Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 74

I was born as the daughter of a low-ranking concubine. (In Joseon dynasty, concubines held a lower social status.)

It’s not like there’s absolutely no soap in this era.

In the palace or in wealthy homes, they mainly used grain powder for washing their faces.

Because it’s made by grinding grains, it’s sometimes called ‘jodu’ [澡豆, a type of facial cleanser made from ground grains], and it’s also called ‘biru’ [飛陋, literally ‘flying away dirt,’ another name for grain powder cleanser], meaning to blow away dirt.

Besides that, rice water, bean water, and iris water were also widely used.

Isn’t it famous that washing hair with iris water on Dano [단오, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, a traditional Korean holiday] remains a seasonal custom?

Made from ground mung beans or red beans, it’s good for beauty and eco-friendly, but like natural beauty soaps, it doesn’t lather much, so it doesn’t feel as refreshing as modern soaps.

Of course, that’s just my perspective.

In fact, unlike modern times with severe pollution, the air here is so good that you don’t need such strong cleansing power when washing your face.

Naturally, these are more for beauty purposes, but they also use grain powder like mung beans when washing thin and precious fabrics.

And when doing laundry, they naturally use lye water, and it’s said that they dilute this and use it for people as well.

Other than that… horse sweat can also be used when doing laundry.

I was amazed that the sweat foamed up after the horse ran, but later I saw them doing laundry with it.

‘But it doesn’t feel right to wash with that.’

But even if I were to make soap, oil is too precious, so it’s difficult to come by.

Only certain people eat meat regularly, and the fat from the meat is used when making pan-fried dishes.

So, leftover waste oil? It comes out a lot when there’s a feast, but otherwise, it’s not like it’s a restaurant, so how much could there be?

Still, it was possible to make soap with the oil that came out of the royal kitchen.

So, at first, I used to mix rice bran powder or grain powder with lye water to make soap and use it.

They put flour in it in China, but flour is precious in Joseon [조선, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea (1392-1910)].

However, if I promote chicken dishes, some oil will come out, so it seemed possible to secure some soap supply with this.

Gai, who had been with me since I first started making soap, looked strange when he heard me say we should make soap with chicken oil.

“Your Highness, the Princess, always does… amazing things.”

“Um… I’m amazed too.”

The lye water for laundry is made by soaking ash made from burning straw or wood in rainwater, and there are actually more people who know this better than I do, so it’s not difficult.

To make soap, you need to filter that lye water to extract only the liquid, then simmer it over low heat for several days to evaporate the moisture, let it mature, and mix it with oil or grain powder to make it thick and then mature it again.

It’s a bit much to do in the royal palace, so I had it made in the houses near Siyoungwon [시영원, likely a place or institution, but without further context, it’s hard to define] that I bought before, and of course, the smoke that comes out when making it is bad for the body, so I had them block their mouths and noses with cloth in a well-ventilated place and work in shifts.

‘It feels like you’d die if you did it in the summer, so doing it in the winter is perfect.’

As long as I avoid the summer, it should be okay.

The soap made in this way was used in the royal palace, Siyoungwon, and taverns, but I also decided to send it little by little to Hyeminseo [혜민서, a medical institution in Joseon] and doctors.

Some time later, Gai and Songbi watched me piling up soap with a satisfied expression and sighed softly as if they couldn’t help it.

“Chicken oil alone will probably not be enough.”

“Your Highness, the Princess, seems to be putting a lot of effort into soap production.”

“I like things clean!”

“Yes. You have been like that since you were young.”

The reality is that having a slight case of mysophobia [fear of germs] is better accepted than emphasizing the importance of hygiene.

However, there were those who realized that as the overall hygiene level of the royal family forcibly increased along with my somewhat neurotic mysophobia, the number of people suffering from minor illnesses decreased.

Namely, the royal physicians of the Naeuiwon [내의원, the royal clinic].

Of course, they were the first priority to whom I sent soap… well, not the first, but the second after the royal family.

These days, they have been requesting if they can get soap.

‘I want to give it to them, but there’s a shortage of ingredients…’

It’s also possible with vegetable oil, but that seems like a waste in its own way, and the smell is too strong, and it sometimes fails.

Of course, even if it fails, it just ends up as laundry soap.

“So, I was thinking, if the tavern gets bigger, should we expand the pig side a little?”

“Yes?”

Gai’s face turned pale when he heard my words.

‘I should give Gai a tonic.’

I honestly felt sorry because I seemed to be making him work too much.

I’m glad it’s after the Yiang method [이앙법, rice transplanting] era. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even dared to think about it.

‘It would be nice to increase agricultural productivity even more, but I wasn’t that interested in farming methods.’

I only know about the duck farming method, so I talked to the farmers, and they said it might be possible if we time it right, so we decided to try it.

I also told the farmers who cultivate my land that I would give them a reward if they came up with improved farming methods.

I don’t know if it will be effective.

***

And as time passed, the tavern did better than expected, so we decided to open a separate restaurant.

Here, we pursued a high-end strategy, and the original holders of the cooking recipes took charge of the kitchen, and the restaurant did even better than expected because high-end dishes that could not be served at the tavern came out.

As the scale grew, it was time to aim for pork as well.

I decided to create a pig farm with the money I had earned and paid a businessman who worked in the royal palace to learn the know-how.

Of course, I got permission from the king for this too.

He said it was because of the soap, but the truth was that pork was delicious, so my heart was elsewhere.

‘Samgyeopsal! Samgyeopsal! Samgyeopsal!’ [삼겹살, Korean grilled pork belly]

I’ll grill it on a pot lid!

It’s not like I haven’t eaten it before, but I have to sell delicious food to people for money.

Once humans taste something, they can’t forget it.

Beef has the taste of beef, chicken has the taste of chicken, and pork has the taste of pork.

Naturally, it sold well when I started selling it.

I decided to expand the soap business on top of that.

I created a workshop on a suitable site, paid attention to risk management, and increased soap production.

And I decided to use it in the palace and send it to Hyeminseo and Hwalinseo [활인서, another medical institution in Joseon].

In fact, doctors wash frequently with herbal water, so they are relatively clean, but using soap is definitely more reliable. Patient hygiene is also important.

There was a welcoming atmosphere when I said I would give soap through the Naeuiwon.

Instead of simply supplying soap, I designated groups that used soap and groups that did not, and recorded the progress of the disease and the degree of infection.

And I subtly conveyed the need for internal audits on whether Hyeminseo and Hwalinseo were properly treating the people.

‘I was once turned away at the door in the past.’

Now, if they say they came from Siyoungwon, they don’t push them away like they did then, but you never know.

While handling various tasks, the busiest people were the Ji-mil [지밀, close attendant] palace lady Gai, who was in charge of my overall business, and the court lady Min, who had become the head of Siyoungwon.

The two of them suffered from the increased paperwork from some point on and received a lot of salary from me.

For reference, Court Lady Min’s older brother tried to enter Siyoungwon several times but was chased away by former Chetamins [채탐인, royal secret agents] who had been given prior notice.

Court Lady Min rarely goes out of Siyoungwon, but now she is the head, so she doesn’t go alone.

And over the years, the children who had seen people in Siyoungwon getting jobs one by one as I expanded my business realized one simple fact.

That you must meet a certain basic level of education to move up to a management position and receive more salary, and that regardless of salary, management positions look cooler anyway.

Of course, I gave work according to grades and aptitude regardless of gender, so gender was irrelevant among the children.

Of course, I still gave the kids who liked physical labor jobs that suited them. What can I do if they don’t like it?

Labor jobs are always necessary, so it wasn’t a bad thing.

There was a difference in salary, but I didn’t make the difference too big.

‘But you still have to study so you don’t get scammed!’

This harsh world. The more you know, the less you get ignored and the less damage you take.

But how would the children know these deep intentions of the adults?

The desire to fill the basic education of children who hate studying to death.

Therefore, I had no choice but to take out other means to increase the children’s enthusiasm for learning.

It was Paegwan [패관, a type of historical fiction] novels.

In modern terms, martial arts, fantasy, and romance novels.

The Crown Prince was quite interested when I told him about this.

“Does that really work?”

“I read the first part and give them the book so they can read the rest on their own. I tell the kids who know how to read not to read it to them.”

Those who cannot read. They will not know the rest.

The disadvantage of this method is that you need a lot of books.

“So I bought a Sechaekbang [貰冊房, book rental store] in Unjongga [雲從街, present-day Jongno intersection, a bustling street].”

“What did you just say?”

“I said a bookstore opened, so tell me if you want to see any books.”

I’ll take them out in advance with family perks.

“Do I look free enough to read Paegwan novels?”

“People should have hobbies. If you only read scriptures like that, your sensitivity will drop and you won’t be able to write.”

The Crown Prince, who doesn’t say anything but obviously knows that the things I’ve done are going well, looks at me like I’m a strange person when I say things like this sometimes.

“How did your business grow so big?”

“I needed money to run Siyoungwon, so I did this and that, and before I knew it, it became like this.”

“If you need money, you can ask me or Father.”

“It’s not good to keep receiving and using it. Don’t worry. I don’t take any kickbacks. I’m doing simple and legal business.”

Well, it’s still simple for a royal family.

When you do business, there are always guys who ask for kickbacks, but because the princess is the backer, there were more people who wanted to give kickbacks than people who asked for kickbacks, which was a big problem.

Thanks to this, all kinds of businesses were booming to the point that Gai and Court Lady Min were having trouble.

I didn’t know it would go this well either.

The problem is that so many people want to enter Siyoungwon that it’s difficult.

It’s originally a place that mainly accepts homeless orphans, so I can’t accept everyone, so I was thinking of creating something like a new school.

‘This is the business of a gold spoon [born into privilege].’

The privilege of being able to try with a light heart, thinking, ‘If it fails, I’ll just tighten my belt a little.’

I couldn’t have imagined it when I was just a commoner.

I couldn’t have thought about it so easily.

‘It’s a bit empty.’

And those around me were sending me worried glances.

“I know you’re doing good things, but aren’t you overdoing it?”

“Gai is the one who’s overdoing it, not me.”

“Do you think I don’t know that you secretly go out of the palace?”

As expected, if the tail is long, it gets caught. I’ve been very busy these days.

“Does Father know?”

“Well. Isn’t he a busy person?”

That means he doesn’t know.

“You must prioritize your health no matter what you do. Do you understand?”

“I’ll be careful.”

While eating a snack made by Songbi, which was bread with minced meat patties and vegetables, I realized that Court Lady Moon had called me not to feed the Crown Prince this time, but on the Crown Prince’s orders.

When I returned to my residence after finishing the conversation, Gai, who had been going out and coming back these days because of me, said something similar.

“Your Highness, the Princess, aren’t you overdoing it lately?”

“So it looks like that to Gai too? I think I’ve been living too busy these days.”

“……”

This is a big problem. Gai is looking at me with eyes that say, ‘What should I do with this kid?’

But you know, work has to ride the tide. For some reason, everything I do is going so well that I felt like I couldn’t stop if I stopped, so I couldn’t stop all this time.

“Now, please rest a little. I’ll take care of it.”

“Uh, why?”

“You need to eat more, rest comfortably, and sleep well.”

“Uh, uh, okay.”

I had a rough idea of why she was doing this, but I could only laugh.

I understood why the Crown Prince was worried.

It wasn’t Gai’s fault either.

So much time had passed.

Now, even the death of Grand Prince Gyeong-eon had become faint to me.

And as time passed, the Queen Dowager passed away.

After Grand Prince Gyeong-eon received poison and died, the Queen Dowager never got out of her seat.

She seemed to get a little better in the middle, so everyone had a little hope, but as it is with the elderly, it is rare for those who have fallen once to recover.

As several years passed, even the people around me said that she would recover soon, but the atmosphere was that they had given up on something. Everyone had prepared their hearts little by little.

The Crown Prince could not hold a wedding during the mourning period, so the Crown Prince had not been able to hold the Crown Princess selection.

Usually, the Queen Dowager would want to see the Crown Prince’s marriage before she died, but perhaps because the Queen Dowager had the matter of Grand Prince Gyeong-eon on her mind, she did not want to hear about the Crown Prince’s marriage.

And so the Crown Prince’s marriage was postponed again.

It was when I was 11 years old and the Crown Prince was 17 years old.

Because it is a mourning period, there will probably be no Crown Princess selection for the next three years.

It would be strange to say it was thanks to that, but the next Crown Princess candidate of the unknown original Crown Prince was safe.

‘I’m glad that someone who might be in the same situation as me didn’t appear.’

A short time for adults, but a long time for children has passed.

My hands are still small.

From the day I ate the poison, I haven’t grown at all.