Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 236

“Hiding something important inside furniture or behind walls, where it’s not easily seen, is a surprisingly classic method, but it can be quite effective.”

“I thought they would have already searched everything thoroughly…”

“There are surprisingly many cases where they only check the wardrobe and become careless. Those who have something to hide tend to hide it much more meticulously.”

“Well, the bigger the house, the harder it would have been to find something.”

Even as he said that, the young Gyumsa-bok [a junior officer in the Joseon Dynasty] thought with a dubious expression.

‘Is there really anything to be gained from cleaning this up?’

He came because he was ordered to by his superiors. The perpetrators of the last treason were revealed so clearly, and while there was a possibility that the search in the provinces was lax, he strongly doubted that anything would really be in a place like this.

Of course, he wasn’t in a position to complain since he had to do it if he was ordered to, even if it was a waste of time.

As the two men moved the wardrobe completely out of the way, Seong Gyumsa-bok tapped on the wall, trying to find a spot that sounded hollow.

And after a while, as he carefully peeled off the wallpaper from a part that sounded dull, a hidden space was revealed as if by magic.

“There really was something…”

There was a reason why they insisted on dragging someone who kept singing about wanting to retire.

***

“Elder, is it true that you are closing the gambling den?”

“Yes. That’s what happened.”

“How much effort did it take to grow this place to this size, and you’re saying you’re closing it so easily?”

The man asked the elder, who remained silent, as if he were pressing him for an answer.

“Is it because of Ongju Su-yeong [a princess]?”

“Yes. The young Ongju knows how to sting people quite fiercely. But we wouldn’t be ruined by just that.”

“Then why…”

The man looked relieved and puzzled at the same time at the elder’s words.

“That person has noticed what we’re doing.”

“…That person, you say. How… Ah.”

He stopped speaking as if he realized the answer at the same time as the question.

“It must be because of the newspaper Ongju Su-yeong is selling. She’s written about gambling dens more than once.”

The man bit his lip.

He didn’t like anything Ongju Su-yeong was doing.

‘No, but that one thing…’

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“I apologize. I was just feeling a bit wronged and trying to suppress my anger. What did that person say?”

At the man’s question, the elder sighed and answered.

“He scolded me for doing such a reckless thing.”

“Is that so.”

But the elder didn’t look particularly discouraged.

“There was a time when I thought he had forgotten all about the old days, but I was rather glad to see him get so angry.”

“That’s truly fortunate.”

“So, as you said, the gambling den is being shut down, and the related evidence is being incinerated.”

“It’s a shame, but the wealth we’ve accumulated is not small… It will be helpful to that person as well. Um, what did that person say about Si-yeongwon [likely a group or organization]?”

“He said that there’s nothing more to gain from being involved with such insignificant people, so there’s no need to be associated with them.”

The elder, who seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, continued.

“Since there’s no more profit to be made from this gambling den here, closing it is not a bad choice. We’ve already made a bad impression on the Ongju, so she might really come out to crack down on the gambling den.”

“How about moving down to the provinces?”

“But all the areas where some profit could be made already have Si-yeongwon branches, so who knows what kind of interference they’ll cause.”

The elder sighed and stroked his head as if he had a headache.

No one had expected that they would be so thoroughly outsmarted by this incident.

In fact, they didn’t even think that the Si-yeongwon kids would run to the Ongju and confess everything.

‘To confess that.’

Even gamblers carrying their house deeds wouldn’t be so loose-lipped, so how much were those guys spoiled to tell her everything in detail….

They must be hiding inside Si-yeongwon, but if they ever caught them, they would never let them go.

“Then will you continue to maintain the shop?”

“Aren’t those the people you brought in at a considerable price, saying they would do business? At least we should make back the principal.”

“I understand. Then we’ll clear out the gambling den without a trace, focus on doing business with the courtesans and food, and protest if anyone calls our shop a gambling den in the future.”

“Yes. Now that there’s no gambling den, it would be troublesome if people disparaged this place as a place frequented by gamblers.”

“We’re still making a decent amount of money from the courtesans, so don’t worry.”

They said that and smiled brightly.

But the world is a place where you get betrayed by those you trust.

After closing the gambling den and thinking there was nothing to be afraid of, they were doing business very confidently one day.

“Something terrible has happened!”

An unexpected storm swept over the illegal gambling den operators.

“It’s noisy across the street today.”

“It is.”

I deliberately visited a high-end restaurant without revealing my identity and looked out the window while eating.

It was a private room, so I was eating comfortably, but the noise I heard wasn’t unpleasant.

“It sounds like they’re shouting inside, and I think I hear screams. Is it okay?”

“It’s okay.”

Cheon-ho, who also had sharp ears, got up and peeked outside, looking worried.

I reassured him that it was okay and picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth.

‘Hmm. The taste is good.’

The meat melted in my mouth.

The atmosphere is important in a high-end restaurant, but the quality of the food must be good.

If it’s expensive, it has to be worth the price.

“You suddenly came here today, and you seem to know something, Young Miss?”

“Hmm. That’s right.”

Cheon-ho, who was eating diligently with the same setting as me thanks to me hiding my identity, asked with a slightly sulky face.

Cheon-ho usually knew about most things, but this time he seemed to be completely unaware, so he seemed a little annoyed.

“I’ll explain it to you, so sit down and finish what you were eating. Is it tasty here?”

“…Yes.”

Cheon-ho obediently sat back down and picked up his chopsticks again.

‘He listens well, so he’s cute.’

As expected, he eats well because he’s so big, so it’s rewarding to feed him.

I’ll have to add more later.

“You know that our competitors across the street have closed their gambling den and are doing legal business for some reason, right?”

“…Yes.”

Cheon-ho, whose answer was delayed because he was swallowing the meat in his mouth, nodded and answered.

“Illegal gambling was originally their main source of income, but that was only confidential. In reality, their main source of income was something else, at least on the surface.”

“…”

Cheon-ho seemed to know the answer, but he avoided eye contact and avoided answering at the same time.

The answer was the courtesans.

Now that most of the courtesans have been integrated into Si-wol-gak, there weren’t many places where you could drink while being served by women dressed up like before.

Of course, it wouldn’t just be serving drinks.

“From the beginning, it was a problem that there were so many courtesans over there.”

“I was wondering about that too.”

Cheon-ho, who knew that the gibang [a house of courtesans] had been integrated into Si-wol-gak, must have thought it was strange too.

So-yi, who was always by my side almost 24 hours a day, was silently focusing on the food in front of her, but looking at her face, she seemed to be enjoying this incident in her own way.

“The way to take away the courtesans is actually nothing special. You buy a young girl with money and put her in the gireok (妓籍) [the official registry of courtesans] instead of that courtesan.”

The problem with this method was that talented courtesans eventually escaped to become concubines of the Sadaebu [high-ranking officials], but the high-ranking officials who wanted to have pretty concubines had their interests aligned, so it was maintained reasonably well.

“But I subtly crushed that while making Si-wol-gak. In the process, there seemed to be quite a few people who paid money and took the courtesans away as concubines. I’m not a formal manager and I don’t manage the gireok, so I found out later.”

“I understand that, but why in that store… Ah?”

Cheon-ho, who was momentarily puzzled because it wasn’t uncommon for courtesans to be taken as concubines, quickly realized why I brought up this story and widened his eyes.

“Could it be that the courtesans there are legally someone’s concubines?”

“Correct.”

I clapped my hands and answered.

Cheon-ho made a serious face as if he had heard something absurd and played with his chopsticks.

‘Hmm. Come to think of it, this isn’t something to tell a young child yet.’

He’s only big, but he’s still a sensitive teenager.

Still, it was ambiguous to stop the explanation now, so I continued.

“They were doing business so confidently that I couldn’t even think about it. Since courtesans all use stage names (藝名), if they create a new stage name, people who don’t know their faces won’t know.”

It was thanks to Jia that I found out about this.

‘It was worth spending money and acting like a playboy all this time.’

There was no need to worry about falling for women (!), and the courtesan who helped me sneak in last time trusted Jia and taught her this and that.

‘I thought there would be loopholes, but…’

I was a little curious about how they were taking them away, but once I knew the truth, it was easier to solve.

“I told Oraboni [older brother] about that and he investigated.”

The Crown Prince also ordered an investigation after hearing that story, and as a result, he found out that the names of the missing courtesans were all listed as someone’s concubines on paper, but in reality, they were still working as courtesans there.

“So, the women who are working as courtesans there now mean that they are legally married women.”

“Th, that shouldn’t be allowed, should it?”

Cheon-ho asked with a face that had lost all common sense.

Of course, there are cases where you have your concubine serve drinks at a drinking party, but that’s usually when you invite guests to the concubine’s house, and making money like that is out of the question.

It might sound a little strange to invite guests to the concubine’s house, but creating a private drinking party without going to a gibang is often done at the house of a concubine, Soshil(小室) [a concubine’s private residence].

That’s why plots of treason are often carried out at Soshil’s house, and if they get caught, it becomes a bloodbath.

“Of course not. In that continent over there, there are extreme cases where the main actresses are all concubines of the theater owner.”

“Wow.”

Cheon-ho’s face, who had been eating well, was once again filled with shock.

‘Oops, I forgot Cheon-ho’s age again.’

Anyway, Joseon can’t go that far. Of course, I can’t guarantee what they’re doing behind the scenes.

‘Come to think of it, did those guys benchmark that?’

I sighed as I recalled what I had said.

They never learn good things, but they always want to learn bad things.

“They said they took them as concubines and made them perform as courtesans, and they even had them serve drinks to an unspecified number of customers, so of course there’s a problem.”

“I see. Then what happens to the courtesans who worked there?”

“They have to go back to where they should be.”

After saying that, I focused on the food again.

‘I’ve already talked to the Crown Prince, so.’

There’s nothing I can do right now anyway.

As I was inhaling the food in front of me, I looked to the side and saw that the plates in front of Cheon-ho were already empty.

As expected, a teenager who can chew even iron….

“Ah, Cheon-ho, you’ve already eaten everything? Do you want to eat another dish?”

“Yes? Ah, um. Can I?”

“I can afford to feed you alone.”

I know how well you eat, so what are you embarrassed about?

And as soon as I finished speaking, So-yi called someone and ordered more food.

Then something suddenly came to mind.

“Come to think of it, you said you grew up under your uncle, Cheon-ho?”

“Yes.”

“Your uncle must have been strict about etiquette.”

“Yes?”

Cheon-ho’s face hardened slightly as if my words were unexpected.

I’m not cursing, I’m praising, so why are you surprised?

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but you never make a sound when you eat. Eating it up in an instant is because you eat well, but.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

“Yes. Eating without making a sound is the etiquette of the noble class. Court Lady Min is also trying hard to strictly teach the children of Si-yeongwon table manners, but it seems difficult for the children.”

Still, it was worth the effort, and most of the children at Si-yeongwon had good table manners.

Etiquette that is ingrained in your body makes people’s evaluation of you better, no matter where you go.

In some cases, they are told that they are too pretentious, but from the perspective of educating children, this was better.

“Is that so.”

Cheon-ho had a complicated look on his face at my words.

It seems that he is not aware of it because these things are ingrained in his body from a young age.

‘He was in the Tiger Hunt Unit and mostly lived as a hunter, but I guess he really is from a noble family. To think they even bothered to teach him such etiquette.’

Come to think of it, Cheon-ho didn’t usually do anything that went against etiquette.

Soi and the other palace people didn’t really point anything out either.

‘Maybe I should find him a path to advance further in the future.’

I could already picture Cheon-ho’s uncle, whom I had met once before, resenting me for only using his nephew, whom he had raised so well.

‘Maybe it’s because I was sleepy when I saw him, but his face is a bit blurry.’

The commotion across the street continued for a while until the new food we ordered came out.

It seemed that rumors would spread profusely even if I didn’t do anything, as people who had been in the arcade went out to watch, curious about what was happening.

Soon, the ledger containing the names of the *gisaengs* [female entertainers] and the people involved were dragged away one after another.

Of course, there were many who wanted to gloss over this matter, but the justification that they had taken *gisaengs* as concubines and then made them work as *gisaengs* again, disrupting public morals, was quite strong.

Above all, the fact that this incident was triggered by an accusation from a *gisaeng* working there gave it even more justification.

Of course, the *gisaeng* who made the accusation was Nanhyang, who had been in contact with Jia.

To be precise, Nanhyang wrote a letter accusing the immoral reality of the place she was working, saying, ‘I am ashamed and can no longer live like this,’ and Jia pretended to be a guest, received the letter, and reported it through me.

‘They forced the *gisaengs* to work excessively, used violence when they didn’t listen, and prevented them from going outside in case they ran away.’

She had been treated badly when she lived in a *gibang* [house of female entertainers], but such abuse was rare.

Thanks to Nanhyang’s accusation, an audit was conducted, and the *gisaengs* who were there eventually returned to their original place, Siwolgak.

They had left Siwolgak because they didn’t want to go, only to face hardships and return, so everyone had complicated expressions, but *gisaengs* originally didn’t have the right to refuse.

‘I was going to get rid of that, but since they refused, there’s nothing I can do.’

It was more pitiful than foolish.

Still, there were some who had lived under the same roof before, so they welcomed them in a friendly manner.

I had given them a heads-up in advance, and it seemed that some others had similar thoughts.

And there were those who welcomed the meeting without hesitation.

“Nanhyang!”

“Ah! Master… Jia!”

“What do you mean ‘Master’? Just call me comfortably.”

It seemed that Jia, dressed as a woman, felt awkward being called ‘Master Scholar’ when she was dressed as a man, but it was heartwarming to see them holding hands and being happy.

‘It’s because they’re alienated from their surroundings.’

Ayeong, who was at Siwolgak because they needed help, and the familiar children of Siyeongwon were looking at the two of them with faces that said they had seen it all, but I let it go.

Conversely, Nanhyang’s fellow *gisaengs* had faces mixed with betrayal.

‘They must have known Jia as a man, so it’s understandable.’

In a way, wasn’t he an ideal male figure?

He didn’t flirt with women, didn’t treat them badly, wasn’t violent, was kind, and seemed smart.

‘And he’s rich, too.’

It was public funds for undercover investigations, though.

“*Agassi* [young lady], are those people going to work at Siwolgak from now on?”

“Well, it might be a bit difficult… but they’ll stay here for a while to get used to the atmosphere. I need to see how capable they are, too.”

“I understand.”

“Let’s give them time to adjust.”

“Yes, *Agassi*.”

In fact, originally, they might have just blamed everything on those *gisaengs* and said that they were immoral because they were *gisaengs*.

But through Jia, I found out that the *gisaengs* were being caught and oppressed, so I was able to get them leniency in advance. Frankly, what power did the *gisaengs* have?

If chastity was so important, *gisaengs* wouldn’t have existed in the first place.

The Crown Prince just gave me a bitter smile.

Of course, I’m not blaming the Crown Prince. In the first place, the Crown Prince was a negative person about *gibangs*, so what’s the point of blaming him?

I could see that he was forcing himself to suppress his opposition, so I felt a little sorry for him.

‘I should ask Se-hwa to take good care of him.’

The Crown Prince is the Crown Prince.

The *gisaengs* who worked at the gambling den had their faces known here and there, and it was somewhat difficult to work at Siwolgak right away, so after protecting them for a while, they were sent to a branch in the provinces.

Jia, who had become something like an exclusive manager, told me that everyone was relieved when she told them that.

“They told me to thank *Ongju Jagga* [Princess Jagga].”

“It’s good that they know….”

I had the goal of ruining those guys, but I had to pay a lot of attention to getting the *gisaengs* out.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to see them again if they go to other provinces.”

I looked at Jia’s slightly lonely face and decided to poke her lightly.

“You look sad?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Anyone would think you two are dating.”

Jia grumbled at my words.

“No, why are you making such jokes? Of course, I pretended to be like that to meet without being caught….”

“Oh….”

So you even pretended to be like that.

“Why are you looking at me with such strange eyes?”

“It’s nothing. But that friend Nanhyang.”

“Yes.”

“Does she have any thoughts of trying acting?”

“Yes?”

“She’s wearing a mask on stage anyway.”

Jia’s face lit up as she realized something.

“!”

“She has the guts, and she has the acting skills to deceive those guys. It would be a waste if she’s suited for it.”

I don’t know what her specialty is, but doesn’t she have a talent for acting?

Of course, the acting in plays and the acting in real life might be a bit different.

“There was such a method.”

“There is such a method.”

“I’ll sound her out.”

“Okay. Do well.”

Actually, the newly opened store has been putting on performances, and they’re a bit short on acting talent…….

While we were busy sorting out the problems of the *gisaengs* who had been squeezed, no, returned, the (former) gambling den, which had lost its main products, was in a funeral home atmosphere.

I haven’t been there, but I don’t need to see it to know.

When the commotion broke out and the fact that the *gisaengs* had disappeared became known, even the customers who had been there turned their backs.

With the only source of money left gone, all that remained was the restaurant business.

The only fortunate thing for them was that Siyeongwon hadn’t been cruel enough to cut off the supply of ingredients.

It would have been easy to put pressure on them and cut it off from the start, but the reason for not doing so was simple.

It was also because Su-yeong *Ongju* [Princess] didn’t want to bother proving that she was oppressing a competitor.

‘They can’t win anyway.’

There was no way that the guys who used to gamble or sell women could win in terms of food quality or price.

In the first place, even if it seemed similar to their main menu, they were selling it as a more luxurious menu, so why would anyone pay more money to eat a less delicious dish?

That’s how the (former) gambling den quietly closed down without a sound after a while.

I went back to the restaurant to celebrate and enjoyed a special meal in a private room.

Thanks to this, Cheon-ho, who was eating heartily again, muttered as he looked at the desolate building across the street.

“They paid the price for recklessly provoking *Ongju Jagga*.”

“Don’t talk like I’m oppressing innocent people.”

Cheon-ho chuckled at my words.

“No one who knows *Ongju Jagga* would think that. Of course, I don’t know what people who don’t know would think… There may be people who don’t believe it was a gambling den.”

“That’s true.”

Originally, these things are known to those who know and not known to those who don’t.

“Actually, I didn’t think they would give up the gambling den so quickly. I thought they would cling to it even if their income dropped a little. It’s a shame that I couldn’t bring down the hammer of the law on the gambling den.”

“It seems that the owner of the gambling den was also another person on paper.”

“So you couldn’t catch him. I was hoping I could catch him with this incident.”

Thanks to this, it ended with a very *jjipjjip* [unpleasant] feeling.

That *ahjussi* [middle-aged man] with the mole on his face, let’s just call him *Jeomnam* [Mole Man] from now on since it’s annoying.

I should have caught *Jeomnam ahjussi* and checked what kind of guy he was.

“Should I have ambushed him and kidnapped him?”

I have a big subordinate for once. Of course, he seems to want to refuse.

“……Please don’t.”

“But somehow, it feels like it ended too *heomuhage* [in vain].”

“*Ongju Jagga* may think it’s *heomuhage*, but the people around you don’t? There’s a rumor going around that if you mess with Siyeongwon people, you’ll be bloodily retaliated against by *Ongju Jagga*.”

“*Heol* [What]? No, how can such a *hyunghyunghan* [ominous] rumor spread when there’s such a *seonlyanghan* [benevolent] person like me in the world?”

“……They’re just scared.”

No one died or got hurt in the process of me ruining those guys.

Of course, the gamblers were rolled up in a mat for cheating at our arcade, but that was their own fault.

Anyway, no innocent people were hurt, so I felt wronged.

‘But it’s better to be a little scary than to have too much of a *hogu* [pushover] image.’

It’s not so bad to not stand still if someone messes with your people.

“I was going to buy that building if it came up for sale, but it’s not coming up for sale.”

Is it because the structure will be exposed?

I was honestly disappointed that they got out so well with such good timing.

“Ha, I wanted to put in a tax investigation…….”

“???”

In fact, one of the reasons why the country doesn’t encourage commerce is that it’s cumbersome to collect taxes.

But commerce is developing well.

Recently, I’ve been systematizing the method of collecting taxes from *sangdan* [merchant guilds] and stores in cooperation with Gai.

No, you have to encourage commerce and collect taxes to develop something.

Gai’s *sangdan* also decided to cooperate *ban-gangjeoro* [semi-forcibly] in exchange for the benefit of reducing taxes.

For the sake of fairness, I tried to ask other *sangdan* to cooperate under the same conditions, but they all avoided it somehow, so it’s still not decided on the surface.

‘Commerce is developing, so I have to quickly establish a system and squeeze out taxes.’

Maybe everyone doesn’t even think that *Ongju* will squeeze their money.

Since I have a *sangdan*, everyone is thinking, ‘If something happens, *Ongju* will fight for us as a shield,’ but no way.

‘In my case, it’s better to cooperate *jeokdanghi* [appropriately] and receive benefits instead.’

I also wanted to see those guys get a tax investigation, so I was a little disappointed…….

I was going to catch the gambling den with a tax investigation, but how did they close down and run away so *jeokjeolhage* [appropriately], *chet* [tsk].

I swallowed my resentment at not being able to eat the right *saida* [refreshing resolution] and having to work to death again.

In fact, thanks to those guys, I used my *simnyeok* [mental energy] here and there, so I only had more work to do.

It looks like I’ll have to work in the palace for a while.

I was looking at the documents piled up in front of me with a slightly depressed mood when I heard a familiar muttering voice in my ear.

“I don’t know if *Ongju Jagga* is uncomfortable or not.”

“Maybe she’s a little *tteoltteoreum* [awkward] because things aren’t going as she planned…….”

“You two over there, don’t *ssukdeokgeoriji* [gossip] in front of people.”

Soi and Cheon-ho had become so close after sticking by my side that they sometimes openly talked behind my back like that.

‘Am I too…… *gwandaehanga* [lenient]?’

To my question, Se-hwa, who had brought medicine, said, ‘I like that *Ongju Jagga* is *gwandaehasyeoseo* [lenient],’ and bought my favor and the resentment of the two people behind me at the same time.

Of course, Se-hwa showed the *moseup* [appearance] of an excellent social person by calmly taking the side of the powerful.

Se-hwa seemed to be in a good mood today, and I knew the reason roughly, so I whispered softly.

“Are you going out with *oraboni* [older brother/term of endearment for the Crown Prince] today?”

“Yes?”

The Crown Prince had been a little busier than usual because of the gambling den-related work that I had passed on for a while, but in fact, he wasn’t entirely busy because of me.

‘It was also to make time for a half-day date with Se-hwa.’

I heard that he even reduced his physical training time a little…….

“Have fun.”

“……Yes.”

“Tell me if *oraboni* is mean.”

“……Didn’t *Ongju Jagga* take him out last time?”

No, when was that already? It was definitely *Chopail* [Buddha’s Birthday] in April?

It was spring then, and now it’s winter, so don’t tell me they haven’t had a date since then?

Oh my god, I can’t recognize a man who dates twice a year, not even quarterly, as the male lead!

I was inwardly *pokjuhago* [raging], but outwardly, I calmly said to Se-hwa.

“That’s because I took him out, so it’s my responsibility too. *Oraboni* wouldn’t have done anything strange, but this time it’s different.”

“Yes??”