Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 254

I quickly turned my face away.

Cheonho and Soi, noticing my strange behavior, quickly shielded me with their bodies.

“What is the matter?”

“Hmm, a familiar face.”

“Pardon?”

“One of the people who came to sell me antiques before. The one that swindler tried to broker the marriage with.”

“Hmm.”

Soi also turned her head at those words.

Because of past incidents, antique transactions usually took place in my private residence.

In such cases, Youngseon mostly assisted me, but of course, Soi was often there as well.

‘There are many servants in the private residence, and even if they are merchants, they don’t get too close to me, so Cheonho sometimes steps back for a moment.’

Anyway, one thing is certain: that guy will bring that item to me too.

***

“How can you be so sure?”

“I heard from the children that it was definitely… a decent item.”

The children weren’t sure about the material or use, but when I asked them to describe the antique, several of them gave the same description.

“But will he really come to sell it to Ongju [Princess] herself?”

“He will. There aren’t many people who can afford to pay for that item.”

“Is it that valuable?”

“Yes. It’s a gold ornament.”

“Gold… you say?”

And the craftsmanship was quite elaborate.

The children and those around them seemed to think, ‘Surely it can’t be real gold just because of the color, right?’

“It’s true that I’m famous for collecting mainly ceramics, but I also collect metalwork and mother-of-pearl lacquerware.”

“Still, there’s a possibility he might sell it to someone else…”

“Well, usually someone might get involved in the middle, but in the end, it’s bound to come to me anyway. After all, he’s been trying to get in touch with me for a while now. If possible, he should sell to a powerful person like me to get help when he’s in trouble later, right?”

Everyone is trying to bribe me to make an impression.

“Besides, he already contacted me saying he has something he wants to sell, so he’s here at the manor, right?”

“That’s true, but still.”

Whether Soi grumbled or not, Youngseon’s voice came from outside, announcing a guest.

“Ongju, this is Youngseon.”

“Let them in.”

Soon, the door opened, and a man I had met a few times came in, bowing deeply and asking after my well-being at length.

“I was so worried that Ongju would not want to see me.”

“The broker who introduced you is a truly unpleasant person.”

“I, I had no idea he was such a shameless person! I just paid extra to ask him to show the item to Ongju, but I never imagined he would be like that. He is not someone I can even think of as the same man.”

“Yes, and recently he was loitering around here again, so the servants, following my instructions, gave him a clear warning and chased him away, I heard.”

“Ha, haha. Of course, they should. How could Ongju keep such a person by her side?”

While asserting his innocence, the man glanced at Youngseon next to him, but Youngseon didn’t even blink, her face expressionless.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“Yes! I have acquired a good item this time and wanted to show it to Ongju, so I dared to ask for an audience.”

“Oh? You’re so confident, so I should take a look at how good this item is.”

As I seemed interested, the man’s face brightened, and he took out a box from his sleeve.

“This is it.”

The man opened the box and unwrapped the packaging so the item was visible. Youngseon, who was next to me, took the box and brought it in front of me.

“Hmm. Isn’t this a gold ornament?”

“Yes! You recognized it. It’s hard to find such gold craftsmanship. It was difficult to obtain, but it is a rare and delicate work of art, so I wanted to present it to Ongju.”

His words were as smooth as if they had been oiled, but Soi coldly retorted.

“Ongju does not accept bribes!”

“Oh dear, I misspoke! How could I have such a wicked thought like bribery!”

“Hmm. How much are you thinking of for the price?”

“Well, I’m sure Ongju will take care of the price. Yes.”

It meant that he would be satisfied if I gave him enough to avoid it sounding like a bribe.

“Well. As you said, I really like the item.”

“Re, really?”

“Yes.”

Saying that, I took out a piece of paper next to me, handed it to Youngseon, and chuckled.

“It’s exactly the same as what I was looking for.”

“…Ye…es?”

Realizing that something was wrong only then at my voice, which had lost its smile, the man rolled his eyes. His face hardened as he looked at the picture Youngseon held out.

How dare he. What wealth and glory would he gain from stealing and selling a child’s belongings?

I kindly explained to the thief what was going on.

With a bit of embellishment.

“That picture is of an item I had entrusted to Siyoungwon [a government office related to painting] a while ago and lost. But why is the item in that picture here, in your hands? What do you think?”

“No, no…! This, uh… There was some kind of mistake! I’ll check again and come back!”

The man, rambling incoherently, turned around and ran out.

Thump!!

“Is that guy trying to destroy someone else’s house?”

I finished the tea I was drinking and clicked my tongue.

“Is it the same item that Ongju was looking for?”

“Yes. There’s a slightly bent part here. The item that child was looking for also had this part slightly bent. Besides that, I recorded even the slightest flaws, so there’s no room for doubt.”

As I pointed to the actual item and the picture with my hand, Youngseon seemed genuinely impressed.

That day, I asked the child for a detailed description of the item they had.

And to leave it as evidence, I called a child who was good at drawing and had them draw the item.

The child, who was the original owner of the stolen item, was watching from the side and insisted on drawing it themselves, so I let them do it, and they drew it quite well.

‘I swear. You never know where talent will come from.’

I chuckled as I looked at the child’s drawing again.

It was still clumsy, but it captured the features quite well. Considering it was drawn by a child, it was a remarkable talent.

‘Should I have them study art more and participate in the illustration work when creating a list of my artifacts?’

It seemed like they enjoyed this kind of thing, so it wouldn’t be bad.

Youngseon seemed to have similar thoughts as she looked at the picture, and she seemed genuinely impressed.

“That child also… seems to like this kind of thing. And their drawing is excellent.”

“Hmm. Should I raise them as Youngseon’s assistant later?”

“Oh my. That would be nice.”

I sighed softly as I looked at Youngseon, who was putting on a bright face.

“That guy is still loitering around here, I hear.”

“Fortunately, everyone recognizes him quickly and rushes out before I even know it, beating him up and chasing him away.”

“He’s so fearless.”

“He must have come to intimidate me.”

Youngseon’s expression turned cold.

“Intimidate? With what?”

“…There is something I have not yet told Ongju.”

“Hmm.”

Youngseon’s complexion didn’t look good as she said that, so I shook my head.

“You don’t have to force yourself to say it.”

“It might be important.”

“But you can’t say it because it will make Youngseon suffer.”

“!”

Youngseon looked like she was about to cry at my words.

“You’re disobeying your mother’s words to get married, and she’s bedridden now, I heard. Just in case, I called you because I thought it would be good to show Youngseon looking fine, but go back and take care of your mother.”

“Ah, no. Perhaps it is better for my mother if I am not by her side.”

“Hmm. I know it’s strange for me to say this, but don’t try too hard to please your parents. You should live a life where you are comfortable.”

“…You are the only one who would say such a thing, Ongju.”

The Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392-1897] was a very filial piety-oriented era.

But there was nothing more foolish than prioritizing your parents over yourself and becoming unhappy.

‘The best filial piety is for children to live healthier, longer, safer, and happier lives than their parents.’

Parents might have a different opinion.

From my perspective, who died before the sister who raised me halfway and was reincarnated, that’s how it is.

‘It’s not good to say that I’m glad my parents passed away before me. But if they were alive, they would have been more shocked than my sister.’

There is no greater shock to parents than their child dying early.

In that sense, I am more filial than Crown Prince Seongwon, no matter what I do.

So it’s okay to live a little recklessly.

“Ongju. What should we do with this guy?”

While we were having a leisurely conversation, outside, my house servants, who had properly beaten and tied up the thief, were waiting for my instructions.

“He dared to try to sell stolen goods to the Ongju of a nation. He should be handed over to the police.”

“Yes!”

“The items I was shown before might also be stolen goods. Tell them to investigate properly.”

“Yes, Ongju!”

Recently, Youngseon’s ex-boyfriend and the thief, I’ve been giving people-catching jobs, and the servants seem to be full of energy, which makes me a little uneasy.

‘I hope they’re not getting too excited about beating them up.’

I’ve prevented them from acting outrageously in my name, but they shouldn’t get addicted to legal violence like this.

I heard that Youngseon’s ex-boyfriend is loitering around, so they are patrolling the neighborhood on their own.

‘Hmm. Actually, they don’t have much to do… What’s good is good.’

I looked at the gold ornament again, admiring it, and then handed it to Youngseon.

“Youngseon, admire it one more time.”

“Thank you, Ongju.”

Youngseon, who was also concerned, sparkled her eyes as she took the box and observed it from various angles before returning it to me.

I checked the item one last time and then carefully put it back in the box it came in and closed it.

“Then I have to return this to its owner.”

“Are you really returning it?”

“It’s not mine. I’m not going to take a child’s precious item.”