Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 228

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine. 228

‘Siwolgak allows children, but if they cause a disturbance or inconvenience to other customers, we must politely ask them to leave.’

Of course, no one could refuse such a reasonable request.

People pay a lot of money to see the performances, so disturbances are unacceptable.

‘Although, it’s rare to see children brought here in the first place.’

Usually, children who are interested in the performances are well-behaved. If their parents have taught them well, they wouldn’t cause a disturbance in such a place.

In fact, many high-ranking officials frequent Siwolgak, so acting rashly is unwise.

However, these days, the problem is the excessive noise from the audience before and after the performances of those… self-made idols.

‘Should I move the performances outdoors?’

I’d prefer indoors during midsummer or midwinter, but that might inconvenience other performers if I miscalculate the weather.

‘I used to worry that young people were too obsessed with idols, but after seeing those gambling addicts, well… I think idol *deokjil* [the act of intensely supporting and being a fan of an idol] is healthy and good.’

One of the reasons why K-pop is popular abroad is that it’s generally wholesome.

I didn’t expect to reach this conclusion.

Besides, I’m not selling random photo cards…

‘Huh? Come to think of it, isn’t this a good idea? Should I sell them?’

I’m not going to sell albums in this era anyway.

Since there are no photos, it would be picture prints instead of photo cards, but it’s still paper, so I don’t have to worry too much about environmental pollution, right?

While I was lost in thought, everyone was sitting and drinking tea. Jia seemed to remember something and asked me.

“Um… what other uses are you considering for this place besides a restaurant?”

“Well… now that things are as they are, I’m thinking of creating a place where people can have fun in a healthy way.”

“?”

The gambling den itself is a problem, but it seems like there’s a lack of entertainment culture in this era.

The cultural industry naturally develops alongside economic development. Although things are better than in the original Joseon Dynasty, there still seems to be a lack of entertainment for both adults and children, perhaps due to the ambiguous emphasis on *geumyok* [abstinence] and *geomso* [frugality].

The reason I say it’s ambiguously emphasized is… because being flashy isn’t allowed, so they make clothes with white embroidered white cloth, put bat patterns on the brim of hats so the pattern is only visible in the shadow, and make simple wooden furniture but actually assemble it with various kinds of wood, etc. As a result, a luxury that only *looks* simple has developed.

‘Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard that Joseon people historically liked gambling…’

Anyway, aren’t there tons of people who like games in modern Korea…?

The word “*noreum*” [gambling] itself is a kind of *noreum*, *nori* [play] when viewed broadly. It’s a problem because money is involved.

Baduk [Go] and Janggi [Korean chess] are normal games as long as you don’t bet, but the moment you bet, they turn into gambling.

Usually, buying a meal isn’t a problem, but people keep betting big.

“A place to play?”

“Yeah. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to provide a place to play. Of course, I’m going to make a proper restaurant, too. And have performances.”

“Is it different from Siyoung Park?”

“Slightly? Well, I haven’t decided exactly yet.”

“…?”

I looked at the building still under construction and savored the tea that Soi had brought from somewhere.

‘I should drink this and go back quickly.’

I don’t usually come to the construction site to supervise, but I had no choice today.

‘Actually, I wanted to surprise the gambling guys when I opened, but things turned out this way, so I told them in advance. Well, they probably noticed while I was preparing anyway.’

Looking at the carpenters and workers glancing at me and flinching, it seemed like I had to leave quickly.

“But how were there houses with such large sites just empty?”

“Ah. This was a building where an accident happened, so I bought it cheaply because it was empty.”

“Yes?”

“An accident?”

Several people from Siyoungwon, including Jia, looked uncharacteristically serious.

“No, why are you all doing that? Are you scared?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“Would it be okay to ask what kind of accident it was?”

Even as they asked, they generally looked reluctant.

“I’ve decided not to talk about it, out of respect for the deceased and their families.”

“I see. The honor of the deceased and their families…”

Why is everyone getting so gloomy?

“I heard the rumors weren’t good, so they wanted to sell the land on both sides, too. Thanks to that, I bought it cheap.”

“There wasn’t an accident, was there?”

“Why are you saying such ominous things? Anyway, I only did interior work… If something strange comes out later, I’ll just tear it down and rebuild it.”

Jia looked reluctant at my words.

“Why are you so nonchalant?”

“Well.”

Jia is surprisingly weak to ghost stories.

‘Come to think of it, the Crown Prince also hates ghost stories…’

He’s hated them since he was young, but I don’t know if he’s scared or just dislikes them.

Now, the Crown Prince himself avoids ghost stories, claiming that a *gunja* [a virtuous or noble person] does not discuss *goeryeoknansin* [strange phenomena, physical strength, disorder, and deities].

I think it’s partly my fault for telling him ghost stories in the summer a long time ago, so I’m not teasing him, but should I tell Sehwa?

Soi, who was cleaning up the teacup I drank, muttered as if amazed.

“Ongju Jaga doesn’t mind such things very much.”

“That’s right.”

She wasn’t that scared in the first place.

‘Honestly, I’m the one who died first (?), so I’m not in a position to be scared…’

I guess that person couldn’t be reincarnated or possessed.

I’m glad I was reborn without wandering *gucheon* [the deepest abyss of hell]. Actually, I think it’s a bit of a tougher life than I thought.

“She’s never been afraid of anything since a long time ago.”

“Why does it sound like you’re picking a fight?”

“How could I do that?”

Everyone nodded at Soi’s words, who had served me for a long time.

But their expressions were still not good.

Hmm. Everyone is so scared, so I can’t help it…

“Should we move the location for now? It seems like we, no, I’m interfering with the work if I stay here.”

As I said that and pointed to the workers who were working hard, everyone nodded enthusiastically.

It would be nerve-wracking if a royal family member, who is not just the owner but a super *gap* [someone in a position of power], was watching. Even from a distance, I could see people making mistakes several times.

‘They’re going to get hurt.’

It seemed like it would be dark soon, perhaps because it was a schedule planned with the intention of infiltrating the gambling den.

“It’s already quite late, and Siyoungwon is quite far… It would be better for everyone to go to my private residence. I think I need to hear more details about today’s events from Jia. Everyone was planning to go in late anyway, right?”

“Yes.”

Jia, who had been gloomy expecting to be scolded, raised her head and her eyes sparkled at the word *sajeo* [private residence].

“Are we really going to Ongju Jaga’s private residence?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

Oh, have these guys never been to my private residence?

‘Ah, well, I don’t go there that often either.’

I felt a little sorry for Soi, who accompanies me… and now Cheonho, who seems to be quite used to it.

But that’s that, and this is this.

“If we’re going to talk about what happened to Jia earlier, it would be better to have a quiet place. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

Since there was also a security reason that it was difficult to talk about the dangerous things they had heard by infiltrating someone else’s house in such an open place like this, those who were trying to search the gambling den ended up going to my private residence together.

Of course, some people decided to return to Siyoungwon and report today’s events to Madam Min.

‘I should talk to Madam Min later, too.’

Madam Min also agreed to have the children do such a thing.

I had to get on the palanquin that I had ridden for show again today.

I don’t like it by nature, but I was sad that the palanquin felt even narrower than before.

I should be happy about the growth, but it’s becoming more uncomfortable.

While I was missing Jeok-a, the palanquin arrived in front of my private residence.

I heard voices of admiration from the side.

“Ongju Jaga’s private residence…”

“It’s more than just a private residence…”

Hmm. It’s a bit big for a private residence, isn’t it?

Everyone seems to have various impressions after seeing my private residence for the first time, but they’ll probably be even more surprised when the door opens.

I realized too late why I hadn’t shown my private residence to the people of Siyoungwon, but it was already too late.

“Ongju Jaga. Have you arrived?”

“Have you arrived? Ongju Jaga”

The servants working at home seemed flustered by the sudden visit of the owner, but calmly greeted me.

It couldn’t be helped. Even if they came without notice after a long time, the owner was the owner.

‘But why do they look more like tenants than servants?’

Is it because I still have a lot of modern thinking left?

First, I brought everyone into the room, and a light refreshment table came out, and I took a breather, and Jia asked.

“But does Ongju Jaga intend to leave that gambling den alone?”

“Why? What did Jia see there? I’ve only heard about it indirectly.”

“Well, they were… gambling.”

Jia began to explain step by step the initial plan and how things turned out this way due to intermediate variables.

And I had a thought while listening to it.

‘That man I saw in the palanquin earlier, I think I remember his face.’

That characteristic mole next to his nose.

Unless he’s an identical twin, he seemed to be the same person I saw at that human trafficking group meeting before.

‘They probably didn’t think I would remember his face either.’

It was actually when I was very young when people were coming and going from Youngbin’s side.

From my point of view, I was suffering from Gyeong-eon-gun at the time, so I was wary of those people and paid attention to them in many ways.

The mole is so impressive that I still remember his face, but to be honest, it’s been so long that there’s a possibility that I might be misremembering.

I wonder if any of the court ladies who took care of me at the time remember him.

‘Ah, come to think of it, Gai might know something.’

It was only known among the concubines and some older court ladies in the palace that Gai, one of my closest aides, was originally a *na-in* [low-ranking court lady] of Youngbin, and most other people didn’t know about it.

It wasn’t easy for things about the court ladies of the inner palace to leak out.

It goes without saying that the court ladies were strictly controlled.

So Gai might remember that man, but it was highly likely that they didn’t know much about Gai.

Now everyone knows that she is my closest *jimi* [confidante] court lady and a big *son* [hand; businesswoman] who runs the *sangdan* [merchant group], but at the time, Gai was just one of the *na-in* in Youngbin’s residence.

‘If they had valued her, they wouldn’t have let Gyeong-eon-gun abuse her like that.’

Maybe they didn’t even know how capable Gai was. If they had known, they would have worked her hard.

‘It seems like Gai stood out in the novel because of her desire for revenge.’

Anyway, it’s natural for subordinates to remember their superiors’ relatives, but sometimes relatives who visit the palace don’t even remember the faces of individual court ladies who aren’t *sang-gung* [high-ranking court lady].

Above all, a man who entered the *hugung* [area where concubines reside] couldn’t dare to look at and remember the face of a young *na-in*.

‘Should I ask Gai about it later?’

I need to check if he was with the suspicious guys during that human trafficking incident and why he wasn’t caught. At the time, I was too out of it to even think about checking.

Kidnapping was such a shocking experience… Thinking about it, I think I was out of my mind at the time.

That’s something to check later, and I decided to focus on the testimonies of those who had experienced the gambling den.

“Hmm… so it seems like they’re running a proper business as a restaurant on the surface, right?”

“Yes. But the income from the gambling den is probably much greater than that of such a healthy business.”

“Is that so? Siwolgak seems to be doing pretty well.”

“Yes. The restaurant side is probably difficult to compare to Siwolgak. It’s just mediocre. It seemed difficult to compare in terms of food or performance level.”