Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 87

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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 as the daughter of a lowly concubine.
Chapter 87
“Why do you keep coming here?”
“Because this is the only place I can hear the young lady sing.”
Maehyang’s face lit up as though she’d been waiting for my arrival.
Unlike the last time I’d seen her—when she’d been dressed in the flamboyant garb of a gisaeng—she wore relatively plain clothes now, though not so different that I wouldn’t recognize her.
“When did I ever sing for you?”
“I heard you’ve been teaching the children songs, young lady.”
“I didn’t teach them anything.”
They just picked up what I was humming to myself.
Ignoring my denial, Maehyang smiled knowingly.
“So the children are learning from you instead.”
“Maehyang! You’re going to sing too, aren’t you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Do you want to hear me sing?”
“Yes!”
Apparently, during my absences, Maehyang had visited often enough to become close with the children—they all called her “sister” and followed her around without restraint.
Why did I feel so left out?
“Sister Maehyang?”
The gisaengs who had just arrived at Siyeongwon seemed to know Maehyang as well; they clustered around her eagerly.
“Songhwa? What brings you all here?”
“Sister, we heard you’ve been going out a lot lately—and here you are! Today everyone was complaining you weren’t around, saying such rude things about…… those arrogant gentlemen…!”
I didn’t mind that they were cursing those men, but I probably shouldn’t let them curse in front of the children. Then again, the children probably understood anyway.
They might understand more than I think.
Without anyone influential around to keep them in line, those men had grown bolder and made life harder for the children.
Maehyang, noticing that many of the people moving busily about the courtyard were familiar faces, looked puzzled. This couldn’t be a scene she was used to seeing.
“But what are all of you doing here?”
“I accidentally interfered with their business, so I agreed to compensate them with performance fees instead.”
“Their business? The young lady?”
“Yes. The young lady said she would provide compensation fees and told us to follow her, and I wondered what she had in mind, but I never expected to end up at a place like this.”
“Well, you’re certainly excited about it.”
“Of course! Today we don’t just need singing and dancing, do we? Isn’t that right, young lady?”
“If you want to do more, just watch the children for me…….”
As I swayed helplessly under the tug of children clinging to my skirts, Songhwa laughed brightly, as if I’d made a joke.
“Of course! Children are much sweeter than those rude men who don’t care about music and just paw at us!”
“Hmm.”
I’d been a little worried that they might dislike performing in front of noisy children, but to my surprise, none of them seemed reluctant.
“Won’t the children find the singing and dancing strange? It might get quite loud.”
At my words, both Songhwa and Maehyang smiled broadly.
“How often do the gentlemen who hire gisaengs actually see us as artists rather than mere entertainers?”
“That’s…… true, I suppose.”
Now that I thought about it, they had a point.
“Sister! Sister Maehyang! Come here for a moment! You too, Songhwa!”
“Yes, sister!”
“Goodness, I came here to rest today.”
When did this become your private retreat?
Grumbling as she went, Maehyang headed toward the gisaengs along with Songhwa.
Some of the gisaengs huddled around Maehyang, putting their heads together and beginning what looked like a serious conversation to seek her advice.
The young children of Siyeongwon, fascinated by the gisaengs’ brilliant clothing, trailed after the women’s skirts, laughing merrily.
Thanks to Min Sanggung’s strict teaching since their early years, the older children showed no sign of rudeness or disrespect.
The younger ones who knew no better, of course, simply followed along thinking it fun, only to be caught by their older siblings and let out shrieks of protest.
Some gisaengs seemed to dislike children, but the little ones had an uncanny sense for it and stayed away from those women.
‘Since the gisaengs are occupied with Maehyang, I should take this chance to speak with Min Sanggung.’
I needed to explain why I’d suddenly arranged this entertainment today.
No matter how obediently the people of Siyeongwon followed my wishes without complaint, it wasn’t right to overlook those actually managing the work.
Of course, Min Sanggung accepted my explanation without much objection.
“I understand your meaning well, ma’am. Even if everyone takes a day of rest, there should be no trouble, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“However, the children who are outside today will be disappointed.”
“Oh.”
Now that I thought about it, Ji-a wasn’t at Siyeongwon at the moment either.
I was mulling over whether I should set a new date and invite them again when Min Sanggung asked with curiosity.
“But tell me, why do you show such consideration to the gisaeng?”
“They’re people too. You think they enjoy being harassed by those beasts?”
“You truly have deep compassion, young lady.”
I simply dislike sexual harassers.
“Why don’t you go out and enjoy the Song and Dance for a while? Take a rest. I know I’m one to talk, always bringing you work.”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I get to see such sights after so long.”
Min Sanggung must have seen court jinyeon performances when she worked in the palace, but once you leave the palace, such opportunities rarely come around.
Still, the lack of leisure time was probably my fault.
When I went outside, they were singing and dancing without formality, playing freely. Though preparations weren’t quite complete yet, there were musicians playing, so the whole atmosphere had become one big celebration.
Since there wasn’t much social distance to worry about, everyone seemed comfortable and relaxed.
They’d brought food to eat, and it was all laid out now.
The children were frantic to taste foods they’d never seen before.
“Quiet now! I’ll distribute the food in portions, so don’t touch anything!”
Unable to bear the commotion, Min Sanggung’s sharp command sent the children scattering backward in a rush.
Since she was responsible for their education, she seemed stressed by how loose they were becoming in front of others.
It was true—such a thing could never happen in the palace. Though it had been years, everyone had relaxed somewhat.
On the other hand, the people from Chae-tam-in looked bewildered and fascinated to see gisaeng and akgong arrive.
I realized I’d been working them too hard.
I should have let them enjoy proper cultural experiences and rest. These people were so naive they were amazed by gisaeng, even though they had plenty of money.
I felt like an exploitative employer.
Though, thinking about it, that assessment might not be entirely wrong.
Since I only dropped by occasionally, I didn’t actually know how their work schedules were organized.
I’d have to ask Min Sanggung about it later.
Startups are chaotic in their first years anyway—no systems, no structure.
While I was lost in thought, they finally settled down and the gisaeng began their performance.
The children, who’d only ever seen people dance and sing on a whim, fell completely silent and mesmerized.
“Ooooooh!!”
With no one throwing crude remarks, and the audience’s enthusiastic response clearly welcoming, both the gisaeng and the akgong seemed delighted.
Though the children were the most thrilled of all.
I worried they’d want to learn performance arts themselves—not that many of them had motivation for their studies already.
Unless this were an age where entertainers could achieve great success, it would be very difficult in this era for gisaeng, jesters, or akgong to improve their circumstances significantly.
Besides, their world already had its own established hierarchy.
“What do you think, young lady? Does it please you?”
“Yes.”
I’d expected Maehyang to join the other gisaeng, but instead she stood beside me watching the performance and asking. I nodded honestly.
You might think I’d seen court jinyeon before, but the truth is I was born into chaos, and there were always complications. When I was young, I was often ill and too small to attend such events. Once I grew older, the palace atmosphere was rarely serene enough for celebrations and performances.
The Crown Prince’s consort, the Crown Prince, my birth mother, Prince Gyeong-eon, the Queen Dowager—they fell one after another. Now that I think about it, that’s quite a lot.
And even now, I’m still in mourning. Honestly, three years of mourning seems excessive.
“Do you know her?”
“Yes. Some of the children I taught are here. That girl there, Songhwa, whom you rescued—she’s one of them.”
“She looks quite young still.”
“And yet she’s a gisaeng.”
It was amusing that I, who was clearly younger than Songhwa by anyone’s measure, should comment on how young she looked. But in terms of position, I was right to be concerned for her.
“If there are so many strange men like that, what do they do?”
“We avoid them as best we can—what else can powerless people do? Every day, if we could be as fortunate as Songhwa was when she met you, how wonderful that would be.”
There was a weight to her voice that I found hard to bear.
“But that child was lucky, wasn’t she? Who else would step forward like you did in such a situation? The scholars who recite proper principles and Confucian wisdom—they’re the very ones who harass us. Noble ladies dislike us, but would they ever intervene in such matters?”
“Well…”
That was only possible because I held an unusual position. This era was fundamentally ruled by status.
Finding nothing to say, Maehyang laughed awkwardly.
Just then, Songhwa’s song ended and everyone burst into applause.
“I didn’t mean to speak ill of the nobility before you. As an apology and token of gratitude, though I’m unworthy, I’ll sing a verse myself.”
“But you’re a gisaeng of high value.”
“Then you needn’t worry about wasting jeontdu on me, surely.”
“I’m about to be cleaned out anyway.”
How much was she planning to extract?
At my weak protest, Maehyang laughed with a soft chuckle and stepped forward.
It seemed the order hadn’t been planned, for the gisaeng stirred with surprise, but the children, thrilled by this unexpected appearance, shrieked with delight.
She visits often but never sings—the response is certainly enthusiastic.
Soon Maehyang began to sing.
Fan in hand, she sang in time with the janggu’s rhythm, and it was easy to understand why everyone gasped in admiration.
‘I may not know much about this era’s music, but good singing is good singing, no matter who hears it.’
A master vocalist’s voice revealed itself in a single phrase.
With murmurs of appreciation, the song ended, and thunderous applause erupted once more.
Nearly everyone from Siyeongwon had gathered, so the noise was to be expected, but somehow the sound carried far beyond—turning toward the commotion, I saw crowds pressed against the outer wall.
‘Ah, a far better vantage point than a nobleman’s banquet.’
Maehyang bowed gracefully in acknowledgment of the applause, then gestured to the children waiting in the back. They emerged with their instruments as if they’d been counting the moments.
The familiar melody began to flow, and before I knew it, a sigh escaped me.
“Good heavens.”
The song I had sung—somehow perfected through the children—they were now belting out with lyrics they’d added themselves.
If this was what it took to become a master vocalist, then ordinary determination simply wouldn’t suffice. By this point, I supposed I should concede defeat, but since it wasn’t my composition, there was nothing to be done about it anyway.
Still, hearing that familiar, wistful melody wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
‘It is a bit lonely, isn’t it—knowing something only by myself.’
Having no one to share the things I knew was a peculiar sort of solitude.
So hearing someone else sing this song from my past life was almost welcome.
‘If only there were copyright protection, that is.’
But it seemed far too late to guard the copyright now…….
All those people listening beyond the wall would surely be humming this tune as they left.
This song has become public property…….
At least I could be grateful the lyrics remained protected.
Maehyang, singing, winked at me with one eye.
Don’t do that. It’s growing on me.

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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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