[This is a fictional drama based on historical events.]
- The apex of power is the throne.
- The one who wants to protect the throne.
- The one wants to overtake the throne.
[1728, Yi In Jwa's Revolt]
[Episode 1]
It's been a long time, Teacher.
Yi In Jwa.
- And the one who wants to stop it...
You're giving up your stones too easily.
You give up your flesh and save your bones.
Don't you know this? It's the most basic knowledge.
What use would it be to catch the opposing king
if you lost all your own men?
What would be the point?
And what would you do with all these men that you've saved?
Look, it's the general.
How can you get the king without sacrificing your soldiers?
This is exactly the kind of sacrifice necessary for a battle.
And who does this battle and sacrifice serve?
It is for Joseon and the people.
For the people? Did you dare to say the people?
You would violate the people of all eight cities just to sit on that throne once.
Only on that throne can one change this rotten Joseon.
We don't need a king who looks down on the people.
If you insist on standing in my way, you will get hurt as well.
I will be ruthless.
Yes. You were always this way.
You have always done things your way.
And if you don't agree with someone, you merely kill them.
Try it.
If you can, try it.
Baek Dae Gil.
Yi In Jwa.
I'll be heading to the city.
Let us...
meet there again.
Yi In Jwa.
He sure is eloquent since he's a nobleman and all.
But the way the world works...
the people will win in the end.
[Daebak]
[1693, Hanyang]
How much longer?
It's finished.
Look at this now! I won.
Yeah, I won! I won!
Husband!
Wife...
Come out right now.
Wait, wait, wait.
What are you doing?
You should just slap me instead.
You drag me out when I'm having a lucky streak?
What's wrong with you?
What? Who am I? Who am I?
I may be wearing old, worn out shoes, but I'm still a nobleman.
I'm your husband that you should be holding in high esteem.
How dare you?
A gambling husband is still a husband?
I'm the one who has to endure all of this!
It's me, me! I have to.
Why are you crying again? It's so embarrassing.
Wife, I'm not gambling because I like it.
It's because I haven't learned anything besides how to steal and gamble.
I'm afraid I'll get pregnant one day.
What do you mean?
Give birth to a little child.
Do you think Baek Man Geum won't be able to feed his own family?
You sure can talk.
I'm sure you're probably tired.
Stop working.
Take this and go buy a chicken and cook it for us.
I'll treat us to a nice meal today.
Go home. I'll be there soon.
Give birth to a little child.
Do you think Baek Man Geum won't be able to feed his own family?
Sorry.
No matter how bad he is, he is my husband.
I can't let him starve.
Is someone there?
Did you just hear something?
Look at this guy.
Are you trying to trick us because you bet your tab with us?
Let me see. You got a rabbit, didn't you?
It's bad luck for three rounds to look at another person's cards.
And what do you mean rabbit?
Pay attention to your own.
As for me, I have just won big.
Take a look.
Hong Mae?
Man Geum.
To me, there are three types of men.
Flesh and blood.
The boys that work for me.
And the ones who entertain me at night.
But my father lost it all on the gambling tables.
And my husband died at my hands while with another girl.
They ended up that way because they did that nonsense with my money.
It was me who went after my father.
Do you think I can't kill you, when you're not related to me all?
Why are you being so brutal?
I don't think you understand what I'm saying.
Who am I? I'm Hong Mae. Hong Mae!
Did I say I'm not paying?
So you're going to pay? With what?
Are you planning to sell your wife or something?
Well, it's not like... it's not like I can't.
If I don't have money, my wife can be...
Is that so?
Then give it a try.
Here. A hundred nyang.
I took off 20 nyang for interest. We have to be accurate.
That's poisoned.
You're a girl who knows how to compromise.
Who are you?
I think you've got the wrong person.
Why don't you eat for now?
You have important work to do tomorrow at the Royal Palace.
You knew I was a maid at the palace?
Yes, I did.
You no longer need to starve.
You no longer need to endure the cold in that old, thatched house of yours.
You no longer need to worry about being taken away
because of your husband's debts.
What is it that you want from me?
You no longer need to starve.
You no longer need to endure the cold in that old, thatched house of yours.
You no longer need to worry about being taken away
because of your husband's debts.
After a big rainfall, the king always takes an early morning walk.
Without his royal carriage, he walks around two times.
He will visit Tongmyungjeon Hall where the deposed Queen Inhyun lived.
In the corridor of Tongmyungjeon Hall, put the queen's shoes down.
And put a large lotus leaf on top of the shoes.
Then, wait.
The king will come looking for you.
When he comes within five steps of you, lift your head.
Meet the king's gaze for exactly three breaths.
Stand up.
Lift your head.
Three breaths.
You must meet his gaze for three breaths.
On the first breath, the king's heart will stir.
On the second breath, his heart will be seized.
And on the third breath, the king's soul will be yours.
Were you the one who put the lotus leaf on the shoes?
Yes, Sire.
What was the reason?
The queen...
The deposed queen would put her shoes there.
She would put a lotus leaf on her shoes on rainy days.
It has become a habit.
What is your name?
It is Bok Soon.
Your Majesty.
What brings you here this morning, Queen?
What are you doing here, Majesty?
Yes, well...
I was out for a walk.
[Jang Ok Jung]
Is that all I need to do?
That is all.
Isn't it very easy?
It was a hit!
As always, Your Majesty.
Majesty, you are an expert archer.
Listen to those insincere words.
I feel a bit sick inside listening to them.
They are your ministers, trying to assist you.
You don't know what you speak of.
What they want is a puppet, not a king.
So when the right time comes...
I will get rid of them.
It's a hit!
That is politics.
Yi Soo.
You are no better than a beast.
So many lives were sacrificed for you.
Do you truly not know?
You...
Why are you not shooting?
Hold it in.
The world can change only if the king is killed.
It changes and changes.
The one thing that can always change...
is the king.
The day of your wrath will come.
The day you shoot your arrow into the king's heart will come.
Until that day comes...
It's a hit!
Hold it in and be patient.
Don't work so hard.
Even if you work so hard, no one here will acknowledge you for it.
How nice is it to have work to do?
It feeds me and keeps me from starving.
You can be good-natured all you want.
But no one will ever notice what we do.
Don't work so hard.
All right.
The king is coming!
You said your name was Bok Soon?
Yes, Your Majesty.
I will see you again.
Isn't there any money anywhere in this damn place?
My family genealogy.
It is a nobleman's genealogy after all.
It should be worth 50 nyang at least.
What is this?
Why, that awful woman...
Where did she get money like this?
Who cares?
[Yi In Jwa]
Do you really think that the king will like someone like me?
Are you really expecting that?
I am.
I'm someone who has a husband.
It's not that you were taken in by a gambling addict who won a game?
Whether it's a marriage or not
we sleep under the same blanket, so we're married, aren't we?
I won't ask you the reasons, but it's up to you.
What do you think?
Gambling addict Baek Man Geum and the King of Joseon.
Which of the two do you want to choose?
You misjudged me.
Even if my husband is a gambler, I can't do that.
I'll return the money that I received from you.
Don't go too far.
You will end up coming back to me.
All right, let's reveal what we have.
I have ones.
Why do I have to get crappy cards at a time like this?
I have nothing.
Then I guess I win.
I have fours... fours.
Wait!
Aren't we going to look at mine?
I have the winning hand.
What are you looking for?
Do you really not know?
How could I know when you're not saying anything?
Where's the family genealogy? Where is it?
How could you sell our genealogy? How could you?
Oh, that.
The family genealogy.
I'm storing it somewhere temporarily.
Why are you making a fuss over nothing? How embarrassing.
You shouldn't have touched it.
All you have is that noble blood of yours.
How could you sell off your family's genealogy?
Find it and bring it back.
We need to have it.
It's okay if we live like this.
But our child has to live a better life.
By the way...
You know the money that was in there?
Do you know what that money was?
Bok Soon...
Please tell me.
What?
What do I need to do?
I cannot live like this any longer.
Become the king's woman.
What?
The king is with that maid again?
That wench...
Bok Soon, what do you think of this?
Do you dislike it?
That's not it, Your Majesty.
I suppose...
Compared to your true beauty, this does not measure up.
Bok Soon.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Bok Soon.
Yes, Your Majesty...
What makes you act this way?
I...
I have a husband.
Is someone out there?
Find out about Bok Soon for me.
About where she lives and with whom.
What she does...
Majesty, she comes from Jeolla and her family died of the plague.
She came into the palace as a maid of the deposed queen.
She was sold off to the gambler Baek Man Geum
She prepares breakfast for him as soon as she wakes up.
She works as a maid in the palace.
She washes mountains of laundry and dishes during the day.
After, she works in the geisha rooms.
She also sews clothing all night.
On top of that, Baek Man Geum will steal her earnings every now and then.
She loses everything and has to repeat everything again.
What kind of person is this Baek Man Geum?
He was born a noble, but his family fell into ruin.
He has now fallen into gambling addiction.
You lowly maid. You dare to show yourself around here?
Please let me live, Your Majesty.
Please let me live.
Don't think about riding a palanquin with that pretty face of yours.
Do not enter the palace again.
Are you Man Geum's wife?
Who are you?
I have something to talk to you about.
Sire, are you unwell?
Yes... I have some things on my mind.
- If I can help you... - No.
Thank you for your offer, but it's not something you can help with.
Is it because of Maid Choi, by any chance?
How do you...
Yi Soo, you must make the king's wish come true.
I feel ashamed to say this to you, Sire.
I have been in the gambling halls in the days of my immature youth.
So I know the behaviors of all the gamblers very well.
Is that so?
By any chance...
Do you know a man called Baek Man Geum?
He's a man deeply addicted to gambling.
He's nothing more or less than that.
Wait, you're not...
Wife, what? What is it?
Hold on!
Wife, what is wrong with you?
What's going on with you?
What are you doing to your husband?
Were you going to sell these rings too?
Who says I was going to sell them?
I was only going to use them briefly and then put them back.
How much longer?
How much longer are you going to live like this?
Have you...
even once...
Even one time...
have I...
have I been a precious person to you?
Wife.
No.
I've never had a husband like you.
Wife.
Trust in me, Baek Man Geum.
I'll earn lots of money.
Whether it's gold or jade, I'll give it all to you.
For now, take this.
This is the last thing I can give to you.
Wife.
You really are very beautiful.
I was correct, right?
Bok Soon. Bok Soon!
What are you doing here?
You should have been good to her from the start.
You're a bit late.
You wench. Move! Get out of my way.
Move!
Wife. Bok Soon!
What are you doing sitting there like that?
It's a pitiful thing to see.
You rotten woman.
What are you going to do to my Bok Soon?
No need to shout so loud.
Move your hand before I cut your wrist.
Man Geum, what would I do with someone's wife?
Would I eat her?
Don't speak so carelessly just because you have a mouth!
Are you finished speaking?
Okay, still...
I'm going to consider our past relationship and tell you something.
Hanyang's biggest fool is coming to my gambling hall.
Is that something you should say to me?
This happened to me because of you!
This is a guarantee from me.
He's such a fool that you can win enough for a tile-roofed house.
What do you think? Want to give it a try?
Well, now.
Were you waiting long?
I hear you do a lot of business with the Qing Dynasty.
This way.
Is there a specific type of game you prefer?
I'm not picky about it.
Then why don't you play cards?
I'll bring in a player for you.
Also, the money that comes to me will be 10 percent of your earnings.
Take that.
You could have paid when you were leaving.
Then, have fun playing.
You don't look like a gambler.
What do you do?
I'm a merchant.
I travel to the Qing Dynasty.
Are you a good card player?
I play somewhat.
Meeting like this can be considered fate too.
Why don't we have a drink first?
No, thank you. I don't feel so good.
I will have to refuse.
Is that so?
Then let us have a good time.
Let's do that.
Let's get started, then.
Your Majesty, you must distract him and catch his eye with money.
Catch his eye with money?
Baek Man Geum has a gambling debt that he cannot handle.
Therefore, if you spend some money
this will bait and catch him easily.
I do have a lot of money to spend.
It's actually my first time playing cards.
You do not know how to play cards and you came to a gambling hall?
I have money overflowing and nowhere to spend it.
What is it?
It's a hobby.
Well, now.
I'm thankful for the hobby you have.
Secondly, you have to make him lose his focus.
Losing some of your money to him is only the bait.
The goal is to make Baek Man Geum lose his sense of judgment.
Continue to offer him drinks.
But drinking alone like this...
It's not so appetizing.
Don't be like that and have a drink with me.
All right. I will.
You did lose a lot of money, so I will be your drinking friend.
You should have done so from the beginning.
So, you cannot play cards.
Do you know the game Jjo Ki?
I don't know it.
Then...
Do you know dominoes?
It's the first time I've heard of it.
Goodness... oh!
What about Ssang Ryuk?
I've never heard of that one either.
You don't know any of the games?
I do know Tu Ho though.
I know how to do that.
You mean where they throw arrows into an empty jar?
Lowly men like me have never played games like that.
I don't know how to play it.
What shall we do, then?
We can't do this or that.
Do we need to stop playing now?
Make a bet on an easy game.
And clearly show him that you have no skills in gambling.
Oh, I have a very good idea.
What is it?
Why don't we make a bet using this alcohol here?
We'll have alcohol and water, each in the same kind of bottle.
The person who can pick out which one is alcohol will win.
The chance of winning and losing is half and half.
This game is very fair.
I suppose so.
It is fair.
Since I was the one who suggested it, I will let you choose first.
First choice?
You can choose the next bet if you'd like.
What do you think?
The chances are fifty-fifty.
Let's do it.
Two of those are 100 nyang.
You want to bet 100 nyang in one round?
What is it? Can't we do it?
No, there's no reason we can't.
Then bring us one bottle of alcohol and one bottle of water.
You have the first right to choose, so go ahead.
I've got it.
That bottle that's wet on the outside has to be water.
That one's dry because it's been sitting with a lid on it for a long time.
That's the alcohol.
Wife. I made you a promise.
I'm finally going to make good on it.
This is the alcohol.
The alcohol fermented really well.
Would you like some?
You are very lucky.
Have you made up your mind?
I haven't won even once.
This is not fun.
Do not feel too upset.
Have a drink instead. Things can happen this way.
Then how about one last time...
Should we do one last round?
What do you think about spinning this brass coin?
This is also a fifty-fifty chance, so it is also very fair.
This is that very same brass coin that I've been playing around with for years.
Look at this brass coin issued from Uhyoung-Chung.
You spin it.
It nearly always lands on the back.
Front, okay? Front!
Front!
9 times out of 10, this coin lands on its back.
Why don't up the bet?
I could win 1,100 nyang.
Even after I paid off all my debt, I would have 700 nyang left.
My ancestors are really helping me out today.
Since you offered up the bet...
do I get to choose first?
Of course.
But I will toss the coin.
All right. Then I choose the back.
The Uhyoung-Chung side.
Then I get the front.
I feel double the joy to win at the end.
This must be why people gamble.
This has to be a strange accident. Something that happens once.
Probability doesn't lie. It never does.
If you are all right with it, why don't we do another round?
One more time?
It doesn't matter to me.
This is a special coin from the military. Please trust me.
A hundred times out of a hundred, you will get the front side.
Then...
I will choose the back again.
I will bet 200 nyang.
Then I get front again.
Okay, let's spin it.
What will you do?
It is front again.
Let's do it one more time.
There's no reason why I can't.
I won back what I lost.
And I'm feeling lucky.
You know that your life is depending on the money here, don't you?
I know, I know.
You have to live a long life, Man Geum.
Well then, which side will you choose this time?
The front.
Front?
It did land front side up two times, didn't it?
- Then I will be... - No, wait!
Back.
It can't possibly be front three times.
I'm not sure. We don't know.
Wait!
Let's use a different coin.
Use this one.
Let's use this one.
As you wish.
Thanks to you, I had a good night.
Wait, wait! Wait!
One more, one more... Let's play one more round.
You don't appear to have anything.
I'll even bet my own wrist.
What use would I have for your wrist?
That's something I do not need.
The rings.
What about these?
These are cheap things that you can find everywhere.
They won't do.
Perhaps if it were the owner of the rings.
I'll do it!
I will bet my wife!
Is that man crazy?
Instead of money, you will bet your own wife?
Do you mean it?
Of course, I mean it. I'm serious!
Yes.
You have no right to say anything, even if you lose Bok Soon.
Since you have put up your precious wife...
I will put up 10 silver bullion.
That's 500 nyang.
Sounds very good.
Now...
I will choose the game for the bet.
You can play first.
Hey, you.
Bring me a bottle of alcohol and some cups.
How many cups of alcohol do you think you will get from this bottle?
Is it six? No, no.
First, he had poured himself one.
Then there was a second.
Third, fourth, fifth.
Sixth and seventh.
That's right.
It's seven cups. It's definitely seven.
- It's seven cups. - Then I will say six cups.
That's six.
Your Majesty, what do you mean by a premature baby?
I have never heard of such a thing.
This child will die soon.
Baby, please grow up healthy.
It troubles my mind to leave her be.
The child is alive.
You must kill him.
He is a child that must not live.
You will be punished, all of you.
Who is the one who ordered you to do this?
- Your Majesty. - Kill him and bring him to me.
- What happened to my child? - Kill him!
Go to the west gate if you want to save the child.
Prepare for the worst.
Sir!