Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 203

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes, but I think I need to get Father’s permission.”

“Even though Brother is acting as regent?”

“Yes.”

*If I could do whatever I wanted, would that be acting as regent?*

The Crown Prince agreed, adding that he would discuss it further and see Father together later.

What I came up with wasn’t that revolutionary.

In an era without even TVs or radios, wouldn’t people naturally crave information from other regions?

There’s a reason why traveling scholars in old tales confidently knocked on the doors of seemingly random, well-off houses and asked for a night’s lodging.

Of course, there was also the element of human kindness—they couldn’t just kick out someone who had nowhere to sleep. But in those days, it was considered proper etiquette for the host to share any news or information they knew with their guests.

It wasn’t that long ago, even in this era, let alone in modern times.

And if it was reliable information coming directly from the court, people would be even more curious.

I had overheard that even those who weren’t local gentry or officials aiming for the civil service examination still wanted to read the *jobo* (朝報, court gazette) and would go to great lengths to obtain and read it.

*‘I thought this could be a business.’*

The Crown Prince seemed to think the same after hearing my idea.

For some reason, he always pushed the task of suggesting things to the King onto me.

“Yes, I heard Sia has come up with something interesting again.”

Some time later, after I had prepared some snacks and arranged a gathering for the three of us—Father, the Crown Prince, and me—the King spoke first after some light conversation.

“Yes, Father. Actually, I heard from the marketplace that many people are eager to read the *jobo* produced by the Royal Secretariat and are willing to pay to have it copied and read.”

“The *jobo* contains news from the court. Are you saying commoners are reading it?”

“Yes. Even the gentry in the provinces want to know what’s happening in the capital.”

“Hmm.”

The King nodded as if he understood. Even the gentry living in the provinces couldn’t afford to ignore the political climate in the court.

In the first place, the primary goal of most gentry was to pass the civil service examination and gain a position in the government.

“Moreover, the *jobo* contains not only court affairs but also various other information. In particular, Confucian scholars can learn about Your Majesty’s intentions through your decrees.”

“Yes, it would be helpful for their studies.”

Judging by his reaction, he didn’t seem to be opposed to the idea.

“So, I was thinking, what if we printed and distributed it with proper quality?”

“You want to print it?”

The King raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Yes. Since people from each government office are currently hand-copying it in cursive script (*choseoche*, 草書體: a flowing script that simplifies and connects strokes for quick writing, making it difficult to read) and sending it out, there might be slight differences between the copies, and some information might be accidentally omitted. But if we print and distribute it, we can minimize those problems.”

“Hmm. The Bureau of Reporting doesn’t print it because it’s too much trouble.”

That’s the problem here. They have movable type but don’t utilize it.

To be precise, they have movable type, but they find it too bothersome to assemble, print, and so on, so they just write it by hand and post it on the wall.

If the Royal Secretariat is doing it that way, what can you expect from others?

If you want to read it, you have to copy it yourself somehow.

*‘They really live life as they please…….’*

Of course, it’s only natural that no one would want more work without more pay. But at this rate, there’s no progress.

In the first place, the Royal Secretariat officials, who are essentially the King’s closest aides, are elites who have climbed the ladder and have bright futures, so they often hold multiple positions and are incredibly busy.

If you tell those people to work for other departments, would they do it diligently?

Anyway, that’s how it is.

“Since it’s a cumbersome task for the Royal Secretariat, wouldn’t it be better if people outside the government handled it?”

It’s a task that civil servants don’t want to do because it’s bothersome, but if there’s money to be made, civilians can do it.

“And as you know, I’m already running a printing house.”

“……I remember you saying you needed movable type for the Crown Prince before.”

Yes, I’m printing novels featuring the Crown Prince with that and selling them quite well.

“Yes, recently, printing has become even more stable. So, I was wondering if I could print and sell the *jobo*.”

“……Sell it?”

“Yes. It contains news from the court, as well as information about what’s happening in the world, so even if people can’t read, if they’re interested in current events, they’ll want to know the contents.”

They don’t usually tell the King such things, so Father probably didn’t know, but since those who need to know already know that everyone is sharing it, he probably wouldn’t object too much.

But Father seemed a little reluctant.

“Isn’t too much of the court’s affairs being leaked to the outside?”

Since I’m already being stalked and recorded by the historians, there shouldn’t be anything new to be concerned about. Is he worried about showing the people too much of the internal affairs?

If it were truly confidential, they probably wouldn’t be copying and distributing it so casually… But since the highest authority isn’t entirely comfortable with it, it’s my duty as a subordinate to suggest a compromise.

“If that’s the case, we can send the *jobo* as is to the relevant offices, and for mass production and sales, we can remove the parts that would be problematic to leak to the public, right?”

In other words, we would review the information for general public release.

The King’s reaction wasn’t bad. In fact, the King probably knew that the contents of the *jobo* were already widely known.

“Hmm.”

“Moreover, the number of commoners who know *Hangeul* (한글, the Korean alphabet) is gradually increasing these days, so if we sell it in a Korean translation, even ordinary people can read it. Wouldn’t that allow us to convey Your Majesty’s intentions directly to the people without going through the local officials?”

“!”

The King seemed intrigued by the idea of conveying his will directly to the people.

Once the King seemed somewhat convinced, I added something that might make me look a bit mercenary.

“Moreover, printing and selling the *jobo* will be done by people I hire, but the sales revenue will naturally be shared with the Royal Secretariat, right?”

*I’ll also give you money.*

Of course, it’s not like the Royal Secretariat would receive a separate budget for their work; it would just be a small contribution to the national budget.

That’s how government work usually is.

As I subtly laid out my plausible business plan, Father stared at me with a strange look.

“I don’t remember raising the Princess to be so financially driven… I don’t know why she grew up to be so business-minded.”

“I have a few family members to feed.”

“……”

After hearing my words, the King paused for a moment but didn’t voice any further objections.

With the King’s permission granted, the Royal Secretariat didn’t particularly object either.

The Crown Prince was surprised and said later,

“I thought they would dislike it because it would increase the amount of work the Royal Secretariat has to take care of, but it’s unexpected.”

“I know. I wonder if sending a box of *Yakgwa* (약과, Sweet Rice Crackers) to each of the Royal Secretariat officials’ homes had an effect.”

“……”

“No, it’s not exactly a bribe.”

“Really?”

“Well, they have a lot of work, and I felt a little sorry for adding another thing to worry about, so I sent them something delicious to eat, maybe?”

It’s not exactly healthy food, though.

I ignored the Crown Prince’s dubious gaze and listed the items to be discussed one by one.

In fact, it wasn’t unusual to send snacks to departments that always had a lot of work, so it wasn’t a strange thing.

Of course, most of them weren’t Sweet Rice Crackers.

*‘Ah, I’ve mainly been sending Sweet Rice Crackers to the Crown Prince’s aides.’*

It seemed I had been discriminating without realizing it.

Anyway, the justification wasn’t bad, and increasing tax revenue was a problem that no king in any country or era would say no to, so this matter proceeded without difficulty.

Thanks to that, I was swamped with work and confined to my residence.

“……Thinking about it, this is kind of like a public enterprise?”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I glossed over it when Soi, who was next to me, gave me a strange look at my mumbling.

Since the printing technology through the operation of the rental bookstore was already stable, all that was needed was to quickly copy the *jobo*, translate it into *Hangeul*, print it, and sell it.

*‘Distribution is a bit of a concern.’*

I can handle Seoul and the Gyeonggi area for now by expanding the existing printing house a bit, and then increase the scale.

“Since the discussions with the Royal Secretariat and the Bureau of Reporting are over… Regarding the recruitment of necessary personnel……”

“……I don’t understand why the Princess Consort is taking on so much work.”

Soi finally complained as I was muttering to myself while looking over various documents.

“Really?”

“Yes. You’re someone who could live comfortably for the rest of your life without doing anything.”

“Hmm. Well, the life of a wealthy unemployed person is comfortable, but a person can’t just stay idle all the time. You have to go out and see the world and meet people. If you live too secluded, you get sick.”

No matter how dangerous it is outside the blanket and how comfortable it is inside, if you stay at home all the time, your health will literally deteriorate. And if you don’t have anyone to talk to, you become exhausted.

Also, if you only spend time with your family at home, you often don’t learn the ways of the world or how to interact with people effectively.

That’s why children from wealthy families who don’t have to worry about making a living often take jobs as a hobby or run a cafe.

“……But the Princess Consort seems to be working too much.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, we also have too much work. I thought my sister was going on a nationwide tour.”

“Well, I thought that would be too exhausting……”

Ga-i was often away from her post because of the *Siyoungwon* (施榮院, a charitable organization) branch issue.

I have a conscience, so I’ll mainly send her only in spring and autumn. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll never send her in summer and winter.

But it was a pity that I had separated the close sisters with a long-term business trip.

“I’m sorry for constantly taking your sister away.”

“N-No, you don’t have to feel sorry at all.”

She grumbled and then looked disgusted again.

*‘Well, it’s normal for sisters to act like that.’*

“……Then, will Soi go next time?”

“I want to avoid such difficult tasks.”

Unlike Ga-i, Soi is timid, so she still backs away when I try to get her to do things involving large sums of money.

How can sisters be so different?

*‘Actually, Soi does well when she’s told to do it. She’s just scared.’*

At the same time, I remembered that I wasn’t very similar to my older sister in my past life and decided to return to the original topic.

“Well…… um. Let’s just say that me working like this is an obligation to live off the national treasury.”

If you call the royal family’s property the national treasury, I don’t know if that’s right or not.

But isn’t it a bit much to just sit still and do nothing while receiving money for the rest of your life without contributing anything……?

Should I call this *noblesse oblige*?

*‘Is the duty of the nobility noblesse oblige? I guess so?’*

I was confused about the words in the foreign language that I rarely had to recall anymore. Was that French?

“The Princess Consort may say that, but none of the other members of the royal family think that way.”

“Whether others do it or not, I’ll do it if I want to. Besides, I have a higher status and more money than most of the royal family members.”

According to that logic, if the royal family members are all psychopaths, should I live like a psychopath too?

“The reason why the Princess Consort has more wealth than others is because you work so hard.”

“No, you’re misunderstanding. The reason why I have a lot of wealth is not because I work hard, but because Ga-i is competent? And the royal family members are doing various things in their own way.”

If it weren’t for Ga-i, I might not have been in the black.

Besides, would the royal family members just innocently play around? It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t do anything that makes money.

However, everyone is being careful for a while because they were shaken up by Youngchun-gun.

*‘Of course, they wouldn’t work to make money.’*

Besides, the things I do are in many ways far from increasing wealth.

How is *Siyoungwon* a for-profit business? It’s a charity.

Still, I’m glad that I can somehow make money.

“Well, thanks to that, I’m living a fulfilling life.”

“Fulfilling life or whatever, the Princess Consort is going to get sick. You’re still dozing off sometimes, but why are you working so hard?”

“Um.”