Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 146

‘I wonder if spending so much money will be worth it.’

But even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter. It was partly for my own satisfaction anyway.

Fortunately, the weather was clear today for the grand opening of Siwol Pavilion.

The courtesans, musicians, and jesters were all dressed and performing as planned.

Since the opening ceremony had been widely publicized, people were gathering with eager anticipation.

The musicians led the procession, playing their instruments, followed by women in colorful dresses dancing gracefully.

Children danced and ran behind them, a mix of Donggi [children born to slaves, often forced into entertainment] and Siyoungwon [royal children’s organization] kids.

‘If things go as the Crown Prince intended, those Donggi kids might be able to lead normal lives as entertainers.’

Of course, there’s a lot of trash in the world, so it’ll be tough, but preventing that is my job.

‘But… how did I end up with so much to do?’

It was pointless to dwell on it now, though.

Some people had gone to watch the opening ceremony parade, but others had been waiting specifically for the tea house to open and entered immediately.

This was because a theatrical performance was scheduled instead of songs or dances that could be performed while marching.

Inside the tea house, the customers seemed amused that the staff were all dressed in Goryeo Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 918 to 1392] attire. Some of the staff were uncomfortable with the unfamiliar clothes, but they seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless.

And some were excited to be wearing silk clothes for the first time.

“But why do I have to wear these clothes too?”

“Because it would look awkward if only I wore them?”

Cheonho, looking embarrassed, kept pulling at his sleeves awkwardly. It seemed like his movements were restricted.

On the other hand, Sung, the Gyeom Sa Bok [military police officer], looked as natural as if he had stepped out of a historical drama.

‘As expected of a Chetamin….’

Soi just had a neutral expression.

“I didn’t expect so many people.”

“Since the rumors have spread, people who are reasonably well-off will want to come at least once.”

“With so many people, you might run into someone who recognizes you, Agassi [young lady].”

“Then it’ll just add more credibility to the rumors, I guess.”

Soi just sighed at my words.

Perhaps because the rumors had been swirling since the building was under construction, there were quite a few customers, as Soi had said.

Maybe some people who want to curry favor with me will come too.

They keep sending gifts to my private residence, which is annoying, but I guess they want to boost sales and make an impression.

Thanks to the kidnapping incident, everyone who needs to know knows that I secretly wander around the marketplace, so no one will think I won’t come here.

Thanks to that, there’s a strange rumor going around the marketplace that says, ‘Don’t treat children carelessly. They might be disguised Ongju Jagae [royal princess]. She deliberately wears shabby clothes and walks around the marketplace to find those who oppress innocent commoners, and those whose behavior is improper are dragged to the Uigeumbu [Joseon Dynasty law enforcement agency] for insulting royalty.’

‘No, I’m not some undercover boss or secret royal inspector.’

How much are they all feeling guilty about?

Isn’t it enough not to hit children or kidnap and traffic people?

I was casually looking around the inside of Siwol Pavilion while thinking such thoughts when it happened.

“Do you know who this person is, daring to!”

“Waaaaah!”

A commotion arose from a private room on the second floor, like a bucket of cold water thrown on a pleasant atmosphere.

There are relatively many children working at Siwol Pavilion, but they only do simple errands such as delivering water or food to singers and actors.

So, there shouldn’t be any children on the second floor.

But now I heard a child crying.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure.”

If someone is bold enough to raise their voice like that here, they must be someone of considerable status.

Thinking that, I went inside and saw a girl and a young boy kneeling and begging.

The sight that came into view made me frown involuntarily.

Rudeness aside, this side is only for male guests, so a girl shouldn’t be here. But why is there a girl here?

A man, somewhat younger than the rest of the group, stepped forward and blocked me.

“Who are you?”

“I think the person behind you knows who I am.”

“What….”

“…Ongju Jagae. What are you doing in a place like this?”

At the words of the man behind him, the men who had come with him jumped up and bowed to me.

There are quite a few people who know my face, but not that many.

“What is all this commotion?”

“Ahem.”

“Would you explain why this child is here?”

Youngchun-gun [a royal title] grimaced as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

I knew it. He must have brought a child who wasn’t allowed to come here.

“I just brought her to serve tea.”

“It seems you’ve forgotten what kind of place this is.”

“Ongju Jagae.”

“Please leave this place immediately.”

“Huh, how can you treat a member of the royal family like this?”

Are you ignoring me right now? I’m a member of the royal family!

“Isn’t that what I should be saying? Don’t tell me you came here without knowing what kind of place this is? Shouldn’t we first consider who tarnished the Ongju’s reputation first?”

I think you ignored me first, but I guess you don’t think so? I’m an Ongju!

Youngchun-gun and I bared our fangs like frilled lizards, competing over whose background was stronger.

But this is my territory, and laying a hand on someone I employ means you’re trying to fight me.

Even if slaves fight, it becomes a fight between masters. And if something like that happened in front of me, I would become a laughingstock if I just stood by.

Of course, Youngchun-gun might be prideful that he was pushed back by someone as young as me.

When you think about it, Youngchun-gun may be treated preferentially as a member of the royal family elsewhere, but compared to me, he has nothing better than his seniority and age.

Compared to me, he has no money or power.

“Escort Grand Lord Youngchun-gun outside.”

“Yes, Ongju Jagae.”

The people who had rushed over after hearing the commotion sized up the situation and followed my instructions.

Youngchun-gun didn’t want to be embarrassed any further, so he quietly followed. The people who came with Youngchun-gun did the same.

After confirming through the window that Youngchun-gun had completely left Siwol Pavilion, I instructed the staff.

“From now on, Youngchun-gun is not allowed to enter Siwol Pavilion.”

“B-But, is that really alright?”

“Treating the people I have with me carelessly is the same as ignoring me. If something like this happens again, you must prevent them from entering this place according to my orders. Do you understand!”

“Yes, Ongju Jagae.”

The Siyoungwon children, who were always playing with the young children in listless voices, were surprised to hear me speak in a sharp voice for the first time, and they answered with stiff faces and perfect discipline.

I examined the face of the woman who was still kneeling and looking dumbfounded. She looked to be at most in her late teens or early twenties. Since we didn’t hire very young children, she was probably the youngest of the people who worked here officially, excluding the Donggi.

‘No, is Youngchun-gun crazy, doing this to such a young child…?’

Isn’t she young enough to be his daughter?

Judging by her clothes, she wasn’t a gisaeng [female entertainer], and since she didn’t seem to know me well, she wasn’t a Siyoungwon child either, so it seemed like she was one of the Yangin [commoner] children who came to study at the academy, which was one of the remaining possibilities.

Her family might be Yangban [aristocrat], or not.

If she were a Siyoungwon child, she would have been more likely to reflexively use my name to her advantage rather than showing such a stiff reaction.

I’ve heard plenty of stories about how those guys constantly say, ‘I’m going to tell Ongju Jagae!’ and provoke the dark history of their Siyoungwon hyungs [older brothers] and unnis [older sisters].

The children seemed very surprised, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere.

“Are you alright?”

“I, I’m alright… Ongju Jagae.”

“Nuna [older sister]!”

“Chaek-ah.”

The crying child was the woman’s younger brother, and the siblings began to hug each other and cry.

The younger brother looked to be about my age (based on appearance), so he must have followed his sister, trying to protect her in his own way, when she was being dragged away.

As a result, his crying brought me, and his sister was safe.

‘It’s a touching scene, but I can’t leave them like this, right?’

I gave instructions to the staff who still didn’t know what to do. There is a separate person in charge here, but it seemed better for me to handle it now.

“Clean up here, and take these two and find out what happened.”

“Yes.”

“And you must thoroughly crack down so that this never happens again. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

I thought those kinds of guys might show up, but to think they’d show up on the first day.

‘Do they think this is a gibang [house of courtesans] just because gisaengs are performing?’

This is why I, the Ongju, have to manage things! Aagh! Annoying!

I wanted to kick a pillar to express this frustration, but I had to restrain myself because there were too many eyes watching.

…It’s also a new building.

‘But when I think about it, it’s my building that I built with my own money, so it doesn’t matter if I kick it a little….’

While I was cooling down while thinking such useless thoughts, in contrast to me, the people behind me all seemed to be in a good mood.

“Why are you all smiling so happily?”

“It’s nothing.”

“I was saying that business was going well from the first day of the opening. I was in a good mood for once, but that bad ajusshi [older man] ruined it.”

“Wouldn’t you say you’ve warded off bad luck? Maehyang will be arriving soon, so would you like to go out and see her?”

“Hmm. Should I?”

Come to think of it, it was about time for them to make a round and come back.

The team that had been promoting outside and returned had a break before going on stage, so I should watch Maehyang come and play with her a bit.

Fortunately, business seemed to be going smoothly elsewhere.

The children managed to block anyone from noticing this commotion and coming out.

‘Still, the people downstairs must have seen Youngchun-gun leaving.’

I don’t want to live on bad terms with anyone, but the world is making me prickly.

I downed a glass of cold water without any grace and went outside, where I saw the siblings I had seen earlier. They had stopped crying, and they were wiping each other’s tears affectionately, which made me feel warm.

‘Come to think of it, they’re siblings with a big age gap.’

Sungwon Seja [Crown Prince] and I were about that far apart too.

While I was drinking the cold water, the staff who had found out the situation explained the circumstances.

As a result of the confirmation, it was not much different from what I had expected.

The younger brother had apparently sneaked in among the Siyoungwon children because he wanted to see where his sister worked, and he witnessed the scene of his sister being forcibly dragged away and followed her.

It was heartbreaking to think that that little thing clung to her to protect her.

“Cheonho, buy some candy that they’re selling over there and bring it to those siblings.”

“Ah. I understand.”

Cheonho, who had been blankly looking at the siblings like me, was uncharacteristically slow to answer, but he quickly moved according to my instructions. Sung Gyeom Sabok was here today, so these small errands were Cheonho’s responsibility.

Thanks to the merchants who quickly set up stalls when they learned that a large tea house had opened here and that there would be performances, there were many shops selling snacks nearby.

Since it was a different line from the high-end sweets sold in our store anyway, it didn’t really matter.

‘Ah, come to think of it, is that why Youngchun-gun came too?’

I heard that as soon as the rumor spread that we would give castella [sponge cake] to people who used the private rooms on the second floor, limited to a certain number each day, people rushed to make reservations.

In fact, some of the members of the royal family even send me simple gifts with various excuses when they want to eat castella, but Youngchun-gun is really….

In the meantime, Cheonho delivered the food to the siblings as I had ordered and returned.

I felt a little proud because I could see the two people holding the candy looking happy even from a distance.

And Cheonho, looking at me like that, said something unnecessary.

“Ong… Agassi is very generous to children.”