Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 205

I see, Se-hwa doesn’t know much about this because she’s been busy working as a doctor and hasn’t had many personal dealings with officials.

Surprisingly, many high-ranking officials are avid readers of popular novels, which seems at odds with their serious demeanor.

“Ahem. Our writer is being modest. The appeal of popular novels lies in their entertainment value, you know?”

“??”

Seeing Se-hwa still didn’t understand, Soi elaborated.

“It means everyone reads it if it’s enjoyable.”

“Of course, some very strict people criticize even *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* [a classic Chinese historical novel] as a ridiculous story that deviates from official history.”

Well, there are quite a few fictional liberties taken here and there.

“Ji-cheon’s writing is both fun and has a unique air of erudition… someone with scholarly depth, and it’s impeccably wholesome.”

The incidents are surprisingly thrilling, and the main couple is unexpectedly chaste, only sharing a tingling feeling as their relationship progresses, and finally escaping the crisis (in their hearts) near the ending, so many readers stayed up all night reading the book, burning with anticipation.

‘If it were a serialized work, everyone would be driven mad with frustration.’

What can I say? There were several fans of Teacher Ji-cheon among the Gyu-jang-gak [Royal Library] scholars. They claim they don’t like romance novels, but they appreciate the writing because the plot is meticulously developed, the writing style is dignified, and the historical research is thorough.

“Really? Is that so?”

“They say that, but they put bookmarks on the scene where the male and female protagonists hold hands for the first time and the scene where they confess their feelings.”

For the record, I claimed that the bookmark in such a scene was just a coincidence.

“No, that’s… not that, but really, are the Gyu-jang-gak scholars reading my, no, Teacher Ji-cheon’s books?”

“Yes, they are. Is that so unbelievable? Se-hwa, you know that the Crown Prince read it, right?”

You even went on stage together.

“Well, I thought His Royal Highness read the book after hearing rumors about it.”

“Conversely, wouldn’t the people who serve His Royal Highness closely have read it out of curiosity?”

“!”

Se-hwa had a complicated expression as she learned this new fact.

‘Looking at her face, it seems she didn’t even think men would read it.’

Moreover, she probably thought that middle-aged men, especially, would never read it.

Even in modern times, middle-aged men never miss a *makjang* drama [Korean melodramatic television series].

Prejudice is so pervasive.

“So, Teacher Ji-cheon’s writing is popular with people of all ages? Of course, it might be difficult because you’re not used to serializing it on paper after only publishing it as a book… but in the future, people might buy the *jobo* [daily report of government affairs] I sell just to read the novel, you know?”

“…I’ve never thought of that.”

“Well. It’s a bit sudden. It just occurred to me a while ago while working on this project.”

Having said that, I decided to back off from Se-hwa, who must have been surprised.

“But Se-hwa is busy, after all. I won’t force you. It would be even better if Teacher Ji-cheon’s new book comes out someday. Just know that everyone is waiting for a new book.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

Se-hwa nodded, still looking dazed.

“If you look for a popular writer to replace Teacher Ji-cheon, you’ll be able to scout them.”

“…”

In fact, I had listed a few other writers besides Teacher Ji-cheon. Since Se-hwa can’t do it, I should contact them now.

‘She looks too busy to push her too hard.’

I heard that the martial arts class she started when she first entered the Naeuiwon [Royal Clinic] is still ongoing, and as her position rises and she knows more, she is also involved in compiling medical books.

“Besides, Se-hwa is busy taking my and my brother’s pulse, right?”

“Yes?”

“I heard from Court Lady Moon in the Donggung Palace [Crown Prince’s residence] that when His Royal Highness comes to have Se-hwa take his pulse…”

“Ah, no!”

Se-hwa blushed and shook her head hastily in embarrassment.

I was the one who was embarrassed by the unexpectedly strong reaction.

“…What’s ‘no’?”

“I, I actually!”

“Actually?”

After a moment of silence, Se-hwa clenched her fist and squeezed out her voice.

“I’ve been writing novels little by little in my spare time after hearing what Ongju Jaga said. If the deadline isn’t too tight… I think serialization is possible.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

It was really unexpected, but it was a positive declaration.

I can’t believe it, I was just trying to tease her, but suddenly I got a new stockpile!

‘Court Lady Moon was just happy that the two of them were making eye contact and having a friendly conversation, but what on earth did they do secretly?’

Could it be that Court Lady Moon gave me some information that was censored for my young age?

Is that it???

Feeling my suspicious gaze, Se-hwa blushed and looked embarrassed.

The novel was so wholesome… I was a little worried that this one would become unwholesome. Should I put an age limit on it?

‘But, Se-hwa, how hard are you living?’

Only diligent people can date.

She goes to work early in the morning and works in the Naeuiwon all day. She seems to be dating the Crown Prince in her spare time.

I heard that she sometimes sees patients who come in after work because of her job, so when did she write the novel?

‘You have to live like that to be the main character. Wow, scary, scary…’

After Se-hwa hurriedly left, saying it was time to go take the Crown Prince’s pulse, I collapsed to the floor and thought about that.

And I rolled around on the floor and muttered.

“I can’t live that diligently.”

“Yes, I see,” Soi said, agreeing without any enthusiasm, and took out the documents she had been organizing before Se-hwa came.

“So, are you going to hire a new person to review the *jobo* for the first time?”

“Ugh. Annoying! Will you just do it, Soi?”

“No!”

Soo-young Ongju’s residence was peaceful again today.

And the same peace was not granted to those who worked in that residence.

After a while, the work of distributing the *jobo* (朝報) eventually fell to the court ladies of the residence.

“Oh, why do I have to check this? Ongju Jaga?”

“Oh. Is it because you’re smart?”

The Seungjeongwon [Royal Secretariat] was subtly indifferent to the publication of the *jobo*.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that they didn’t have any standards themselves. They had been aware that the *jobo* was being leaked to the public, but they left it alone because they thought it was insignificant even if it was leaked.

So, the matters to be discussed with the Seungjeongwon were not that complicated. Just take the *jobo*, print it, and sell it as you please, right?

On the other hand, there were only troublesome things here.

As a formality, we decided to go through the first review according to the rules set by the Seungjeongwon, then the Seungjeongwon would go through the second review, and then publish it.

It meant joint responsibility if a problem occurred. Of course, the Seungjeongwon could just say, ‘I don’t care,’ but this side could have to close the business.

So, I was going to hire people who could do the first review, but this also required someone who knew the affairs of the court to some extent, someone who wouldn’t spread it to the outside, and, above all, someone who could recognize the cursive script (*choseoche* [草書體]: a writing style that omits and connects strokes to write quickly. It is difficult to recognize.). There were many applicants among the Confucian scholars.

‘I received so many requests to hire them…’

There were so many guys rushing in with the idea that they could somehow make a connection with the Seungjeongwon that I decided to manage it myself.

Thanks to that, the people who suffered the most first until I could hire someone I could trust were the people around me… specifically, the court ladies of our residence.

In particular, Soi’s dissatisfaction was soaring.

“Ongju Jaga. How much salary can I get if I retire from being a court lady and only do this job?”

“Let’s just do both and get paid from both places.”

“I don’t have to worry about retirement…”

Soi’s voice, who was interpreting the cursive script every day, became more and more mournful.

I’m sorry… I was too lazy to hire new people.

The *jobo* that was interpreted in our residence was sent to the printing house after being confirmed by the Seungjeongwon and was scheduled to be printed and sold.

I ordered that Soi’s name be listed in the name of the newspaper producer as an apology, and she seemed to hate it at first, but later I saw her taking out the *jobo* and looking at it from time to time, feeling proud in her own way.

‘Sorry. I keep making work.’

I’m glad she’s happy.

And this project, which seemed to be progressing smoothly, was soon challenged from an unexpected place.

“Do you have to go out again?”

“As if I never went out.”

I hadn’t been able to go out much for a while because I was busy with the *jobo* business. It had been a really long time since I went out.

Soi said that, but her face was subtly bright. She had become accustomed to going out because of me for a while, and her face showed that she was restless because she hadn’t been able to go out.

Since there was a purpose, the first place we visited was the secondhand bookstore.

Mr. Jang, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, ran out with a delighted expression as soon as he saw me.

“Oh, did the young lady come out?”

“Yeah, I’m here to see how the *jobo* sales are going.”

The *jobo* was sold in front of Mr. Jang’s secondhand bookstore, which was not far from the printing house, without creating a separate business.

I thought it would be better to do that because it was the most bustling place and it was easy to manage inventory, so I didn’t bother looking for another place.

I did a demand survey here in the first place.

Isn’t this a place that sells not only novels but also Confucian scriptures? People who read books also read *jobo*.

“You didn’t have to come all the way here, young lady.”

“Still, I’ll see what the on-site reaction is like. But there aren’t as many people as I thought?”

It wasn’t that there were no people in the secondhand bookstore, but as far as I remembered, it wasn’t much different from usual. When I looked around the surroundings, which were more deserted than I thought, Mr. Jang laughed.

“That’s because all the printed copies have been sold.”

“Oh.”

“Some people are asking if they can get more, so I’ve told them to print more for now.”

“The amount that was printed in advance to be sent to other regions has already left… I don’t know how much more to print.”

“But since it’s the first time, some people are buying it out of curiosity, so if you set the basic quantity with this one, you might lose money.”

“Hmm. I’m worried. But it’s not like I’m using such good paper… If it’s left over, I can turn it around and use it to pack things. There’s also a way to collect them and make them into a book and sell them all at once.”

“No, how can you come up with such ideas so quickly, young lady?”

“It’s because I’ve seen and heard a lot.”

If you lived in modern times and came to the Joseon Dynasty, you would be like that too.

“Anyway, the *jobo* is selling well, so don’t worry.”

The *jobo* sales business was more popular than I thought.

Of course, it wasn’t selling one copy every day from the beginning, and at first, we decided to collect about 5 days’ worth and sell it once every 5 days.

However, I thought there might be people who wanted to see the previous ones, so I was quite busy because I had printed out a few important contents from the old *jobo* as a starting product.

‘Thanks to that, Soi complained all the time because there was a lot of work…’

Besides, those Seungjeongwon guys. They should have scribbled enough for the readers to read.

Thanks to that, Soi read the book again for a while, doubting her own level of scholarship, wondering if it was because she lacked the knowledge to be sure that this was the right Chinese character.

‘I heard that since it’s such a scribbled handwriting, people who come to copy it originally check with each other to see if the characters are correct.’

If I just write it appropriately and send it back, the Seungjeongwon will correct it when they check it again anyway. Soi said that her pride was hurt.

‘I also went to the Gyujanggak to ask about the parts I wasn’t sure about.’

If others heard it, they would be dumbfounded, saying that the Gyujanggak was not a place to go to ask such things, but I used to supply snacks to the Gyujanggak on a semi-hobby basis.

I brought it with snacks and said, ‘I can’t read this well~’, and then people who didn’t want to work or were sleepy would volunteer and kindly tell me, saying, ‘Haha, are there things that Ongju Jaga doesn’t know?’

Of course, those who saw the original *jobo* written by the Seungjeongwon all laughed and muttered like this without realizing it.

‘Really, it’s too scribbled…’

It meant that there was no problem with me or Soi.

In most cases, what I or Soi read was correct.

However, whether it was because of rumors or because the fact that the cursive script was being transcribed by court ladies, the writing became a little calmer than before and easier to recognize after a while.

The writing that Soi neatly transcribed was marked with the parts to be deleted from the original according to the predetermined regulations and sent back to the Seungjeongwon, where it was checked again to see if there were any incorrect characters or any problematic parts before being returned.

After that, the *jobo* was sent to the printing house to be made into type and printed, and about 5 days’ worth was collected and sold.

Since I had already received a demand survey and reservations, people lined up to buy it from the first day of sales.

In some cases, the person reading it came out and lined up in person, but in many cases, the noblemen sent servants or maids to buy it instead.