Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 213

As the stories about the gambling dens surfaced, those who remembered the old days shared their experiences.

Some had pursued family members who had fallen into gambling, giving them some knowledge of the matter.

Youngsun listened, momentarily lost in thought, as she had never experienced such a scene.

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem to be large-scale usually.”

“Back then, some of the people chasing us even resented us, saying the gambling dens had to close because of us.”

“I see. Then new ones have likely sprung up. Anyway, be careful, as those who sold you off might be up to something again.”

“Thank you, Ongju [Princess].”

Everyone’s face paled slightly, but their expressions weren’t grim.

In reality, who would dare harm those living in Ongju’s residence?

The warning was merely to exercise caution when going outside.

“Then, I’ll be on my way. If anything happens, contact the palace. Understood?”

“Yes, Ongju.”

As they saw off the Ongju, a wide-eyed child, whom no one recognized, was present, but the Ongju didn’t acknowledge her.

The child would soon realize how fortunate she was to arrive here, of all places, as a slave girl.

Youngsun’s face, watching the child turn away after seeing off the Ongju, was filled with mixed emotions and was not cheerful at all.

A woman who had been quietly observing Youngsun approached and spoke to her.

It was the woman who had told the Ongju that Youngsun was seeing a man.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Is it because of the man you’re seeing these days?”

“Excuse me?”

Youngsun’s face hardened at the woman’s words.

“How could we not know, living in the same house, even if you pretend otherwise?”

“…….”

“I think the Ongju would allow it if you told her.”

“It’s not that kind of relationship.”

“Oh my. Everyone here is married with children; how can you not tell the difference in atmosphere?”

“……He was just someone who came to sell antiques.”

Youngsun said this, bowed politely, and went to do her work.

The woman clicked her tongue as she watched Youngsun.

‘Is she denying it because she used to be a lady from a good family?’

Since she was once a noble, she might not find any ordinary man suitable as a husband, but she’s no longer in a position to be picky.

She might not think so, but in the eyes of those who have supported their families, Youngsun still seemed like a naive and clueless young lady.

The Ongju is protecting her, so she doesn’t know, but the outside world is much harsher.

‘But I’m worried about letting her go outside.’

She was quite different from the children she had seen before, who had grown up in Siyoungwon [a government-run institution for women].

‘Of course, we are being protected as well.’

Youngsun was smart, but she was still too naive for her age, which was a concern.

Would it have been better if she had stayed in Siyoungwon?

Of course, on that side as well, it was worrying that the people living inside Siyoungwon seemed out of touch with the world.

Of course, if she didn’t plan to leave her current life, either way, there would be no problem…

‘I hope the man who comes to visit is a decent person.’

It was someone else’s business, but thanks to the terrible experience of being sold off to a gambler husband for debt, the woman, who was sick of men, sincerely hoped so.

Surely not all men in the world would sell their wives and children for gambling debts like her husband did.

And Youngsun, the person in question, couldn’t calm her uneasy heart even after drinking cool well water after the Ongju left, and just bit her lip.

‘I didn’t expect the Ongju to show up then…’

She couldn’t help but feel her heart racing with anxiety even though she hadn’t done anything yet.

No matter how much she drank cold water or patted her chest, her stuffy heart didn’t get any better.

She lied to the Ongju.

The man who came today was a man she had known for a very long time.

‘When I first met him, I was just a little happy.’

He was a boy of the same age who lived in the same neighborhood since childhood.

Their parents also had exchanges, so they often greeted each other from a young age, and she knew that there had been talk of becoming in-laws naturally as they got older.

She thought it would be better than marrying into an unknown family, to someone she didn’t even know.

The boy’s family hadn’t finished the three-year mourning period for his grandfather, so nothing formal had been exchanged yet, but everyone thought that a matchmaker would come and go soon.

Youngsun also thought that it wouldn’t be bad to have more time with her family.

‘Until that day.’

Youngsun didn’t know that her father was involved in treason.

He wouldn’t have told his daughter such a thing, so she didn’t know whether he had become a traitor unjustly or not.

Her whole family was reduced to slavery overnight, and she was too dazed to look around.

Fortunately, the Ongju, who became her owner, didn’t treat the slaves harshly, and even had Youngsun stay in the Ongju’s palace because she had many talents, and entrusted her with work.

She became a slave, but her life wasn’t as miserable as she had imagined. Thanks to that, she finally had the time to find out what had happened to the people she knew.

Among the families who were close to her father, some had similarly become traitors and fallen, but she heard that the family she had been in talks with for marriage had been dragged to the Uigeumbu [a Joseon Dynasty judicial office] for a while, but had not been involved and had been released.

She thought it was fortunate.

She hadn’t been involved because the marriage hadn’t materialized yet.

She thought that he was probably married to someone else and living well.

That’s why she had mixed feelings of happiness, shyness, and guilt when they first reunited.

She thought that he might have been mistaken for a traitor because he had been close to her family.

Still, she greeted him with pure joy, and didn’t suspect the man’s words that he was working as a errand boy under a wealthy elder to make a living, though she was embarrassed.

The man, who said that he was not thinking about marriage yet because he was not in good circumstances, also said that he had missed her.

She was embarrassed to be thrilled by those words.

It wouldn’t have been strange if people around her thought she was meeting a lover.

She also knew that the Ongju was planning to emancipate the slaves soon, so her heart swelled. She had been diligently saving the money she received as a salary, so she had expectations that maybe soon.

Until the man told her this happy news.

‘My father is alive.’

Some time later, the building in Gangwon-do was completed.

Fortunately, there were no major problems, and as planned, Siyoungwon was busy dispatching manpower.

Since it was the first time they had built one in another region, everyone was tense in many ways and left for Gangwon-do.

Administrative staff left first to meet the completion date, followed by the gisaengs [female entertainers] and clowns, now collectively called entertainers, and the staff who assisted with the performances.

Since it was the first time, key personnel from Siyoungwon and Siwolgak were dispatched in large numbers, so Siyoungwon and Siwolgak were a little quieter than usual due to the lack of manpower here and there.

Perhaps the usual population density was a bit excessive.

Of course, Siwolgak shouldn’t be deserted, but thanks to our homegrown idols working hard, there was no shortage of customers.

Actually, I didn’t expect them to be so popular. Should I make and sell merchandise?

‘I should send them on a regional tour later.’

If it works in Seoul, it will work in other regions.

It’s not like the modern era where there are no young people in the provinces.

Thinking such realistic or unrealistic thoughts, I lazed around in the empty Siyoungwon after sending the kids.

Many high-level personnel were gone, but Jia and many of the children who had been traveling around other regions for smallpox vaccination until recently were tired of traveling and remained in Siyoungwon.

On the other hand, some children were excited about the opening of the branch and ran out.

Jia, who is lazing around with me right now, belonged to the former.

“It must be noisy in Gangwon-do right now with the opening ceremony.”

“Yeah. They said they would take only the good-looking elements from Siwolgak in Seoul and try it out.”

“Ah. Like the Goryeo Dynasty costumes they wore at Siwolgak?”

“They’re wearing ordinary clothes now because the quarter is over.”

I thought it would be tiring to stick to one concept for too long, so Siwolgak was in a normal Joseon Dynasty state as a break for the next concept.

For customers who were used to the Goryeo Dynasty concept, this was refreshing in its own way.

Instead, the decorations and clothes used here were sent to Gangwon-do.

“You said you were going to do the Silla Dynasty next.”

“Yeah. I thought it would be fun to do it when opening one in Gyeongsang-do, but it’s getting too late.”

“Instead, the children dispatched to Gyeongju are breaking their backs researching and sending data.”

I picked up a snack and denied Jia’s words.

“That’s a misunderstanding. It’s not just the kids in Gyeongju who are breaking their backs. All the kids close to the old capital are equally breaking their backs.”

“Ah, yes…”

The old capital was mostly a good city to live in even now, so the children who were dispatched to more secluded places had an easier life.

Of course, the children rotate, so it’s ambiguous to say that only one person is suffering.

I looked down at Jia, who was still lying down without being able to eat snacks, thinking such thoughts.

It would be a big deal if I were doing this in the palace, but in Siyoungwon, there was no one to scold me for lying down next to the children.

Court Lady Min? Court Lady Min was a busy person, so once she greeted me when I arrived at Siyoungwon, it was hard to see her again until I called her again.

I wonder if Court Lady Min should be sent on vacation to another region sometime.

“Jia, aren’t you busy these days?”

“I don’t do much work related to Siwolgak.”

“Ah, I see. Jia is surprisingly not interested in Siwolgak…”

“No, I like watching it. I do, too.”

Jia jumped up and denied my words.

Well, she might not be interested, but there’s no need to deny it that much.

“You like novels, but not plays very much.”

“Ah… Seeing real people acting is strangely off-putting.”

“Then how about illustrations?”

“Um. Up to the illustrations… If it matches well.”

Is she the type who only likes 2D…

“Anyway, you’re not that enthusiastic about plays, right? You don’t have to like them. Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, there are many other things to do besides that. The newspaper that you’re creating also looks interesting. Thanks to that, everyone is busy.”

“I’m sorry for constantly creating work.”

“Haha. After traveling around other regions, I realized that the speed at which news is delivered is slower than I thought.”

Quite some time had passed since we started the jobo [bulletin] business, and as planned, we were gradually adding content that readers would find interesting in addition to the contents of the jobo, and the response was better than expected.

In particular, the medical knowledge corner that I asked Sehwa for was not only Sehwa but also doctors from Hyeminsseo [a Joseon Dynasty medical institution] and other places cooperated to put in easy and simple content, which was highly popular with the general public.

We even added news from all over Hanyang, so we were now calling the jobo a newspaper.

Of course, I named it.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince exclaimed, ‘The name is decent for something you came up with…’ and went out of his way to provoke me.

“By the way, before you start serializing the novel in the newspaper, can I see it first?”

“You can read it if you become a related person.”

“Ah, that’s mean…”

I was wondering if I should proceed with Sehwa and Teacher Jicheon’s new work after expanding to the provinces, but since we were already printing and delivering newspapers, I thought I should start soon.

“By the way, Jia, you seem unusually free today.”

“Haha. I’ve been busy because I occasionally get requests for lawsuits. But honestly, lawsuits are too difficult for someone who doesn’t know anything about them to handle.”

“Well. That’s true.”

Sadly, that’s the case even in modern times…

By the way, she should probably go into the legal profession.

‘But Oejibu…’