Original subtitles

Watch where you are going!

I have committed a mortal sin.

Let us hurry, Your Imperial Majesty.

Lift your head now.

I told you to lift your head.

Did you not hear His Imperial Majesty?

You...

You are...

You look...

so much like someone I used to know.

Let me ask you something.

-Are you... -Your Imperial Majesty.

I am sorry I am late.

I just got here.

Prepare some more tea.

This is my chance.

By the way,

why did you want us to meet here?

There is something interesting I want to show you.

Something interesting?

Let us go in.

Introduce yourself.

PARK FROM GORYEO

My name is Eo-jin.

Your Highness.

Her dance skills

are said to be amazing.

I brought you here so that you can relax a little.

Soldiers who were instructed by the King of Goryeo

rose up in revolt and tried to murder me.

That is a lie.

How could you tell a lie?

Ki Ja-oh swung his sword at me.

Shut your mouth!

Father!

No, Father.

No!

No!

When I get arrested after killing the Emperor,

Dang Gise will definitely come to see me.

Then I will kill him

and...

kill myself too.

The only people in the room are the Chief Eunuch, Empress Dowager,

Court Lady Park,

and the Emperor.

But he is being guarded by masters of martial arts.

To avoid interruption from them...

I must stab...

right into his vital point.

That is enough.

What do you think, Your Imperial Majesty?

Is she not beautiful?

I am leaving.

You have to sleep here tonight.

That girl has a high chance of getting pregnant today.

-You need a son-- -Please stop.

I do not want to hear any more.

Do you not realize that this is for the Imperial House?

For the Imperial House?

I thought you would be different from the Grand Councillor.

But you are looking down on me just like he is.

You are no different from him!

Your Imperial Majesty!

Your Imperial Majesty!

I cannot give up like this.

Get this girl ready

and bring her to His Imperial Majesty's bedroom.

Your Highness.

What do you think will happen

if the Grand Councillor and the Empress find out what happened today?

This is a chance that may never come again.

It has to be tonight.

Do you understand?

Yes, Your Highness.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your hair is so smooth.

You are beautiful.

You do not have to remind me.

You are especially glowing tonight.

I agree.

Should I

ask His Imperial Majesty to come over?

It is okay. I want to go to bed now.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Are you not worried

that His Imperial Majesty will become interested in another woman?

What are you talking about?

Do you think

there is a girl who is prettier than me in this Palace?

No, there is not. However, men--

Men would lose their interest in women they can easily win over.

If you make yourself cheap,

no one will recognize your worth.

-Your Imperial Majesty, still-- -Why are you so impatient?

Give him some time.

Soon, you will get to see

His Imperial Majesty desperately begging to see me.

Your name is Yang?

Yes.

Please help me a lot from now on.

It is so lonely to be away from home.

As we are both from Goryeo,

we should rely on each other.

There is not much time.

Is she ready?

Yes, sir.

What are you doing right now?

Please forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty.

Get out.

-Your Imperial Majesty. -Did you not hear me? Get out right now!

Spend the night with her.

You can punish me

for insulting you if you want.

Empress Dowager.

I cannot stand

seeing you being the Grand Councillor's puppet anymore.

I have a plan.

Even if you do not do this--

You have to have a son

with a concubine not the Empress

if you wish to go up against Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

Your Highness!

Think of your late father

and brother.

I am a mere subject of Your Imperial Majesty after all.

You can have me beheaded right here if you want.

I am risking my life out of loyalty to you.

Please do not turn away from it.

Eo-jin, what are you waiting for?

Serve and please His Imperial Majesty.

Hurry up and lead the way.

There is no reason to rush.

Once the Emperor starts to visit his concubine,

it will be easier for me to find a chance to kill him.

I will make sure I come back alive for you.

The same goes for you. Stay alive for me.

Your Majesty.

This is an order from the King. Do you understand?

Your Majesty.

Please forgive my foolishness.

This flag symbolizes your troop.

Only the winner of this match

can have it.

Start.

WESTERN FRONTIER OF THE YUAN DYNASTY

-Your Majesty! -Your Majesty!

You should surrender!

-Your Majesty! -Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Seung-nyang.

Your Majesty.

Did you forget your promise?

Do not give up.

I will survive by all means

and see you again.

Open your eyes wide

and get back up again.

You...

are my only hope.

Get up!

Smash the head of that bastard!

Your Majesty!

This is a sword fight.

You cannot win the fight by cheating.

Cheating?

Surrender.

You lose!

Shut up!

-Look at that! -What happened?

You scumbag!

Look at this, everyone.

Yeom Byeong-su's wooden sword

has metal in it.

-What? -Really?

That scum.

I am not the one

who is cheating.

It is Yeom Byeong-su!

Kill Yeom Byeong-su!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

Shut up!

You are dying to kill me,

are you not?

Too bad.

I am about to surrender.

Look, I lose.

I surrender.

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

-Kill him! -Kill him!

You little vermin.

Give me the weapons as promised.

Give him the weapons.

Do not get the wrong idea.

I did not fight for you all.

There is a reason

why I must survive.

So

I was just trying to protect myself.

Nothing...

is going to change

just because I am in command.

We still do not have enough weapons, and we will still starve.

However,

I will fight to survive.

I will win this battle

to go back alive.

We have no one else

who will protect us.

We have

nothing to lose.

Thus, we have nothing to fear.

This is hell.

Follow me if you are determined to escape from this hell.

Cowards,

weaklings,

and whiners

are not needed here.

We will follow you!

We are ready to go through this hell!

We will obey your command at all times!

Please let us follow you!

-Let us follow you! -Let us follow you!

-Let us follow you! -Let us follow you!

-Let us follow you! -Let us follow you!

-Let us follow you! -Let us follow you!

-Let us follow you! -Let us follow you!

Do you want to join the labor army?

I will wait for the right time...

to kill the dethroned king with my own hands.

You might get killed.

The weak Yeom Byeong-su

died in the match.

After the match,

I have become a new person.

All right.

I will support you.

I appreciate it,

General Tapjahae.

Are these all the weapons we were given?

Is this a joke?

We need more weapons even when we go pheasant hunting.

Those scums!

Do they expect us to fight a war with these weapons?

Why do you complain so much?

How dare you show up here?

Watch your mouth!

He is your deputy commander from now on.

That little...

General Baekan

has ordered us to take the front line of every battle.

If we take the front line with these weapons,

we will not be able to survive.

Are you telling us to become human shields?

How can a commander be in such low spirits?

It is a warrior's duty to follow commands.

Follow the command and stand in the vanguard.

-The Dolgwol are here! -What's happening?

Enemies are here!

That is Batoreu, the leader of the Dolgwol.

Batoreu?

Why is he wearing that weird mask?

Rumor has it that his whole face is covered with sword scars.

He must be brutal.

For a general, every sword scar is like a medal.

He will not be an easy opponent.

-Choi Eon-nyeon. -Yes, sir.

Your task today is to clean the kitchen.

Make sure to clean it thoroughly.

Yes, sir.

-Lee Hong-dan. -Yes, sir.

Clean Her Highness's room with Han Hui.

Yes, sir.

Ki Yang.

Yes, sir.

Your task

is to wash the blanket covers.

Yes, sir.

Yang,

did you hear the rumor?

I heard someone had been blessed by His Imperial Majesty.

I am not interested.

I heard she was one of the tribute women.

Whoever she is, her life will become so much easier.

We do not know

whether her life will become easier or harder.

What are you talking about?

Even people outside the Palace are saying

you were turned down on your wedding night.

They will soon hear that I have His Imperial Majesty under my thumb.

Do not be so confident.

You need a son--

You do not need to worry.

If I wanted to,

I could have His Imperial Majesty under my thumb at this very moment.

Something feels off in the Palace.

What do you mean?

I think they are talking about you.

Bring all of them to me.

You were talking about Her Imperial Majesty.

Am I wrong?

Tell us the truth.

What were you talking about?

-Well... -Tell the truth right now!

Your Imperial Majesty, please spare our lives!

She will if you tell the truth.

Rumor has it...

that someone spent a night with His Imperial Majesty.

-What? -Someone spent a night

with His Imperial Majesty?

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

-Who is the girl? -All I know is...

that she is from Goryeo.

Summon every girl from Goryeo.

Has the Empress already found out?

Every girl from Goryeo,

including the maids, was summoned this morning.

Did I not tell you to be careful?

Should we not let His Imperial Majesty know?

Even if I do, I will not be able to protect Eo-jin.

This is such a shame.

You must be the one.

Take this girl out of the Palace...

No.

Take her out and behead her.

Your Imperial Majesty.

-May I ask what this is regarding? -Shut up!

How dare a mere chief eunuch question my order?

What are you all waiting for?

Take her out of Palace right now!

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

What is going on?

What are you so upset about?

I bet you know better

than anyone else here

since you are the one who is behind all this.

Let her go.

-Take her. -I said, let her go.

-I said, take her. -Your Imperial Majesty!

What do you think will happen

if my father finds out about this?

He is not going to stop

at getting rid of that girl.

Get her out of my sight right now!

Please...

Do you have pregnancy symptoms?

I think I do.

Get your hands off her.

She is pregnant with His Imperial Majesty's child.

Even the Empress

can be accused of treason if she harms this girl.

Take her to my room.

Welcome, Grand Councillor. Have...

Is there something wrong?

You want to have a child

with a court lady?

Your Imperial Majesty.

YEONCHEOL, GRAND COUNCILLOR

Do not tell me you already forgot what you promised me in Goryeo.

Please spare my life, Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

I will turn a blind eye to everything if you ask me to.

I will not make any decision myself if you ask me to.

If you tell me not to do anything, I will do nothing.

If you tell me to be a puppet,

I will be a puppet.

Please...

I ask of you not to throw me out.

Grand Councillor.

-How could I forget? -If that is not the case,

you must be looking down on me.

That is absurd!

It is much harder

to keep the throne than to ascend it.

When you lose it, you lose your golden crown along with your head.

Do you understand?

-Of course, I do. -I am old.

My days are numbered.

That means death does not scare me at all.

In other words, I fear nothing.

I will get rid of whoever gets on my nerves.

That is called senility.

Do you really want to see me go senile?

I...

I am sorry, Grand Councillor.

It is all my fault.

I apologize.

If anyone makes Empress Tanashilli cry,

there will be bloodshed in this Palace.

Mark my words,

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty, please do not do this.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Where are you going in such a hurry?

-I do not know. -You do not know?

I feel suffocated! I cannot stand it anymore!

-Your Imperial Majesty. -My chest feels tight.

I want to be somewhere I can take a load off my mind.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Your Imperial Majesty!

That is the girl who looks like Seung-nyang.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Your Imperial Majesty.

Too late.

Your Imperial Majesty, please let us accompany you.

Have this girl

prepare some tea.

Look at me.

Look left.

Look right.

Do you happen to have a brother named Seung-nyang back home?

No, I do not.

He...

had a face even prettier than yours.

But contrary to his feminine appearance,

he was actually very strong and brave.

He was an excellent archer and horseman.

We just hit it off.

This is a heaven-sent opportunity.

Stop.

I told you not to move.

Do you use this as a hairpin?

Throw it away.

Even a maid deserves something better than that.

You can have it.

I am giving you this because you remind me of that guy so much.

What are you waiting for?

Your Imperial Majesty.

What brings you here?

How dare a mere maid like you come face-to-face with His Imperial Majesty?

What are you doing right now?

Let me teach you a lesson.

Stop it!

Was spending the night

with a court lady not enough? How can you take an interest in a mere maid?

What is it?

Are you planning to spend a night with every girl in the Palace?

You are out of line.

How could you humiliate me like this?

I will tell my father everything.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Archers, charge!

Shoot!

Retreat!

Everyone, retreat into the mountains!

What are they doing?

They are retreating after pretending to attack just like before.

It has been going on for five days.

I cannot stand it anymore.

Open the gate!

Everyone, retreat into the mountains!

I do not understand them.

Every night, they make a fuss only to run away when our attack begins.

You really do not understand?

They must have realized the presence of General Yeom Byeong-su.

"General"?

Who says you are a damn general?

But...

they take a different route when they retreat.

They are trying to hide where their base is.

We have not even found their base yet.

That is why we are struggling in this war.

They know us, but we do not know them.

Chase them!

We cannot go any further.

I will cut off Batoreu's head tonight by all means.

Chase them all the way!

-No, we cannot! -What are you talking about?

They know the terrain like the back of their hands.

It will be impossible to get them, and if they ambush us,

we will all be killed.

It has already been five days.

They must all be laughing at me by now.

Batoreu...

is mocking me right now.

Please give the order to stop the chase

and retreat.

Damn!

As expected, they are all taking a nap.

A raid during the day?

Your Majesty.

How many casualties?

More than 100 soldiers got injured.

Those scums!

This must have been what all the fuss was about.

This must not be the end.

They showed us they can attack during the day too.

What could be their goal?

Their strategy is to keep us awake.

From now on, we will have to stay alert 24 hours a day.

Are you saying they raid us day and night

to affect our fighting power negatively?

Have you heard anything from our spies yet?

Spies?

We have sent out spies to find the enemy base.

Once we find it...

We might have

a chance to win.

We must take back the control over the Silk Road from them.

We must hold out until then.

We cannot let Baekan seize access to the Silk Road.

For our future,

we must be the ones who has control over it.

That is why I decided to command the labor army.

Are you thinking of joining hands with the Dolgwol?

We cannot wait any longer.

Is it time to make a move?

By the way, I am wondering if that general named Batoreu ever sleep.

Exactly.

He shows up day and night.

He is always wearing a mask.

We are back, General.

Our strategy was a huge success.

They have no idea what we are going for.

They will keep a watch around the clock from now on.

Come.

-Are these the guys? -Yes.

We have carefully selected these men among our soldiers.

He used to be in a scouting unit.

As an experienced spy, he is excellent at analyzing terrains.

He was a famous carpenter in Goryeo.

He is second to none when it comes to carpentry.

He used to hunt.

He usually goes on a stakeout and sets up traps.

He has caught more than 100 tigers.

We should

get ready to fight the Dolgwol.

Bang Sin-u's task

is to map the mountains where the enemies retreat to.

Include every single trail, stream, and rock.

Mu-song's task

is to make weapons using wood and stone.

We need secret weapons

-to make up for our insufficient arms. -Hurry up!

Jeom-bak's task is to set up the secret weapons in the mountains.

It is just like tiger hunting.

Predict the enemy's route

and set up traps at the right spots.

Park Bul-hwa's task is to train the soldiers how to fight with a sword.

-Louder! -Although we do not have many soldiers,

we will train them into the finest warriors.

The deposed king shouldn't get a chance to make a contribution.

You do not have to worry, General.

In the end,

he will be killed by me.

That is the contribution I will make.

Yeom Byeong-su,

I will not let you have your way.

PAVILION OF WOMEN: CONCUBINES AND COURT LADIES' RESIDENCE

I am going to...

stop blaming you.

So do not blame me

after you die.

This is our fate.

Follow me quietly.

I heard about you from the other tribute women.

While pretending to be a man,

you saved the deposed king's life?

I am not interested in your story.

Everyone who was taken here from Goryeo

has their own heartbreaking story.

However,

if you murder His Imperial Majesty,

every person from Goryeo in this Palace

will be killed.

No matter what their position in this Palace is,

as long as they are from Goryeo,

they will all be brutally killed.

That would surely happen here.

This is...

a harsh place

where you can expect no mercy.

I also wanted to kill

those who made me end up here.

However,

that is not how you take revenge.

Survive by all means.

We have to survive

and rise above the scums who did this to us.

That is the best revenge.

I will let you get away this one time.

But if you act up again,

I will be the person who reports you.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Did you forget that you are a general of Goryeo?

What is a general's duty?

It is to protect the people.

Then...

how can I get my parents' revenge?

That is just your personal feelings.

Put them aside for the great cause.

What is the great cause?

My enemies are right in front of my eyes.

I cannot wait any longer.

I am going to kill them to avenge my parents.

Are you sure...

you can turn a blind eye to the killing of Goryeo people?

I do not care.

Some of them are your friends.

I do not have any friends.

You are deceiving yourself.

You are wrong.

Even if they all get killed,

I will not bat an eyelid.

Taking revenge...

is the only thing that matters to me now.

You cannot do that, Seung-nyang.

Why do you say that?

My heart...

It has been broken into pieces. Can you really not understand me?

Seung-nyang.

I am disappointed.

I am disappointed in everyone.

Seung-nyang.

Please stay.

I missed you.

I have missed you immensely.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty!

Why are you sweating so much?

You are burning up.

I am okay.

No, you are not.

Lie down.

Let me get some cold water.

I am really okay.

Do you know

when you feel the saddest here?

It is when you are sick.

When you are sick,

you are reminded of

all the people you miss.

You should

take good care of yourself.

Give me just a second, okay?

Are they here?

Batoreu,

your head

will be mine tonight.

Your Majesty.

Did you see that?

It hit the target right in the center.

It sure did, Your Imperial Majesty.

Seung-nyang would have been so happy to see it.

Your Imperial Majesty, the tea is ready.

Even though Seung-nyang is not here, I at least have you.

Stay still for a moment.

Your Majesty,

I cannot even kill that scum.

What should I do now?

I miss you, Your Majesty.

Look carefully. I will show you what a great archer I am.

I shall straighten my bow arm

and put pressure on it as if I am pushing the mountains.

I shall pull my arrow back as if I am pulling a tiger's tail.

How strange.

I was hitting the mark just fine until a moment ago.

Let me try again.

As if I am pushing the mountains...

As if I am pulling a tiger's tail...

Your Imperial Majesty, you must be getting tired.

Did you just...

laugh at me?

It has been a long time.

It is all your fault.

Since you showed up, I have been--

Your Majesty.

"Your Majesty"?

What are you saying?

-What does that one say? -Do you want to be the ruler now?

What is my role in this palace?

Why am I even living?

Tonight, your head will be mine.

The deposed king must have been ambushed in the enemy base.

Eager to make a contribution, he marched into the enemy base.

Even if the deposed king survives, he will be killed by Yeom Byeong-su.

It is impossible. Seung-nyang is a guy.

Seung-nyang.

I do not like her.

If she seduces His Imperial Majesty...

Deliver this to the Commander of the Kheshig secretly.

Do you know what this letter says?

Kill the person who delivers this letter.

Subtitle translation by Min-jin Kim