Episode 13
Two people to Gwanghado Island.
I want at least 5 nyang for that.
I'll give you what'd you like for the fare. Just, please, take us.
Okay, then. Get in.
Oh, she hasn't finished her Buddhist prayer yet.
Even if she were doing the 108 bows (Buddhist praying ritual), should would've done it ten times by now. How can she take the whole day!
Oh, you can't!
Lady, let's go. The sun will set soon.
You two...
It's not the lady!
In the North, all we could was hunting. It's much better being on an island.
We can even fish.
I hear outsiders are not allowed here, I hope we're not too big a burden on you, Grand Prince.
Didn't you hear? They allow some slaves.
Just tell them we are all your slaves.
Right, Gi Teuk?
We won't be here for long.
Let's leave.
You'll escape?
We managed to escape from the jaws of the vicious Jurchens,
we should be able to find a way in our land in our own country.
But, it took three years.
Don't you think waiting is better?
When your exile ends,
Would my older brother truly let me be free?
If my mother herself blocks the attacks of my brother and my uncle,
would she be able to protect the throne of the young king?
But... What could you do if you escape as a criminal?
I won't be escaping as a criminal. They'd just run after me.
Right?
I need to get my freedom.
You want to say that Grand Prince Eun Seong already tried to escape.
And that he died while on a run from the guards?
To do that, we will have to get him to leave the premise.
If we attack, he'll try to escape first.
We need to figure out his escape route and set a trap in between.
We get rid of him and report him as an escapee.
We will take care of the business in the capital.
Did Grand Prince Jin Yang approve of this?
Once this missions is finished, you'll be called to the capital.
If the son was able to fill the position vacated by his father,
would it not please the spirit of the deceased?
Did you help a woman cross the river today?
She's a young woman. Could be in a guise.
There are so many customers.
How would I know who's who?
It's so dark that I can't go further anymore.
We can't stop. We are in a hurry.
People need to sleep at night.
It's too hard to be rowing deprived of sleep.
If you give me more for the fare, then maybe...
What I gave you earlier is all I have.
WIth that much, we can only go this far.
Get off. I know how to row.
I don't need you. Just get off.
This is the water. Where would I go?
That's none of my business. Get off.
I thought you guys were customers, but you're thieves.
Why are you trying to steal my boat?
You..
Ow, ow!
Ouch!
- Oh, my. - Do you want to get off?
Or, do you want to go?
Oh.
I'll drop you guys off.
Oh, my.
Roo Si Gae, you're pretty good.
At Korean?
She wasn't even at the Mapo Ferry?
Yes, Your Excellency.
Her destination is most likely Kyodong Island.
- Go and bring her. - Yes.
If you let her go this time,
you won't live.
Ja Hyeon went where?
Madame!
You're telling me she followed him all the way over there?
I'm sorry, Madame.
Why are you like this, Kkeut Dan?
This isn't something like looking around a polo arena or going to play with flowers for a bit. It's a different level.
How could you go along with it?
I was afraid
that Lady would die.
I'm sorry, Madame.
Let's throw her away.
In this Seong household, let's throw her away.
Mother.
We can't do what she likes.
She can't live here.
We have nothing to do but end our relations with her.
Lady will return!
She didn't say she'd be living there.
She said she'd return!
We don't have a daughter now.
Mother, I'll go and find her. She probably hasn't gotten far yet.
Don't concern yourself with her.
She's a stranger now.
Madame! Madame!
No one is here. I think he caught on and ran away.
He's there! Catch him!
How could we keep him alive?
Hey, hey!
We will lure them away.
Follow!
Did my brother send you here?
I will revenge the death of my father.
I cannot see anything. I'll have to confirm his corpse.
Since the tide is going out right now, when the tide is coming in tomorrow morning, his corpse will be there on the coast.
If you must confirm right now, you can search through if you want.
Wait here.
Found it!
It's hard to recognize the grand prince's face.
When the corpse was coming to shore, it seems to have rotted.
It's the same spot where we pierced him.
The clothes are the same, too.
Take care of the body!
Yes, sir!
Stop.
Lady.
Do not look.
Whose corpse is it?
Where's the grand prince?
I heard that he was on exile on this island.
I need to see his face to make sure he's safe.
Who are you?
Who are you to asking about the life of a criminal?
Grand Prince Eun Seong, Lee Hwi has died.
While he was a criminal, he grouped together and tried to escape this island.
He ended up like this.
Reveal your identity.
Are you on his side? Did you already plan to take the criminal back?
Stop. I will take here.
Is this Hwi?
The clothes that His Highness wore...
Lady!
Your Highness! In the food, this poison...
Inform her that I have arrived. I need to speak to the Queen Dowager.
Your Highness, Grand Prince Jin Yang has arrived.
Inform her again.
- Your Highness. - Let him come in.
Your Majesty!
What are you doing? The king!
Protect the king! Protect him!
Look around!
What's the matter, so early in the morning?
Do not be shocked.
I came here myself because I was worried for you.
We have received a report from Kyodong Island.
Is Eun Seong hurt?
He died.
He acted unreasonably and tried to escape,
and died from the arrow shot by one of the guards.
They say he fell into the water and drowned.
Mother.
No, this happened before, too.
Eun Seong, who had supposedly died, came back after three years.
He can't die that easily.
There was a corpse.
It's a different case this time around.
Eun Seong's death
is an unmistakable truth.
No! My son
my son has not died!
You and I made great efforts to try and save his life.
My young brother could not even stay still on that island he went on exile to.
He brought tragedy upon himself.
Were you waiting for this?
You waited for your older brother to die
and you killed your younger brother.
Mother!
Now, all that's left is for you to kill me, your mother.
Then, you can do whatever you want with the eight regions of Joseon!
Grand Prince Eun Seong
has died?
Please compose yourself, Your Majesty.
Who is even alive anymore?
Who will protect my son?
Are you thinking of Grand Prince Eun Seong?
I will
not think of anyone.
I will not miss anyone.
I will not regret anything.
Please stop.
It's the grand prince.
Is it okay for the funeral of royalty to be in this shape?
He isn't royalty. This is the funeral of a criminal.
It's a custom to bury an exiled person at the place of their exile.
Use a coffin, at least.
I will prepare a coffin.
- Put him in! - Yes, sir!
You can't! You can't!
Don't bury him! Bring him over!
I won't watch this.
That's not Hwi.
You must leave. The boat will leave soon.
Even though Grand Prince Eun Seong died, we lost the rest of them. We need to catch them.
We'll deal with that ourselves.
It's an island. If there's no boat, there's no way to leave.
With their leader dead, if they surrender we will make them slaves,
if they continue on, we can slay them.
Don't worry about it. You should return.
What happened to the barbarian girl?
Find her!
Please give it all to Grand Prince Jin Yang, Queen Dowager!
I lost my brother and my father.
But I was hanging on.
But, I cannot live if I lose my child.
The king is not just your son,
but he is the one and only royal line of this country. He is a king who has already risen to the throne.
Please give the throne to his uncle!
I am scared. My son...
please save him.
Your Majesty!
The king's royal meal had poison in it.
A tile fell from the path that the king was walking through.
Uncle's spies are every where.
I do not feel safe about what he dresses in, what he eats and drinks...
Living like this isn't living.
I'm sorry to say this to you, who's lost her children.
I do not want to suffer through the same things as you, Your Highness.
I have already seen so many deaths.
I have lost so many relatives.
Please save my son!
Don't you know that he would be in more danger,
if he vacates the throne?
I'll have to ask a favor of his uncle.
I'll give him the throne, so I'll ask that he protects my son's life.
Come to your senses!
Do you think your position is like every other mother?
I lost my husband, too.
I lost two of my sons.
Do you think I don't know what sadness is?
Do you think I was never in pain?
Queen Dowager.
Rather than the pain of a mother,
the spot as the queen came first.
I suppressed my feelings
and thought of my duty as I lived.
I am not you, Your Highness.
I cannot do that.
Your Majesty!
I am just a mother.
I could not even be a proper daughter or a younger sister.
I made them all die!
I must at least be a proper mother.
Please take away my spot as the queen.
I dislike the throne of a queen!
I will only be a mother to my child!
Have a safe return.
Let's go.
Is he really the person whose younger brother died?
Why's he like that?
He's sad.
Even if he's happy, he doesn't know how to enjoy it. When he's sad, he doesn't know how to cry.
He's crying with his whole body like that.
One who knows the feeling of the Queen Regent,
is you, Royal Secretary.
Eun Seong has died while in exile.
The queen finds the queen dowager's palace daily
to make a fuss about giving up her son's throne.
Isn't it good to everything flow the way they were meant to?
Natural flow?
Hasn't it been following the natural flow all along?
Listen to what the people are saying.
To have a baby King after the previous King who was ill?
It hasn't been long since the unrest in the North was settled.
Don't you hear the concern of the people who worry about their safety?
Do you not hear it?
When you have someone who's prepared to be King,
what's the point of taking the rough road?
If you, the chief royal secretary, give your power and support to Jin Yang,
Won't it be an honour to carry on with your power through the maternal side of the family?
Power through the maternal side of the family?
I was just worried about the future of the country.
Think back to Kim Chu's last days.
While supporting a bad king, he had a violent death.
Think about it carefully.
A momentary decision can mean life or death.
or honour or humiliation.
Lady!
Where are you going?
Madame.
Since the moment you left without my permission,
You couldn't care less about all my organs shriveling.
Ever since you started to follow that man around,
you haven't been a daughter of this household.
We are not accepting you in.
Mother, scold her inside.
Listen well, everyone.
If anyone lets Ja Hyeon into the home,
you'll be sent away, too!
She is greatly shocked right now. Let her come in.
Grand Prince Eun Seong has died on the island.
Lady confirmed it herself.
Why'd you go there?
Why would you go and see such a harsh sight?
How will you live now?
How will you live with that memory?
Is that true?
Is it true that Grand Prince Eun Seong died while on exile?
Instead of repenting over there,
he was shot by an arrow while escaping with his treasonous mind.
Had he lived quietly, he would've been pardoned eventually and returned.
A person who gets greedy once does not know how to give up.
Grand Prince Eun Seong is your nephew, just as Grand Prince Jin Yang is.
How come you only protect Grand Prince Jin Yang?
How could you be so harsh to Grand Prince Eun Seong?
Even his mother and father favored the eldest and the youngest.
The nation must treat him warmly.
Are you satisfied?
A nephew who has grown up to be a monster, and his younger brother who had a violent death.
Are you satisfied now?
Did you think the King's throne is for a mere human being?
That spot was once mine.
but I could see it when I lost it.
A mere human spirit cannot fulfill the role.
So, I raised him to be strong.
Give sympathy to the dogs, he needs a cold heart,
and burning ambition, that's the only way...
Grand Prince Eun Seong or Grand Prince Jin Yang... They are not the treasonous ones.
You are the traitor, Grand Prince Yang Ahn.
Absolutely not! What do you mean treasonous?
I am returning things back to where they should be.
It is my longtime loyalty.
You have helped to make things turn out this way.
Everything is all my wrongdoing..
I should have told the truth even if I were to disappear like the morning dew at the execution.
I made the wrong judgment due to their relenting pressure.
What do I do about my wrongdoing?
It's too late.
Queen Regent and I alone,
cannot protect the young king.
Then, are you saying that we should just
let Grand Prince Jin Yang take the throne?
Had the king been older than ten years, we would've watched close by.
But, he is too young.
Time is not on our side.
As a long time passes by, Grand Prince Jin Yang will be securing the spot.
If things don't work out as he planned, blood will be shed.
Queen Dowager has already lost two sons.
Would she be able to endure it?
I don't have the confidence.
Then, what do we do with the courtiers?
We have to be loyal to someone.
Let's choose the King, who can bring peace
stablise the North and South.
Lady.
Eat slowly and have water.
You should just cry.
You could shave your head and enter the temple.
Why are you doing this?
Ja Hyeon.
Young Master.
She's still like this?
For a few days, she just continuously took baths.
Now, she's been eating constantly.
She's pretty much living in front of the food table.
Grand Prince Jin Yang rose to the throne.
After Grand Prince Eun Seong died, petitions came in from everywhere,
expressing anxiety over the fact that the king was too young.
Finally, Queen Regent issued an edict, reliquishing the throne.
Now, the king of Joseon is Grand Prince Jin Yang.
Lady, Lady!
Lady, have water.
Oh, Lady!
The day after you left, or two days afterwards,
The labourer at the boat terminal brought it.
Before Grand Prince Eun Seong died, he wrote it while on exile.
Your home is in the capital,
and my home is now Gwangha provice.
Even if we miss each other, we cannot see each other.
When it rains on the royal foxglove tree,
Our hearts that are burning will come to an end.
Your Majesty, how could you pass away before me?
Afterwards, it has made my life very difficult.
After receiving the instructions you left behind after your death,
I have scarred my children.
Was what I did a good thing?
With my own hands, I brought my grandson down.
I have placed Jin Yang on the throne.
Will you scold me?
Eun Seong...
Is Eun Seong doing well?
Does he not
resent me, his mother?
With the grace of this royal court,
and the wise decision of the merciful Queen Regent,
while being strengthened by the prolonged loyalty from all of you,
I, who's very inadequate, have risen to a position much bigger than myself.
I will serve the former King who's still very young.
And straighten the affairs of the nation that's been in a chaos.
So that we can fulfill the dream of the founding fathers
for a strong and beautiful nation, which is also my wish,
Please help me with this important task,
of building the new era of our nation.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
The Prime MInister's position which is vacant because of my ascension,
I wish to fill it with a member of the royal family who's been with me,
from the frontline to the inner court , Grand Prince Yang An.
What is your opinion?
Do Jeong Gook, the son of the loyal subject Do Yeon Soo,
will be put in charge of the Royal Investigative Agency.
Uh Ul Woon, who's been devoted to me will become
the head of the Royal Palace Guards,
so that he can continue to protect the Royal court.
While it's a beautiful act to place the right people in the right places,
there is a process for doing this type of thing.
Please follow the procedure for appointment...
After rising so quickly to the throne,
I have not had the chance to follow the process myself.
Do you have a problem with the process of my ascension too?
It is not that.
If you have any opinions, speak up.
Who are my servants,
I am curious about your opinions.
Queen Dowager, now I am doing my duty as a wife.
While I was married, I lived outside of the palace until now.
The fact that I was not being dutiful by not being close to you was distressful to me.
Now that I can greet you in the morning and night and serve you within the same household,
My happiness is limitless.
Even though I am lacking, I will be greatly faithful to you. Please teach me many things.
Are you happy?
Is winning the queen's palace
such a joyous experience to you is what I'm asking.
Queen Dowager, what I am happy about is not the spot as a queen
but the fact that I can serve you close by.
You should try experiencing
how heavy and painful that spot as a queen is.
Please look after the former Queen more than me.
You might be sisters in law in private homes,
but in the palace she is your superior by far,
make sure to pay her greetings in the morning and night and treat her with respect.
I will keep that in mind.
The old ladies of the backroom are going to make me serve time as a daughter in law.
Don't they know who has the life line?
What a long path.
It was my spot in the end.
And things happened the way it did.
Where should we serve you tonight?
Will you rest at Gangnyeongjeon?
Or Gyotaejeon?
Bring the lady from the Seong family.
Your Majesty, it's your first day of ascending to the throne.
If I want to make the Lady from Seong family my royal concubine,
would Queen Dowager approve of it?
Would my wife go along with it?
It's an impossible act, Your Majesty.
You must allow her no time for excuses or delay.
I intend to take care of the deed before the Queen is formally installed.
I will request for her to be my concubine once I've bedded her.
I don't want to report and ask for permission to make it happen.
It won't work like that. Bring the lady from the Seong family.
If the lady doesn't come along easily...
Force her to come, then.
Even though she did not get wed, she was engaged to His younger brother.
Even with unlimited power of the King, on his first night, what kind of beastly conduct is this?
If he really wants my daughter to be his royal concubine,
tell him to formally ask and have a wedding before doing so.
If he's the king, he should be treating her with respect.
How can he call a lady from the noble family in the middle of the night like a stray cat?
The lady and His Majesty have already made a promise about these matters while the king was still in his private home.
What kind of nonsense–?
The whole capital knows that my daughter and the late Grand Prince Eun Seong were deeply in love.
What kind of promise would a woman like that have made with another man?
Stop cajoling without regard to basic manners and please leave.
Leave my house right away!
Lady, what do we do?
Grand Prince Jin Yang... I mean, the new king
has called for you at this time of night.
Lady Na Gyeom... I mean,
the new queen, you know what kind of person she is.
You don't know what she'd do to you.
Eo Eul Woon brought his soldiers and is insisting that this was all promised.
What do we do, Lady?
If you go to the storage room, you will find
castor powder drained of all oil.
Bring that to me.
Why?
I need to use it somewhere.
It's an Royal Order.
If you don't follow the order, then I'll believe that it's for a different reason.
If it's a royal order, we have follow even if it's a beastly order?
Why does only one of you understand?
His Majesty wants to save the lady for the sake of Seong family.
Hell is already the fate of our family.
We have no greed to escape or to reclaim the former glory.
Our house will just live quietly.
I'll go.
Ja Hyeon.
What he's saying is right.
This is something that's already been promised.
Ja Hyeon.
I was the loved one of Grand Prince Eun Seong,
But he isn't here anymore.
I'm a bride who's never gone through even the first night.
If the King calls, I must go.
I'll go.
I'll go in your stead and ask for a favor.
Father, please do not violate
your integrity for the sake of your family anymore.
Doing what you don't wish to in order to save your daughter
Once was enough.
Ja Hyeon.
Now it's my turn.
I'll do it.
I will do it.
What are you going to do?
Ja Hyeon. Ja Hyeon! Ja Hyeon!
There will be an order appointing a concubine by tomorrow.
It is an honor, so don't worry. Just wait here comfortably.
You jerks! You jerks! Give me my daughter!
Ja Hyeon! Ja Hyeon! Ja Hyeon!
He's not coming to Gyotaejeong (Queen's quarters) tonight?
No, your Highness.
- He says he has a lot to do so he will rest in his chamber but... - But...
According to the servants, they are preparing everything as thought they are receiving a new bride.
They don't have a bride yet... but they've put out the royal bedding and...
the Royal Kitchen is preparing a evening snack the size of a feast.
It seems like something isn't right.
On this historical night of my entrance to the Gyotaejeon,
what tramp is disturbing the peace of the mother of the nation (Queen),
I'll go and see for myself.
You cannot wear a dress from private homes.
You have to be washed and put on new clothes.
Give it here.
It's something I will decorate myself with,
it's very expensive so I will keep it with me.
Have a seat.
I thought you might not arrive.
A promise is a promise.
Since the security collateral I had is no longer alive
even if you broke the promise there was nothing I could do.
That's what I thought.
As you said, that person is not living anymore.
What can we do about someone who isn't alive in this world?
Has your feelings changed ever since
I became a king from a grand prince?
Do my feelings have any meaning to you?
I am sorry that I cannot follow the formal process.
Tomorrow, the world will change.
If you did, it would have made me more uncomfortable.
Will you pour me a drink?
Before that,
Can you send them all away?
There are too many eyes and ears here.
This is the law of the King's bed chamber.
Send them away.
Have the servants leave the premise.
Your majesty, that is impossible. For your safety-
Just go for today.
She and I both are not used to the rules
so step away for today.
In that case...
We'll step away a little..
This is first night on the throne but he's not asking for the Queen,
I came to ask if his majesty is all right. Let me see him.
Please go back.
It's different in the palace. You cannot see the King whenever you want to.
Do you dare look down on me because,
I'm new to the palace, Court Lady Hong?
I'm the queen of this nation.
How dare you block the path of the mother of the nation (queen)?
You are not the Queen yet, your highness.
You've come to the palace but you have not been installed as a queen yet.
On a day like this, if you both him, then you
may be in danger.
Listen to my advice.
I'm the one and only wife to the King.
If it's not be who in the world is receiving the King's grace?
You must not do this, your highness!
Move aside!
With what heart
and thinking did you come into the palace?
To want someone so badly but,
now that I see it up close, it doesn't seem real.
Is the person in front of me really Ja Hyeon?
Hwi had to die,
Hwi had to disappear,
for you to come to me?
Even if he died,
even if he left this world,
I could not got to anyone else.
Then why
after I became the king,
Do you want to hear my answer?
In order to get back at my enemy.
I came here in order to kill you myself.
You've dared to come to the palace even.
Who ordered it?
What is that the Lady of the Seong family want?
You've become like this for picking a flower you should not have.
You must punish Ja Yeon as a traitor.
The only way to settle all this turmoil is for her to kill herself.
Just kill me.
Grand Prince