Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 290

“How long do we have to do this kitchen maid work?”

“Even those who served Yoon Suk-ui [Royal concubine of King Sukjong] or Princess Su-yeong are living well now.”

“Sigh. Who knew we’d fall this low from the East Palace [residence of the Crown Prince].”

“Shh, shh. Watch your mouth.”

“Just bear with it. We too…….”

While a few court ladies were whispering, a loud voice suddenly rang out.

“How can you gossip like common women!”

Ah, that voice.

Hearing the angry voice, I somehow had a feeling.

‘I’ve heard her scolding the court ladies before.’

It was Court Lady Im.

“I, I am sorry, madam.”

“I am so ashamed of you that I can’t even lift my face.”

“It’s only natural to struggle, having served such noble people and now being in a place like this.”

Oh. I hear a man’s voice.

‘Is it a monk from this temple?’

I wanted to check his face, but I quietly held my breath because I would be in trouble if I moved carelessly and got caught.

It was a voice I was hearing for the first time.

“I am sorry for showing you such an embarrassing sight.”

“We are also indebted to you, so don’t worry too much about it.”

I don’t know who the man talking is, but I was a little concerned because Court Lady Im was using honorifics.

‘Hmm. I don’t know if Court Lady Im’s personality has mellowed out a lot after leaving the palace, or if that man has something going on.’

“You go and do some sewing.”

“Yes, madam.”

As the court ladies’ footsteps faded away, Court Lady Im finally opened her mouth.

“How is the work going?”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

Then the voice became hard to hear.

‘What?’

I became anxious as it suddenly became quiet, and I looked around, but no one was approaching this way.

“That person… is here… We also have a chance….”

“I can’t say I don’t have resentment… but I don’t want to continue living like this….”

The intermittent conversation made me feel frustrated.

What kind of secret are they talking about? It seemed like they were talking in low voices.

After much deliberation, I carefully approached the tiny gap in the wooden door.

Fortunately, I could see a little of the other side, and when I adjusted the angle, I saw a pair of men and women closely attached to each other.

‘Oh my.’

The man was unexpectedly not a monk, and although I wasn’t sure about the woman, it seemed to be Court Lady Im.

It had been a long time since I last saw her, so to be honest, I couldn’t guarantee that I would recognize Court Lady Im’s face if I saw it.

‘Hmm. But if it’s Court Lady Im, what is she doing with a man in a place like this?’

Even if she left the palace, can a court lady do that with a man… I thought, then quickly shook my head.

Maybe it was because I was reborn in this era and a considerable amount of time had passed, but my way of thinking sometimes followed this era, so I needed to be careful.

‘If it’s unavoidable, it’s unavoidable… Actually, it’s not like I’m doing anything.’

In fact, it didn’t matter whether the woman with the man was Court Lady Im or not, a court lady or not.

I was just wondering what they were doing outside in the cold.

‘I guess this is okay. But what are they talking about so seriously? I need to listen more….’

Creak-

Just as I was thinking that, the door moved with a creaking sound due to the wind. It was a bonus that I made a noise dragging my feet because I was agitated.

And thanks to that, the man who was talking to the woman turned his gaze towards me.

The moment our eyes met, my spine tingled.

‘I have to run.’

The door moved and half of my figure was exposed, so I hurriedly moved my body.

“Stop right there!”

“Kyaa! S, save me!!”

I don’t know who the man is or why he’s doing this, but all that’s certain is that he has murderous intent towards me.

And maybe I won’t be able to run away that far?

“Young miss!”

“!”

Cheon-ho, who had appeared from somewhere, blocked the man chasing me, probably having heard my scream.

Clang!

It was the first time in a while that I heard the sound of metal clashing. It meant that both of them had taken out their weapons.

It was the first time I had heard it this close since the human trafficking incident, but since the situation was urgent, I had no time to think about that.

The middle-aged man who was chasing me gritted his teeth while confronting Cheon-ho.

In contrast, Cheon-ho was naturally and confidently scolding him.

“Who are you to try to harm someone so brazenly in broad daylight!”

“Tch.”

Hiding behind Cheon-ho and looking at the man, I realized that he was suspiciously covering his face.

‘I couldn’t see him well because he was hidden by Court Lady Im, and I didn’t think it was that strange because it was the middle of winter, but he did it on purpose.’

The man glanced at me, seemingly looking for an opening, but Cheon-ho was not easy to deal with either.

I tried to create some distance to escape, but the opponent seemed to be waiting for me to move, so I couldn’t move easily.

Clang, clang-

The two men’s swords crossed again, and the man feinted as if he was heading towards me, then ran away in the opposite direction.

“?”

“!”

“Ah, I have to chase…….”

“You can’t.”

Cheon-ho, who had been guarding the surroundings at my words, shook his head and approached me.

“Judging from the fact that he ran away, he probably doesn’t have any colleagues nearby, but who knows what will happen if we chase him. Besides, I can’t leave you alone when I haven’t even grasped the surroundings yet.”

Besides, we seemed to have fewer forces here.

Cheon-ho came to me and held out his hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, um. I got help again.”

Why does this keep happening? Do I really need to have a shamanic ritual or something?

Cheon-ho said a little nonchalantly.

“Haha. You know, you’re someone who makes it worthwhile to train people.”

“Just say I’m a lot of work…….”

If it wasn’t for me, Cheon-ho would have definitely chased after him… Cheon-ho couldn’t leave me alone.

“Do I seem like a burden?”

“You’re an important person, so you’re just being protected, so don’t worry about it.”

Cheon-ho was smiling the whole time, even at my self-deprecating remark.

Even though blood was flowing from his arm.

I grabbed Cheon-ho’s arm, which was stained red, probably having been grazed by the man’s sword earlier.

I unknowingly made a tearful face.

“What are you going to do if you get hurt again?”

“I told you I’m okay, this is nothing compared to a tiger…….”

“……?”

Perhaps because I was holding Cheon-ho’s arm, when I raised my head, Cheon-ho’s face was right in front of me.

I was startled by the gaze that was closer than I thought, and so was Cheon-ho, and we fell apart.

‘Ugh. Why is this so awkward.’

It was like that earlier too, but it wasn’t intentional.

“O, Young miss! Are you okay?”

“Ah. I’m okay. No, So-i, is it okay to run?”

“Is that what’s important right now?”

So-i, who had run over after hearing the commotion, supported me, so this time I got up with the support of Cheon-ho and So-i.

And the place we went to right away was where Court Lady Im had been earlier.

Court Lady Im, who I thought would have run away, was sitting on the floor with a face that seemed to not know what was going on.

‘I think she’s doing that on purpose.’

But there was no basis or evidence.

I was sure I saw them talking.

When I asked what happened, Court Lady Im feigned ignorance.

“I, I don’t know anything about it. Suddenly that man threatened me, and when I was terrified, that young lady came…….”

“You don’t know him at all?”

“Y, yes.”

With the help of the monks who came with So-i, Court Lady Im was also led to a warm room with heated floors.

Fortunately, there were many people living in the temple, so there was medicine, and thanks to that, I was able to receive some treatment.

I asked the monks who brought the medicine and bandages.

“Do any unfamiliar men come and go in this place?”

“There were people who came and went occasionally to deliver supplies, but there have been no strange incidents so far. But now that this has happened today, we will have to be careful in the future.”

“Hmm.”

They were meeting so brazenly in a place like this.

After the monk left, I decided to interrogate Court Lady Im.

“You, don’t you have something you’re hiding without telling me yet?”

“I, I mean, I, I have been close to a man, but we are not in that kind of relationship. O, Princess.”

An unexpected title popped out of Court Lady Im’s mouth.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Aren’t you Princess Su-yeong?”

For some reason, Court Lady Im seemed to have noticed who we were just by looking at my and So-i’s faces.

Well, everyone said that I looked like my birth mother, so if she remembered my birth mother, she might have recognized who I was. So-i also had some similarities to Ga-i.

‘Good memory.’

It was convenient thanks to that.

“Yes. But you showed me a scene of you being overly attached to a man in front of me.”

“Please have mercy on me. I am living without my family after leaving the palace.”

“Then tell me who the other person is. I’ll check his identity and make a judgment.”

“He’s just a merchant I met passing by, and I don’t know him well. I never thought he would do such a scary thing.”

“……Really? You don’t know him?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

You don’t know him. It’s unsettling…….

Even though she had left the palace, she was a person who had been in the palace for a long time, so she didn’t seem like she would open her mouth easily.

‘I’m not an expert in that field either.’

I gave her a proper scare for now, but it didn’t seem like it would work.

“If you have lied, you will have to risk your life.”

“Please save me. Princess. There was nothing that could be misunderstood.”

Besides, she was begging me to save her, so I couldn’t make this a public issue and punish her.

Actually, it didn’t seem like that kind of atmosphere.

‘It would have been nice if I had heard what they were saying properly at that time.’

Even if they weren’t in a romantic relationship, they seemed like people who could have important conversations.

Even if I asked around the people around me, they all just said that a merchant had been coming and going occasionally since a while ago.

‘That’s definitely not just a merchant.’

Where is there a merchant who suddenly takes out a weapon and swings it around?

‘I think he thought I overheard the conversation and reacted extremely.’

But it didn’t seem like anything would come out even if I questioned her any further.

“But what brings the Princess to such a humble place?”

“Um. I missed my older brother, Crown Prince Seong-won, so I came to see if you were doing well, but I didn’t expect to see this…….”

“……I am grateful.”

Not only Court Lady Im, but most of the other court ladies who worked at Crown Prince Seong-won’s residence were also nearby, so I called them in under the pretext of wanting to see their faces after a long time.

And not long after starting the conversation, I felt that something was strange.

‘Something is a little… strange.’

How much did everyone like Crown Prince Seong-won?

I was going to talk about Crown Prince Seong-won to ease the atmosphere, but the atmosphere was strangely reluctant.

‘These people liked Crown Prince Seong-won so much, so I thought they would talk more if I praised the Crown Prince, but the atmosphere is a bit cold?’

Even though the atmosphere was a bit off, everyone didn’t bother to shut their mouths about Crown Prince Seong-won.

“He was a great person. If he were alive, he would be doing a great job as regent now. If that were the case, His Majesty would have been able to rest easy.”

“The current Crown Prince is also doing a great job as regent, so how can you say such disloyal things?”

“I am sorry, but to us, the Crown Prince is only Crown Prince Seong-won. There is no way we can serve Grand Prince Gyeong-eon… no, Deposed Prince Lee Soo, and the current Crown Prince. Our intentions are firm.”

When that story came out, I also realized something.

“……I didn’t come to take you, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“…….”

“Crown Prince Seong-won has already passed away. He won’t protect you.”

“!”

They had angry faces that wanted to argue. It seemed like their personalities were still the same.

They are still people I can’t associate with.

“You should behave yourselves properly.”

Looking at their actions, it didn’t seem like they would ever enter the palace again.

Thanks to that, I completely forgot my original purpose and just came back.

***

After Princess Su-yeong returned, the court ladies of Crown Prince Seong-won gathered again and gossiped.