Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 119

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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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Born as the daughter of a concubine of the lowest rank.
Chapter 119
When Ji-a first went down to Jeolla Province, she had secretly devised something with the other children who were heading to different regions.
“You said if we left now, we could come back to Hanyang on a yearly basis whenever we wanted, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, whenever we come back, wouldn’t you like to bring something that would make the Young Lady happy?”
“Something that would make the Young Lady happy?”
The children fell into confusion at those words.
Si-a, the Young Lady of Siyeongwon, was a Princess, though no one knowing this would doubt she came from an affluent household.
Her skin was fair with healthy color, her black hair adorned with a Colored Hair Ribbon always gleamed with luster. Her clothes were forever neat, beautiful, and lustrous, and her small hands were soft, pale, and immaculate.
When near her, one caught the scent of something pleasant, and there was an ineffable elegance in her bearing.
Ask her anything and she knew everything—encyclopedic in her learning, and forever struck by remarkable ideas.
So much so that her barely aging appearance had at times seemed almost mysterious.
Though after spending enough time with her, one learned she was the sort of person who’d throw that mystery to the chickens for feed without a second thought.
In any case, what gift could delight someone wealthy enough to guarantee food, clothing, and shelter for all the children of Siyeongwon?
As the children all tilted their heads in puzzlement, Ji-a opened her mouth.
Among all the children at Siyeongwon, the one with the deepest bond to the Young Lady was naturally Ji-a.
So it was that the others would often consult Ji-a about matters concerning the Young Lady.
And that day was no exception.
Ji-a was the one who knew best what would delight the Young Lady.
“The Young Lady likes to record everything, doesn’t she?”
“Right, flowers and trees and animals.”
“She even draws them as pictures, gives them names, adds annotations.”
“She drew our faces too, one by one, and gave us names.”
“She even added annotations to those.”
In the Register of Siyeongwon, there were drawings of the children’s faces, their names, and brief notes about their peculiarities—and everyone loved it.
It felt like a special record, something they alone possessed that others did not have.
And the person who created such an unusual thing was the Young Lady of Siyeongwon.
“Anyway, the Young Lady loves records, doesn’t she?”
“She does.”
“So why don’t we gather all sorts of things from whatever regions we visit and bring them back? It would be even better if we could organize them by category. What do you think?”
At Ji-a’s words, all the children’s eyes widened, and they nodded in agreement.
“Oh, that’s good.”
“The Young Lady loved the illustrated maps we made too.”
“She loved the old stories we heard from the village grandmothers.”
“She likes old things.”
“She’ll probably like how to make delicious food. She did make a Recipe Book.”
“We should look for plants that grow only in that region.”
Ji-a’s idea passed unanimously.
The Young Lady of Siyeongwon, who seemed to have everything, was peculiarly fond of recording and collecting such trivial things, so the children would have to spend their effort rather than money to bring her something that would delight her.
In truth, they were all pleased by this fact. It wasn’t as though the Young Lady had less money.
Of course, many of the children also wanted to earn money to contribute to the running of Siyeongwon, worried as they were about its operation.
But that was different from a gift.
They all loved the Young Lady, so they wanted to give her a gift that would delight someone they cared for.
And so Ji-a, who left Siyeongwon and came down to the Jeolla region, taught people to read according to her original purpose while recording all manner of things.
Among the children who traveled with Ji-a was one with decent drawing skill, and she would add illustrations as well.
“That’s how much we’ve gathered.”
Though it didn’t seem like she’d stayed long, the bundle in her hands had become remarkably heavy, and she couldn’t help but sigh.
At this point, people might even believe her if she claimed to be a Book Peddler.
‘But the more I gathered what the Princess would like, the more it all added up.’
Letters went back and forth occasionally to confirm everyone was well, so she might have sent it then, but honestly she didn’t trust it wouldn’t get lost, and besides, she wanted to see the joy on her face in person.
‘She’ll like it, won’t she?’
Old tales that everyone native to this place knew.
All sorts of superstitions and rumors.
Cooking methods for foods she’d never heard of in Hanyang.
Birds and fish that lived only in this place.
Even unusual farming methods if she came across them, she recorded those too.
Reading, recording, collecting. Was this what all Princesses were like? Her tastes really are peculiar.
Thanks to that, people who saw her going about recording things here and there didn’t quite understand, but they treated her well, saying she seemed hardworking.
‘They said I could rest for a while after I return this time, but I haven’t thought of anything in particular to do.’
She wanted to study more, but she couldn’t spend all her time in books while shirking work entirely.
Teaching letters here and watching to make sure the estate manager wasn’t cheating the tenant farmers—it all amounted to drawing a salary from the Princess, after all.
Teaching children at Siyeongwon was fulfilling in its own way, but she wanted to find other work she could do through her own strength, or so she might have said.
She’d dabbled in Medicine a little, but it simply didn’t seem to suit her.
While packing and lost in thought, she heard someone calling to her from outside.
“Teacher! Are you there?”
“What is it?”
Because she taught letters, everyone in the village called anyone from Siyeongwon “teacher.”
Now that she thought about it, “teacher” was a title that had started when she and the other adults from Siyeongwon used it for the elders who taught them letters and Martial Arts, and once she’d taught the children that way, soon enough everyone—young and old alike—just started calling all the people from Siyeongwon “teacher.”
When she went out, she found the children she’d been teaching letters to.
“The man says thank you for helping with the Litigation the other day, and brought something.”
A middle-aged couple who had followed the children gave Ji-a a deep bow.
“We made Jijimi—please have a taste.”
“And here’s some Gulbi. Please take it.”
“But you already gave me a reward last time. Why bring all this?”
“Goodness, if it weren’t for you, I nearly would have lost my land right before my eyes. I’m so grateful. I wish you could stay longer, but I hear you’re returning to Hanyang.”
“The other teachers will remain here, so there’s no need to worry. And new people will be coming as well.”
The children sent out from Siyeongwon to different regions generally had strong educations and had all studied the basics of Legal Studies.
Ji-a had taken more interest in the subject than most after becoming curious about the Jade Ring incident that had been how she first met Si-a, and she’d studied it more thoroughly, but truthfully it had been of little use in Hanyang.
No one there sought arguments with people from Siyeongwon, and when problems did arise, the other adults stepped in.
But surprisingly, since coming down to the provinces, that seemingly useless knowledge had occasionally shone.
At first, there had been a strong sense of rejection toward this stranger from Hanyang, but gradually, as she’d intervened and helped resolve disputes, people had come to rely on her quite heavily.
‘Perhaps studying law more wouldn’t be so bad after all.’
Truth be told, she didn’t dislike it when people depended on her like this. Perhaps the Princess felt the same way when she looked at the Siyeongwon children.
“Wait a moment. Since you’ve brought it, I think we should all eat it together.”
Because Siyeongwon children were never allowed to travel alone for safety reasons, Ji-a naturally wasn’t living alone either.
The Young Lady and the teachers at Siyeongwon had instructed the children to travel in mixed groups of at least five or six.
It was partly because they were going to unfamiliar regions, but mostly because the group was young and mostly quite small, so they worried about being looked down upon or, worse, encountering bandits.
‘They didn’t send anyone out without Martial Arts training, but they still worry this much.’
The children sent out as “teachers” from Siyeongwon were, whether they realized it or not, among the finest dual-discipline graduates of Siyeongwon itself.
The other “teachers” who had come outside at Ji-a’s call were equally pleased to see this unexpected treat.
They shared the Jijimi the couple had brought and some alcohol that appeared from somewhere, falling into light conversation.
“How have things been lately?”
“Teacher always asks the same thing every time we meet.”
“Books alone are no fun, are they? Stories of real people—that’s the most interesting.”
“Ha ha ha. You’re right.”
“You know, everyone’s been pricking up their ears looking for interesting rumors because they know the teachers enjoy them?”
“Is that so? Ha ha ha.”
She’d collected so many stories and rumors that people had begun bringing her new tales and gossip of their own accord.
It was a bit embarrassing, but also welcome. Honestly, it was convenient.
“Oh, now that I think of it, I heard a rather unusual rumor recently.”
“Oh?”
At this point, she could no longer tell if she was doing it for the Princess or if it was simply her own hobby.
***
Siyeongwon, after so long away, remained unchanged.
“Still so many people.”
“Doesn’t it seem like the numbers have grown even more?”
The number of people returning this time, including Ji-a, was not insignificant.
It seemed they all suffered from unexpected homesickness rather than any real work-related problem, and amusingly, the moment they arrived at Siyeongwon, they all habitually headed to bathe, and seeing this familiar sight of one another, they burst into giggles.
“Wow, Ji-a! It’s been so long!”
“A-young, you’ve grown. So, nothing special happened while I was away?”
After greeting the elders, including Court Lady Min, and bathing, Ji-a returned to the room she’d shared with the children, and her body seemed to melt into the floor like sticky rice.
Sprawled out softly on the floor, Ji-a was reunited with her younger siblings.
A-young, grown taller in the time they’d been apart, dried Ji-a’s hair while catching her up on recent happenings.
‘I’ve already heard most of the rumors on the way here, really.’
After all, wasn’t the Tavern always where rumors spread first?
Besides, people from Siyeongwon generally preferred to use the Princess’s chain of Taverns, even if they cost a bit more.
There was the possibility of knowing someone there, it was more comfortable in various ways, and there was something to be said for wanting to spend their money at their own establishment (?), but.
The real reason was actually cleanliness!
‘Yes, there’s nothing like having clean places.’
Teaching literacy was one thing, but instilling proper hygiene in children—that was a battle altogether.
Everyone at Siyeongwon felt keenly the Princess’s frustration about wanting to distribute soap.
“There’s always something.”
“Ah… I heard about the kidnapping incident involving the Young Lady and everything that came after.”
“Our Young Lady looks like just a child at first glance. To think someone would try to kidnap her.”
Rumors had spread through every tavern travelers passed on their way down from Jeolla Province—tales of how the Princess, dressed plainly on purpose to inspect the medical staff’s conduct at Hye Minser, had been abducted on the road.
“Maybe she was just out sightseeing?”
“Not everyone knows she visits Hye Minser regularly.”
And those who did know the truth made no particular effort to contradict or correct the story.
What did the details matter, really? As long as people’s impression of the Young Lady as a good person remained unchanged, the rest was insignificant.
And truthfully,
“We spread that rumor ourselves.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They said it was better than having strange rumors circulate.”
“Haha. The Young Lady is unharmed, I trust?”
“Of course. She was here just a few days ago.”
You could tell that much just by looking at the faces of everyone at Siyeongwon.
“Everyone’s returning home these days, so she’ll be back soon to visit.”
“…Has anything changed about her?”
“No. She hasn’t changed even this much since the day you left Siyeongwon.”
A-young held her index and thumb almost touching, shaking her head.
“I see…”
“Oh, and there’s something you probably haven’t heard yet.”
“…What?”
“The Young Lady has a new man in her life, apparently.”
“What?”

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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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