Original subtitles

Father, please wake up!

Grand Councillor! Please wake up!

Father!

Father.

Bul-hwa.

The maid who tested his drink has died.

There is no doubt that Yeoncheol is on his way to death now.

It is not as good as it sounds.

Why not? Yeoncheol is dead.

He died after drinking the wine His Majesty gave him.

Who do you think they would blame?

Your Majesty, you should leave this place for now.

He is right, Your Majesty.

Then they would suspect me more.

We must keep an eye on Yeoncheol's progress.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol does not allow anyone to enter--

Open the doors.

I said to open the doors.

Your Imperial Majesty, you must not be here.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol has collapsed.

Collapsed?

I think he has been poisoned.

Did he die?

The physician is at the Empress's palace, so we will hear soon.

He has died.

There is no doubt...

that he has died.

Go check for yourself, Your Imperial Majesty.

Please wake up, Father.

Why does he keep vomiting?

It appears that his internal organs are rotting.

Feed him the antidote any way you can. Now!

Yes.

Move!

Give me that.

Father, you must swallow this medicine.

That way you will live, Father.

Please, Father!

-Father. -Father.

Please stay with us, Father.

Father, please.

How did this happen, Dang Gise?

He keeps vomiting blood!

Please do something, Dang Gise!

-Father. -Father.

Do you hear this?

Father, the man who took your life

is vomiting blood at this very moment.

They are crying tears of blood, Father.

Father.

-Please stay with us, Father. -Father.

Get Wang Yu right now!

Baekan! What are you doing?

Go get Wang Yu right now!

Your Imperial Majesty.

Somebody switched the wine.

Someone wanted to poison and kill Yeoncheol.

Does that mean someone was aware of your plans, Your Majesty?

Either way, if Yeoncheol is dead,

that is an advantage to us.

But I am worried that they might blame Your Majesty

for his death.

Do not worry about me.

I have my own plans.

Criminal Wang Yu, you are under arrest!

Criminal?

What crime have I committed?

Do you really not know?

Why did you try to kill Grand Councillor Yeoncheol?

I did not try to kill him.

The wine you gave him was poisoned.

Are you denying it?

If I wanted to kill him,

I would not have made it obvious by giving him the poisoned wine.

Be quiet.

Arrest him now.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

Do not dare to come any closer!

Put down your swords.

These men are trying to frame Your Majesty.

I said put down your swords!

Your Majesty...

Your Majesty.

I will be back soon.

Take him away.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

-Your Majesty. -Your Majesty.

-Your Majesty. -Your Majesty!

Do you want to be arrested as his accomplice?

What was your reason for this?

Reason?

Your Imperial Majesty would be happier than anyone else to have Yeoncheol die.

So,

why are you so eager to catch the culprit?

If you are doing this because of me,

you are pathetic.

Do not be mistaken.

Do you think I would go this far for you?

You will see how powerless your lord is,

as well as why it is I

who is the Emperor here.

Your Majesty...

Take him out.

I cannot

spare your life any longer.

I was helping Grand Councillor Yeoncheol to regain my throne.

I know you are aware

that this was not my doing.

Either way,

you provided the means.

It was all because of your great plans

that my father ended up like this!

So in the end,

it does not matter if I did it or not.

You just want to kill me.

Which is why...

you should just die already.

I pity your father.

What?

There is no doubt

that the culprit was in the yurt.

Do you not realize

that they will laugh at your father the moment you kill me?

-Shut your mouth. -If it was Grand Councillor Yeoncheol,

he would have used me to catch them.

That is the difference between you and the Grand Councillor.

You can never

step out of your father's shadow.

I said to shut your mouth!

Stop right there.

I heard everything outside.

Let Wang Yu go.

Your Imperial Majesty, this man--

I have no interest

in your silly personal feelings.

Will you please help us?

I ended up like this,

trying to help you.

Everyone makes mistakes.

If we have hurt your feelings, please forgive us, Wang Yu.

First,

I would like to see the Grand Councillor.

Follow me.

His pulse is weak, and his pupils are dilated.

He has a small chance of living.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol was suspicious of the people in the yurt.

I know.

Tell General Dang Gise

to go according to the original plan.

If they think your father is dead,

there is no doubt that the culprits will show themselves.

I will pretend to help them

and then find out their plans for you.

How will I be able to meet you, Wang Yu?

Let us meet every night at the archives around eleven o'clock.

Thank you, Wang Yu.

I have thought about who could have switched the wines.

Who do you think it is?

It is Baekan.

Why do you think so?

Back in Daecheong Island, he went against the Grand Councillor's orders

and saved the Emperor.

He also took the Emperor's orders and looked for the blood vow.

It would be possible only for those close to Yeoncheol.

Baekan is the most likely.

He is probably the one who killed the commander of the Kheshig.

Then there is no doubt that it is him.

What will you do about them?

I must think of a way to use them.

How are the men who had gathered in the yurt?

They are all silent

and are watching over the situation.

Without someone leading us,

our plans to take down Yeoncheol's family could go up in smoke.

If we continue to waste time like this,

Yeoncheol's position

will be passed on to Dang Gise.

How about you go

to the temple and pray?

Are you telling me to ask Buddha for help?

Empress Dowager goes there every day at dawn to give her prayers.

Empress Dowager?

I did not know you were this devoted to Buddha.

Your Highness.

What were you praying so desperately for?

I was praying to run into you.

Do you have something to discuss with me?

What is your reason for leaving Yeoncheol's family be?

Are you still afraid?

Most animals would tremble in fear at the sight of a tiger.

With the Grand Councillor's wide reach,

there is no one out there who will help me take him down.

If the dead tiger leaves behind a large piece of meat,

that would be a different story.

All the officials have

their ulterior motives.

If you use their motives to your advantage,

having them draw their swords for Your Highness would not be

a difficult task at all.

Are you...

the man behind the mysterious documents...

It was I.

What was your reason for doing so?

To regain my throne as Goryeo's king.

If that is the case,

it would be easier if you gained favor with Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

King Wang Go was Grand Councillor Yeoncheol's right-hand man.

But he ended up meeting his doom.

Instead of helping Yeoncheol,

I decided it would be better to fight for her.

And who is this "her"?

I am referring to you, Your Highness.

I will stand by your side, Your Highness.

Please promise me my throne back.

He is a councilman of the Privy Council,

General Bang Jin.

He fought with Grand Councillor Yeoncheol in many wars of conquest.

He is the most loyal subject of all.

When I was a court lady, I saw him once at the Emperor's palace.

In the military,

I heard he has the most power after Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

This nation was made by all of us.

-Of course. -That is correct.

For all of eternity,

we must pass on this nation to our coming generations.

-Of course. -There is no doubt about that.

Deputy Minister of State, Ju Gukcheong.

He is quick-witted and eloquent.

Yeoncheol entrusted him deeply.

I recently saw him

and Bang Jin raise their voices in front of the Emperor.

They are both very hungry for power.

Seung-nyang, you must help me.

Please tell me.

Meet the Empress for me.

Tonight,

I am meeting those men with the Empress Dowager.

Welcome, General Bang.

Why have you called me here?

There is something urgent

that I must discuss with you, General.

I am listening, Your Highness.

Please take over Grand Councillor Yeoncheol's position.

When a pillar falls, you cannot replace it with a cane.

To hold up the roof, you must replace it with something of equal power.

So you want me to be...

I want you to become the Grand Councillor of this nation.

Your Highness...

However, there is something you must do before that.

Wang Yu.

Wang Yu.

I guess he is not here yet.

His Majesty could not be here tonight.

Are you not a court lady serving at the Emperor's palace?

I am no longer a court lady.

It is all thanks to the Grand Councillor's great kindness.

Why do you want to leave the Palace?

There is someone

I have to meet.

Was that person Wang Yu?

How pitiful. You have fallen in unrequited love.

His Majesty told me to tell you this.

Councilman Bang Jin and Deputy Minister Ju Gukcheong

are gathering soldiers and planning a revolt.

General Dang Gise should contact the city guards

and stand by to mobilize his men at any time.

What? A revolt?

The military?

There is no doubt that Dang Gise will mobilize the city guards.

Will you be able to stop them?

If it were Grand Councillor Yeoncheol,

it would be impossible for me to stop them.

But if it is Dang Gise who is mobilizing them, I can definitely stop them.

You must contact them first

and tell them they are forbidden to march.

Yes, Your Highness.

I heard that Yeoncheol's army is quite large in scale.

Since it would be difficult to take on Dang Gise with just your men,

you must align forces

-with Deputy Minister Ju Gukcheong. -Pardon?

Why Ju Gukcheong of all men?

Either way, it will be you who rises to the Grand Councillor's position.

Succeeding at this revolt takes priority, does it not?

I understand, Your Highness.

It has been a long time, Deputy Minister Ju.

Why did you ask

to see me in a place like this?

I would like you to become the new Grand Councillor of this nation.

Pardon?

Bang Jin and Ju Gukcheong are planning a revolt?

Yes. I heard that they are secretly gathering armed men.

They stood by Father in both joy and sorrow, life and death.

How can you just believe Wang Yu and suspect those two?

We will find out soon if this is true or not.

What do you mean?

I have placed our right-hand men

with the people at the yurt.

General, a member of the Kheshig is outside.

Bring him in.

I have returned, General.

Did you look into it?

I was following Councilman General Bang Jin,

and just now,

he walked into Deputy Minister Ju Gukcheong's house.

What?

General Bang Jin went to see Ju Gukcheong?

Are those two not sworn enemies?

Wang Yu was right about this.

What reason is there for him to pay a visit to his enemy's house?

Keep a closer eye on those two.

Yes, General.

Do not doubt Wang Yu's words anymore.

It embarrasses me.

We must take Father home.

Discreetly prepare a carriage.

Yes, Dang Gise.

Where are you going?

Where are you headed?

I was worried about the Grand Councillor,

so I was on my way to the Empress's palace.

How is he doing?

Thankfully, he has regained consciousness, so we are taking him home.

Then I must pay my respects to the Grand Councillor.

He is sleeping right now.

So you are saying he is sleeping, not dead?

I want to see him sleeping, at least.

I would feel more relieved that way.

It is cold today. Please pay your respects next time.

Let us go.

I must see the Grand Councillor with my own eyes.

He has not fully recovered.

How could you be so stubborn?

Have you already forgotten how he had confined me with the doors nailed shut?

Who is the stubborn one here?

-Your Highness! -What are you doing?

Open the doors to the carriage.

Yes, Your Highness.

What a show of insolence. How dare you draw your sword?

Now listen to me.

I am Grand Councillor Yeoncheol's eldest son.

Angering me is the same as angering my father.

Do you understand?

Let us go!

Deputy Minister Chang.

Yes, Your Highness?

Yeoncheol's corpse is lying in that carriage.

That is a funeral carriage.

It seems that way to me as well.

Go and tell General Bang of this news.

It is time to speed things up with the revolt.

Yes, Your Highness.

-Here you go. -Goodness.

Everyone, have a drink tonight and get a good rest.

-Yes. -Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty were promised your throne back.

We must drink and celebrate.

All right, let us enjoy ourselves before the night is over.

Down it goes.

-Goodness. -Cheers.

This is great.

Anyway, what will you all do

when we go back to Goryeo?

Seung-nyang,

what will you do when you go back to Goryeo?

Yes, tell us.

What do you think? She needs to get married.

I wonder what lucky punk is going to marry Seung-nyang.

It would be such a blessing for that guy.

You fool.

-"Punk"? -What is your problem?

Wait,

are you interested in Seung-nyang?

You fool.

When did you start liking her?

My goodness. Gosh.

-Well then... -Oh, my.

I am going to use the toilet.

-Yes. -Please go ahead.

What should we eat first?

Goodness me. This looks great.

What is this for?

You are truly an idiot.

Just get lost!

I should just poke your moles.

Why are you all picking on me?

Even when we go back to Goryeo,

will you stand by my side forever?

I am on your side even now, Your Majesty.

Not like that.

Even if Your Majesty refuses me,

I will stand by your side until the end.

Here. Take this.

I bought this in the market the other day.

If we return to Goryeo,

will you be my queen?

If you accept,

pin that in your hair.

You do not have to decide now.

I will wait until tomorrow.

This is my favorite.

Test this and tell me how it is.

Do not go.

The first one I saw...

was you.

When I broke out of my shell,

you were...

the first one I saw.

"There is a moon in the clear sky.

I set down my drink and ponder alone.

How often

does the moon shine in the clear sky?

I..."

Are you awake, Your Imperial Majesty?

Would you like a cup of water?

Leave.

-Your Imperial Majesty... -I said leave.

Your Imperial Majesty, General Baekan has arrived.

Your Imperial Majesty, have you heard the news?

Her Highness has ordered Bang Jin and Ju Gukcheong

to get rid of Yeoncheol's family.

That is good news.

Dang Gise was becoming a thorn in my side.

How is that good news?

I was the one who killed Yeoncheol.

They are stealing the spotlight from me.

How is this good news?

I am fully aware of your efforts.

If Bang Jin and Ju Gukcheong are on the move,

there is no doubt that they were promised the Grand Councillor's position.

I must be the one to take that position.

Her Highness made her orders.

What do you want me to do about it?

Your Imperial Majesty.

Go ahead and leave now.

Your Imperial Majesty...

Did I not tell you that I would reward you?

Why has His Majesty been like that all morning?

I know, right?

He has been pacing in front of Seung-nyang's room all day.

Did you get a good rest?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Now I will be off to meet the Empress.

Should we approach General Baekan as well?

No, not him.

He is a very useful man.

I am not sure why you are opposing on approaching him.

Your Highness,

General Baekan has arrived.

Speak of the devil.

Send him in.

I will get going now.

Yes, Wang Yu.

What brings you two here?

I heard that Councilman General Bang

is planning to get rid of Yeoncheol's family.

Who told you this nonsense?

We can assist you with your plan.

Please trust us, Your Highness.

There is nothing for you to do this time around.

-Your Highness... -Now leave.

We killed Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

So my suspicions were correct.

Ask His Imperial Majesty. He knows.

We played the biggest role in the success of his assassination.

And?

Are you asking me to give you the Grand Councillor's position?

If you look at who played the biggest role--

So just because you wanted the Grand Councillor's position,

you took advantage of the Emperor and played him like a puppet?

His Imperial Majesty was not like this before.

He asked me about every little thing,

and he did everything I ordered him to do.

But then,

he created a whole scene without a single word to me.

You are the ones behind this.

That is a misunderstanding, Your Highness.

If you ever instigate His Imperial Majesty again without my permission,

I will not sit back and watch.

If Yeoncheol's family falls,

Empress Dowager will become the absolute power.

The Emperor will be controlled by her.

He is still a puppet.

I cannot believe this.

We killed a tiger only to have a fox in its place.

By the way,

is it not suspicious that Wang Yu was visiting Her Highness?

There is nothing to suspect.

I have always been on Her Highness's side.

I would like to offer both of you an opportunity.

I will persuade Her Highness.

Do not worry.

Your Majesty, in my opinion,

we should not let our guard down when it comes to Baekan and Taltal.

How was your meeting today?

We were able to get Baekan and Taltal on our side.

I am glad to hear that.

Seung-nyang, what is that in your hair?

How pretty.

Goodness. How pretty.

Do you like Seung-nyang's hair with the pin that much?

I shall...

pin one on my hair too.

Should I pin it through your skin?

Like this.

What kind of joke is that?

-I was serious. -That would make me bleed.

That is why you are single.

Goodness.

How can you say that?

Your Majesty.

What brings you here?

I came because I missed you. Anything wrong with that?

Your Majesty.

Stay still.

Now that I think about it,

there is not much

that I know about you.

What led you...

to live while pretending to be a man?

Tell me.

What resentment did you harbor

against King Wang Go?

Fifteen years ago,

you let the tribute women go in Hwangju.

Do you remember?

How...

How do you know about that?

I vividly remember...

what happened that day.

Right in front of my eyes,

I saw a young girl and her mother getting whipped.

So I let them go.

Run.

This is all I can do.

I am sorry.

Open that one too.

Yang.

Among the ones who ran away,

many of them died.

That girl's mother...

died as well.

That girl must be dead somewhere too.

It was my fault.

It was my fault that they died.

If only...

I had not opened that door...

Those poor, precious lives...

I was the one who killed them.

It was me.

It is not your fault, Your Majesty.

She is not dead.

That girl...

is me.

Not once...

have I ever resented Your Majesty.

I heard

you had to go through hardships because of that.

Your Majesty,

you saved my life.

So, you were that girl.

That girl is alive.

As for the Grand Councillor,

when will he return to the Palace?

He has gotten a lot better.

He wishes to return to the Palace immediately,

but my brothers are stopping him.

You arrogant, impudent wench.

You will soon disappear from this palace as well.

I will get going now.

Please continue to converse among yourselves.

Will it be tonight?

Yes. Once tonight is over...

I will no longer be the emperor

that everyone had laughed at.

Your Imperial Majesty, the Great Yuan is mine now.

Do you know how long I have waited for this moment?

It was tonight at the hour of the Pig, right?

THE HOUR OF THE PIG: BETWEEN 9 P.M. AND 11 P.M.

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Make sure to bring

the leaders of the revolt alive.

They made my father like this.

I am going to have them die painfully in front of my own eyes.

What are you saying?

The city guards cannot come?

Councilman Bang Jin got ahead of us

and forbade them from marching.

If only you were alive, Father.

Father!

General!

General Baekan is here with the Kheshig.

Welcome, Baekan.

Now that you are here,

I feel like I have gained an army of a thousand men.

I am sorry for being late.

He passed in the end.

Grand Councillor,

please forgive my disloyalty.

You are so lucky.

I want to go back to Goryeo too.

Be good to Court Lady Noh.

Do not worry.

You know we Goryeo people always stick together.

I know this smell.

What tea was this again?

As for gamdutang,

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is the only one in the Palace who drinks it.

And he must have it five times a day.

He is very picky when it comes to food and drinks.

Learn the recipe well and make sure not to make any mistakes.

Yes, Chief Eunuch.

To make gamdutang,

you need black beans,

privet berries,

and licorice.

Then you boil it for two hours.

It requires time and care,

so make sure to start making this tea first thing in the morning.

There is no doubt that it was gamdutang.

Does Her Imperial Majesty drink gamdutang?

I guess so. Court Lady Seo brews some up and takes it over there every day.

She does not make other court ladies do it?

She does not.

Since when?

I am not sure. I think it has been a few days.

Chief Eunuch.

Yang, what are you doing here?

I heard that Her Imperial Majesty drinks gamdutang.

That is not possible.

Her Imperial Majesty gets hives

when she has beans.

What are the effects of gamdutang?

It is amazing for detoxing...

You told me no one drinks that tea

except for Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol always drank gamdutang

to foster an immunity to poison.

And nowadays,

I heard that the court ladies are not allowed into the Empress's palace.

Yang!

Could Grand Councillor Yeoncheol be...

Father.

Are you awake?

Father, it is I, Tanashilli.

Do you recognize me?

Lower your voices.

Come closer.

Prepare an empty coffin.

Father...

In this fight,

the first one to deceive one's enemy will come out on top.

When people find out you are alive,

everyone is going to be frightened to death.

Is there any word from Dang Gise?

The city guards are helping

and are secretly waiting in ambush near the house.

Those rebels have no idea

that we have mobilized the military.

There is no way any living being would know.

Who is there right now?

General Baekan and Wang Yu have joined them.

Once the attack starts,

Baekan, Taltal,

and Wang Yu will show

whether they are jade or rock,

friend or foe.

Father.

Who are you seeing that you are in such a rush?

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is...

alive.

What are you talking about?

No one...

has seen the corpse.

Go to the Empress's palace and see for yourself.

There is no doubt...

that he is alive.

There are too many eyes in the Palace.

We cannot meet often,

so let us signal with our bands in front of the Kheshig.

If Dang Gise has caught on to our plans,

I will tie a blue band.

If we catch an enemy spy, we will tie a yellow one.

And this white band

will be a signal of high danger.

What could be a situation of high danger?

I am not sure.

Think about the various emergencies

that could break out.

High danger?

That would be if the dead Yeoncheol suddenly came back to life, right?

Do you not think so?

Seung-nyang, do you not agree?

Your Imperial Majesty...

Why are you so surprised?

Announce me to the Empress.

His Imperial Majesty has arrived.

No one must know that I am alive.

I fell asleep for a second.

What brings you here all of a sudden?

I was thinking about sleeping here tonight.

But you look very tired.

I could not sleep

these past few days out of concern for my father.

Then I guess you must rest.

Get a good rest then.

Gamdutang.

Pardon?

Yang was right.

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is in there.

Quickly gather the guard eunuchs.

Why the guard eunuchs?

I am going to...

kill Grand Councillor Yeoncheol.

Your Imperial Majesty.

General!

General, they are finally here.

What about the city guards?

The moment we give the signal,

those rebels will be wiped out.

Once the fight begins,

kill Dang Gise first.

You can take on Tapjahae.

I will take on Yeom Byeong-su.

All right.

The traitors should surrender now!

Shut your mouth!

Get rid of them all!

Seung-nyang.

It is a white band.

Yeoncheol is alive?

It cannot be.

How dare he try to trick us?

Grand Councillor Yeoncheol is not dead.

We need to change our plans.

We must kill everyone who knows about our plans.

I will kill them...

Dang Gise was waiting for this.

-What is happening? -We have stopped the rebels.

I will go greet them.

Tell me what you want.

Please make me the King of Goryeo again.

I cannot let a tiger run wild.

It turned out for the better.

There is nobody by Yeoncheol's side now.

Go now and end his life.

Subtitle translation by James Park