Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 233

“Oh, so all that happened while I was away.”

“Brother is dying.”

It was a rare tea time, but the Crown Prince’s face, as he listened to me, was grim.

The Crown Prince looked pale, as if he’d been burning the candle at both ends.

“I haven’t been sleeping well with all the work piling up.”

“You’ll burn out at that rate.”

“I’m taking herbal supplements, though.”

“……You’ll just be propping yourself up with medicine, then suddenly collapse.”

He’s only holding on because he’s been building up his body with medicine and exercise. I’m going to lose a sibling at this rate.

‘He’s in such bad shape; I feel bad burdening him with talk of treason.’

But it’s about treason, so I can’t keep quiet.

Of course, it’s still just speculation.

I thought this was better than the heat, but before I knew it, the weather was getting cold.

“Haa. I wanted to see my sister’s face and rest for a bit, but this isn’t the time for that.”

“Oh dear……”

The Crown Prince chuckled as I clicked my tongue.

“But you’ve grown again since I last saw you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to get you new clothes.”

“Brother, you’re too obsessed with clothes.”

“I’m telling you to dress better.”

“I am dressing well.”

Anyway, it was time to get new clothes since the season was changing.

The palace maids were whispering that they were making clothes considering my growth rate these days, but they were worried about what to do when winter came.

I need to grow up quickly.

We finished our small talk about each other’s health and growth and got down to business.

“……So that restaurant is suspicious.”

“Definitely……. At first glance, it might look like they’re just trying to take down a competitor.”

“No. Those guys messed with the Siyeongwon [special military unit] kids and are trying to kill me too.”

“Hmm. So the intention to kill remains unchanged.”

“Of course. I can’t just let those scammers who suck the blood of young ones get away with it, can I?”

The Crown Prince knew I was a little angry and quickly nodded and moved on.

From the Crown Prince’s perspective, he couldn’t have been happy about the scholarship issue or the fact that there were people trying to drive a wedge between me and him.

“Then I should order an investigation into that place too…….”

“There are already people undercover inside. Don’t stir things up there; just investigate externally. Documents and such. There’s something I especially want to ask…….”

The Crown Prince, who was listening carefully to my words and taking small notes on important matters, suddenly sighed softly, as if something had occurred to him.

“……Sometimes I wonder, what exactly is Siyeongwon training?”

“When there are many people, there are all kinds of people…….”

“You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you?”

“I’m doing things that cost money.”

“Sia [term of respect]…….”

“Regardless of whether those guys are suspicious, I have a debt to repay with interest, you know?”

How much money did those guys extort from the Siyeongwon kids? I can’t just let it go…….

The anger when a child is extorted is not only the child’s but also the parent’s (or guardian’s) responsibility.

Isn’t the reason for staying still even after getting hit first to gain momentum?

“So what are you doing this time?”

“Just a restaurant, what else.”

“There are rumors everywhere that you’re starting something big again.”

Unfortunately, I was too busy to deliver snacks to the Gyujanggak [royal library] lately.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“You’ve been so busy that you haven’t even shown your face for a while.”

“I am busy, that’s true.”

There was the issue of the newly opening store, but also, all kinds of information from across the country have been flowing to me since the newspaper business started.

Well, maybe it’s not comparable to the king or the crown prince.

But still, suspicious movements might come to me first.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Hmm. Not really? Oh, but the more money, the better.”

“Forget about that.”

The Crown Prince gulped down his tea with a pale face.

You should be taking medicine, not tea……. Isn’t Sehwa taking care of the Crown Prince’s health these days?

“Just write a few words for me later if I need it.”

“……What are you going to use it for?”

“I was thinking of offering it as a prize.”

“A prize?”

The Crown Prince looked utterly bewildered.

Of course, it wasn’t a big problem even if the Crown Prince didn’t understand.

‘Hmm…… But for sure, offering that as a prize might be construed as treasonous.’

As autumn arrived, the newspaper featured promotional articles about the restaurant I was newly opening.

Naturally, the content was favorable.

The opening was moderately successful. There had been so much talk about various things that the rumors spreading even before the building was finished were a bit burdensome.

“Actually, this restaurant is quite experimental, so I’m not sure how it will turn out…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

I was lounging in my quarters in the palace, listening to Cheonho tell me about the opening, and I listlessly added an explanation.

“I deliberately catered to both the wealthy and the commoners… or is that putting it strangely? I split the menu into expensive, high-end tastes and more accessible ones.”

The menu mainly consisted of dishes that were improved versions of those from the gambling den… no, the place next door, made either more luxurious or more affordable and delicious.

Though some of it was more about the ingredients than simply the taste.

Cheonho, who was listening to me, tilted his head in confusion.

“But the property that Princess bought was… three buildings, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. So the middle part isn’t a restaurant, but a playroom… no, an arcade of sorts.”

“Isn’t play and amusement the same thing? Why change the word?”

Saying ‘playroom’ makes it sound like there should be preschool children there……

I included appropriate types of games that could be considered wholesome among those used for Go [a strategic board game], chess, or gambling amusements, and I also made it possible to do archery in the garden area.

Money?

Anyone can use the arcade if they just dine at our restaurant.

Well, I was thinking of turning a blind eye to people sneaking in appropriately.

You might think there would be people causing a ruckus if I let it go like this, but… is that even possible?

And from the opening, I started regularly distributing lottery tickets to visiting customers.

There would be nobles among the people who came, so I thought it might not be good to focus too much on money, but then again, there’s no one who dislikes money.

And all of these details were, of course, announced in the newspaper.

The scenery was carefully created to be beautiful, and the taste of the food goes without saying.

The performances were carefully selected to divide the atmosphere.

The luxurious side was more classical in taste, and the accessible side allowed budding idols to perform here from time to time.

Since there were arcades between the restaurants, there was no need to worry about noise from one restaurant reaching the other.

And not long after the opening, the story about the lottery tickets spread widely, and people began to flock in.

Many people were unfamiliar with the arcade, but in fact, children from Siyoungwon [an orphanage or institution for talented children] were mobilized as shills, so there were no difficulties.

I had taught them Go and chess to some extent as a form of refinement.

The kids also teach those who come for the first time.

Cheonho, who had been caught during a customer experience before the opening and had to learn this and that as a trial, initially had a puzzled look on his face.

“Go and chess are one thing, but there were also things I saw for the first time that I don’t know what they are.”

“Well… the rules aren’t difficult.”

I had a few modern sports or games in mind that didn’t take up much space, but I wondered if what we had now was enough for the time being.

In addition, I motivated people by giving a certain amount of prize money each month to the person who competed among those confident in their skills and ultimately won.

A lot of money went out, but basically, you had to eat to even come inside to look around.

Even inside the arcade, we were selling drinks and light snacks.

Gambling was prohibited inside, but there were cases where people played games with meals at stake.

That much is fine.

Surprisingly, academic ability or level of knowledge is not important in these types of game skills.

And one important thing is that the proportion of women among the users is not small.

From the beginning, there were more women among the Siyoungwon talents, and there were more women assigned here, so women could come in without feeling burdened.

However, as the rumor spread, men with impure intentions flocked in to stare, and female customers were temporarily intimidated.

When that happened, I had no choice but to isolate all the men in a narrower space for safety, but after experiencing it a few times, the people around them started scolding the guys who were doing stupid things on their own, so it was easy to sort out.

However, it was considered unhealthy for young men and women to face each other for long periods of time, so in unavoidable cases, both sides were made to wear veils.

It didn’t matter whether they knew each other’s faces or not.

And of course, anyone who openly flirted without fear was immediately kicked out, regardless of their status.

‘Well, it seems there are couples who hit it off no matter how you try to stop them……’

That was something for the people involved to figure out on their own, and what’s important now is not that.

After the opening and things had settled down to some extent, I began to tighten the noose around my opponent’s neck.

The place, which I was calling an arcade or game room because I was too lazy to name it, offered a variety of amusements, but the most popular was still Go and chess, which could be called traditional powerhouses.

Since it required using one’s head, it was a pastime enjoyed by many among the nobles.

‘But there’s no guarantee that only well-educated nobles are good at it.’

Once you learn the rules, there are those who are not well-educated but are good at it.

A genius is literally a talent bestowed by heaven.

Originally, geniuses are beings who can suddenly appear from nowhere in a world dominated by genes, aren’t they?

Well, I don’t really know if they’re geniuses, but there were often children in Siyoungwon who were strangely skilled at things like Go and chess.

The arcade I created was a good place of employment for those children.

‘I don’t know if I can call this employment.’

In fact, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that this place was created from the beginning with those children in mind.

They teach people who don’t know, and they play matches with the people who come.

As a result, people who are confident in their skills flock to it out of curiosity, and then people gather to watch those people’s matches.

Hanyang [old name for Seoul] is a place where the population is concentrated, so it didn’t take as long as I thought.

“It seems to have settled down appropriately now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. As you said, young lady, there are more people and more active exchanges.”

“Are there any problems?”

“There are occasional fights, but who would dare to cause a disturbance in a place run by Princess? There are some nobles who can’t stand losing to the young people of Siyoungwon, but there are often higher-ranking people around, so it is soon resolved.”