(All characters, organizations, places, cases, and incidents...)
(in this drama are fictitious.)
(Episode 21)
Gosh.
Darn it.
- What is it? - What?
What?
You cannot look me in the eye.
You seem anxious.
Gosh.
I am nervous.
Now?
Yes, I am.
I do not know why I am nervous now.
This is odd. I am acting weird, right?
You are such a coward.
And you do not feel nervous at all?
I feel...
as if my heart is about to...
I am completely fine.
Really?
Yes.
Dong Joo.
We deserve death, Your Majesty.
We did not know...
that it was a grave crime.
When you were burying the dead bodies,
did you see Yu Yeon Kyung and the family's bodies?
I think I might have seen the lady we used to serve.
- Well... - They were all dead.
All of them were dead.
The lady who ran away from her house...
and even her daughter were dead.
After checking that all of them were dead,
we buried all of their bodies.
Is that so?
Fine. Where did you bury...
their bodies?
I visited the gisaeng house where Hwa Su is staying.
She did not go to that gisaeng house either.
- I will search outside the city... - That is enough. Take a seat.
Pardon?
Seeing how you were not able to find her after much effort,
she must really hate me.
Should I be relieved that she did not go to him?
We cannot go in like this. What if someone sees us?
Did you not hear that you should take absolute rest?
No one is at home, anyway.
Who would be in the yard this early in the morning?
Hey, that is all right. Just put me down.
- Come on. - Put me down.
Come on.
See? I told you. No one is...
What?
- Goodness. - I was wrong.
- Darn it. - Hey.
Hey, it is Dong Joo.
Okay.
You know what?
He came to find you.
He is from the palace.
From the palace?
I do not mind having one more servant under me.
May I ask why?
Why I am asking for such a favor?
She is the girl who gave advice on how to treat...
His Majesty's insomnia which even physicians gave up on.
Please accept my request.
Yes, Your Highness.
We are alive and together now.
So...
can you not follow your heart and just like me?
I just...
like...
I really...
like you.
Did you ask to see me?
I need you to do a task for me.
I will spare you a few royal guards.
Okay. What is my task?
Bring them in.
I do not think they remember the spot.
We cannot search the entire mountain as it is vast.
There was a rule...
that we were not allowed to come out when we heard a bell rattling.
And meanwhile,
Lord Heo often visited an isolated house...
in the village for widows.
An isolated house?
You just said you could not go out.
How would you know that?
Just because my friend saw...
what she was not supposed to witness at the house,
Lord Heo murdered her.
Hey. What are you talking about?
Tell His Majesty what the dead widow saw at the house.
She told me that there was a young man.
She said that he was to do great things later on.
- Who is that man? - Your Majesty.
There is something I must tell you about that man, Your Majesty.
The man over there has something to tell you.
Everyone else except these two may leave.
- Goodness. - Goodness.
- Since you cannot seem to remember,
we shall return for today.
- Yes, my lord. - Yes, my lord.
Whose burial ground...
are you looking for?
Sorry?
It is...
Lord Yu Yeon Kyung's tomb.
He was killed for plotting treason against His Majesty.
We did not know...
that burying him was such a grave sin.
We have no idea...
where we buried him.
Then why did His Majesty...
want us to dig it up?
You see,
they have died.
They have all died,
but he does not believe that.
The girl died as well.
I am telling you the truth.
All right. You may leave.
Let us go.
It was your son...
whom the chancellor had hidden at that place.
That is why he had to get rid of all evidence...
through killing and burning the document.
No, Your Majesty.
Everything he is saying is a lie.
When we lived on that island, my brother once said...
that he wanted to rise...
to the highest position.
- What? - Your Majesty.
Back then, I thought he wanted to become a general.
The chancellor did not want Prince Yeongchang on the throne.
He wanted your son on the throne.
Enough. Enough!
Do you not know how hard it was to get rid of him?
So how could you spare him...
and attempt to put him on the throne in my stead?
How dare you? How could you?
What are you so afraid of?
I believed...
that you no longer belonged in that position.
How dare you?
A king...
should not kill his subjects or his own offspring.
Do you not know that the king should be just in his ruling...
and protect his people?
Shut your mouth!
You abandoned your people,
your long-time friend,
and even your own baby.
How dare you?
What are you so afraid of...
I told you to be quiet.
Your Majesty...
What... What have I done?
No. No. No!
(20 years ago during the Japanese invasion)
I was taught that you should be responsible for your decisions.
But where are the ones who must take responsibility now?
Why do the people who have no power to choose...
their country or their king...
have to meet such wrongful deaths?
Your Highness...
I will be different.
Even though they have no choice,
I will make sure they are happy to be my people.
I will bring forth such a world.
I have always admired the tears you had shed...
to this day.
Yun.
I wanted to stay by your side...
and make your wish come true...
Do not talk anymore.
Call a physician! Call him this instant!
No.
You may not die. No!
No. No.
Yun! Yun!
No! Yun!
No!
Yun...
What will you do?
I must see the Queen.
How will you do that?
You should meet your son and...
He must...
never find out the truth.
The Queen is the only one who can protect him until the end.
I will look for a way.
No. I will find it myself.
You may leave.
I was told to protect you until the end...
by Lord Heo.
My lord.
Are you injured?
I am okay.
Did you find the burial ground?
They could not remember the location.
It was such a long time ago.
They may leave.
We do not need to find it anymore.
What do you mean?
So...
Send them away first. I must wash up.
- Thank you, my lord. - Thank you, my lord.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
I am sure it was His Majesty's order.
So...
I am forever grateful.
Right. I am sorry.
Let us go.
Yes, my lord. Thank you.
How could you already start working when you are still unwell?
Did you have to start today?
Forget it. I will do it.
Sit down and rest.
Or stand there and watch me.
Gosh.
By the way, why are you here?
I came to see you.
I am going to snatch you away once you leave the palace.
And what will you do after that?
Gosh, you have not planned yet.
Well...
There are just too many.
I have not yet made up my mind.
Shall we ride the swing?
Okay, let us do that.
And for tomorrow...
Do you know that a ssireum match will be held at the marketplace?
Let us go watch that.
And the day after that...
Well...
What is it?
It is nothing.
All right. Let us do everything that we can.
Okay. I will be waiting at the back door.
Hurry up and go. Someone might see you.
Okay.
Bye.
There.
What is this?
"I picked it up on my way here."
That was what Master Hwang told me to say.
But it was pretty, so I got it for you.
Bye.
Go.
Bye.
Chief Administrative Officer Yeon.
Why do you look at me that way?
Come to think of it,
you have never looked peaceful...
from the moment I first met you up until today.
Do you know that I felt the most peaceful...
when I sneaked outside...
and met you?
Did you hear...
about what I have done today?
Yes, Your Majesty.
All right. I see.
Is it because of that man I and Lord Baek are chasing after?
- Is it because Lord Heo hid him... - No.
It is all my fault.
Everything is my fault.
Ever since that day.
Everything has turned awry...
since that day.
If you are aware of that,
then there must be a solution.
I frequently have nightmares...
of that night.
It is scary and frightening.
But do you know what I am the most afraid of?
It is that if I were to go back,
I would...
not have the courage to make a different choice.
Your Majesty.
Do you remember...
Your Majesty.
Am I...
a part...
of that dreadful night?
Open the door! Open this!
Open!
Is anyone there?
The skies desire a new king.
Repeat what you have just said.
Your son who will be born on November 19...
will become the next king.
What did you say?
How does that make sense?
Look at me.
I am sweeping the battlefields...
in my father's place.
I am still alive and well.
And yet,
the next king will be born in a few days?
Right.
That was what my father had wanted as well.
If it was not for the war,
I would not have become the Crown Prince.
However, I am now the Crown Prince.
I have finally become the Crown Prince!
So enough with what the skies want and tell me.
What should I do?
What do I need to do?
You can neither change...
nor prevent what the skies desire,
Your Highness.
Do you know the gravity...
of what you have just said?
I cannot lie about what the skies want...
just because I am afraid...
of losing my life.
I will change that fate.
I will prevent it from happening.
I will make sure...
that I become the king!
Your Majesty. Your Majesty.
I will call the physician.
Or should I call the head eunuch?
Why...
are you crying?
No, Your Majesty.
I was not crying.
Your Highness.
This is your child.
This is your son.
I truly wish...
that you will never find out...
what kind of person I am.
(Episode 22 will air shortly.)
(Episode 22)
I am sure all of you have heard about what happened to Lord Heo.
Yes.
We owe it to you to have handled the situation.
Had you not done it, all of us would have been affected...
and faced an ordeal.
The revolt will take place on the 15th of the next month.
When His Majesty leaves Hanyang to pay his respect...
at the royal ancestral site, I will take over the empty palace.
At 11pm, I will head to the palace with the guards from Changui Gate.
Make sure the gate is open.
Yes. I will make sure it is open.
You are to take the royal seal,
capture the King, and come back to the palace.
Deputy Chief, once you escort the Queen Dowager...
and she gives you her order,
the revolt will end smoothly.
Yes. He kicked his younger brother out and drove him to death.
And he has committed a grave crime of imprisoning his mother.
I doubt that people will oppose.
Our cause is more than justified.
However, we may be able to add one more to the list.
I know His Majesty's secret which is more hideous...
and depraved than what you have listed.
This is all Grand Prince Neungyang's doing?
He was the one who burned down our village.
As for Lady Chun's death...
Well, it is not like we have evidence.
But seeing how he tried to bring down Lord Heo...
by making you lie...
Oh, no.
Then, Lord Heo died all because of us.
I should just kill Grand Prince Neungyang.
If you make rash decisions because you are emotionally worked up,
everything will come to nothing.
The three of us...
cannot defeat Dan Ho.
Until we find a way to take him down, lie low.
I will contact you.
Dong Joo.
- Nok Du. - Hey.
You caused it. Why did you do that?
You startled me.
I just wanted to see you surprised. Are you happy now?
Goodness.
Is it not a surprise...
how handsome I look even when I am injured?
Right?
Yes.
You are very handsome.
But you are pretty at the same time.
When you pretended to be a widow,
you were prettier than a woman.
Why are you being so nice to me?
You cannot even handle a compliment from me.
Why do you always brag?
Come quickly. We have a lot of things to do.
This is the prettiest.
What?
This one.
What was that? Come on.
She does not know how pretty she is.
How much is it?
All right. Buy some fireworks.
I brought these straight from the Ming Empire.
Here.
Hey, we should buy everything in the basket.
Give us everything including the basket.
- The basket too? - Yes.
- I see. - I would like okchundang too.
Sure.
Open it.
Here you go.
You were really cute when you ate okchundang before.
You look like a rabbit.
Buy me shoes.
- No. - Why not?
I said, no.
Why not? They are pretty.
Buy me a pair of shoes. Please?
If I buy you shoes, you will run away again, will you not?
I cannot.
I will not run away.
Come on. Just buy me a pair.
I will buy you everything except for the shoes.
Just not the shoes.
Hey, I can make that myself.
That is really pretty.
If you can make it yourself, why would we buy it?
- Be quiet. They will hear us. - Come to think of it,
I spent more money than you did.
They are...
a well-matched couple.
Darn it.
Goodness. What is this heavy push?
Wait. You are...
Vice-Curator.
What do you think? I can make a gown for you.
I have dexterous hands.
Hey. She is from our village.
Lady Park.
Hey.
- Lady Kang. - Lady Kim.
- What a small world. - My gosh.
This is all I have for now. Please have some.
Gosh.
We have the lotus root for the side dish.
It sounds just like the vice-curator's name.
My goodness. You are quite playful.
I am being playful, right?
It must have been hard for you.
You were in the well for two days.
It is all right.
It must have been hard for you too.
Do not even get me started.
Two days?
You did not eat for two days?
Two days?
Yes. That is why I am starving.
- Here is your rice. - What?
Nok Du.
I do not know why you wanted to scoop up the rice today.
You worked hard to cook other side dishes.
I see. Is that it?
Please eat.
- Okay. - Okay.
Go sit down. Sit down.
Gosh, the rice is nice and warm.
Stop.
Put down your spoon for a second.
What is it, Aeng Du?
You should eat...
It is the yolk.
- My goodness. - What?
What is that?
A fried egg.
Look at this fried egg!
Well, there was only one left.
The physician told me to feed her well.
- She should eat the egg and meat. - You jerk.
Hurry. Dig in.
- Hey, you should eat it. - No.
You eat it.
- Goodness. - Oh, gosh.
Look at him.
- I cannot watch it. - My goodness.
You are making these widows feel very sad right now.
How could we eat now?
Stop making a fuss during mealtime.
Okay?
My gosh. Look at that.
This meal...
is quite sweet. It is indeed.
The meal is sweet, it is sweet
It is so sweet.
Aeng Du.
I will bring the scorched rice water.
Okay.
I like eggs too, you know.
I will fry one for you next time.
Aeng Du, you can eat meat instead. Here you go.
Eat up.
Yes, have some meat.
Eat up.
I will be able to sneak into the palace,
but it will not be easy for me to meet her in person.
All you need to do for me is to make sure she gets the letter.
Hand it over to me.
Thank you.
Please be careful.
By the way,
if you succeed in entering the palace,
do you think you can find out how the chancellor is doing?
I have actually been meaning to tell you something.
How could you think of sleeping here when there are so many eyes on us?
Have you gone mad?
Yes, I have gone mad. Can I go over to your side now?
What if someone opens the door to my room?
Hey, who would open the door to your room at such a late hour?
You are a weird one.
You really make me speechless.
That is only because I am speaking the truth.
I am going to go to your side, okay?
My gosh.
I am tired, so do not try to chat and go to bed right away.
Okay, fine.
Goodnight.
Gosh.
Look at him sleeping.
He always does what I tell him to do.
What? I thought you were sleeping.
Are you stupid? How do you expect me to sleep?
Why can you not sleep?
Are you seriously asking me that because you do not know?
Just go to sleep. Stop joking around.
Whenever I look at you, I forget about everything.
I cannot help but smile...
even when I am struggling and going through a hard time.
It is strange, is it not?
Yes, it is.
I do not understand why I like a jerk like you.
Keep in mind that I had my eyes shut.
- You are the one who woke me up. - What?
- My gosh! - My goodness!
The widows...
all have very terrible sleeping habits.
I could not get any sleep.
Hey.
Aeng Du.
- Did you see? - See what?
How you two were stuck together like glue and kissing each other?
Or how you both rolled away from each other...
as if your bottoms were caught on fire?
Which one are you talking about?
I guess you saw it all.
You know what? The more I think about it,
the more I become sure that you are no longer fit to be my husband.
What am I going to do with a guy whose heart belongs to someone else?
The dungeon?
He practically lives there.
He always comes out of there...
with his royal robe covered in blood.
My goodness.
I heard another person died there last night.
Apparently, it was someone who used to be a high official.
The dungeon was built for that kind of stuff.
What are you doing just standing there?
Oh, right.
What is with the long face?
Someone ended up dying...
because I lied.
Did you think we would only walk an elegant and beautiful path?
- That is not what I meant. - Do not bother to follow me...
if this is how you are going to act in front of His Majesty.
I will meet him alone.
Do you not work? Why are you always in the palace?
I have something to do here.
I will be sleeping in the palace from tonight.
- Why? - It is for the job.
But it is not mandatory.
I just prefer sleeping here. Just keep it in mind.
What do you think you are doing?
Let me go. You can talk to me after you let go of this.
Let her go, Grand Prince Neungyang.
Have you lost your mind?
I apologize, my lord.
I do not know what this is about,
but there are a lot of eyes watching you right now.
I looked for you everywhere, and this is where I find you?
What are you doing here?
I had to get a job here.
What do you think you can do by working here?
Follow me right now.
No.
Dong Joo!
The Queen has arrived.
I came to see...
who was brazen enough to cause such a fuss in the palace.
I am surprised to see it was you, Grand Prince Neungyang.
I apologize.
Is your name Dong Joo?
Are you Court Lady Kim's servant?
Yes, that is right, Your Highness.
I do not know what this is about,
but she is working for my court lady which naturally means...
that she is working for me.
Do not treat her with disrespect.
You may go.
You may leave as well, Grand Prince Neungyang.
I would like to talk to you.
Yes, Your Highness.
What is with your face?
- Why do you look so pale? - Do not mind me.
How do you expect me to do that?
Hwang Tae, it is not too late to stop.
- I will... - No.
I cannot stop.
I have come too far.
So you really should stop wasting your time.
What are you talking about?
Hwang Tae, does that jerk have something on you?
No.
Do not follow me.
My goodness, we are out of tea.
I will go get some more.
It is for Her Highness,
so bring the best tea there is.
Treason?
The chancellor?
Yes.
That is the reason why he got locked up...
and ended up losing his life.
He was His Majesty's closest friend. That is so hard to believe.
Do you have any evidence?
Who was the accomplice?
Who was he planning to give the throne to?
His Majesty gave orders to keep it confidential.
I apologize, Your Majesty.
He definitely seemed like...
he had something to tell me that day.
Pardon?
It is nothing.
You may leave now.
Your Majesty.
The chancellor's body is still inside the palace.
And the rest of his family is nowhere to be found.
What should we do?
Leave his dead body in front of Sigu Gate.
Pardon?
Yun...
had already abandoned me a long time ago.
Thus, I shall do the same.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
How is your wrist? Is it okay?
You must have been startled. My gosh.
I really should teach that jerk a lesson.
I am okay.
Nok Du.
Yes?
I just wanted to remind you...
that I will not be going home starting tonight.
Why do you keep reminding me? It is nothing pleasant.
It is okay. I can come here to see you.
Go inside and get some rest.
Okay.
I will be off now. See you tomorrow.
- Hey. - My gosh.
Are you going to continue to startle me like this?
I am sorry.
Did you hear about...
what happened to the chancellor?
Are you just going to let...
Grand Prince Neungyang have it his way?
No.
I am thinking about what I should do.
What do not we help each other?
Was killing him not enough?
How could he also discard his dead body like that?
How could he do such a thing?
I should go see Yun.
Just make sure you meet Her Highness in time.
I will take care of his dead body.
Then let us go together.
You know that it will be dangerous.
It will be dangerous for you too.
Let us go together.
I almost died due to a fever back when I was a child.
Even my own mother had given up on saving me.
But the chancellor took me to a doctor and saved me.
He apparently cried and begged his father to save me.
And when he did that for me,
I experienced more than just having recovered from the fever.
I felt like...
I felt like a decent human being for the first time in my life.
I should be the one to go...
since I was granted a decent life thanks to the chancellor.
I am sorry I could not protect you until the very end.
Your Majesty.
You should call Chief Administrative Officer Yeon...
and drink with him.
You must pity me.
No, that is not what I meant.
Okay, fine.
Tell him to come over here.
My lord.
Where is Jung Yun Jeo?
He ran away far from here. Do not look for him.
It will be your head next.
Do not hesitate, and answer me.
You will behead me even if I answer your question.
I am not in a rush...
as my master is here.
It means that I will not...
make things easy for you.
I came here...
to accompany him on his last journey, anyway.
You have been alive for all this time?
Your Highness,
do you remember...
that I buried His Majesty's son...
20 years ago?
Yes.
And you missed your footing that day.
That day, I did not die.
And I am not the only one...
who survived that day.
What do you mean?
His Majesty's son...
is alive, Your Highness.
Please...
protect him.
"Protect him"? What do you mean?
Where is he?
You must protect him...
from His Majesty.
I asked you where my son is!
I will risk everything I have to protect him.
Tell me.
Please.
Your Majesty!
Who is there?
Chief Administrative Officer...
Your Majesty!
Your Majesty.