Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 272

Born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine (272)

The man guarding the East Palace steeled his resolve as he watched Seong Gyeom-sabok enter for an audience with the Crown Prince.

‘Finally, today……!’

He already knew that Seong Gyeom-sabok, along with others secretly loyal to the Crown Prince, would be reporting to His Highness today.

Of the three who had departed together, the other two had already given their reports. For some reason, Seong Gyeom-sabok, known to be the most trusted, was reporting separately. He had been waiting for this day with a heart full of anticipation and unease.

‘Hyung-nim [older brother/respected friend]……!’

If he could clear his brother’s name—the brother who had saved his life and treated him like family—he would do anything.

Kim Hwe-yeop, who had entered the palace with Cheonho as his nephew and had caught the Crown Prince’s attention, and who had recently been recognized for his skill in catching a tiger, calmed his heart while waiting for the conversation between the Crown Prince and Seong Gyeom-sabok to conclude.

Kim Hwe-yeop was originally born an illegitimate child to an insignificant family, and he wasn’t particularly intelligent.

However, he possessed exceptional strength, making him more suited to physical tasks than intellectual pursuits.

Even during his time in the Northern Garrison, he was known for his strength, but his talents weren’t particularly recognized.

The one who recognized him was Commander Kim Seon-ik, the Military Commissioner.

Kim Seon-ik had also saved him from a false accusation after he was caught up in a brawl.

When he offered to repay the favor, Commander Kim Seon-ik instead gave him books and advised, ‘Forget about the favor. It’s a waste of your abilities. Why don’t you study and try to make something of yourself?’

He took the advice to heart and worked hard, but whether it was due to his inherent dullness, scriptures and military tactics simply wouldn’t stick in his head.

Still, the books he received at that time proved useful later.

Fortunately, his mind, though resistant to books, was sharp in other areas, and he was quick-witted, allowing him to assist Commander Kim Seon-ik closely.

And thanks to that, he was able to protect Commander Kim Seon-ik from serious injury, repaying the favor.

Commander Kim Seon-ik, who had narrowly avoided danger thanks to Kim Hwe-yeop, was also a Kim from the same clan, so he suggested they live as brothers in private, and they did.

He thought he could simply assist his brother, but Kim Hwe-yeop didn’t get along with the arrogant yangban [aristocratic class] military officers. After an accident caused by someone’s mistake resulted in the death of his cherished subordinate, he returned to his hometown and became a hunter.

He didn’t know how much he would regret that decision later.

He had spent a long time in the military, worn down by people, so he took secluded paths to return to his hometown. Because it was a small village in the mountains, he heard the news that Commander Kim Seon-ik had been framed as a traitor and killed much later.

It was a man who came looking for Kim Hwe-yeop who brought the news.

‘It’s been a while.’

‘Didn’t you leave to work as a servant in Hyung-nim’s Seoul house? What brings you here? And who is this child? Why bring them to such a dangerous place?’

Although it wasn’t common, some soldiers in the military had to retire due to injuries or other reasons.

Among them were those who had no money and nowhere to go, so Commander Kim Seon-ik took pity on them and allowed them to live and work at his house in Hanyang [old name for Seoul].

The man who came to find Kim Hwe-yeop with a young child was one of them.

The man hadn’t expected to find Kim Hwe-yeop.

He had remembered Kim Hwe-yeop mentioning that his hometown was a remote mountain village, so he had planned to hide there for a while, using his name in a secluded place. He confessed that he was surprised to actually find him there.

Along with the news that Commander Kim Seon-ik had been framed as a traitor.

Kim Hwe-yeop only learned the situation then. Commander Kim Seon-ik had already been executed, and there was nothing he could do.

What caught his eye in his grief was the child the man had brought.

‘Hyung-nim’s son?’

‘Yes. We pretended she was a girl while escaping, so we were able to avoid being chased.’

The young child, who had managed to escape safely because he happened to be outside on the day his father was framed and arrested, had a tense expression, unsure of how much he understood of the adults’ words.

Even though they didn’t look alike, he felt like he could see Hyung-nim’s face.

‘Your father and I are sworn brothers, so you are like my nephew. Call me uncle from now on.’

‘……Yes. Uncle.’

That’s how two men initially raised the child, Sucheon.

Unfortunately, the man who had brought the child slipped on a winter mountain, fell ill, and passed away. In the end, Kim Hwe-yeop had to raise Sucheon alone.

It was fortunate that he was a boy; he didn’t know how he would have raised a girl alone.

He pretended to be an acquaintance who knew the man and Sucheon moderately well. The child couldn’t use his original name, so he gave him the alias Cheonho.

From the time the child grew up and left the village, they became uncle and nephew.

Sucheon was surprisingly ordinary, causing trouble, grumbling, and talking back, but he rarely complained.

When he was young, he would sob alone, wondering what had happened to his sister. Perhaps because of that, or because of someone who had helped him escape, the child was unusually kind to women, so other than being a little worried about his future, he didn’t cause much trouble.

Moreover, the books that Kim Seon-ik had given him, which he had kept preciously even though he hadn’t fully mastered them, fulfilled their purpose in Sucheon’s hands.

He was both happy and worried that the child was so smart.

A traitor’s son.

The Kim Seon-ik that Kim Hwe-yeop knew would never have done that.

He wanted to avenge him and clear his name, but taking care of the young Sucheon was the priority, and above all, he didn’t even know who the enemy was.

How could he know such things living in the mountains?

When Sucheon grew up and left the village, he joined the Tiger Hunters to find out something, but many of them were in the provinces and didn’t know much about what had happened so long ago.

Among the rumors he heard was that His Majesty had been wary of Kim Seon-ik and had framed him.

He doubted it was true, but there was no way to confirm it. It would be difficult if he was revealed to be friends with a traitor if he investigated carelessly.

Even if it wasn’t related in terms of timing, the surrounding eyes wouldn’t be kind.

He had been in the Northern Garrison before, so he looked for people who had worked with him at the time.

Then, someone offered to help him with anything he wanted and suggested he come to Hanyang.

It was a suspicious offer, but he made an appointment to hear the story, hoping for the best.

It may have been a reckless decision, but he went to Hanyang for Sucheon, or rather, Cheonho.

Blood couldn’t be hidden, and the young man stood out in many ways.

It was a waste to let him rot like that.

Fortunately, Cheonho’s appearance didn’t resemble his parents much, so he thought it might be possible for him to take the military examination, regardless of his physique or talent.

Fortunately, they were both from the same Kim clan, so he had the naive thought that it might be possible for him to rise to an official position even under an alias.

However, those who had suggested he come to Hanyang were suspicious in many ways.

They didn’t seem very impressive, and he didn’t want to get involved with them, so he kept his distance and worried about what to do. Then, he heard from Cheonho that they were the ones who had kidnapped the girl.

He had been worried when he didn’t come back after wandering around Hanyang alone while he was busy after arriving in Hanyang, and it seemed like he had gotten involved in another dangerous situation. As a guardian, he was frustrated.

But he couldn’t scold him, thinking that he was Hyung-nim’s son.

Still, he brought him along because he thought it was dangerous for him to be alone, but he didn’t bring Cheonho inside because he was worried that something untoward might happen in a gibang [a type of Korean drinking establishment or brothel]. In the meantime, he found out about that fact again.

He didn’t know whether to be happy or angry.

‘I can’t get involved with guys who kidnap young girls.’

‘Of course.’

‘I’ll check this out further, so don’t do anything dangerous and just sightsee in Hanyang.’

‘Yes.’

After hearing the story from Cheonho, he secretly followed and tracked them down, and as he had guessed, they were a heinous human trafficking group.

He almost ended up working with these human wastes.

No, he knew how these guys would use people without even seeing it. He had seen enough of how arrogant yangbans treated people when he was in the military. People like Kim Seon-ik were rare.

Kim Hwe-yeop secretly reported them to the police.

Even if they weren’t caught properly, their activity location would change once a report was filed with the police, so it didn’t seem like they would contact someone like him again, who they would have used as a disposable item.

The problem was that while Kim Hwe-yeop was so busy, that Cheonho guy had jumped into the human traffickers’ den to save a girl again.

And that girl was the very Princess Ongju who Cheonho had received help from when he was young?

But thanks to that reckless act, both of them caught the eye of the Crown Prince and were even able to get jobs in the palace.

Kim Hwe-yeop’s heart was complicated.

Becoming a close aide to the Crown Prince and succeeding would be a good thing in anyone’s eyes, but if it was really the king who had framed Hyung-nim, wouldn’t the Crown Prince and Princess Ongju be enemies?

But this clueless nephew of his didn’t care about avenging his father’s enemy and only followed Princess Ongju around.

‘Even though the Princess helped him escape back then…….’

He understood how big of an impact it would have when he was in danger at a young age.

Hadn’t he followed Hyung-nim after he saved his life? He wondered how much it remained in that young one’s heart.

Besides, even though he was his father, Cheonho didn’t even have any memories of Kim Seon-ik, so he was only worried about his lost sister and seemed a bit skeptical about his father.