Your Highness, the Prince.
Forgive your sinful subject for taking so long
to reveal the truth.
You are the sole descendant of the person who rightfully should have been king.
Episode 18
Your Highness is not my son...
You are the son of his highness prince Imhae, eldest son of the former king.
It must be difficult to accept,
but there is not one ounce of falsehood in what I have said.
- Father— - I am not Your Highness's father.
Your Highness's father is his highness Prince Imhae.
His highness Prince Imhae unjustly died at the hand of the vicious present king.
And his sole descendant...
is Your Highness.
How could you be this cruel?
How could you be this unyielding?
I did not know you were such a merciless person.
You were the only person in this house who understood me and treated me warmly.
In reality you tricked your child and deceived the world.
But nevertheless, you can still smile at me,
as if nothing happened.
I did not even dream you were such a frightening person.
Until when were you thinking of deceiving me?
My father...
Or should I call him my uncle now?
Had he not told me, would you have kept the truth hidden until your death?
Did you really not feel anything at all,
when seeing me daily in this house?
Did you not want to call me your son?
To say you are my mother?
On the day your father passed, I hanged myself in an attempt to die as well.
Since that day, the men your uncle assigned to guard me
never left my side for even a moment.
I could not even think of dying.
That is how I survived. And I realized that the moment your ancestry was revealed,
you would die like your father.
I kept my own lips sealed.
Following that, every single moment I spent alive and breathing was hell to me.
I regretted it dozens, hundreds of times a day.
I resented the heavens, and your father who had left before me.
However,
I was happy not to be separated from you.
and to be able to breastfeed you.
This is the truth.
All that time, I could not call you my son even once,
and could not act as your mother.
But I was grateful
to be able to see you
and live together with you in the same house.
No matter what you say,
it does not change the fact that you have deceived me all this time.
Thus, do not say sorry
or ask for forgiveness.
I cannot forgive you until I die. No,
I will not forgive you even after my death.
His Highness Prince Imhae unjustly died at the hand of the vicious present king.
And his sole descendant...
is Your Highness.
If you are awake, I will come in, Your Highness.
Please stay seated.
Please treat me as you used to.
I cannot do so.
I cannot treat Your Highness as I used to, when you are to ascend the throne in the future.
I have not even the slightest desire to be king.
Whether you want it or not,
the throne was always yours.
Had the present king not murdered the former king,
the throne would have naturally been inherited
by his eldest son, Prince Imhae.
I heard that the previous king had meant for Prince Yeongchang to ascend the throne.
Although the Western faction claimed as such,
Prince Yeongchang was a mere newborn then,
and the Ming Empire desired for Prince Imhae, the eldest son, to become king.
That is why the current king drove Prince Imhae to his death as a traitor.
If I say I am Prince Imhae's son after all this time, who would believe me?
There is a way to prove that Your Highness is Prince Imhae's son.
Prince Imhae's wife is still alive.
She will testify to Your Highness's identity.
Does that person know about me?
She does not know.
Then how...
If a pitiful woman living alone after being kicked out to her private home
is given a chance to be made into the highest position of the royal family as the queen dowager,
would she refuse such an opportunity?
I will depose the current king at all costs
and return to Your Highness the throne that was taken from you.
I do not need it.
Did I not tell you that I have not the slightest desire to become king?
I beg you to please leave me alone.
Because you are still confused, I will explain it again later.
Your Highness.
If you ascend the throne to be king,
you can even have Princess Hwa In.
Doesn't the saying go that there is no such thing as shame to the king?
You should give it thorough consideration.
Please leave. I have nothing else I wish to say or hear.
Dae Yeop.
'I'm sorry. Please forgive me.' I told you that I did not need such words.
It would be shameless of me to beg forgiveness from you.
But think about why your uncle is letting you know who your father is.
That worries me. It's a secret that was kept all this time,
so why would he tell you himself?
He says he will put me on the throne.
Did you just say 'throne?'
Why are you so shocked?
Prince Imhae was naturally the one who should have ascended to the throne
and I am his only child.
So isn't it only natural?
No, Dae Yeop. my brother only wants to use you as a tool to fulfill his own ambitions.
I don't care.
After all, I am just using my uncle to achieve my own goals as well.
Why are you doing this? Did you lose your mind due to your resentment towards me?
Or are you doing this just to torture me?
You kept telling me that I could not be with her highness the princess until the very end, didn't you?
Why do you mention her suddenly?
And you know now why I opposed that relationship, don't you?
Yes, her highness the princess is my first cousin now.
So it's not a relationship that can ever happen,
and must not ever happen, that is natural.
However, I will show you
that that notion is wrong.
Je-wang-mu-chi, they say. That a king has no shame.
So if a king wants to make his first cousin a consort, who would oppose it?
How can you speak of such an absurdity? Did your uncle say such a thing?
Just wait and see.
I will make sure to ascend the throne, and
make her highness my woman
and let her stay by my side for the rest of my life.
You will also become the queen dowager. I will make it so.
Do you think I want that position?
Even if you slash my throat with a blade, that will never happen.
Things in this world do not always go the way you want, do they?
Do you think I wanted to be born as your son, Mother?
That is a slap from your father, not from me.
You can resent me to death
and you don't have to forgive me until you die.
However, don't besmirch your father's name.
He died as a traitor, after all.
How dare you speak so carelessly when you know nothing?
Do you know how your father died? Whose fault was it that he died so unfairly...
What do you mean by that?
Are there more things I do not know?
No. While speaking of your father,
I lost my composure for a moment and misspoke. Don't pay any attention to it.
But you must never trust what your uncle says.
Please calm down and think it over again.
It was something Dae Yeop would have found out someday.
Brother!
It's not as if I told him something that was not true. I just told him the truth.
How dare you raise your voice?
How is it the truth to tell him that you will put him on the throne?
Isn't it because you need a king that you can control however you want, Brother?
Dae Yeop is the only proper descendant who is qualified to ascend to the throne.
Whether I need him or not, he was born with the fate to sit on the throne.
So if he seats on the throne and does not act exactly as you want,
will you kill him too?
Watch what you say.
Please leave Dae Yeop alone.
You must never speak of the throne to him again.
So you will now dare to command your older brother?
If you try to use Dae Yeop again,
then the last secret that you have hidden
will become known to Dae Yeop.
The last secret?
Was there another secret besides the fact that you are his mother and Prince Imhae was his father?
I have no idea what you are talking about.
Have you forgotten
who killed his father?
Shall I tell him?
While Prince Imhae was in exile on Ganghwa Island,
wasn't it you, Brother, who sent assassins to assassinate him?
Are you threatening me right now?
Yes, I am.
To protect my child, what wouldn't I do, as his mother?
♫ A bunch of faded Flame Grass ♫
♫ fills my heart in no time ♫
Why are you looking at me like that?
You told me to sit still, didn't you?
♫ I can't hold and look at them ♫
Lady.
Insolent.
♫ I will cut a day out ♫
♫ among the difficult days of my life ♫
♫ and fill it with someone's gentle breath ♫
♫ when I try to cope ♫
♫ Because I've heard ♫
♫ your voice calling me. ♫
What is it? Do you have something to say?
I have something to tell you in secret. Follow me.
You are beating around the bush again.
So you failed, didn't you?
What's with the expression?
You failed to block it, didn't you? Your father's treacherous plot.
Yes. I failed.
Oh, damn it.
I am sorry.
You don't have to be sorry.
You and I are in the same situation, after all.
Oh, you moron.
I was speaking to myself.
Now that my status was restored to me and my life is a bit more comfortable,
I think I became arrogant.
I had a dream.
It was just a brief, one night's dream, but you and I had become friends
and we called each other "brother-in-law."
If I visited you, you would serve me wine as if it was natural.
You and I got into a brawl together at a gambling joint,
and we looked at each other's bruised faces while laughing.
Obviously a silly dream.
Perhaps it's not such a silly dream.
What are you saying? That you and I will become friends?
I'm just saying, we could be friends in our next lives.
You are a student of Confucianism, and you speak of reincarnation?
My current life feels like a never-ending hell to me.
How can you say that when you were born to a well-to-do father?
Right.
My father is quite well-to-do.
Quite a grand and powerful father, in fact.
The first thing is probably for your status reinstatement to be retracted.
And then her highness the princess will be targeted next.
You should run away before that happens.
Where no one can ever find you...
No, just leave Joseon altogether.
If you remain in Joseon,
you will only be used by my father or his majesty the king.
If I leave Joseon,
you will also never see the princess ever again.
If she can become happy,
then nothing else matters.
You may not know this, but since she was young, she was the most cheerful person in the world.
Bright and strong.
If it was possible, I would even trade bodies with you.
What's with you, all of a sudden?
Has something happened to you?
If you will not leave Joseon,
then you will soon find out.
Tell me any time you need help.
I may not be your friend, but I will be your comrade, at least.
And that silly dream you had ...
In that dream,
was I happy?
You probably were.
He was the specialty chef for the previous king.
His name was Kim Ik Su, and he's probably about 60 years old now.
I will look into that.
But Du Chil is better when it comes to finding someone.
So I know his name and age. What about his hometown?
Since he is already known to be dead, it will be useless to go to his hometown.
He is most likely hiding in the capital.
His appearance?
- I don't know. - Darn it. If he's 20 years older,
- he probably changed his name and we don't even know what he looks like? How am I supposed to find him? - Ah.
If you find retired court ladies, there is probably someone who knows his face.
I have to find him. Please help me.
Your family is always asking me to find someone for you every day.
Oh, my back...
Wow, the scent of flowers... Oh, you scared me!
Aigoo. I heard you found Court Lady Jo's family?
How did you find out? Did you meet with Hyeong Du Chil?
Good luck to you.
I already did well.
Court Lady Jo and I... had interc—
You're doing what? With whom?
Court Lady Jo! Court Lady Jo!
The people's resentment against the tyranny of the current king ...
It's Dae Yeop.
Come in, Sir.
Please take a seat.
Seeing you take the upper seat
it appears that you've chosen to accept your fate, Young Prince?
Yes. I will do as you wish, Uncle.
You've made the right decision.
Were you writing a manifesto?
Yes, Young Prince.
It appears the time has come for restoration.
If so,
please also tell me your plans for restoration.
If you truly think of me as a king,
please tell me all the details of your plans for restoration.
Since it's a plan for my benefit, don't I have the right to know?
It is not necessary for you to know, Young Prince.
Please just trust in me.
As I thought,
all this time, you have raised me
as a tool, not as your son.
Once I grew up a bit, I was always curious.
Why Mother treated me differently from my older brothers
and what didn't she like about me? What did I do wrong?
I kept thinking about it and blamed myself.
You have misunderstood. It wasn't like that—
Please don't deny it.
Because you were the same, Father.
However, you were the opposite of Mother.
When my brothers did wrong, you punished them harshly.
But you always coddled me and covered up my mistakes.
I thought of that as your love for me, Father.
Even if my brothers were cold towards me
I thought they were envious of your love for me.
But I finally realized that they were all delusions.
Because I was not my father's and my mother's child.
That was why things were that way. Isn't it true?
Your nephew is no different than your child,
so why did you treat me this way?
Because you regarded me as something to be used when the time came,
you never gave me any affection from the start, isn't that true?
Is what I say wrong?
Have you not yet found anything?
We have not, Your Majesty.
You are so quick at answering my questions.
You had told me Hwa In had died, had you not? What were your intentions for deceiving me?
Your Majesty, please kill— please punish me!
It seems you do not want to die.
Even if I do not do anything, Yi I Cheom will not leave you alone.
Thus...
If you want to stay alive, bring me evidence!
I will carry out your order, Your Majesty.
Isn't this quite the bullshit, as you said?
I am the king, but I cannot even kill the man that attempted to kill my daughter.
Isn't that such bullshit?
Your grace is immeasurable.
Immeasurable, what bullshit.
Your Majesty!
I am all right, I am all right.
- Bring more alcohol. - Please compose yourself, Your Majesty.
- Bring me more alcohol! - Your Majesty...
What are you doing? Call the royal physician.
Your Majesty...
The situation is grave. You feel it too, do you not?
At this rate, the reinstatement of your family's name could be revoked.
But it's not just you. I'd also be in trouble as well. Shouldn't we try to do something in this situation?
The Western faction often gathers at His Excellency Neungyang's home. Would you come join us?
I told His Excellency about you, and he expressed his wish to meet you.
You cannot put all your trust solely in his majesty the king, don't you think?
Consider it carefully.
Eonni. My mother is looking for you.
Tell me... You and Ba Wu...
Are you two getting along well?
You two have been apart for quite long when he had to go to the north.
This is something that can happen, of course... But it seems that even after he has come back,
you are still using separate rooms...
You are truly thinking of Ba Wu as your husband, aren't you?
I am not sure what you are trying to say...
Dae Seok and you...
You two are not just pretending to be a couple, right?
Are you truly a couple? Is my question.
Mother-in-law...
It is because I am worried.
I am afraid that Dae Seok will be left as a single father again
if the king suddenly takes you away.
Such a thing will never happen, Mother.
Just as I am your daughter-in-law, I am your son's wife, not the princess.
That is right. You are not the kind of girl to lie.
I trust you.
Thank you, Mother.
Then, I will soon be able to see Cha Dol's younger sibling, will I not?
Do you have...
something to say?
No.
I had no idea how late it was.
I will go to my room and sleep.
Uh...
please just sleep here tonight.
I will lay down the blankets. Please do that.
No...
But...
Do you dislike me?
Is that why you always return to your room every night?
How can you say that? How could I dislike you?
It's just that I—
Then has my father the king commanded you to behave a certain way?
No. He did not.
Then why not? Even Mother is worried that there is something wrong between us.
If you do not dislike me, why do you avoid being with me?
I'm not avoiding you.
I am protecting you.
Please wait here just for a moment.
Please come to see me.
Please come out for a bit.
This is...?
The only thing I can give you is ...
my heart.
Even if that is all ...
can you still stay with me?
I want you to be my real wife.
Why are you crying so?
Do you... not want to?
It's not that.
That wasn't what I meant.
I will do it.
If I may be so bold...
I want to live with you forever.
A shabby wedding. Without a bride's crown.
I'm sorry that this is all that I can do for you.
Don't say that.
♫ On a night darkness swallows the light ♫
♫ On a long silent night ♫
♫ Even the moonlight is hidden behind the clouds ♫
This will become the most beautiful bridal crown in the world.
♫ Wandering here and there ♫
♫ Hovering again with no direction ♫
♫ I'm a lonely roamer who has lost his way ♫
♫ At the boundary of the place where wishes stop ♫
♫ I will wait for your arrival. ♫
♫ I will dream of a tomorrow where nothing happens ♫
♫ The word which you and I shared ♫
♫ Every word which lost its color ♫
♫ One by one surrounds me. ♫
♫ On a night darkness swallows the light ♫
♫ On a long silent night ♫
♫ On a night when even the moon falls asleep behind the clouds ♫
♫ On a night when even the wind sleeps silently ♫
Did you sleep well?
Did you sleep well, my son?
Yes.
Did you perhaps have a good dream?
Huh?
Never mind.
My son, eat breakfast with me today.
Yes, sure.
Perhaps hyeong Du Chil is mistaken?
He said he would be here at this time, but there is no sign of him.
What?
Isn't that him?
Ah, you're right.
His height and appearance... Hyeong Du Chil...
Hey, Ba Wu. Let's go together.
Hey!
It's him for sure!
Out of our way.
Move!
- Hurry. - Over there.
Where did he go?
Did he go that way?
What brings you here?
Ba Wu.
It seems he doesn't have long to live, too.
Let's continue our conversation.
Please speak.
I recently attended a divination ritual,
It turns out, the next full moon is an auspicious day.
How about setting the rebellion for that day?
Isn't that too soon?
We have to gather troops and get more people to join our side—
They say "eum gye wa soljapae"
Someone who leaks a secret plan is bound to fail.
A plan like this should be known to the least number of people as possible.
If we can just persuade the general of training, Lee Hong Rip, the capital forces cannot be mobilized.
We can succeed in the rebellion with our strength alone.
The general of training is an in-law of the chief state councillor, isn't he?
And the chief state councillor constantly interferes with our plans.
Will the general of training agree to what we want to do?
But if you consider that, aren't the chief state councillor and the left state councillor in-laws as well?
Please don't worry.
He can be persuaded easily, as he understands the times we are living in.
At the time of Japanese Invasion in 1592, the general of the training division
was designated one of the five major generals of Joseon.
For now, return home.
But what about you?
I better go to the palace.
But...
That's enough now.
Because the blade is sharp, I am afraid you might get hurt.
Your Majesty. The Left State Councillor, the Minister of Justice, the Inspector General and the Chief Censor are here.
Ask them to enter.
Who is that man in the back?
He is someone you know as well, Your Majesty.
Ask him to come closer.
Get rid of it right now!
He is the specialty chef who served the late king.
What is this scandalous thing you are doing right now?
Remove him from my presence at once!
You are dismissed.
So many people have seen you, would something happen to you by any chance?
So go now.
I have something to say to the left state councillor privately, so everyone please leave.
Anyone would think that he was your vassal, and not mine.
How can that be true? Please don't say such things.
You won't even bother to say "your grace is immeasurable," anymore, will you?
Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty.
So all I have to do is to retract the restoration of status to Kim Je Nam?
I will make sure Hwa In never leaves the Jeongeopwon for the rest of her life. (Jeongeopwon: A place designated for royals who have become widows.)
So please just forget about her. (Jeongeopwon: A place designated for royals who have become widows.)
Must you really kill her as well?
She is someone who is already dead.
Please let her go, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty?
Fine.
Do whatever you want. However,
bring me the head of that man who just left here.
If you bring me his head, I will retract the restoration of status
and turn over Hwa In to you.
Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty.
What is immeasurable, what do you mean?
Stop saying things you don't mean!
Everything will change in the very near future anyway.
So I am wondering if it's necessary to take the trouble to retract the restoration of status.
Won't this cause the king to become alert
and observe us with fire in his eyes?
The very purpose was to get rid of those eyes.
We need to trample the Westerners once, so that they won't get any ideas.
That is correct.
We have to show our power to persuade the general of training.
It's killing three birds with one stone, isn't it?
You are impressive indeed, Your Excellency.
Father, it's your son Won Yeop.
Come in.
What happened?
I delivered his head to the head of the royal guard.
It was taken care of, Your Majesty.
Shouldn't we notify princess Hwa In?
And if Yi I Cheom ends up finding out?
Must I, the king of this nation, endure that hell again?
Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesty.
Tell the Chief Royal Secretary to cancel the restoration of titles of everyone associated with the events of 1613.
And decapitate the corpses that were already buried.
In 1613, at the behest of the Great Northen Faction, Gwanghaegun's younger brother, Grand Prince Prince Yeongchang,
and the prince's maternal grandfather Kim Je Nam were exiled and later executed.
Search thoroughly!
Yes, sir!
I survived thanks to you.
Thank you, Sir.
It's not for your sake, but for her highness the princess.
No need to thank me.
In any case, you informed me against the will of His Majesty, so I should be grateful.
Don't resent his majesty too much.
He had no alternative but to consent to it.
So where will you go now?
No. If I know, I will be deceiving His Majesty.
So don't tell me.
I'd better be going now.
Wherever you go, be safe.
You take care of yourself, too, Sir.
Yes.
What happened to her highness the princess?
I haven't received any word yet.
But didn't you just inform Kim Dae Seok?
Did you plant someone among the royal guards as well?
Aren't you afraid of what his majesty would do if he knew?
I will keep quiet this time, but make sure to consult me in the future.
Do you understand?
I understand.
Where are they right now?
Are you hurt anywhere?
I'm fine.
Mother, please take Yeon Ok and Cha Dol and go to Sangwon Temple.
Then what about you and Daughter-in-law?
There are too many of us to go together
and Yi I Cheom is chasing me and her so it is too dangerous.
No, let's go together.
We spent over 10 years apart, and that is more than enough.
Even if we die, we should die together. And if we live, we should live together.
Yes, let's go together, Brother.
We have to make sure Cha Dol survives, don't we? He is our family's only descendant.
Father, I want to go with you.
I taught you to not interrupt when adults are talking, didn't I?
But Father.
Let's do what Father says, since he is worrying about you.
Mother.
We will meet again soon, so don't worry.
Please take care of Cha Dol, Mother.
I understand.
The heavens are so indifferent.
How can this happen to us again?
Mother.
Please don't worry too much.
My husband will do whatever it takes to remove Yi I Cheom
and restore his family status.
Yes, please trust in me and wait.
All right, don't worry about us.
Take care of yourselves.
Yes.
Yes, Mother.
♫ You can't leave ♫
♫ and come back again ♫
♫ The sound of excitement flows. ♫
♫ Gently flowing along the river it flows. ♫
♫ The sound of excitement flows ♫
♫ It is us, living life ♫
So did they leave safely?
Yes.
Should have I escorted them?
It's safer for us to not be with them.
But where will we go?
Do you have any place in mind?
If I knew such a place, I would have told you sooner.
The left state councillor already knows about most of the possible places.
So we need some place that he would never imagine.
How about the West Palace? (where Queen Dowager Inmok, mother of Prince Yeongchang was confined)
By West Palace, do you mean Gyeongwun Palace? (where Queen Dowager Inmok, mother of Prince Yeongchang was confined)
Yes, Her Highness the queen dowager is there, isn't she?
She is my husband's aunt, so wouldn't she help us hide there?
They are guarding that place like an iron fortress.
We could somehow climb the walls, but Court Lady Jo and the princess
couldn't do it. The wall is too high.
Where did my husband go?
He went to meet someone outside.
Who?
Where do you plan to go?
We thought we would go to the West Palace.
Let's go.
Come on up.
Please go.
I am more agile than you. You go first.
- Whoever it is, go quickly! - Hurry!
Come on up.
Will you go ahead?
I will take care of things here, so hurry and go.
Who are you?
- Hurry! - Hurry.
Hurry and go up!
♫ Words you don't mean ♫
♫ pile up like bits of dust ♫
♫ My heart has nowhere to rest for a while ♫
♫ Before you know it, it's another day ♫
Bossam - Steal the Fate ♫ Unable to say anything ♫
Do whatever you can to stop Yi I Cheom's rebellion.
If I cannot stop him, I will commit suicide.
But there is no way to stop the rebellion, is there?
If Lord sees this, Madam and Young Master will both die.
There is one way to make Dae Yeop into a docile lamb, isn't there?
I found the princess.
An ominous event may happen in Joseon.
Your Majesty, you have killed Hwa In.
Have you been well, Your Highness the Princess?
♫ Everything we did together ♫
♫ cannot be erased ♫