Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 162

I wonder if they won’t let me ride too when I grow up?

“Cheon-ho, if you have nothing to do, come with me.”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

Now that I think about it, what are the Gisaengs [female entertainers] doing today?

The banquet ended yesterday, and today they were supposed to vaccinate the remaining people.

There’s always a lot of gossip where there are many people, so should I go and have a look?

Thinking that, I was riding my horse when I unexpectedly heard a commotion.

“Let go of me! Damn it! Princess and all that nonsense, trying to monopolize all the Gisaengs with strange talk and take them away? I won’t stand for it, I swear! Hae-wol! Hae-wol!”

“?”

The voice of a drunkard, which anyone could recognize, was coming from the Gibang [traditional Korean house of entertainment].

Hmm… Drunkards causing a scene at the Gibang are not limited to any particular region.

“Oh, have you arrived?”

“Yes. What’s going on over there?”

“He’s a drunkard who’s been chasing me for a while. Sigh, he’s from a family with some power around here, so it’s hard to refuse him, and he’s just repulsive, really.”

Hae-wol, who recognized me, shuddered at the sight of the man but still led us inside.

“They started the smallpox vaccination yesterday, so the rumor must have spread, and he came to interfere.”

“That must be tough.”

The Gibang servants were blocking him, but since he was a nobleman, they couldn’t treat him harshly and were just struggling to hold him back. Then, the man heard our conversation and turned his head sharply.

“Hae, Hae-wol!!”

Then, as if energized, he shook off the servants holding him and rushed towards us.

“Ah.”

“Kyaa-”

Hae-wol, flustered, stood in front of me, but I wasn’t too worried.

Thud-

“Argh!!”

“Is the Princess Consort unharmed?”

“Yes.”

I had sent Sung Gyeom-sabok to the Crown Prince’s side, but Cheon-ho was still here.

The man, easily subdued by Cheon-ho, trembled a few times but couldn’t move.

“…Is he dead?”

“No, he seems to be out of his mind from drinking and probably just fainted from the shock. If you have something to tie him up with…”

“He, here it is!”

Shocked by how quickly the man was subdued, the servants humbly offered Cheon-ho a rope.

“He’s been a strange man for a while… but he’s being unusually reckless today.”

“He seemed to be insulting the Princess Consort just now?”

Cheon-ho, who was tying up the man, frowned at Hae-wol’s words. I didn’t need to pretend I didn’t hear it, so I nodded.

“Hmm. Then that’s insulting royalty. And attempted assault? There are many witnesses watching, so let’s tie him up and hand him over to the authorities.”

“Yes. Princess Consort.”

“!”

Hae-wol, seemingly touched by my light tone, looked around and pulled me inside.

Of course, So-i and Cheon-ho were with me, and Mae-hyang, who had rushed over at the commotion, followed us in.

“Actually… there have been people slandering the Princess Consort at drinking parties recently.”

“Me? Why?”

“Rumor has it that the Princess Consort is going to sweep away all the Gisaengs.”

Ah, so that’s why Hae-wol threw the glove at Mae-hyang without hesitation?

“They said things like, ‘How can a girl like her be allowed to do that?’ and also spewed malicious words about the smallpox vaccination. Thanks to that, we actually started to think that the smallpox vaccination might not be so bad…”

“…”

“When drunk, they would say disrespectful things about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess Consort. They said they had many people who shared their views, so there was nothing to worry about.”

“Why are they dissatisfied?”

“Well, they said they suffered losses because the Princess Consort and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince freed the slaves.”

“Ah.”

A more realistic grudge than I thought. And realistically dangerous too.

‘This is a little concerning to just let it pass.’

Originally, realistic threats to property were what drove people to extremes.

“Cheon-ho, go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and tell him this story.”

“Me, you say?”

“Yes. I’ll lend you Jeok-ah.”

In fact, Jeok-ah’s horse ornaments alone are a free pass. The soldiers may not know who Cheon-ho is, but the Crown Prince’s guards will, so it should be fine.

“Go quickly.”

“Yes.”

Hmm, and I need to call the administrative head here first.

“…Come to think of it, it seems like you’ll have to testify again. Would that be alright?”

“I probably won’t be able to work as a Gisaeng here anymore.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll have to take you to Seoul and protect you.”

Hae-wol’s face lit up at my words.

“Then, am I going to Seoul? Will the Princess Consort protect me?”

“That’s how it’s turning out…”

Mae-hyang, who was next to her, had a sharp look in her eyes.

‘Why do I feel like a husband getting an earful for bringing in another concubine?’

Unfair! I don’t even have a main wife (!)

Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.

Se-hwa left at dawn with the guards the Crown Prince had assigned to find medicinal herbs.

When she arrived at her destination, a young woman was waiting for Se-hwa with herbalists who had been contacted in advance.

“Are you Doctor Se-hwa?”

“Yes, I am… Are you perhaps Teacher Si-yeongwon?”

“Yes. My name is Sung-hee.”

Sung-hee introduced herself politely.

As Se-hwa had expected, Sung-hee was one of the teachers from Si-yeongwon [a school or institution] whom she had met several times on her way here.

“I teach children in this area. I heard that the Young Miss found the medicinal herb in the data I sent.”

“Yes. Ah. So you’re the one who created that data.”

It meant that she was one of the data providers for the illustrated book that Princess Su-yeong was creating.

“Yes, another friend drew the picture, but I recorded that medicinal herb. Thanks to that, I’ve been looking for that herb since the day I heard the news.”

And behind Sung-hee were herbalists who were acquaintances.

They were different people from the herbalists in this area who had been contacted in advance, and perhaps because of that, the expressions of these herbalists weren’t very good.

“Aren’t you using this as an excuse to snoop around other people’s mountains?”

“No, why? Are you afraid we’ll dig up wild ginseng? Whatever we find, the mountain spirit gives it, it’s not yours.”

“Ahem.”

A subtle war of nerves was felt, but when the guards behind Se-hwa cleared their throats, the herbalists turned their heads as if they didn’t want to talk anymore.

“Thank you for your help.”

“What thanks? How could we not help and pretend not to know when our teachers are desperately looking for it.”

“Hey, you guys shouldn’t be like that either. Your children are all learning to read from the teacher, tsk tsk…”

“Hmph. What good is learning to read anyway.”

“Haha. Well, let’s go up quickly.”

It was obvious that arguing here would not end, so Se-hwa and Sung-hee, who were in a hurry, led the group first.

Fortunately, they could ride their horses up to a certain point, but once they entered the interior, they had to move on foot.

Of course, it was needless to say that they had to go deeper into the mountains to find what they were looking for.

“It seems like it won’t be easy to find.”

“It’s not commonly seen, and I heard it sometimes gets mixed in with other herbs by mistake.”

Sung-hee answered as she climbed onto a rock at Se-hwa’s words.

“We’ve actually been looking for it since the day we received the news. However, it’s not something that’s commonly seen.”

“Even common things become harder to find when you try to find them, so how much more so for uncommon things.”

“Haha. We investigated this ridge until yesterday, so we’re going to go over there today.”

“Then we can go together until halfway and then split up.”

“Yes.”

It would be helpful to follow the orders from above, but it was easier to have an active local collaborator.

‘The person who finds the herb will surely receive a big reward, but is the hassle greater than that? Why are these people so indifferent?’

On the other hand, the herbalists who followed Sung-hee were actively looking for herbs at first glance. This was probably thanks to that Si-yeongwon teacher.

‘The Princess Consort’s people are scattered here and there.’

In fact, there were quite a few children from Si-yeongwon who came to see the Princess Consort on the way here, saying they wanted to see her.

Some of the children from Si-yeongwon who came with her because of the smallpox vaccination recognized her and got to see the Princess Consort.

Se-hwa told Sung-hee about the people she had met on the way as she climbed the mountain.

“The number of dispatched children won’t be small. Even in the same Gangwon Province, they are scattered in different areas, so I don’t know how many there are in total. They don’t see each other often because they are far apart, but it’s comforting to have them in relatively close areas. It’s hard to contact them often, but we do sometimes.”

“It’s like having family living not far away.”

“That’s right.”

Sung-hee smiled happily and nodded at Se-hwa’s words.

Since they had time to talk while walking, Se-hwa also expressed her gratitude for the medicinal herb.

“Thank you. It was a great help.”

“What help? It was just among the things I collected by chance. In the first place, Jia suggested collecting data, and I just drew what caught my eye and sent it.”

Sung-hee said that and added with a slightly bitter face.

“I haven’t even found it yet. If I had known earlier that it was a medicinal herb needed to cure the Young Miss’s illness, I would have looked for it sooner.”

“Haha. It’s not something that’s often used. It’s also very poisonous.”

“Poisonous?”

“Yes. Originally, the same herb can be medicine or poison depending on how it’s used. That herb is like that, so it’s rarely used.”

“Is it okay? To use such a medicine for the Young Miss.”

“It’s necessary.”

Saying that, Se-hwa continued to talk to Sung-hee.

“You seem to be very close to the Princess Consort? You even came to dig up medicinal herbs yourself.”

“Well, I’m not as close as Jia or Ah-young, so I don’t know if I can say I’m close… But there’s no child who grew up in Si-yeongwon without receiving snacks from her. In the first place, the Princess Consort has supported almost all of our food, clothing, and shelter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, and the Young Miss gave me my name.”

Se-hwa smiled warmly because she had heard from Sung-ji that the Princess Consort gave names to the nameless children in Si-yeongwon.

“Everyone didn’t say it, but everyone was worried about the Young Miss’s illness. But everyone was so happy when they finally heard that it could be cured. Please take good care of the Young Miss.”

“Yes, I will definitely cure her.”

“Thank you.”

Sung-hee smiled happily at Se-hwa’s words.

It was a heartwarming conversation.

And in the following conversation, Se-hwa couldn’t help but have her illusions slightly shattered.

“Everyone seems to like the Princess Consort very much.”

“Of course. But there are also people who resent her sometimes.”

“Resent? Why?”

“If you’re too good to people, they forget the favor and take it for granted.”

“…”

Sung-hee smiled bitterly in front of the silent Se-hwa and continued.