Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 194

She seemed embarrassed by her own actions. Just then, the Crown Prince, spotting a crowd gathered, grabbed my hand with a delighted expression and led me over.

‘Let go of me….’

I followed him with a somewhat disgruntled look, but I was curious about what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems a young master from a noble family and a child got into an argument.”

One of the onlookers asked, and another, equally curious, replied in an excited voice.

“Well, can that really be called an argument…?”

Judging by the way they were talking, the child wasn’t a noble.

“That kid looks like one of the Siyoungwon [a school for children of servants and those of lower status] brats, so it’s not surprising.”

“Ah.”

The onlookers nodded in understanding, but I felt a bit uneasy.

‘Wait, are those our kids?’

What on earth are they doing? These little rascals.

Of course, I’d been out and about quite a bit myself, so it wasn’t like I had no idea what the Siyoungwon kids were up to.

‘They’ve been doing pretty well, though….’

Even if the younger kids wanted to act out without knowing better, the older ones would get embarrassed and smack them down, so major problems rarely occurred.

In the first place, most nobles didn’t want to get involved with the Siyoungwon kids anyway.

‘It’s like they treat them as half my servants, so they don’t want to get on my bad side by getting involved.’

Putting aside the issues of the class system… it’s a bit much to compare, but it’s similar to how no one would dare kick a dog raised in a wealthy family.

Sure, if they got bitten, they’d report it, but they wouldn’t want to mess with them and face the consequences.

‘It’s not uncommon for servants’ squabbles to turn into masters’ fights.’

It’s the same as kids’ fights turning into adult fights.

As I was lost in thought, the crowd suddenly began to cheer.

“Wow!”

“…Why are they cheering?”

I tilted my head and asked, and a young scholar who had been looking on lowered himself to the children’s eye level and explained it simply.

Hmm. He seems like a decent person.

“The Siyoungwon child and the young master from the noble family got into a verbal argument, and they’re competing by reciting passages from the classics, with each side interpreting the meaning of the other’s passage.”

“That’s quite a sophisticated fight.”

“Yes. But right now, the young master from the noble family is losing.”

“Oh dear.”

How embarrassing.

Even if they didn’t want to get involved with the Siyoungwon kids, to the nobles, the Siyoungwon kids were just annoying brats showing off with the Princess’s backing.

Still, they’re fighting with words after being educated….

I feel a sense of accomplishment.

‘Of course, even among the nobles, there are those who don’t study and are hopeless.’

Not all Siyoungwon kids are smart. Even if they’re taught to read, most of them barely get past the Thousand Character Classic [a foundational text used to teach Chinese characters], let alone anything else.

So, the kid who’s fighting with the young master from a noble family must be one of the smartest in Siyoungwon.

‘Then I probably know his name or face.’

Reports come up about kids who stand out in any field.

Even if there are a lot of kids gathered, they generally stand out.

“Wow. I’ve heard that the Siyoungwon kids are smart, but the young master from the noble family can’t win at all.”

“Look at them quoting Confucius and Mencius.”

“But what good will it do them to be so smart?”

Listening to the surrounding chatter, I felt uneasy.

‘Should I support them so they can take the civil service exam?’

It would be difficult for the kids who became slaves due to treason, but it’s not entirely impossible for the others, even if they are slaves.

In fact, even during the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392-1897], there were rare cases where someone who couldn’t take the exam due to their status was adopted into a noble family because of their talent.

Of course, it wasn’t a common occurrence.

There was a story about someone who passed the exam and became a noble, but was tormented in front of his mother’s grave because she was still a commoner.

Of course, recently, many noble children have been coming to the school in Siyoungwon.

If they’re from poor families, there’s a limit to studying alone.

Even if they’re from families without money, they’re all accepted if they come quietly.

The fact that Siyoungwon is run by the Princess seems to be a kind of absolution, and the noble children don’t seem to have any aversion to it.

Of course, they receive a small amount of money, and if they don’t have money, they receive labor.

Noble children who know how to read are mobilized to teach younger children Hangul [Korean alphabet] or the Thousand Character Classic, which has the advantage of giving them a realistic experience of the pain of childcare.

Since taking care of children isn’t considered physical labor, it’s not something that would hurt their pride.

They say that sometimes kids get so tired that they cry, but if you take them away and soothe them, and then suggest going to the mountain to gather firewood, they follow along without thinking.

Of course, the well-mannered ones are forcibly hired as childcare teachers.

Those who mistreat the children receive character education from other noble-born students, or are kicked out if that doesn’t work.

They’re too busy taking care of the kids they have to focus too much on character education for the kids who come to study.

Besides, it would be a problem if they went somewhere and acted out under the name of Siyoungwon.

‘Isn’t this… originally the job of parents or public education?’

Since there’s no public education here yet, it’s the parents’ job.

Well, that’s not easy.

There are children who know gratitude, and there are children who repay kindness with malice.

Some children are born docile, while others are born wild.

It’s originally the parents’ responsibility to handle that.

Siyoungwon takes care of children without parents. Siyoungwon can’t take care of children with parents.

However, children who are kicked out of Siyoungwon are labeled.

A label that even the generous Siyoungwon teachers couldn’t embrace, and the whispers of those around them remain.

‘It’s also recorded in the Siyoungwon records.’

I don’t know if this will be meaningful later.

On the surface, the Siyoungwon alumni seem to have considerable power, but in reality, most of the members of Siyoungwon are still young teenagers.

Many become independent as adults, and some get jobs connected to Siyoungwon, but many stay and take care of the new children who come in.

As a result, there is still a lack of ‘successful adult’ output for the children.

‘It will take time.’

It’s not something I can do anything about.

“Move, move!”

As I was lost in thought, the scene, which was about to end with the Siyoungwon child’s victory, entered a new phase with the unexpected… but not really… appearance of someone.

“Father!”

“Who dares to do this to my son!”

So, the kids’ fight is turning into an adult fight after all.

Of course, if it becomes an adult fight, we can have an adult fight.

‘But I don’t even know who was at fault in the first place.’

The people were too busy watching the rare spectacle to care about why the two of them were fighting in the first place.

‘People are really something.’

I looked for the young scholar who had given me a kind explanation earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“?”

Perhaps seeing me looking around as if I was about to go inside, Chunho and Soi grabbed me from behind.

“Agassi [term of respect for a young lady].”

“Ah.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Well, I think I need to assess the situation first.”

Not all nobles are strange people, and if he listens to the whole story and just gives a sermon and takes his son away, there won’t be any major incidents.

‘I really don’t want to get too involved.’

I came out to have fun.

Besides, judging by the imposing manner of that noble man, he seemed to be from a somewhat wealthy family.

‘Ah, I have a bad feeling.’

Why is it that sad premonitions never fail?

Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere was unusual, the people slowly backed away, allowing us to hear what was being said inside.

“Do you know who I am to dare to do this! These young ones are acting out, relying on their backers, and the moral discipline of society has become so disordered!”

“If you scold me for not accepting the insult gracefully and call me an ungentlemanly person, I will bear it, but how can I stand by and watch those who raised us be insulted?”

“What, what did you say?”

Did he insult the Siyoungwon teachers?

‘If he had insulted me, he would have shouted that it was royal family defamation, not a word battle.’

It was natural for the child to be angry, but such a polite attitude and such impolite content were bound to provoke violence.

“Please stop.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Yoon Dowon, a Jeong言 [Censor, Rank 6] from the Office of the Censor-General [an office that monitors government administration]. May I ask what has angered you so?”

The one who claimed to be an official from the Office of the Censor-General was the young scholar I had seen earlier.

‘Hmm. An elite civil servant.’

Fortunately, he seemed to know the circumstances of the children’s fight and was trying to dissuade the adult who had intervened in the children’s fight with kind words.

Unless he was a powerful figure, he wouldn’t want to attract the attention of the Three Offices [major government offices] for no reason.

‘But he might know the Crown Prince.’

Thinking that, I looked around and saw the Crown Prince standing far away, looking worried. I decided to leave him alone for now.

Life is hard…….

I ignored the Crown Prince and checked on the children first.

Fortunately, the child wasn’t alone, and as the matter was resolved smoothly thanks to the official from the Three Offices, he was seen leaving after expressing his gratitude and receiving some words of advice.

“Let’s follow the kids.”

“Understood.”

I’m glad the matter was resolved well, but I still need to catch them and warn them to be careful.

Fortunately, the children weren’t walking too fast, so it wasn’t difficult to follow them.

The children also realized that someone was following them and stopped walking.

“Oh? Chunho hyung [term for older brother or male friend]?”

Perhaps because he often visited Siyoungwon on my errands, the children recognized Chunho.

And me next to Chunho.

“H-heok, Agassi [term of respect for a young lady]?”

“Yes.”

They looked happy when they saw Chunho, but their faces fell when they saw me, which didn’t make me feel good.

We moved to a slightly deserted place. Looking back, I saw the Crown Prince following us with a worried look, so I decided to leave him alone for now.

“I heard you were fighting.”

“We apologize.”

He was so confident earlier, but he becomes quiet in front of me.

I knew these children too. As expected, they were among the smartest children in Siyoungwon.

“I heard you didn’t lose to the young master from the noble family? Your studies have paid off.”

“I am still far from sufficient.”

He says that, but I can see the dissatisfaction on his face.

“Why? Are you upset that those guys can study comfortably while you can’t?”

“…To be honest, yes.”

“You want to study like that too, and take the civil service exam?”

“Ah, no.”

Yes, right.