Me as the queen?
What do you mean, Your Highness?
Let us adopt you...
- so you can be selected. - I am a court maid.
A court maid is not eligible for selection.
Things are urgent, and we have no other option.
Someone must help Yeon Joo...
throughout the selection process,
and you are the only one we can trust.
If you succeed,
I promise that...
I will have your father's honor restored.
Your Majesty, the Queen Dowager is awake.
Your Highness, are you awake?
Your Majesty.
What on earth happened?
Someone poisoned you and the candidates.
That... That is impossible.
Your Highness! Check her condition.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your job is to protect them all. Why did you neglect your duty?
I apologize,
Your Majesty.
Royal Physician. Check on this girl first.
Yes, Your Majesty.
You are excused.
There is nothing you can do here.
As soon as she is stable,
take her to the detached palace and treat her there.
Yes, Your Majesty.
What is going on? How did this happen within the palace?
My lord.
Who could have done this?
Your Majesty, the Minister of Personnel is here.
- Did you call for me? - Do me a favor.
Please save this girl.
Bring me cold adzuki bean water...
and an acupuncture set.
Yes, my lord.
Nurse.
How is the lady inside doing?
She is still unconscious.
She had a fever all night.
Are you sure she is okay?
The fever is fighting off the last of the poison.
She will recover once it goes away.
Do not worry.
I shall brew some medicine for her.
Master Chun Soo...
Were you here all night?
How is Ga Eun doing?
Do not worry.
She will suffer for three days,
but her life is not in danger.
I would like to...
see Ga Eun.
Lee Sun is inside with her.
I will help you see her once he leaves.
Ga Eun.
Do not worry, master.
I am all right.
Please.
From now on,
do not let me see you like this.
You can cry, smile, or get angry.
I will take all that.
However,
I do not want to...
see you like this.
Do you know how I felt...
when I saw you on the floor?
I bet you felt the same way I did...
when I saw you in the water.
When I am tired or in danger,
you are always there for me.
Despite it being...
under different guises...
each time.
A Book Seeker, a Chief Peddler.
Today, an officer.
I sometimes wonder who you really are,
but to me,
you are just Master Chun Soo.
How is Ga Eun doing?
She is stable now. I left after she fell asleep.
I was so afraid something terrible would happen to her.
It felt like my heart was going to stop.
How are the others?
No one's life is in danger.
That is a relief.
But no one died?
That is odd.
I mean, it is a relief...
but it is odd.
You are correct.
It feels clumsy for Pyunsoo Group.
It was not Pyunsoo Group.
Think about it. What have they gained by this?
There is no need to worry.
Both Ja Young and Eun Soo will recover completely.
The problem...
is that Ja Young and Eun Soo...
they are both too afraid and refuse to participate.
Who could have done such a thing?
Pyunsoo Group gained nothing,
but rather, they lost their candidates.
Why did we suspect them?
Because the Queen Dowager was also poisoned.
Yes. She did not lose anything.
Rather,
she gained something huge.
Lady Kim.
What do you think?
The cunning woman ingested poison on her own.
Are you saying the Queen Dowager ingested poison...
in order to gain control over the queen selection?
Yes.
Then do you think the person behind this incident...
was the Queen Dowager?
However, there is no need to worry.
Even if Ja Young and Eun Soo refuse, there is someone else...
who can partake in the queen selection.
There is? Who can do that?
Your Highness. Are you all right?
Do I look all right?
I cannot believe you risked your life to safeguard your power.
I am humbled by your dedication and will.
Stop speaking nonsense,
and tell Yeon Joo...
that her aunt...
took poison to hand her the position of queen,
so she had better participate in the queen selection.
Yes, Your Highness.
It is a relief that all the candidates have recovered,
and that we can continue on with the selection,
but I am concerned about what more will happen.
Pyunsoo Group lost two of its candidates.
It is suspicious that they have not done anything yet.
If things continue as is, the Queen Dowager's candidate...
will be selected to be queen.
You have all passed the first round of selections.
Elders of the Royal Family must preside...
to assist in the selection.
However, because of the unfortunate event in the previous round,
we are unable to ask them for assistance.
Thus, His Majesty came himself.
You should bow to him,
as it is an honor for you.
We will now begin the next round of selections.
Your Highness.
What is it?
Well... Someone has come to assist you...
in the selection.
What do you mean?
Who wishes to assist in the selection?
I hope I am not too late.
I came to assist you with the queen selection.
Hwa Gun, is that you?
What right do you have to get involved in the queen selection?
I have a right as the head of Pyunsoo Group.
Is that not sufficient, Your Highness?
Your Majesty, please tell us what you think.
Do I qualify to assist you?
Or shall I bring my grandfather here?
No. The head of Pyunsoo Group...
is fully qualified.
Finally, we will have a fair selection process.
Do you not agree?
It happened!
It finally happened.
The head of Pyunsoo Group...
showed up to be a judge at the queen selection.
I need to go.
The Third State Councilor's daughter...
is the Queen Dowager's niece,
so I am sure she is strong and tenacious.
We are choosing the future mother of the nation,
and thus we need to know whether you understand the lives of the people.
This question is for the Third State Councilor's daughter.
How much does a bushel of rice cost?
Oh, my. Do not tell me that you do not know the price of rice.
The Third State Councilor...
must have raised her sheltered like a flower in a greenhouse.
The price of a bushel of rice...
is five nyang.
Tell us what each region offers the Royal Family as tribute.
Chungcheong Province, Jeolla Province,
and Gyeongsang Province offer...
- Cotton. - cotton.
Pyongan Province and Hwanghae Province offer silk.
Hamgil Province and Gangwon Province offer...
pears as tribute.
Which is farther away,
the sun in the sky and the capital?
What you just asked is not a question, but a trap.
A trap?
Whichever answer she gives, you will be able to say...
that she is wrong. Thus, it is a trap.
If she said the capital was closer, you would have responded,
"Raise your head and look at the sky."
"The sun is right before you."
"However, the capital is so far away that you cannot see it."
"Thus, the sun is closer, is it not?"
If she had said the sun was closer, you would have responded,
"You can meet a person from the capital."
"However, have you ever met anyone from the sun?"
"Thus, the capital is closer, is it not?"
Who could answer correctly to such an improper question?
It is as you say.
My question was improper.
I will ask something very clear-cut this time, as a show of apology.
Either of you may respond. Whoever knows the answer.
I shall ask about the law of Joseon.
If someone dared falsely use the King's name,
what is the proper retribution for such a criminal?
This man is Deputy Magistrate Han Gyu Ho.
He falsely used my name, the Crown Prince.
I myself will behead him.
Did you not hear the question?
I will ask you again.
I asked what is the proper punishment for a criminal...
who falsely uses the King's name.
He must be executed.
Yes, that is correct.
Such a criminal must be executed.
He is beheaded at the Seoso Gate execution ground.
His head is hung high on a stick.
All the passersby...
spit at his head.
Is it not correct?
I have...
something to tell you.
He is beheaded at the Seoso Gate execution ground.
His head is hung high on a stick.
All the passersby...
spit at his head.
The adopted daughter of the Chambong, Choi Soo Yeon.
Please come outside.
To reward you for completing the selection process,
we have a present for you.
Please follow me.
Do you like it?
I prepared them for you.
Your feelings must have been hurt.
You endured it well.
Do you like that ornament?
I will ask the same artisan to make something more beautiful.
I heard that we are given silk after the selection process.
I will only take this like the other candidates.
Please excuse me.
I asked...
for a yellow one on purpose.
Do you not like it?
The yellow color.
How do you know that?
I heard someone poisoned them during the selection process.
It was not done by Pyunsoo Group.
That was my assumption.
Lady Kim.
Thank you.
I thank you with all my heart...
for helping me many times.
However,
I prefer that we no longer meet each other in private.
Either Pyunsoo Group or I must be destroyed.
That is the nature of my relationship with Pyunsoo Group.
You are...
the leader of Pyunsoo Group.
I apologize for saying this.
Please be well. Goodbye.
Crown Prince.
Since when...
have you known?
I have known...
for five years since I met you at the greenhouse.
I was the one who saved you at the cliff.
I made your heart stop temporarily with a drug...
to fool my grandfather.
Will you not ask...
why I saved you?
I...
like you.
Lady Kim, I...
I love you.
It has to be you.
Under the condition that I become the leader of Pyunsoo Group,
my grandfather promised me that he will not cause you harm.
I became the leader only to save and protect you.
But shall we not meet because I am the leader of Pyunsoo Group?
Did I ask you for anything difficult?
I ask you to be near me and not disappear.
Is that such a greedy thing to ask?
How much more shall I give for you to take a look at me?
You told me...
to fight against Dae Mok.
You said...
those above saved my life.
However, the truth is,
Dae Mok's granddaughter...
saved me.
Your Highness.
I find something strange.
Lady Kim said she made a promise with Dae Mok...
to save your life.
If that is true,
the person who tried to kill you last time...
was not Dae Mok.
Right.
I know...
who it could be.
The Queen Dowager tried to kill you?
I lost consciousness after drinking the poisoned tea...
at the Queen Dowager's palace.
How can you suspect her with that fact?
The Queen Dowager knew the truth...
that only...
the culprit would know.
Pyunsoo Group dared to come to your palace to poison someone.
Should you not look for the culprit?
It must be one of Dae Mok's men.
What is the point of finding him?
Then...
you should increase the number of guards.
Do you remember?
Pyunsoo Group's Ki Chal Team tried to kill me...
at this exact place.
I do remember.
I have not seen the Ki Chal Team before.
It was Ga Eun who told me.
However,
the Queen Dowager...
already knew.
I see.
What is your plan?
I will help...
the Queen Dowager.
Right now,
stopping Pyunsoo Group is priority.
Master Dae Mok, something seems strange.
During the selection process,
I noticed that the Queen Dowager had changed.
How so?
She became quick and agile.
She prepared the selection process and the people...
very quickly.
We lost our chances many times.
She has changed.
It is not that she has changed,
but her people that have changed.
There must be...
someone more sly than that cunning woman.
I cannot believe this.
What shall we do?
The Queen Dowager is...
being arrogant after covering up the poison incident.
Let us find the poisoner for her.
Should we find her follower who poisoned their tea?
It must be one of the court ladies.
There is someone else who will be a better example.
I just thought of one.
We have completed the selection process.
I will now announce the three girls who have made it...
to the final list.
Chief State Councilor. What do you think you are doing?
I apologize, Your Highness.
I had no choice but to interrupt you...
because we have an urgent situation.
What did you say?
It is about the poisoning incident during the first selection process.
We have found a person who is suspected to be...
the poisoner.
Chief Magistrate Han, arrest the suspect.
Yes, Chief State Councilor.
Capture the suspect!
- Yes, master. - Yes, master.
Why are you doing this to me?
We are arresting you...
since you are the suspect of the recent poisoning incident.
Let us go.
(Episode 26 will be aired shortly.)