(Episode 33)
Mother liked peonies.
She did not laugh often...
but only when she saw peonies.
Sometimes, she would cry because of peonies.
When I asked her why she was crying,
she told me,
"It would have been better had I not known."
I wish I had not known that...
this flower existed.
However beautiful it was,
I should not have liked it.
Mother's words...
took root in my heart...
and became a thorn bush.
Whenever I had almost forgotten,
the thorns would prick me.
However beautiful the flower,
I should love it and forget about it.
Only give it the love I can do without.
So I can always turn from it.
Discard it.
I thought that...
I was smart and was doing just that.
They must be close by.
Find them, now.
Lady San.
I was wrong.
Are you well?
Why do you look so unwell?
You say that about me,
but you do not look too well yourself.
You have no right to be here.
Leave.
If you upset her,
your life will be in danger.
You should run away.
Now, are you satisfied?
I was always...
satisfied by the smallest of things.
You just had no idea.
Watch your words and actions...
from dawn until dusk,
so no one finds fault with you.
Bow to each other.
Place the birds side by side.
Wild geese...
mate for life.
Wild geese...
fly in such a formation that...
when the one in front cries, those in the back answer.
That is courtesy.
Once they find a mate,
they never part from each other.
That is fidelity.
Those are the two things we learn from wild geese.
You remember that.
My young queen once asked,
"Why are these birds..."
"in our bedroom on our first night?"
That is the answer you gave me.
You answered all my questions then.
I must ask you...
out of true concern and not just politeness.
Why do you look so unwell?
Our son and his new bride will come to greet us.
Why do we need so many armed guards?
It is so I can live.
My life may mean nothing much,
but I would like to stay alive for as long as possible.
I am too preoccupied and cannot share our first night's drink.
Where will you go?
I shall visit your chambers in a few days. Goodbye.
You cannot do this.
Why not?
The King and Queen are waiting for us.
We were just married.
We must report to them and show our respect...
They have not met in a while and must have much to say.
Do not concern yourself.
Why are you here?
You missed your sister's wedding. I thought you had left.
- I have something to say. - Master Lin.
When were you appointed? Should you not be in Jeolla now?
Send the others away.
How dare you block the Crown Prince's path?
- It is important. - Do you want to be dragged out?
We want your permission.
Lady San and I wish to be married.
Both of our parents gave us their consents.
San's father's funeral just ended.
We are thinking of leaving off mourning after we get married.
- Impossible. - Please let us get married.
You will have the Crown Princess and the Wang Lin couple next to you.
That will stop people from gossiping about you.
Wang Lin couple?
Do you even know what they are saying about you?
I know everything that you do. You should know that by now.
They say you even killed someone...
to have a woman and her assets.
Is that the only excuse you came up with?
Do you want to marry San just because of me?
Let...
Lady San go.
I put Eun San in charge of the finances after her father,
so she must stay beside me and obey my orders.
She became my subject, so she cannot go anywhere.
So are you going to put her in a cage?
You keep her in a cage next to you, giving her water and feed.
Will that amuse you that much?
Do you know how much I have sacrificed for you?
Do you know...
what I must give up for you?
Who killed the Minister of Finance?
How dare you stab me in the back?
Was it the Queen?
What is it that you want?
- Did you know about this? - Is it San, or is it my position?
What are you talking about?
You should have been gone to your post as the Inspector General,
but you spent a night in a secret meeting with my father.
And my half-brother Prince Gang Yang was also in that house.
I wonder what you three talked about all night...
without me, behind my back.
You should have just asked for it.
I could have given you my position as the Crown Prince at once...
back when I trusted you.
- No matter what I say now... - It is too late.
I will take Lady San with me.
- Like I said, it is impossible. - Please let her go with consent.
I do not wish to go against your will.
Guards.
This man went against my order and abandoned his post.
Also, he started a strange rumor about Wonseongjeon.
Shut his mouth by locking him up, and let him wait for his punishment.
- Yes, Your Highness. - Yes, Your Highness.
I knew it.
He does not care that I am his father or the King.
He is finally showing his true colors.
I finally see everything clearly.
- You should be careful too. - Pardon?
You should do your best to keep yourself alive.
Was your third brother at the wedding ceremony?
He could not come.
I heard he is in the palace.
I saw him, but he had to leave in...
- He sent you some clothes. - And food.
- Who? - The Crown Prince.
Why?
What about liquor?
- Pardon? - I see food but no liquor.
I will bring some.
- Yes, right now. - Yes, my lady.
What are you doing? You should go too.
She cannot carry it by herself. One jar is not going to cut it.
I need at least 4 to 5 jars.
- What was that sound? - It was over there!
You startled me.
- What are you doing here? - Why are you wandering around?
Did you not come to the palace to see me?
At first, yes.
But I figured it would be better for me to leave without seeing you,
so I went all the way to the palace gate.
However, palace guards came and told me to come with them.
I had Lin beside me,
and he said, "What are you doing?"
By the way, am I talking too much right now?
I think I get the gist of it.
They dragged me here and said it was your order.
You are right. It was my order.
But dragged you here? Who did that?
Are you locking me up?
I am not locking you up. I am protecting you.
Protecting me?
I did not want you to be hurt like your father.
Let us go.
Wait.
I thought it was your wedding ceremony today.
It is over.
- Already? - Yes.
What are you doing? Let us go.
Have you been crying a lot?
You look thinner than days before.
I could not be there for you.
I am fine. Lin was...
Let us go.
I just came by to see you.
You gave me a necklace, so I came to keep that promise.
Now that I saw you, I should go.
Congratulations on your marriage. It is a happy day for us all.
Goodbye, then.
What do you think a Crown Prince's order is?
If you disregard it like this, it will be bad news.
This is as far as you come. I have to be somewhere right now.
Should I be thanking you before you let me go?
Are you on your way to save Lady Eun San?
There is no use in going alone. The Crown Prince locked her up.
- Where is she? - If you succeed, what will you do?
Will you hold hands and run away one more time...
- to get on a ship to Yuan? - Why must I always ask you twice?
Where is she?
You want Lady Eun San, do you not?
If you really wish to have her for yourself...
Do not speak of her name...
with your mouth ever again.
I will do that.
However, His Majesty is expecting you.
You should visit him first.
Many people are guarding you.
You used to get around freely by yourself.
- They are not here for me. - Pardon?
They are here to protect you.
At some point,
Father was afraid of me.
He has never had a meal with me...
as he thought I might poison him.
He was never alone when he met me.
He always had someone with him.
Even if it were a woman.
He must have thought about using her...
as a shield if I wielded my sword.
You should have told him...
that you would never do that and that he need not do that.
That would have made no difference.
He had people near him...
who wrongly interpreted my intentions.
I could not understand...
why Father was always anxious and delusional.
But now, I am doing the same thing.
My nerves are on edge all day long.
I am afraid someone might hurt you.
Wait.
It looks good on you.
I want you to be in my sight so that I can protect you.
I have the power to do that now.
Look around.
Your Highness.
I lost Wang Lin.
- His people were waiting for him. - Who were they?
There were too many masks. I could not see who they were.
How are you feeling?
I will call the royal physician.
I have Queen Mu.
She is all I need.
Something is wrong with my body.
- Where does it hurt? - Can you not see?
I do not have...
a lot of time left.
It is not like you to say such weak things.
You should get up and roar.
That is more like you.
The Minister of Finance has died.
Yes.
He had a daughter.
Yes. She is called Eun San.
Is she dead as well?
No, Your Majesty.
She is alive and well.
Please save her.
I will.
Please save me too.
Are you going somewhere?
The Crown Prince is out of his mind.
If you do something wrong...
Today is the day of the wedding. He will be with his wife.
That is not the case. After the wedding ceremony,
he left his wife alone.
He ignored the King and Queen...
and ran away without a word.
- To that woman. - That woman?
The daughter of the Minister of Finance.
Everyone in the palace is talking about it.
Everyone from the royalties to the lowly servants are...
- talking about them. - Where is he now?
Do not even dream of visiting him. Merely going there to meet him...
could be considered as treason.
I need to see him.
- Can you tell me how? - Well...
If you really plot treason...
Is he in his room?
Probably.
Song In.
Yes, Master Lin.
I will take your word that you will serve me.
- I am honored. - I will order you a few things.
I need you to do them for me.
Your wish is my command.
Do your legs not hurt?
A little.
You can sleep if you want.
- Sleep? - There is my bed over there.
- There? - You have frequently slept there.
- It was only 2 times. - This will be the 3rd time. Go.
I will grind this ink stick and then leave.
You should finish what you were writing...
and go visit your wife.
She must be waiting for you alone.
Have a seat.
I need to tell you a lot of things.
Why? Are you afraid of me too?
Are you afraid that I might poison you?
You are mean.
Gosh.
I do not understand this.
How could a person with your brain be the pupil of Master Lee?
So were you going to talk to me...
- about my brain? - No.
About what I said...
You seem to forget what I have told you so many times.
Let me repeat.
San.
You are my priority. Do you remember?
Well...
I think I might have heard something similar from you.
I thought you were my priority then.
Now, I see that you are not.
I think you are my last.
I do not have anyone else on my side apart from you.
I drove them out.
The Queen had said the same thing.
If you stay next to His Highness,
you will only hurt him.
Did you not say you were going to grind the ink stick for me?
I lied to you.
I did not come here to keep the promise of the necklace.
That was just an excuse.
Master Lin was taken away. I was going to ask if you could...
save him.
As far as I know, he was not taken away.
I met him.
We were going to leave together...
until I was brought here.
Is it because you think my mother has killed your father?
Will you stay by my side if I get your father's revenge?
- Your Highness. - Sometimes,
people ask me to choose between two choices.
And you are not an exception.
(Episode 34 will air shortly.)
(Episode 34)
They are looking for Court Lady Jo.
- What are you talking about? - Jeonbeopsa began...
to investigate into the Minister of Finance's death.
Your Highness. Your Highness.
How dare you take away my people from my place?
What do you think you are doing?
Your Highness, please save me. Your Highness. Your Highness.
Wait.
- Were you also called in? - Do you know what this is about?
I was told to be here as soon as possible, so I ran over.
Exactly. But who called us?
Do you not know?
How dare you do this to me? Let go of me.
- Let go of me. - What is going on?
Open the door.
The Queen is here to see the Crown Prince. Open the door.
Your Highness.
- What is it? - The Queen is here.
I told you not to let anyone in, especially my mother.
- But still... - Do as I say.
His place has a straw rope tied around to cast evil spirits away.
No one may come or go without his permission.
Anyone who tries to barge in...
will be killed on the spot regardless of who they are.
This is the order of the Crown Prince.
Your Highness.
You already shook off...
my hand twice within the day, and now, they are finally still.
If I keep you asleep all the time...
If I do that,
would we always live in peace?
So please fall fast asleep...
for a long time.
We found out where the master is.
- Are you all right? - I am not all right.
I could never rid myself of the habit of speaking plainly,
so my physical body is always suffering. Look.
I am locked up yet again.
I heard you pointed to the Queen...
as the hand behind the Minister of Finance's death.
So are you here to silence him?
If I do, will you be able to stop me by yourself?
- I will take him and leave. - No, wait.
I think we need to talk.
Like I said,
there is none other like him who has the heart and the brains...
to be a faithful man to the Crown Prince until the very last moment.
You should not have called me.
You should have called him first.
Lin.
I am listening.
One of the court ladies of Wonseongjeon made a confession.
Someone used her parents as hostage to make her burn an incense stick...
in the room where the Minister of Finance was in.
An incense stick?
She was poisoned to death right after making her confession,
so they could not question her further.
I know someone in the palace who is good with incenses.
It is the witch next to His Majesty.
I know who she is.
That witch blinded His Majesty...
and came between my son and me to rot this country from the inside.
She will soon come between you and the Crown Prince.
I know I have been rather cold to you until now.
But you two always insisted you were friends.
If you are his friend, help him.
This is for the Crown Prince's sake.
It is too late.
That witch became my subordinate, and the Crown Prince is...
no longer my friend.
Be careful. Do not startle the Queen.
We will take Master Lee and leave this place.
I always knew you would do this.
The Crown Prince has been fooled by you all along.
Let me escort you to a better place to stay.
Wang Lin!
I could not get rid of...
that young serpent while I had the chance.
Excuse me, Lin.
Why are you doing this?
I need to see her.
However,
I have no other way getting to her.
What is wrong with her? Does she not seem weird?
- Yes, she has a scar on her face. - We should watch out.
What are you talking about? That makes no sense.
Someone just came to tell me.
How can they start a deliberative council without my order?
It is the order of His Majesty.
- Do not let anyone in. - Yes, Your Highness.
And be especially cautious of anyone from Wonseongjeon.
Yes, Your Highness.
Dear fellow ministers.
Thank you for being present.
This emergency deliberative council is about...
Where is the King?
He summoned all the ministers...
for an emergency deliberative council so early in the morning,
so where is my father?
He ordered a deliberative council...
and delegated the honor to supervise it.
He delegated it? To whom?
It cannot be to you.
I am Wang Lin...
and am present as per the King's command to chair...
the deliberative council.
"Wang Lin is to..."
"chair the deliberative council in the King's stead."
"One."
"Finance Minister Eun died in the palace."
"Investigate the circumstances."
"Two."
"Crown Prince Wang Won is in training."
"The ministers..."
"shall assess him."
Is it this way?
Will you not take me all the way?
I cannot be noticed.
You will come for me later, right?
You know you cannot leave me here alone, right?
Can you do it?
Yes, I can.
My lady. Lady San.
My lady.
My lady. Lady San, are you here?
Lady San is here, is she not? Right?
- Why are you here? - Master Lin sent me.
To look after Lady San.
Bi Yeon.
My lady. My lady.
What is going on?
- Hello. - Why is Lin in court?
Why is it him and not me? Were you feeding me lies?
You said I would be king!
Make an excuse if you can.
I had my doubts, but I patiently held back.
What are you up to?
- People might hear. - Why?
Why is it not me but my brother in court?
He is doing what you could not.
I can do it. I said I would!
Give me a little more time.
- What if I do? - Your brother...
will get rid of the Crown Prince.
- What then? - After that, I will...
- get rid of your brother. - How can I trust you?
We tried for many years in vain...
to gain the upper hand over the Crown Prince.
Your brother managed to threaten him in just a few days.
Right now...
is the time to watch.
I heard that incense was burning in the room Lord Eun was in.
Lord Eun had a chronic condition,
and that incense was deadly to him.
In whose chamber was the room Lord Eun was waiting in?
The Queen's chambers.
I got an anonymous note.
It said our grain was in Lord Eun's storage.
We checked, and it was there.
From floor to ceiling, all stamped with our insignia.
I found the insignia odd, so I reported them.
Whom did you report to?
The Crown Prince, but he told us to...
let it be.
That he would take care of it.
Your Highness, I have a request.
I am listening.
I suspect Lord Eun was murdered...
and framed for stealing the soldiers' supplies.
That is enough.
To get to the bottom of this,
- we must go to... - Stop.
where it all started.
Let the Queen explain.
I will send someone to request her presence.
That she...
come here.
When I had heard you were locked up,
I thought you would be in a warehouse.
This is too flashy for a warehouse.
Did you not go to Ganghwa Island?
I thought you had left with Gu Hyeong.
Not many of us left.
We are waiting for your return...
in a house we rented near the marketplace.
Master Wang found us and came by early this morning.
Master Lin?
Who else would it be?
- How is he? - Do not even ask.
He did not sleep a wink last night.
He has been looking for a way to get you out.
Oh, he said everything is ready.
- For what? - This is what he said.
"I will get out the one you are with."
"Lady San can leave after that."
"Get out"?
Master Lin told me to give you this.
He said he would be waiting there.
What did he say? "The place we cut the string."
Do you know where that is?
Once you get rid of the Crown Prince,
will you put the second son in his place?
Lin is too much for us to control.
Then will you discard him?
I am wondering how to do that, so he will not get back at us.
What will you do about her?
Who?
Eun San.
- You sound like you are jealous. - You are correct.
Is this what you have been up to in the King's presence?
You are animals!
Your Majesty, you must wake up.
Wake up, and look. Those beasts...
Your Majesty. Your Majesty.
Why can you not wake up?
It is me, Your Majesty.
Arrest that man and his witch.
I must find out what they did to the King.
Is anyone outside?
Some armed assassins entered the King's chamber.
The King's own bodyguards risked their lives...
to protect their king.
You must go, Your Highness.
Your Majesty.
What is all this noise?
You had another nightmare.
I will help you sleep.
Your Highness.
Leave first. I will stop them.
Step aside!
Leave, Your Highness.
I shall escort you.
My mother loves peonies.
She did not laugh often...
but only when she saw peonies.
Your Highness.
Sometimes, she would cry because of them.
When I asked why, she said this.
"It would have been better had I not known."
She wished she did not know these flowers existed.
That however beautiful they were, she should not have liked them.
Stop.
What is that?
My belongings.
Lady San asked me to take them elsewhere.
- You cannot take anything. - But I need that.
Your Highness. Your Highness.
Your Highness. Your Highness. Your Highness.
Your Highness, just now...
the Queen...
The Queen...
passed away.
- What is happening? - She is dead?
- How could this be? - What now?
- Your Highness! - Your Highness!
- Your Highness. - Your Highness.
My mother's words cut deep and stayed with me,
but I never understood.
Why did I never...
think of becoming a peony for her?
- Move. - Hurry.
- Is something wrong? - The Queen is dead.
- Your Highness. - Your Highness.
Instead of being a flower, I became a thorn bush.
I pricked those who came close...
as well as myself,
and I still kept growing.
(The King in Love)
Bring me any one of the brothers.
We need a new king.
Your Highness. Your Highness.
Please stop. Put down that sword!
Tell me your plan.
You said you would make me king. You must have a plan.
I will pretend not to know you care for Lin.
Give up on him.
Promise me first.
Are you threatening me?
If you can, cut me down and become king.