Original subtitles

ALL CHARACTERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND EVENTS IN THIS DRAMA ARE FICTITIOUS,

AND ARE UNRELATED TO HISTORICAL FACTS

Stop.

-Search. -Yes!

No problem here.

We have arrived.

Thoroughly check all of the wagons carrying the tributes.

Yes, my lord.

-Your Majesty! -Head Eunuch.

Your Majesty…

I finally got you. You little rat.

When does the coronation start?

-It starts at the Hour of the Sheep. -Then we still have plenty of time?

We cannot let our guard down yet. We must hurry.

Wait.

What was that about?

I don't know either.

I suppose we have time for a moment like this.

Now we really must go.

Okay.

EPISODE 20: MY LIFE WITHOUT ME

Your Majesty…

Wait, I am not done organizing.

Oh, my goodness!

Your Majesty!

You must harbor great resentment if you returned as a ghost.

Your Majesty!

Chief Eunuch,

come with me.

Come with you…

Get away from me!

Your Majesty, please rest in peace.

Come with me.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, you are alive!

Your Majesty, what happened?

You look good with the dragon robe too.

My sense of fashion really is crazy good.

There they are!

That way!

You bastard…

Oh, yes!

How can you be so good?

Well…

Let's say it's from my years of experience.

What comes from your years?

I know my way around a knife.

Do not do anything unnecessary.

How many soldiers are guarding the palace now?

You are too late.

That is the sound announcing the coronation.

How dare you talk down to me!

The coronation has begun already?

Kneel.

Bow four times.

Stand up.

They advanced the coronation?

Hey, you know…

Well, I set up insurance just in case something went wrong.

What are you doing? Proceed with the coronation.

Well…

The royal seal is gone!

The royal seal is not here!

I must have gone crazy!

I was excited

about a special mission…

Lift your head.

I salute you for the first time, Your…

Majesty?

Lee Saeng-mang?

Wait, Lee Saeng-mang. Have you gone mad?

Or have I gone mad?

You stole the royal seal?

You know I'm crazy.

Then we still have a chance.

-Let us go. -Okay.

It worked last time…

-Try it harder. -Hey, be quiet.

How dare you…

Captain Hong.

You again…

I told you not to come.

It's just…

I don't have anyone to ask about this.

I stole something small because Her Majesty the Queen asked me to.

It looks shiny and precious.

I have a bad feeling about it.

What is it?

The royal seal!

Do you know

where you are after stealing the royal seal?

It's the State Tribunal--

Did I just walk into prison with my own two feet?

Why are you giving it to me?

What are you doing here?

I came to see my friend for a moment…

You should not be here. You must leave at once.

Wait!

How dare you lay a hand on my best friend!

Are you nuts? How can you show the royal seal?

The royal seal?

Want to take a look?

-A bomb! -Everybody run!

They broke into Hanyang?

Through all eight gates?

Yes. If you order us to use cannons…

For now, it is of utmost importance to see the coronation to its end.

so hold the cannons.

Summon all soldiers and send them to each gate!

Now!

Once the coronation is over,

I am going to wipe them all out.

How can we have a coronation without the royal seal?

Oh, what a disaster!

What have you been doing, my brother?

How can you be so useless?

What is it?

So?

For now, it is not easy to attack due to mysterious stinging smoke.

Since we must proceed with the coronation,

I ordered soldiers to be sent to each gate to stop the attacks.

"Ruckus in the east, attack on the west."

What is wrong?

A TYPE OF DISTRACTION TACTIC

It is nothing.

I will go find the royal seal myself.

Summon the soldiers back to the palace now.

-What? -Did you not hear me?

Understood.

INJEONGJEON HALL

It's so empty.

They are doing well outside.

It came to this in the end.

Are you nervous?

I am nervous, but my heart…

is swelling with hope.

Yes.

It feels like I'm about to fight a final boss in a game.

You are right. Final boss.

I curse if I die without beating the final boss.

Because I have to start over.

But we have only one chance.

I'm nervous.

Shall we?

He got him.

My Queen.

I'm okay.

I was just startled by the sound.

It doesn't hurt at all.

My Queen!

My Queen!

My Queen, do not move!

We have to stop the coronation.

You come before the coronation!

We must treat your wound.

My King…

Am I about to go back?

No…

Why does it have to be now?

Please…

I need to see if he survives first.

I need to see if he's all right first.

My body?

Am I back?

What about Cheoljong?

No, I must save him.

But how can I…

That was 200 years ago.

VIP WARD

Wait, Jang Bong-hwan?

Mr. Jang Bong-hwan!

Are you the patient, Jang Bong-hwan?

You shouldn't run suddenly like that!

Mr. Jang Bong-hwan!

-Mr. Jang Bong-hwan! -Hey, after him!

Mr. Jang Bong-hwan!

-Jang Bong-hwan, stop! -Stop him!

Stop him!

Goodness, please…

Seriously…

It's good to be young.

Wasn't he in a vegetative state for a few months?

DAEHAN BOOKSTORE

Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty.

Please don't die.

You can't die like this.

THE 25TH KING: VERITABLE RECORDS OF KING CHEOLJO

He is gone.

That man has disappeared.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

You cannot die like this.

Please wake up, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

My Queen, are you all right?

I am fine, Your Majesty.

You are losing too much blood.

Since it hurts like death,

it must mean I am not about to die.

These bulletproof vests saved both of us.

Thank you.

What do you think you are doing?

How can a King team up with the Donghak Bandits?

So I guess

I still am the King to you.

You should have just stayed quiet.

It would have been better for everyone

if you were content with the position given to you

and had stayed quiet.

I am…

the family of those you killed.

I am

the King of the subjects that you trampled on!

I can never stay quiet.

You look like you are out of breath.

So much that you cannot dodge my sword!

Your Majesty…

My baby, please…

Please…

Kill me.

Live.

Your punishment…

is to live in indignity.

If you attempt suicide,

I will do everything I can to save your life.

No matter how badly your body is injured or disfigured,

I will leave you breathing at least.

You will learn how it feels

to be alive…

as nothing but a hollow shell.

Too bad.

Your specialty is to hide among the people,

but due to the restriction order, there isn't anyone around.

You have nowhere to hide now.

My Queen.

Go and conclude your fight, Your Majesty.

No.

Nothing is more important than you, my Queen.

Do not worry.

I promise I will overcome it too.

Your Majesty.

I will take Her Majesty.

You must go.

We must hurry before something else happens.

Go on.

I will be back soon.

Yes.

Your Majesty.

Are you all right?

You must find a way!

How can all of you be so useless?

Show your dignity as the King.

I am scared, Your Royal Highness.

Keep your position!

You should step down.

Your Royal Highness.

I came to salute you.

DAEJOJEON HALL

His Majesty the King is here!

My Queen!

She is unconscious.

What is it?

She is showing signs of miscarriage.

She is experiencing metrorrhagia.

If it does not stop, Her Majesty and the royal baby…

will both be in danger.

Then why are you pulling the needles out?

She is in a state where acupuncture does not work for her.

We can only wait until both of them overcome it.

Tonight will be a crucial moment for them.

Your Majesty!

-Your Majesty! -Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, forgive me for saying this,

but you must wait outside so the treatment can continue.

Your Majesty, please step outside.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

How is it that there is nothing I can do about this?

My Queen.

Both of them are all right.

Your Majesty.

Now, everyone in my world…

is all safe.

Your Majesty.

It is all over now.

I did not expect the King to end up like this.

Your Royal Highness!

How undignified of you! How dare you shout!

There is a King's order to take you to the West Palace.

What?

Is he daring to confine me in the West Palace?

Just what does he take me for?

What are you doing? Open the door!

The door is not opening, Your Royal Highness.

Open the door this instant!

Her Majesty the Queen is here.

Open the door.

I heard you were at death's door, but you seem fine.

It is all thanks to you, Your Royal Highness.

Where do you think you are going?

Do I have to tell the Queen everything I do?

We decided to have you move to the West Palace.

Until then, you must only stay here in Tongmyeongjeon Hall,

and you must not go outside.

Are you saying you dare to confine me here?

How ridiculous.

Move!

That cannot be done.

I said, move!

Your Royal Highness.

Even if you die,

you must die in here.

Lady-in-waiting Jeon, don't just stand there!

Yes, Your Royal Highness!

How dare all of you do this!

Your era is over.

I am now the leader of the Ladies of the Royal Palace.

I am the leader!

I am still here, so it is mine!

From now on, everything will change.

Especially the rules and etiquette you have made and maintained.

They have been accumulated for centuries and millennia!

Do you think they will collapse that easily?

They are already collapsing.

The change you have always feared

has already begun.

Fuck, that felt so good!

Oh, my!

Lady-in-waiting Choi. What did I just say?

"Fuck, that felt so good!"

That is what you just said.

Perhaps he made me realize my hidden nature.

It feels so refreshing.

I cannot stop myself. Shit.

My goodness.

Bullshit.

That feels good!

Fuck it!

Bullcrap!

Fuck.

What are you doing here?

"Queen Dowager Jo, a criminal,

spread false rumors to frame the Queen

and instigated doubt about the bloodline of the royal baby,

thus defaming the honor of the royal family."

"She is guilty of inciting chaos in the country."

"I order her to be incarcerated in the West Palace."

I see I am being slandered again.

I have never done such a thing.

Are you sure

that is true?

I swear upon the honor of the late King that I never did such a thing.

You may enter.

"The criminals listed below will have their wealth seized,

be whipped 100 times, and be sent as public slaves on Jeju Island,

but their wives and children will not be punished."

"Former Chief State Councilor, Kim Byung-hak,

Former Right State Councilor, Jo Man-hong,

Former Left State Councilor, Kim Seok-geun,

Former Minister of War, Kim Chang-hyup,

Former Royal Chief Secretary, Kim So-heun,

Former Minister of Personnel, Jo Deok-mun,

as well as other criminals in this letter, will be spared from execution."

"They will have their wealth seized, and be sentenced to three years."

-We are innocent, Your Majesty! -We are innocent, Your Majesty!

We only did so because we were threatened by Kim Byung-in,

who plotted treason himself.

We swear

we never wanted to plot treason.

Please take it into consideration, Your Majesty!

That is right, Your Majesty.

The only crime I committed is

my foolishness of believing the false story

that you were killed by the Donghak Bandits.

Is that so?

Then let me list other crimes you have committed.

Currently in Joseon,

those who are most guilty are the ones with full stomachs.

Is there anyone hungry among all of you?

You fattened up your bellies with the blood of the subjects.

You forgot that

you must govern the country to lead and look after the subjects,

and you put the subjects under your feet and trampled on them!

You forced them to farm in rocky mountains which even pickaxes cannot get through

and collected even more taxes as a result.

When you were all lying in your warm rooms rubbing your full bellies,

the people lay on cold floors, staying up worrying about food for tomorrow.

"How can I fill my stomach more? How can I be in a higher place?"

"How can I become greater?" When you obsessed over these,

the people, who were struggling to even breathe,

could not dare to dream of a future

and had to survive in the hellish present.

Your first crime is

only caring about your lives and not about the lives of the people.

Your second crime is

making the present hell, so they cannot dream of a future.

And your third crime is

making men who could not protect their families

and the men who could not protect the country miserable!

If any of you here are not guilty of these crimes,

come forward.

Keep those sins deep in your heart

and repent.

You are all nothing

but a band of shameless bandits.

Your Majesty…

-Darn it! -He's the one!

-He deserves to be beaten to death! -Damn you!

-You bastard! -He deserves death!

Hey, you bastard!

Leave that here.

But it is something you always used.

It is true that you will be stuck in the West Palace and not see anyone,

but still…

Gosh…

Lady-in-waiting Jeon, the reason I kept you by my side

was that you always carelessly speak your mind.

It means you are incapable of harboring a different thought.

Very well.

I am sure there are many different ways for people to live.

Your Royal Highness…

Why are you not getting angry, as you always did?

You really are clueless until the very end.

Why are you crying,

when I am holding it in?

Your Royal Highness…

I will survive.

Because surviving is winning.

Hold my hand until you get out safely.

-What kind of trick is this? -If you have the memories,

that means So-yong is still inside you.

Byung-in, you found me again.

When I was hiding deep within.

-Forgive us, Your Majesty! -Forgive us, Your Majesty!

I love the sound of your laughter.

-Forgive us, Your Majesty! -Forgive us, Your Majesty!

You have changed a lot, Your Majesty.

I was not myself for a while after the royal wedding, right?

Consider it something…

that happened because becoming the Queen was too much for me to bear.

You have also changed a lot compared to before the royal wedding, Your Majesty.

I thought the only choice I could make for myself…

was death at the time.

CHUNDANGJI LAKE

I STAYED HERE FOR NOTHING JANG BONG-HWAN

Did you go back safely?

Your Majesty!

-Father! -No!

You are with child! Please stay where you are.

I will come to you!

-How is your health? -How is your health?

You may speak first, Father.

No. You first, Your Majesty.

-I am fine. -I am fine.

I hope you had no trouble.

Not at all. I was saved, thanks to you.

Do you remember how the aristocrats trembled in fear of the mutinous soldiers

who came into Hanyang on coronation day?

The villagers stepped up and protected my house that day,

saying it is a virtuous family that helped and shared what was in its storage.

I was embarrassed and felt bad when they told me that,

as I was only doing what you told me to.

It is not too late to be virtuous.

Of course.

I must become a grandfather whom our dear royal baby can be proud of.

Oh, my! I felt my baby move.

A fetal movement already?

My grandchild must be a genius!

Is the aroma of green onions too strong?

What are you making?

I am trying to mimic the secret recipe

of samhyangramyeon Her Majesty cooked before.

Then,

let me eat some instant noodles before I go.

I will cook it quickly.

I thought I'd have some free time when peace comes,

but I'm busier than before.

No one's here.

Captain Hong!

I'm busy. Let's gamble later.

I quit gambling.

You did?

I made a great achievement this time,

so His Majesty is going to appoint me to a position.

So…

I'm still Captain Hong.

Did you ask him to appoint you Chief State Councilor?

That object makes you hideous. What is it?

You really don't know about the latest trends.

I applied to be a diplomat of the Office of Interpreters.

Joseon is too small for someone as talented as myself.

Congratulations on quitting gambling.

What about becoming a diplomat?

Wandering around with blistered feet isn't worth congratulating.

By the way,

I still can’t believe that Lee Saeng-mang is Her Majesty.

I can't believe that you weren't able to recognize her.

Doo-il, are you still not done?

You are here too.

Yes, long time no see, Jong-cheol…

If Lee Saeng-mang is Her Majesty, then that must mean…

you are a woman, Jong-cheol.

You truly have a good hunch, Kim Hwan!

I heard you were appointed to a position this time.

I was appointed by His Majesty!

Good grief.

Sam-wol, you go inside first.

Yes.

What brings you here?

The weather is cold today. Did you wait for a long time?

No. I just got here…

What is wrong?

It was a cramp.

Have things been going well?

Yes.

His Majesty is doing well.

No.

I was asking you, Prince Yeongpyeong.

I am…

The Office of Reformation of the Three Administrations has now settled down.

Thanks to that, I'm dying from the workload.

So what is next, Your Majesty?

I am planning

to distribute power to all of the people.

So their power combined can be greater than mine,

So the corrupt cannot get out of control again.

I am sure that is the end of this tiresome fight…

and the amazing journey.

It just sounds like we'll be even busier. We should hurry and get off work.

Good grief.

Just go. We're going to read it tomorrow morning anyway…

I really don't understand you.

At least organize things…

-Good night. -All right.

Doo-il…

You should organize…

Doo-il!

He really is just…

THE DICTIONARY OF THE QUEEN'S LANGUAGE

Did I lose something?

From time to time, I feel…

You did it! You finally did it!

VERITABLE RECORDS OF KING CHEOLJO

THE 25TH KING: VERITABLE RECORDS OF KING CHEOLJO

My Queen.

Was it not funny?

Mr. Jang Bong-hwan!

Darn it!

Don't come any closer!

I have to find that bastard Chief Presidential Secretary Han first.

No, would it be quicker to tip off the press?

Why are you running away after doing something good?

Something good?

But why are you monitoring someone who did something good?

We're not monitoring. We're protecting a whistleblower.

-Whistleblower? -You know.

The security camera in the food ingredients storage.

The one you fixed secretly.

Me?

Wait.

Do you manage the security camera?

It's suspicious how often it breaks.

I have to catch the thief.

Why did you do something unnecessary?

That's not like you.

So it's true. You should've talked to me earlier.

I did it already.

-What? -I gave the security camera footage

to the press, for free.

How unlike of me.

That's a lie. A total lie.

Of course it is.

The Jang Bong-hwan I know

isn't a man of justice.

He'd make a deal with me before he tips off the press.

Aren't I right?

You're right.

That's how I am.

But…

I changed.

Really?

Why?

I don't know. I just wanted to do that.

You bastard!

Chef Bu!

Chef Bu!

Cheoljong succeeded in changing his fate,

and I changed too.

But why didn't the Chief Presidential Secretary change?

BOOK SEARCH

CHEOLJO

Is it because the world didn't change?

Did only Cheoljong and I change?

CHEOLJO'S GENTLE CHARISMA CHANGES JOSEON

NOBLESSE OBLIGE OF KING CHEOLJO AND QUEEN CHEORIN

WHO LED REFORM ON THE SIDE OF THE PEOPLE

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF KING CHEOLJO AND QUEEN CHEORIN

GATE-OPENING POLICY LED BY QUEEN CHEORIN

KING CHEOLJO BUILT THE BASIS OF DEMOCRACY IN REPUBLIC OF KOREA

-A comment, please. -Please say something!

-Over here! -Just a comment, please!

Do you admit it? Please say something!

-Is it all true? -Who's behind you?

-Is it true? -A word, please!

CHIEF OF STAFF HAN PYO-JIN'S YEARS OF CORRUPTION REVEALED

Even if history changes,

those rotten bastards committing acts of corruption

tend to survive somehow.

But perhaps a good world isn't about not being rotten,

but about being able to cut out the rotten parts of it.

If you try hard to change your life,

the world changes along with it.

Like me and Cheoljong.

Your Majesty.

-What? -You should turn it…

Your Majesty, is it hard to focus?

I cannot focus because the Queen's face is lingering in my head.

This will not do.

I need to go see the Queen in order to focus.

Next.

I allow the women of the Ladies of the Royal Palace

aged 18 and above to get married.

And I prohibit those who are aged 10 or younger

to the Ladies of the Royal Palace.

And…

What comes next, Your Majesty?

Your Majesty?

I'm sorry, Lady-in-waiting Choi.

You have not been able to focus for a while.

It has not been long since you saw His Majesty.

It is not me. It is my baby.

Why not go to see him for a moment,

for prenatal education?

I know, right?

Your Majesty.

Her Majesty has gone to Seonjeongjeon Hall.

Good grief. We missed each other.

-His Majesty went to Daejojeon Hall? -Yes.

Wait for us, Your Majesty.

Is she that excited? Good grief.

Oh, no. We missed each other, again.

Good grief. Are we playing hide-and-seek or something?

This will not do.

At times like this…

We finally met.

We…

missed each other so many times.

That short moment felt like forever.

By the way,

why are you using honorifics these days?

Are you trying to surprise me again?

ALL CHARACTERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND EVENTS IN THIS DRAMA ARE FICTITIOUS,

AND ARE UNRELATED TO HISTORICAL FACTS

THANKS TO CHOI JIN-HYUK FOR HIS SPECIAL APPEARANCE