< Episode 19 >
I'm so glad the king has you two.
One can comfort his heart.
Another can assist him politically.
I feel comfortable about leaving now.
Don't say that.
I should live, for my baby...
- Your Highness. - Your Highness.
Your Highness.
Call the physician.
Your Highness.
(Queen Junghee)
How is the baby?
(Yang Sung-yoon) I'm sorry to say the queen...
has miscarried.
Oh no.
What terrible news.
How could this? How?
(Queen Insoo) Your Highness...
How is the queen?
I gave her first aid. She'll wake up soon.
Dear Buddha.
(Yoon So-hwa) Protect the queen and her baby.
Please be merciful.
I lost your precious baby...
I did everyone a great disservice.
Don't say that.
We can always try again.
I'm so relieved you woke up.
Your Majesty...
Don't cry.
Focus on getting better.
As long as you're with me,
(Queen Gonghye) I'm happy.
(Jo Chi-gyum) The royal family must be distraught.
I'm more worried about Queen Gonghye.
I doubt she'll recover from losing so much blood.
Then?
She might die.
- Bye. - Come again.
Gosh.
What's wrong?
(Mr. Choi) You look... so similar.
Who do I look like?
Those bright eyes.
Red lips.
And clear skin.
Just like my wife.
I feel like my wife is back.
Sorry about that.
Your wife died?
Over 20 years ago.
For the past 12 years, I lived my life for my only daughter.
You did a great job.
But you reminded me of my wife.
My wife...
Wife...
- Looking for me? - Yes.
Tan... Tanshil.
(Tanshil) You're fooling around already?!
Tanshil. I made a mistake.
See, I'm begging you.
Forgive me. I can't live without you.
I can tolerate anything but you cheating on me.
Poor baby. I'll take good care of you.
Stay!
- Let go! - No!
Not unless you take me too.
I don't want to...
My back... Oh no, I hurt my back...
Are you OK?
A man's back is his life...
- Get up. - My back...
Let's go lie down.
Ow, my back...
(Gaedochi) Look at those two fools.
They don't care what's going on.
Your Highness, your father is here.
You must be strong. You're still young.
You can always have another baby.
I have a request.
Tell me.
King Sejo thought highly of you and made you a minister.
And now you're the king's father-in-law.
I want you to support the king now.
(Han Myung-hwe) Your Highness...
The people suffer if ministers have more power than the king.
Father.
Support the king with all your heart.
Power lasts only a while. I guess his time is up.
Serve the king well and care for each other like sisters.
Will you do that?
If we don't, you can give us a whipping.
(Yoon Sook-hyun) We will, so focus on getting better.
Thank you.
Can you please excuse us?
Sure.
You're the king's love.
I was always jealous of you.
I'm sorry.
One of you will soon become queen.
Don't say that. You mustn't give up.
I know my illness well.
I have a favor to ask of you.
I'm listening.
Without the ministers' support,
the king's future will be bleak.
After I die,
please help Sook-hyun become queen.
I know it hurts...
to give up the man you love.
But you know he loves you.
Your Highness.
Will you promise?
I will promise.
I trust you'll keep your word.
Now I can die in peace.
(Sulyoung)
Your Highness, what's wrong?
It's nothing.
Your Highness. Breathe, slowly.
Your Highness. Your Highness.
Your Highness!
Queen Gonghye is very ill.
You mustn't leave me. My queen...
Your Majesty.
Please... become a wise... king...
My queen.
What's that? Go and see.
OK.
Queen.
Queen. Queen.
Queen...
I can't believe...
I had to bury my own queen.
She asked me to be a wise king, so I will do my best.
(King Sungjong) I will need your help and assistance.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Is there anything else?
(Yoon Ho) May I, Deputy Secretary of War, speak?
Go on.
I believe this would be a good time to start afresh.
You must govern the nation yourself.
Govern the nation myself?
(Yoo Ja-gwang) I agree with him.
Take over from the ministers...
and do what you think fit.
Please accept our suggestion.
My grandmother will decide when she'll give up regency.
I want the king to reign in person too.
But this is a very important matter.
I need more time to consider.
How dare Yoon and Yoo take a stand against me.
(Shin Sook-joo) The king is old enough to reign.
He is not!
He has much to learn. He's not ready yet.
He might end up just like King Danjong.
(Park Jin-sung) He sure might.
If anyone dares to persuade Queen Junghee, I won't forgive them.
Do you think the king should take over?
He will turn 20 soon. I think he should.
Minister Han will be against it. I don't know what to do.
Minister Han insists someone...
will depose him if he takes over.
But I'm sure no one would dare...
try to challenge the king now.
Minister Han is just reluctant to give up the power he has.
Let the king govern in person. It will lessen the ministers' influence.
You don't know who made this?
I'm sorry, Your Highness.
The eunuchs are better at this.
No. They might be...
behind this.
So you see what you can find.
I will.
Your Highness, the concubines are here.
Let them in.
The king will soon reign in person. Try not to ruin his fresh start.
We won't.
And don't ever barge in with petitions or suggestions again.
Why won't you answer?
I'm sure she regrets what she did.
I won't do it again.
Did the queen say anything before she passed away?
Such as?
Did she say or do anything out of the ordinary?
She gave us each a jade ring.
A ring?
To serve the king and be like sisters.
I see. Don't forget what she said.
I think Queen Insoo is still angry with me.
(Court Lady Oh)
She'll come around in time.
Oh, right.
Chuh-sun becomes an official eunuch today.
You have completed your training.
(Kim Chuh-sun) Now you're officially a eunuch.
Do you swear you'll obey all orders?
We do.
Begin.
(Kim Chuh-sun)
We'll keep your urn and written pledge until you retire.
All problems are caused by what is spoken.
What you see and hear here must be taken to your grave.
Yes, sir.
We will assign you to an office based on your grades.
We keep the palace moving.
Be proud of what you do and work hard.
We're responsible for relaying the king's orders.
It's all about the people, so it's a very important job.
Our most important duty...
(Jang, Um, Park) Is to check the food.
The king's food determines his health.
We're also in charge of cleaning the palace grounds.
We also manage the treasures, arrange functions, and repair buildings.
Chuh-sun.
Congratulations on becoming a eunuch!
Congrats, congrats.
Thank you.
(Moon So-woon) I wish you'd join my team.
(Hong Gwi-nam) No way, he has to join mine.
We make sure everything's in order.
(Choi Ja-chi) I serve the king himself.
Even the ministers are scared of us.
(Song Gae-nam) Go work at the kitchen.
We all have to eat well to live well, right?
You're right, Gae-nam.
What team do you want to join?
I don't care. I just want to learn.
I see.
- Let's go. - OK.
What's this about?
(Hwang Gwi-dong) Congratulations, Mr. Kim.
(Han Chi-geun) We're all so happy for you.
Give it to him.
A small gift from us.
Forget how we treated you before.
I already have. I don't want this.
How kind of you.
Tell me if you need any help. I'll see what I can do for you.
Let's go.
How strange.
How could they change just like that?
Now you know what we do?
I realized we go everywhere, see everything, and know everything.
All the more reason to watch your tongue.
I will.
What team do you want to join?
I want to learn medicine under Dr. Yang.
Medicine?
I want to save people's lives.
Dr. Yang saved your life twice, so I'm sure he'd be a great teacher.
But I want you to serve the king in person.
As the future Head of Eunuchs, you must learn about politics.
But our law states that eunuchs cannot be involved in politics.
Even the best physician can only save one life at a time.
But one small political mistake...
could mean the death of thousands of innocent people.
You must know politics to serve well.
Mr. Um San-soo's daughter.
Mr. Jung In-suk's daughter.
Anyone who becomes a concubine also has a chance to become queen.
Produce an heir and you can be queen mother.
Can you swear your loyalty to me?
(Miss Um) You're like a father to us.
I will do anything you tell me to.
(Miss Jung) So will I.
Good.
Do as I say, and I will make you rich and royal people.
Your family will prosper too.
Hello, Minister Han.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I know what it's like to lose a child.
She died without bearing a son. It makes me feel even worse.
It's not something we can control.
I found some concubine candidates.
Concubine candidates? The king has two already.
He will take over from you soon.
He needs an heir to secure his place.
If you pick a concubine out of the ladies I suggest,
I promise I'll assist the king with all my heart.
I'm still your humble subject.
I know you are, Minister Han.
I'll interview them and pick one myself.
(Jung Han-soo)
What is it, Mr. Jung?
Why didn't you have me beheaded?
I gave Minister Han your letter.
Why didn't you throw me out or kill me?
Do you remember what you said during the entrance exam?
I asked you why you got castrated to become a eunuch.
You said if it's to serve the king, you'd castrate yourself in a heartbeat.
Do you still think so?
If you still think so,
then you can be a eunuch. However...
if you became a eunuch to take revenge,
kill yourself right now or leave.
It's your call.
(Doh Geum-pyo) This test is about protecting the king.
The king must not be harmed in any way.
Those who pass will become a bodyguard.
Fail and you remain a trainee.
Do your best and use all your skills.
Fail.
I came in first.
Fail.
Jung Han-soo, you failed.
It can't be. I fought every one of them.
You dared to hurt the king.
That was because... he strangled me...
No excuse is ever good enough.
Take his uniform and ID medallion.
Yes, sir.
You're cleaning out the toilets because you failed your exam.
You used to brown-nose me.
How could you change just because of my situation?
You used to brag Lord Jo would adopt you.
We hung out with you and now we're outcasts too.
You were so proud you used to be a noble.
We should've known.
Exactly.
I thought you were my good friends. I never thought you'd change sides.
Get out of my way.
You don't get it, do you?
The arrogant fool needs a beating.
Stop that.
You shouldn't beat up a colleague. You should know better.
It's not like that. He started it.
We can't fulfill our duty unless we work together and help each other.
Let's go.
Are you OK?
Let go.
Don't pretend you care. I know you're laughing inside.
This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't stolen my rightful place.
Han-soo...
I refuse to be pitied by a lowly shaman's son.
So-woon...
(Beodeul) Who are they?
Concubine candidates.
Queen Junghee called them in.
What?
Your Highness.
We have trouble.
What a nuisance.
I apologize, Your Highness.
It's OK.
What is it, Beodeul?
The concubine candidates are here. And I mean like a dozen.
(Wolhwa)
What do you think? I quite liked Miss Um and Miss Jung.
I liked them all.
But the king already has two concubines. We can't appoint all of them.
I agree.
What do you think?
Miss Um and Miss Jung will get along with the king.
Miss Um is beautiful and intelligent, so the king will favor her.
And Miss Jung is destined to have many children.
I'm glad to hear that.
Why didn't Lady Choi come with you?
I'm sorry, but she's ill in bed.
Lady Jang.
Yes?
Pay Wolhwa well and give her some medicine for Lady Choi.
I will.
I thought you were a man worthy of taking Lord Jo's place.
I can't believe you're crying like a child.
My life is over.
All I do is clean out the toilets.
So you want to go back to your mother?
I went against my mother's wish to become a eunuch!
How would you know how I feel?!
My mother married a eunuch for ten sacks of rice.
But I guess silk clothes and good food weren't enough for her.
She became pregnant with a servant's child.
The two fled to another province, out of the eunuch's reach.
But the eunuch found her and stabbed her to death.
I was only three.
But I remember my mother's bloody corpse.
I became ill and lost my hearing for a few years after that.
But I struggled on.
I couldn't die before avenging my mother's death.
There's nothing I won't do.
Take in all the insults and beatings.
Lie low and forget about pride.
You have to survive to grab another chance.
Something will happen in the palace.
Do as I say and you'll be able to gain some ground.
What should I do?
Chuh-sun has finished training and is now an official eunuch.
(Mr. Noh) Congratulations on surviving it all.
It's all thanks to you and father.
All our ancestors were Head of Eunuchs.
If you're to follow in our footsteps, you must know everything eunuchs do.
Learn all you can about the duties and regulations.
And don't let us down.
I won't.
Chi-gyum, where's your wife?
Pardon?
I won't have a backstabber as a wife.
(Mrs. Jung) I'm very sorry.
She regrets what she did. Forgive her.
I can't, father.
So you'll throw her out?!
Don't do what I did.
Father.
She has been so good to me. Please forgive her for my sake.
I let you back in because Chuh-sun asked me to.
But remember, I won't tolerate such behavior again.
I promise I'll be careful.
I'm glad he forgave you.
Are you trying to brag that you helped?
Every day has been torture since we adopted you.
It's because of your lowly birth.
I won't ever accept you as my son.
I'm so sorry about the new concubines.
They were brought in to make sure the ministers will support your reign.
We don't mind.
Thank you for saying so.
You know I'll always love you.
Chuh-sun.
I heard you completed your training.
Congratulations.
Thank you for caring about me.
You saved my life and kept me in touch with the king.
I'll never forget what you did.
See you later.
(Hong Bi) I heard you completed your training.
You look great in that uniform.
Thank you.
You're mine, so don't go looking for another girlfriend.
I'll make you pay if you ever even flirt with another maid.
What?
My back hurts. I'm sick of carrying such heavy things...
My back...
I'll take that.
Which way?
You must like me too.
I know, I am very pretty.
It's for the fruit you gave me.
Are you always so mean?
I don't care, I know how you feel.
I knew you were a great catch.
- Let's go. - That way.
It's good to see you're well, Chun-dong.
Why are you here?
I was just passing by.
I'll do your washing for you if you want.
No thanks.
He's so manly.
I'd love to be held in those broad arms...
Tanshil!
You scared me!
What are you grumbling about?
- I almost miscarried. - I can't let that happen.
You and your fat belly.
Poor me!
What? Fat? What's wrong with my belly?
It's not new, but it'll last the winter.
It's so nice and warm.
I'll be fine in any snowstorm.
Thank you, ma'am.
That's a Buddha carving.
Do you want it?
Why aren't you in class with your friends?
Hurry along or you'll be punished.
Goodbye, ma'am.
Slow down, you might fall over.
Do you know what that is?
Chun-dong carved it to apologize for castrating himself.
Don't get too attached to Dong-nam.
He'll have to leave soon.
I don't want you to get hurt again.
(Miss Um, future Lady Um)
Pour me one.
Oh no. Please forgive me.
It's OK.
Why are you trembling? Are you afraid of me?
No.
I'm just so honored to be able to serve you.
Your hands are so cold.
I'm sorry.
Poor thing.
Come here.
I hope you welcome the new concubines.
Teach them what they need to know.
Royal Ladies Um and Jung, respect the others as your superiors.
And serve the king with all your heart.
We will.
If any of you fight over the king,
or cause any problems whatsoever,
I'll whip you if I must. So watch what you do and say.
We will.
We need to appoint a queen.
Four concubines and no queen won't look good.
I agree.
I think we should make one of the concubines the next queen.
What do you think?
That's a good idea.
Then... who should we choose?
Your father's a court official.
Don't you dare try to use your background against us.
I'll make you pay for it.
What did you just say?
Royal Lady Jung forgot her place.
Apologize to her.
Forgive me, Your Highness.
You knew the king since childhood?
A man's love flits from woman to woman like a butterfly.
You never know who the king will end up loving more.
What?
You think I'm wrong?
Where are your manners?
Queen Insoo told us not to fight over the king.
We might all be royal ladies,
but Royal Lady Yoon and I entered the palace before you two did.
If you dare be rude like that again, I'll be sure to punish you two.
Do you understand?
Must I whip you to get an answer?!
We understand.
Let's return to our chambers.
You're letting them get away with it?
Let her say what she wants.
We'll see what she says once one of us becomes queen.
I'll make her pay for insulting me.
I'm here to bury the hatchet.
I'm so glad you're not angry anymore.
One of the new concubines must become queen.
Help me make that happen and I'll forget all that Lord Jo did.
If you say so, then I must help you.
Keep your word.
Minister Han sent in two concubines...
He wants to stay in power for too long.
I wonder if my daughter can put up with all the pressure.
I feel so bad.
It will all change if your daughter becomes queen.
Don't you dare say that.
It's the only way to put Minister Han in his place.
Even I felt great when she yelled at them.
Royal Lady Yoon is calm and gentle,
but she stands up for what she believes in.
I don't know you. What are you doing here?
I'm a confectioner. I brought you some snacks.
Thank you.
Found it?
I looked everywhere, but I couldn't.
How strange. I'm sure I put it in my jewelry box.
It was the ring the late Queen Gonghye gave me...
Queen Junghee will appoint a queen.
Who will you support?
Yoon Ho's daughter should become queen.
Yoon Ho will stabilize the monarchy.
Bad idea.
- Pardon? - Chi-gyum.
See to it that Royal Lady Um becomes the new queen.
She's on Minister Han's side.
If she becomes queen, Minister Han will become unbearable.
Exactly.
That's why it has to be her.
It's not about power.
It's about our family. We need Minister Han.
I can't do that.
You're going against me again?
I'm the Head of Eunuchs. Leave this to me.
It's cold out here. Come inside.
Chi-gyum has changed.
He no longer just does as I say.
Sulyoung. I think it's time you put your plan to action.
I'll do that.
Move.
Yoon Sook-hyun should become queen?
Anonymous notices?!
Were all the guards asleep?
I'm sorry.
We collected those we could, but Queen Insoo already heard about it.
Your Highness, they're here.
Let them in.
Royal Lady Yoon.
Did you write these because you want to be queen?
Pardon?
You think you can get away with this?