MOSC 32

“My lady, no, Your Highness the Princess! I have done wrong. I will correct all the ledgers. So please, do not report this matter to the royal family!”

Eunuch Gong ultimately cried out as he clung to her ankle.

“Please spare this lowly one’s life! This lowly one will pledge my lifelong loyalty to you! I sincerely repent and will set things right, so please, grant me leniency just this once!”

‘Uh, umm…?’

Watching Eunuch Gong clutching at the hem of her skirt, On looked at Mogyun with a bewildered expression.

However, from that point on, things became even more seriously tangled.

It was because she realized that Mogyun was looking up at her with a deeply moved face.

‘As expected of my lady, no, our madam…!’

…Huh?

Something was truly strange.

On sensed that things were surely going wrong.

A sense of déjà vu, on the same level as when she had been stuck in the master bedroom with Wigyeom and unable to come out, was slowly creeping up on her.

It was not just Mogyun.

Hearing the rumor that the princess who had married into the family had personally stepped forward to quell the conflict between the royal family’s workers and the Shim family’s servants, all of the Shim family’s servants had flocked to the scene.

Seeing the sight of Eunuch Gong weeping and pleading while clutching the hem of On’s skirt, all the family members who had suffered from the conflict with the palace officials wore deeply impressed expressions.

‘What’s this? Is the new madam stepping forward in person like this?’

‘My, she’s a precious jewel of the royal family, and even the young master is head over heels for her, so I thought she wouldn’t lift a finger…. Well now, this is completely different from what I expected, isn’t it?’

‘I thought she’d just be dressing up all day, but isn’t this completely different from what I heard?’

The most spectacular reaction was from Kkeutbun’s mother.

She was the woman who had sent disapproving glances whenever she had the chance, at least until Wigyeom had left.

That same woman was now looking at On with a slightly surprised expression.

Although she did turn her head away with a whoosh as soon as her eyes met On’s.

On stared alternately at them and Eunuch Gong with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Why on earth?’

…Why was the favorability of the household servants increasing?

And for On, the fake madam, not the real Princess Bonghwa at that.

But On did not know.

That this too was part of Wigyeom’s scheme.

…This was deeply related to Wigyeom’s usual attitude toward household affairs.

“Young master, the taste of the water drawn from the inner court well has become completely different. It used to be very clear, fresh water, but these days it has a faint metallic smell. Sometimes it looks cloudy too. When I made soup in the kitchen, the color of the broth became strangely murky. What should I do about this?”

“Aha. That too is the way of nature. If even the rivers and mountains change after hundreds of years, how much more so a well dug by humans? Time will solve it.”

“Young master. I hear strange crackling sounds from the pillar of the inner court’s veranda. The inside of the wood must be empty. It looks like insects are eating it. A small hole appeared last year too, but now even if I tap it with my fingertip, wood powder falls down with a patter. What should I do about this?”

“Aha. As the ancient sages said, a tree must be empty inside to hold the wind, and the wind flows within it to create a greater rhythm, so do not dwell on small things, but accept the harmony of nature.”

Wigyeom’s take-it-easy martial art had built up the resilience of the Shim family’s servants.

…Moreover, this was something the regressed Wigyeom had foreseen and meticulously intended, anticipating the conflict between the Shim family servants and On.

Thus, the servants could not help but be deeply moved by On’s small touches and every word she spoke on their behalf.

“To think the madam would care for us like this! I thought someone from the royal family wouldn’t even give us a second glance!”

“My, the master always just recites the teachings of the sages and doesn’t lift a finger, but the madam just steps forward in person? Is this why they say a woman’s touch is important in managing a household!”

The servants’ murmuring was growing louder.

In the midst of it all, Eunuch Gong was wailing, clinging to her skirt so hard it might come off, just to save his own neck.

“Your Highness the Princess! Please spare this lowly one’s life…!”

“Let, let go!”

On shook him off and hurriedly looked for Princess Bonghwa.

Of course, the culprit who had created this situation was nowhere to be seen. She was surely lying spread-eagled in the side room, taking a nap.

Mogyun immediately rushed at him like a Jindo dog.

“Our lady, no, our madam told you to let go!!”

The Shim family servants, whose morale had risen along with On’s momentum, also joined in.

Kkeutbun’s mother rolled up her sleeves, and the gatekeeper even picked up his cane and swung it in the air.

“If the madam says it’s right, then it’s right! Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Let go of that hand, quickly! What do you think you’re doing to the madam! Who do you think you’re pulling on right now?”

On thought, completely dumbfounded.

…Things were getting tangled, very tangled.

*

The Shim family was facing a period of great upheaval.

The only people to manage the suddenly given ninety-nine-room grand mansion were the gatekeeper and Kkeutbun’s mother, who had been barely maintaining a collapsing thatched-roof house, along with Mogyun and another kitchen maid. Other than them, there were tenant farmers and village acquaintances who came and went for big events.

Even then, because Eunuch Gong and the court ladies had arbitrarily set and disrupted the order of the household, everyone’s dissatisfaction had reached the heavens.

After Eunuch Gong admitted his wrongdoing and voluntarily resigned, the court ladies assigned from the royal family had also all returned to the palace.

There was no additional manpower to support the current problems.

If On had truly been a princess who grew up like a flower in the depths of the nine-fold palace, she would have found it difficult to handle all of this.

…However, the problem (?) was that On was all too familiar with these things.

“Madam, there are not enough people in the servants’ quarters. Eunuch Gong cut all the necessary manpower, so I’m doing all the work by myself! We need some kind of solution!”

“Madam, we have a big problem! The library has been expanded, but the shelves haven’t been built yet, so we can’t organize it. Also, there are so many existing books piled up that many need to be discarded. The books are all mixed up, so I don’t know how to organize all of this….”

“Madam, since this is a newly built house, the floorboards on the veranda are loose and creak every time you take a step. I’m worried the servants will fall. I’m at a complete loss as to how to handle this!”

“Madam, in this big house, there are a few rooms where the ondol floor heating isn’t finished. It’s cold every night, so the servants are all sleeping crowded in one room. The court ladies are using separate heating devices. I’m so worried because I don’t know what to do, madam.”

An endless flood of work directed at her.

The cries of people asking for help.

The endless problems that needed to be solved.

…On felt so familiar with it that she actually felt comfortable.

She even felt a sense of thrill.

‘Ah. Now it finally feels like I’m living like a person.’

A radiance was shining from her face, as if On’s vitality, which had been sucked dry by Wigyeom, had returned.

Her mind had forgotten the past experiences, but her body remembered.

Knowing all the solutions, On came to her senses and found herself giving out instructions one after another without even realizing it.

“Gatekeeper, rehire the necessary manpower, and you will be in charge of their management. When hiring, please divide responsibilities by area. Assign separate people for warehouse management and veranda repairs, and report the wages to me for payment. If there are any unpaid amounts from Eunuch Gong’s ledger, I will have those paid additionally.”

The gatekeeper’s expression cleared up completely, like someone who had gulped down a gourd of cold water on a summer day.

“Mogyun. Books contain the scholarship and history of a family, so expand the library anew and prepare sturdy shelves. Organize each book by category so that future generations can easily access them. Make the library shelves from oak wood, and treat them for moisture prevention to avoid dampness. Stack the shelves away from the direction of sunlight, and fix the paper windows so that dust and insects cannot enter. Divide the books into categories such as Confucian studies, agriculture, medicine, and etiquette, and stamp each category to make them easy to distinguish. After creating a list, you must have it recorded in the ledger.”

Mogyun’s face immediately relaxed, as if it were payday.

“Listen carefully. I will have all the veranda floorboards re-fastened. For this, call a peddler to lay new floorboards and have them re-nailed for fastening. Tell them not to forget to lay straw underneath the floorboards to absorb impact and to cover the top of the floorboards with traditional paper to prevent staining. To prevent the veranda from sagging, check the support pillars and, if necessary, add reinforcing wood to increase durability. You must confirm this and report it to me.”

The faces of the servants, which had been clouded over, suddenly changed to look like a clear sky.

“The ondol floor is a basic part of the household. Who can live comfortably here without proper heating? Starting today, have an ondol master called. I will have the ondol master inspect it directly, and I will have them check if the passages between the furnace and the room, the flues, are blocked. After the final inspection, I will have them light a fire to test the heat and record the temperature in the ledger to prepare for heating problems in the winter.”

Kkeutbun’s mother’s face brightened, as if a ten-day-old constipation had been resolved.

…As soon as On took charge, everything proceeded without a hitch.