Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 210

Born as a Daughter of a Lowly Concubine 210

“Wow, so we don’t have parents? Are we blind, deaf, or without family? Unbelievable!”

My kids suffered unfairly in another region. But did they only suffer?

“So, you didn’t just stand there?”

“We asked for consolation money. Otherwise, we said we’d spread rumors about their house being ruined by gambling debts.”

“It was obvious they’d just lose it all again soon anyway, so it’s better we took it.”

“Originally, many families were poor, so Jia didn’t want to accept it, which caused a fuss, but thanks to that, we’ve been getting paid well ever since.”

Listening to the kids, I also scolded Jia.

“No, I told you to confidently accept money when I help you with things like that!”

“Their household is obviously struggling, so it’s hard to ask for it……”

“No! If you do things like that for free, they’ll think you’re a pushover and treat you terribly. This time it’s another region, so we can let it slide, but if rumors spread while settling down, it’s over!”

“That’s right! If it’s expensive, they won’t dare ask for help so easily!”

The kids were happy that I agreed with them and surrounded Jia, showering her with nagging.

Eventually, Jia, unable to bear it even with her ears covered, shouted that she understood, and only then did the kids calm down and return to their places.

“Ahem. We got a bit excited.”

“No. It’s also necessary to have someone who holds you back when a friend tries to walk a difficult path.”

“Right?!”

The excited kids chattered about all sorts of rumors they had heard while traveling around.

It wasn’t like they had arrived today; several days had already passed, but their gathering and chattering because I had arrived was a bit cute.

“So, how is it to return to Hanyang [the capital city of Joseon dynasty] after a long time?”

“Everything else seems the same, but it’s a bit strange that there’s a study craze in Siyoungwon [a school or academy].”

“Ah, now that you mention it, it is.”

“It’s because of you, Little Miss.”

“It’s also because of me, and also not. You guys know the reason, right?”

“……”

The kids who went down to the provinces this time were also graduates of Siyoungwon, called Siyoungwon teachers, the top students of Siyoungwon, weren’t they?

“Now that you can study more while receiving scholarships, if there are any of you who want to study more, join in. Ah, of course, I’m not just talking about studying literature. The same goes for martial arts. Don’t worry about employment since regular jobs have increased.”

“Ah, I heard that everyone is being dispatched to the new Siyoungwon being built in the provinces.”

“The teachers already in the provinces are working together too, right?”

“Yes. That’s how it will be. It’ll be tough if there aren’t enough people, but it’ll be a side job. If more people are dispatched from Siyoungwon, it’ll be possible to handle work in shifts.”

At my words, the kids were lost in thought for a moment.

“The kids are studying with their eyes burning because of the news that jobs have increased.”

It meant that the kids’ motivation had increased because there were more job opportunities.

‘That’s good…….’

The Crown Prince had set several conditions for the scholarship students who were funded, one of which was to participate even if it reduced their time working at Siyoungwon.

It was difficult for someone who only knew how to study to properly understand the lives of the people, and there were already plenty of officials in the court who didn’t know reality.

The Crown Prince created the scholarship system not only to create a path for children who were not of good status or who didn’t have money to study and become Yangban [the aristocratic class in Joseon dynasty], but also because he needed officials who knew the lives of the people.

So, I hoped that the children wouldn’t forget the lives they had lived when they became officials.

‘Of course, if they become officials, they will eventually become distant.’

If only the Yangban, who had only studied all their lives, were closest to the lives of the people when they were exiled.

It would depend on which region they were exiled to and how they lived, but unless it was their hometown, they would have to interact with their surroundings to some extent to live in an unfamiliar land.

As a result, they sometimes worked as village schoolteachers or engaged in writing activities as a means of livelihood.

Busy people with politics, what leisure would they have to write books?

Everyone ends up writing books when they have nothing to do in exile.

‘…….’

Something else almost came to mind again, but I decided not to think about it since I’m too busy these days.

Increasing work any further had to be a much later thing.

‘How much work do I have to do these days?’

When I encouraged the children to study, they all looked troubled.

Because they were negative about the Yangban who ignored their livelihoods and only studied at home, they seemed to be ashamed of living a life of idleness while only studying in that way.

‘It’s a diligent and desirable attitude to life, but.’

It seemed that they all wanted to study more, so I decided to push them as much as possible.

The children who studied that well were originally kids who liked to study. If life wasn’t an issue, they would have definitely wanted to study more.

“It’s okay, study more if you want to. Do you know how rare this opportunity is?”

“But……”

“You know that there aren’t many kids as smart as you, right? Especially the boys, they might be able to pass the civil service exam if they do well, right?”

At my words, some of the boys blushed as if they were conflicted. And then they said something unexpected.

“But, but then it’s unfair. Jia can’t take the civil service exam.”

Even though they know about gender discrimination, they don’t feel it much within Siyoungwon, but they learn about it when they live far away from Siyoungwon in other regions.

How the girls who are smarter than them are treated outside.

Even though they are smarter than them, women are not given the opportunity to take the civil service exam.

That it’s not because they are better.

The children were ashamed.

‘They’ve grown up so well that it’s rewarding.’

Is it because Minister Min’s education is excellent, or is it because these children have high innate intelligence and are so empathetic?

These children knew that there were people who were better than them, and they knew how to be ashamed of being valued more for unfair reasons.

But because they were these kinds of children, I wanted them to study more and advance to official positions.

I had to give opportunities to these children rather than children who only knew themselves because they were a bit smart.

‘Either way, the authority to select scholarship students is also with me.’

The Crown Prince entrusted the judgment to me.

Of course, I had prepared the selection criteria in advance in writing in case of an emergency.

I wanted to believe that there would be no misinterpretation of my intentions.

“If you think it’s strange, you have to make efforts to change it.”

“……Little Miss.”

“Of course, I’m not just telling you to study. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“And continue talking about what you were talking about.”

“Yesss.”

The children smiled and stretched out their answers.

“Yes. Come to think of it, these things also happened.”

As I listened to the children’s stories one by one, the frequency of stories about gambling dens was quite high.

“There seem to be a lot of people gambling.”

“It seemed surprisingly common. And there are cases of families being ruined by it.”

“Gambling dens are definitely illegal.”

“But it seems they’re doing it secretly.”

Hmm. I need to stop that, but those kinds of things are definitely being done together with the politicians.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard that there are sometimes kids in Siyoungwon who are addicted to gambling.”

“What?”

“Kids who are addicted to gambling.”

Surprised by the news I heard for the first time, I raised my voice.

“Not within Siyoungwon, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Living within Siyoungwon is surprisingly difficult. Minister Min manages it very strictly. Everyone says they should never become a court lady.”

Minister Min’s lifestyle is still 맞춰져 [matched/adjusted] to when she lived in the palace, so it seems a bit tough for the kids.

Rather, thanks to that, the kids are disciplined, so it seems that management is better.

Everyone still follows Minister Min well, so it seems she has charisma.

“So, what’s the story about gambling?”

“Siyoungwon kids have been earning money little by little since they were young, right?”

“Well, there are kids who earn money reasonably well.”

No matter how hard the children work, it is difficult to earn a lot of money. Still, since they receive help from Siyoungwon for food, clothing, and shelter, if they save the small amount of money they earn while helping with work, they can save enough for independence by the time they become adults.

But it meant that there were children who were losing that money in an instant.

In particular, there was a child working as a power source for the amusement park in Siyoungwon Playground or Siyoungwon Park who collapsed from overwork to pay off debts.

“No, Siyoungwon kids gambling, what is this?”

Did I work so hard to gather money, feed them, clothe them, and put them to sleep for this? I feel self-loathing and pain??

“No, it’s really just a few, so don’t worry too much.”

Perhaps because my face looked too serious, everyone waved their hands and seemed to be trying to fix it.

“It’s not something to just ignore.”

Gambling! Gambling!

It was something that couldn’t help but be unsettling.

‘I didn’t particularly look for kids causing problems on purpose, but this is a bit.’

Of course, if there is a commotion that reaches my ears, it is naturally conveyed to me in advance.

But if it’s something that can be resolved within Siyoungwon, I knew that they would subtly hide bad stories from me.

It would be burdensome if I acted like I knew too much, so there were things I pretended not to know…….

‘Everyone probably knows that it’s not good for me to know too much negative reality.’

Siyoungwon is basically an organization that runs on the capital I have.

If, by any chance, I, who still looks young on the outside, feel disillusioned with those children and stop running it, or reduce support even if I don’t stop it right away, the countless people who rely on Siyoungwon will inevitably be in trouble.

People’s minds can change suddenly one day, even with a small trigger.

As such, they are managing it quite thoroughly so that the children don’t cause big accidents, but as the scale grows, it is inevitable that management becomes difficult.

No matter how hard you educate them, there will always be children who rebel and cause trouble.

‘Even so, gambling is a bit much.’

The children could hit each other and fight, they could run away from home because Siyoungwon was stuffy, or even become twisted and steal, but that was all within expectations.

“Come to think of it, there are people who were sold off because of gambling and rescued in Siyoungwon, but to get involved in gambling. It’s a big problem.”

“Ah……. Many of those people also moved to Ongju’s [a princess’s] private residence. Some said they would go to a place where no one could find them, so they moved to other businesses run by Ongju, so there aren’t many in Siyoungwon now.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Since the other branches of Siyoungwon have not yet been completed, then where are they farming? They should have gone to a place with good security.

“And most of those who are addicted to gambling are young boys, and most of the victims are women who have suffered because of their husbands, so there’s not much chance of them running into each other.”

“Most of those who are addicted to gambling are men? There are no women?”

“Yes……. Come to think of it, there aren’t any.”

At my question, the children all nodded.

‘Gambling is not a genre that distinguishes gender.’

Of course, if you were to compare the ratios, there would be overwhelmingly more men, but Siyoungwon was originally a female-dominated group with a large number of women. Moreover, they were earning money at similar levels regardless of gender.

Even turning the rides in Siyoungwon Park is done by women for young children and wealthy women customers only.

In fact, men used to turn them at first, but that was…… There were complaints that it was promiscuous, so they had no choice but to replace them with women.

‘It seems that the guys who took off their shirts and showed off their bodies in front of the women were the problem.’

The guys who didn’t take off their shirts in front of male customers only took off their shirts and showed off their bodies in front of female customers who were lighter, and even sprinkled water(!), so there were people among those watching who were furious and protested.

Even in this era, amusement parks are places where families come together.

Thanks to that, no matter how hot it is in the middle of summer, everyone had to wear at least one layer of clothing on top and bottom, even if it meant stopping operations. It’s fair if you say it’s fair since women can’t take it off anyway.

“Come to think of it, there weren’t any women. Perhaps it’s a store that only men go to…….”

“Hmm.”

Addicted to gambling in a store that only men go to…… It’s unsettling.

I don’t know where it is because my knowledge is still narrow.

‘But surely the gambling dens that were also hotbeds of human trafficking at that time must have been turned upside down once.’

The incident where I was kidnapped grew and was turned upside down once, wasn’t it? I thought it would be clean for a while after being hit by the iron fist of public power at that time, but it seems it didn’t last that long.

At this rate, something similar to that time might be repeated.

Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]

Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]

말단 후궁의 딸로 태어났습니다
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In a world mirroring a historical drama yet twisted into something entirely new, a princess is born not into royalty, but as the daughter of a lowly concubine. All she craves is a quiet life, but fate has other plans. When she inadvertently thwarts the schemes of a powerful lady and her son, she realizes she's living in a novel where she was destined to be a mere footnote. Now, with the original storyline shattered, the crown prince alive, and the grand prince unscathed, she dares to hope for a peaceful existence. But destiny, it seems, is not so easily swayed. Entangled with a kind but foolish crown prince, a sweet yet troubled young boy with an overbearing older brother, and whispers of romance on the Han River, she finds herself navigating a treacherous court where every choice could rewrite her fate. Will she ever find the tranquility she desires, or is she destined to forever dance to the whims of a story she no longer recognizes?

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