Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 119

‘It feels a bit much to think it’s because of me… but if things had gone wrong, who knows what could have happened.’

And I did what I had to do.

Half-embraced by the Crown Prince, I pointed at one of the men the soldiers had tied up and shouted,

“Brother, that guy hit me!”

As I said that and looked around at the people who had been with me in the prison, those who had been frozen for a moment nodded.

“That’s right! That vile man dared to commit such an outrage against the Princess!”

“He even tried to attack her earlier!”

As testimonies poured in from everywhere, the Crown Prince didn’t hesitate.

“Take that one away separately.”

“Yes!”

And he declared to the remaining men,

“You not only dared to open a slave market, which is forbidden by royal decree, and turn innocent people into slaves, but you also kidnapped the Princess. I will show you the severity of the national law.”

Gritting.

I flinched at the sound of teeth grinding from above, and the Crown Prince, startled, checked my body again.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“No……”

Hey, don’t grind your teeth. You’ll suffer later.

He seems to be in an excited state now, so I should tell him when he calms down.

He must have been very surprised because he couldn’t let me go even while commanding the soldiers, so it was hard to say anything.

In fact, not only the Crown Prince but also the officers of the Royal Escort were working hard.

Perhaps because they were all people who often enjoyed the snacks I brought and laughed together, they seemed shocked by the fact that I had been kidnapped.

‘I appreciate the thought, but I wish they would let me go now because it’s suffocating…….’

The Seong Gyeom-sabok [a type of military officer] was also catching the escaped guys, and after confirming that I was safe, he just made eye contact and went back to work.

‘I’m sorry for making everyone suffer.’

It might not have been such a big deal originally.

And after the situation calmed down a bit, unexpected people appeared.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Princess. Are you safe?”

Aren’t they doctors from the Hyeminseo [a government-run medical institution]?

Some of the suddenly appearing doctors and female doctors approached the injured people.

Some people had major injuries, so it was fortunate that the doctors came.

Of course, the doctors also came to the Crown Prince and me.

The Crown Prince said he wasn’t hurt and asked them to check me.

“I don’t have any particular injuries either, so go see the injured soldiers.”

“But didn’t you say that guy hit you earlier?”

“I wasn’t hurt. Someone else blocked it.”

When I declined the doctor, another person came this time.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. Then may I examine the Princess?”

“Oh? Se-hwa? How did you get here?”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince ordered only those who could ride horses to follow, and I can actually ride a horse.”

It seemed that the Crown Prince wanted female doctors to come along, thinking that there would definitely be women at the slave market, partly because of me.

However, unfortunately, there were few other female doctors who could ride horses, so only Se-hwa, who was still a female doctor, came along. Thanks to the other female doctors’ distrust of Se-hwa’s never-confirmed riding skills, only Se-hwa came.

‘Ah? Is it because I can’t ride a horse with a strange man, so it turned out like this?’

Still, you can’t add horseback riding to the doctors’ curriculum.

“Even if there are no visible injuries, the Princess must have been very surprised.”

“It can’t be helped that I was surprised.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“There’s nothing in particular, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

I just got a little scratched when I was tied up earlier, and there are people bleeding over there, so it’s a bit much for me to say I’m in pain with this.

Se-hwa seemed to know that too, so after taking my pulse, she just said that I should apply medicine later and glossed over it.

I looked around and looked for the military officer and Cheon-ho who recognized me earlier.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like both of them were seriously injured, but I was still worried.

‘Ah, I should tell the Crown Prince about that military officer and Cheon-ho later.’

It seemed that another doctor had already approached the military officer, so I led Se-hwa to Cheon-ho first.

“This way, rather than me.”

“?”

Cheon-ho seemed a little tired, but he looked fine on the outside.

He was releasing people who had been captured as slaves or helping soldiers, and now he was sitting down again to rest.

“Cheon-ho, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“It looks like you got a little hurt because of me earlier.”

“No.”

And Se-hwa, who saw us talking, chimed in.

“Looking at the torn clothes, it seems like you’re a little hurt.”

“It’s just a scratch.”

“The doctor makes the judgment.”

“Yes……”

At Se-hwa’s firm words, Cheon-ho obediently held out his arm without resisting.

I breathed a sigh of relief at Se-hwa’s words that it wasn’t a big wound. And I asked the question I couldn’t ask earlier because I was in a hurry.

“But why are you here?”

“I have to guide you. Isn’t that what the Princess ordered?”

“No, I didn’t tell you to jump into danger.”

“What can I do when I see a dangerous situation? Besides, I’m not a soldier, so it’s okay to jump in without orders. Well.”

He’s not wrong, but why do I feel like I want to hit him?

Looking to the side, Se-hwa also had a similar face for some reason.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Thanks to you. Why do you do such dangerous things?”

“Haha. I wonder. Still, isn’t the Princess safe thanks to me?”

Cheon-ho, who had a vague expression that seemed a little empty and happy, asked as if he had remembered something.

“But, are you really the Princess?”

“Well…… that’s how it is.”

You called me Princess earlier, why are you asking again?

Next, I took Se-hwa to the women who had protected me earlier.

Everyone seemed fine for now, but honestly, I wondered if they had fainted.

“Are you okay?”

“We, we are okay…… Princess.”

I don’t eat people.

“You got hit because of me earlier, so let me take a look.”

“Yes.”

“Ho, Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”

This is a big problem. The shock must have been too great in many ways.

‘Come to think of it, I caused them to get hurt, so can I take them with me?’

When I think about it, these people probably don’t have a place to go right now. Wouldn’t it be better to take them to Siyeongwon [a government relief agency] and protect them?

I thought it would be difficult for the police to protect them, so I tentatively asked the Crown Prince.

“Brother. What will happen to the people here?”

The Crown Prince had calmed down a bit, so I decided to be polite for now. The Crown Prince seemed to flinch a little, but there were many people, so he didn’t say anything.

“After the investigation, they should be returned to where they originally lived.”

“But except for those who were kidnapped, most of them were sold by their families to pay off gambling debts…… If they go back, they will only be in a similar situation again.”

The Crown Prince frowned at my words.

“We need to investigate and punish those who sold their wives and children first.”

We need to catch them first.

‘Well, we need to punish them to prevent them from selling people without fear.’

It was a problem that people were buying people as property, but it was also a problem that they were selling their own family members for money.

“We can’t stay here forever, so after identifying them to some extent, I’m thinking of taking them to Siyeongwon.”

“That would be good.”

Everyone was busy, so Se-hwa and I only identified the people, and one of the officials decided to follow us to Siyeongwon to sort out the identities.

Some of the people here were kidnapped like me, but most of them were sold by their husbands or parents for gambling debts and drinking money, so I just decided to take them with me.

And the Crown Prince lamented after hearing my words.

“There are people who sell their wives and children for money…… It’s a terrible thing.”

He was already somewhat negative about the slave system, but seeing such a scene in person seemed to hit him harder than seeing it in documents.

“I will never let this happen again.”

Um. That’s good.

I nodded and looked at the Crown Prince with admiring eyes, and then I accidentally discovered Se-hwa looking at the Crown Prince just like me.

‘Um…… Come to think of it, the heroine’s name was similar to Se-hwa……’

Could Se-hwa be Ji-hwa?

It’s not common for a woman to get involved with the Crown Prince so naturally, so can I look forward to this?

Well, that was a matter to be seen.

After sorting out the injured, gathering the victims, sending them to Siyeongwon, and continuing the follow-up investigation, the workers had to spend days without rest after that day.

And I was confined to my residence.

“Ugh. I’m bored!”

“Please be patient, Princess. This incident has even reached His Majesty the King’s ears, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Unfortunately, the unprecedented incident of the Princess’s kidnapping caused a great stir.

In many ways.

First of all, the king was furious at the fact that the slave market, which had already been banned, was continuing illegally, and that there were unscrupulous people who even sold their wives and children.

Of course, he was even more furious at the fact that children were being kidnapped and sold, and he was even more outraged by the fact that I was almost added to the victims.

Some people tried to blame me, saying that I got involved in this because I didn’t behave properly, but that statement only fueled the king’s anger.

“If there is a foolish person who claims that a young child walking down the street in broad daylight is kidnapped because they are guilty, it is better not to think about doing state affairs in the future.”

“His Majesty is truly the parent of all people.”

So-i praised the king in an admiring voice.

Um, it feels a bit flattering, but it’s true.

And the king used this opportunity to conduct a full investigation into slaves.

In other words, he decided to investigate the origin of the slaves held by the nobles.

If the process was opaque or if a commoner was made a slave, their status was restored.

‘Ah, this is it. Gwangjong’s Slave Investigation Law from the Goryeo Dynasty [a Korean dynasty from 918 to 1392].’

The results of South Korea’s rote education are so scary that they still come to mind even after reincarnation.

Of course, there was opposition because it was about taking away slaves, but the fact that the Princess was involved was too strong.

“Knowing that His Majesty the King was furious about the Princess’s incident, no one dares to refuse.”

“Um. Should I say this is a good thing?”

My father is more emotional than he looks, but he is not a person who moves only with emotions.