho, who burst out laughing at my words, the story was moving on to the next stage.

“So, Her Highness is taking talented gisaengs and clowns to Seoul?”

“That’s right. Her Highness likes artists. Why, are you not confident in surviving with your skills?”

“Hmph. How would Her Highness, who grew up only listening to Seoul snobs’ songs, know our sounds?”

Yeah. Then, the two of them started some kind of competition.

The two of them suddenly started a performance in front of the people who came to get vaccinated. The slaves, who were exposing their shoulders as if they were being dragged to a slaughterhouse, were stunned by the sight and didn’t even know it was their turn, screaming when they were pricked with the needle.

And they were told to go home and rest, but they didn’t go and were *넋 (neok)* out [넋 (neok) refers to being in a daze or mesmerized] watching, not even knowing they had a fever.

“Maehyang seems to be having too much fun.”

“Songhwa, are you okay not joining in?”

“I’m a little scared of fighting.”

Saying that, Songhwa shrank back as if she was embarrassed.

I wonder if she would come forward if there was a 2-on-2 tag match. There’s also the possibility that Maehyang might not be in good condition.

Anyway, it seems like it’s just fun for other people besides me.

Since this kind of accident mostly happens in places where only women are present, Mu-yeong couldn’t look inside due to his *체면 (che-myeon)* [체면 (che-myeon) refers to one’s sense of face, honor, or social standing], so it wasn’t fun for him, but Song-an, who could watch as much as he wanted, seemed to like it quite a bit.

“I don’t know how Maehyang is so confident.”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Of course not! I even go to Siwolgak to see Maehyang.”

It seems like she was just a fan.

The victory or defeat of the battle seemed to be determined by the applause of the audience. Maehyang, who kindly comforted the opponent who couldn’t win even though it was her home ground, returned with the face of a victor.

“Oh my, Her Highness. Were you listening? You shouldn’t overdo it.”

“Yeah. I’m being careful. Maehyang shouldn’t overdo it either. Drink some water. Water.”

“Hoho. Thank you, Her Highness.”

Likewise, Seongji and Sehwa nagged her from behind not to overdo it.

“With such renowned doctors together, what worries would I have? I’m just trusting in the two of you.”

“Tsk. You’re good with words?”

Seongji and Maehyang were already close, comfortably bickering with each other.

There were cases where persuading the *관기 (gwan-gi)* [관기 (gwan-gi) refers to gisaengs attached to a government office] involved some arguments, but most of them didn’t refuse to come up to Seoul or to create a space where only performances were possible.

Of course, there were gisaengs who tried to refuse, but those who were proud of their skills thought of this as an opportunity.

Although there are cases where *지방 (ji-bang)* [지방 (ji-bang) refers to local or regional] gisaengs come up to Seoul to perform for the *진연 (jin-yeon)* [진연 (jin-yeon) refers to a royal banquet or feast], the treatment wasn’t very good.

‘But this is somewhat… it feels like Maehyang’s *도장 깨기 (do-jang kkae-gi)* [도장 깨기 (do-jang kkae-gi) refers to a challenge tour, like defeating all the masters in different martial arts schools]…’

If I were to write this trip as a story, it would seem like a battle *물 (mul)* [물 (mul) refers to a genre or type of story] starring Maehyang… no, a *특직 (teuk-jik)* [특직 (teuk-jik) refers to a special or unique job] *물 (mul)* novel.

With such incidents repeating in between, we arrived at our final destination.

Surprisingly, we arrived first, but *부왕 (bu-wang)* [부왕 (bu-wang) refers to the King, one’s father in this context] and *세자 (se-ja)* [세자 (se-ja) refers to the Crown Prince] would probably arrive soon too.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, Her Highness.”

“I’ll call the gisaengs later to hold a small banquet, so don’t overdo it.”

“Yes!”

Even if it’s a banquet, it’s not a grand feast.

Because of the season, I don’t want to burden this side unnecessarily, but everyone has worked hard to get here, and there’s actually a pretty famous gisaeng here.

I tilted my head, looking at Maehyang, who was still full of energy.

“Are you going to gather people here in a similar way?”

“Oh my, aren’t we staying here for quite a few days? I want to see a proper banquet too.”

Well, until now, it was a bit *약식 (yak-sik)* [약식 (yak-sik) refers to a simplified or abbreviated version], but the pattern in the case of a slightly larger *기방 (gi-bang)* [기방 (gi-bang) refers to a traditional Korean house of entertainment, similar to a geisha house] was mostly like this.

First, using my name, I would announce, ‘Siwolgak, created by Her Highness, is planning to recruit more people, and I want to take gisaengs as I did in Seoul.’

If I present the good points, such as gisaengs belonging to Siwolgak being guaranteed a livelihood and being able to go to the *진연 (jin-yeon)* [진연 (jin-yeon) refers to a royal banquet or feast], everyone would show off their skills at the banquet to advance to Seoul.

I, of course, but Maehyang would pick out talented people with her hawk eyes, and then I would have a personal interview with them and transfer their affiliation.

It was something that the local *기방 (gi-bang)* [기방 (gi-bang) refers to a traditional Korean house of entertainment, similar to a geisha house] would be upset about, as they were losing talented people, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘It’s because… you didn’t improve their treatment.’