There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 112

Fairy Komi

Nestled within a high-end residential complex was a secluded villa. It was the kind of place that, if it served drinks, would be perfect for gatherings of the literati [intellectuals and scholars].

‘So-called Yojung politics [elite social gatherings].’

Even noblemen who usually avoided visiting courtesan houses for appearances’ sake would visit such a place without hesitation.

Because from the outside, it looked more like a private residence than a house of courtesans.

The people who frequented this place were certainly not short on funds, so if they liked it, they’d open their wallets without a second thought.

‘This is it.’

A mountain of money danced before my eyes.

Moreover, the advantage of running such a place wasn’t just the money.

‘I can get high-level information that money can’t buy.’

If this place thrives as I plan…

‘Just by observing who comes and goes, I can find out who is meeting whom, which minister belongs to which faction, and how the factions are divided within the court.’

Once it becomes a hit, I can have it all: money and information.

“Lee Sook-beon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Is Cho Gung-jang wanted?”

I asked.

Cho Gung-jang, the most sought-after gisaeng [female entertainer] in Gaeseong, the one my grand uncle made a fool of himself trying to find last time.

“Your Highness!”

Heo Jo, who had been listening quietly, suddenly shouted.

“A gentleman is not swayed by personal interests. You can’t burn down this house like the Epang Palace built by Hwang Jwa-yoon, but you’re falling for Lee Pan-gwan’s trickery!”

“No, why burn something that’s already built? We can acquire it and use it for good.”

I offered as an excuse.

“Then are you saying you will privately use a house owned by Hanseongbu [the capital’s governing body]!”

Talking like this makes me sound like a chaebol [a wealthy business owner] who buys a house and car under a corporate name and uses them for personal gain.

“Ahem, I can just pay Hanseongbu the asking price and buy it.”

I said.

Since Hanseongbu was going to sell it anyway, all I had to do was provide the funds.

“Haha, the Crown Prince is indeed a man of action. You resemble His Majesty the King.”

Lee Sook-beon said with a hearty laugh.

He seemed to think I had shown him a more human side of myself.

Of course, I had no intention of doing so.

‘What is this bastard up to?’

Is he subtly insulting my father right now?

‘I have to get him back when I get the chance.’

But I had no intention of dispelling their misunderstanding.

I pointed to Seo Dal’s house on the document and said.

“This place will be our secret base in Hanseongbu.”

===

The gisaengs of Gaeseong are famous even in later generations.

That meant that not all the gisaeng houses followed when the Joseon Dynasty moved the capital to Hanyang.

So, I thought Cho Gung-jang might still be in Gaeseong, but surprisingly, she was staying in Hanyang now.

As soon as she heard that I was looking for her, Cho Gung-jang rushed to Hanseongbu like the wind.

“I missed you, Your Highness!”

Cho Gung-jang was so excited, as if she had found a long-lost sibling, that I almost lost my mind for a moment.

‘Damn it, what’s wrong with this woman?’

The sweet smell that wafted over me made me dizzy for a moment.

No wonder my grand uncle fell for her.

Even though a foreigner was hugging the Crown Prince, the soldiers were just staring at Cho Gung-jang’s beauty and didn’t even think about saving me.

‘What a pathetic bunch.’

I quickly signaled to No-boon to rescue me.

As expected, No-boon had already anticipated such desires.

As someone who is like a sage when it comes to matters of propriety, he pulled Cho Gung-jang away from me.

“Tsk.”

Cho Gung-jang pouted at No-boon’s stern intervention.

Only then did I cough and speak to Cho Gung-jang.

“So, what brings you to Hanyang? Are you thinking of opening a gisaeng house here?”

The gisaeng house that Cho Gung-jang used to belong to was still located in Gaeseong.

But since only Cho Gung-jang came down, I wondered if she had become independent.

“Isn’t it the life of us gisaengs to wander around as we please?

First, I’m taking a break while sightseeing in Hanyang, which the Crown Prince has built so magnificently.

I don’t have enough money to build a gisaeng house, so I was thinking of staying at Sangwangjeon [the former king’s residence] for a few years…”

“That won’t do!”

The thought of a new source of trouble entering our family, which already has plenty of drama, made my heart sink.

I lost my composure for a moment and shouted, but soon I calmed myself.

“Anyway, you’re thinking of starting a gisaeng house if you had the money, right?”

When I asked that, Cho Gung-jang’s eyes changed immediately.

She realized that I was talking about business.

“Why did you choose me?”

“Still, you’re the most famous in all of Joseon.”

I subtly praised Cho Gung-jang, and her face turned red.

“I’m so happy that you see me that way.”

She must have heard these words a hundred times, but her heart is still fluttering.

“You are the best of the sanggi [high-ranking gisaengs], so you must know many younger ones?”

“Yes, how many do you need?”

Cho Gung-jang replied seriously.

“I don’t need many. About six or seven from the ilpae [first-class gisaengs]. I’ll provide the place.”

I said.

“Oh my, you’re giving it to me for free?”

Cho Gung-jang said, covering her lips with her hand.

“Of course, it’s not free. I have to share the profits with you.”

I said.

Cho Gung-jang nodded readily, as if she had expected it.

I suddenly had a question at the sight.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Why a noble person like the Crown Prince is getting involved in such a lowly business?”

I nodded.

Then Cho Gung-jang replied.

“I am curious, but suppressing curiosity is also the secret to a long life.”

Good thing she’s quick-witted.

I won’t have to worry about her ruining the establishment I set up.

“Not a gisaeng house, though.”

As I thought that, I quickly corrected myself.

Since I’m setting up a Yojung [a high-end establishment for entertaining officials] in the middle of Bukchon [a traditional neighborhood in Seoul], I have to thoroughly differentiate it from a simple gisaeng house.

“It shouldn’t look too cheap. The people who come here are the sadaebu [scholar-officials] among the sadaebu, the high-ranking officials of the court.

I have to make this place a place where these people come not just to play, but to rest their heads and have close discussions with others.”

I urged.

Fortunately, Cho Gung-jang quickly understood, as she was a smart woman.

“Then it would be better to only allow people who have been invited to come and go.”

“Only people who have been invited?”

Does she mean to operate it on a membership basis?

Cho Gung-jang nodded.

“The higher the status of the adults, the more sensitive they are to this. They also judge the level of other guests.

Besides, if you want to have secret conversations in a secluded place, you would rather strictly control access.”

“Oh!”

I clapped my knees.

“Why didn’t you go into business sooner?”

If Baek Dal-won had seen her, he would have wanted to bring her under his wing.

“Hoho, then please be more generous with the profit sharing.”

“Okay. But we’re providing all the money, so let’s do 7:3. I’m 7.”

Then Cho Gung-jang protested.

“Isn’t confidentiality important in this work? It will be quite difficult for me to manage so that there is no noise in the Bukchon neighborhood. Give me half.”

“Ugh, then 6:4. The gods of heaven and earth won’t allow any more than that?”

When I said that I couldn’t give in anymore, Cho Gung-jang readily agreed.

In fact, the status of me, the Crown Prince, and her, a gisaeng, could not be the same.

To put it bluntly, she would have to follow if I threatened her with a knife.

However, the reason I gave Cho Gung-jang leeway was to motivate her to work more actively for her own benefit.

“Then go to Gaeseong and bring your younger ones. I’ll finish setting up… no, preparing by then.”

“Okay. But Your Highness, you’ll come and visit sometimes, right?”

Cho Gung-jang said, gently pulling my arm.

What is this woman thinking, acting like a child?

“Go away!”

I rebuked and rejected her without any embarrassment.

Unlike those who are possessed by obscene demons, I can withstand this temptation because I have a pure heart like a child.

How can it not be the demeanor of a gentleman?

As I was feeling proud of myself, No-boon, who was next to me, asked worriedly.

“Your Highness, your face is getting too red. Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

I originally have a good complexion.

===

“This is not a cheap gisaeng house! We have to make it a place where noblemen want to be invited no matter what! Take down all those spring paintings!”

Why the hell did Seo Dal hang such things in his room?

I called people and was working hard to renovate Seo Dal’s house.

First of all, now that Seo Dal has been kicked out to his in-laws’ house, we can’t keep calling it ‘Seo Dal’s house,’ so the first thing to do was to name it.

“Nishang Garden (霓裳庭) [Garden of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered Dresses].”

Nishang Yuyi Dance (霓裳羽衣舞) [Dance of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered Dresses] is a dance that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang learned from fairies in a dream.

It is said that Yang Guifei [a famous concubine] was good at dancing this, so she was favored, and I named it after this.

‘Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ruined the country, so I hope this house doesn’t end up like that.’

I shook my head and shook off the unlucky thoughts.

After deciding on the name, I personally wrote the signboard.

‘No matter how many times I look at it, it’s a masterpiece.’

With the addition of a signboard written in beautiful handwriting by yours truly, any scholar with eyes will not be able to look down on this place easily.

The reason why I only placed ilpae gisaengs who are knowledgeable and mainly engaged in showcasing their talents was also for that reason.

‘I have to create the perception that this is not a place where rowdies come and cause trouble, but a place where elegant and high-ranking noblemen enjoy themselves.’

After completing the delicate furniture arrangement according to the concept, I also started a more practical task.

“Drill a hole in this wall and put a pipe in it to connect it to the next room.”

Even when having important discussions, they wouldn’t leave the gisaengs in the room, so they would naturally send them out and then have secret talks.

I tapped the wall.

‘The camouflage looks perfect.’

===

When Hwang Hee’s corruption was revealed, Bukchon was turned upside down.

Hanseongbu launched an additional investigation into those who had secured land by stealing names in a similar way, and several people were caught in a row, and their houses were confiscated.

As the fire started to spread here and there, Seo Dal’s house, which was the cause of the incident, was slightly pushed out of the public’s attention.

It was not long after that Seo Dal’s house became the center of rumors again.

It was rumored that a wealthy nobleman had bought and renovated the house that had once been confiscated by Hanseongbu.

If that was all, it would have been the end, but stories that piqued the interest of gossips followed.

“It seems that Cho Gung-jang has become the rich man’s concubine.”

“Really? But did he give her the whole big house to use as a concubine?”

“It seems so. Cho Gung-jang even brought her younger ones, and she only invites noblemen who are famous among her old customers.”

“I heard that you have to get Cho Gung-jang’s approval to become a new customer?”

Even people who would have jumped up and down saying, ‘Why are you running a gisaeng house in a place like this?’ if they had opened a gisaeng house in Bukchon, were intrigued when the format changed slightly.

Besides, weren’t all the people who were invited celebrities?

Cho Gung-jang’s reputation as the most famous gisaeng in Joseon and the unique system of operating on a membership basis also aroused a subtle sense of competition.

In addition, the scenery of Nishang Garden itself was very beautiful, so it was only a matter of time before this place became a hot spot in Hanyang.

< Fairy Komi > End

ⓒ Pit Kong

There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]

There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]

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Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] Imagine a Joseon dynasty unlike any you've read before, where the throne isn't yours by right, but by cunning and strategy. What if the most revered king in Korean history, Sejong the Great, was your younger brother? Forced to confront a destiny not of your choosing, you face a daunting question: Can you truly surrender to fate, or will you defy it to forge your own legend in a kingdom ripe with ambition and intrigue? Dive into a world where blood is thicker than water, but power is the ultimate prize. Will you yield, or will you rise?

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