Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 81

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

Born as the daughter of a minor concubine.
Chapter 81
Though he grumbled about it, the Crown Prince soon allowed Seong Yoon to leave.
It was a sensible choice to abandon the notion that if he wouldn’t let me out, I simply wouldn’t go.
“Your Highness, I’ve missed you so much.”
“I know you’ve been doing fine. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Besides, I’d visited her now and then to check on her, so it wasn’t as though we hadn’t seen each other in ages.
“Your Highness works this one so hard, you wouldn’t believe.”
“The Crown Prince said it seems suited to your temperament. So what—am I the one being unreasonable for calling you here?”
“My goodness, what am I to say? Those enormous, dark creatures that won’t listen to a word—seeing them every day is such a trial. Granted, they say they wash themselves better these days, so they’re not quite as filthy as before, but when those dark beasts roll in the dirt, the stench of it never quite leaves, does it?”
Hmm. The reason everyone was washing themselves better these days was probably because of my obsessive cleanliness—though I felt somewhat wronged about it—which had prompted the palace to pay more attention to hygiene overall.
But wasn’t Seong Yoon the very one rolling about in that dirt in the first place?
Noticing my lukewarm expression, Seong Yoon deftly changed the subject.
“I hear you’ve been sneaking out of the palace lately.”
“It’s rather dull inside the palace walls.”
“I quite agree with that sentiment.”
Ga-i sighed as she watched me shake my head and Seong Yoon nod in agreement.
“If you venture outside the palace walls so frequently, what is to become of us?”
“Besides, a house has already been built for me. They just won’t let me go.”
Those who knew the reason—that I hadn’t grown old enough to marry—made efforts to avoid mentioning it.
“Wouldn’t leaving only make you reluctant to return to the palace?”
“Well, Song Bi and Ga-i will come with me when I go, so I don’t imagine I’ll feel particularly lonely.”
“You mustn’t leave me behind either.”
As Ga-i smiled warmly, Seong Yoon quickly added that he shouldn’t be forgotten.
“Of course, of course. Anyway, the palace has little to recommend it besides its size. We all live within the same walls, yes, but everyone’s so busy we don’t see each other often. It’s hardly different from me visiting frequently as I do now.”
“That is… well, true enough.”
Ga-i nodded, apparently sharing a similar thought.
“Still, I suppose my brother might feel rather lonely.”
“The Crown Prince will likely feel quite lonely indeed.”
This remark came unexpectedly from Seong Yoon, not Ga-i.
“Yet he seems to be managing well lately, with plenty of people around him.”
“But surely courtiers are not the same as Your Highness. The Crown Prince, always occupied as he is, makes efforts to find time to visit you. Please, show a little patience.”
“Mmm.”
We were both stuck in a long period of mutual distrust, so I was hardly in a position to press him about anything.
I had the comfort of knowing no one saw fit to attack me, but the Crown Prince lived in constant tension.
‘If only he had a Crown Princess he could truly confide in, it might help.’
The most likely candidate was Ji Hwa, who had disappeared.
Once the lady returned, the Crown Prince could finally find peace.
“Then I’ll stay in the palace until the Crown Princess arrives.”
“A wise decision.”
Why did everyone look so pleased with themselves?
“That doesn’t mean I won’t leave the palace walls at all.”
“We never expected you would.”
Everyone knew me well enough by now.
‘As if I could actually leave and live independently even if I wanted to.’
There were families who would buy a house for a minor, but nowhere that would grant independence to one so young.
Here, adulthood wasn’t determined by age alone, which was the crux of the matter.
***
After Seong Yoon, my erstwhile personal guard, returned, I arranged for the children to meet me at Cheonggyecheon at a scheduled time instead of going back to Si Yeong Won.
As I’d promised Si-a, my first task was to find that physician she knew.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve been there once before with the children, but when on earth was that?’
That day, I’d wandered about following the children, so finding a specific house based on those old memories seemed impossible.
The memory might be hazy for the children too by now, but they certainly knew Hanyang’s geography better than I did.
‘It’s not as though we’ve forbidden them from playing outside, so they probably haven’t forgotten.’
It seemed they’d continued exchanging with that physician’s daughter since then.
Finding the way shouldn’t pose a problem.
‘Since it’s been a while, I’ll bring something tasty.’
With that thought, I set out for the meeting place with the Castella that Song Bi had made.
But when the children appeared at the rendezvous, they handed me a piece of paper with impish grins on their faces.
“What is this?”
“Take a look.”
“……A map?”
“The children and I drew it together.”
“I see.”
I’d mentioned in passing to the children, during my visits to Si Yeong Won over the years, that I wanted to make a map of the Capital City—just something I’d said in the moment, a few times over.
‘And they actually went and drew one.’
It was exactly the map I’d once wanted to have the children create.
The map was covered in meticulous details: what stood before a certain bridge over Cheonggyecheon, who lived in the house visible across the alley, how many family members they had, what trees grew there, whether they kept dogs or cats—a neighborhood sketch so thorough it resembled a child’s drawing of the area around their home, yet detailed enough to actually navigate by.
And that was precisely what I’d hoped for.
I walked slowly, checking the position of “the house where that kind older sister gives out good food” that the children had marked on the sketch.
As I began to walk, the children followed with eager faces, trailing behind me.
I pointed out one by one the houses the children had especially emphasized on the map, since they were easy to spot.
“Ha. There’s even a drawing of a dog. Who drew that?”
“Some of the newer children are learning painting from Je Young.”
“Ah.”
Je Young was the name of that girl who’d boldly raised her hand back then, saying she knew how to draw.
Along with Je Young, a few others had been capturing the daily life within Si Yeong Won in paintings, following my suggestion.
Of course, since we couldn’t know what the future held, they were also learning Literacy, sewing, and cooking—but somehow, between all that, someone said, “Then let’s learn painting too!” and now they were taking turns, studying bit by bit together.
Since we couldn’t waste paper, they’d started by drawing pictures on the ground with sticks.
It seemed an unexpectedly thorough elementary education was taking shape, even beyond what I’d initially intended.
‘Now that I think about it, they’re even keeping diaries.’
Yangban women, children born from beggary, nobi—
Si Yeong Won had somehow gathered people with diverse pasts. I’d gifted a notebook to each of those who’d learned Hangul.
I’d offered some encouraging words, telling them to record their own histories and other such things, then look back on them later. Everyone had fallen quiet and wore moved expressions, which made me feel a bit guilty, but…….
‘I was just hoping to preserve everyday life records from common folk of Joseon…….’
I was genuinely curious about the contents myself, but they were others’ privacy, and besides, if people like me or Sanggung Min started nosing around, we’d probably waste paper on pointless praise—so I’d made them solemnly promise that no one else could ever read what they wrote.
Well, anyway, a few hundred years from now, privacy or not, it’ll all just be treated as historical records.
Still, I’ve heard that Sanggung Min is poking her nose into this and that.
With the caste system and royal era being what they are, she’s apparently teaching them thoroughly what topics shouldn’t be written about.
Indeed, there were already enough people who’d fallen into ruin for being labeled traitors—so if any of them happened to write something that could be used against them and it got discovered, their futures wouldn’t be guaranteed.
‘Now that I mention it, when I assigned their education to Sanggung Min, I said to teach the boys and girls equally, without distinction—and I heard even the boys have become much more well-behaved.’
From the way Mauri couldn’t meet my eyes when relaying this, she seemed to have been frightened.
‘Just how strictly is she teaching them……?’
Could it be that Si Yeong Won is actually implementing that famous strict regimen……?
I’d heard early on, when Si Yeong Won first opened(?), that teaching the boys was harder than expected, so I’d just left them in her hands—but surely it’s fine, right?
‘Well, actually, Si Yeong Won has plenty of people who could keep the children in line even if they misbehaved or talked back.’
I’d informed Sanggung Min and the palace servants beforehand that there were Chae-tam-in among the people working there.
I wanted them all to respect and be mindful of each other.
With such thoughts on my mind, following the map as I walked, before long I’d crossed Cheonggyecheon and was climbing upward.
From the children’s mischievous gleams earlier, they seemed to be hoping I wouldn’t be able to read the map—but I wasn’t just a princess who’d grown up within the palace walls; I was a Korean who’d completed twelve years of basic education and gone on to university.
As if I couldn’t read a charming little sketch like this.
And the fact that they’d put so much care into making it this detailed, yet still hoped I wouldn’t find it—it was endearing, really.
“Hmm, is this the right way?”
“Yes, it is!”
Whenever I asked them politely, the children jumped for joy—it was fun playing along with them like that.
From what the children told me, many Jung-in lived around Cheonggyecheon.
People like Uigwan or Yeok Gwan—those with money in specialized professions, so to speak.
‘Hmm…… Is it kind of like a Han River view apartment complex? Cheonggyecheon view?’
Though in this era, houses were single-story dwellings with spacious courtyards, so the views probably weren’t quite that dramatic.
Places like Bukchon and Seochon are close to the palace, so they have the feel of wealthy neighborhoods where Yangban live.
Thanks to that, the children knew the Cheonggyecheon area well—they’d gone begging around those wealthier homes. Since the threshold there was a bit lower than at Yangban houses, you might say it was a good beginner route.
“From here……to the house with the knot tied on a tree branch, then turn right…….”
“How on earth do you find it so well?”
“Well, you drew the map so well~?”
“Ehehehehe.”
Seeing A Young laugh with delight, I found it so charming I reached over and patted her head—and I felt gazes from around us. Soon enough, realizing I must look like a young lady from a Yangban household, people seemed to nod knowingly and move on.
‘It’s strange, being smaller than I used to be.’
I was older in years, yet looked younger now.
When I factored in my previous life’s age, worrying about such things seemed absurd anyway.
And while it was convenient—and inconvenient—not having to call children older than me in this life “older sister” due to rank differences, the ambivalence itself felt odd.
‘Ugh, what a mess.’
I clicked my tongue and checked the map—the destination was nearly within reach.
“We’re almost there, I think…….”
“Young miss!”
Along with Seong Yoon’s voice, my body suddenly lifted off the ground and my vision spun sideways in one swift rotation.
And in the same instant, a woman’s shriek cut through the air.
“Eek!”
“Wha—?”
The scenery should have been the same as what I’d been looking at moments before, but as I lowered my head, I found Seong Yoon’s hand was already steadying a woman who’d nearly fallen.
“I—thank you. Are you hurt? Young miss……?”
The woman, Heo Seong Ji, straightened herself with an unsteady wobble, bowed her head in gratitude, and then caught sight of me—her face flickering with a moment of surprise.
“It’s been a long time since we last met. I apologize for showing you such an ungraceful moment. I’ll offer my proper respects another time.”
And with that brief exchange, she clenched her teeth and turned sharply away.
Standing in that direction was a man whose face had flushed a deep crimson.
No—looking closer, it wasn’t just his face that was burning red. Everything visible about him seemed to flush with color.
And this man appeared to be the one responsible for nearly knocking Heo Seong Ji into my path just moments ago.
“Save my child! Save my child, I’m begging you! Because of you, my child is going to die! How are you going to take responsibility for this?!”
What in the world was happening now.

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