Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 235

Of course, the children with a history of gambling addiction weren’t entrusted with money; someone else was managing it for them.

Having gambling debts meant they lacked the ability to manage finances. They wouldn’t be recognized for financial management internally, regardless of what happened outside.

‘You can’t trust those who fall into gambling because they often can’t get out…’

Because of this, I heard those children were just working diligently inside, exhausting their bodies and minds.

Fortunately, the Siyoungwon [lit. “Carefree Garden,” a special organization] management staff, while fond of the children, were inherently cold and stern due to their original professions (palace maids, Chetamin [a low-status group]). So, I wasn’t worried they would weaken and let them off easily.

“I heard recently they’re resenting the gambling den guys while struggling with childcare.”

“I see.”

“Well, it’s a place where, if they wanted to, they could keep them from ever leaving.”

“That sounds scary.”

It is scary. But if we don’t forcibly hold them like this, how else can we fix a gambling addiction that has turned normal students into thieves?

‘It’s not like there are any treatment centers in this era.’

In fact, it might be faster to destroy the gambling dens than to treat the gambling addicts.

Of course, even if the gambling dens disappear, it’s not like they’ll stop gambling; they’ll probably just gather and do it among themselves.

‘For now, it’s better to reduce the number of new people coming in through the restaurant. Either way, those who are going to gamble will keep gambling.’

Such unhealthy businesses won’t easily fail because their customer base is different from our healthy businesses.

Still, it’s not impossible to shut them down.

‘I’ll make them taste the pain of daily sales declines.’

And I was planning to hit them with one or two big blows in between to send them off nicely.

However, not long after, news that deviated from my expectations reached me.

***

“What did you say?”

“The gambling den has decided to close down.”

“Really?”

Upon hearing what Jia had told me through Chunho, my first reaction was suspicion.

“Could their identity have been exposed…?”

“I thought of that too… but the gisaengs [female entertainers] were also surprised the gambling den was closing down.”

Recently, Jia… seemed to be indulging in a playboy act, spending money not only on gambling but also on gisaengs for information gathering.

‘She’s over twenty, but is it okay to make such a young child do this?’

Of course, I’m paying for it.

“Well, we can confirm that later by looking at the types of people entering and exiting…”

Since we’re also monitoring the entrance to the house where the gambling den is located, not just the store, confirmation won’t be difficult.

‘It ended too easily than I thought…’

Was the impact that great? Or are they belatedly trying to protect themselves, thinking they were wrongly targeted by a powerful figure (Sooyoung Ongju [Princess Sooyoung])?

“We can’t really believe those guys have really quit…”

“Once they know how to make easy money through gambling, won’t they do it again?”

“Hmm. First, we need to contact the Siyoungwon branches in other regions and warn them to watch out for gambling dens.”

“Ah.”

Gambling requires a certain number of people to gather, so to catch suckers like this, it had to be a sizable area where people with money lived.

And most of those places already had Siyoungwon branches established.

‘It’s not so much that I knew what I was doing, but rather that I essentially took over half the space of a gibang [house of courtesans] in a place that was already large enough to have one.’

You could say we were well-positioned in the downtown area.

“I’ll deliver it with tomorrow’s newspaper.”

At my words, Soi quickly took out paper and began writing down what I said. For simple things like this, it still needed to be delivered by hand, so a lot of manual work was still required.

‘I want a printer, no, a multi-function printer…’

A multi-function printer is a distant dream, but thanks to the newspaper distribution, it has become easier to send messages to the provinces.

Although the postal service hasn’t been officially established yet, I’ve heard that Siyoungwon children are already exchanging news with each other through the current communication network where newspapers and information are exchanged.

“Soi is working hard.”

“Not at all. Since it’s a message directly from Ongju Jaga [a respectful title for a princess], I must deliver it myself.”

“Well, it would be a problem if it were forged and misused.”

Soi looked a little embarrassed, as if it were unexpected.

“…That wasn’t the reason, but Ongju Jaga’s words certainly make sense.”

“That’s why I’m making a Siyoungwon seal to stamp, but there’s no guarantee it can’t be forged at all.”

As I sighed softly, Chunho asked.

“But most Siyoungwon people know about Ongju Jaga’s character, so wouldn’t they be suspicious if they received strange content?”

“Hmm. It would be nice if that were the case, but cunning guys are cunning, and even among Siyoungwon graduates, there are some stubborn kids who would do whatever I told them to do, so I’m a little worried.”

“Then how about creating a cipher?”

“!”

At Chunho’s seemingly casual remark, I thought of the English alphabet, which no one here would know yet.

“That’s a good idea. But it will take time to teach, so it’s impossible right now.”

English is also a phonetic alphabet, so once I teach it, it won’t be difficult. It’s not like I’m teaching words or a language.

Come to think of it, the Chetamin probably have some kind of code they use among themselves, but I wonder if the children know about it.

Having thought that far, I thought of the person I had contacted some time ago.

‘I wonder how Sung Gyeom Sabok is doing.’

“Tsk. It’s getting cold already.”

“Why are you already complaining about the cold? Like someone who’s never crossed the Amnok River in winter.”

“I, I haven’t crossed it.”

“…These days, young people have it so easy.”

Sung Gyeom Sabok clicked his tongue as he looked at the two people slacking off behind him.

“What winter are you talking about? It’s still autumn. Stop exaggerating and hurry up!”

And the companions grumbled.

“Aigo, Hyungnim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]. What’s the rush?”

“You said it’s all things that ended a long time ago anyway. Even if we investigate, all we can do is search through ruins, right?”

“We already took a long time because we couldn’t ride horses and had to walk on foot because we were too conspicuous, so why are you rushing us now?”

Even as he watched the two people lower their voices after confirming that no one was there, Sung Gyeom Sabok still clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like it.

“So, did you come all the way here to play?”

“Ah, geez. Who said we’re here to play?”

The three of them bickered constantly, but they kept moving without stopping.

It was a mountain path in the middle of the night with no one passing by, but none of them hesitated.

“We’re just saying we should rest a bit while stopping by the Siyoungwon branch, but you’re so impatient.”

“No, is it over once we send a letter to Agissi [term of respect for a young woman]? Geez. Let us catch our breath! How about we eat something delicious!”

“Did you come to play, did you come to play?”

The two people who followed Sung Gyeom Sabok, despite being constantly scolded, were also talented individuals from Chetamin who had entered the palace.

Unlike Sung Gyeom Sabok, they readily accepted the offer to join the Crown Prince’s inner circle, but for some reason, they were being pushed around by their senior, Sung Gyeom Sabok, again.

“Well, there’s no harm in being careful.”

“I heard from the village earlier that the place has been empty since the family was implicated in the treason case and taken to Hanyang [old name for Seoul].”

“Yeah.”

That was the information Sung Gyeom Sabok had gathered from a nearby village.

Unlike his appearance, he was so friendly that everyone forgot they were wary of the unfamiliar outsiders and readily gave him the information he wanted.

No wonder they were forcibly holding onto someone who wanted to retire.

“Originally, it was a fairly wealthy family in this area, and the house is quite large.”

“If the house is large, it’ll be troublesome. I just hope they didn’t bury anything in the ground.”

It wasn’t uncommon for people to hide things in a place only they knew, like burying them under a specific tree with personal memories, so all three sighed.

“The ground won’t be easy to dig if it’s cold, so let’s go quickly.”

“Haa. Is digging in the ground confirmed?”

“It’s not confirmed, so hurry up and come. You rascal.”

The house they were aiming for was originally the house of someone who had been arrested as one of the leaders during the Yeongcheon-gun treason case.

The owner of the house had been arrested, and all the family members had been taken as slaves, so naturally, no one was even near the house, let alone inside.

Thanks to this, the three were able to sneak inside without anyone knowing.

“It’s nice that it’s isolated from other houses.”

Is it because it’s in the countryside? It’s a traitor’s house, so the house must have been confiscated. It wasn’t exactly torn down, and it wasn’t dug up to make a pond, but it was just left abandoned, making it eerie.

They had already confirmed that no one would come here, and since there was no sign of anyone, the three’s work was going smoothly.

It was so lacking in tension compared to the missions they had performed in the past that they were worried.

Perhaps that’s why the youngest Gyeom Sabok among the three was particularly talkative.

“When you think about it, isn’t something strange?”

“What is it?”

“Why would they commit such reckless treason? The current King only has one heir, Seja Jeoha [Crown Prince]. To somehow bring him down, you need a good reason, right?”

And that wasn’t easy.

Of course, you can make up a reason.

The people were generally satisfied with the reign, and the only ones who were dissatisfied were the Yangban [aristocrats] who couldn’t have more slaves.

But the people were relieved that their children wouldn’t become slaves, and the new officials who followed the Crown Prince supported this.

No matter how much the powerful families wanted slaves, they weren’t foolish enough to commit treason using that as a reason in this situation.

“Aigoo. After rolling around in the palace for a few years, you can see how things are going?”

“Of course. I’m not stupid.”

“That’s not what’s important right now…”

“But isn’t this treason case the same? You said there was someone who targeted Seja Jeoha.”

Moreover, it wasn’t clear exactly who that was.

There was also the possibility of another mastermind, but there were already enough suspects with the Yangban from Yeongcheon-gun and Gangwon area, and their actions were generally clumsy, so when they were interrogated, they told everything in detail, but their stories didn’t match.

“The treason that happened last year was clearly treason aimed at Seja Jeoha.”

“The treason nine years ago was treason aimed at bringing down the current King and Seja Jeoha.”

The scale was different because the purposes were different.

“I wonder if the treason at that time and this treason are related?”

“I don’t know about the connection. But the people may overlap. A person who harbored rebellious intentions wouldn’t become a loyal subject just because some time has passed. If the opportunity comes, they can always harbor rebellious intentions again.”

“I hope something comes out soon.”

Just in case, they had to keep watch to see if anyone was approaching, and they had to search thoroughly to see if anything was hidden, so it wasn’t a pleasant task.

‘In fact, many treason cases are often settled before such a big event occurs.’

Usually, there’s a traitor inside who gets caught, or they fail because they don’t have luck.

What they were investigating was the reality of a rebellion that had already failed.

Both rebellions had clearly been suppressed, but Sung Gyeom Sabok was uneasy.

‘But I clearly heard there was someone who targeted Seja Jeoha.’

Is it because they couldn’t catch those guys that he couldn’t rest easy?

“Hyungnim. Is there really something?”

“Finding that is our job.”

Even though it was a ruin, large furniture like wardrobes remained intact, making the search cumbersome.

“…Come over here for a moment.”

“Did you find something?”

“Let’s move this over here.”