[The following program recreated historical events by adding fictional characters and situations]
Episode 19
Kim Seungyu!
I know that you're Kim Seungyu.
How much longer will you keep hiding in your father's shadow?
Stop running away like a coward,
and reveal yourself.
Were you... Were you really alive?
You look as if you just saw a demon.
Does seeing the man you so wished to see dead come back alive...
daunt you?
So you were the one who abducted Lady Seryeong.
And all your vengeance amounted to was abducting innocent damsels...
and parading about taking people's lives?
And at the end of that list are Suyang and you!
You're a dead man.
Let's go.
Kim Seungyu...
Did I not tell you to leave? Nobody can enter.
What happened at the palace?
A throng of criminals attempting on His Majesty's life has been apprehended.
I've heard there were troops, were they captured as well?
Why do you keep asking questions?
Her Highness told me to come and find out.
Some of them managed to escape, but they will soon be captured.
Take your leave now.
Our plans have been exposed. Are you the only ones left?
Yes.
Let us start with rescuing our men who were captured.
We will break in tonight, so brace yourselves.
Will our numbers really suffice?
Hide until further notice.
Yes.
What brings you to a place like this, Your Highness?
Don't call me that. Is that clear?
Yes.
Where are you going in such haste? You'll disappoint me...
Step aside.
Ohh... This one's tough, all right.
When they start acting like this, it just kills me.
Here in Mapo Port, without Gong Chilgu's consent, you can't even take a leak.
Wow... Look at that fire in your eyes.
And you don't smell too bad, either.
Uh? Not to mention this soft sk...
Go ahead, it's all right. Do it again.
You wench...
You again?
Just mind your business, will you?
Why... You like court attendants, too?
Or what, you know each other?
Just go...
Stop parading around Bingok Mansion.
Ahh... The hell did he come from...
Let's go for now.
It's a great relief you're safe.
I thought I told you not to behave so imprudently.
What are you doing here again?
I was worried you'd be captured.
Go back now.
Have you heard of your mentor and the Royal Son-in-law?
What are you going to do?
You really think I would tell you?
Myeon has found out about me.
Being seen with me is not going to help you.
If you've been exposed, wouldn't that make it even more dangerous?
I'm sure there's something I can do to help you.
What we are plotting is your father's demise.
How can you so nonchalantly offer your help?
I cannot bear to see anyone else get injured or die over this.
Remain by Princess Gyeonghye's side.
I will soon join you there.
I will.
Shall I learn how to read as well?
I should ask Orabeoni to teach me.
If you'd like me to teach you, don't hesitate to tell me.
If you have all that time to spare, powder properly.
- So what is Father's name? - Kim Seunggyu.
Right. My Agang is bright.
- Can you write that? - Yes.
What?!
A favor?!
Why, where are you going?
Going on another one of your heedless escapades, aren't you?
I told you not to entrust Agang and her mother to me, didn't I?
My mentor and a friend of mine were captured.
So?
You'll go rescue them?
With all the troops they injured?
Can you really make it all by yourself?
Whether I make it or not does not matter.
It is something I must do.
Listen to you.
Got some guts, after entrusting your family to someone else.
I knew I could trust you, so I asked, no matter how shameless of me it might be.
I'll pay back this debt of gratitude even if I have to perish for it.
Who said you could go out and get yourself killed?
You stubborn fool.
Fine... Whatever it might be, I'm coming with you.
But if you're exposed, this place could be in danger.
Hiding you here is already dangerous as it is!
Helping you not get exposed is our best option.
When are you leaving?
Me too! I'm coming!
Where are you going?
And you would have been nasty enough to leave me here?
Fine... Come.
Let's go together.
What did you just say? Kim Seungyu?!
Are you sure you weren't mistaken?
It was Kim Seungyu without a shadow of a doubt.
How can someone who's long dead come back to life?!
My apologies.
Then, the Daeho who slew Prince Onnyeong and abducted the princess...
was none other than Kim Seungyu?
Tell the bureau I will question the prisoners firsthand.
Should we not ascertain Kim Seungyu's whereabouts?
Lee Gae and Jeong Jong have always been very close to him,
so it's very likely they'll know where he is.
There is somewhere I must go.
Prefect Shin, come with me.
Why are you all gathered here?
Sire... How shall we deal with this?
Deal with what?
Father.
Seryeong has disappeared.
What?
She took Yeori with her and left the palace, Father.
What are you doing here?
You still haven't entered the palace?
I just met him.
Him?!
You mean Kim Seungyu?
So he managed to escape with his life.
He will soon go rescue the Royal Son-in-law.
Have you seen his face?
Was it someone you knew?
Maybe this is only happening because you couldn't get her to open up?
Forgive me.
She tried to defend that Kim Seungyu even though he abducted her.
What will you do if you find her with him?
Discreetly send your men out and find her.
Nobody can find out what went on between her and Kim Seungyu.
Yes.
All the preparations are complete.
Let us go, Sire.
Head to Princess Gyeonghye's residence and find the princess.
Yes.
Halt a moment!
Where is Kim Seungyu?
You are his mentor, so you surely know his whereabouts.
Speak the truth.
Just hearing the name of my late student breaks my heart!
His whereabouts?!
Are you suggesting that he's still alive?
Shouldn't you think of Princess Gyeonghye?
If you confess where Kim Seungyu is, I shall pardon you for your crimes and release you.
I'm sure you're well aware of where my friend is.
He has long been gracing the bottom of the West Sea after you sank that ship.
You little...
I know that Kim Seungyu participated in your complot,
how dare you suggest otherwise?
Complot?
That is preposterous.
Say what?
Is slaying the vile traitor who so guilefully appropriated the throne...
something anyone would define as a complot?
W... What?! Appropriated?!
You've heard that right. Naeuri!
Naeuri?! How dare you address His Majesty with such insolence?
There is only one man we call His Majesty.
Only one, and he's residing in Changdeok Palace as we speak!
Ehh Ehh! Listen to that!
What a waste of immense knowledge and talent you all are.
Have you ever reflected on how much our former rulers cherished you?
No matter how serious what you plotted might be,
I would try everything to set you free.
Don't let him inveigle you!
Let us not be deceived by him!
Even if you don't confess Kim Seungyu's whereabouts, it's fine.
As long as you acknowledge me as your ruler,
I shall not hold you accountable for any past crime.
Could that be an easy decision?!
I shall await your answer.
Hyungnim.
- What is this place? - Quiet.
Listen...
Open! Open the gates at once!
Open the gates!
Will you address me as your ruler now?
Sire!
May you forgive these unfaithful servants for leaving you alone.
Even if from the netherworld, we shall help Your Majesty back to the throne.
Sire...
We shall make sure that heinous pilferer returns the throne back to you, Sire!
Sire!!
We shall always remain your loyal subjects!
We will reveal all your vile subterfuges to our great past rulers Sejong and Munjong.
- Listen! - Yes!
I want you to dismember these insolent knaves!
Yes.
So that I will not need to see or hear them again,
tear apart their eyes, noses, lips, and every single limb of theirs.
And you think that will stop us?
The bloodshed will continue even after our deaths!
Begin with him!
Her Highness Princess Seryeong disappeared from the palace.
Prefect Shin ordered us to search this place,
so please forgive our intrusion.
Need you...
really search this place?
She's the woman who caused my husband's capture.
The moment she sets foot here, I will personally drag her to the capital bureau.
Accept our apologies.
Where...
Where was the Royal Son-in-law brought?
He will be taken to the bureau prisons once they've questioned him.
All right.
Your Highness.
Kim Seungyu is here.
She's inside my quarters.
Looks like he'll be taken to the bureau prisons after being questioned.
Then it's likely they'll execute him in the morrow.
Our only option is breaking in and rescuing him before that happens.
Infiltrating the capital bureau would be a heedless decision.
After all, haven't you lost almost all your troops?
We must do it one way or another.
I will come with you.
If you disguise yourselves as my guards,
it will help you at least enter the capital bureau.
I will lure Prefect Shin away and enter the palace.
Right... That would do it.
My lecturer is held there as well. Allow me to help.
I would never put you in danger.
And neither can I let you incur such risks all on your own.
Seryeong is our greatest hope right now.
You must accept her help.
I wish you a safe return alongside the Royal Son-in-law.
I owe you so much.
Owe me? Don't you even say that.
You knaves!
The man you should capture is usurping that throne as we speak!
How come you cannot even look at me?
She didn't look to be hiding at Princess Gyeonghye's residence.
She's with Kim Seungyu for sure.
Wait... Wait!
This is near the capital bureau.
Why did we come here?
We're infiltrating the bureau.
Why?
Ahh... Why? Why put ourselves at...
Follow me.
It's Her Highness Princess Seryeong.
I came to meet Prefect Shin.
Free the way.
They're my guards.
They've been by my side for a long time, so you needn't worry.
If this is what brotherhood means, I'd rather have no part in it.
You should tell people where we're going.
I'll go meet Prefect Shin now.
I wish you luck.
Will you really be all right?
Don't you worry.
Prefect Shin won't do anything to me.
We might be apart, but you'll always be by my side in my heart.
Hasten.
What brings Your Highness to such unbecoming dwellings?
I was on a saunter to quell the palace's suffocating hold on me,
and afraid my parents would worry, I came to ask for your help.
Since when have you started fearing your parents?
Give me a moment.
Where is your subordinate going?
You needn't concern yourself with that.
Let us enter the palace together.
I don't know if I can shield you from reproach, but I shall at least accompany you.
Summon all guards away from the prison.
Are they sending reinforcements?
Maybe it's a trap?
We're still going.
Did you come to see your lecturer?
I didn't.
We should hasten back to the palace.
What is this? There's nobody here.
Jong.
Seungyu...
Master. It's Seungyu.
Why did you come here?
Nobody has seen you yet, so take your leave before anyone does.
We must hasten out of here.
We will set you free, so let's move.
Don't!
Master.
Who ever asked you to do so?
I am not taking a single step outside this cell.
We would never be weak enough to break out of prison.
But in the morn...
We will be executed. They all know.
Even if you do rescue us this time, what difference would it make?
You can find refuge and plan your next move, at least.
Shouldn't you survive?
Seungyu.
Our feats and fealty shall not vanish with our lives,
but live on in the pages of history.
Master!
We shall make sure our righteous sacrifice warns our descendants...
of what kind of heinous usurper Suyang really was.
You can't.
I cannot lose you and Jong as well, Master.
I can only feel sorry for subjecting you to more suffering.
However, Seungyu.
Nobody can sway people who are prepared to die for a cause.
We are now counting on you.
Take care of Her Highness in my stead.
Jong...
Seungyu.
I can finally face your father in the netherworld with a smile on my face.
I will tell him we entrusted everything upon you.
It might be over for us, but you must protect His Majesty to the very end.
You must.
Jong!
Master.
You're so stubborn.
All of you.
This is strange.
Go. Take him and go.
Take good care of him.
I met Seungyu.
I just told you of my meeting with a dead man, and yet you're not surprised?
Then by now I'm sure you know why I could not possibly marry you.
No...
For Kim Seungyu will die by my hands, and you will marry me without fail.
Naeuri.
You really think I don't know that Kim Seungyu was at the bureau prisons?
This is the very last time I spare him.
So with that in mind, prepare to join me in conjugal ties.
Are you back?
I have no intention of speaking to you, so go see your father.
And you think that will stop us?
The bloodshed will continue even after our deaths!
Your path to the throne will be drenched in blood.
You really think I'd let a dead man vanquish me?
Sire... Her Highness the Princess seeks your audience.
Come in.
You must stop the execution of my lecturer, the Royal Son-in-law and the others.
A show of benevolence on your part would make them see you in a different light.
Those people attempted on my life.
How could I be benevolent...
Will killing all those people eliminate everyone bearing resentment against you?
I never imagined my daughter would conspire with those who tried to slay me.
Are you telling me you're that infatuated with Kim Seungyu,
despite the fact he abducted you?
No matter how much I might resent you, I never participated in any such plans.
That doesn't sound too plausible, I'm afraid.
Didn't you keep going in and out of Princess Gyeonghye's residence?
Abandon the throne and go back home while you still can.
If you would only do so, I'd remain by your side for the rest of my life.
Go back and live as an ordinary minion, after all this?
Would anyone pay attention to such preposterous palaver?
I regret the fact I have a father like you.
If I had been born as the daughter of an "ordinary minion,"
I wouldn't need to go through all this.
Un.
Yes.
Never lose sight of the princess, from here on in.
After all, she might conspire with Kim Seungyu and point a sword at her father, right?
You can't imagine how glad I am to have you as my father.
How can Jong and the master still be in prison?
I ordered everyone not to approach the prisons as you wished,
but seems like they refused to be set free.
Why?
Why did you not escape while you still could?
I gave you the perfect chance to escape, and you still refused.
Why did you decide to just sit and await your impending demise?
You will never understand what moves us.
And what conviction could possibly matter more than your own life?
Just go.
I would only be wasting my time, if I tried to explain it to...
someone who betrayed a dear friend of his just to benefit his own clan.
Go back.
Myeon.
But I am still grateful for what you did to help me.
I hope you'll show the same consideration for Seungyu.
Don't kill each other, and instead save each other's life.
There is no going back now.
Hyungnim.
Was Seungyu Hyungnim really that big a name?
We are now counting on you.
Take care of Her Highness in my stead.
So was their wish, so I couldn't do anything to stop them.
Your Highness...
Nothing happened at the capital bureau.
Seems like nobody broke out of prison nor was captured.
So they failed?
Agang, your uncle is here.
Uncle.
Did anything make you sad?
No.
Is it because Grandfather and Father came back to mind, then?
No.
But your voice sounds strange...
Just like after I weep.
No... It's nothing.
It was just a tiresome day, that's why.
Will you get out of my way?
I am going to pay my respects to my lecturer before he gets executed.
I can't even do that in peace?
You are not allowed to leave the palace.
Are you going to attend the execution?
Don't.
They're hell bent on facing their demise, so what else can you say?!
Before my father and brother perished, I thought demise was something of no concern.
And despite having risked my life and killed countless times since,
I wonder why demise keeps daunting me more and more...
I suppose it's because I finally realized that, one day,
I will face the same fate.
I wonder why you let such palaver influence you.
But sure... go ahead.
Go and pray for those who are about to face their demise.
Your Highness.
Where are you going in these garments...
Don't tell me you're going to attend the execution?
There is somewhere I must go, so don't you worry.
They shall soon meet their demise, so there is nothing to worry about.
The issue is Changdeok Palace.
Unless that place is dealt with, our quandaries will never end.
Are you suggesting we should oust the Erstwhile King?
But it might be much too early at this juncture...
Is he not the reason behind these treacherous complots?
Not to mention that Kim Seungyu will surely use him to once again conspire treason.
We should send him far away and eliminate any risk at the very root.
Sire.
We have enough of a just cause to do so.
Dealing with the cause at the root is only natural at this point.
I will not tolerate anyone setting his sights on my throne.
Find a suitable exile destination.
I shall hasten and strongly encourage memorials to depose the Erstwhile King.
Sire, please come out a moment.
Did you come to beg for your husband's life?
That is indeed so.
May you spare Royal Son-in-law Jeong Jong,
and exile him along with me.
Sire.
Sire?!
Sire...
I shall call your name a thousand times, Sire.
Should you accord us your benevolence,
the Royal Son-in-law and I will quietly spend the rest of our days far away from here.
Can you promise that?
Yes, Sire.
Should you fail to live up to that promise,
I shall dismember your husband right under your watch.
Is that clear?
Yes, Sire.
It is time to take the sentenced criminals to the execution ground.
Aren't you preparing to leave?
Stop.
Criminal Jeong Jong, heed His Majesty's orders.
His Majesty ordered you be exiled to Gwangju in Jeolla Province.
Why... Why is he only sparing me?
Take my life as well.
Take me with them!
Take him away!
Master... Master!
Master... Let go! Master... Master!!
Let me go, you bastards! I must go with them...
Master!
Master...
Were you behind this?
How could you think of leaving without me?
Thinking of you broke my heart,
but I decided to die for His Majesty's sake.
So, please...
Let me die for a just cause.
Forgive my vanity, but survive for my sake instead.
Survive for me.
On this day... On this day alone, I resent you.
Master.
You've come.
Jong was spared, and will be exiled in the morrow.
I will never forget what you told me.
I'm grateful.
Seungyu.
Yes, Master.
Don't you ever lose that name of yours again.
Let this be our last meeting.
Sire! May you depose the Erstwhile King!
Depose the Erstwhile King!
It has been unquestionably proven that the Erstwhile King conspired with Lee Gae...
and the scholars of the Hall of Worthies to bring harm to Your Majesty.
How could we go on serving the Erstwhile King as his subjects?
Depose the Erstwhile King and restore dignity to our state matters!
Depose the Erstwhile King!
Sire. May you depose the Erstwhile King.
They're still deciding on when to exile him.
What happened to those accused of conspiring in the complot?
They were executed.
Your Highness.
I'd like to be left alone.
Go outside a moment.
Where are you headed?
I will seek audience with my father, so if you don't believe me, come with me.
Keep an eye on this place.
Getting drunk is not going to solve my problems.
Did you send them off?
Strength... Strength is what I need.
Enough strength to face off with Suyang.
Lee Gae, Seong Sammun and the rest of those Hall of Worthies traitors...
have been executed under our people's watch.
You can't imagine how relieved I am to have been rid of them.
Did you find a suitable exile spot for the Erstwhile King?
Cheongryeong Port in Gangwon Province would be perfect.
Cheongryeong Port?!
It's surrounded by cliffs and open sea, so who would dare meet him?
Just the perfect place to get reacquainted with nature.
Her Highness the Princess seeks your audience, Sire.
Let her wait outside.
I said wait outside, how dare you...
I had to force my way in, for I have something to tell you.
I'd be grateful if you left us alone.
You may stay.
So you'll listen before everyone else?
Are you really going to depose the Erstwhile King?
It is nothing that should concern you.
I suppose that after being exiled, you'll force him to drink poison.
I was hoping you would one day concede to your daughter, for once.
I hoped I could find the strength to set you back on the righteous path.
Bring the princess back to her quarters.
What else are you going to do, now?
Old sayings suggested "Everything you have been blessed with is a gift from your parents."
But I can no longer consider myself as your daughter.
I will not, not any longer.
I have now cut my ties with you, so don't think of me as your daughter anymore.
How... dare you...
I shall leave the palace.