Original subtitles

Take Concubine Ki away

and detain Eunuch Golta and the guard eunuchs.

Hold yourself back.

Take her away.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

His Imperial Majesty has arrived.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Do you feel better?

How dare you lay hands on her?

I am relieved that you are all right.

Concubine Ki is a criminal.

A criminal?

What did she do wrong?

A concubine has failed to protect you.

She must be punished.

Concubine Ki

saved my life.

She sucked the poison out for me and saved me.

Hence, I will hear no more of this.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

He is...

He is burning up.

I will get Chief Eunuch Dok-man.

-Why not the physician? -Lower your voice.

It was His Imperial Majesty's order.

He told me not to get a physician

because it could put you at risk.

Did he...

Did he come to get me in this condition?

He could barely stand up,

but he ran over to the Emperor's palace.

Your Imperial Majesty.

It is Yeon Bisu.

Come in.

I saw a blood stain

on your clothes on your way in.

This is a remedy of my tribe uses.

It works well

on stab wounds.

Leave it.

It is hard to apply this alone.

Was she...

the Seung-nyang you mentioned?

You once told me

that there is someone you long for.

That is in the past.

I have gotten over her long ago.

When I saw you look at her,

your eyes said differently.

It is late.

Go get some rest.

I am thinking of leaving before dawn.

I learned a lot from you while I was here.

Do you have a place to go?

I am thinking of approaching the leader of the Eagle House.

Did you find out who he is?

I may pick up a lead.

It is too dangerous.

You said the Eagle House would either sell you into slavery

or kill you.

Do not worry.

I have a plan.

What is your plan?

It must be a dangerous one.

Stay here.

I have decided to lay down my life for my tribe.

I will not allow anyone

to get in my way.

Take one of my men.

It is all right.

We...

will meet again soon

It is me, Mak-saeng.

His Majesty told me to protect you.

Do you think I want to go with you?

It is better to have me than no one.

Wait for me!

Your Imperial Majesty, are you all right?

Yang watched over me all night.

How could I not be?

Send for Governor Baekan.

Why do you suddenly need him?

I have orders for him.

Will Grand Councillor keep his promise to save us?

We have no one else to trust but him.

But why have we not heard anything?

How should I know?

If you do not, who does?

How dare you raise your voice at me?

Why not?

You are going to be kicked out of the Kheshig anyway.

What? Have you gone insane?

-Bring those two out. -Yes, Governor.

Wait.

Why are you doing this?

Tell the truth.

Who told you to slay His Imperial Majesty?

Just kill me.

You will all die anyway.

But will you be flailed or boiled? That is the question.

The more you hold out, the more pain you will be in.

What are you doing?

Are you still not done with them?

I am only following His Imperial Majesty's orders.

The Emperor?

-Take these traitors away. -Yes, Grand Councillor.

We are...

not done interrogating them.

They will be executed right now.

They dared to kill His Imperial Majesty.

They should not be kept alive any longer.

Take them out and execute them publicly.

Yes, Father.

-Take them out! -Yes, General.

General.

General...

Follow them and witness their execution.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

Move!

Move.

Hey, Yeom Byeong-su.

Stop being so pathetic. You are embarrassing yourself.

Halt.

Put hoods over their heads.

-Put hoods over their heads! -Yes, General.

General.

General!

-You execute them. -Yes, Dang Gise.

-Move! -Yes, General.

Move.

Go!

Execution of the traitors cannot be left to them alone.

I will follow them to be sure.

I want to witness Yeom's death with my own eyes.

Kill them.

-Come with me. -Yes, General.

You will find where to go and what to do there.

The Grand Councillor deems that place more important than any other places.

It means your job is that important.

Yeom Byeong-su will be put in charge of that place.

Make sure you serve him well.

Yes, General.

Pardon?

-Remember. -Yes, General.

Do not let anyone find out that you are alive

or the truth behind this place.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

Well... Commander.

Why do you not try

acting up again?

I... I am sorry, Commander.

Where does it say we should go?

This may...

completely change my life for the better.

I am sorry.

Hong-dan, are you there?

Yes, Your Ladyship.

Tonight,

I will attend to His Imperial Majesty.

You are all dismissed.

Well...

It is...

hard for me to focus on reading

with you looking so beautiful like that.

Would you...

put out the light?

Let me.

Does this mean...

that you will not break my heart anymore?

No one makes my heart flutter

like you do.

There are two factors that help Yeoncheol maintain his power.

One is his unfathomable wealth whose source is unclear.

The other is a strong military force that has been built on his wealth.

And?

What are you trying to say to me?

We would like you

to take charge of the city guard.

As long as he has the city guard on his side, there is nothing

that can be a threat to Yeoncheol.

How is your army coming along?

We do not have enough funding, so we can only have a small number of troops.

However, if the city guard tries to hold out a siege,

it will all come to nothing.

The city guard?

Are you willing to become the commander of the city guard?

May I not?

You deserve a better position than that.

Why do you ask?

I heard they are Grand Councillor's greatest military asset.

Is that good enough?

You do not need to go as far as to serve as their commander to prove your loyalty.

In that case,

there is no reason not to appoint me.

Then I shall demote the current commander, Won Jin, to Deputy Commander.

-Father. -You cannot give Wang Yu--

If you wish to be in charge, how can I stop you?

Good luck.

Thank you, Grand Councillor.

What happened?

I got his permission.

Did he agree that easily?

That is odd.

That paranoid Yeoncheol agreed to let you be in charge?

What about the current commander, Won Jin?

He will be demoted to Deputy Commander.

That is why he agreed

so easily.

What do you mean?

We are talking about Won Jin here.

He is the hero of the city guard.

Do you think his men could stand to see their hero get demoted?

Is that why you agreed to appoint Wang Yu?

He will not be able to overcome the resistance

and will eventually step down from the position.

Above all, Won Jin

is a competent officer that Yeoncheol acknowledges.

Even if you get in a dispute with him,

Yeoncheol will not stand on your side.

It is not just me that you saved,

but Concubine Ki and the Emperor.

Do not mention that again.

But Concubine Ki

does not know that you have been helping her.

Why do you hide it?

Misunderstandings

can breed hatred.

Let her hate me.

Sometimes,

it is better to let hatred grow

than to resolve it.

I mean, how could he do that? Her Ladyship got in trouble because of Wang Yu--

Hong-dan!

Your Highness, Concubine Ki is here to see you.

Let her in.

Let me pay my respects to you, Your Highness.

Take a seat.

You look very tired, Your Highness.

I have been troubling over the financial condition of the Imperial House.

I am told things are difficult.

It is not just difficult. At this rate,

the Imperial Office of the Treasury might shut down.

May I take a look at the book?

The years of famine

have resulted in a significant drop in tax revenue.

The major contributor to the issue is an extravagant and debauched lifestyle.

The Imperial House spends three million yang of gold

on ceremonial events every year.

The Empress's palace alone spends

close to a million yang of gold every year.

If we tighten the budget

for the New Year, Dragon Boat, and Mid-autumn festivals

and cut down on living expenses such as clothing and food,

we can surely save over a million yang of gold.

You are very quick with numbers.

I spent

my childhood among merchants in Goryeo.

How about I delegate full authority to you

so that you can manage the finances of the Imperial House?

Your Highness,

that is not my place.

I am not saying you will be in charge of it for good.

I am telling you

to step up and improve finances.

Empress Dowager has arrived.

As of today, Concubine Ki will take charge of the management

of the Imperial House's finances.

-How is that... -My lady.

Begin the assembly.

The Imperial House is financially struggling.

Hence, the Inner Court will try to lead a frugal life to save money.

Remember that and follow my lead.

-Yes, Your Ladyship. -Yes, Your Ladyship.

The events that the Inner Court holds

will either be cut back in size

or be canceled for good.

New clothes will not be made for a while.

Tailors will focus on repairing and taking care of clothes

in order to cut back on clothing expenses.

The kitchen will refrain from cooking fatty meat.

You will prepare simple dishes.

The number of dishes will be cut in half depending on the rank.

We will limit the amount of drinks and snacks

that are made every day

in order not to waste food.

Any court ladies who disobey this

will be fined out of their paycheck.

You know what you did wrong, right?

Make sure you remember this.

Why did you stop serving food?

This is everything.

Where is meat?

These are nothing but vegetables.

Bring the court ladies working in the kitchen.

This is not their fault.

It is Concubine Ki.

-Concubine Ki? -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

She is cutting back on the expenses.

How dare she insult me with food?

Your Imperial Majesty, the food is the least of the problem.

His Imperial Highness's blessing ceremony,

which was supposed to be held next month, will not be held.

What did you say?

Did she cancel that?

If not her, who else would dare to?

It is that nasty wench's doing.

How dare she cancel the ceremony to bless my son?

I am not going to let her have her way.

Why did you cancel the blessing ceremony?

There are thousands of people starving to death outside of the city.

That was not my question. Why did you cancel the blessing ceremony?

I canceled it because we could save many people's lives

with the 100,000 yang of gold that we use for the ceremony.

Are you jealous to see my son

be blessed by Buddha?

Do you have any idea why we are running low on finances?

It is because you spent money recklessly

while you were in charge of managing the Imperial House's finances.

Shut your mouth

and arrange the blessing ceremony again.

-I cannot. -You cannot?

If you want to hold it that badly,

ask your rich family for help.

Your Ladyship!

Your Ladyship!

Your Ladyship.

-Wake up, Your Ladyship. -Your Ladyship.

Stay with me, Your Ladyship.

I hope she dies.

We have finally gotten even with that wench.

What is going on?

Is she badly hurt?

Your Imperial Majesty, it is not that.

Then what is it? Just tell us what your concern is.

Her Ladyship is pregnant.

-She is pregnant? -Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

I am certain that Her Ladyship is pregnant.

Is the baby all right?

The Imperial Baby is fine.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Congratulations, Your Imperial Majesty.

You knocked out Concubine Ki?

Yes, Father.

I pushed that wench and knocked her out.

I doubt Concubine Ki would be that easy to beat, Your Imperial Majesty.

Do you not believe me?

Court Lady Seo, tell them what I did.

Her Imperial Majesty was like a fearless tiger.

Your Imperial Majesty!

Why are you making a fuss?

I am...

on my way from Concubine Ki's palace.

Did Ki die or something?

She is not dead.

She is pregnant.

What did you say?

Did you say she is pregnant?

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Oh, is this good for pregnancy?

-Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. -Let me take it.

Your Imperial Majesty, why are you doing this yourself--

His Imperial Majesty must be so happy.

Are you up?

Do not move.

Hold on. Be careful.

I am fine now.

But

why did you bring the tonic yourself?

Yang.

Did something happen?

We are...

having a baby.

Thank you, Yang.

Thank you.

What is so complicated?

Won Jin, the city guard is under your command.

Wang Yu cannot do anything.

Does that mean

you do not mind

if I handle him my way?

That is exactly what I want from you.

Be harsh on him and push him out of the position, all right?

General,

he is here.

Congratulations on your appointment, General.

You must be General Won Jin.

I have heard a lot about you.

Why are the men

not paying obeisance to their commander?

They refuse to serve a man from Goryeo.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Listen.

Soldiers

must observe military law and obey orders.

They have served only one man

for the last ten years.

They will not

serve anyone else.

How do we deal with disobedience

according to military law?

They are to be beheaded, and their heads should be hung on the camp gate.

I give you an order.

Tell your men that I will be giving orders,

and they are to obey them with life.

You should make sure they get my message.

This is an order.

Tell them what I said word-for-word.

Behead him.

Protect the general!

If you take my head,

you will have to behead every single member of the city guard.

Like Grand Councillor said,

you are quite a man.

I believe I can trust you with the troops.

Just make sure you report to me.

This is his first day. He should at least see his quarters.

This way.

All right.

This is where you will conduct--

Thank you for your warm welcome.

It is our turn to return the favor.

Kneel, you scum!

You already disobeyed me.

Do you have anything else to say?

Then

take my head and hang it on the camp gate.

As you wish.

General!

Do not move.

If you give them a foolish order,

you will die instantly.

Do you think

you can have my men listen to you by doing this?

I also do not want any men who do not obey me.

If you refuse to serve me,

you may leave right now.

This is your only opportunity.

If you stay and disobey,

you will be punished according to military law.

Something does not seem right.

What if not even one of them stays?

You need to stop them from leaving.

This is all for the better.

Put up a recruitment notice for guards.

I do not have any terms

other than their willingness to obey my orders.

Will you let some riffraff to protect the city?

Here comes an Imperial Edict.

"Concubine Ki has shown herself to be of a kind and upright character,

and became an example

with her talents.

Also, she became pregnant

and gave the Imperial House and the nation a reason to celebrate.

I name her

a consort of the third rank."

Consort Ki of the third rank, accept the Imperial Edict.

I thank you for your endless mercy, Your Imperial Majesty.

Consort Ki, congratulations on your pregnancy.

-Congratulations, Your Grace. -Congratulations, Your Grace.

Maha.

Do not worry about anything.

Even if that tramp gives birth to a son,

you will surely be the Crown Prince of this nation.

You will ascend to the throne.

I really do not understand His Imperial Majesty.

How can he never come around to see His Imperial Highness?

Your Imperial Majesty, His Imperial Majesty is here.

His Imperial Majesty is?

I should have held myself back.

I must have spoken too soon.

You should have let me know that you are coming.

I decided to stop by as I was passing.

Of course.

-Here is our son-- -I am sure

that you have heard that Consort Ki is pregnant with my child.

I stopped by because I was worried you would get jealous

like you were with Concubine Park.

Both Maha and Consort Ki's baby are my children.

So this time,

I hope you two get along.

You will not even hold your son.

Not only did you not hold him, you did not even look at him.

And what did you say?

They are both your children?

I doubt you will treat that tramp's baby like this.

I cannot believe you even promoted her from the fifth rank to the third.

Were you that happy with her pregnancy?

Is that tramp's child so dear to you?

Maha has

plenty of people to hold him.

He has his influential uncles

and the grandfather who has all the power in the world.

However,

Yang's child has only me.

I am the only one to hold the child and protect it.

I am the only one.

Even if she gives birth to a son,

do not dream of making him the Crown Prince.

Were you worried about losing your power to a baby

who is still in the womb?

Do not dream of it.

Maha

is the Crown Prince of this nation.

I pity you.

I pity you so much

that I can barely look at you.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Are you all right?

Your Imperial Majesty.

This way.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Have some water.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Never mind.

Your Imperial Majesty,

have you heard of a curse called gyeongosul?

GYEONGOSUL: A CURSE INVOLVING A DOG'S GHOST

What is that?

It is a powerful curse

that can kill someone.

Can we use that to kill Ki?

I know a great shaman who can cast the curse.

Should I arrange a meeting with her?

Before I cast the curse, there is something you should know.

If the curse kills the target, that is that.

But if it fails,

it turns on the one who asked me to cast it.

Do you still want to do this?

Does that happen often?

It is very rare.

But if the target is especially strong,

the curse might not work on them.

I do not care.

I want her dead.

I need

the date and time of her birth.

Here.

Does she have a son?

She is pregnant.

Why?

Her son

is destined to ascend to the throne.

Goodness, stop.

Read her fate again.

I need the date and time of Her Imperial Majesty's birth.

And?

Is my son destined to ascend to the throne?

I am afraid you do not have a son.

What are you talking about? I have given birth to a prince.

That is odd.

Odd?

What is?

You are not here to have your fate read.

Let us curse her.

We have a few things to prepare to cast the curse on her.

We need the target's undergarments.

And

you must get fresh dog's blood.

When you are all ready,

prepare an altar in the Palace.

I will do anything

if I can kill you.

Do you think I am afraid of getting punished?

Your Imperial Majesty.

She is here.

Get started.

Your Grace, what is wrong?

Are you all right?

A nightmare...

I had a nightmare.

Your Grace.

Your arm

is wounded.

If we have successfully hexed her, she will have nightmares every night.

If she cannot overcome the fear,

she will eventually lose her vitality and die.

How long will it take?

I have prepared thirty sheets.

Burn one every night.

She will surely die before you burn all the talisman.

KI YANG

Bury this nameplate

in your target's front yard at one o'clock in the morning.

What is this?

It is for when Death comes to collect her soul.

KI YANG

Try this one too.

Why will you not eat anything?

I cannot...

seem to swallow anything.

You do not look well.

Are you feeling sick?

Is that what your recurring nightmare is about?

Yes. I have been having the same nightmare for three nights now.

I am scared to fall asleep.

And I feel sick because I do not get any sleep.

What if something happens to my baby?

Do you have...

any wounds on your body?

How did you know?

If my guess is right, you must have a dog bite on your body.

What does this mean?

It must be gyeongosul.

Gyeongosul?

I have read an ancient record on it.

It is a curse that is cast using a dog's soul.

They say the first Empress of the Han Dynasty, Lü Zhi,

was also killed with this curse.

Do you know

how to break the curse?

You just have to overcome it.

However,

that is nearly impossible.

If you do,

the evil spirit will turn to the one who cursed you.

The only person who would curse you is...

Tanashilli.

It has to be her.

A curse or an evil spirit, come, whatever you are.

Petty black magic cannot kill me.

Tanashilli.

I am

your curse.

I will send this back to you.

A curse?

Yang.

A fight with Yeoncheol?

Tahwan.

What are our chances?

The fight will begin immediately.

You must solidify your role as an emperor.

I am no different from them.

My incompetency has cost me my throne.

Tell him

that he will get the throne back if he succeeds.

Great job, everyone.

-Father! -Father, stay with me.

Even Tanashilli and Maha... I will kill them with my own hands,

Grand Councillor!

Subtitle translation by Eun-sook Youn