Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 41

The eighth day of the fourth month is, of course, based on the lunar calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, it falls around May.

Knowing I’d need an outer garment for nighttime, Gai had brought one for me, along with the *thoughtsi* [palace maid] attire I had worn earlier.

In other words, dressing this child in my clothes wouldn’t be a problem.

‘At this age, gender distinctions are still vague, so it won’t look too strange outwardly.’

Right now, Ji-hwa isn’t my main concern. Instead of worrying about the protagonist, who has the tenacity to return alive from the depths of hell, there’s a child with a confirmed bad ending right in front of me.

“Why, why are you doing this, Sister?”

…As if I’m going to eat you alive.

Perhaps being dragged into the room made the atmosphere feel even stranger to him.

“Young Miss? What are you planning to do?”

“You brought an extra outer garment, right? Give it to me.”

“Pardon?”

I took off the clothes I was wearing and held out my hand.

“Eep?”

“There’s no time for that; you take them off too, quickly.”

“Heeek?!”

As I started to undress him, I gave the little boy, whose eyes were wide with shock, another pat on the back and took off his clothes. What’s there to be so embarrassed about when he’s already wearing layers of undershirts, petticoats, and underpants?

“Get a grip and put this on.”

“No, I…….”

“Ah, I should probably put a petticoat on you too.”

“Yes?!”

The clothes won’t look right without a petticoat. It’s fortunate that the pants he’s wearing underneath are a light color, but they shouldn’t be visible outside the skirt.

“Young Miss! Please put on your clothes! What if you catch a cold!”

Just as I was about to untie the petticoat for the sake of a perfect crime, Gai, who had brought the *thoughtsi* clothes I had worn earlier, quickly dressed me. Then, he took out underpants and a petticoat from who knows where and handed them to Su-cheon.

He had separately packed the petticoat to wear with the *thoughtsi* clothes and brought it all the way here. Gai must also be the type who pursues perfect plans.

And, having roughly understood my intentions, he sat Su-cheon down, loosened his hair, put on the *baessi daenggi* [traditional Korean ribbon worn in braided hair], and started retying it. His skills were fast and meticulous, as expected of an expert.

‘It suits him well.’

He’s slightly taller than me, but our body types aren’t that different, so it doesn’t look strange for him to wear my clothes. Besides, the clothes I was wearing today weren’t my usual custom-made clothes but something I had bought from outside.

“Will this do?”

“Yes. Thank you. …Gai isn’t stopping me.”

I thought he would object.

I glanced at him, but Gai was still busy with his hands, his face calm.

“It has already been several years since this humble servant has served the *Ongju* [princess]. What can I do when she doesn’t listen even if I try to stop her?”

“Sorry.”

“It’s obvious that this humble servant will lose in the end, so I should at least save time.”

Perhaps because we’ve been together for so long, he knows me too well.

“And because the *Ongju* is like that, we have no choice but to follow her.”

“Me?”

“You have always turned a blind eye to the mistakes of the young *thoughtsi*.”

“They’re young.”

It’s not that young *thoughtsi* are serving me, but there are children my age who are my playmates.

Of course, even if they’re playmates, they can’t be equal friends in terms of status, let alone mental age.

They’re so young that they sometimes make mistakes, but they’re just kids.

If I think about them getting scolded by the palace maids until their tears run dry if they get caught, I can’t help but turn a blind eye, can I?

“When So-un accidentally spilled hot water while serving you, you poured cold water on the child’s arm where the water splashed and told them to quickly call a doctor.”

“I wasn’t burned then, So-un was? Burns need to be treated quickly.”

What am I supposed to do in that situation?

“Jo-saeng once spilled the dining table, damaging the *Ongju’s* clothes.”

“I heard that Jo-saeng injured his arm when he was young, so he sometimes loses strength. He should have gotten proper treatment a long time ago, but I told him I’d call a doctor and forgot.”

Why am I so forgetful at such a young age?

“Once, when a *thoughtsi* was crying at night, you asked why and sent a doctor.”

“They were crying because they received news that their parents were sick, so should I just leave them alone?”

They’re already forced to work away from their parents from a young age.

“When Court Attendant Jin accidentally broke the porcelain that he was in charge of storing, the *Ongju* gave away her own cherished porcelain to cover for him.”

“That’s… because it wasn’t the first time, so I was worried he’d be dragged away and beaten. After that, Court Attendant Jin listens to everything I say.”

The inner court was like that, but the eunuch bureau’s discipline was also strict. If I hadn’t done that, he might have been limping around in a few days.

And even if I cherished it, that porcelain was only about 30th in my collection. Anything from the top 20 would be a problem.

‘Thanks to that, he’s cooperative even when I sneak out like this.’

Gai smiled as he took my hand in response to my words.

“You even grabbed me, who was being dragged away as a criminal, and saved me.”

“Me? When?”

“It was when you were very, very young.”

No, why are you talking about when I was a baby?

“…Wouldn’t I have grabbed Gai because he didn’t do anything wrong?”

I wasn’t sure if I should show that I remembered, so I pretended not to know, and Gai chuckled.

“Of course. Our master, the *Ongju*, is like that. So, whatever you do, we will just follow.”

Does that mean it’s okay to help a traitor’s child escape?

‘If we get caught, I don’t know what will happen to me, the *Ongju*, but the others won’t be safe.’

I was confident that they would follow my words in the end, but seeing them helping so actively made me feel even more sorry.

“Instead, you must prioritize the safety of the *Ongju*.”

“I know my life is precious too. If anything happens, I’ll go to the meeting place from before, so wait there.”

“Please don’t say such scary things.”

“Don’t worry. Jeok-ah is a smart horse.”

Gai didn’t deny my words that I trusted my horse rather than myself and handed me the outer garment.

“Since he’s a child, they won’t check his identification tag. Pretend he’s a young master from a noble family who came out to see the lantern displays with his servant. Say his older brother is boating and he’s going to see him or something like that. Can you do it?”

“…Yes, yes!”

Today is the eighth day of the fourth month. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the capital has been brightly lit with lanterns for the past few days for this day.

Therefore, there were many people going back and forth through Namdaemun [the Great South Gate of Seoul] even at this hour.

Besides, Su-cheon said earlier that there were many students boating on the Han River, so if we made up a story, it wouldn’t be difficult to get out.

‘Yeo-ju, Ji-hwa was similar too.’

In the novel, Ji-hwa stole commoner’s clothes and escaped the capital pretending to be the nanny’s daughter.

She left her silk clothes instead of the stolen clothes, so the victim was dumbfounded, but after hearing the rumor that the traitor’s daughter had escaped, she quietly hid the clothes. There was no point in getting wrongly involved, and even if she couldn’t wear them outside, there was no one who didn’t like pretty clothes.

‘Silk clothes are a luxury that not just anyone can wear.’

Of course, if a poor commoner disposed of them improperly, they could be mistaken for a thief or a runaway slave.

I explained that fact to the child in the room as well, so that the servant wouldn’t hear.

“Got it? Take the clothes with you and change into them later if you come across a rough road, or sell them secretly. Ah, take the snacks I brought and eat them too.”

“Yes, yes.”

Then, I took out the light luxury goods like trinkets that I had bought on the street today from my pocket.

“Ah.”

In my haste, the things in my pocket fell to the floor with a clatter. It was a mess because I didn’t just buy things that could be turned into money.

The room was a bit dark, so I grabbed whatever I could and stuffed it roughly into my pocket, closed the opening, and put it in the child’s arms.

“Take what I bought today and sell or exchange them one by one if you need them. They’re not all expensive, but they’ll be enough to keep you from starving.”

“Yes…….”

“And, I don’t know what kind of person the steward is, but don’t completely trust the servants, or even people you know. Keep anything important, whether it’s money or anything else, with you. Got it?”

“……Yes.”

I was worried that the child, who was answering blankly, was too listless, so I patted him on the shoulder.

“I’ll go with you to Namdaemun. Don’t worry too much.”

“Why, why are you doing this for me…….”

Did I seem too prepared? But this isn’t the time for you to have such doubts.

“You probably haven’t done anything wrong, but the things you’ll experience with the stigma of being a traitor’s son won’t be easy. At least until things are properly clarified, run away and hide somewhere far away. It’s not too late to think about what to do after that.”

“…….”

The young Su-cheon’s eyes trembled. Then, as if he thought my words were right, he nodded.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Just think about escaping safely somehow.”

Su-cheon seemed quite calm compared to other children his age, but he was still only seven years old.

He probably knows what treason is, but it still doesn’t feel real to him.

‘I don’t know how to save your father…….’

I hope you escape and live well.

Even if he’s a traitor’s son, they don’t kill all the young children. But I couldn’t guarantee what would happen to a seven-year-old boy if he was dragged away.

Above all, he died in the original story.

I didn’t know before, but now that I know, I can’t just let him die.

“It’s okay. You’ll be able to escape safely.”

I hugged the frightened child tightly and patted him on the back.

‘Getting out of Hanyang [old name for Seoul] quickly is the top priority.’

Ji-hwa is on the Namdaemun fortress wall right now, so if we’re lucky, she might get out before us.

First of all, this child needs to get out of the original story’s flow quickly.

As I stepped back into the courtyard, I put the blue outer garment I was wearing on Su-cheon and asked.

“You said you know how to ride a horse, right?”

***

The area in front of Namdaemun was crowded with people.

This was because people trying to enter the capital and those leaving after finishing their sightseeing early were mixed together, causing chaos.

Even in the midst of that, what stood out was the young girl riding a horse.

It was unknown whose daughter she was, but even though she was still young, she was sitting quite dignified on the horse.

Perhaps because there were many children around who were being held or carried on their parents’ backs, or who were crying loudly, the child sitting quietly on the horse looked even more dignified.

As expected, the nobles are different.

“I wish my daughter was just a little bit as well-behaved as that. She’s so reckless.”

“Who are you blaming when she takes after you?”

“What was that?”

Not only the guards checking the identities of those going back and forth in front of Namdaemun, but also those around them were all glancing at the child on the horse.

As long as that young noble didn’t just throw a tantrum, it was all good.

“Oh dear, why did I have to get stuck on a day like this.”

“Keep a close eye. We’re the ones who’ll be punished if we miss them.”

The guards frowned in fatigue.

An order had been issued to thoroughly inspect everyone since the families of the traitors had fled, but it wasn’t easy to check all these people one by one without a detailed description.

‘Well, that young noble on the horse isn’t one of them.’

I heard that the traitor’s daughter was fourteen years old, so the age doesn’t match, and the age seems a bit similar to the son, but that young noble looks like a girl no matter how you look at it.

Besides, they clearly said that they only left with a servant, so there’s no way they could suddenly get such a good horse.

I’ve been a guard for several years now. In fact, you can roughly tell just by looking at the clothes they’re wearing and the horse they’re riding.

That was clearly a precious young lady from a much higher family.

I was about to let her pass, thinking that I shouldn’t bother her, but the back started to get noisy.

“That, that’s him. The child wearing a skirt and riding a horse is the escaped traitor’s son!!”

A man dressed as a slave, along with a police officer from the *Geumbu* [Royal Investigation Bureau], pointed to that precious young lady on the horse who was just passing through the gate.