Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 239

Conversations with high-ranking individuals are usually pre-determined. In other words, a subordinate’s skill lies in quickly providing the answer that the superior wants to hear.

‘I can roughly guess what they want to hear.’

How annoying.

But this is also part of social life. I only have a handful of superiors anyway, so it’s only right to accommodate them to this extent.

“Even if I have a lot of work, how could it compare to the Crown Prince’s responsibilities?”

“I’m worried that the Crown Prince won’t settle down until he takes a Crown Princess as soon as possible.”

“That’s why I’m also taking care of my health. The Crown Prince can only marry when I grow up quickly. My weak shoulders are carrying such a heavy burden,” I said, mixing in a joke.

The Queen responded to my joke with a softer expression than before.

“I’m sometimes worried that the Princess is too busy to grow up.”

Is that why everyone sends me so much food?

“I’m eating and sleeping well, so don’t worry.”

“The Princess takes good care of those around her and diligently takes care of her health, but I’m worried because the Crown Prince doesn’t take good care of himself.”

“How could my brother not listen when the Queen is so worried?”

“Wouldn’t the Crown Prince listen to the Princess more than his own mother?”

‘He listens to you more than me, so please do something.’

“It’s just that my brother, who is tired from studying and state affairs, finds it amusing that a young girl is acting so freely. How could he listen to me more than the Queen?”

‘No, that’s not it. Please tell your son directly.’

‘I’ll share the work, but I don’t think I can take care of your son too.’

“Besides, wouldn’t a young girl being too close be a hindrance to the Crown Prince’s work?”

‘How can he date if his little sister is always around?’

“But I’m always worried about the Crown Prince’s health because he’s so busy. I keep asking the royal physician to take good care of him, but he still doesn’t listen, so my worries never end.”

‘Is that royal physician perhaps Se-hwa?’

‘I should give Se-hwa some time off. This won’t do.’

I was worried that not only the Crown Prince but also Se-hwa might collapse, as she was working for the royal hospital, doing the newspaper work I had passed on to her, and even going on house calls elsewhere.

“Since you called the royal physician, is there anything uncomfortable?”

“I’ve had a stuffy chest for a long time, but it’s not a big deal. After taking my pulse, the royal physician said I have heart fire [a traditional Korean medical term for stress-induced heat in the body], so I should calm down and be careful.”

“The Queen has heart fire? I’m worried.”

“It’s an old issue, so the Princess doesn’t need to worry. What can we do? It’s not easy to live in the palace without experiencing hardships, even if it’s not as much as the Princess. It would have been nice if it had become easier after becoming the Queen.”

Hmm… She’s worried about her son now, but she must have suffered a lot in the past.

I spent time with crazy people targeting even me, the Princess, so the illness that arose at that time wouldn’t suddenly be cured just because I became the Queen.

‘Especially since she was a concubine with a son.’

She must have had quite a thrilling time.

Even after becoming the Queen, it’s hard to say that it was always peaceful.

Still, these are relatively good times.

“Who would dare to harm the Queen now?”

‘He’s like that, so how can she not worry?’

One way or another, the Queen and I were in the same boat.

Above all, we had no choice but to be very annoyed if the current Crown Prince went wrong.

In fact, the royal authority is not weak now, and the legitimate heir to the throne is only the Crown Prince. Not long ago, the members of the royal family all knelt down and begged, so even if the Crown Prince caused a ruckus, most of the officials had to listen while being annoyed.

‘If there was only one son, there would be no unstable elements.’

For the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897] royal family, legitimacy was important after all.

“There were some difficult things in the past, but isn’t it peaceful now?”

“That’s right. The rebels have all been punished. But after what happened last time, I can’t rest assured.”

Hmm. The Yeongcheon-gun rebellion wasn’t that long ago.

The culprit who targeted the Crown Prince hadn’t been caught either.

The Crown Prince himself seemed to forget sometimes because he was too busy, but there might still be someone who was targeting him.

“My brother had been threatened before.”

“Yeongcheon-gun was caught, but that’s not enough to reassure me. Who knows where else there are people like that who might target the Crown Prince.”

‘That’s what I’m saying.’

At this point, I tried to steer the conversation in the direction I wanted.

“Come to think of it, I was too young at the time to remember well, but I heard that the rebels also cursed Crown Prince Seongwon.”

“…It’s best not to bring up such things.”

When I brought up the matter of Crown Prince Seongwon, the Queen’s face hardened.

‘I roughly expected that reaction.’

It certainly wouldn’t be a good memory for the Queen either.

At the time, the Crown Prince was fine, but she was worried because her son kept acting up. Then, the healthy Crown Prince suddenly died, and her son was about to become the next Crown Prince. It was revealed that there were even people who cursed the Crown Prince.

“As winter approaches like this, I often think of Crown Prince Seongwon.”

“…Is that so?”

The Queen is looking at me a little.

Well, I didn’t just lose one biological brother at that time.

No, come to think of it, the atmosphere is a bit awkward now.

If I bring up the story of Crown Prince Seongwon, other stories will naturally follow.

‘Until just now, I was talking to the Queen, who said her life was hard, and now I’m saying, “Are you more unhappy than me, who lost my biological brother, my biological mother, and my unborn sibling all at once at a young age?” It’s like I’m starting an unhappiness battle…’

That’s not it.

I quickly spoke again.

“Come to think of it, I don’t seem to know many of Crown Prince Seongwon’s relatives.”

I actually know the reason, but I started with the story of Crown Prince Seongwon to ask about Gyeong-eon-gun.

“Ah… That’s because of Gyeong-eon-gun… Deposed Scholar Lee Soo.”

“Yes?”

“Deposed Scholar Hong was also a relative of Crown Prince Seongwon, so many of Crown Prince Seongwon’s relatives were swept up with Hong. However, His Majesty knew that Deposed Scholar Hong had falsely accused Crown Prince Seongwon of witchcraft, so he thought that Crown Prince Seongwon’s people would not be involved in this.”

“Hmm…”

“Therefore, His Majesty, thinking of Crown Prince Seongwon, generously overlooked those who were not directly involved with Hong’s mother and son. And most of Crown Prince Seongwon’s people also withdrew on their own so as not to be misunderstood.”

I heard that the current Crown Prince is treating Crown Prince Seongwon’s people reasonably well, but most of them just withdrew to avoid unnecessary sparks.

“Then, is it possible that those who went in and out to meet Hong or Gyeong-eon-gun at the time were actually relatives of Crown Prince Seongwon and passed by safely?”

“If they weren’t from a prominent family or didn’t have outstanding abilities, that’s possible. His Majesty was also absent-minded at the time.”

Saying that, the Queen sighed softly and stared at me silently.

“?”

“…”

It didn’t feel like she was questioning me, and I didn’t know what to say.

“!”

Ah, it’s because of me.

‘I was poisoned and on the verge of death at that time.’

If you lose one big child, a concubine and the unborn child in her womb, and then even a young child is on the verge of leaving, you must be out of your mind.

I was also a little embarrassed when the Queen asked.

“But why is the Princess suddenly curious about that?”

“Um. Actually, I saw a familiar face outside a while ago, and I thought it might be someone I saw when I was young.”

I already told the Crown Prince, so I thought it would be better to say the same thing rather than hide it.

If those people were plotting something, it wouldn’t be good for the Crown Prince and the Queen either.

“Are you talking about someone related to Deposed Scholar Hong?”

“Yes. That’s what I remember.”

At my words, the Queen looked incredulous. It was understandable.

“…But wasn’t the Princess very young at that time? Are you saying you remember what happened then?”

“Although I was young, I vaguely remember impressive things.”

I had some shocking experiences when I was young, so it sounded absurd but was persuasive.

Thanks to that, the Queen looked worried at my words.

“You shouldn’t remember such things.”

“It’s just vaguely 남아 [remaining] in my memory, so don’t worry. Isn’t it inevitable that I already remember it? It’s just that I’ll feel better if I confirm whether that memory is accurate.”

“…I’m sometimes worried that the Princess is too mature.”

“Oh my. Everyone else is worried that I’m still acting too childish.”

I deliberately spoke in a childish voice, and the Queen stared at me with a new look.

“Now that you say that, the Princess has really grown up a lot.”

It seems that doing similar things to before I grew up makes the differences stand out even more.

‘I should refrain from acting cute in the future.’

Besides, I’m sitting down so you can’t see my height, but even my sitting height has grown a lot.

“It would have been nice if Physician Se-hwa had appeared a few years earlier…”

“Isn’t it late because she was learning medicine and then appeared?”

“I sometimes call her when I’m not feeling well, but the Crown Prince glares at me.”

‘No, what if 고부 갈등 [mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict] arises??’

I clenched my fist and declared in a determined voice.

“…I will definitely say something to my brother.”

“Huhu. You don’t have to worry. He won’t mistreat the physician who cured the Princess’s long illness because of such a thing.”

Fortunately, the Queen didn’t seem angry or upset. Rather, she seemed closer to ‘That son of mine is really dating!’, which made me feel a little sorry.

But even if she interprets it positively now, you never know what will happen later.

It was difficult to leave it like this.

“It must be because my brother seemed so busy these days. How could he commit such filial impiety to the Queen?”

‘He’s a bit busy these days.’

‘So I’ll take care of him later.’

The Queen smiled contentedly at my words.

“Okay. I’ll trust only the Princess.”

‘If you’re going to entrust me with this, give me some money.’