Lord Lee.
Minister of Protocol.
You are working late.
I have more responsibilities as many officials have resigned recently.
What is it?
I came to you after much thought.
I have a message to send to Lord Lee Seong Gye's home
What?
It must have been infiltrated by an assassin by now.
Pardon?
(Episode 3)
Clear the way!
Watch out!
Clear the way!
My lord.
Is Father inside?
Yes.
Where?
I am not sure.
What is it, my lord?
There are assassins in the house.
Pardon?
Do you know who visitors are?
Mostly, my lord.
If you see any suspicious character, you must arrest them. Go now!
I will look for my father.
Yes, my lord.
There are assassins. Find them!
- Yes. - Yes.
Is it so?
What is it?
No, I will tell you later.
Where is Father?
He may be in his room.
Thank you...
for your valuable advice.
Someday, I may understand the ways of Confucius and Mencius.
When that should happen, I owe my enlightenment to you all.
Father!
Have you finished work?
Yes.
Is everything well?
All is well.
Who are the ones behind you?
Are they your guests?
Son!
Are you fine?
Catch him!
Follow him!
Pull yourself together.
Father.
You must pull yourself together.
Stop there!
There he is!
- Get him! - Catch him!
You bastard!
The bones and muscles are cut, but they will heal.
But the real problem of a stab wound is possible metal toxicity.
We should watch him for a few more days.
My lord.
My lord!
I am sorry.
He is wounded because of me.
Father.
What happened?
Who did this?
Bang Gwa is investigating it.
My lord.
Should you not tell the truth,
you shall have a taste of hell.
Wait.
I will tell.
I will tell all!
It was His Majesty.
It was the abdicated king.
Can you hear me?
Father.
Are you safe?
Yes.
I am well. How are you?
It hurts.
It is burning.
It is sore.
Drink this.
Father.
Yes.
The abdicated king and our family can never exist together.
One of us has to die...
if this battle should end.
I will help you.
To win this battle...
and to achieve the great work,
I will help you.
Let him, my lord.
You need Bang Won now.
You need someone beside you...
to handle Confucian scholars.
You need someone beside you...
to handle the officials at the royal court.
(Lady Kang, Lee Bang Won's stepmother)
My lord.
There are no enemies to slaughter with the sword.
There are only enemies to slaughter with the pen now.
You need Bang Won from now on.
He will represent the Lee family...
and join all discussions from now on.
Sit down.
Yes.
Now,
let us begin.
I will speak first.
As you may all know,
the one behind the assassins who were after Lord Lee Seong Gye was...
the abdicated king in exile.
It is a grave matter to deal with.
Let us discuss it in depth.
I cannot understand.
He has four older brothers.
Why should Bang Won represent our family?
That is Father's intention.
Stop complaining and obey him.
"The older brother always knows better." Does not Father know the old saying?
(Lee Bang Gwa, Lee Seong Gye's second son)
He saved the lives of our family several times now.
Bang Won has done it.
Why can he not represent our family?
Will you never grow up?
Will you spend all your life being jealous of Bang Won?
Swallow your feelings, for heaven's sake.
Why do you always ask for trouble by saying them out loud?
(Lee Bang Gan, Lee Seong Gye's fourth son)
I swallowed them so much that my guts are filled with them.
Do you understand?
You brat!
Bang Gan!
Please stop. Refrain yourself.
I have indulged him, and he shows no respect to me.
That is because you are so slight...
I mean, small... No!
I mean, generous.
I apologize.
It was a slip of the tongue.
Forgive me.
Why are you so hostile today?
It is nothing.
Tell me.
To be honest,
I am not relieved.
I am not sure if Bang Won can represent the family's position well.
Will he dare say a word...
among the eminent Confucian scholars?
(Lee Bang Woo, Lee Seong Gye's eldest son)
What do you want Bang Won to say for us?
Do you not know?
Say it.
Of course, to dispose of the abdicated king.
He attempted to take Father's life. How can we spare the man?
Is that the only thing on your mind?
What else should be on my mind?
As a son, I must take revenge for my father.
What should be more important?
Am I wrong?
We must not tolerate the abdicated king anymore.
I fully agree with the idea.
Still, he is His Majesty's father.
What can we do?
It would be of no use if we should demand punishment.
"How can a son punish his father?"
They would use this logic to hold out and do nothing.
Are you saying that there is no way?
In reality,
the only way seems to be to move the place of exile.
If we send him farther away to a place like Gangneung,
he would not be able to plan these things behind so freely.
I...
I would like to say a word.
Say it.
Yes, say it.
I will.
I may be presumptuous,
but changing the place of exile is only a temporary remedy.
No matter how far we may send him away,
the abdicated king will never stop the act of threat against us.
That is not all.
His Majesty will resemble his father...
and grow enmity against us.
As time goes by, we will be in greater danger.
Please remember that.
Yes.
You are right.
But we do not have a remedy.
We have.
If His Majesty is an obstacle,
we must remove His Majesty first.
Son.
It was beyond reason from the beginning.
We have abdicated the father. How can we enthrone his son?
Stop it.
We have to set the past wrongs right.
Then...
Enough.
I apologize.
My son is too young and passionate and has been immoderate in speech.
Let us close it today.
What cause do you have for it?
Master Poeun.
Tell me.
The abdicated king employed the assassins.
His Majesty has not been involved.
And what cause do you have to depose His Majesty?
Well...
Do you think you can use an evasive pretext?
Do you think the people will accept it?
Listen carefully.
The previous king was deposed...
because he was a debauched tyrant,
and it was clear wrongdoing.
But His Majesty is innocent.
You must immediately discard the idea of deposing His Majesty.
Master.
Say no more.
As a subject,
you must not talk about deposing your king so easily.
When one recklessly dethrones and enthrones kings, what do we call him?
We call him a traitor!
Do you understand?
I will take my leave now.
Master Poeun.
Bang Woo.
Why are you here?
I wanted to know about the conference,
and I was wandering around.
Is it finished?
I do not know.
I took my leave earlier.
What happened?
Is it true?
Did Bang Won say so?
Yes, he is bolder than I imagined.
I cannot believe it.
My brother was not such a man.
What was the conclusion?
That was the end.
They do not have a cause to dare dethrone His Majesty.
It is fortunate.
It is fortunate indeed.
Do you think it is truly fortunate?
Master.
Master Mokeun.
So...
was that your conference today?
To depose His Majesty...
is it the Lee family's position?
They cannot realize it.
They do not have a cause.
They can create a cause.
Those who have power can easily find a cause, can they not?
Power is the cause.
In the end, things will become as your family wants.
And Lord Lee Seong Gye will take the throne one day.
He will never!
Master, you have misunderstood.
Had it been his intention,
he would have taken the throne at the time of the Wihwado Retreat.
Had he done so, he would have become a traitor.
And from that day on,
he would have faced strong resistance.
It is to avoid such resistance that he advances slowly, step by step.
Can you not see it?
It is the conjecture of the people of Gaegyeong.
How can only the two of you not know it?
Forgive me, Father.
I was too indiscreet.
I felt too passionate.
I do not wish to blame you.
That is the part I wanted to assign you.
Continue talking honestly...
and represent our family's position.
Father.
I agree with you in my heart.
When you were stabbed by the assassin and remained on the brink of death,
that is what I thought.
I will make them pay.
I will destroy anyone who stops me from doing it.
But...
everything needs a cause.
Do you understand?
Yes, Father.
Good.
Good work. You may leave now.
Then you need to find the cause, my lord.
I would like to.
But it will not be easy.
Even the masters who were with us today...
could not find one.
You must find the cause somehow.
That will be the proof
of your qualification to represent the family.
My lady.
Please try.
You will find one.
It will take Father's great work one step ahead.
What?
Did it end without a conclusion?
Yes, they will have another conference tomorrow.
What is Jeong Do Jeon doing?
We can take the abdicated king...
and behead him immediately.
Father.
He is the previous king. It will not be as easy as you say.
(Lee Ji Ran, Royal Guard Officer, a sworn brother to Lee Seong Gye)
What is not easy about that?
We can behead him.
Ji Ran.
We should not remain quiet.
If there is no solution tomorrow, let us stand in for Jeong Do Jeon.
In times like this, we military officers must take the lead...
to find a breakthrough.
Yes.
I will wait and see one more day.
Just one day.
Can you not do it right?
What was the abdicated king thinking to organize such a thing?
How will he take the consequences?
(Royal Consort Jeong of the An Clan, King Gongmin's wife)
(King Chang, 33rd king of Goryeo)
(Hwangryeobu, King Woo's place of exile)
Do not worry.
They cannot do anything.
They may wish to depose His Majesty immediately...
and decapitate me.
But...
(King Woo, 32nd king of Goryeo)
they do not have a cause.
They will simply fret over it, unable to do anything.
But those are heinous people.
Well.
Wait and see.
It will be fine.
At best, they will send me to somewhere farther away.
And then...
I will make a plan again there.
Until the day I annihilate all traitors,
I shall never stop.
My lord.
It is late.
Please go to bed.
You should go to bed first.
Sleep seems to evade me.
Please get some sleep.
Think again tomorrow, with a clear head.
Look at him.
They say blood will tell.
He looks just like you.
Am I so ugly?
My lord?
You will be in trouble.
The baby understood you.
Is that true?
Yes.
You will never have a filial son.
I will be the only one respected and served until my old age.
Well...
Good boy.
Sleep now.
Good boy.
Good night, my lord.
What is it?
I found it.
My lord?
I will be back soon.
My lord.
What did you find?
I found a cause to depose His Majesty.
Tell me what it is.
Blood.
Blood?
Yes.
As Jeong Mong Ju said,
it is out of the question...
for a subject to dethrone his king.
But what if he is a false king...
who has assumed royal blood to take the throne?
A false king?
Yes.
His Majesty King Gongmin passed away with an heir.
The abdicated king in exile who succeeded the throne is, in fact,
Shin Don's son.
Thus, His Majesty is not a descendent of the Wang family.
He is the blood and flesh of Shin Don.
What are you saying?
Are you...?
Are you talking about the rumor?
Is that our cause?
It is not a rumor.
It is the truth.
You know it better, Father.
One day, His Majesty King Gongmin...
brought a child called Monino to the place.
He then proclaimed, "The child is my son."
That is all.
There is no proof.
Since then,
people started to say that it was the child of Shin Don.
Father.
It is enough.
Do you think so?
Yes.
Good.
I will call Jeong Do Jeon.
I missed that.
If we use it as our cause,
the royal family will not refute it.
It is the same then and now.
There is no proof.
My lord.
Who will take the throne now?
I do not have any intention.
But I am curious.
I know how you feel.
But not this time.
Your father understands.
Fine.
Then...
We will crown Wang Yo, Prince Jeongchan.
Prince Jeongchan is an in-law family of my younger Bang Beon, is he not?
Yes.
Your father is already related to Prince Jeongchan's family by marriage.
He is a family...
and will be easier to manage.
My lord.
We will begin as soon as the dawn breaks.
(Royal Consort Jeong's abode)
(Royal Consort Jeong of the An Clan, King Gongmin's wife)
A.D. 1389, a year after the Wihwado Retreat,
Lee Seong Gye claimed to dethrone a false king to enthrone a true one,
making the queen dowager approve the order to dethrone King Chang.
Dethrone a false king to enthrone a true one?
Can we depose a king based on a meager rumor?
It is not a rumor but a truth.
The abdicated king and His Majesty are descendants of Shin Don.
They are not Wang Woo and Wang Chang. They are Shin Woo and Shin Chang.
It is our duty as subjects to do something, is it not?
Shut your mouth!
You are the seed of trouble.
You are the one who makes our family traitors.
Bang Woo.
Stop it.
- Mother. - Mother.
Mother.
What is this that you are doing?
What are you doing with brothers of the same blood?
I am here to give Bang Won's son the clothes I made.
(Lady Han, Lee Bang Won's birth mother)
And I have come to see the fight.
I cannot believe it.
They were so close to each other.
What could have caused such a rift among them?
Please do not worry.
They have some differences in how they see things.
Still, they are brothers.
Nothing will happen, I suppose.
You say it as if they are strangers to you.
How can you be so heartless with words?
Lady Han.
I will take my leave now.
My lord will come soon.
Tell him that I was here.
I do not wish to stay in Gaegyeong anymore.
Lady Han.
Mother.
I will see you off until the castle gate.
Lady Han is hopeless.
How can she be the lady of the palace in the future?
Go now.
Go back home.
Do not fight.
Think of Bang Yeon, your youngest brother who died.
Be nice to each other.
Do you understand me?
Yes, Mother.
I am sorry, Mother.
Forgive me.
Farewell and take care, Mother.
Take care, children.
Move!
It is a pity.
King Chang was exiled, demoted to a commoner.
Lee Seong Gye then supported Wang Yo, Prince Jeongchan...
to become the new king as he was a relative by marriage.
He became the last king of Goryeo, King Gongyang.
(King Gongyang, 34th king of Goryeo)
I appreciate your great work.
Please help yourself.
You may refuse,
but I will make the drinks and food flow endlessly.
Please be prepared.
My lady.
Please excuse me.
Master Poeun.
We have just begun. Where should you go?
Forgive me, my lord.
But I am too distressed to stay here any longer.
Master Poeun!
I have been anguished all day.
Nonetheless, I had to give in because of the times we spent together,
going along with Lord Lee Seong Gye.
Now, I want to rest.
Master Poeun.
I am sorry.
For what, my lord?
For what you have done today?
Or for what you will do tomorrow?
Please do not be sorry.
Even the children of the city are singing a song...
about Lee Seong Gye becoming the king.
And I have failed to realize it, trusting you until now.
It is my fault.
What happened today was unavoidable, Master Poeun.
But it will be different now.
Without your permission,
I will not do anything.
I can give you my word for that.
So, please stay by my side.
My lord.
What an empty promise it is.
You dethrone and enthrone kings at your will.
How can such a man be restrained by a nobody like me?
Master Poeun.
I will take my leave now.
Please go inside and enjoy.
It is a good day, is it not?
Please spare the lives of the two abdicated kings.
I beg you.
Good riddance, anyway.
I agree.
I feel very much relieved.
So, the abdicated king cannot run wild anymore, can he?
He cannot.
He will become a commoner and be sent to Gangneung.
And he will live in a small thatched house enclosed by a thorn hedge.
(A thorn hedge enclosed the house to confine exiled sinners.)
It serves him right.
But where are Bang Woo and Bang Won?
Why are they not here yet?
Are they fighting again?
Please stay.
I will go.
Yes.
I have a question for you.
Yes.
What is loyalty to you?
I am not blaming you.
I am just curious.
You are the one
who studied Confucius hardest in our family, are you not?
And how can you look away from loyalty now?
Even a half-witted Confucian like me cherishes the idea all my life.
I do not know.
I suppose I have not taken it to heart as you have.
I must have taken it only in my brain.
Do not be evasive.
It is the truth.
Even when I was devoted to studying,
I could not see anything to obey with my body and soul...
anything at all.
The royal court was dismal, and the king was pathetic.
It was all twisted and sick, the state of Goryeo.
What could I have obeyed...
with all my heart?
Loyalty is not about obedience.
Loyalty is about righteousness.
And righteousness maintains the order of this world.
That is why the weak can survive without falling prey to the strong,
becoming civilized.
And our family is destroying it.
We destroy civilization to reopen an era of beasts.
Bang Woo.
Please do not exaggerate.
We are not insurgents slaughtering the people.
We are simply eliminating political enemies...
to achieve the great work.
The political enemy was the monarch whom we had to serve.
What we must serve is the people, not the king.
Those who invoke the people were traitors in truth.
Bang Woo!
Please stop.
Mother asked you to be nice to each other.
Please come inside and have a drink.
No, thank you.
Please excuse me.
Bang Won.
I swear that I did not want this.
It must have been Lee Seong Gye.
He must wish his relative to be a king...
to manipulate as he wants.
Had you been aware of it, you should have refused.
What good will you get...
by becoming their puppet?
I do not intend to become their puppet.
I am a Wang family, too.
I will do nothing to make me feel ashamed before our founding king Taejo.
Your Majesty.
Please trust me, Your Majesty.
I will do everything in my power to protect Goryeo...
from Lee Seong Gye.
Never will I let Lee Seong Gye...
have this throne.
Look around.
This is the main hall.
Now, you must help me by my side.
Bang Gwa, you will become Assistant Royal Secretary.
Bang Won, you will become Right Assistant Transmitter.
- Yes, Father. - Yes, Father.
That is the throne.
That is the highest post.
It is the seat where you can sit only when heaven grants it.
You have come early.
Master Poeun.
- Good morning, my lord. - Good morning, my lord.
So, you belong to the royal court now.
Yes, my lord.
Then serve His Majesty with the utmost loyalty.
You are the subjects of His Majesty from now on.
Should it be different from your father's intention,
your duty is to serve His Majesty only, which you must never forget.
Yes.
I will remember it.
But please do not worry.
Just like you, my lord,
my father has always served His Majesty with the utmost loyalty.
Who says dethronement is a way of serving the king?
He deposed the false king to crown the true one.
If you should criticize it,
who is it that you serve, Master?
The false king of yesterday, or the true king of today?
Enough.
You have changed much, Bang Won.
Good morning, my lord.
My lord.
You should have waited for us to come to the palace.
Good morning.
We appoint Lee Seong Gye as Right Prime Minister...
Jeong Mong Ju as Junior Prime Minister...
Jo Jun as Supreme Administrative Officer and Inspector General...
and Jeong Do Jeon as Cashier and Accounting Officer.
And we appoint Lee Bang Gwa as Assistant Royal Secretary...
and Lee Bang Won as Right Assistant Transmitter.
- We are honored, your majesty. - We are honored, your majesty.
All of you...
please help this poor man.
I do not have much learning or virtues.
I have accepted the throne only trusting you.
Please lead me with all your heart.
- Yes, your majesty. - Yes, your majesty.
- We will serve with all our heart. - We will serve with all our heart.
Right Prime Minister.
Yes, your majesty.
I count on you.
I am honored, your majesty.
Your majesty,
why have you not appointed...
the two highest prime ministers yet?
He is right, your majesty.
Those are the leaders of the royal court,
and we are curious about the reason.
In my humble opinion, Lee Seong Gye must...
The two posts are taken.
I have sent a very short notice, and they may be late.
Oh, here they are.
Master.
We assign Lee Saek as the First Prime Minister...
and Byeon An Yeol as the Grand Prime Minister.
Please fulfill your duties well.
- I am honored, your majesty. - I am honored, your majesty.
Your majesty.
Lord Lee Seong Gye is the one who enthroned you.
And why should Lee Saek and Byeon An Yeol be appointed...
to higher posts than Lee Seong Gye?
Your majesty, please withdraw your appointment.
Those two tried to...
crown Shin Don's descendants, Shin Woo and Shin Chang.
How can Your Majesty be so peremptory in this appointment?
Your Majesty must have consulted with Lord Lee Seong Gye...
and other ministers in advance.
Must I have?
Without the permission of Lord Lee Seong Gye,
can I not appoint an official?
Answer me, Right Prime Minister. Is that so?
No, your majesty.
And why do you behave this way?
Answer me again, Right Prime Minister.
Who is the king?
Why are you silent?
Who is the king?
Your Majesty is the king.
What are you, then?
Answer me.
What are you, Right Prime Minister?
What is Your Majesty doing now?
Impertinence!
How can you raise your voice?
Listen carefully.
Who intervenes when His Majesty is speaking?
You!
Stop it.
So, tell me.
What are you to me, Right Prime Minister?
I am your subject.
We cannot hear you.
Please say it again.
Please go on.
I am your subject.
(The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won)
That is power.
Anyone who has it wishes to wield it.
Is no one there?
Should you wish to survive, please be prudent.
You will follow Shin Woo and Shin Chang.
We hereby order Shin Woo and Shin Chang to be decapitated.
They are not threats to the royal family and court now.
I implore you to spare their lives.
The man I planted looked into it.
It was Bang Won's doing.
I will meet him.