We can't wait any longer
Let's go back

No. I can't leave my friend

She was caught trying
to break into the palace

Now that we've confirmed her identity

we'll take her to the Royal Guards

Let's go!

Yes, sir! Let's go!

And Jang-Geum will
no longer be a new bride

regardless of what
royal guards decide

Whip her 20 times and
cast her out of the palace!

Yes, sir!

(Episode 7)

Madam...

Madam, she's only a new bride
and she lost her senses

when she saw a human being was dying

Please have mercy on her

Quiet! Do you want to be cast out too?
Is that what you want?

I don't want to see you anymore
So get out, all of you!

Now!

Madam...

Madam...

Sir, I have a favor to ask of you

I just heard about it too
I can't do anything...

about what the Head Lady does
This is under her authority

But you're the manager of the royal
kitchens. She had no other choice

I understand how you'd want
to take care of your girls

but I can't do anything
outside of my jurisdiction

Then please do something about
the Royal Guards. We can just...

punish her here, but they'll charge
her for breaking into the palace

Please prevent that at least

She's lived in the palace
for over 10 years

Should she be cast out from
the prison cells of Royal Guards?

Let her be cast out
from her room, instead

OK, I will try something

Madam, this has happened
because of me

I lost the golden pheasant and...

I encouraged her
to go out of the palace

The Head Lady will
punish you separately

I'll receive any punishment willingly,
but please save her

It wasn't like she didn't know better

Isn't the Head Lady assuming that?
Isn't that why she gave such an order?

Do you expect me to
tell her everything including

that you went out and
because of you, we had to...

lie to the Head Lady
to get the pass to go out

and that we lost the golden pheasant?

But it all happened because of me

Yeah, but it was Jang-Geum's fault...

for not coming back on time

Put this behind you
Don't make it a bigger deal

by telling anyone else
about it, understand?

The General has decided
to turn her over to you

since you told him that
you'd cast her out yourself

Please don't let this happen again

OK. Thank you

Pack up and leave tomorrow morning

Madam

I desire to discipline you
more harshly

so don't say anything and leave

Let's go

I had a friend when I was younger

She was curious and
affectionate like you

We had promised each other to
become the Highest Kitchen Lady

But she was framed because
she tried to help someone

and she was cast out of the palace

I couldn't be of any help
to her. None at all

But if she's still alive, she'd be
helping someone else right now

I have never doubted that

I'm sorry for not
being able to help you

Blame me...

Madam, please save Jang-Geum

Is anyone killing her?!

It's the same thing as dying for her
Please save her, Madam...

I can't live without her

If you save her, I'll do anything
you ask. Madam... Madam...

Silence!

You are being cold
You have taught us that...

being faithful to a friend is as
important as not betraying the King

You're being so harsh. Jang-Geum was
only trying to help Keum-Young

It's my fault

It's my fault for being late
It was your job to bring...

the golden pheasant to the palace
on time and you accomplished that

Wait, Jang-Geum! Wait!

Head Lady has taken back her order
to cast you out of the palace

But instead... instead...

You are to go to the herb garden

Is that true?

Yes, Madam

Why did she change her mind?

Actually, the Highest Kitchen Lady
and Lady Han has made a plea for her

and they agreed not to
receive payment for 3 years

Madam...

The Head Lady asked, "Will you give up
being paid for the next 3 years?"

And they replied, "Yes." I'm going to
serve the Highest Lady as my mother

Being expelled out
of the palace and...

going to the herb garden
are the same thing

But she still remains as a lady
of the court at the garden

Yes, I heard that. It's a garden
right beside the palace

where they try to grow the
rare herbs from China or Russia

So what about working there?

I heard only criminals go there

But you said they grow herbs there...

They do, but they've never succeeded,
and they don't care about work there

Even the officials
are hesitant to go there

In another words, no one has come back
into the palace from there

She's being abandoned
She won't be able...

to become an official lady
of the court

Then she'll be working in the fields
for the rest of her life

Actually, low class is what suits her

What did you say?!

So what are you going to do?

You... will be hit by lightning
If you aren't

I'll follow you
for the rest of your life!

Because of me, you have...

Why do you cry so easily?

I can't do anything more,
so you're on your own from now

You may think it's better than
being cast out of the palace

but as you know already,
for a court lady...

the herb garden is
a place of abandonment

And of course, you won't be able
to join the competition

which means you won't be able
to become an official court lady

Whether you'll stop working
it won't matter

Or stop trying as you've been
abandoned as a court lady

That's for you to decide

I'll make sure you can come back

but as you know already,
for a court lady...

the herb garden is
a place of abandonment

And of course, you won't be able
to join the competition

which means you won't be able
to become an official court lady

Whether you'll stop working
as it won't matter...

Or stop trying as you've been
abandoned as a court lady...

That's for you to decide

Is anyone here?

Who the...

Ouch

Hey, get up, it's snacktime

Let's go... wake up...

Go ahead and drink...

I'm a lady from the Royal Kitchen
and I'm new here

Where's the supervisor
for this place?

Supervisor? Which one of us?

You seem to be workers here,
why are you drinking

at this hour instead of working?

Why? You want to join us?

What?

If you don't want to,
then pour us some drinks

Excuse me

Huh?

Do you know where the supervisor is?

I don't know

I'm a lady from the Royal Kitchen
If he isn't here, what should I do?

You can stay in the
ladies' residence up there

Wait. Aren't you a worker here?

I am

Why is no one working in the fields

and the fields are a mess?

Work? What work?
The only work here is killing time

Then when can I see the manager?

I haven't seen him for 3 months...

He comes from time to time but
he's got nothing to do here anyway

Hello?

Hello? Hello?

You wretch!

You wretch! Get up right now!

What the...!

Why you...

Even though I haven't gone through
the ceremony, I'm a court lady

How come you're a laborer
and you only drink every day?!

Get up and start working now!

Grab this hoe and get up!

Pull all the weeds out first!

Why you... Those are herbs!

You told me to pull them out

This is bupleurum falcatum
Polygonum multiflorum Thunberg

This is lycoris radiata!
And this is...

It's Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage?

It's good for inflammation
of internal organs

It clears the mind and
it's good for constipation

and it's perfect for quenching thirst
after a day of drinking

For quenching thirst...

Why you...!

Pull all the weeds out and gather
all the workers here by two!

Got it?!

Hey... hey... what's wrong?

Hello! Please help!
Help! Please come quickly!

Hey... Hey... She fainted

Bring my acupuncture box

What are you doing?
Bring it right now!

Where...?

It's in that medicine
storehouse. Hurry!

Vomit it out...

Slap her back. Now!

Move your hands

You can stop now. Get her inside

And boil some beans
and give her the drink

Is he the doctor?

Huh? He's the supervisor here

Huh?

I didn't know you were the supervisor
Please forgive my rudeness

Then will you listen to me from now?

Yes, go ahead and speak

Don't do anything

Huh?

Don't walk around as if
there's hope in this place

Either sleep or drink all day
Just don't do anything

Don't do anything

Don't walk around as if
there's hope in this place

Either sleep or drink all day
Just don't do anything

Lt. General, how is your arm?

It's getting better
I'm sorry for making you worry

You're working so hard
training Royal Guards

and doing special tasks
when you're not on shift

Not at all

So did you find them?

One of the captives said
there were 5 spies sent to sketch...

the map of the capital and palace
But we only caught 3 so far

We can't relax until
we catch the remaining two

The enemies have come in
as far as inner Jeolla-Do

It's strange

Yes

But don't overwork yourself

and start when you've
completely recovered

Yes, sir Bye

Sir

So did you find her?

We've searched all over for the woman
matching the description

but we couldn't find her anywhere

The Royal Food Services
has called to pick up the seeds

Those darn, useless seeds

I'll be back

It's 25, right?

Yes, sir

We can relax if
your wife's here with you

What do you mean?

You always give her less than
what you receive...

from us... making us look bad

How could I do that, sir?

Duk-Gu

Jang-Geum! My heart crumbled when
I heard you were sent to the garden

Talk outside later...
So where are you from?

I'm from the herb garden...

Herb garden... I don't know why
they keep sending these...

to that place when they never succeed

Sir, we'll have a drink later

Let's go

How's your health?

Fine

Is everyday life OK for you?

Yes

Sleeping fine?

Eating well?

Why did you ever want
to come into the palace?

You'd be happily married by now
if you hadn't come

Did you happen to hear anything
about the Royal Kitchen?

I do meet kitchen ladies
from time to time

How are they doing?

They're doing fine

I heard they have a competition
in 3 months or something

So they're busy learning to cook now

They said they have
a competition in 3 months?

That's what they said

Forget it. That's the best policy

It's only one life either way

Who has lived twice? Who?

There's no such person

...last night, I was breathless

Let's eat

Is this all?

I just brought what I received

There should be 25. This is it?

Really? Are you sure?

Now you don't even bother
to give any excuses

Now you don't give a care?!

OK, OK, I'll tell you!
I wasn't going to say this

but I met Jang-Geum
at the Food Services

Really?

She's so thin and seemed very weak

So I gave it to her to buy rice cakes

Really... she seemed that pitiful?

If wind blew, she could've flown away

Why did she ever enter
the palace in the first place?

I know... why did she? Why?!

Yes, I know, why... And
you think I'd be fooled like this?!

Here! Here! It's here!
It's coming out!

Who do you think
you're trying to fool?

Please take a look at these
Are these aquilaria agallocha seeds?

Yes, it seems so...

Please take a look at this
Are these agastache seeds?

No

Then are these it?

Yes, that's right

Take a look at these, too
Are these astragalus seeds?

Yes, that's correct

Hey! What are you doing?
I told you not to do anything!

I can't do that

What? You can't do that?

No

How come?

You and I are being paid to do
the work for the country

and if I don't even do this,
I'd go crazy

Though you may find comfort
in hopelessness, I can't

I must find some hope
by growing herbs or grass!

So it's "I'm nuts, so don't
you tell me what to do"

I was like her at first
At the beginning

I was planting seeds and watering
them like a mad man

That's right! I remember!

Lady Lee from the King's
Palace committed suicide!

Then, shall we make a bet
on how many days she'll last?

That sounds good!

How about two bowls of rice wine?

Two bowls of rice wine? OK
You're the witness

Sure

Atractycodes rhizome only
grows in mountains and the roots

are used for diarrhea
Dodder seeds only grow

in the middle of bean fields
and are used to quench thirst

Scallion is used for bronchitis,
bowel problems, and rhinosinusitis

But it's dangerous
to use it with honey?

OK, so you shouldn't
use it with honey

Astragalus grows in plains and fields

and all parts of the herb
are good for the body

She's been going at it some time

It's because she's still young

She won't last a month,
so just wait and see

I think she'll last longer

Anyway, if you lose,
you have to buy the rice wine!

Is there any other way to plant the
seeds other than to cover with dirt?

There are many ways. You can
throw them in a line on the ridges

Or you can throw them on the furrows

and you can just throw them
or cover some dirt

or a lot of dirt...

That's weird, then how come they
always scattered them all these years?

That's probably how
Ming Chinese have done it

What is it anyway?

Astragalus seeds

We've been trying it for 20 years
and it doesn't grow here!

It'd be good if we can grow it here
Astragalus is used in all types

of medicines because it's good
for your body in and out!

Why don't you be a doctor, then?

Everyone knows what astragalus root is
because of what happened

What happened?

People thought sophora flower
was astragalus

so they put that in their medicine

An envoy went to Ming China
during Yeonsan-Kun era

and he told the people
that it wasn't astragalus

so they couldn't put in sophora,
and since we don't know...

how to grow astragalus,
the price kept going up

So how would it be
to know its efficacy

and yet not be able to purchase it?

It's that expensive?

Of course! The price is
whatever the seller wants

Then we should grow it here

Like I said, we've been trying it
for 20 years and it doesn't grow!

Then I'll use this

Use what?

Use it as my goal. I'll set my goal
to grow this astragalus herb

Why?

You said it's hard

What is she saying?

Wait!

What is it?

Aren't those astragalus sprouts?!

Here too!

Over here too!

Nice! It's something to celebrate...

Where should I pull out the weeds?

And where should I?

This has always failed
Where should I plant these?

Can I get one or two of these...?

And I'll get this crooked one!

Food Services had extra seeds,
so I brought them here

And a kitchen lady
gave me this to hand to you

when I told her I am
from the herb garden

Jang-Geum, how are you?
We're all doing fine

I'm begging the Highest Lady
to bring you back, so just wait

Everyone is busy preparing
for the competition

Dried seaweed should have big leaves
and darker ones are better

And it shouldn't become soft
too easily in water

Cucumbers should have
a rough skin, be dark and shiny

I'm not sure what will happen to you,
but I'm sending you my notes

so don't give up and
keep practicing what you learn

Male octopus has softer skin
and tastes better

If the sucking-disks on the legs
are in an orderly fashion

then it's a male,
if not, it's a female

You can tell a clam's freshness
if you hold one in each hand

and strike them together
and it makes a clear sound

An eggplant's tip should be sharp

Ma'am! Ma'am! There's trouble!

Just look at these!

What wretch did this?!

I know, if I catch this wretch...!

Even though we're
outside of the palace

people can't just
come in from outside...

Are you saying that we did this?!

No, I don't mean that...

It's the same thing!

Now that I think about it,
I think you might be a suspect!

Men leave here after work
Only you and the Lady remain here

And of course,
Lady couldn't have done this!

What?! Then are you
saying I did this?!

Stop it!

That's enough. You shouldn't be
suspicious of each other

It was probably an animal

But it doesn't seem
like an animal did it

I know! Shouldn't we tell the guards
and have them catch this wretch?!

Why are you looking at me again?!

When did I ever look at you?!

That's enough
We can plant the seeds again

What are we going to do now?

What are you doing here?

I thought it was strange
so I was checking

And what are you doing here?
You should be outside the palace now

I came because I was curious too

Sir... who is it?

It's you?

Why did you do it?
Tell us why you did it!

After 10 years,
you should know better...

what kind of herbs they are
and how important they are

So why did you do it?

That's enough
He's determined not to speak

so I'll tell the manager tomorrow
and send him to the police

You go and get some rest

You can leave now

Why did you do it? Tell me

I know what hardships
your family is suffering

But you were so selfish...

Why did you do it?

I've done a terrible thing
against you and the Lady

And?

I was going to be merciful
if you told me the reason

but you leave me with
no choice but to turn you in

OK, I'll take care of it,
so you can go back now

Sir, the court has been looking
forward to growing this herb

With such an important herb,
he should be turned over...

to the police
for further investigation

I said I got it...

And I couldn't report it last time
because it was all raked over

but Lady Jang-Geum had succeeded
in growing astragalus

We ought to report this
to the court quickly

How long have you been
in the herb garden?

A little over 1 year now

They were able to grow
astragalus from time to time

but they couldn't grow it any further
due to insects or they just rotted

If we make a report now
and you can't succeed later

what do you expect me to do?

Report when they grow more!

Sure

And how come you didn't go out
of the palace until that time

and stayed 'til the time
when only ladies are inside?

Huh?

According to the law,
all men without night-shift jobs

must leave the palace at sunset,
so why did you...

stay there even though
it may be a herb garden?

I'll let this go this time but
don't ever let it happen again!

Do you understand?

Yes

You can go back now!

Sir

What happened? Did you
turn him in to the police?

The manager will do that. And I
guess we'll find the reason later

And Food Services said more seeds
came in, so you can pick them up

Sure

Are you doing well?

Yes

You must be busy preparing
for the competition

I'm sorry

You don't need to be

Oh, I'm practicing for it with
the notes that Yeun-Seng sent me

How can you chat so long
when you're working for the court?

I'm done now, so let's go

Yeun-Seng gave me this
just in case I met you

Keep it up

You're the supervisor, right?

Yes, and?

The Manager wants to see you

Go ahead and drink first

If you have received it,
you should drink it

The whole court knows
that you have high tolerance

I'm sorry about
raising my voice last time

I'll just get to the point

Just pretend nothing has happened

If you tell people,
you and I can get kicked out

and get in trouble
Do you understand what I'm saying?

We can't do anything about
what our superiors are doing

And what does it matter to us

if we succeed in growing
one useless herb? Isn't that so?

But, it's something that doesn't grow
in Korea so it's very expensive

and it's bought from Ming,
but used widely in medicine

Do you want to be framed
as having been intimate...

with a lady in the herb garden
and get kicked out?

So don't concern yourself
with this anymore

and just continue drinking all day
I'll pay you for this. Understand?

Did he understand?

Yes, there should be no problems
Besides...

he lost his desire and temper,
so you don't have to worry

Is that so?

But does it affect
Sir Oh Kyum-Ho that much

if the court succeeds in
growing astragalus herb?

Didn't you know?
Except for the small amounts...

coming through China,
the rest of trade...

is monopolized by
Merchant Choi Pan-Sul

And how is that related
to Sir Oh Kyum-Ho?

If Sir Oh does a little to help
Choi keep his monopoly

then Choi earns the money
and supports Sir Oh

So if astragalus herb starts
to grow in this country

all that money would
disappear immediately

Yes

So whoever comes to the herb garden,
you take care of things well there

and soon enough, good things
should happen to you

Sure

Sir! Sir!

I'm fine

Sir! It's big trouble! Someone took
all of the seedlings this time!

What? That's me!

Excuse me?

Who's the supervisor Jung Woon-Baek?!

That's me

Arrest him now!

What is it?

Someone told us that
he sold astragalus seedlings

from the court and
sold them outside the palace!

What?! Sir!

That's me, I said

But is it true that you were
successful with astragalus?

Yes, that's true, but
how could supervisor Jung...?!

Let's go! Yes, sir!

Sir! Sir!

Is it true that you sold
astragalus seedlings?

Yes

And you spread the rumor
that an official...

in the herb garden was selling them?

I think so...

You think so?

I was so happy,
and after a few drinks...

Then you really succeeded
in growing the astragalus?!

Yes. A new girl
from the royal kitchen

tried different things
and she succeeded

What a wicked man you are!
If that's the case

you should've told the court
immediately to benefit the people!

How can a king's servant
smuggle out the court's property?!

Well, the manager wouldn't
even take a look at it

and nothing happened to the person
who was caught raking it all up

so I sold them. That way,
it would spread faster...

throughout the country

Jin, what is he saying?

Did you know that he had
succeeded with astragalus?

How come there's no answer?
Did you or did you not know?!

I will not overlook this
negligence of duty of yours!

Just what were you doing?!

I'm sorry. Jin told me there
was nothing to worry about

I heard he was kicked out
of the pharmacy

because of a drinking problem
so how could I threaten him?

The court has already found out
so we can't do anything...

about astragalus... Give it up
and try to find another way

Sure

Just make sure our names
don't come up

by managing Jin well!

Yes, sir

So how did you do it?

Since it only grew in
deep mountains, I figured that...

it wouldn't grow well with
too much light or too much water

I've written down other details

Good work. People have been
crying out for a long time

because of its high prices but
you have helped us a great deal

We have reported this
to our superiors

so you can expect
good things to happen soon

But, sir...

Yes, what is it?

What has happened to the supervisor?

I'm not sure...

Sir! Sir!

Why did you do it? Was it because...

the manager didn't do his job?

Then you should've
reported it to the police

I heard you went around the stores...

giving the seedlings
and yelling for drinks

How come you know what I did
while I was drunk better than I do?

Sir, if you keep that up, you'd be
kicked out of this place, too

I heard your payment
was lowered because of this

You worry too much

Sir!

Stop looking at me
Turn around and look...

I think she came to see you

Jang-Geum!

Yeun-Seng!

Jang-Geum, you... you...

can come back...

Don't you get it?