Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 98

I told Song Bi to rest and encouraged her to explore my private residence and relax.

It seemed Song Bi would be managing the household affairs from now on, so I instructed the servants to follow her lead.

“I thought Lady Hang Ah, who visits occasionally, would be in charge of the household,” I said.

“Ah, Gai seems to have more work outside the home. I’m not sure when I’ll move into the private residence permanently, but Song Bi will generally oversee the household affairs.”

“I see.”

“Youngsun’s job won’t change, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

Some of the servants were intimidated by Gai, who was quite strict, but they seemed relieved to meet Song Bi, who appeared kind and approachable.

Gai isn’t such a bad person. But they don’t see him often, so how would they know?

‘They seem used to playing the roles of the whip and the carrot,’ I mused.

I entrusted the household affairs to Song Bi and went out with Youngsun, Soi, and even Sung, the royal guard.

“I hope we find some good things,” I said.

“Yes, Little Miss,” Youngsun replied. She was accustomed to calling me Princess inside the residence and Little Miss outside. She tidied my clothes, which were now a slightly more modest outfit than before, as I prepared to mount my horse.

“!”

Suddenly, Sung, the royal guard, turned his head and blocked my path.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I thought someone was watching… I apologize. I must have been too sensitive.”

“Um, should we go back if it seems dangerous?”

I only saw people passing by.

However, the people from Siyoungwon [a special military unit] and the former spies seemed to have an excellent sense of danger that ordinary people like us lacked.

“No. I didn’t sense any murderous intent… Maybe servants were waiting nearby, hoping to bribe someone in the Princess’s residence.”

“Well….”

There’s not much to gain from targeting me anyway.

“But just in case, it would be better not to ride a horse until we get to a crowded place.”

Even a child on horseback is bound to stand out.

In the end, Sung, the royal guard, decided to carry me on his back, saying that it would hurt my legs if I walked too far.

I held the reins of Red Mane, and Soi and Youngsun followed behind me, surrounding me, which must have been a funny sight.

“Red Mane doesn’t run away from Sung, the royal guard, anymore, does he?” I asked.

“He still keeps his distance when approaching without you, Little Miss,” Youngsun replied.

“Why did you approach him?”

“I went to the Office of the Royal Stables to see if he wouldn’t run away, since he’s used to it now.”

“Hmm. My brother doesn’t avoid him.”

Is it because he doesn’t avoid men he’s seen since he was a child?

I still couldn’t figure out Red Mane’s standards.

“Red Mane is always a wonderful horse,” Youngsun said.

“Isn’t he?”

Youngsun, who was walking behind me, used to ride horses, so she admired Red Mane every time she saw him.

For some reason, the conversation always went off on a tangent.

“There are celadons [a type of Korean pottery] made in the shape of animals, aren’t there?” I asked.

“Yes. Inkstones in the shape of fish, or flowers,” Youngsun replied.

“I don’t know how they create such beautiful things.”

“When I officially leave the palace later, I will display the celadons I have in my residence as well. There is a particularly beautiful incense burner….”

“I would love to see it.”

Soi and Sung, the royal guard, just walked with faces that said they couldn’t understand.

“I don’t know what’s so good about it, no matter how much I look at it,” Soi muttered.

“Isn’t it a matter of taste?” I replied.

Today, we had to visit more than one or two places, so the two of them already seemed exhausted, like elementary school sons dragged along to buy their mother clothes.

‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help it,’ I thought.

There are professional dealers who sell artifacts, but sometimes the person who owned them dies, and their family sells them off due to financial difficulties.

In these cases, they look for buyers with the hope that they will pay a good price and that someone who will take good care of the items, as the deceased cherished them. That’s why they sometimes convey their intention to sell to famous people like me.

However, compared to collectors who squander their fortunes on collecting artifacts and ceramics, I am rather modest, so I rarely make large purchases as they expect.

‘I just buy them if I like them,’ I thought.

Or if they have historical value. That’s why I haven’t hired an appraiser until now.

Recently, I’ve been busy, so I’ve been having Youngsun, who has an eye for things, take on the work as a proxy, and other maids such as Gai and Soi accompany her to make the deals.

‘I think I’ll be leaving it to her as a proxy almost entirely in the future,’ I considered.

Artifacts can be fake, so I thought it would be good to hire an expert soon. I had already called an appraiser to come to my house before I came out today.

The first store we arrived at mainly dealt with Goryeo [Korean dynasty from 918 to 1392] artifacts.

“This is a bronze mirror used in the Goryeo Dynasty. It was famous for its delicate patterns,” the shopkeeper said.

“Hmm,” I replied.

“And this is a celadon teapot with a peony pattern….”

“Oh, oh.”

I gave a deposit for some of the things I liked after writing the contract and had them sent home. Since the amounts were generally large, it was difficult to pay right away.

‘I miss credit card payments and bank transfers,’ I thought wistfully.

Many of the things I liked were celadon.

In addition, there were also silver crafts and incense burners used in temples during the Goryeo Dynasty, so the variety was diverse.

‘I feel like I’m visiting a museum,’ I thought.

The start was relatively simple.

Even up to this point, Soi and Sung, the royal guard’s expressions were relatively alive.

Soi and Sung, the royal guard, who were tired of being forced to watch a genre they weren’t interested in, looked even more exhausted after visiting a few places.

‘The antique shops are all gathered together, so it seems less physically demanding than going around the entire National Museum of Korea,’ I thought.

If you go around the permanent exhibition hall and the special and planned exhibitions, you run out of energy, so it’s hard to go with a friend who doesn’t have the same taste.

Soi and Sung, the royal guard, probably have a problem with boredom rather than physical strength. Both of them are in professions where they don’t show it, but I’ve become very comfortable with them….

By the way, since there were many people walking around in the neighborhoods, Sung, the royal guard, wasn’t carrying me around anymore.

“Are we… going again?” Soi asked.

“There’s still one place left,” I replied.

“Are you really going to go all the way there?”

“Yeah.”

I had visited all the people who had come to my private residence, and I had confirmed that the VIP store I had heard about from a certain Jongchin’s [relative of the royal family] wife was not far away, so I decided to go there while I was out.

“I’m worried because it’s an unverified place,” Youngsun said.

“I’m going to go and see what the items are like,” I replied.

“Little Miss, you really have a lot of energy,” Soi said.

Soi, who had already seen several houses, looked somewhat tired. I’m not the kind of person who only buys the same things.

“Soi looks so tired, should I get her some tonic?” I asked.

“Oh my, Little Miss,” Soi exclaimed.

“I’m glad I told Song Bi to rest at home,” I said.

“I agree with that too,” Youngsun added.

When I was young, Song Bi was in her early 20s, so now that I’m sixteen, Song Bi is not young anymore.

‘Come to think of it, I should get a tonic for Song Bi and Gai, not Soi,’ I realized.

In their 30s and 40s, they are still in their prime, but both of them are not as healthy as they used to be.

The average life expectancy in this era is not long, but even here, 40s is not exactly old.

In modern times, everyone lives longer, so the average life expectancy is longer, and many people get confused. For example, if the average life expectancy is 40 years old, it is not uncommon to mistakenly think that you become old at 40.

However, in this era, the infant mortality rate is very high, and many people die from all sorts of accidents and illnesses even at a young age. In the case of women, the mortality rate during childbirth is also high, so the average inevitably decreases.

In addition, excessive labor promotes physical aging, so the lower the class that does hard labor, the shorter the life expectancy.

Therefore, the wealthy ruling class, who have good hygiene and nutrition and can receive medical services, tend to live relatively long lives.

Of course, they often get diseases that are no different from modern diseases due to overeating, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, etc.

The Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897] kings would have lived quite long lives if they hadn’t suffered from excessive nutrition, severe lack of exercise, mental stress, and overwork.

‘It’s a stressful job,’ I thought.

Thinking about it, I should be nice to the King and Crown Prince while I’m in the palace….

Anyway, the palace maids at least didn’t give birth, had relatively good nutrition, and could receive medical services, so they didn’t have the worn-out faces of women in common households. Of course, palace maids also have a hard life in their own way.

In fact, I feel a little guilty that the palace maids in my residence are the ones who have shortened my lifespan.

They themselves laugh it off, saying that they don’t age because I don’t age, but I don’t feel comfortable watching it.

‘Yeoju, come quickly,’ I thought, longing for a solution to my immortality.

Honestly, I feel a little sorry that the people around me are more anxious than I am. But if I say that someone will appear soon to heal my body like a god, everyone will think that the Princess has finally gone crazy.

Sigh, I should take up a hobby.

Everyone worries less when I’m playing around without thinking.

While I was having random thoughts, I arrived at the last destination.

A man was guiding people in front of the gate, indicating that quite a few people were looking for this place.

Guided inside, I saw that, unusually, quite old artifacts were on display. Usually, it’s around the Goryeo Dynasty, but here, there were quite a few artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period [57 BC – 668 AD, period in Korean history].

‘If they’re real, they’re pretty good,’ I thought.

I exchanged glances with Youngsun. First of all, the quality was better than I expected.

“Hahaha. Welcome,” a man who appeared to be the owner greeted us happily. It’s a little funny, but Soi was the most lady-like in appearance among us, so everyone treated Soi with respect.

I can’t help it. Youngsun was a slave, and I was a child. No matter how much the rumor that the Princess doesn’t grow up spreads, everyone doesn’t think that the Princess will walk around herself.

Sung, the royal guard? This man… didn’t have the demeanor to act as an agent in this kind of situation.

There were several other guests, probably people who had heard the rumors and came like us.

“Well, if you have any items you are looking for, please feel free to tell me at any time,” the owner said.

“Where did the items here come from?” I asked.

“They came from a noble family in Gyeongsang-do [province in Korea]. The family needed money because of a wedding, so I rushed to buy them.”

“Hmm.”

The items look too good.

“Ah.”

I and Youngsun, who were turning our heads, exclaimed at the same time. There, a celadon jar with perfect curves and patterns was carefully preserved.

I have to buy this!