Fake Concubine 4

Moon ​Hae-min ​took ​careful ​steps. ​The closer he ​got ​to ​Song ​Seol, ​the more he felt ​a ​chill. It wasn’t ​just his imagination; ​he ​had ​goosebumps. ​Hae-min ​hunched ​his shoulders.

“Take it.”

Song ​Seol ​held ​out a bundle. ​On top of neatly ​folded paper ​were an ​inkstone, ink, ​and three ​brushes.

“…Thank ​you.”

Moon ​Hae-min accepted the ​bundle. It ​felt like something prepared ​in advance. Perhaps the ​Steward had mentioned that ​he needed ​writing ​tools.

How pathetic, shame washed over him. ​It felt like his ​weakness ​had ​been ​exposed. ​Hae-min bowed deeply.

“I ​will use ​them ​gratefully, Grand Prince.”

“See ​that ​you do.”

Song Seol replied indifferently.

After ​bowing deeply ​again, ​Moon Hae-min left ​the ​detached ​room.

He ​hadn’t ​realized it ​before, ​but he ​must have been bored. To think that ​copying was so ​enjoyable.

Moon Hae-min copied ​the entire novel he ​had borrowed ​from the Book ​Rental ​Shop in one ​night. He only ​closed his ​eyes ​for a ​short ​while around ​dawn ​and immediately ​headed ​to ​the Book Rental ​Shop.

“You ​copied all ​this ​in ​one ​day?”

The Bookstore Owner asked, his eyes wide. After checking Moon Hae-min’s manuscript, he was even more surprised.

“No, it’s a waste to copy frivolous books with such fine handwriting. Are you perhaps a student?”

“No, I am not.”

“Really? It’s the kind of handwriting that should be used to write scriptures, not frivolous books…”

Moon Hae-min smiled bitterly.

Why wouldn’t he want to write scriptures himself? Moon Hae-min visit our sitehad as much desire for learning as any other Confucian scholar. He had once secretly dreamed of passing [unauthorized copy]the [visit our site]civil service examination and holding office.

However, as an illegitimate son, Moon Hae-min was not qualified to take the examination. The dream, which he couldn’t even properly pursue, vanished, and all that remained was the skill of writing letters quickly and neatly.

‘But I suppose it’s something to have even this skill.’

He wanted to make good use of this skill as much as possible. Fortunately, the Bookstore Owner smiled kindly and continued.

“I don’t know where you’re from, but we’ve got a good scribe here. I’ll pay you generously, so let’s work together.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Can you copy three books this time?”

“Of course.”

Hae-min received the books from the Bookstore Owner. At first glance, two were novels, and one was Dongmongseonseup.

“This book is…”

“This one isn’t for selling or [unauthorized copy]renting, but I [unauthorized copy]need it personally. It’s for my son to study.”

“Ah, I see.”

Dongmongseonseup was a textbook that children learned after Cheonjamun. Moon Hae-min also had memories of learning Dongmongseonseup over Hee-yul’s shoulder when he was young.

“If he’s going to study anyway, he should learn with neat handwriting.”

“Leave it to me.”

He was grateful that they thought so highly of his handwriting. Hae-min left the Book Rental Shop with a happy heart.

For once, he felt motivated. It was in Moon Hae-min’s nature to respond to expectations. Since they trusted his skills and entrusted him with the work, he wanted to repay them with good results.

Thus, Moon Hae-min returned to his residence and immediately began working.

Hae-min meticulously copied Dongmongseonseup. His efforts were not in vain, and he completed a manuscript with such beautiful handwriting that it seemed too good to be used as a textbook for children. It was only natural that the Bookstore Owner was very satisfied with it.

Moon Hae-min’s daily life became increasingly busy.

The copying work was just the beginning. Somehow, he ended up helping [visit our site]the Bookstore Owner’s son with his studies. [stolen content]As word spread, children who wanted to learn to read and write began to gather at the Book Rental Shop.

Hae-min, who loved children, couldn’t ignore them. Before he knew it, Moon Hae-min was playing the role of a teacher, something he never expected.

“Hyung, do you know how to read this letter?”

“Let’s see. It’s ‘Nureul Hwang’.”

“No, it’s ‘Nurungji’, Nurungji.”

“Nurungji!”

One child joked, and the other children burst into laughter. What was so funny and amusing? Moon Hae-min, as an adult, couldn’t understand, but he smiled along because the children looked happy.

“Hey, kids, but is it okay for you to come here to play every day? Won’t your mothers and fathers scold you?”

“They don’t scold us. They like that we don’t bother them when they’re working.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“My mom even praised me. She said I’m learning to read for free.”

They were all children of market merchants. The parents’ occupations were diverse, including vegetable store owners, straw shoe makers, midwives, and charcoal makers. If there was one thing they had in common, it was that they all had poor incomes.

They barely had enough to make a living, so there was no way they could afford to send their children to private schools. Even so, the children who wanted to learn to read and write were just like him when he was young. He wanted to study somehow, but he couldn’t even hold a brush because of Lord Moon’s scolding.

‘If it weren’t for Hee-yul’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to escape being illiterate.’

Moon Hae-min said, suppressing his regretful feelings.

“It would be great if Dong-shik learned to read well and taught his younger siblings later. Right?”

“Yes! I’m going to teach my mom later, too.”

The child answered bravely. He stroked the child’s head, impressed by his appearance, when someone called Hae-min.

“Hee-yul hyung!”

Turning around, it was the Bookstore Owner’s son. He seemed to be running an errand for his father.

“What is it?”

“My father is calling you. He says something doesn’t add up.”

“Again?”

Hae-min got up from his seat. The children clung to his legs, asking him to play more, but it was time to go.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Are you coming tomorrow too?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Really?”

The children persistently got a promise before letting go. He didn’t know if it was because of their desire to study or because they needed a hyung to play with. Anyway, after saying goodbye to the children, Hae-min headed to the Book Rental Shop.

Recently, Moon Hae-min had even been working as an accountant for the Book Rental Shop. This was all because the Bookstore Owner was bad at math. He was good at business, but he couldn’t calculate money at all, so he often lost money even after receiving many customers.

Moon Hae-min couldn’t stand watching stolen contenthim, so he helped with the calculations, and now he was even helping [Read on Read BL Novels]Read on Read BL Novelswith the bookkeeping. The work had increased, but Hae-min didn’t find it difficult.

He liked the busy daily life. More precisely, it felt like his daily life had become more diverse.

Every day was fulfilling. Moon Hae-min was fully enjoying it.

On the way to the Book Rental Shop as usual.

Moon Hae-min realized that the market was more crowded than usual today. Namdaemun Market was always crowded, but today it was even more so.

‘Is something going on?’

From afar, he could hear the sound of drums, boom, boom. Perhaps it was a day for a festival. But the atmosphere felt strange. The faces of the people passing by were stiff, but he could also sense excitement. In any case, the entire market was bustling in a chaotic way.

‘What is it?’

Curious, Hae-min walked into the crowd. As he approached the center of the commotion, the murmurs of the people were etched in his ears.

“What did he do to be executed?”

“I don’t know exactly, but I heard he got caught selling Hwan-gok.”

“Huh, that guy is really talented. How did he manage to steal the grain stored in the Community Granary?”

“I heard he forged the ledger.”

Only then did he seem to understand what was going on. It seemed that a public execution was about to take place, not a festival.

‘I came to the wrong place.’

Even if he was a criminal, he didn’t want to see someone die. Hae-min hurriedly turned around, but it was already too late. He couldn’t go back because of the crowds of onlookers.

“Oh, oh.”

Moreover, he was pushed forward and forward by the crowd. Moon Hae-min, who suddenly found himself in the front row, gasped.

“Huck…”

He saw a prisoner kneeling, tied tightly to a pillar. Next to him stood an executioner holding a Beheading Sword.

“The criminal Lee Eul-bok neglected his duties as a government official and forged the ledger to unauthorized copysatisfy his personal desires, so his crime is severe! Therefore, the criminal Lee Eul-bok [unauthorized copy]will be beheaded, and all stolen contentofficials should take this as an example and be faithful to their duties!”

A government official shouted loudly. The official’s face was strangely familiar. Moon Hae-min quickly remembered who he was.

‘He’s the one I saw at Grand Prince Byeokran’s residence.’

He had never spoken to him directly, but he had encountered him while coming and going. In other words, that official was Grand Prince Byeokran’s man.

‘…Did Grand Prince Byeokran order the execution?’

It was obvious if he thought about it for a moment. In this Songdo, Grand Prince Byeokran was the only one with the power to execute the magistrate.

At that moment, the executioner swung the Beheading Sword. The blue blade flashed, and red blood splattered.

“…Eep!”

Moon Hae-min squeezed his eyes shut. But it was too late. He had vividly witnessed the scene of the criminal being executed.

The criminal, who had not yet stopped breathing, screamed. His stomach churned at the situation he felt he knew even without seeing it.

“Ugh…”

“Oh, oh, this person.”

When Moon Hae-min retched, the people next to him hurriedly stepped back. They avoided him in case he vomited. After a moment, they saw Hae-min staggering and slowly approached him one by one.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

“It seems you have a weak stomach?”

“I didn’t know… I guess I am.”

“Tsk, tsk, it seems so.”