Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 81

Grumbling, the Crown Prince soon sent Sung Gyeom-sabok back. It was a commendable attitude, giving up on the idea that I wouldn’t leave just because he forbade it.

“Your Highness Ongju [Princess, a title for a King’s daughter]. I’ve been wanting to see you.”

“Why are you exaggerating when I know you’ve been doing well?”

He even occasionally came to check if I was doing well, so it hadn’t been that long since I’d seen him.

“You have no idea how much His Highness the Crown Prince is exploiting me.”

“His Highness said it seems to suit Sung Gyeom-sabok’s aptitude, though. Why? Did I call you for nothing because you were doing well?”

“Oh, please. You wouldn’t understand how grueling it is to see those big, black, disobedient guys every day. They say they wash better these days, so they’re less dirty than before, but they’re still rolling around on the dirt, so the smell never goes away.”

Hmm. The fact that everyone is washing better than before is probably because my mysophobia [fear of germs] (though I feel a bit wronged) has made the palace more conscious of hygiene overall.

But isn’t Sung Gyeom-sabok the one rolling them in the dirt?

Noticing my dubious gaze, Sung Gyeom-sabok changed the subject on his own.

“I heard Your Highness Ongju is still sneaking out.”

“The palace is a bit boring……”

“I agree with that.”

Gai sighed as he watched me and Sung Gyeom-sabok shake our heads.

“How can you go outside the palace so often just because it’s boring?”

“They’ve already built the private residence, but they won’t let me out.”

Those who knew that the reason was that I wasn’t growing up and couldn’t get married tried to avoid mentioning it.

“Wouldn’t you want to come back to the palace even more if you went out?”

“Well, I don’t think I’d be particularly lonely since Song-bi and Gai will be with me when I go out.”

“You have to take me too.”

Sung Gyeom-sabok quickly added, not wanting to be left out, while Gai smiled contentedly.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, the palace doesn’t have many advantages other than being large. Even though we live in the same palace, everyone is busy, so we can’t see each other often. It’s not much different from me coming to visit you often.”

“That is… true, but still.”

Gai nodded, seemingly thinking similarly to me.

“Ah, but maybe Brother will be a little lonely.”

“…His Highness the Crown Prince will be very lonely.”

This was unexpectedly said by Sung-yoon, not Gai.

“But he seems to be doing well with many people around him these days.”

“How can subjects be the same as Your Highness Ongju? His Highness the Crown Prince is always busy and trying to make time to see Your Highness Ongju. Please be patient.”

“Hmm.”

Since we’ve both had long periods of distrusting people, I’m not in a position to say anything to the Crown Prince.

I can live comfortably because I’m not in a position to be attacked, but the Crown Prince is always living in tension.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if he had a Crown Princess he could confide in?’

The most likely person is still Ji-hwa, who disappeared.

If the female lead returns, the Crown Prince will be able to rest easy.

“Then I’ll stay in the palace until the Crown Princess comes.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

Why does everyone have such a pleased look on their faces?

“That doesn’t mean I won’t go outside the palace.”

“I didn’t expect that anyway.”

Everyone knew me well now.

‘Anyway, I can’t just go out and live where I want in my position.’

There are families that buy houses for minors, but what family would let a minor live independently…….

It’s not like the standard for adulthood here is determined only by age.

***

So, after Sung-yoon, who was like my personal bodyguard, returned, instead of going to Siyeongwon [a charitable institution] again, I had Sung-yoon bring the children out to Cheonggyecheon [a stream in Seoul] at a set time.

As I told Jia, it was to visit that doctor I knew.

‘Come to think of it, I did go with the children once before, but when was that?’

In fact, I had been wandering around with the children that day, so it was impossible to find one particular house with the memories from that time.

It might be a somewhat distant memory for those children now, but of course, they knew the geography of Hanyang [old name for Seoul] better than I did.

‘It’s not like I’ve stopped them from going out to play, so they probably haven’t forgotten.’

And it seemed like they were still in contact with that young doctor.

There probably wouldn’t be any problem with directions.

‘It’s been a while, so let’s pack something delicious.’

Thinking that, I took the castella [a sponge cake] that Song-bi had baked and went to the meeting place.

However, the children who appeared at the meeting place unexpectedly handed me a piece of paper with a grin.

“What’s this?”

“Look.”

“……A map?”

“We drew it with the children.”

“Oh.”

I had occasionally mentioned to the children when visiting Siyeongwon that I wanted to make a map of the capital.

‘To think they would really draw a map.’

It was the map I had tried to have the children make before.

The map, which was filled with details like what was in front of a certain bridge in Cheonggyecheon, who lived in the house in front of the alley, how many family members they had, what kind of tree they had, and whether they raised dogs and cats, was close to a neighborhood map drawn by an elementary school student around their house, but it was enough to be recognizable.

That was what I intended anyway.

I slowly walked, checking the location of ‘the house of the older sister who gave us food well’ that the children had written on the map.

As I started walking, the children followed with expectant faces.

The houses that the children had particularly emphasized on the map were noticeable, so I pointed them out one by one.

“Haha. There’s a dog drawing too. Who drew it?”

“Some of the kids these days are learning to draw from Sister Je-yeong.”

“Hoo.”

Je-yeong is the name of the girl who bravely raised her hand, saying she knew how to draw.

Following my wishes, several people, including Je-yeong, were leaving drawings of the people living in Siyeongwon.

Of course, they were also learning things like writing, sewing, and cooking, not knowing what the future would hold, but somehow, they ended up learning to draw too! It was a heartwarming story of them setting aside time to learn little by little.

Since they couldn’t waste paper, they started by drawing on the ground with twigs.

It seemed that elementary education was being carried out more thoroughly than I had intended.

‘Come to think of it, I’m having them write diaries too.’

Noble women, children from beggar backgrounds, and even slaves.

For some reason, people with diverse pasts had gathered in Siyeongwon. I gave notebooks to those who had learned the vernacular script.

I told them to leave records of their lives and to look back on them later, which made them all cover their mouths and look touched, so I felt a little guilty…….

‘I wanted to leave historical materials about the lives of commoners in the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897]…….’

I was actually a little curious about the contents, but it was someone else’s privacy, and if people like me or Court Lady Min were to look at it, they would waste paper on unnecessary praise, so I strictly forbade anyone else from seeing the contents.

Well. After a few hundred years, there would be no privacy or anything, and it would all just be treated as records.

Still, I heard that Court Lady Min was meddling in various things.

After all, it was the monarchy in a society with a rigid class system, so she was thoroughly teaching them what they shouldn’t write about.

Indeed, many people had been branded as traitors and ruined, so if they wrote something that could be used against them, they couldn’t guarantee their future.

‘Come to think of it, when I entrusted the children’s education to Court Lady Min, I told her to teach boys and girls equally, and I heard that the boys have become much more modest.’

Mauri, who told me this, couldn’t meet my eyes, so she must have been scared.

‘How strictly is she teaching them……?’

Could it be that she’s implementing the famous jwiburigeullyeo [a Korean phrase referring to beating children while teaching them] in Siyeongwon……?

I seemed to have said that teaching the boys was more difficult than I thought in the early days of Siyeongwon’s opening, so I just left it to her…… Will it be okay?

‘Well, actually, there are many people in Siyeongwon who can subdue the children even if they don’t listen and rebel.’

I had told Court Lady Min and the palace women in advance that there were chetamins [spies] among the people working there.

I thought that would make them respect and be careful of each other.

Thinking that, I followed the map and began to go up past Cheonggyecheon.

Judging from the children’s mischievous eyes at first, they seemed to expect that I wouldn’t know how to read the map, but I was not only an Ongju who grew up in the deep palace but also a Korean who had mastered 12 years of basic education and even went to university.

How could I not read this cute little map?

Besides, it was cute that they wanted me not to find it after making it so elaborate and detailed.

“Hmm. Is this the right way?”

“Yes, it is!”

The children jumped up and down with joy when I asked them once in a while out of courtesy, so it was fun to play with them.

I heard from the children that many middle-class people live around Cheonggyecheon.

Like medical officers or interpreters, people who work in well-paid professional occupations?

‘Hmm…… Is it like a Han River view apartment complex? Cheonggyecheon view?’

The houses in this era are single-story houses with large yards, so it doesn’t seem like they would have such a view.

Bukchon and Seochon are close to the palace, so they have a rich village feel where many nobles live.

Thanks to that, the children knew the area around Cheonggyecheon well. After all, they go begging to wealthy houses. It’s a course for beginners because it’s a bit less difficult than noble houses.

“From here…… go to the house with the knot on the branch and turn right…….”

“How can you find it so well?”

“Well. Because you drew the map so well~?”

“Ehehehehe.”

I stroked Ah-young’s head because she was laughing so happily, and I felt gazes from around me. And soon, they seemed to recognize me as a young lady from a noble family and appropriately acknowledged me and passed by.

‘It feels a bit strange since I’m smaller.’

It’s strange that I look younger even though I’m older.

If I think about my age in my previous life, it seems strange to even care about that.

Also, it’s good and not good that I don’t have to call children who are a few years older than me ‘unni’ [older sister] because of my status.

‘Ugh. It’s complicated.’

I clicked my tongue and checked the map, and the destination was right in front of me.

“It seems like we’re almost there…….”

“Young Miss!”

Along with Sung Gyeom-sabok’s voice, my body was suddenly lifted up, and my vision spun around to the side.

And at the same time, I heard a woman’s scream.

“Kyaa!”

“Ugh?”

It was definitely the same scenery I had been looking at just a moment ago, but when I lowered my head, Sung-yoon’s hand was already grabbing the shoulder of the woman who was about to fall.

“Th, thank you. Are you hurt…… Young Miss?”

And without even having time to worry, the woman, Heo Seong-ji, straightened her body while staggering, bowed her head, and had a momentarily surprised look when she saw me.

“I’m sorry to show you such an embarrassing sight after a long time. I will greet you again next time.”

And after asking how I was doing once, she gritted her teeth and turned around immediately.

There was a man standing there with his face flushed red.

No, on closer inspection, it wasn’t just his face that was flushed red. All the visible parts looked red.

And that man was probably the one who caused Seong-ji to almost fall on top of me, who had been walking well just now.

“Bring my child back to life! Bring my child back to life!! My child is going to die because of you! How are you going to take responsibility?!”

What is going on here?