Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 225

“……Failed, huh? Or did they run away? Damn it, this is why those without roots are like this……!”

The voices were quite eerie, so Jia swallowed hard.

‘So they were aiming for Siyoungwon [a type of private educational institution] on purpose.’

Her fists clenched involuntarily.

And those awful old men said something unexpected.

“We need to separate the Crown Prince and the Princess somehow, but it won’t be easy at this rate.”

“But the Princess and the Crown Prince are famous for being such affectionate siblings. Is that even possible?”

“No matter how strong the blood ties, in the end, they will turn against each other for their own benefit. Of course, the Princess isn’t stupid, so she won’t turn her back on the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince is different. If the Princess feels something suspicious about him… If he becomes suspicious, he will turn against the Princess at any time. That female physician succeeded in her treatment, so she’s not just a young sister anymore, right?”

“Yes. That’s why the newspaper the Princess is publishing also featured that physician. Most of the diagnoses and treatments are written by that physician, I heard.”

“You read it too, I see.”

“Doesn’t everyone? It’s easier to read than the official gazette.”

“The printed version is certainly neat.”

From the way they were talking, it seemed they both read the newspaper.

Those who were trying to harm Princess Su-yeong were buying and reading the newspaper made by Princess Su-yeong.

Jia felt a little strange.

‘Well, even if they didn’t get along with Princess Su-yeong, there were royals who still came to Siwolgak [a building in Siyoungwon].’

Though they were later exiled for treason.

“Everything the still young Princess does is extraordinary. Siyoungwon is the same. Because the Princess has been like this since she was very young, many people may not think deeply about it yet, but its influence is by no means small. The difference between supporting the Crown Prince with that influence and shaking the Crown Prince is definitely not small.”

“But… Doesn’t the Crown Prince also know that Princess Su-yeong is helpful to him? The fact that the Crown Prince entrusted the scholarship to the Princess means he trusts her, doesn’t it?”

“Hmph. Does the Crown Prince really trust the Princess, who is six years younger than him, that much?”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem that way.”

“What if, after the Princess lost the money entrusted to her for the scholarship, rumors spread in the market that Princess Su-yeong embezzled the scholarship money? He would naturally become suspicious.”

Jia felt a slight headache coming on.

So, the reason the Siyoungwon children were stirred up by gambling was for this purpose?

No, in a way, it’s good that the cause has become clear.

‘His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Princess Su-yeong.’

She had known that the Siyoungwon baby was Princess Su-yeong since a very, very long time ago, but her older brother, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, was too distant and high up for them.

‘I don’t know if I should say I suddenly feel a sense of reality, or if I’ve lost touch with reality.’

Crouching down and listening, Jia wondered if she should run away now or listen to what else they had to say, and looked around.

Fortunately, there were no signs of anyone coming yet, so it seemed better to slip away.

But the following conversation stopped Jia in her tracks.

“What if everything that Princess Su-yeong is known to have done so far was not actually done by the Princess? What if what was being done in the Princess’s name was actually done by the Crown Prince?”

“……Well, it’s a bit much to say that a young girl accomplished all that. The newspaper, the businesses in Siyoungwon, and all that.”

What? That’s not true!

For a moment, Jia felt a surge of anger and bit her lip, unable to run out and shout that it wasn’t true.

From her position, having watched the small baby, Princess Su-yeong, create Siyoungwon herself, and having been the closest to witnessing her directly thinking about and being involved in all the businesses, from the restaurant to Siwolgak to the printing house, it was too, too unfair.

‘I have to tell the baby.’

You can say it’s childish.

It was an absurd insult to disparage Princess Su-yeong in that way.

“But what does it matter? The name and honor of all the businesses Princess Su-yeong is running are all in Princess Su-yeong’s hands. Everyone knows that the chief officials, the court ladies, are all close to Princess Su-yeong. The Princess is young, but she is already an adult who has received the title of Princess Su-yeong. Even if it was the Crown Prince who ordered it, isn’t it time for her to do as she pleases rather than just doing as she’s told?”

“Ah, are you saying that she might rebel if her older brother, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, says something?”

“Yes. Isn’t Princess Su-yeong’s personality unusual?”

“Well, she is the only princess of His Majesty. Even in her childhood, she was cherished like gold and jade. And she even ate poison instead of the current Crown Prince when she was young and wandered on the brink of death, so how much more spoiled would she have been?”

“I felt it when she sent boxes of dried persimmons to the ministers regarding the matter of Grand Prince Gyeong-eon, but the Princess’s personality is quite fierce. At first, I thought that it might not have been the Princess but the Crown Prince who sent it in the Princess’s name… But after looking into it, I heard that the Princess insisted on sending it herself.”

“She was quite young at that time, wasn’t she.”

“That’s what I’m saying. The Crown Prince was lenient with the Princess, who ate the poison he was supposed to eat… But now that the Princess is growing up, that guilt must have faded quite a bit. It’s time for him to realize that he has allowed too much in the Princess’s name.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. It would have been better if she had remained a child.”

Jia felt her fingertips growing cold, a thought she had never considered.

‘Is that really the case?’

They don’t guard against her when she’s a child, but when Princess Su-yeong becomes an adult, even affectionate siblings become wary?

Jia wasn’t so young that she didn’t know how the world worked, but she knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cherished his younger sister, Princess Su-yeong.

Since Siyoungwon opened, grain and money sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had always arrived.

The story of the annoying older brother that often appeared when talking to the baby was somehow affectionate.

So much so that she would have futile thoughts that her dead older brother, whom she barely remembered, might have cherished his younger sister like that.

“Yes. If there is even a small gap, a small suspicion, wouldn’t it be easy to feel suspicious when looking at Princess Su-yeong’s reputation, immense wealth, and influence? What you need to do is create that suspicion.”

“……I understand what you’re saying. But this method… I’m afraid it will be difficult.”

“Ha. Neither the Crown Prince nor the Princess are going as planned.”

“I also heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince refused to choose a Crown Princess. Could there really be something wrong with him?”

“I heard that’s not the case… But you never know. It doesn’t matter which side it is anymore.”

“It’s a pity that he’s going to take such a difficult path.”

“It’s all because the Crown Prince is narrow-minded and petty. He doesn’t even try to listen to the opinions of the ministers and only listens to his close aides, acting dictatorially, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“That’s right. He has only himself to blame for accumulating such resentment.”

While the two were exchanging words, Jia became a little troubled.

‘It doesn’t seem easy to get out of here.’

After observing here for a long time, she noticed people making periodic patrols. She didn’t know if it was good or bad luck that she hadn’t encountered them until now.

Since it wasn’t even dusk yet, she might get caught if she tried to escape carelessly.

‘In the worst case, do I have to hide until night?’

It would be fortunate if she met the uncles who were supposed to infiltrate, but if not, the baby might really come all the way here.

“In any case, the owner of Siyoungwon is Princess Su-yeong, and the people’s hearts also follow Princess Su-yeong. If such a Princess becomes estranged from the Crown Prince, she will naturally join us. If we can bring in the Princess, our work will be much easier.”

“I understand. Then, after somehow creating discord with the Crown Prince, will you approach her directly?”

“She goes outside the palace often, so there are plenty of ways to approach the Princess, but we must be careful when approaching the Princess. She is a Princess, but she is still a young girl. But the people around her are unusual.”

Jia perked up her ears again.

Since it had come to this, she felt like she had to listen to everything they had to say to avoid feeling wronged.

“If that weren’t the case, how could a young Princess have made such a big business? It must be the work of her close aides.”

“That’s true. Come to think of it, I heard that a court lady named Jo Ga-yi, one of the Princess’s close aides, often comes out of the palace to do business. Is it okay for a court lady to come out so often?”

“That court lady Jo Ga-yi’s younger sister is also a court lady in the Princess’s residence, so she won’t run away, and she has the Princess’s permission, so what’s difficult about it?”

“I heard that it’s growing tremendously, apart from the things they do in Siyoungwon.”

“What is there to be afraid of when she’s under the protection of the Princess?”

The old man, who had been talking up to that point, suddenly seemed to remember something and paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“If we failed to raid that bank in Siyoungwon, it might have been a good thing.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“I heard that the people who were in debt were just drunk and rambling.”

“Yes.”

“Now that things have come to this, it might be better to generously forgive the debt and make a positive impression on the Princess.”

“I see. I’ll look for a way to approach Princess Su-yeong.”

“No, if you go to collect the debt, you’ll be connected anyway, right? If you ask to see Princess Su-yeong, she won’t refuse outright.”

“There was such a method!”

Jia, who was listening, felt her stomach churning, but the two people talking were very friendly.

‘By the way, how am I really going to convey this?’

It was good that she had heard important information, but she had no idea how to convey it to Princess Su-yeong.

She thought she knew as much as others about the stories of high-ranking people, but their conversation didn’t mention any official titles or high-ranking people that Jia would know, so she couldn’t figure out who was targeting Princess Su-yeong.

‘It’s frustrating…….’

While she was biting her lip, she saw someone else running towards them urgently.

Maybe it was a chance to escape.

The man ran over without any greetings and shouted.

“Elder! It’s urgent.”

“What is it now?”

“P, Princess Su-yeong is coming!”

“……What?”

Jia wanted to run out at that moment.

They were happily talking about Princess Su-yeong, but they seemed flustered when Princess Su-yeong was actually coming.

“Princess Su-yeong? Are you talking about the one we know, Princess Su-yeong?”

“Y, yes.”

“Why is Princess Su-yeong…… Why is she coming?”

Jia agreed with the old man’s words for the first time since arriving here.

‘Could it be because of me……? No way?’

No matter how quickly she delivered the news, there was no way Princess Su-yeong, who was in the palace, could have come all the way here already.

It was absolutely impossible in terms of time.

“Is she coming here, no, not here, anyway, is she coming to our restaurant?”

“That’s not certain, but isn’t there no other reason to come around here??”

That’s true.

Jia nodded inwardly.

There was no place around here that Princess Su-yeong would come to. There was no place like Siwolgak, and there was no house of a relative she would visit.

“But how did you know Princess Su-yeong was coming?”

“T, that is, she’s coming in a palanquin [a covered litter carried by poles on the shoulders of bearers].”

“A palanquin?”

Jia was also surprised by those words. Of course, she had been surprised all along.

‘I thought she mostly rode her beloved horse, Jeok-a, when she went out.’

It had already been nine years since she had known the baby. In the meantime, when she didn’t ride Jeok-a, she had been carried by Seong Gyeom-sa-bok or Cheon-ho, but she had never seen her riding around in a palanquin.

“Has Princess Su-yeong ever ridden a palanquin before?”

It was a well-known story that Princess Su-yeong went out.

But few people had seen Princess Su-yeong’s palanquin procession.

Even Jia had never seen it.

Unless it was a formal event like when she went to Gangwon-do last time, she always went around relatively inconspicuously when she came out to play. She had never come out in a palanquin like this, as if she were advertising it.

Even though she was somewhat far away, Jia could tell how chaotic this space was.

‘What is she thinking?’

Did she know about today……? How?

At the same time as the question, the face of a likely suspect flashed through her mind.

‘Cheon-ho, that untrustworthy guy…….’

Cheon-ho wasn’t an insider of Siyoungwon, but he frequented Siyoungwon, so everyone had become close to him, and in case of an emergency, he had been made to attend to convey the facts to Princess Su-yeong.

‘He seemed quite loyal to Princess Su-yeong.’

She had also told him the details of the visit time to coordinate the visit time so that he would not feel anything strange even if he visited Siyoungwon in their absence.

But if Cheon-ho had informed her, she was angry, but at the same time, she understood the reason.

‘It means he told Princess Su-yeong without hiding anything.’

That was still loyal.

‘It’s a problem that I’m angry.’

But it was a great help to Jia right now.

“G, go and see.”

“Yes. I’ll prepare. Ah.”

“What is it?”

“If, if she’s visiting the store, the, the gambling den!”