Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 50

“What?”

Seong-yoon’s sudden interruption cut through the air.

With a faint clink, the bundle of *yeopjeon* [old Korean coins] from earlier materialized in his hand.

‘Ah, could it be from when he bumped into that man earlier…?’

He’s quite versatile. I briefly wondered about the curriculum for secret agents.

But it seems like a necessary skill.

Anyway, it was heartening to see the child’s eyes light up at the sight of the money.

However, I shook my head.

“It’s too risky for you to hold onto this money.”

“What?!”

“I’m not saying I’ll take it back. I’m saying I’ll give it to you in a safer way.”

“How… will you do that?”

“What’s the thing you want most when you have money?”

“Well, food, of course.”

Fortunately, my guess seemed correct.

“You know the tavern I was at earlier? I’ll give them the money and explain the situation. You can go there and ask for food while you’re looking for the item. Once a day, they’ll provide it.”

“Oh, r-really?”

“Yes. I’ll be going now, so listen carefully to what the doctor says and get your treatment quietly.”

“W-wait a minute!”

“You shouldn’t get up yet.”

“Ah, earlier, that, well….”

“?”

The child bit her lip, seemingly contemplating something before finally speaking.

“W-when will you come back…?”

“I’ll come back later. Um….”

I glanced at Song-bi, but he shook his head sternly.

“But I need to examine it myself to confirm if that item is correct.”

Song-bi remained firm. He was likely uncomfortable treating me casually, mindful of the Hyeminseo [Joseon-era medical institution] staff, so he didn’t speak but simply frowned.

“Then, would it be alright if I deliver it instead?”

Seong-yoon stepped forward, unable to watch any longer.

“Then, could I ask you to do that?”

“Don’t worry.”

I feel like I’m relying too much on this man for various things.

But thanks to him, I felt a little more at ease, and I gave my final farewell to the child lying on the sickbed.

“Take care of yourself.”

“Huh? Ah, well. Does that mean we might not see each other again?”

Um?

Unexpectedly, the child’s face, which usually seemed brazen, was flushed with a mixture of disappointment and gratitude.

“Uh, well. Maybe, I might come out next time. My h-house is a bit strict.”

“O-okay….”

She seems a little sad, judging by her hesitant manner.

I’m not in a position to receive anything from her, and if she’s grateful, that’s enough.

“See you next time.”

“Oh, yes! No, yes!”

Since we spent quite a bit of time at the Hyeminseo, we had to hurry back.

And I received a huge scolding from the two of them on the way.

“How could you do such a dangerous thing?”

“If anything were to happen to the Princess, we wouldn’t be safe either.”

Um, that was true.

“Sorry. But it’s not my fault. Jeok-ah ran off on her own. What could I do to stop her when she went?”

“Young lady.”

“But people are heartless. Even if they’re beggars, how can no one step in when a child is being beaten?”

“Those guys must have backers, so people are afraid.”

“Backers?”

Indeed, is someone supporting them, allowing them to cause such a ruckus?

As I frowned, I heard a faint chuckle from Seong-yoon beside me.

“Why are you looking at me and laughing like that?”

“I apologize. It’s just that seeing the Princess reminds me of a childhood friend.”

“A friend?”

“He was kind but fearless.”

Is that an insult or a compliment?

I heard Song-bi, who was behind me, snort with laughter.

“Even though I look like this, I was small and weak when I was young.”

“Liar!”

Among the *Gyeomsabok* [palace guards], where appearance is a basic requirement, he might not be considered particularly burly, but his height was above average. Moreover, as you could see from how he subdued those guys earlier, he was quite different from the expression ‘weak.’

“I also had a childhood. So much so that even the neighborhood dogs would bully me, and a child living next door would come out with a fire poker used to stoke the stove and wave it around to chase them away.”

A fire poker used to stoke the stove – he really knew how to use a weapon that could inflict damage.

As if recalling old memories, a nostalgic and ambiguous smile appeared on Seong-yoon’s lips.

“We can’t meet again now, but I’m happy to be reminded of that friend when I see the Princess.”

“Then come see me often.”

Looking at his face, it didn’t seem like ‘unable to meet again’ had a good meaning. As long as it’s not painful for him to see my face, it should be okay.

Seong-yoon, pleased with my words, asked back with a bright face.

“Would that be alright?”

“If Sir Seong Gyeomsabok doesn’t retire? Maybe?”

“Hahahaha. The Princess is truly kind and generous. But please refrain from dangerous actions like today. If anything were to happen to the Princess in a place where I am not present, I would be very sad.”

Was the remark about resembling his friend a setup for this?

Feeling guilty, I could only nod at their words, so I decided to change the subject somehow.

“There are more beggars in the capital than I thought.”

“I heard it’s increased since the implementation of the double-cropping method.”

“Ah. Double-cropping.”

Here, they were already implementing double-cropping – rice transplanting.

Double-cropping made two harvests a year possible, increasing both agricultural productivity and labor productivity, but it was also the main culprit for creating surplus labor.

‘Thanks to that, the surplus labor force flocks to the capital, and since the number of jobs needed in the capital is also fixed, the number of beggars who can’t find work and make a living by begging increases.’

Those surplus people need something to do, but focusing only on agriculture wouldn’t solve the problem.

“Isn’t there a way to reduce the number of beggars?”

“Yes?”

Seong-yoon asked, as if finding it strange that I was muttering to myself.

“How do you reduce the number of beggars?”

“Give them jobs.”

“What kind of jobs?”

“Originally, it’s the job of the officials to come up with that, but.”

“…That’s right.”

“Um. How about something like professional soldiers? Since everyone avoids military service anyway, we can also increase professionalism.”

I thought he would just laugh it off, but unexpectedly, Seong-yoon agreed with me.

“Since there are already many substitute soldiers, that wouldn’t be bad.”

Substitute soldiers refer to people who pay someone else to go to military service instead of going themselves.

‘There was also a historical drama movie about substitute soldiers before.’

Ha, if you tell them to pay to hire professional soldiers, they won’t pay, but if they have to go themselves, they’ll spend money.

‘Is there a way to squeeze money out of them?’

It was clear that it wouldn’t be easy since most of the *Sadaebu* [Confucian scholars] and *Yangban* [aristocrats] of this era were shameless people who always pressured the king to be frugal but thought they were allowed to indulge in luxury themselves.

“Ah?”

“What’s wrong?”

And soon, I realized one important fact.

“But when I think about it, this isn’t something I should be worrying about?”

“Yes?”

No, isn’t this perhaps a storyline where the male lead misses the female lead and comes to the market, realizes his love for the people, and something like that?

‘I can’t influence policy even if I realize my love for the people, so why am I worrying about this?’

I’m not going to steal the male lead’s role.

Moreover, this world is a romance, not an alternate history. There shouldn’t be such a hardcore setting.

‘Above all, it would be a problem if the crown prince male lead became incompetent. Of course, in K-romance novels, the male lead can’t be incompetent, and it shouldn’t happen, but.’

Many things were already different from the Joseon Dynasty I knew, and they had changed.

In the first place, the Imjin War [Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century] didn’t even happen, but the double-cropping method was already widespread, and the monetary economy was 활성화되어 있는 사회 아닌가 [a society where the monetary economy is 활성화되어 있다 – 활성화되어 있다 means activated or vitalized]. Surely, things will go in a better direction even if I don’t do anything.

I safely returned to the palace and went back to my residence, where I listened to Gai’s nagging while turning on the positive circuit.

***

But not long after, I had no choice but to realize that I had been naive.

I had told Seong-yoon to keep quiet about the fact that I had gone outside the palace, but perhaps the problem was that I hadn’t told him to keep quiet about what I had said.

‘No, who would have thought he would tell anyone about that.’

Even worse, the person Seong-yoon leaked the story to was none other than His Majesty the King.

Even though his mood was still uncomfortable after the main figures of the treason case were revealed, he seemed to have some 余裕 [leeway/room to spare].

“It seems Sia has become close to Seong Gyeomsabok.”

“He is also the benefactor who saved me, so we have only occasionally shared refreshments.”

Since we even had a sense of being accomplices, we had become closer emotionally, and Seong-yoon had been telling me stories about the children, so it was true that I occasionally called him to my residence to share refreshments and chat.

‘Besides, that man always seems to be free.’

Judging from what he says, it seems he is playing the role of a practical instructor who teaches others rather than having a fixed 업무 [task/duty].

It felt like he was barely being held back from retiring in the first place.

“I heard about the substitute soldiers from Seong Gyeomsabok, and I heard that you suggested the idea of professional soldiers.”

We didn’t have such a professional conversation.

By the way, it was unexpected that the two of them were having such conversations. Well, it was a good thing that the king had a channel to hear the stories of the people.

‘But why are you dragging me into this.’

I glared at Seong Gyeomsabok, who was standing far away, after hearing unexpected words at a tea party with the king after a long time.

I had only given him delicious things and chatted with him occasionally since that day, but he betrayed me!

‘If he says it’s his own idea, it’s his credit. Is he a person without greed?’

From what I could gather, the king was viewing it quite positively. However, the problem was still that the rich guys wouldn’t pay. In the first place, this rebellion was caused by the dissatisfied guys when the king changed the law to collect more taxes from the Sadaebu.

Of course, when plotting a rebellion, they decorate it with more impressive rhetoric, but that was the summary.

‘But since there are bound to be many people who resist paying more taxes, it must have been easy to involve them in treason.’

It’s a bit much to say, but since so many people were dragged in, there probably weren’t many bold people who could object to the king’s words for a while.

And the king naturally thought that too.

“The assets of the traitors have been confiscated this time, and there happens to be a suitable location among them. I’m thinking of buying more houses around it to build your own private residence, what do you think?”

“A private residence?”

Are you saying you’re going to build me a house when I’m only 8 years old?

Wow. Is this the life of a golden spoon [born into wealth]?

“I don’t think it’s time for me yet.”

“Of course, it’s still early, but I want to secure the site as soon as possible. There have only been bad things lately, so there should be good things too, shouldn’t there?”

I tried hard to suppress my desire to gush over my dream of owning a house at the age of 8 and calmly declined, but from the moment the king said it, it was a foregone conclusion that my house would be built.

Moreover, judging from his tone, it was as if he wanted to change his mood because there had only been bad things lately.

‘It’s like he’s doing some stress-relieving shopping.’

It’s just that the scale of consumption is different from others.

“We also need to decide on a *駙馬* [royal son-in-law].”

“I don’t want to leave my father’s care yet.”

“Yes. It’s too early since the Princess is still young and the Crown Prince hasn’t taken a Crown Princess yet.”

In modern times, people don’t care about the order of marriage, but here, it’s rare to send off a younger sibling before an older sibling who is still unmarried.

It seemed that families with daughters would enter a state of tension again after the treason case was over. I think there will be cases where they quickly make marriage alliances with other families in this gap.

‘By the way, a house.’

I felt strange when I thought about the homeless children I had seen on the street a while ago.

Of course, I wasn’t planning on not accepting what was given. I couldn’t help but feel a little complicated about this serious wealth gap.

‘I’m probably in the privileged class now, but why do I feel like I want to pick up a *죽창* [bamboo spear, often used by peasants in uprisings]?’

Is it because I lived a longer life as a commoner?