Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 71

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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 lowborn concubine.
Chapter 71
Hoarding.
Or monopoly and withholding.
The practice of purchasing certain goods in bulk or exclusively, then selling them when demand spikes and prices soar.
‘A wicked thing that disrupts the market.’
And because Joseon despised commerce and industry, its stunted economy and small market made such practices remarkably potent.
Which is to say.
It was also a simple means of earning vast sums.
“Princess, if this lowborn servant heard correctly, did you just speak the word ‘hoarding’?”
“Yes.”
“How, then, did you come to know such a term?”
“I heard about it at a tavern last time. There’s a wealthy man who made a fortune through hoarding.”
……!
It’s true.
I’d been uncertain about this world’s economic level, but now I had a reference point.
The Essential Reading of Korean Test-Takers: The Tale of Huh Saeng.
‘Huh Saeng hoarded offerings for ancestral rites—fruits and horsehair, the luxury goods consumed mainly by the gentry. Items that wouldn’t much harm the common people’s daily lives.’
I dislike monopoly and withholding in general, but… limited to luxuries, it was a method that barely troubled the conscience.
Let me verify this work by Park Ji-won.
But hoarding is wicked, everyone.
‘The system here is still a mess. They don’t even properly suppress hoarding.’
So it’s probably at a level similar to the later Joseon period.
In Joseon times, the ways for someone without exceptional talent to become wealthy boil down to this.
1. Conduct intermediary trade with China or Japan.
2. Engage in monopoly and withholding.
Intermediary trade is usually possible only for a Yeokgwan or someone with connections to one.
Even Byeon, the richest man in Hanyang who lends money to Huh Saeng in the Tale, was modeled after a real Yeokgwan of that era—Byeon Seung-eop, they say.
Of course, lacking such means, some risked their lives doing smuggling, forbidden by the state.
‘It shows up rather often in historical dramas too.’
Usually, a protagonist suffering under class barriers dreams of reversing their fate through smuggling, generally being chased by soldiers at the black-market site while providing action sequences that showcase their desperation, boldness, and competence.
After all, if the protagonist’s life becomes too easy in a historical drama, it’s no fun.
But such things are done by protagonists or their mentors—people capable enough to overcome hardship and adversity and reach the pinnacle of competence.
As for me, an extra who should have long ago disappeared, I simply chose an easy life.
Having been born into such a good station, why would I do such difficult work?
I’d delegate it to a capable subordinate instead.
“Princess, you’re asking too much of this lowborn servant.”
“Sorry. But besides you, who could I trust with something like this?”
“But if it were to fail, how could this humble servant account for such a vast sum……”
“Then it’s my mistake, and I’ll simply tighten my belt.”
After apologizing and foisting the task upon her, Ga-i sighed but didn’t protest.
Thus did I hand over to Ga-i—my confidante and wealth manager—a fortune and full authority over the matter. Since they were luxury items, the initial capital was necessarily substantial.
One might think I’m treating Ga-i unfairly, but truthfully, I had no choice but to entrust her.
Because in the original work, Ga-i, having won Yeong-bin’s trust and served as her confidante, secretly managed and grew Yeong-bin’s wealth.
She even leaked information about Yeong-bin’s illicit money flows to the protagonist, putting Yeong-bin and Gyeong-eon in difficult positions.
‘Why would I look for someone else when I have a proven capable person who happens to be my own confidante?’
Though circumstances differed from that time, Ga-i seemed capable of managing this too.
Not long after, Ga-i truly multiplied the money as instructed.
Of course, she didn’t go alone—she brought along Seong Yoon and a few sturdy gentlemen from Si-yeong-won.
I’d wondered whether hoarding would really work as easily as in novels.
It did.
“As Your Highness instructed, we monopolized horsehair purchases, and truly, we earned a considerable fortune in a short time.”
I calmed the gleaming-eyed Ga-i, and after earning money one more time with a different item, I decided to stop hoarding there.
Given that such merchant monopolies already existed in this era, it seemed everyone knew the practice but couldn’t enter the market due to initial capital concerns or competition from established monopolies.
I had money. I had protective personnel trained in reconnaissance.
And honestly, some power too.
“A long tail gets caught. Let’s stop here.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In fact, I discovered that laws against hoarding existed—they simply weren’t enforced.
The law meant nothing when enforcement authorities didn’t do their job.
‘Hmm. I was thinking of targeting luxury goods so the common people wouldn’t take a hit, but if the yangban start feeling the pinch, wouldn’t that just make them tighten their grip? Then again, maybe not.’
Worried that anything too drastic would backfire, I’d kept things moderate—but not long after, I was startled to hear the Crown Prince himself mention the rising price of horsehair.
“I hear horsehair prices have shot up lately—it’s all anyone talks about.”
“By much?”
“At first it seemed to climb a little because goods were scarce, but now it’s gone up several times over, from what I’m told.”
But we hadn’t manipulated things that aggressively.
I felt oddly guilty, so I pressed further.
“Did the supply dry up?”
“It seems the shipments from Jeju Island have fallen short because of rough seas. That’s something beyond human control.”
So it wasn’t my doing after all. I felt a quiet wave of relief and steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Is that so? Horsehair is used to make manggeon, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Hmm. But horsehair is a horse’s tail. So they’re cutting off the horses’ tails?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Apparently horses don’t mind having their tails trimmed.
“Come to think of it, manggeon and gat are… luxuries.”
“Aren’t they essentials for the yangban?”
“The gwanja is a luxury too.”
“Why are you suddenly picking a fight with me over this?”
The Crown Prince fiddled with the jade gwanja pinned to his manggeon knot and grumbled.
Well, that was hardly fair—jade had been one of the items I’d hoarded.
“I just remembered how you criticized me for collecting ceramics.”
“But ceramics aren’t even used, are they? And beyond ceramics, you’re collecting all manner of antiques too.”
“So what if I collect antiques? They’re important.”
Do you understand the importance of historical records? I’m preserving them properly so I can pass them down to future generations.
When I glared at him, the Crown Prince shook his head.
“Fine, fine. I understand. My little sister has unusual tastes, that’s all.”
“Better than the Crown Prince, who has no tastes at all.”
“What do you mean I have no tastes?”
“Well. You’re the Crown Prince born for both learning and martial prowess. You’re a person without any interest in novels whatsoever.”
“You’re calling your brother a bookworm?”
“Yes, yes. The very foundation of the realm itself—learned and martial, yet utterly devoid of amusement. You’ve never read a single entertaining story in your life.”
“You use the strangest words sometimes.”
I couldn’t exactly call him a dull person outright.
“Ah, but speaking of antiques and ceramics—these days I’m not so much collecting them as receiving them as gifts, since word spread that I like them.”
Lately, between running Si-yeong-won and expanding business ventures, I haven’t had the mind to spend money on hobbies, yet gifts keep arriving.
“But is it proper for me to accept them?”
“You’re still young, so I’d like to tell you not to concern yourself too much with gifts from the royal relatives, but…”
The Crown Prince trailed off with an ambiguous expression, much like I felt.
The royal relatives sending gifts—cousins I saw perhaps a handful of times a year—clearly wanted to win my favor, and their motives were transparent.
A cold king, a queen who showed no weakness, and their son the Crown Prince, who revealed his true thoughts to no one. And ever since the poisoning incident, everyone down to the servants in my Residence had been locked in airtight defense. There was hardly a crack for anyone to slip through.
They should have paid attention when I was younger. With the Crown Prince and Gyeong-eon above me, and being both young and sickly besides, with a mother from a lesser house, Gyeong-eon hadn’t received much warm regard from the royal relatives.
By comparison, I was still young and seemed manageable, and I had won the favor of both the king and the Crown Prince—so they wanted to cultivate my goodwill for when I might be useful to them later.
‘When I marry out, it’ll probably get worse.’
For now, only the royal relatives could visit me, but anyone could visit a woman once she was married out to a noble house.
And the royal relatives’ sudden solicitude had another cause besides—someone who had occupied their attention until very recently.
It was natural, really. And so the conversation had drifted that way.
“Yes. Is the Yeonran-go prepared for the Dowager Queen?”
“Yes. Since the weather’s cold lately, it cools quickly even without help. Song Bi is making the French toast, so if we go now, it should be ready just in time.”
For reference, French toast is what we call French toast.
The Crown Prince and I were waiting briefly before setting out to pay our respects to the Dowager Queen.
I had originally been forbidden from entering the Dowager Queen’s Palace for a time, but that was no longer the concern.
‘When the Dowager Queen learned that Gyeong-eon had been given the poison cup, she finally took to her bed.’
When word spread that she had lost consciousness, everyone worried that something dreadful had happened. Fortunately, the Dowager Queen’s eyes opened not long after.
At the time, I worried that visiting might make things worse, but as her granddaughter, I couldn’t fail to visit in such circumstances.
So I prepared the Yeonran-go and went to the Dowager Queen’s Palace with the Crown Prince. When she said she’d let me in without turning me away—something unexpected—the Dowager Queen suddenly took my hand and wept.
‘Princess, now only you and the Crown Prince remain at the king’s side. Please protect him. This old woman is now…’
‘Grandmother?!’
The Dowager Queen had set such a heavy mood that everyone tensed, but she simply fell back asleep.
It seemed the shock had weakened her considerably.
In any case, after that the Dowager Queen received my visits warmly, but I made a point of accompanying the Crown Prince whenever possible, lest I provoke her needlessly.
“Ah, the Crown Prince and Princess have come.”
“Your Highness.”
“Your Highness.”
When the Dowager Queen regained consciousness some days later, she could converse, but rising from her seat exhausted her; she preferred liquid meals.
This was no good sign, and everyone worried. Moreover, her appetite was not what it had been.
Yet sometimes when I sent word of my visits, she expressed a desire for the foods I had prepared and sent ahead, so I found myself making the journey to see her quite often.
“Your Highness, I have been remiss in my duties, neglecting to pay my respects for some time.”
“What are you saying? It is only natural that the heir to the throne should be occupied. Tell me, did you come with the Princess today?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The Princess has brought food that she herself prepared, and you must eat it.”
“The food the Princess brings is always sweet and soft—pleasant to eat.”
“Did not the royal physician himself say so? That if you eat well, you will recover your strength and be back on your feet?”
“Crown Prince……”
“If there is anything Your Highness wishes to eat, please say so at any time. I shall personally see that it is brought for you.”
Beside this warm tableau of grandmother and grandson, I sat quietly, my thoughts elsewhere.
‘He’s not the one fetching anything,’ I mused.
It’s all the servants.
How could one expect sincerity from someone who makes empty promises like that, as if he were doing it himself?
‘Of course, an heir to the throne cannot go wandering into the mountains in the depths of winter to gather wild berries, like some filial piety legend.’
Still, this is the palace, so even in winter we have access to fresh, fine ingredients, which would be good for the patient.
Fresh vegetables—not dried ones—are used even in winter, though fruits would be difficult. This is because of greenhouse cultivation.
Greenhouse cultivation had supposedly existed since King Sejong’s reign in Joseon, though historically the technique was lost.
I’d heard that a book of old wisdom discovered in modern times contains relevant information on the matter, and that the principles and methods have been clarified.
I suspect the main reason such a useful technique fell into disuse was that scholars objected to it, saying it went against the natural order. In any case, greenhouse cultivation was still being practiced here.
Of course, only for consumption within the royal household.
‘It would be wonderful if others could eat fresh vegetables in winter too.’
Seasonal food is said to be best, but is it not difficult to live through the depths of winter eating only dried or pickled vegetables?
People don’t have the means to eat much meat either.
‘……Should I try it? Greenhouse cultivation?’
Should I request permission, or should I simply press ahead?
I sat demurely with downcast eyes before the Dowager Queen, but I soon found a suitable pretext.

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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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