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~ Previously on ~ EIGHT DAYS
The former king's erratic and impetuous temperament might be to blame.
I shall wear only this!
This drought is an omen from the heavens,
condemning us for your bungling regency!
Think of how discomfiting it would be for a son to be incognizant of his father's past.
His Majesty just ordered you not to participate in the reception,
and to instead continue protecting the royal retinue.
Should anything happen,
stick to the Minister of War and use him for our advantage.
If we only slay the Suwon Chief Marshal,
would the Royal Guard Garrison just take it lying down?
What other country would let its heir to the throne...
perish inside a rice chest?!
But first get this varmint out of my sight!
Confess where your keeper is hiding at once!
Shut your gob!
The Joseon king must perish!
A scheme?!
If our dealings with the Byeokpa fail,
we will have to contact the Shipa!
This is our last chance!
~ Episode 9 ~
Your Excellency.
This is the last chance for our armed suppression to succeed.
May you make your decision!
Even if only in mendacious semblances, promising them to concede Jeju Island...
and alerting them on His Majesty's itinerary will suffice.
We should rather apprehend all that treacherous vermin...
and make them pay for their perfidious schemes.
This is not the time for impetuous whims, Your Excellency.
The country our ruler dreams of is not the same Joseon that King Taejo founded.
Is he not the most treasonous of villains, on the contrary?!
Do not ignore such a propitious opportunity to restore order in the court.
Our failed suppression at Jinmokjeong will not be veiled in secret forever.
It will not take long before we are accused of treason,
and our bloody pates will be gibbeted outside the palace walls.
Armed suppressions and treason will never share the same roots and principles.
How can we dare deliberate the future legacy of our country...
with treacherous deviants such as those?!
This is the very last chance the heavens will accord us.
The morrow will mark the momentous beginning of our combined drill.
Make sure nary a minute detail is overlooked,
and that utmost discipline is maintained throughout the drill.
- Yes?! - What?!
I shall follow your command with utmost zeal.
Assistant, you must always keep an observant eye...
on the Royal Garden Pavilion guards.
*3:15 p.m.
At the first gak of the hour of the monkey*,
the royal retinue shall leave the temporary palace,
pass the Royal Garden Pavilion and finally reach the western command post.
Treasonous ruffians are conspiring against the king.
So it is paramount we never take our eyes off the royal carriage.
Assistant, you shall observe the retinue's movements,
while the drill instructor will gain control of the rear patrol guards.
Should those traitors make their move, immediately apprehend them.
Yes.
Your wish is our command.
I wish you a long and prosperous life for generations to come, Mother.
Generations is much too indulgent a benison to ask,
but hearing you bless me with such words whelms me with jubilation.
My gratitude, Sire.
How was your journey to Hwaseong?
Finally being able to see Hwaseong in person,
I can feel its majestic prowess firsthand.
It was built in honor of my father, so how could it be soiled by blemishes?!
Leaving behind such a dutiful son,
your father must be shedding august tears from the netherworld.
I wish he could witness all this in person.
Our people are welcoming this procession with my same devoutness,
blessing you with even more solicitous fervor and providence.
How could an olden matron who begrudgingly survived her helpmate's demise...
be blessed by divine providence?!
Thinking of our upcoming peregrination to his tomb,
penitent throes afflict my soul.
I am beholden to have learned more about my father on this procession,
but there was something else I wished to ask you.
What is it?
You often recounted how my father's malady...
deprived him of all his reason and acumen.
It certainly did.
You narrated of his harrowing misconduct with that monk,
and his nightly orisons wishing for the former king's demise.
But was his malady also to be blamed for all this?
It is most vexatious to disclose, but that is what truly happened.
But I somehow seem to believe that it might not have been the case.
By any chance...
I wonder if it could be something you were not aware of?!
What are you trying to imply, Sire?
I witnessed it with my very eyes.
You did?!
Yes, indeed.
After Gwiin Lady Park alerted me, I witnessed it in person.
Those "grisly garments and wooden bearers of mourning grief" were lying over the chest.
Memories still limpidly wander my mind.
Ohhh... look!
So indeed it is, clear evidence of the crown prince's murderous intents...
fomented against his father and ruler!
I pledge probity in clear conscience, Father.
I only used such mourning garments, engulfed by Queen Jeongseong's loss...
Silence!
We are gathered at the gates of Queen Jeongseong's past abode!
Despite knowing what a reprehensible misdeed it could be,
how dare you besmirch Queen Jeongseong's legacy by involving her?!
Only your demise shall quench her rancorous despair!
Father.
If it is my demise you wish for, I shall gleefully accede.
But...
that of father and son is a bond bestowed upon us by the heavens.
Subjecting a father to his son's suicide betrays the principles of filial piety guiding us.
I shall rather leave this place, and take my own life without forcing...
you to witness my direful last moments.
I implore your consent.
Ha!
On the vile pretense of principles, you allured a throng of treacherous personages,
and attempted to begrime this old man's legacy!
Father!
Heavenly bond and filial piety graced your tongue,
so I shall not condemn you to betray such sacred principles.
Instead!
Inside this chest you shall enter!
Father, I implore you to reconsider!
What are you waiting for? Enter this chest at once!
The former king did not believe his confession, remember?!
But not long after, His Deceased Majesty reflected upon his decision,
deeply regretting his misjudgment.
And that is why he left us that secret will.
San!
Should this grandfather of yours say anything betraying today's confession,
know that it is not with sincerity that I will utter such words.
I shall forever bear this in mind.
Chae Jegong.
Inscribe the vexatious despair of a father who slew his own son.
Sire!
"O, crimson jacket, grisly garments."
"Wooden bearers of mourning grief."
"Will a thousand years suffice to make these lamentable throes vanish?"
"O, my son Prince Sado!"
"How I wish you could return to my fatherly embrace."
If my father truly summoned a monk,
it must have surely been to give solace to Queen Jeongseong's spirit.
What are you trying to say, Sire?
Are you implying I engaged in mendacity?
According to the historical documents at my disposal,
the only reason my father was moved to the Onyang palace was for health issues.
And the one who clamored for his transfer to the temporary palace...
was not Princess Hwawan,
but the Commissioner of the Royal Dispensary, His Excellency Lee Hu.
That must have been because the Royal Secretaries felt too abashed...
to record your father's ominous ailments.
It does not merely end there.
Not only was his procession to the palace a most staggering spectacle,
but those records mention that people exalted his passage with jubilant howls.
Would such a warm welcome suggest reason abandoned him?
Then...
What is this scar on my forehead?
Thinking I am sharing these kingly abodes with His Majesty,
I can no longer bear to breathe!
His Majesty accords you his utmost affection,
so clamor him to bestow me lodgings outside this palace.
And how would a regent entrusted with state matters such as you...
request to be ousted from these royal dwellings?!
State matters are nothing I should be concerned with.
Will you, or will you not?
It is nothing I should be concerned with,
so clamor the king yourself, Orabeoni.
Say what?!
What did you just mutter?
Wh...What is wrong with you, Orabeoni?
Will you, or will you not?!
May you stop this, Your Highness!
Leave us alone, Hyebi!
I shall leave with Her Highness.
Inshik, what are you waiting for? Stop His Highness at once!
Yes... Your Highness!
Your Highness, may you regain your composure!
Your Highness!
Your Highness... Your Highness!
Your Highness...
I am sure there must have been another reason.
Another reason?!
What other reason?
It must have been because you were reporting his every move to Hong Bonghan.
The possibility that your commissioning both eunuch Kim Hanchae and Gwiin Lady Park...
to sleuth on him might have caused their demise keeps gracing my thoughts.
Sire!
On the day word regarding my father's torturous demise was sent,
not only Hong Bonghan and Hong Inhan,
but nary a woeful teardrop afflicted your visage, either.
I can still recall it with vivid clarity.
Still nothing to report?
It has been eight days already.
How much longer can a human being endure being trapped inside that chest?!
I am worried Soron members might clamor His Majesty to reconsider.
What fruitless concern!
Anyone capable of causing quandaries has been ousted already,
so who would dare risk his fettle to rescue the crown prince?!
Is not His Majesty the crown prince's father?!
Where would you find a father incurious of his own son slowly perishing inside a rice chest?!
Not to mention the fact he is sixty-nine years old.
And how about the grieving throes of witnessing one's son-in-law...
slowly perishing, sweltered by the scorching sun inside that chest?!
You still have all the time to enter the palace, and voice your grievances!
Speak no more!
Don't you realize why I am not entering the palace at this juncture?!
How could an unworldly buffoon like myself ever fathom your limitless acumen?!
Confronted with a grieving monarch anguishing before his son's harrowing demise,
what else could I possibly utter in his presence,
if not "your teachings have been dutifully imparted, so it is time for clemency"?!
Clemency?!
You should remind him that his son's survival would spell demise for our legacy,
while the crown prince's dissolution would bulwark us for generations to come!
Don't you think?!
What would become of you, after questioning this great endeavor our party was based upon*?!
*The Noron Byeokpa's own raison d'etre was legitimizing Prince Sado's "treason"
Our party line might be paramount, but when it comes down to it,
I am His Highness's father-in-law before being the leader of our Noron party!
How could I contend with my son-in-law's desire for survival?!
You always let dread guide your behavior,
so it is no surprise Her Majesty's relatives would lust after your position!
That is exactly what concerns me!
Anyhow...
We cannot allow this situation to hamper our goals.
Is that not the exact reason why...
I clamored you to deliberate on this impasse together at a boating luncheon,
in the company of lascivious slatterns and flavorful nectars?!
At a what?!
Waiting here for reports which never seem to come is tiresome enough,
so why not quench all that expectancy with a fine drink and a beauteous gisaeng?!
Let us just do that, Hyungnim!
- Listen! - Yes, Naeuri.
Summon our escorts!
Yes.
Is anything troubling you, Mother?
Are you not even concerned?
Your father was dethroned and had to experience such direful obloquy,
while you and I have been unceremoniously ousted from the palace.
Thinking that we may never return to those kingly dwellings...
deeply concerns this old matron.
Your Excellency!
What is the matter, Commander?
Your Highness.
I urgently seek audience with His Excellency.
He is not here at the moment, so you may tell me instead.
I cannot dare confer such...
Is it anything I should not know?
You certainly should.
You should know, but...
Speak to me.
*1~3 p.m.
We got word he passed away at the hour of the ram*.
I came to alert His Excellency. Where is he?
He went to a boating luncheon, so you may follow him.
A luncheon where, Your Highness?
Up the river.
Father!
You must endure it.
Should talebearing about your grieving throes echo outside these walls,
you and I shall never be allowed back to the palace!
Trapped inside that chest in the agonizing summer heat...
and with nary a sip of water, my father banefully perished after eight days.
Have you ever even reflected upon his direful demise, Mother?
That is enough, Sire.
And I cannot forget what happened on the day of our return to the palace!
Your Highness.
*January 1761 (Yeongjo 37th)
Our party measures decided on the first month of the Shinsa year*...
have finally come into fruition.
I wish you a long and prosperous life serving the Royal Successor,
and enjoying the riches and providence this position will accord you.
I fulfilled my covenant,
so it is your turn to keep yours.
I shall certainly do so, so abate your concerns and mount the carriage.
What were those party measures coming into fruition,
and what was this covenant about?
Are you going to blame my unavailing memory once again?
I have no recollection whatsoever.
It was no derangement what condemned my father to his demise.
Did he not meet an untimely death under devious party schemes?!
Who caused his death?
Was it not you, after all?
Shut that gob, Sire!
If such is not the truth, confess otherwise, Mother!
You spent a long day with industrious fervor,
so I suggest you enjoy an early respite, with the morrow's drill in mind.
Mother!
I said return to your quarters, Sire!
How did it go?
I am asking you!
*3:15 p.m.
The royal retinue will leave the palace at the first gak of the hour of the monkey*,
and after a brief stay at the pavilion, will head for the western command post.
Are you sure?
How could I go back on my covenant before such a crucial endeavor?!
Fine.
When everything is said and done, let us meet here again.
I trust your conditions have not changed?!
Only one word can spurt from my tongue.
I shall trust that word.
And so shall I yours.
Convey this on my behalf.
Yes, Your Highness.
*4:15 p.m.
I told them we would attack at the fifth gak of the hour of the monkey*.
No matter how much we hasten, would it not take at least four gak?
Fifth gak of the hour of the monkey?!
Is that too early?
Our attack will take place at the Royal Garden Pavilion.
Lying in ambuscade should precede our attack,
but once the combined drill commences,
will lying in ambush at the pavilion be feasible?
We shall let divine providence decide on our behalf!
We will lie in ambush in the pavilion forest.
The patrol guards would either completely ignore or show...
complete negligence for a place so close to the combined drill.
Can we apprehend the king by the fifth gak?
Not to mention the fact the royal carriage will be heavily guarded.
While Lord Dong's men use their matchlocks and explosives,
Jang Dongji will infiltrate and apprehend the king.
You must first live up to your covenant.
Indeed!
Indeed I shall.
Did you promise them something else?
On top of Jeju Island and all that ginseng, what else?
Ohh Ohh! Shut your gob!
I shall make all final decisions!
Lord Dong.
I shall make sure you will get what you want in the morrow.
Is that enough?
By the morrow's twilight, I shall set aside a few of our most dexterous men,
and when the time comes, they shall tear down the fortress gates,
suppress the royal guard and apprehend both the king and all Shipa members.
Like a sweltering storm they must come, and suppress them all in an instant!
You needn't fret.
Come this way!
That one... right there.
It has been a while since we started spotting this boat before dawning,
emanating fitful sparks of fire.
Fitful sparks of fire?!
I at first thought it could be fatuous fire,
but then we realized it must be some kind of signal,
seeing as a beacon started inside the boat and ended towards the shore.
Were it a signal, there would be people witnessing it from the shore.
You said there is no other way to reach the shore from Namyang Bay?
Uh?!
Can you reach those flickering lights with your boat?
Aigoo... With this boat, there is no way.
It is way too much to ask.
If you remain here, we will find out.
We finally get to do some covert observation!
I will have to prepare our rations in earnest.
I shall alert a local magistrate to accord us a patrol boat,
but try to find anything of note in the meantime.
Yes.
We decided for the Royal Garden Pavilion.
You will play a crucial role in our great endeavor.
I am fully prepared.
When our goals are completed, we must hasten out of here.
But your helpmate concerns me.
I was planning to send her first along with a few of Lord Dong's men,
what do you think?
All flowing currents end up meeting together by the sea,
so you shall soon reunite on our promised land.
I would be grateful.
Alert her.
I will.
You must...
join me there.
Of course I will.
Did my being with the Vice Councilor create any discomfiture?
Okpo Seonsaeng is not so intolerant a specimen.
Seobangnim...
Can't we leave together now for a faraway place?
Await just a little longer.
I soon shall follow you.
If attacking the royal retinue is your call,
would that not prove to be treason?!
Covenants made to a country and ruler which abandoned me no longer matter.
We have connections amongst the courtiers,
so our path shall not be laden with adversity.
Does it not seem as if...
Okpo Seonsaeng is concealing something?!
It is merely a woman's foreboding.
Hyangbi.
Yes, Seobangnim.
Should I fail to return,
leave that boat, and look for the Vice Councilor.
What?!
Promise you will do so.
Seobangnim...
I fulfilled my covenant.
Yes.
Why are there no patrons today?!
And how could a man be blessed with such beauty?!
It seems that all the most alluring specimen in Joseon are gracing my gates.
May I pour you a drink?
Reforms or whatever they call them.
The entire country is in a frenzy about it.
Yet, varlets swarming the street up until yesterday...
are now displaying such supercilious disdain.
It is those who fail to rise to the occasion that should be scorned at.
Everyone is trying to hoard and corner with earnest fervor.
Even landlords in Hwaseong have become overnight magnates.
But our tavern is now only frequented by lonesome mosquitoes.
Really... I am so disheartened by this all!
This damned world...
Why is it so hard to survive?
I would not lust after riches,
as the warm embrace of a loved one would more than suffice.
But providence is indeed blind to my gates.
You truly are a sight to behold.
Seobangnim!
Let me go!
Seobangnim!
I must go back to him!
Do not even dream of coming closer!
If you do, I shall slay you!
Milady. Are you all right?
I am just fine.
My gratitude.
We arrived just in time to elude a tragedy.
Who are those men?
They are Penghu pirates.
Penghu pirates?!
Where is Jang Gichong?
*One of the four districts Suwon was divided into
He is hiding with Okpo Seonsaeng in the eastern district*.
The eastern district?!
Did the pirates join them?
Yes.
They are planning to ambush the royal retinue.
To do what?!
They talked of the Royal Garden Pavilion.
And also that they were in contact with people from the court.
Courtiers?!
According to him, Master Hong Jaecheon was in contact with a high...
Those shameless sons of a harlot!
Officer Kim!
Return here.
What?!
Are we going to just let them go?!
We must hasten back immediately.
Officer Kim!
Get a hold of yourself, Officer Kim!
Look at me!
You cannot lose your consciousness! Officer Kim!
Were you hit?
I'm fine!
- Shouldn't you... - Officer Kim!
...leave for Hwaseong?
Officer Kim!
Just... leave me here...
The traitors are gathered in the eastern district,
so you must protect His Majes...
Officer Kim!
I shall tend to Officer Kim, so go back to Hwaseong.
You are the only one left who can protect His Majesty.
I shall soon follow you, so may you depart!
I leave him to your care.
Have the rear patrol guards protecting the royal carriage been selected?
The shift dictates it will be troops from the Royal Guard Garrison.
Those men will be fatigued from all the preparatory drills.
As treacherous specimen are conspiring against His Majesty,
we shall not entrust protection of his carriage to fatigued garrison troops.
Replace them with combat troops from the Military Training Command.
Your wish is my command.
Drill Instructor, you shall gain control of the rear patrol guard,
and apprehend the traitorous miscreants at the first sign of malfeasance.
I shall stake my life to seize that treasonous throng!
The moment those explosives are ignited,
you shall rush out and apprehend the king.
It shall be done.
Are you positive we will not need to check Ammun Gate?
Didn't I tell you it was our merchant group that built it?!
If you follow Master Hong outside Ammun Gate, Jung Chain shall be waiting outside.
Understood.
Lord Dong.
Nothing must hamper those explosions.
Certainly.
Do you know him?
He's the Assistant Minister of War!
How did it go?
All our preparations are complete.
*4:15 p.m.
You must detonate the explosives at the fifth gak of the hour of the monkey*.
You can rest assured.
I shall be counting on you.
Did you enjoy a soothing repast?
- Yes. - Yes.
We shall now move to the temporary palace as the rear patrol guard.
It is the Royal Guard's turn to act as rear patrol today.
We cannot entrust such a crucial matter to fatigued troops.
Should we not alert His Excellency the Herald?
Choosing the rear patrol guards is my responsibility.
There is no need to report anything to the Herald.
We understand.
*4:00 p.m.
We shall depart at the fourth gak of the hour of the monkey*.
Immediately move to the palace, and make sure everything is ready.
- Depart! - Yes!
Your Majesty.
Her Highness Lady Hyegyeong seeks audience.
What brings you here, Mother?
Why are you reluctant to trust this matron, Sire?
I am awaiting your retort, Sire.
Why do the Annals of the Royal Secretariat hold more value...
to you than your own mother's confessions?
You never fail to remind me that someone devoid of power...
cannot be cognizant of the truth,
but you were in fact aware of minute details the Annals never mentioned.
What minute details?
If you peruse the Annals regarding my father's accusations,
slaying the Royal Descendant's mother,
summoning monks to the palace every night,
and wandering adrift in Pyeongyang,
that is all it mentioned.
The former king enkindled the rest of those accusatory memorials himself.
Yet...
you seem to know their content down to the most minute of details.
You were aware of his ominous orisons wishing for his father's demise.
His wandering spree, scrounging money out of merchants' hands,
and his quaffing upon the same nectars His Deceased Majesty outlawed.
Unless you were cognizant of such matters beforehand,
how else would you have learned of that?!
- I suppose. - Mother.
What daunted you so much you could not speak?
Sire.
Yes, Mother.
Why do you believe the former king executed your father?
He was inveigled by the vile machinations of treasonous ruffians.
Then, why would His Deceased Majesty conceal the circumstances from you?!
He was surely concerned those same ruffians would try to harm me.
So, why would your grandmother Lady Seonhee...
clamor the former king to slay her own son?
Because of the Noron party's staunch coercion, I surmise.
No.
It was to save herself.
Her son's destiny was already decided upon,
so the only way to avoid being forced outside the palace...
was to clamor the king to slay the crown prince.
That is why there are still things you fail to comprehend, Sire.
We got word the royal retinue departed from the palace.
Your Excellency.
What brings you here, Garrison Marshal?
Choi Gichong instructed me to escort you immediately.
Pave the way.
Your Excellency.
Tell me... How did it go in Namyang Bay?
They were pirate ships, just as you suspected.
But not Wa, they are Penghu pirates.
Penghu?!
I rescued So Hyangbi while they were taking her away.
According to her,
Moon Inbang and Hong Jaecheon are in close contact with courtiers.
If Hong Jaecheon is involved, the courtier must be Kim Hanju for sure!
Moon Inbang's men are planning their attack at the Royal Garden Pavilion.
How vexatious!
The royal retinue must already be on its way!
We must hasten to the Pavilion immediately!
No.
We cannot do it alone.
They surely must have prepared explosives and will be sniping.
Garrison Marshal!
Yes, Naeuri.
Are the rear patrol guards on standby?
I saw combat troops led by the Drill Instructor join the royal retinue.
Was it the Military Training Command's turn today?
Those matters are under his control, so...
Then... where are all the Royal Guard troops?
They are returning to the Suwon headquarters, I believe.
Immediately head there, and mobilize all troops!
Yes.
I shall keep an eye on them.
Did we not promise to attack at the fifth gak?!
The moment we ambush the royal carriage,
the rear patrol guard will surround and slaughter us all.
We will apprehend the king ahead of our announced time,
and escape to our survival through the Ammun Gate.
Detonate.
It's a wick!
~ On the FINAL Episode of ~ EIGHT DAYS
I always had faith in you!
Treasonous varmints infiltrated the procession?!
Verifying His Majesty's conditions is of utmost urgency.
It is me, Okpo.
Should we handle them?
Protect the King's mother!
You knaves!
Slay him!
I am your one and only ruler!
Because you are the son of Prince Sado.
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