Original subtitles

Drink.

Your Ladyship!

What happened?

Please wake up, Your Ladyship.

What is it this time?

It is poison.

Concubine Ki has been poisoned.

Bring her to the Imperial Infirmary. Hurry!

Yes, Your Highness.

There is nothing wrong with the tonic.

It has been established by the recent investigation.

And yet, multiple concubines have collapsed

after drinking the tonic here.

Do you not think someone is targeting the concubines?

Do not tell me

you think I am involved in this.

I do not believe you are stupid enough to do something like this.

However, some might suspect you did this

out of jealousy.

Do not worry on my account.

I will get to the bottom of it

and find out who dares to cause a commotion in the Inner Court.

Court Lady Yeon.

Bring me supervising court ladies and investigators.

-Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. -Put Deputy Minister Chang in charge.

That way, you can avoid any malicious gossip.

Fine.

Deputy Minister Chang and Court Lady Yeon...

will work together.

Bring the court ladies and the investigators with you

and check on Concubine Ki.

Yes, Your Highness.

Your Ladyship, stay with us.

Move!

The Empress Dowager

is dying to pin this one on me.

By the way, Your Imperial Majesty, who do you think poisoned her?

It must be one of the other concubines.

The Emperor has been with that wench Ki every night lately.

Then the poison Concubine Oh took

might have also been intended for Ki, I guess.

What does it matter either way?

It is still to my benefit.

It would serve as my excuse

to get rid of all the concubines.

That is true, Your Imperial Majesty.

Yang was poisoned?

I told you to report everything that happens around her.

It happened before anyone knew it.

Where is she now?

She has been taken to the Imperial Infirmary.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Try to be patient.

Patient?

She may very well die.

Your Imperial Majesty, Chief Eunuch Dok-man is here.

I have a message from the Empress Dowager.

I fed her...

the poison.

And the next one to get poisoned...

will be me.

You will poison yourself?

Yes, I will.

When another concubine is poisoned,

everyone in the Palace will go wild to find the culprit.

The search for the culprit

will corner the Empress.

In the end,

she will be implicated.

Why would you go so far as to risk your life?

Do you dare imagine to become the Empress?

I was there...

when Concubine Park was killed.

I witnessed the deaths of my colleagues and Concubine Park.

I heard their desperate screams.

I can still see them.

I can still hear them.

Enough.

I do not want to hear any more.

They are inhuman.

I cannot bear to see those who are no better than animals

rise to power in the Imperial House.

I can never...

let that happen.

How will you incriminate the Empress?

If it goes as she planned,

I can keep the Empress under my thumb.

The Inner Court will be mine again.

What is that?

She had a piece of date under her tongue.

Have it tested.

Yes, Deputy Minister.

Your Ladyship, I have put my trust in you.

I know you are not one to be defeated by some poison.

You have to fight it

and get back on your feet.

His Imperial Majesty has arrived.

Your Imperial Majesty.

He wants to be alone.

Is this fight so important to you...

that you have to poison yourself?

I am sorry, Yang.

I did not see what this meant to you.

Please forgive me for failing you again.

Yang.

What is it?

The date.

The date is poisoned.

Who prepared the dates?

They were provided by the Imperial Pharmacy.

They must have been tainted beforehand.

I mean to find out...

by whom.

Yes, please do.

Now that we found the poison,

we have to find the culprit.

Listen, supervising court ladies.

The culprit must be hiding arsenic.

Search the Imperial Concubines' chambers

along with the female attendants' and the eunuchs'.

See to it.

-Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Wang Yu,

if we are ill-fated...

YOYANG PROVINCE

...we must end it here.

Do not hold it against me.

Yeon Bisu?

Why do you want me dead?

You should not have come here.

Are you with the Eagle House?

I should have known.

What happened to your vision of rebuilding your tribe?

Cut it out.

Your Majesty, is everything all right?

Come in.

Your Majesty.

Are there any other assassins outside?

No, I did not see any.

Who is in charge of the provincial office now?

Deputy Minister of State

is acting in Baekan's absence.

That is the safest place.

Wake Mu-song and Jeom-bak.

-We are moving out. -Yes, Your Majesty.

You can forget about holding me a hostage.

We will both die anyway.

If you are in the Eagle House's bad books,

you are as good as dead.

What happened?

They disappeared with the master in the night.

They probably took her hostage.

They must be still in Yoyang Province.

Find them. Now!

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

YOYANG PROVINCIAL OFFICE

How long will you keep me here?

You cannot intimidate me by holding me a hostage.

Just kill me now.

I said, kill me!

Kill me!

Kill--

I will kill you when the time comes.

How much did he cost?

I bought him at 30 yang of gold.

You paid that much for that ugly bald guy?

What a waste of money.

That leaves ten yang for you.

Off you go.

Are you sure?

Thank you.

Here.

-Off you go. -Yes, sir.

-Take care. -Take care, sir.

Do you recognize me?

Pardon?

What are you...

You are the one who bought me?

His Majesty will ask you about Seung-nyang.

Do not say a word...

about the baby, okay?

The baby?

Is His Majesty the father of Seung-nyang's baby--

His Majesty does not even know that she was pregnant.

She should be the one to tell him.

Relax. I am not a complete idiot.

Your Majesty.

You made it.

I heard you saved Seung-nyang.

How is she?

She saw her colleagues die.

It took quite a toll on her.

I should never have left her in the Yuan dynasty.

This is all my fault.

You can see her when Baekan returns.

She is in good health. You do not need to worry.

I appreciate all you have done for her.

Well, then. This way.

Your Majesty.

What will you do with Yeon Bisu?

She tried to kill you. It is better that you get rid of her.

We can use her

to get valuable information on the Eagle House.

She will not break that easily.

Put her in prison and starve her.

If my plans work out,

she will help us sooner or later.

Yes, Your Majesty.

THE YUAN IMPERIAL PALACE IN YEONGYEONG

-Search. -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

We will search Concubine's Ki's chamber next.

How is that wench doing?

She has not come back to her chamber yet.

I doubt she has regained consciousness.

Never mind hers then.

-Let us search the court ladies' quarters. -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

You have regained your consciousness.

What am I doing here?

I had them brought you here from the Imperial Infirmary.

Please send for Eunuch Park.

I will get back to my chamber.

I will not let you down again.

I can give up everything...

for you.

I have realized that if you died,

I could not go on.

It does not matter whether you love me or not.

Use me for your revenge.

I do not mind.

Just stay with me.

That is all I ask.

Halt.

Who was it?

Which of you poisoned the dates?

I swear we have nothing to do with it.

You physicians may be good at saving other people's lives,

but you suck at saving your own.

Please spare our lives.

Think about it. We do not have anything against the Imperial Pharmacy.

There is no reason for us to want you dead.

But...

Her Imperial Majesty is beside herself right now.

So...

just give me a name.

Who was it? Was it one of the concubines?

Or...

was it the Empress Dowager?

I swear we do not know anything.

Burn them.

She fainted.

Take her away.

Confess.

I already know the concubines are involved in this.

We have nothing to do with it.

All the concubines' attendants, except for Concubine Oh's and ours,

are being questioned right now.

Those at the Imperial Pharmacy are being questioned too.

They are trying to get false confessions

so that they can blame it on the concubines.

Go tell Governor Baekan in the guest pavilion

to have the provincial governors take action.

Yes, Your Ladyship.

The Empress is getting nastier.

She will fall into her own trap.

The more she complicates things,

the greater the consequences she will face.

It is I, Commander Yeom.

I guess she is not here yet.

Thank you for coming, Court Lady Yeon.

Why did you want to see me?

I am dying to know how things are going in the Pavilion of Women.

Will you keep me updated?

You belong to the Kheshig. What do you care?

What else?

I should know how things are going to plan my next move.

A tribute woman has become an Imperial Concubine.

Who says you should be satisfied with where you are?

It is the same for me.

Think about all the things we have done so far.

Do you not think we deserve to get ahead in life?

We should work hand in hand and help each other.

What do you say?

But...

on what will we work hand in hand?

Did you manage to get the maids and the court ladies talk?

I could not make them talk. How about you?

All they can do is make tonics. They are stubborn as hell.

But I have an idea.

Could you come closer?

Well...

Court Lady Yeon, your lips...

How dare you?

Sorry. It just slipped out.

Do not come near me again.

We will make it seem like a pharmacist and an attendant are in it together.

What do you mean?

If we can get similar statements from the two,

we will be able to implicate the concubines.

You just need one female attendant.

I will try to win a pharmacist over to our side.

Once they are accused, the concubines are bound to get driven out of the Palace.

Who do you think will get all the credit for that?

You should have sent word you are coming.

Is it true Her Imperial Majesty is searching the concubines' chambers

and detaining their attendants?

You have all heard...

of what happened in the Palace.

Are you saying the concubines are responsible for the incident?

We will not have it, not after what happened last time.

Take us to the Grand Councillor.

Your involvement...

will just make things worse.

There is no telling who will be poisoned next.

To alleviate your concerns,

we will get to the bottom of this.

But why is the Empress going after the concubines?

I am sure she has an ulterior motive behind her action.

Ask Her Imperial Majesty to leave the concubines alone.

What if one of them is the culprit?

The culprit can be convicted of treason.

Then it will not be considered a feud among the concubines.

If that happens, I cannot guarantee your safety.

I am telling you. Do not interfere with what the Empress does.

Otherwise,

I will not be able to protect you when the culprit is found.

For now,

I think we have succeeded in getting the governors involved.

Just now, Her Imperial Majesty has led the supervising court ladies

to the Empress Dowager's palace.

Is she going to search the Empress Dowager's palace?

Welcome, Your Imperial Majesty.

Are you...

feeling better?

I am.

You really are something,

seeing how the poison could not take you down.

I heard you are working hard to find the culprit.

Please get to the bottom of it and find the culprit.

The culprit will be torn limb from limb.

Do not worry.

What brings you and the supervising court ladies here?

We have searched every nook and corner of the Pavilion of Women.

-And? -The only place we have not searched...

is here.

Do you intend to search my chamber

in front of all the attendants?

It is in your best interests.

As they say, no illness should be left untreated,

and no suspicion should remain unresolved.

Now, look here.

If you decline,

I have no choice but to interrogate all the attendants who serve you.

Is that what you want?

-Go on. -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

You stupid wench!

Careful! Search with care.

Your presence seems to make them nervous.

Would you please wait outside?

Search thoroughly.

Thank you for your cooperation, Your Highness.

You did all the work.

I heard you still do not have any leads.

We are questioning the concubines' attendants and the pharmacists.

One of them will talk.

There is one place left to search.

Where?

We have not searched Your Imperial Majesty's chamber.

How dare you overstep your authority?

It is in your best interests.

As they say, no illness should be left untreated,

and no suspicion should remain unresolved.

-What? -Concubine Ki is right.

You should take charge of the search.

I will search my own chamber.

You can come and watch

since you are so suspicious.

Be thorough. Leave no room for doubt.

Yes, your Imperial Majesty.

Wait.

Let me see that.

These are precious jewels.

Where did you get them?

What business is that of yours?

How impudent!

Give it to me.

You hid these dates in your jewelry box.

How dare you look at me like that?

The concubines fell ill

after eating the poisoned dates.

So?

Please explain...

how these dates got here.

-How should I know? -Fine then.

Taste one.

Why do you look so surprised?

I am sure...

you did not put poison in this date.

What are you talking about?

It is just a date.

-Please taste it. -How dare you?

It is very sweet. There is nothing wrong with this date.

You see?

She said there is nothing wrong with it.

No doubt those who sent the jewels

were concerned about Your Imperial Majesty's health.

How insolent.

How dare you insult me like this?

You little--

Your Imperial Majesty...

Court Lady Seo!

-Your Imperial Majesty... -Court Lady Seo!

What should we do?

Your Imperial Majesty...

Can you deliver this to the Empress

in the name of Heuk Su of the Eagle House?

These dates are poisoned.

Heuk Su, the man who sent this,

is keeping a very close relationship with Father.

Eunuch Park. have the investigators check these dates.

Yes, Your Ladyship.

Are you okay?

My lady!

It was not me. I did not do it!

I am not the one you need to convince.

What should we do?

Your Imperial Majesty...

Are you okay?

Your Imperial Majesty...

I arranged all this for you.

Drink as much as you want.

Raise your glasses.

Grand Councillor.

If I may have a word in private?

Is there something you do not want us to hear?

Not at all.

It is all right. Speak.

The culprit...

has been found.

Who is it?

Say it.

Who is the culprit?

It is Her Imperial Majesty.

Explain yourself.

How is she the culprit?

Poisoned dates were found in the jewelry box

she received from a man named Heuk Su.

Have Heuk Su arrested.

-Go. -Yes, Grand Councillor.

I will keep an eye on things here.

-You go to Yoyang. -Yes, Uncle Baekan.

Heuk Su is not an easy one to deal with. Be careful.

-Do not worry. -One more thing.

We could not do anything about the Eagle House because of Yeoncheol.

This is our chance to destroy the Eagle House.

I am asking you to confiscate all their holdings.

Yes, Uncle Baekan.

Someone bought all the ginseng in Goryeo

with the counterfeit money.

According to the sketch, that person has pale skin, big eyes,

a noble nose, and thin lips.

Was it you?

You are so slow-witted.

You are just catching on?

The Eagle House has been providing financial support to Yeoncheol in secret.

Why would you help the man who decimated your tribe?

It does not matter whom I help.

My only goal is to accumulate enough money to rebuild my tribe.

I am planning on getting my hands on all the money the Eagle House owns.

Do not even dream about it.

You will never be able to do that.

Someone shot a fire arrow and saved me at Suryong Pass.

I see it was you.

I should not have saved you then.

Your Majesty.

Taltal is back.

Wang Yu is here?

Yes, sir. But I heard something odd.

How so?

They say he and Concubine Ki were engaged.

Is that true?

I heard his men say it myself.

No one can know about this.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

It has been a long time.

Where is Seung-nyang?

-She is in Daedo. -What is she doing there?

We have a more pressing matter to attend to.

I will answer your questions later after we deal with the matter.

How is she doing?

She is doing very well.

So what is this pressing matter we need to attend to?

Tonight, I will arrest Heuk Su

and take him to Yeongyeong.

Let me take part in it.

There is some unfinished business between him and I.

Thank you for the invitation.

Where is Governor Baekan?

He is not here.

I thought the invitation was from him.

What is this?

I have orders to arrest you.

Do you not know I have the Grand Councillor's full support?

The order for your arrest

came from the Grand Councillor.

What?

The counterfeit bills must be here.

Find the storehouse.

-I know where it is. -Go with him.

Yes, Your Majesty. Lead the way.

Search thoroughly.

-Yes, Your Majesty. -Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

What do they mean?

I do not know these letters.

They are not letters.

They seem like some kind of codes.

Seeing how they used codes,

it must be about something important, Your Majesty.

Cracking the codes might help us

bring the Eagle House down.

-Hang onto it. -Yes, Your Majesty.

Come.

Go on.

This is for the all the beatings I took from you when I was a slave!

-You scumbag! -Get moving.

There is no end to the counterfeit bills.

All that is left is to go and see Seung-nyang.

I suppose she has been summoned to the Emperor's palace.

Your Ladyship,

I was wondering...

How did the poisoned date get in the tonic?

She did not put the poison in the dates.

She put the poison on the dates.

Pardon?

Please take care of this. No one can see it.

Even the slightest mistake will put your life at risk.

If I do not risk my life...

I cannot possibly win against them.

Her Imperial Majesty has arrived.

Your Imperial Majesty. The Empress not only tried to poison the concubines

but also tried to place the blame on them.

It is clear that she intended to persecute the provincial governors

through this incident.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Her Imperial Majesty's evil deeds cannot be tolerated.

It is not just us governors. All the officials of the Imperial Court

are furious over this incident.

Your Imperial Majesty.

It grieves me to say this,

but I ask Your Imperial Majesty to depose the Empress.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

-Please take heed of our words. -Please take heed of our words.

Father, are you not going to do anything?

Any way I look at it, Tanashilli was a fool.

She has been framed.

You must know that.

That is what infuriates me.

It would have been better if she had brought it on herself!

How foolish of her to fall into someone's trap!

First and foremost, we have to save her.

If she gets deposed,

our whole clan will suffer.

There is no time, Father.

Get my armor and muster the Kheshig.

Will there be bloodshed?

How could she make me go this far?

How many times do I have to say it?

It was not me.

You are not in the position to yell.

I am being accused of something I did not do.

I have heard enough.

Your Imperial Majesty, dethrone her immediately.

-Your Imperial Majesty, dethrone her. -Your Imperial Majesty, dethrone her.

Are you done talking?

What is it that you are trying to do?

Do you want her dethroned?

Fine. If she is guilty,

she deserves to be dethroned.

But I do not believe she did this.

The evidence is clear.

Please do not be unreasonable, Grand Councillor.

Do you think you are above the law?

Do you think the Imperial House would still be here

if we followed the letter of the law?

Even so, Grand Councillor...

In times of crisis,

it was not the law that helped us through.

It was my faith and principles.

What do you think will happen to those who demanded her crown

if the Empress is found innocent?

Then,

how would you like to handle this matter, Grand Councillor?

I suggest she be banished to the Cold Palace.

COLD PALACE: CONFINEMENT FACILITY FOR EMPRESSES AND CONCUBINES

Father, how could you suggest that?

You cannot do that, Father.

Dethronement or the Cold Palace.

It is up to you, Your Highness.

In that case, I will seize all the seals

that belong to the Empress.

The Empress shall either give up her authority

or be deposed.

It is one or the other.

Now it is up to you, Grand Councillor.

Now tell me about Seung-nyang.

What is she doing in Daedo?

She is staying in the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace?

I doubt she has become

a court lady again.

Not at all.

She is an Imperial Concubine of the fifth rank.

What are you talking about?

She has become an Imperial Concubine.

What...

did you make her do?

You sold her...

to the Emperor?

-Or-- -No.

She went on her own.

She insisted we nominate her

for the concubine selection.

She would never do that.

I recommend you watch what you say.

How can this happen?

I cannot believe it.

-Seung-nyang would never... -Your Majesty.

I hear you are being sent to the Cold Palace.

Are you teasing me?

I am told it is cold and lonely there.

How dare you?

There are some people who have been laid...

in a much colder place.

Concubine Park and her female attendants you killed...

have been laid under stone mounds...

deep in the mountains.

It was you.

You are the one

who is behind all this.

No way.

Seung-nyang would never do that!

She swore vengeance on Yeoncheol's family.

Does that satisfy you?

She is no longer under your command,

and you cannot have affection for her anymore.

If you ever get in Her Ladyship's way,

I will make you face the consequences.

Why?

Why did you do it?

Seung-nyang.

Why?

He will betray us sooner or later.

I shall end your life here and now.

Never mind what it says. Place your seal.

Place your seal now.

It is impossible.

Impossible or not, it must be done.

We can stop the abdication.

It can put Your Ladyship and His Imperial Majesty at risk.

You seem like you are doing well.

Thank you, Wang Yu.

Do you resent me?

Do not cry and hold to your path.

As will I.

Subtitle translation by Min-jin Kim