Original subtitles

Why are you standing there?

Go back to where you belong right now.

His Imperial Majesty's eyes are filled with ferociousness like a beast.

Good thing I brought Wang Yu.

I cannot believe he is getting jealous over me now.

I am about to give you an imperial order.

If you disobey me,

I will behead you.

You are never to speak to Wang Yu.

Do not even look at him.

Do not even smile at him.

And never...

cry because of him in front of me.

Why are you doing this?

Are you complaining about an imperial order?

His Majesty was only--

Do not even mention him in front of me!

I can no longer stand hearing you addressing him as "His Majesty."

You may leave.

Follow me.

Will you

come back to Goryeo with me?

Come with me, Seung-nyang.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I will come with you.

With Your Majesty,

I shall go back.

It will be a difficult path ahead.

I am ready to face it.

I do not even know when that time will come.

Whether it be tens of thousands of years,

I will wait.

Promise me one thing.

Do not try to help me.

Seeing you in danger is...

a pain that is...

worse than death.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I will do as you say.

Should I not have sent her?

I should have had her read to me.

What is the matter, Your Imperial Majesty?

It is a rat. Kill it.

Catch it.

Goodness.

You are just catching a rat. What are the swords for?

Sheathe your swords.

Gosh.

Yang could protect me better than you could.

Get out.

I said get out.

Are you here to see Her Highness?

Yes.

It appears that she wants to discuss my marriage again.

Her Highness is so persistent.

You clearly do not want to get married.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Be careful!

-Why are there rats? -What?

Go away!

-Oh, my! -My goodness!

-Come this way, Your Imperial Majesty. -Oh, my.

Your Imperial Majesty.

You can let go of me now.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Thank you, Wang Yu.

Why are there so many rats in the Palace?

I have never seen rats running around in such a large number like that.

Anyway, I owe you for helping me, Wang Yu.

I will get going now.

Did I seem

unsightly earlier?

Of course.

Of course not, Your Imperial Majesty.

What is with all this ruckus?

Rats. There are rats everywhere.

What? Rats?

You have a lot to learn.

You do not read the entire situation.

Grand Councillor, there is trouble.

What now?

There are rats all over the Palace.

What? Rats?

You fool. You act as if enemies were invading the Palace.

A few rats show up, and you call that trouble?

It is not just a few rats.

There are hundreds of them.

Hundreds of rats?

How could you let this happen?

My apologies, Your Highness.

No matter how many we catch,

there are still just too many rats.

That is not all.

There was even a rat

on His Imperial Majesty's bed this morning.

It is so strange that rats are suddenly popping up.

Pardon my saying so,

but there are some strange rumors

going around the Palace.

Strange rumors?

They are saying that it has something to do with

Emperor Myeongjong's curse.

Emperor Myeongjong's curse?

Why did I take off my shirt in the cold?

As for people like us,

we do not feel hungry or cold.

Why, you ask?

Because we cultivate ourselves spiritually.

-Spiritually? -We cultivate ourselves spiritually.

Today, let us discuss our nation.

-Oh, my. -That startled me.

Think about the 12 Chinese zodiac signs

and the ten heavenly stems.

What is the first Chinese zodiac sign?

It is the rat.

Then what kind of animal is the rat?

It is the first animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

Why is that?

When there is a natural disaster,

rats are the very first animals to sense it and run away.

-I see. -That is right. How smart of you.

But why are rats going rampant

only in the Palace,

where the Emperor resides?

-The Palace... -Why is that?

Could this be related to Emperor Myeongjong's curse?

Keep it down.

The heavens are angry.

This is a very bad omen.

Oh, no. What do we do?

I heard that in Hwanam a bunch of wild dogs showed up

and ripped the village people to shreds.

Near the Yangtze River, where my in-laws live,

a huge dragon fell to its death.

-A dead dragon? -A dead dragon!

A dead dragon? There you have it.

What does a dragon symbolize?

It symbolizes the Emperor!

-No way. -Wait a minute.

Then that means the Grand Councillor killed Emperor Myeongjong.

Gosh.

So to sum it up,

the Grand Councillor killed Emperor Myeongjong.

The heavens are angry,

so dogs and rats are running rampant.

What can we do?

-What should we do? -What now?

We must pray.

Hear our prayers, merciful Buddha.

-Hear our prayers! -Hear our prayers!

Discreetly let people know of this.

-We must do it. -We need to tell people.

Hear our prayers, merciful Buddha.

Hear our prayers, merciful Buddha.

If there is one thing to praise Eunuch Bang for, it is his way with words.

The people's fear has turned the baseless rumors into truth.

-Hear our prayers. -Hear our prayers.

How are things looking?

Word is spreading that rats are running around the Palace.

Wherever I go, all they are talking about is Emperor Myeongjong's curse.

Apprehension will turn into resentment,

and resentment will turn into

fury very soon.

The people's fury will be

directed at Yeoncheol.

All of these are ridiculous complaints.

Today,

there are no appeals to place the imperial seal on.

I have heard the talk.

I heard my father's curse is falling upon us,

and strange things are happening all over--

Who told you this nonsense, Your Imperial Majesty?

I have my own eyes and ears.

As does a corpse.

Have you forgotten

that I told you to live as if you are dead?

Are you afraid?

What did you say?

Why is it that you, Grand Councillor,

fear my father's curse?

Your Imperial Majesty!

You may be able to make me live as if I was dead,

but you cannot do the same to my people.

How do you plan to cover the eyes and ears of every person?

The people are merely foolish individuals.

Ruling the foolish with fear is the wisest way to rule.

And seeing Your Imperial Majesty's mouth flapping away like that,

it appears you have not experienced true fear.

Grand Councillor!

You must come to the temple.

What is it now?

You will see once you get there.

It is not time yet.

I am not ready to face Grand Councillor Yeoncheol yet.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is just as afraid.

Your fear is shown on your face, Your Imperial Majesty.

As for Grand Councillor Yeoncheol,

he merely hides his fear.

From what I can see,

Your Imperial Majesty,

you have instilled fear within the Grand Councillor.

Do you really think so?

What happened here?

Her Highness came to give her prayers

and saw these images.

Baekan!

Make sure all witnesses of this do not say a word about it.

If even a word gets out,

I will kill every last one of them.

Yes, Grand Councillor.

And you too, Your Highness.

You are not to mention this to anyone as well.

You made Buddha himself cry tears of blood.

You really are something else.

I told you to watch what you say.

It is all clear to me now.

The curse...

The curse has begun.

The curse?

The rebels just put some blood on the eyes of that Buddha statue.

Are you denying what is right before your own eyes?

The poor harvest and natural disasters up until now

-are retributions for your crimes. -Silence!

Do you not even fear Buddha himself?

What is there to fear about some Buddha statue?

Have you lost your mind?

Do you know how many temples

I burned down while fighting in wars of conquest?

I could obliterate that Buddha statue with one swing.

You have lost your mind.

You are a lunatic!

Father, that is enough.

From now on, my curse will fall upon this land.

Whether it be Your Highness or His Imperial Majesty,

I hope you will not do anything foolish

to face the wrath of my curse.

Are you okay, Your Highness?

I am...

I am fine.

Great and compassionate Buddha,

please have mercy on the people.

Am I already getting old?

Or...

have I met an enemy of the likes I have never faced?

There is no doubt

that they are different from those I have faced before.

They have me in a corner.

Who on earth could it be?

The Buddha was

crying tears of blood?

Yes. According to Chief Eunuch Dok-man,

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is making sure that no one speaks of it.

The Buddha must not have actually been crying tears of blood.

Who could have done that?

Whoever it may be,

he has made Grand Councillor Yeoncheol

feel like he is standing on the edge of danger.

Now he will need someone.

He will need someone?

Someone who has a clear sense of what Yeoncheol wants.

Someone he can count on.

Who could that person be?

Why is Wang Yu with Grand Councillor Yeoncheol?

Once I put down this piece,

you will have no more moves left.

Make your move.

Not even a defensive play can help you now.

I was too focused on my offense

that I could not catch that.

I have lost the game. Now speak.

You surely did not come to see me

just to play a game of Go, did you?

I have already told you a lot through this game.

Grand Councillor, you lost this game

because you only played a vigorous offense.

I lost because I was merely vigorous?

Are you saying I am in such danger

that I need your assistance?

Is it not true?

This is just like a passing shower to me.

If you are looking to take advantage of me

to get your throne back by sweet-talking me,

you can forget it.

I heard that your power right now

was obtained through betraying

His Imperial Majesty's grandfather, Emperor Mujong.

Ambition that grew under absolute power

is incredibly strong and persistent.

You would know best about that,

would you not, Grand Councillor?

Do you have a death wish?

Grand Councillor,

I hope you do not make the same mistake as Emperor Mujong.

Even passing showers

can bring a typhoon sometimes.

I see you are still awake.

Wang Yu made me

realize three things.

Realize what?

First,

because of the enemies in front of me,

I overlooked the enemies I could not see.

Second,

when fighting your enemies,

vigorous offense alone does not ensure victory.

Third...

What is the third one?

As of now,

the one person I need the most

is Wang Yu.

Do you trust him?

No one has ever helped me

realize these things.

Do not trust him. You cannot trust him.

I know him well.

He will never be loyal to you, Father.

Are you jealous of his abilities?

Jealous? That is nonsense.

Your eyes are full of foolish jealousy.

Is that why you disobeyed me

and sent Wang Yu to the frontier to kill him?

Right now,

I do not need an incompetent son who just bows to me.

Tell me. What is it that you do for me?

Father.

You have a long way to go.

If you want to be like Wang Yu, you have a lot to learn.

This time,

you are wrong, Father.

Just watch me.

I am going to reveal Wang Yu's true self

and show you

what a great son I really am.

Seung-nyang.

What are you doing here?

Your Majesty.

Yes, Seung-nyang.

The eunuchs inspect this area very often.

I am going to go soon.

Seung-nyang.

Was the blood on the Buddha statue--

Was that not your doing, Your Majesty?

Yes. I was the one who did it.

Do not be deceived by strange rumors.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Please go.

Yes. I will get going.

I cannot let you do this

on your own, Your Majesty.

Please forgive me, Your Majesty.

My lady, I will help you wash up.

You must be Yang.

You share this room with me?

Are you back to a normal mental state?

You little wench!

How dare a court lady ask a senior court lady

about being in a normal mental state?

My apologies.

Massage my legs.

-Pardon? -What are you doing?

Do I need to whip you to get you to listen?

All right then.

Are you from Goryeo?

Yes.

All the stubborn and useless people are from Goryeo.

Do not make that face. I am from Goryeo too.

Are you from Goryeo?

Do not try to slack off. Massage me.

Yes, my lady.

You seemed to be very close to Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

By any chance,

are you planning on aligning with him?

Am I not allowed

to align with him?

Answer my question first.

I came here as a deposed king.

If it helps me reclaim my position,

I am willing to take any opportunity.

Your Imperial Majesty,

if you have the power to help me get my throne back,

I am always willing to take sides with you.

Did you see that?

Wang Yu is siding with Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

What are you going to do now?

Answer me. What will you do?

This is a fight where no one's victory is guaranteed.

Therefore,

I will be on Your Imperial Majesty's side.

What do you mean?

If I help Your Imperial Majesty and bring down Grand Councillor Yeoncheol,

help His Majesty reclaim his throne.

So,

you are going to take both sides?

You sure are something else. You really are.

If you do not want my help,

you can kick me out. I would not blame you.

Do you not care about

hurting me?

My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty.

You are so cruel.

Did you look into the whereabouts of the blood vow?

My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty.

Apologies?

That is all I am hearing these days, and it is driving me crazy.

My apologies.

You two are really frustrating me.

We heard there was a eunuch who guarded Emperor Myeongjong

until the very end.

And who is that?

It is a man named Jeok-ho from Goryeo.

Jeok-ho?

However, it is unconfirmed whether he is dead or alive.

We have no way to find him.

Understood. Now leave.

Do you know a eunuch named Jeok-ho?

When I first came to the Palace,

I only heard of him through rumors.

He was known for being very loyal and great with the spear.

Can you find Jeok-ho?

I will have a trustworthy fellow go and search for him.

GORYEO VILLAGE NEAR YEONGYEONG

Over the past few days,

I have not seen a single rat in the village.

Is it not strange?

I woke up one morning, and all the rats were gone.

I heard a rumor that the Palace is infested with rats these days.

They must have migrated there.

If you were a rat, would you not go there?

The Palace would be much better to live than here.

Yes.

I would never live here if I were a rat.

Then why did you, a human,

insist on living here to begin with?

Pardon?

That is because Goryeo Village is like a hometown to me.

Hello. May I have a word?

Who is the headman of this village?

It is me. Why?

By any chance, is there a man

by the name of Jeok-ho in this village?

Jeok-ho?

He used to serve in the Palace as a eunuch.

Seeing as you do not have a mustache, you must be a eunuch as well.

But why are you looking for this Jeok-ho person?

We need to know in order to help you.

Do you know Jeok-ho?

His name sounds very familiar.

Is that so?

Out of my way. Move.

-Where is he? -This way.

Give me some meat.

General. You two, leave.

I got lonely while waiting, so I had a drink.

Tell me.

Where should I begin?

Wang Yu's men, Jeom-bak and Park Bul-hwa, came

to Goryeo Village.

I am not sure why,

but the rats of the village disappeared right after they stopped by.

The rats disappeared?

I heard there are rats running amok in the palace.

Did you see them catch the rats?

I did not see that.

However, is that not enough to be suspicious of them?

Anything else?

Earlier today, a eunuch came to visit Goryeo Village.

He was looking for someone named Jeok-ho.

Jeok-ho?

Yes.

But there was one person that I could not confirm dead.

It was a eunuch who used to guard Emperor Myeongjong.

His name is Jeok-ho.

It was definitely him.

He is one of the eunuchs who guard the Emperor.

Then is the Emperor looking for the blood vow?

Do you think that foolish emperor is that brave?

It is possible if someone is manipulating him.

-Could it be the Empress Dowager? -No.

That sneaky wolf.

Sneaky wolf?

Do you mean Seung-nyang?

There are two thorns in my eye.

Seung-nyang and Wang Yu.

Until those two are dead,

my eyes will continue to cry tears of blood.

Your Imperial Majesty.

We have found Jeok-ho.

Does he know the whereabouts of the blood vow?

At nine o'clock tonight,

he will meet Jeok-ho at the courtesan house, Autumn Moon House.

I will go meet him myself.

No.

Just in case,

Eunuch Golta and I will meet him first.

I said I will go meet him myself.

If Your Imperial Majesty is not here in the Palace, suspicions may arise.

Do not worry.

I was in a similar situation in Goryeo a while back.

This is strange.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol should have sent an invitation to meet by now.

Did my trap not work?

Your Majesty, General Dang Gise is here.

So he has taken the bait.

What brings you here, General Dang Gise?

My father would like to see you.

Is that so?

-I shall see him soon. -However,

there are eyes everywhere, so he prefers to meet outside the Palace.

Where shall I go?

There is a courtesan house called Autumn Moon House.

Be there by nine o'clock.

I will.

These clothes suit you well.

Just for tonight, wear these clothes and pretend to be me.

-Your Imperial Majesty-- -It is okay.

Who would come here at night?

Even if someone comes,

Golta will be on guard.

Will you be all right without me?

Yang and Guk-su will be with me.

Please take a few more eunuchs.

The more of us there are, the more conspicuous we will look.

I will be sure to escort His Imperial Majesty.

Good. No one should be outside, right?

I have sent all the court ladies and maids away for the night.

Take Father to Autumn Moon House.

Tell him we are meeting the people who are looking for the blood vow.

Understood.

My parents are fine, right?

Do not worry.

Thanks to your profound filial love, they are safe and sound.

I will leave the Palace today and live with them.

Please do not look for us again.

Get rid of the body.

Yes, General.

Now I feel like I am truly living.

How can the same sky seem so different outside of the Palace?

Let us walk quickly.

We are not even late. Why are you in such a hurry?

It is dangerous outside of the Palace.

My goodness. Fine.

Seeing you in men's clothes reminds me

of the time we were in Daecheong Island.

I do not even want to think about that.

That temper of hers, I swear.

She has not changed a bit from then.

Come on, Seung-nyang. Wait for me!

Wait for me.

Hey!

What are you doing?

If it is not you, Jo-cham.

Whose body is that?

The thing is...

He is one of the eunuchs who guard the Emperor.

Why did he die?

Well...

Answer!

I do not know of this.

General Dang Gise just told me to get rid of the body.

Dang Gise?

Your Imperial Majesty!

General...

General, you cannot do this.

Your Imperial Majesty, please wake up.

It is urgent. Please wake up, Your Imperial Majesty.

General, you must not wake His Imperial Majesty.

What is going on here?

His Imperial Majesty is not here right now.

Where is he?

What is the reason for this fuss?

One of His Imperial Majesty's eunuchs was killed by General Dang Gise.

Uncle Baekan, the blood vow would not come to light that easily.

There is no doubt they are scheming something.

Dang Gise,

what on earth are you scheming?

AUTUMN MOON HOUSE

There are no customers in this courtesan house.

Something feels off.

I think we should head back to the Palace.

My father said he will be a bit late.

Let us go ahead and have a drink.

They must not be here yet.

I see.

How will we know who this Jeok-ho is?

We have a code.

Ask if he is a tiger hunter.

Then he will tell you that he is there to hunt bears instead.

Excuse me.

Which one of you is Yang?

I am.

A gentleman who hunts bears has told me to deliver this to you.

Goodbye.

I do not want to show my face.

Come to the last room downstairs by yourself.

What does it say?

He seems to be afraid of revealing his face.

I will have to leave for a bit.

Take Guk-su with you.

I cannot leave you alone, Your Imperial Majesty.

I will get the blood vow and come back. Just wait a moment.

Move quietly.

Is it this room?

Yes, Father.

The people who seek the blood vow are in this room.

Open the door.

Drop your sword.

Grand Councillor.

What is Your Imperial Majesty doing here?

Your Imperial Majesty, are you the one

looking for the blood vow?

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is very late.

Actually, the ones behind the mysterious document will be here tonight.

What are you talking about?

It appears he has arrived.

Who is there?

Is there a tiger hunter here?

We are here to hunt bears.

Why are you here?

Your Majesty.

Come in!

Why you...

Tonight,

I have caught myself both a tiger and a bear.

Your Majesty.

Answer me.

I asked if you are here to look for the blood vow.

Is there something wrong with that?

They say he wrote it with his blood as he was dying.

A son is merely looking for his own father's will!

What is wrong with that?

So,

were those mysterious documents

your doings as well, Your Imperial Majesty?

That was not my doing.

It was not?

All I have done is look for the blood vow.

Who is in this courtesan house?

Only our men are here. I will search the premises.

Grand Councillor.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is inside with armed men.

-What about His Imperial Majesty? -Things do not look good for him.

Is that the Empress Dowager?

Make a decision, Uncle Baekan.

Do we block their way and stand by Yeoncheol,

or do we stand with them and kill Yeoncheol?

I am not one

to give a warning more than once.

However,

I gave you multiple warnings because you are the Emperor.

You ignored my warnings.

Now it is time to pay the price for it.

Please spare my life, Grand Councillor.

Once you die,

many will be glad to see you again.

Father!

Empress Dowager is here.

What? Empress Dowager?

Announce my arrival to the Grand Councillor!

What is Your Highness doing here?

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Highness...

His Imperial Majesty was out here looking for the blood vow.

I have warned him not to look for it again.

Now escort him back to the Palace.

I was careless.

I was blinded by a blood vow that does not even exist.

Escort His Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

I do not see Yang.

We need to take Yang with us.

Leave now, Your Imperial Majesty!

Did you not hear me?

Your Imperial Majesty...

-Your Imperial Majesty... -Let go.

-Your Imperial Majesty. -Yang!

Where are you, Yang?

Your Imperial Majesty, we must go.

-Yang! -Your Imperial Majesty.

Why are you here?

We saw the Empress Dowager leave and were trying to block her way.

Anyway, where is your brother?

What did you just say?

I said you are the culprit behind the mysterious document.

This wench was instigated by you to control the Emperor.

Am I wrong?

This has nothing to do with His Majesty!

Shut your mouth.

Do you have evidence?

Evidence?

Of course I do.

Also, I can make her talk just by torturing her.

If you dare to lay a finger on her,

I will never forgive you.

Sure.

Both of your pain

will be my greatest pleasure.

What are you doing here?

Father, I have found the culprits behind the mysterious document.

Grand Councillor,

I wholeheartedly offered my advice to you.

Is this all I can expect from someone

as grand as you?

How are you so sure that Wang Yu is the culprit?

After his men made a visit to Goryeo Village,

all the rats from the village disappeared.

And?

What do you mean, "and"?

Rats are animals

that come and go anywhere in the world.

What else?

This wench has been helping Wang Yu since they were in Goryeo--

You are truly worthless.

I told you to stop with the jealousy.

Please forgive my son for his mistake.

Father--

Keep your mouth shut and leave.

Leave Seung-nyang.

Father, this wench helped the Emperor.

Take her away.

Now let me ask you formally.

Will you help me?

Will you serve me?

Have you thought it over?

Release the court lady named Yang.

That was not what I asked.

If you release her,

I will do as you say, Grand Councillor.

Is working for me so trivial to you

that you would value that girl's life over it?

She risked her life for me in Goryeo.

If you put such low value on your followers' lives,

how can I confidently risk my life for you, Grand Councillor?

She works for the Emperor.

Then

torture the Emperor instead.

She had no choice as a court lady.

I only believe in what I can see.

I do not care about empty words of loyalty and faithfulness.

Fine. If I save that girl,

what can do you do for me?

I am very well aware of your troubles, Grand Councillor.

What are they?

The culprits behind the mysterious document are,

without a doubt,

people close to you, Grand Councillor.

You have many followers,

but you cannot tell which are loyal.

It must be very frustrating.

Are you saying

you have a way to find out which ones are loyal?

Release Yang first.

Then I will tell you my secret plans.

What happened to Yang? Did you find her?

She is locked away in the underground prison.

Enough.

Everybody, get out.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

I told you before.

If I cannot have you, no one can.

Even if I cannot have your heart,

I will take your life.

You are not allowed in here.

Get out right now.

You must have lost your mind.

Just now,

your father gave me permission to take Seung-nyang back.

What?

If you have something to say, take it up with your father.

Seung-nyang.

Also,

tell him about this as well, if you dare.

Seung-nyang...

Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang!

-Put her on my back. -Yes, Your Majesty.

Subtitle translation by James Park