Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I was born the daughter of a low-ranking concubine.
Episode 110
Waaah.
My precious new book…….
I rushed into my room and threw myself onto the floor, thrashing and wailing to vent my frustration, while So-i—who’d blocked the other palace attendants from entering—followed me in and tried to comfort me.
“Princess, please calm yourself.”
“I can’t calm down! I can’t!!”
I pounded the floor and shrieked.
Argh! What a waste! My book! I even got a signed copy from the author! Just because he’s the Crown Prince, does that give him the right to everything??
That bastard—running around trying to prevent treason from breaking out, completely oblivious to other people’s feelings!
Why doesn’t he just hurry up and get married so he can have an heir!
I swear I’m half tempted to write him a piece of my mind!
‘Maybe I’ll withdraw the romance commission and request a novel where the Crown Prince falls in love with a man instead.’
That warped thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly dismissed it—if that got circulated, the author could be dragged away on charges of lèse-majesté.
So if I’m going to commission something, I should set it in a fictional East Asian kingdom instead of Joseon, with a crown prince or even a king, but—wait, that’s not what matters right now.
Thanks to the flow of my unconscious mind, I cooled off for a moment and collected my thoughts.
‘Maybe this is actually a good thing?’
Now that I’d thrown such a fit, the Crown Prince probably wouldn’t seek me out for a while. He had an unexpectedly timid streak—since childhood, after we’d fight, he could never bring himself to approach me first.
So while things were like this, I should use the time to settle this matter once and for all.
“……Princess, please don’t switch moods so suddenly like that.”
“Get used to it.”
So-i, who’d tried to calm me down only moments before, watched in exhaustion as I suddenly composed myself on my own. She held out a bowl of water.
The thought of the Crown Prince ignited my anger again, so I accepted the cool water So-i offered and drank it down eagerly, then gathered my thoughts once more.
‘It’s frustrating that the book got torn, but I bought several copies for my collection anyway.’
Thank goodness for being born into wealth.
So-i, who’d known this fact from the beginning, asked in bewilderment.
“Isn’t this your first new book? I thought you deliberately bought multiple copies as a memento of the occasion—one set for the palace and another for your residence at Sa-ga. Why are you making such a fuss over one torn copy?”
“Of course I’m furious. So-i, if you had ten Jade Rings, would you think it’s fine to break one?”
“……No, I wouldn’t.”
“Exactly.”
So-i made a face as if she wasn’t entirely convinced, but she yielded nonetheless.
In a modern society with mass production systems, I might have argued with her. But in this era, books were precious things.
“Go rest now, So-i. But if you hear anything from Seong Gyeom-sabok, come to me right away.”
“Understood. Do you think Gyeom-sabok will be alright?”
“He’ll be fine.”
If he weren’t, I’d have to launch a search immediately.
In truth, Seong Gyeom-sabok had spent his whole life as a Chae-tam-in and had developed considerable expertise in dangerous work; he’d also built up connections throughout the city during his years as a Gyeom-sa-bok, so if there were any danger, he would handle it himself.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from worrying.
That night, for various reasons, I couldn’t fall asleep easily, but eventually exhaustion won and I dozed off.
And word from Seong Gyeom-sabok arrived early the next morning.
It was a message saying he had something to report regarding Siyeongwon and would come to see me today.
Since the news had been relayed through an intermediary, he’d deliberately used Siyeongwon business as an excuse.
Relieved that there was no major trouble, I prepared some snacks and waited for Seong Gyeom-sabok.
“Princess, did anything happen yesterday?”
“No. Nothing much.”
Saying that, I looked Seong Gyeom-sabok over carefully. At first glance, he didn’t seem to have any injuries.
“I had no trouble, so please don’t worry too much.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes. However, Princess, those people seem more dangerous than I initially thought. I think it would be best if you didn’t involve yourself further in this matter.”
“……What kind of matter?”
“I cannot yet speak with certainty, as nothing has come to light, but they were people who treated human life as trivial.”
“……?”
What exactly did he overhear? This man.
I asked carefully.
“Could it be treason of some kind?”
“Pardon?”
But at my question, Seong Gyeom-sabok’s face showed confusion.
From that reaction, it didn’t seem to be treason?
‘Come to think of it, they did mention the Crown Prince at the Kisaeng House, but it wasn’t about doing anything to him. Could I have been barking up the wrong tree?’
But one thing was certain—those people were dangerous.
“I haven’t heard anything to that extent, but…… I’ll look into it further.”
“If it seems dangerous, perhaps it’s best not to get too deeply involved.”
“What power do I have to get deeply involved? I merely thought I might seek help from my former colleagues when they gather next time, to get more accurate information.”
“Right. That’s better than working alone. They’re people at Siyeongwon, aren’t they? I’ll have Min Sanggung relay word ahead of time, so don’t worry about that.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll even throw in hazard pay.”
“Yes, miss.”
Seong Gyeom-sabok laughed softly at my offhand remark.
Right—if I was going to do this anyway, it was reassuring not to do it alone.
Before I had clearer circumstances to work with, I honestly didn’t trust hastily deploying official authority.
“If it gets dangerous, just give up and get out of there fast. Understood? No one is to get hurt. Understood?”
“Yes. I will keep that firmly in mind.”
And so several former Chae-tam-in suddenly found themselves with additional work.
Then, not long after, they brought me something frightening.
“Human trafficking?”
“Yes…….”
Seong Gyeom-sabok wore the expression of someone unsure whether they should be telling me this, but what could he do.
“So what you’re saying is, they turn people into slaves and sell them in secret.”
“Yes. Though it is forbidden in principle, it happens in the shadows—people drowning in debt selling their wives and children, or orphans with nowhere to turn being sold into servitude.”
“If they’re caught, it’s execution. They must be confident they won’t be.”
Hmm, something about this feels like there’s more to it.
“What’s more, even the Slave Market itself was forbidden by His Majesty, was it not?”
“Because of that, trading slaves like goods in a public market was prohibited.”
It had been because of a rebellion discovered before I was born, or so I’d heard.
Of course there was also the reason that it was excessively inhumane. Though individual transactions themselves weren’t forbidden.
It also meant they would not increase the slave population further.
The powerful always wanted to increase their number of slaves, so the ruling gentry weren’t particularly pleased, but when there were those who gathered slaves and attempted treason, not even they could stop the king from establishing various regulations on slave ownership.
Perhaps because of that, oddly enough, many people came forward wanting to donate slaves to me—or rather, to Siyeongwon.
After deliberation, I decided to accept them. I thought it better for them to come to me than elsewhere.
‘Good grief. What do they plan to do with so many…….’
My back ached from teaching the newly arrived slaves to read and write.
It seemed they believed that if I had many slaves, I would offer a negative opinion on abolishing slavery to the king and the Crown Prince. But I had promised nothing.
‘To be safe, I’ve barred them from key facilities at Siyeongwon. Though if there are too many, it becomes a headache to manage, so later I’ll work something out with the Crown Prince to get them manumitted properly.’
At any rate, after that, I knew that illegal trading happened because the slave population couldn’t be increased, but I never imagined such dealings were going on in Hanyang. They’re quite bold.
But surely the transactions wouldn’t be happening openly within the Capital City itself.
“Have you found out where they’re conducting the trade?”
“Of course. We can’t say the exact numbers, but we’ve confirmed with our own eyes where people are being held.”
What—why is he so capable.
Wouldn’t using Seong Gyeom-sabok as my personal guard be a waste of manpower? Wouldn’t it be better to have him working for the state instead?
While I was caught up in a brief fit of efficiency, Seong Gyeom-sabok, not yet sensing his fate, asked:
“Should we report it to the Podogjeong?”
“Hmm…….”
But if word got out that I’d been investigating this, it would seem like an overreach and become a real headache.
“Can we get the information to flow naturally to the Podogjeong?”
There must be someone eager to build merit and make a name for themselves.
Couldn’t we slip the information to that person secretly? If they built merit naturally, it would be a good outcome.
“You won’t report this to the Crown Prince, then?”
“Hmm. He seems busy lately, and I don’t want to let him know I’ve gotten tangled up in something dangerous.”
“That is, well…….”
He’d probably connect it with the night I came home late.
‘Truth is, it wasn’t entirely without danger.’
If I told him, he’d probably end up knowing all the details, and there was a chance I’d slip up and misspeak something myself.
“In that case…… I’ll pass the information quietly to the former Gyeom-sa-bok assigned to the Podogjeong. I happen to know a few motivated ones.”
“Wow, Seong Gyeom-sabok is really too capable.”
“I am rather capable.”
He really does seem like talent the nation needs…….
‘I did think there was nothing for it since he wanted to rest, but somehow he looks pleased?’
Putting aside my personal impressions, the work proceeded as planned.
Besides, it would be strange for me to do anything anyway.
And so Seong Gyeom-sabok and some of the former Chae-tam-in quietly passed the information along to the Podogjeong.
To see how things would unfold, on the day they were supposed to make the exchange, I went along to watch the Podogjeong raid the meeting place directly.
But there was nothing there.
“Is that true?”
“I apologize.”
They did find traces of people having been held in that place, so they avoided the suspicion of a false report, but in the end it amounted to a wasted effort.
The fact that they hadn’t erased their tracks, combined with how little time there was between reporting to the Podogjeong and raiding the site, suggested a high probability that someone inside the Podogjeong was working with them.
Seong Gyeom-sabok was also taken aback and said he would search the place where they’d made contact again, but it didn’t seem like it would be easy.
‘What am I to do.’
So long as what they were trafficking in was human beings, they would never abandon the trade so readily.
They were difficult to gather, difficult to move around—and regardless, even if they were slaves, it would be wasteful to starve them to death without good reason.
‘But what if they killed them to destroy the evidence.’
While I was fretting over this, Yeong-seon unexpectedly came looking for me from Sa-ga.
It was rare for Sa-ga to send someone to find me, but whenever Yeong-seon did visit, the message would come through my closest attendant.
So-i, who had brought Yeong-seon’s letter, asked with curiosity.
“Has something happened, my lady?”
“Not exactly, but I think I should go out and see her.”
“Pardon? But how long has the Crown Prince been angry with you?”
“The fact that Yeong-seon sent someone to Sa-ga saying she had something she absolutely must tell me today suggests it’s probably connected to what happened that day.”
“……!”
I hoped Yeong-seon hadn’t done anything recklessly dangerous.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous.”
“I’m just going to meet with Yeong-seon and hear what she has to say. I can’t be certain whether anyone else is trustworthy.”
“But, my lady…….”
So-i was deliberating how to dissuade me when unexpected news came from outside.
“My lady, Moon Sanggung has arrived from the Eastern Palace.”
“……?”
I’m still in a cold war with the Crown Prince.
I’d been sending him snacks and such, but we weren’t speaking.
And Moon Sanggung, who had come to find me, told me the Crown Prince would make time to visit me shortly.
“Why so suddenly?”
“I merely follow the orders of my lord, my lady.”
With those words, Moon Sanggung smiled awkwardly and bowed her head.
Now what. I need to go out.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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