[Missing Crown Prince]
[This drama is fiction. Characters, places, organizations, and events have no connection to historical facts.]
[Child actors and animals were filmed according to production guidelines.]
[Episode 12]
Wait, why...
did you come alone?
What about Her Highness?
I just escorted Her Highness to the Queen Dowager's pavilion.
The Queen Dowager's pavilion?
Did I not tell you to at least take Her Highness there if I do not make it?
She said she will never leave without you, Master.
What kind of rude act is this?
I am still this country's Queen Dowager!
Mind your manners!
You should have left with Her Highness.
I could not find
Myeong Yoon.
It is not like something will happen to Her Lady right now.
I was staying in the palace, so you should have
trusted me and taken Her Highness away first.
I apologize.
I understand how you cannot just leave without your child,
but I am thinking about Her Highness, who came back to her death voluntarily...
I am sorry.
Her Highness wishes to
spend just tonight with you, Grand Inspector.
Please head to the Queen Dowager's pavilion.
It is not the time yet.
I have to stop by somewhere.
Are you saying there is still a way?
I did not even fathom that I could go this far just moments ago.
If I succeed,
Soo Ryun will be safe.
Please tell her I am leaving Myeong Yoon in her care.
She is not here? What do you mean by that?
She disappeared in the short time I was gone
to the latrine.
Are you sure your master did not take her secretly?
That might also be the case.
Alas. You better speak the truth.
T-That seems to be the case.
If you will only let Myeong Yoon escape the palace safely-
If I do,
will you hand over the antidote?
After Myeong Yoon leaves the palace safely,
yes, I will give it to you.
It is a bit chaotic inside the palace right now.
Let us have you hide here just until things settle down.
- Your Highness. - Right now,
I have too many things to think about that my head is about to explode.
Please help me out, Maiden.
Your Highness.
Come in.
Get changed first.
What on earth are you planning to do?
That woman is Choi Sang Rok's daughter.
I plan to hide her tonight for now and
find a way to send her out of the palace tomorrow.
Go tell Sang Soo to prepare bedding for one person.
Yes.
The fates have become twisted.
If the Crown Prince lives, your daughter dies.
If your daughter lives, the Crown Prince dies.
What brings you here, Grand Inspector?
Outside. Let us go outside and talk.
Do you think this matter will be forgotten with my death?
It does not matter.
I will take the blame for everything.
I will not ask for your forgiveness.
Father.
- Maiden. - Stab me instead.
Father, please!
Kill me instead.
Maiden.
- Step aside. - Move aside.
Stab me first.
You will not lay a finger on His Highness before you stab me first.
Nothing will change just because I die.
Even if I die, Do Seong will not forgive you people.
If Your Highness is gone,
Grand Prince Do Seong will become the king whether he wants to or not.
And my Myeong Yoon will be safe.
Your Highness, this is Gab Seok.
Your Highness.
Come in.
If you have nothing more to say, go back now.
What is going on?
It is nothing serious.
Did you tell him to prepare the bedding?
Y-Yes, it will be ready soon since I told Sang Soo.
Please...
wait for a moment.
Do you think this matter will be forgotten with my death?
Grand Prince Do Seong will become the king whether he wants to or not.
And my Myeong Yoon will be safe.
The Crown Prince almost died trying to save Her Lady.
But he still nursed her all night by her side.
Did you not say he thought you were Myeong Yoon?
Yes, that is why I also thought it was a bit weird.
It should not matter to him what happens to a mere servant girl.
But he always took good care of Her Lady.
He did not take her hostage.
The Crown Prince also had feelings for Myeong Yoon.
By the way, what about My Lady?
Go tell Moo Baek I need him urgently.
Moo Baek!
M-Master needs you urgently.
The palace is so big.
It took such a long time trying to find you.
Are you not even worried about Her Lady?
We do not even know where she is right now.
I was told she is at the Crown Prince's pavilion.
The Crown Prince's pavilion?
Please send me back to Yanghwadang.
If Your Highness gets harmed again because of me-
Your father came without knowing you were here.
So, the earlier happening is irrelevant to you being here.
Even if it is not about my father,
you are hiding me here because others should not know I am here.
I am a traitor's daughter.
I am not worthy to be protected at the risk of danger for you.
Please let me go.
I meant it when I said I do not wish harm on you.
So, unless you want to make me waver and suffer,
please stop it now.
How can I dare? Please do not.
At this rate, I feel like I will commit a bigger crime against you.
I am requesting this out of fear.
Please understand me.
It will be harder for me to handle if you leave here and are harmed.
So, could you be the one to understand me, please?
Do not think about a thing today, and just rest.
Hyungnim, I am here.
Your Highness, please do not say anything to the Grand Prince.
Hyungnim, this is Do Seong!
Come in.
You did not forget, right?
I do not even know when we last had a drink together like this.
Yes, our last time was when we went to that courtesan house together.
Yes, it has been ages.
I already let the kitchen know.
So, they will send in the food and drinks soon.
I think people will be coming in and out of this room all night.
Let us drink in your room.
Sure. We can do that.
This is the food inspector His Excellency Munhyeong sent.
She used to work as a tea maker, so she is familiar with poison.
I am Court Lady Oh.
I was ordered by His Excellency Munhyeong-
We understand, so hurry up and inspect.
What is that?
He is a rat.
- A rat? - Yes.
Get it away from me right now!
Do not be scared. You can raise your head.
A rat once got in his pants while playing when he was young.
So, he is afraid of rats.
That was all because of you, Hyungnim!
Are you feeding the rat to be wary of poison that builds in your body?
Yes, Your Highness.
It is quickly noticeable because they are such small animals.
I understand, so hurry up and finish.
The sun will rise before I can even smell some alcohol at this rate.
The Grand Prince seems to be quite thirsty for alcohol, so hurry it up.
- We must kill her. - Father!
For you and Grand Prince Do Seong to live, the food inspector must be killed.
If the food inspector opens her mouth,
both you and Grand Prince Do Seong will die.
No one can defend the two of you.
The Crown Prince will defend us.
- I trust the Crown Prince. - In your dreams!
Munhyeong is intently watching everything,
how will the Crown Prince defend you?
I am well aware of His Excellency Munhyeong's character.
I am sure he will bring everything to light in a righteous way.
You are being so foolish.
Do you think Munhyeong will be any different from this old man?
Just like how I do anything for the Grand Prince, who is my grandson,
Munhyeong will also try to get rid of
Grand Prince Do Seong for his grandson, the crown prince.
No matter what you say,
I do not have the power to silence the food inspector.
The Chief Royal Guard will listen to your words if anyone.
Hence, convince the Chief Royal Guard to open up the way to the prison cells.
How can you ask your child to help you with murder?
- I cannot do that. - If you just open up the way,
I will take care of everything afterward-
Please stop! I do not want to hear any more of it.
Your Majesty, do you truly want to lose Grand Prince Do Seong?
I said I trust the Crown Prince!
- Your Majesty! - It is late into the night.
Please leave.
You heard it all, right?
Follow me.
Even if the Crown Prince were to protect Her Majesty and Grand Prince Do Seong,
I am sure you know better that he cannot protect you also.
I only did...
as I was ordered by Your Excellency.
How foolish.
Do you not realize you will be the sacrifice of this incident
the moment you run your mouth the wrong way?
For the Crown Prince to save Her Majesty or Grand Prince,
he will need a sacrifice who will die in their place.
Who would be better suited for this role than you?
I am saying you will eventually die
after much torture, no matter what you claim.
Your Excellency!
What are you still doing here at this late hour?
How can I leave the palace in this situation?
His Excellency Munhyeong's men seem ready to stay up all night at the Conference Hall!
How did things go with Her Majesty?
If the sun rises like this, you know everything will be over.
Just wait.
I cast my final hand already.
There.
Are you that happy?
Of course, I am.
I thought you were arrested,
so when I saw you entering the courtyard, I thought I was dreaming.
If it was not for me, you could have become the crown prince.
Did that not upset you?
Not at all.
I felt so relieved, as if I had lost a bad tooth.
As if that could be.
Do you know how far I went to avoid-
becoming the crown prince?
I heard you even did a sword dance.
You cannot even dance with your shoulder.s
It must have been hilarious to see you jump up and down.
I am regretful I missed such a rare sight.
Well, then.
Should I show you right now?
Do you mean it?
- Let me see it, then. - Yes!
Look closely.
You will be witnessing Joseon's best sword dance.
It is coming!
Yes, it is coming! It is almost here.
There it comes!
Forget it.
- I am losing my appetite. - No, just watch a bit longer.
Relax your wrists a bit.
My wrists?
Like this.
Your wrists are too stiff.
If the food inspector opens her mouth,
even the Grand Prince will not be safe.
For the Grand Prince's sake, you must silence the food inspector somehow.
Father had already spent two hours talking to me about the same thing.
Leave now.
Your Majesty,
why was the Grand Prince Gwang Chang ordered to die?
I heard the ousted king opposed it to the end as well.
However, in the end, he died vomiting blood at such a young age.
Your Majesty, you must remember that Grand Prince Gwang Chang was
just as innocent as the Grand Prince Do Seong.
Just as those trying to take down the Queen Dowager killed the Grand Prince Gwang Chang,
Grand Prince Do Seong can also-
- I do not want to hear it! - Your Majesty.
If the food inspector opens her mouth, the Grand Prince will die for sure.
The Grand Prince Do Seong must die
for the Deposed Crown Prince to be reinstated and take the throne.
Do you truly wish to die?
I said I did not want to hear it!
If it means I can protect you and the Grand Prince Do Seong,
I am willing to die a thousand times over.
Please reconsider.
Leave me alone, please.
Is it really okay to do this?
Of course, it is not okay.
It is not okay, but what can we do?
They really are the best brothers of Joseon.
Right, regarding Maiden Myeong Yoon,
I think her father already got her out.
Oh, really?
Yes, so I think you can rest assured about Maiden Myeong Yoon.
He got her out of Yanghwadang, which is so closely guarded.
I am sure he will get her out of the palace somehow.
I am glad.
Your Highness, please do not say anything to the Grand Prince.
Give me one more shot.
Oh, okay.
You became a better drinker.
I should be saying that, right?
Have you been drinking all the time you were gone?
I was always a good drinker. I just did not drink.
- You could not drink. - I said I did not drink.
Sure thing. I will let you be the correct one just for tonight.
You will let me?
Fine. I will let you get a beating from me today.
With your skills?
Let me see you take a strike.
Why you little.
Here I go.
Seriously?
- Barley*. - B-Barley? (A children's game called Rice-Barley-Rice.)
Barley. Rice! Rice!
Barley, Barley, Barley, Rice-
I got you! I got it.
It is my turn now.
Prepare yourself.
- Here I go. - Calm down.
Calm down for what? Hurry up and prepare yourself.
I think I am a bit drunk.
I am actually a light drinker.
There is nothing like barley for when you are drunk, Hyungnim.
I will give you some barley.
Wait.
Barley! Barley! Barley, Barley, Barley!
Rice! Rice! Barley.
Please excuse me.
If you will step out for a second, I will lay your bedding for you.
How can you show your dislike for her so noticeably?
Just do your job right.
Make sure no one can come in.
Especially Choi Sang Rok's household.
The guy who follows around like a bodyguard and the servant girl-
Gosh! She was only a servant girl but acted like the lady.
How dare she forget her place?
Wait until I see her.
I will make sure to beat some sense-
Please lower your voice. She will hear you.
Did I say something I cannot say?
Anyhow, if anyone finds out she is hiding here,
His Highness will be in big trouble.
Make sure no one comes near the Crown Prince's pavilion. Understand?
Yes.
I will take the blame for all crimes.
Hence, just let the Queen Dowager...
Once I confirm the Queen Dowager's safety,
the antidote will be delivered to you, Your Highness.
- This is Moo Baek. - Come in.
Deliver this to the Crown Prince first thing in the morning.
And leave the palace with Oh Wol right after.
Pardon? What about Her Lady?
Wait outside the palace and
the moment Myeong Yoon gets out of the palace,
go far away with her as well.
Wherever you find a place to settle at,
use this as capital and do anything.
You will still have enough for that after finding a place to live.
What if Her Lady fails to get out of the palace?
Her Lady cannot escape on her own. I will-
Just deliver the letter without error.
Please forgive me for failing to
serve you to the end.
Not at all.
Without you, Court Lady Kim,
Soo Ryun and I would not have been able to make it this far.
Thank you.
I will repay you in my next life if I can.
It was a great honor
to have served you...
Young Master.
Even if it is only one night,
I want to live as your wife and die, Orabeoni.
Please allow it, Orabeoni.
Soo Ryun.
Please...
call me your wife just once.
Dear Wife.
Yes, Dear Husband.
I can die without any regrets now.
In our next life,
let us be born as ordinary folks and
live happily ever after together.
Yes, Dear Husband.
I am reminded of the day I met you again after 10 years when I became a royal physician.
It was the happiest and saddest day of my life, like today.
It was the day we lost our Grand Prince Gwang Chang.
Your Highness!
Your Highness! You cannot!
Soo Ryun!
Court Lady Kim!
Please just stay alive.
I will never...
I will never let go of you again.
I promise you.
No matter what happens,
I am going to take you out of this palace
and be with you until death do us apart.
Please just stay alive until then, Soo Ryun.
I endured 20 long years
just to keep my promise from that day.
Had I known it would end up like this,
I would have run away with you sooner.
I know you did not do that for my sake because I might be put in danger.
- Soo Ryun. - You do not need to say more.
I have...
endured all this time only thinking of this moment
of becoming your wife.
The moment you waited for so eagerly...
The first night...
ended up being the last night.
I am sorry.
I do not care.
Just one night is enough for me.
I mean it.
If the food inspector opens her mouth, the Grand Prince will die for sure.
- Grand Prince! - Mother!
- Grand Prince Gwang Chang! - Mother!
You cannot! Do not do this! My Gwang Chang...
Why was the Grand Prince Gwang Chang ordered to die?
He died vomiting blood at such a young age.
Do you truly want to lose Grand Prince Do Seong?
If the food inspector opens her mouth...
both you and Grand Prince Do Seong will die.
Grand Prince will die for sure.
Do you truly want to lose Grand Prince Do Seong?
Your Majesty.
- Choi Sang Rok did? - Yes.
He treated him with that device when his life was in peril.
That is when he started getting better, so we could not remove it.
I also know it was my father's doing.
I meant it when I said I do not wish harm on you.
Nothing will change just because I die.
If Your Highness is gone,
Grand Prince Do Seong will become the king whether he wants to or not.
And my Myeong Yoon will be safe.
Grand Prince, where are you going this late at night?
I cannot sleep.
I will go see Father.
I will escort you.
It is fine.
I will be at the Main Hall.
Go and check that nothing is wrong at the prison cells.
Yes.
As long as you look the other way, no one would know.
I will make sure you will not be in trouble for this.
She tried to kill His Majesty with poison.
I am afraid she will try to slander the Grand Prince at the Capital Interrogations.
I cannot sleep because I am too worried.
Her Majesty bestowed this upon you out of pity.
If you try anything foolish, you will lose your head immediately.
I will be at the entrance.
Please call me if you need me.
Thank you.
Please spare me, Your Majesty.
I will do anything you tell me to do, so please just spare me.
P-Please spare me, Your Majesty the Queen!
You will die anyway.
How can a traitor who tried to poison His Majesty wish to live?
Rather than dying in pain during torture,
would it not be better to take your own life instead?
Why do I need to die?
I-I only did as the Queen Dowager's pavilion ordered!
This is not fair!
Shut your mouth!
How dare you say this is not fair?
When I think of what you did, I would not be satisfied to tear you apart.
If you want your corpse to be in one piece, take this dagger right now.
I-I refuse!
If I am going to die this way or that way,
I will fight back before I die.
What did you say?
You are telling me to die because you are afraid of what I would say, right?
If you fail to save me,
I will say Your Majesty ordered everything!
Do you think anyone would believe you?
Do as you please.
In that case, instead of Your Majesty,
I will say Grand Prince Do Seong ordered me to do so.
What do you think will happen, then?
Those who serve the Crown Prince will lunge at him.
Then, the Grand Prince Do Seong will not be safe, either.
If you want to save Grand Prince Do Seong, please save me now!
Please tell the Chief Royal Guard to release me now.
- Right now! - Shut up!
If the Grand Prince Do Seong dies, it will be all Your Majesty's fault.
You will be killing Grand Prince Do Seong!
Do you want to become a mother who kills her own son?
I told you to shut your mouth!
P-Please save me, Your Majesty.
I thought Hyungnim was weaker than me with alcohol,
but I noticed today that he is better than me at drinking as well.
All right. Your hands are all clean.
Hyungnim's and my feet look just like yours.
Anyone can tell we are your sons.
We take after you.
Why are your feet so cold?
This is Joong Young!
Come in.
You must come with me for a moment.
Whose doing is it?
I did not tell you because it would only
trouble your mind while not changing anything.
Now that the food inspector ended up that way,
I believe you must know now.
You are aware His Excellency Munhyeong and his men
gathered today to discuss future matters, right?
Yes. So what about their meeting?
Of course, we will have to do away with Left State Minister Yoon Yi Gyeom.
He falsely accused the Crown Prince.
The problem is Her Majesty the Queen.
I am sure that will be an issue.
Can rewards and punishments differentiate people based on their class?
Anyone, including Her Majesty,
must be punished if they committed a crime.
I apologize, but even if I kept quiet,
it will be revealed that Her Majesty was here at the end.
Then, the situation will spiral into an unstoppable chaos.
You must make any preparation necessary.
Your Highness!
This is terrible.
Lower your voice.
The food inspector was murdered.
What do we do now?
We cannot bring the dead back to life.
What should we do?
Bring me my official attire.
Grand Prince!
Who was it? Who is pushing Mother to the edge of the cliff?
Was it you?
Or was it Grandfather?
Yes. It must be both of you.
Should you disturb Mother one more time,
I will kill you with my hands.
Do you understand?
Do Seong.
I killed her.
Stay outside.
You promised me...
that we will be born as ordinary folks in our next lives
and live happily ever after.
Yes.
Let us do that.
♫ Standing still, I'm only looking at you ♫
♫ Like the mysterious moonlight that fills the night ♫
♫ Please don't leave me ♫
♫ Because you were like the passing breeze ♫
♫ Tears flow because it hurts too much to breathe ♫
♫ I want to hug you, I want to give you a hug ♫
♫ The longing floods me already ♫
Your Highness.
Your Highness. Your Highness! Your Highness, you cannot!
Your Highness! Your Highness, please open your eyes.
Your Highness!
♫ How much longer must I wait to be able to meet you? ♫
I said I killed the food inspector.
Why do you not ask me anything?
Take a seat.
You lost the only way to clear your name because of me.
And you cannot cure Father or get rid of them anymore!
Why? Why do you not say anything?
Yell at me and ask me why I did such a thing or if I have gone mad!
Your younger brother is causing your death so he can live!
Why...
w-why do you not say anything? Why?
Let go of me!
I said let go of me.
Let go of me. Let go!
Let go- Let go.
It is okay.
Do Seong.
It is okay.
♫ The longing will only get worse when the sun sets and spreads uncontrollably ♫
♫ Just like the moon floating over there ♫
Hyungnim.
Please forgive me, Hyungnim.
♫ Tears flow because it hurts too much to breathe ♫
♫ I want to hug you, I want to give you a hug ♫
♫ The longing floods me already ♫
Please forgive me.
Stop.
Please forgive me, Hyungnim.
That is enough. You can stop.
His Excellency Munhyeong is here.
Let him enter.
You were here as well, Grand Prince.
Go to your room.
It is all right. The Grand Prince must know about this matter, too.
- The food inspector was... - As for the food inspector...
I killed her.
♫ Walking down the memory lane ♫
♫ Looking for the faint sight of you ♫
♫ The nostalgia engrained deep in my heart ♫
♫ It is staying in the past moments ♫
♫ Where would you be? ♫
♫ Like a lost child, I'm wandering around ♫
♫ More gently ♫
[Missing Crown Prince]
How am I to pay for all these sins?
I wish you were Baek Goo.
Tell the Crown Prince to hand over Myeong Yoon.
I will escort her there.
She almost became my wife.
Deposed Crown Prince Lee Geon will be exonerated and become Grand Prince Soo Seong.
I laid a trap to get Grand Prince Soo Seong.
The Grand Prince Soo Seong will not be able to speak of our matter now.
Will you keep Grand Prince Soo Seong alive?
Of course, he must be killed.