Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 104

The drinking party preparations were well underway.

Soon, the main feast was properly arranged, and the cheerful voices of women drifted in from beyond the paper doors of Jang Ji-mun [a type of traditional Korean door].

As the door slid open, familiar faces appeared.

Seeing Maehyang and Songhwa’s eyes widen as they spotted me, I brought my index finger to my lips and winked.

Among the courtesans, including Maehyang and Songhwa, were a few who recognized me.

They seemed momentarily stunned to see me in a place where I shouldn’t be, but quickly recovered and acted nonchalant.

“Oh my, who would have thought a lovely young lady would grace a place like this with her presence?”

“She is my cousin. Do not be rude.”

“How could we dare to be rude to such a young lady?”

It was hard to imagine that anyone would bring a child to a *gibang* [traditional Korean house of courtesans], so Eunhwa-gun and his party seemed to think the courtesans were simply surprised to see me.

Soon, music played by the courtesans filled the air, and everyone began to enjoy the feast, though they were all a little conscious of my presence.

Of course, Eunhwa-gun couldn’t even touch the alcohol.

“My, a young lady from a noble family visiting a *gibang*. This is a first for me.”

“Hahahaha. But isn’t your sister adorable? Eunhwa-gun, if the young lady is not yet betrothed, how about my cousin?”

Watching his friends fawn over me in a seemingly appropriate manner, Eunhwa-gun shook his head, looking near faint.

“…She was raised as a precious daughter of a noble family, so do not speak carelessly.”

Perhaps it was because Eunhwa-gun’s expression was strangely stiff, or perhaps they realized that Eunhwa-gun was a member of the royal family, but everyone began to mind their manners.

They were probably guessing that I was also a daughter of some royal family since I was a relative of a royal.

In fact, wasn’t that true?

I left the stiff-faced men and approached the courtesans.

Maehyang, who met my eyes, smiled brightly.

Even for courtesans who were used to all sorts of customers, this situation seemed a bit embarrassing, but among them, only Maehyang had a calm face.

“What songs do you sing?”

“What song would you like us to sing, young lady?”

“What song do you sing best?”

The courtesans didn’t even glance at the men and smiled brightly at me.

Maehyang initially had a slightly worried look, but in the meantime, she realized that Eunhwa-gun was watching me, so she laughed and sang the song that I had only half taught her and she had completed.

“Your singing skills are excellent.”

“We are overwhelmed by your praise, young lady.”

When I clapped and praised them, the courtesans also laughed and bowed their heads in front of me.

The men had strangely bitter faces, though.

“I didn’t know you liked such young ladies.”

“Isn’t it because the beautiful young lady likes our songs so much? Hoho.”

As the atmosphere turned that way, the courtesans subtly ignored the men after finishing their song and came to my side, feeding me food and laughing.

“Here, please have this *sanjeok* [grilled skewers] that I offer.”

“Please try this honey rice cake that I offer.”

“Oh my, young lady. Aren’t you thirsty? Here, try this *sikhye* [sweet rice beverage].”

“I like *sujeonggwa* [persimmon punch] better than *sikhye*.”

“Oh my, I didn’t know that. Hey, hurry up and bring a jar of *sujeonggwa*.”

“Yes, sister.”

I’m enjoying it, but this feels a bit… like the main roles have changed?

‘What is this, not a *juji-yukrim* [debauched feast]?’

Drinking *sikhye* and *sujeonggwa* instead of alcohol, and being fed food by the beautiful courtesans, it feels a bit… like I’ve become comfortable trash?

And the men were experiencing internal conflict while looking at me.

It didn’t seem like I had done anything wrong, but they didn’t feel good about leaving me alone, so they seemed to be in a rather complicated state of mind, wondering whether to express that feeling or not.

It wasn’t my business, though.

“No, how can they be with the courtesans like that…”

“Ahem, stop it.”

“But,”

“I said it’s okay.”

And when someone tried to say something about my free attitude, Eunhwa-gun desperately stopped them.

In the meantime, I was playing an unhealthy(?) prank.

“Hehe. You sing well, what are your names?”

“I am called Maehyang.”

“I am called Songhwa.”

Even though they knew each other, they pretended not to know and introduced themselves as if they were meeting for the first time. I was also flirting.

“Hmm, I like you, how about coming to my house?”

“Oh my!”

At my words, the courtesans put their hands over their chests as if they were excited.

“Ack! What are you saying!!”

And in contrast to the courtesans, I held back my laughter, leaving Eunhwa-gun, who was horrified, behind. And the courtesans were also holding back their laughter while looking at me.

But I couldn’t keep doing this here.

Of course, it was fun in its own way, but that’s not why I came to the *gibang*.

“Ah.”

“Oh my.”

I reached out to grab the *sikhye* and pretended to accidentally spill the liquor bottle. As the spilled alcohol soaked my clothes, the quick-witted Maehyang hurriedly picked me up.

“What should we do? Your clothes are wet.”

“Hmm. I was thinking of going back now, so it’s okay.”

At my words, the faces of the men in the room lit up.

“We will escort you.”

“Okay.”

“We will give you clothes to change into before you leave. You will catch a cold if you wear wet clothes.”

Maehyang and Songhwa said that and grabbed my hands one by one, but their faces seemed to darken again.

Holding their hands, I left the room and said goodbye to Eunhwa-gun.

“I had fun, so I’ll go now. Brother. I have to go home before it gets dark.”

“Y-yes. You shouldn’t be late getting home, but are you sure you’ll be okay alone…?”

“There are people waiting outside. I’ll go with these people to the outside. You’ll take me, right?”

“Of course, young lady.”

Eunhwa-gun also realized that I wouldn’t be wandering around alone, so he readily sent me off, even telling me to come back if I couldn’t find my people.

Of course, I had no intention of going out like that.

“Young lady, but what brings you here?”

“This is not a place for you to come.”

The two, who had been smiling happily until just now, started nagging me from the moment they moved away from the drinking party. Of course, they were all saying it because they were worried about me.

I was forced to change my clothes and wondered how much I should tell them.

“Um. That’s…”

I first briefly described the appearance of the guy who kidnapped me and asked if he often came to the *gibang*.

“We haven’t seen him…”

“It’s rare for someone to be rich enough to call for me or Songhwa, so he might be a customer in another area.”

Even as they said that, they called the maids working at the *gibang* and asked them about this and that, and thanks to that, they unexpectedly found his whereabouts easily.

“It seems like he’s among the people who gather separately in the detached building.”

“I have to go there.”

At my words, Maehyang and Songhwa looked worried.

“What kind of person is he that you’re doing this for?”

“The guy who scammed me?”

“Ah.”

Why do you look convinced now?

I thought it sounded a bit light to just say scam, so I added a little more. I couldn’t bring myself to say that he was the one who kidnapped me.

“But he might be doing something dangerous. Some of those people who do that kind of thing are connected to dangerous people, right?”

“Perhaps, young lady, you’re not going to do something dangerous, are you?”

“We’d rather go.”

But I shook my head.

“It’s okay. I need to see him in person to know if he’s the right person.”

And even if I get caught eavesdropping, it’s better for me, who looks like a child on the outside, as long as I hide my face well.

At my words, the two seemed convinced, but they didn’t back down.

“But it would be better if we went together. Then you’ll attract less attention, young lady. Isn’t that right?”

“Hmm.”

‘It’s still daytime and there are many people inside the *gibang*, so it won’t be that dangerous.’

Agreeing with Maehyang’s words, I borrowed a child’s clothes from a *donggi* [fellow courtesan] on the pretext of drinking and followed Maehyang to the detached building, pretending to be a servant, and checked the people coming and going while hiding behind Maehyang.

The guests at the detached building seemed embarrassed but also very happy that Maehyang, who hadn’t been called, had come.

In the meantime, I saw an unexpected person.

‘Huh? That person is definitely…’

It was one of Youngbin’s relatives.

I remembered him because of the unique face with a big mole next to his nose, but he was definitely someone who had been coming and going since before Youngbin’s downfall…

‘I don’t think they were that close.’

He was Youngbin’s relative, but even when she was at her peak, he didn’t visit Youngbin or Gyeongun-gun often.

But why is that man here when the person I’m looking for isn’t?

Anyway, I couldn’t just leave since I had come all the way to the detached building.

Maehyang said that it seemed like the working child had misspoken, and that since it had turned out this way, she would sing a song here until the waiting guest arrived, and the guys who had been trying to refuse shut their mouths.

As promised with Maehyang, I first slipped back and went outside to wander around the building. There weren’t many people around, but the working people were sparsely visible in the distance, so I didn’t look strange.

While subtly looking around, I discovered men whispering behind the building.

‘Ah, it must be that man?’

Hugging the small tray I had brought to pretend to be running errands, I eavesdropped on the story while hovering around them.

“But isn’t that too dangerous?”

“Don’t you know? We need funds.”

If you only heard this, there was nothing strange about it. But the moment I heard the voices of the people talking, I felt a chill down my spine.

It was definitely the voices of the man who tried to harm me in that hut and the man who kidnapped me.

“If the forgery sale hadn’t been caught, we could have made a lot more money easily…”

“The Crown Prince ordered a thorough investigation by the police, so it’s not easy to get out now. You should hide quietly for a while. The capital is dangerous, so from now on, let’s meet at the tavern near Seohwalinseo (西活人署) [Western Public Clinic] instead of here.”

“Damn it, that Crown Prince, who’s a dud who has no interest in women…!”

Is our Crown Prince a dud?

I tried to eavesdrop on the two men’s conversation while hiding behind a tree, confirming that the Crown Prince’s reputation was falling in a strange direction. Thanks to the shadow of the tree, my appearance probably wasn’t visible.

“The Crown Prince’s reputation…”

“Then…how about doing that?”

“It’s too dangerous. But…”

The two were talking in a lower voice than before, saying something dangerous.

‘If only the distance was a little closer…’

I was about to crouch down more carefully and listen when.

Clatter-

“!”

I lost my balance and fell over as something like a branch broke, probably because I touched something wrong.

“Who is it?!”

The men’s gazes turned to this side at the same time.