Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 181

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine.

“What… No, you should have said something sooner… I’m sorry, Princess.”

Cheonho’s uncle’s pupils were shaking, as if he was flustered. Well, I guess he would be.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Cheonho and I, who is used to me, said that, but Cheonho’s uncle was glaring daggers at Cheonho.

I chuckled inwardly and muttered.

“He really doesn’t look like Cheonho.”

“Right?”

“Cheonho, go home with your uncle now. I’m going to walk now.”

That’s what I was saying, but my eyelids were heavy.

“Princess? Are your eyes closing right now?”

“Um… then someone else will pick me up and take me. Go. Go rest.”

I said that and patted his shoulder, but Cheonho just shook his head and smiled, not putting me down.

“Don’t worry. I have enough time to take you, Princess.”

“Uh-huh.”

My eyes seemed to be already half-closed.

“So, wait a moment. Uncle.”

“…Okay.”

When Cheonho said that, I also waved my hand weakly.

‘Ah, I’m really sleepy.’

Being carried on his back was comfortable, my head wasn’t bobbing around.

“Um… Cheonho… are you coming tomorrow too?”

“Tomorrow? Will I come tomorrow too?”

“Yeah…”

I’ve been seeing him every day lately, so I think I’ll miss him if I don’t see him.

“Yes, I’ll come tomorrow too.”

“Yeah…”

With that conversation, I fell asleep.

***

“You seem to have gotten very close to the Princess.”

“Well, we spend a lot of time together.”

It was a time when the sky was getting a little dark. Cheonho walked side by side with his uncle.

When he was young, his uncle seemed endlessly bigger than Cheonho, but now he was smaller than Cheonho.

“…You really don’t have any thoughts about your father?”

“Uncle doesn’t know what my father was like back then either.”

“Your father wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“No one knows what kind of person he really is.”

Just like no one tried to kill the Crown Prince this time.

According to my uncle, someone betrayed my father. Did my father get betrayed because he didn’t have an eye for people?

“Besides, even if that’s the case… it’s not something I can reveal carelessly.”

“If the Princess trusts you, you might be able to ask her for help.”

Since when did you trust the Princess so much? Cheonho shook his head at his uncle’s optimistic thinking.

“…But she might not trust me instead.”

“Cheonho.”

“I also learn things while being by the Princess’s side.”

“…”

“Even high-ranking people have to protect themselves.”

Cheonho muttered that and put his hand on his chest. He felt the presence of an old pair of rings that he had been carrying with him for a long time.

‘Don’t I seem like a terrible boss…’

I suddenly felt a little sorry when I remembered what I had said to Cheonho while dozing off the day I returned from Gangwon-do a while ago.

He should have been given at least a day off after going on such a long business trip!

How could I grab him by the collar from behind and tell him to come to work tomorrow!

‘People are all like that when they become powerful…’

With a light self-rationalization, I put down my spoon.

“Are you done eating?”

“Um. I’m a little sleepy. But I ate a lot.”

“You should eat more.”

“Hmm.”

I reluctantly picked up my spoon again at Songbi’s worried voice.

It’s not that it’s not delicious, and I don’t think I ate that little, but it didn’t work for Songbi.

Like a country grandmother feeding her grandson, Songbi kept wanting to feed me something whenever she saw me.

‘But when I think about it, I think my eating habits have decreased a bit since that day I was surprised by the Crown Prince in Gangwon-do.’

At that time, after finding the Crown Prince and Sehwa and confirming that they were safe, I was so relieved that I collapsed, and everyone was surprised.

‘But it happened in the mountains again.’

Besides, since it was clear that someone was targeting the Crown Prince, I couldn’t feel comfortable, and there was a thorn in my heart somewhere. Perhaps the person involved, the Crown Prince, would be even more so.

Even while thinking about that, my head nodded forward.

I tried hard to shake off the overwhelming sleepiness.

“Ugh… I shouldn’t sleep yet…”

“You’ve been sleeping a lot since you took the medicine. Don’t do that and go to sleep. I’ll carry you on my back.”

I shook my head at Songbi’s confidence, who has muscles trained by years of baking.

“No… I’m going out to play today…”

It’s already been a few days since I came back.

In the meantime, I checked the current situation to some extent with the documents Cheonho brought, but now I have to go to Siyeongwon [a government office related to construction projects] and Siwolgak [likely a pavilion or building of significance] myself…

I’m sleepy even though I’m shaking my head.

I could feel the laughter mixed in Songbi’s voice as she looked at me.

“Go to sleep.”

“Nooo.”

I’m adjusting it to about once every few days, but after taking the medicine that Sehwa risked her life to bring this time, I couldn’t control myself and fell asleep.

“I’m going out today.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest inside today?”

I’ve already rested inside for a few days.

“No. Give me clothes.”

“Oh my.”

Even with my eyes closed, the court ladies changed my clothes quickly.

‘It’s easy to be a child.’

Thanks to the thick clothes in winter, my body became heavy, but I had to endure that much.

I barely opened my eyes, opened the door, and went out, and my exclusive palanquin was waiting.

I staggered with my still sleepy head, clung to Cheonho’s neck, and ordered.

“Let’s go.”

“…I think I’m being treated like a vehicle these days…”

“The ride is good though.”

“Is this a compliment…”

Cheonho smiled weakly but hugged me. I could hear giggling around me.

Our kids are out of order, this is a big problem.

The palace, which had been desolate for a while, seemed to be full of energy these days.

Well, the Crown Prince, who had been missing for half a day, was injured but returned safely.

Most people couldn’t help but worry about the only Crown Prince, even though the news was delivered after everything was settled.

‘The atmosphere couldn’t have been bright when something happened to the Crown Prince.’

Even if they didn’t care because it had nothing to do with them, if they were misunderstood as having rebellious intentions, their future would be difficult.

“The palace seems to be noisy these days.”

“Um… maybe it’s because they’re going to have a Naryehoe [a ritual to exorcise evil spirits and bring good fortune] because it’s the end of the year?”

It’s cold, but it was about time for the Naryehoe preparations to be noisy here and there.

Since it was a large-scale event held by the royal family, Narye Dogam (儺禮都監) [a temporary office established for the Naryehoe] was temporarily installed to prepare.

‘Thanks to that, I’m comfortable.’

Because the people who always did it are doing it.

The Crown Prince won’t be in the mood to give me work now.

The Naryehoe was a surprisingly large event. It’s held not only by the royal family but also in private houses.

Thanks to that, there have been opinions that it should be abolished because it’s a luxury, a waste, and men and women come out on the streets to watch it, so it harms the customs and is promiscuous, but the kings have been ignoring it and implementing it.

‘The Crown Prince asked me for my opinion before.’

At the time, I said that there was no reason to abolish it if it was enjoyed not only by the wealthy and nobles but also by all the people.

‘In the first place, most of them bring in concubines, call gisaengs [female entertainers], and touch slaves, so it’s useless to say it’s promiscuous.’

I don’t know what the standard of promiscuity is.

“But where are you going first? Are you planning to stop by Saga [likely refers to her own residence or a specific location] too?”

“Umm.”

I shook my head at Cheonho’s words and said something else.

Cheonho’s face looked surprised, but he didn’t say anything.

When I came out of the palace, I could hear people talking here and there.

Especially if a familiar name is included, it’s easy to hear.

“I heard that Grand Lord Yeongcheon committed treason?”

“I heard he tried to harm His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“There have been many problems before. I knew he would cause a big accident someday, but treason, wow.”

There were many words about Grand Lord Yeongcheon’s treason, but he was not a person with a good reputation, so everyone didn’t seem to think deeply.

‘Someone almost died because of that bastard.’

Of course, there were many questionable aspects here and there, but since it was confirmed that he had bad feelings for me, there was no room for me to sympathize with him.

For similar reasons, opinions seemed to be divided on Grand Lord Hwacheon, Grand Lord Yeongcheon’s half-brother, rather than Grand Lord Yeongcheon.

‘He’s a relatively docile and problem-free Jongchin [a member of the royal family], but he’s Grand Lord Yeongcheon’s brother, so that alone makes his reputation bad.’

Maybe the houses with bad brothers are sympathizing with Grand Lord Hwacheon.

Muyeong-gun and Songan, Grand Lord Hwacheon’s children, accompanied us on our return, so they also knew that Grand Lord Yeongcheon was the mastermind of this incident when they were with us.

‘His face was pale.’

At first, the two looked like they were doubting what they had heard, and the next moment, they bowed their heads to me and the Crown Prince and begged that they were innocent and knew nothing.

I heard that Grand Lord Hwacheon was similar, and the King didn’t seem to doubt Grand Lord Hwacheon.

‘Can I trust him?’

In fact, it was hard to understand that Grand Lord Yeongcheon was targeting the Crown Prince because it was too radical.

Grand Lord Yeongcheon himself would know about his reputation. If Grand Lord Yeongcheon really wanted to be king, he had to drag the King off the throne and go up himself.

He wouldn’t be stupid enough not to know that even if the Crown Prince disappeared, Grand Lord Yeongcheon himself or Grand Lord Yeongcheon’s son would not be mentioned as the next royal talent (王才) [Waengjae – a person with the qualities to be king].

Even if the Jongchin can’t take the past, they are people who are forced to study at Jonghak (宗學) [a school for the royal family], so if they are not born lacking, they should be able to judge that much.

‘It’s a matter of life and death, not something else.