Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 53

“She died after suffering from some unknown illness for days.”

“The Hyeminseo… [a Joseon-era medical institution for the poor].”

“I didn’t even know such a place existed back then.”

Considering the state of the Hyeminseo I saw that day, I doubt they would have treated her even if she had gone.

There must be some kind of relief agency to care for young children in this era. But even if there is, it would probably be hard to get help if you weren’t someone important.

‘Even in the novel… the Crown Prince, the male lead, tries to create laws for the poor and orphans.’

Maybe they’ll make one here too, but when will that be?

The children were still innocent, but I couldn’t help but worry. I couldn’t just ignore it.

“Why did the owner of that ring die? It doesn’t seem like they were too poor to call a doctor.”

“Well….”

If I told them the truth, these kids would probably be scared. Is it okay to tell them?

As I was wondering whether it was okay to tell them, the child mumbled, a little sulky.

“Well, never mind if you don’t want to tell someone like me….”

“She was taken by a tiger.”

“Gasp.”

The child was startled and quickly moved away from me.

‘Hmm. So the story of the changgwi [a type of tiger ghost in Korean folklore] is famous.’

The child, glancing at me, cautiously approached again and asked with anxious eyes.

“Y-you’re lying to tease me, right?”

“What would I gain from telling such a lie?”

“Th-that’s right.”

“It’s okay if you’re scared and want to stay away. Ah, it doesn’t matter since I don’t even know your name.”

“Who! Who’s scared?!”

He approached with a determined expression, but he still looked very nervous. And as if he had understood something, the way he looked at me became subtle. Like he was looking at someone pitiful?

‘What on earth is he thinking….’

It seemed like the story about his dead brother and my story created a strange sense of kinship.

“I won’t tell anyone about that.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

“It does matter.”

He was still scared, muttering to himself, but he also seemed to be putting on a brave face. Tigers must be a real fear in this era, and I was too insensitive.

“You guys, are you here again?”

The girl who came out of the house the children visited this time sighed but still acknowledged them.

“Ah, it’s the kind older sister who gives us food.”

She has a title that sounds like a drama title.

“Why does it seem like there are more people than usual today?”

“Just give us the usual amount.”

Unlike the people who would roughly give them food and chase them away, the girl noticed my presence and questioned the children.

“Who is that lady over there?”

“Um. The older sister who buys us gukbap [Korean beef and seaweed soup]?”

I shouldn’t be worrying about other people’s titles.

The children proudly said they were showing me around, but the girl wasn’t fooled.

“Are you guys perhaps tricking an innocent young lady?”

“No!”

The children were so upset that they retorted, making them look cute, and I felt embarrassed, so I stepped forward to explain. But as the children moved away, the girl grabbed me and said something unexpected in a small voice.

“Please don’t be too nice to the beggar children.”

“?”

“They’ll only try to rely on help. If you’re not going to give them continuous help, it will only ruin them.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

She was probably older than those children, but she still looked young, yet she had quite a firm attitude.

She was right.

‘If they get used to receiving things for free without paying or learning anything, they’ll end up ruined unless they’re exceptional.’

It’s not like I’m unconditionally giving to those children.

I whispered to the girl so the children couldn’t hear.

“But I made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

I gave a child a lot of money at once, causing him to get caught up in a fight, so it was my mistake.

“A child was hurt because of my mistake, so I can’t just pretend I didn’t see it.”

“Hurt? I told them to come if they got hurt.”

At my words, the girl widened her eyes and asked who had been hurt. I pointed out the child who had been hurt last time, and she ran towards the child, and the two of them started arguing.

“I told you to come if you got hurt!”

“Ah, I was out of my mind because I was in pain! Besides, how could I come all the way here when I was hurting?”

I grabbed the little children and asked.

“Do you often come to this house?”

“Yes. She shares food. She’s a good older sister.”

“Sometimes when we’re sick, she gives us medicine. But she makes us work a lot in return.”

“Medicine?”

Ah, now that I think about it, I wondered why there was a familiar smell, but it was the smell of herbal medicine.

“Is her family a doctor’s family?”

“Maybe? But I haven’t seen many patients.”

Just looking at how she gives food to the children, her family doesn’t seem to be doing badly, but she’s a doctor with few patients.

As I was wondering what she did, I watched the slightly affectionate bickering between the girl, who was scolding them to come next time if they were hurt, and the child, who was complaining that she was being noisy. After stopping them at the right time, I said goodbye and headed to my next destination.

And it was when I turned the corner.

“There, those are the kids!”

“?”

Several men were rushing out of the alley we had just passed.

Seong-yoon, who had been quietly following behind me until then, came closer and whispered.

“Young Miss, one of them is one of the guys who took money from the children last time.”

Hmm, this can’t be good.

Moreover, there was one person who looked decent among them.

Why I say decent is because he was wearing a police uniform.

“You guys! I heard you stole something. Is it true?”

“Yes?”

Even in this era, a police officer was someone that ordinary people wanted to avoid.

Even if you haven’t done anything wrong, you’d be nervous, so how much more nervous would the children be, who lived on the streets and couldn’t guarantee they had never broken the law?

In front of the frightened and intimidated children, the men, led by the police officer, shouted that the children had stolen a ring and money.

“If you’ve committed a crime, you must be punished!”

“W-we didn’t steal anything!”

The children were terrified and trembled at the imposing attitude of the men.

‘Could it be that they thought the children stole the money that Seong-yoon brought back that day?’

Moreover, regarding the ring, they went to other areas to look for it, so it wouldn’t be strange if rumors had spread.

“Is it true that these children stole the ring?”

“Wh-who are you?”

The police officer, who was about to get annoyed at me for suddenly stepping forward, examined my attire and awkwardly used honorifics. It’s convenient, but I sometimes feel strange because of this class-based society.

“I’m the one who asked these children to find the ring.”

“Yes?”

“The children promised to look for the ring, and I promised to give them money as compensation. If that ring was stolen, I would also be in trouble.”

Seong-yoon stopped the children from interjecting, as they were about to get upset at my words.

“However, if it’s really true that these children brought something stolen, then it’s my responsibility, so I can give appropriate compensation.”

“R-really?”

The man’s face brightened at my words.

But you have to listen to what Koreans, no, Joseon people, have to say until the end.

“So, what kind of ring are you looking for?”

“Yes?”

And the questions began.

“A jade ring? Or a silver ring?”

“Ah, that is… Ah, it’s a jade ring.”

“What color? White? Or light green? Dark green?”

“That is….”

Watching the man hesitate to answer, I asked the police officer.

“I think you said earlier that if someone committed a crime, they should be punished. If someone falsely accuses an innocent person of being a thief, what is the price for that crime?”

At my words, the man’s face darkened, and a desperate voice burst out.

“D-dark green! A dark green jade ring!”

But the questions didn’t end there.

“What pattern?”

“Wh-what pattern? What pattern is on a jade ring… There’s no such thing.”

“If it’s a high-quality jade, then there wouldn’t be a noticeable pattern. But the one I was looking for, and the one these children found, is a low-quality nephrite [a type of jade].”

As I said that, I took out the jade ring. A light green jade ring.

Because it had a low hardness, it was easily scratched, the color was a bit mottled, and if you looked closely, you could see black dot-like patterns.

From the start, it didn’t seem like those street thugs would know anything about jade rings.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s the item you’re looking for, so how are you going to take responsibility for this?”

“No, I….”

“Pfft!!”

The children burst into laughter when they saw the man’s face turning red.

“Y-you guys…!!”

The man, unable to raise his hand to me, tried to rush at the easy-to-bully children, but of course, he was subdued by Seong-yoon, who was next to me.

“It would be best to back down at this point.”

“What? Who are you to tell me what to do?”

The resistance didn’t last long.

“Aaaagh!”

“If you keep bothering our Young Miss, I won’t stand still.”

“H-help me, hyung-nim [older brother or respected male]!”

“Stop it! How can you do such a rude thing!”

The man asked the police officer who came with him for help, but it was of no use.

“By the way, Officer, which precinct do you belong to?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It seems like you two are very close. If you were trying to falsely accuse someone for personal reasons, how could I just let it go? Isn’t that right, Young Miss?”

Whether it was because my and Seong-yoon’s acting was realistic, cold sweat was dripping down the police officer’s face, who had been looking sullen.

Perhaps Seong-yoon’s skills played a big role.

“Ah, Young Lady! I don’t know which family you’re from, but please turn a blind eye just this once!”

“It would be best not to get involved in things like this in the future. Especially since the police officer is also a public official who receives a salary from the country, how can you associate with those thugs?”

“Yes, yes! Young Lady! Ugh! Who is this bad guy trying to block my path?”

“Ah, please stop.”

Since the two of them seemed to be putting on a show, I drove a wedge in.

“I’ll just let it go today, but if you harass the children with this kind of trickery again, I won’t just let it go.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll keep that in mind. Young Lady!”

At this point, that guy won’t lay a hand on the children anymore.

Since the two of them seemed close, even if I handed them over to the government office, they would probably be released without any real consequences unless I mentioned it to someone higher up. Then there was a high possibility that they would take out their anger on the children again.

The police officer could be seen as the police in modern times. It didn’t seem like it would be that new and fresh for them to be colluding with gangsters or entertainment establishments.

‘Ugh, then and now.’

The suffering is the lot of innocent and good citizens.

In fact, I can’t guarantee that these kids are all innocent and good, but it was clear that those guys who were taking money from these young children and bullying them were worse.

After the men disappeared and they escaped from an unexpected crisis, the way the children looked at me had changed slightly from before.

“I wish I could be like Young Miss.”

“Not an old man?”

“No, why an old man….”

Seong-yoon, who was called an old man, had a slightly lonely face, but I pretended not to see it.

In this era, that age is an old man, so what else is it?

The child said something unexpected.

“I want to live like that too… how should I say it, confidently say everything I want to say, argue, live like that.”

“Hmm.”

In my case, it’s largely thanks to my innate background. But it seemed that the children were more impressed by how I meticulously questioned them about the ring than I thought.

“Would studying… be helpful? If it’s okay, would you like to learn to read first?”

“Me? Read? Really?”

“Chinese characters will be difficult, but even knowing Hangul [Korean alphabet] will be helpful… I guess.”

Just learning the letters won’t make you smart.

But suddenly, I remembered thinking about teaching the children to read in the first place.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to make them work if they know how to read?’

Wouldn’t it be better if they wrote about their own lives themselves??

However, my humble ambition was frustrated for the time being by Seong-yoon’s worried voice that we should go home quickly.

I promised them next time and parted ways with the children, but I had no choice but to nod at the consistent voices around me asking me to refrain from doing so for a while.

‘Hmm, maybe it’s not good to care too much about those children.’

As the girl from the doctor’s house said, I can’t be responsible for them until the end, so maybe it’s better not to get involved recklessly any further.

But that didn’t work out as I wanted.

The rainy season was approaching.