Original subtitles

SPIRITUAL BODY OF GRAND COUNCILLOR BAEKAN

-Your Imperial Majesty. -Why did you not discuss it with me

before you killed the Grand Councillor?

Why did you make the decision by yourself?

The Grand Councillor

used Your Imperial Majesty to tyrannize the people.

How could you say that?

He tried to

set the Empire right.

Your greed for power has killed

my most loyal subject and friend.

Show repentance by groveling for mercy.

Repent for killing the Grand Councillor

and beg for my forgiveness.

I killed the Grand Councillor.

I am the one to be punished.

This is...

between me and His Imperial Majesty.

Stay out of it, Master Taltal.

I found this in my uncle's chamber.

This document shows that he planned to kill

all the Changs, Wangs, Lees, Yus, and Jos

among all the Han clans in the Yuan dynasty.

That is the majority of our people.

That was one of the reasons

I had to kill my own uncle who had raised me.

I will show this

to His Imperial Majesty.

-So you-- -He will only say that it is forged.

You will be put in danger for it.

But for you to take all the blame--

I do not want you

to get hurt.

You have...

a lot to do...

for His Imperial Majesty and the Empire.

Your Grace.

I will deal with this.

I must.

Did I not tell you to grovel for mercy?

The heavens know

that I did nothing wrong.

-What? -Thus,

I have nothing to ask forgiveness for.

I told you

I would not forgive you this time.

I cannot lie

just to escape from this situation.

Everyone is dismissed

except for Imperial Noble Consort Ki.

Anyone who pities or agrees with her

will face the same punishment.

Her Grace will never repent for what she did.

Your Imperial Majesty, you are not healthy.

What if your condition gets worse?

As soon as the dawn breaks,

leave the Palace

with the Goryeo people in your care.

Head to Ganye temple,

and receive 100 lashes each day with a bamboo stick.

Your Imperial Majesty.

As you are lashed,

confess one sin for one blow.

If you refuse to repent until the end,

you will never be able to return to the Palace

even after death.

I will not let it slide

this time.

Never.

Once the Imperial Noble Consort Ki is gone,

the Emperor has no one on his side.

The Emperor rules this country,

and I rule the Emperor.

But,

something is not right.

What do you mean?

An enormous amount of grain and cloth are being sold off at the market at once.

At once?

Prices are plummeting.

We have had years of famine.

If we let things be, the prices would keep rising.

What fool would sell now?

I will find out.

No.

Do not bother.

Keep an eye out.

We will buy the grain and the holdings when the time is right.

Hurry.

-No. -Goodness.

-Move. -Take it.

-No. -Move!

-What is going on? -Goodness.

As you said,

the masters of the Eagle House

are exchanging their assets for the chao.

Prices are falling.

Officials, who have been hoarding grain,

are selling in a panic.

The market is flooded with grain,

but the poor still cannot afford even a seom of rice.

How much is one seom?

Two and a half bills of the chao.

Shall we buy the grain now?

Not yet.

We will wait for the right time.

Your Majesty, Her Grace will be sent to Ganye temple in exile.

What are you saying?

She was exiled?

Your Imperial Majesty,

Her Grace has come to bid her farewell.

His Imperial Majesty does not want to see you.

-Your Imperial Majesty. -Just go. I do not want to see you.

Is His Imperial Majesty...

drinking again?

Alcohol is poison to His Imperial Majesty now.

I will not let him drink.

There is no need for you to worry.

Please look after yourself,

Your Imperial Majesty.

Imperial Noble Consort Ki,

you are not so dignified now, are you?

Look at you.

You should have known your place.

You ended up like this

because you crossed the line too many times.

May I ask you one favor,

Your Highness?

If you truly care for His Imperial Majesty,

let go of your lust for power.

Stop trying to use His Imperial Majesty

for your own ends.

Mind your own business.

You may meet the same end as the late Empress Bayan

while you are at the temple.

What on earth is happening right now?

Her Grace was exiled to Ganye temple?

We will have to

appeal to His Imperial Majesty to bring her back.

His Imperial Majesty has arrived.

Let me see.

Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Protector

are Imperial Noble Consort Ki's people.

Councilman of the Privy Council, Minister of Rites,

and Deputy Minister of State are the late Grand Councillor's people.

Oh, dear.

The Empress Dowager's loyal dog is also here.

Well, now.

Taltal. How can I forget about you?

It is hard to tell

which side you belong to.

At times, you worked for the late Grand Councillor,

and other times, you worked for the Imperial Noble Consort Ki.

No, no.

You took part in murdering the late Grand Councillor.

I guess you are on Ki's side.

All right.

Baekan is dead,

and the Imperial Noble Consort is gone.

Now, to whom

will you pledge your allegiance?

Your Imperial Majesty.

Please do not say that.

We all serve you--

Silence!

I am going to give you a chance.

If you can sacrifice your life for me,

lower yourself onto the floor.

I will assume those who do not do so

refuse to pledge allegiance to me...

and use this sword

to end their lives.

Golta, count to three.

One.

Two.

Look at you.

Why...

do you not lower yourself?

I can even

cut off my limbs

if that proves my loyalty.

But I cannot sincerely offer my loyalty to you

when you are acting like this.

Right.

Right.

You are right.

Is Taltal the only one who has the guts to speak his mind?

You are all cowards!

Your Imperial Majesty.

Golta, you see?

Not until long ago,

they pledged their allegiance

to either Baekan or Imperial Noble Consort Ki.

Now out of fear,

they are turning their backs on those who they once swore allegiance to.

All of you are

sly cowards.

I will kill you all with my sword.

Stop, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Please calm down. Pull yourself together.

Lower yourself on the floor.

-What did you say? -Lower yourself.

Swear allegiance to me.

-Your Imperial Majesty. -Why?

Are you not loyal to me?

Are you not my subject?

Golta, what are you waiting for?

Escort His Imperial Majesty to his chamber.

How dare you disobey me?

Escort him to his chamber now.

Unhand me.

I am the Emperor of this Empire.

I am the Emperor!

I am the ruler of this Empire!

Ever since Imperial Noble Consort Ki left the Palace,

His Imperial Majesty has lost control of himself.

You must do something, Your Highness.

You are right. I must do something.

I must make use of this opportunity.

What do you mean?

He is not thinking clearly.

This is my chance to replace Ayu

with a new crown prince.

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

Now your authority

is mine to use.

It is the least you can do for me

after all my years of service.

Your Grace, are you okay?

I had a nightmare.

Demons were trying to

hurt His Imperial Majesty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

Did you sleep well?

My head hurts.

This quince tea will relieve your hangover.

Your Imperial Majesty, General Taltal is here to see you.

His Imperial Majesty is fatigued. Later--

Let him enter.

What brings you here in the morning?

This document shows

what my uncle was scheming.

He meant to eliminate the five clans of the Han.

Also, please look at this.

It is the evidence of his dealings with the Eagle House.

The Eagle House?

He received political funds from them

in exchange for suppressing foreign traders.

Your Imperial Majesty,

the Eagle House

is monopolizing the Empire's economy

and bleeding the people dry.

They must be uprooted

and punished severely.

I leave this matter to you.

My apologies.

I wish to...

retire from service.

You wish to retire?

Even though it was for the greater good,

I committed the heinous crime

of killing my uncle with my own hands.

I do not deserve

to stay in the Palace.

I will retire to somewhere remote

and devote myself to studying.

Must you...

leave my side as well?

Your Imperial Majesty.

Send for Imperial Noble Consort Ki.

She wholeheartedly cares

only for you.

If it is true loyalty you seek,

you must

have her by your side.

She has not confessed her sin even once while being punished.

What is worse,

she resents Your Imperial Majesty.

Surely you are not

considering calling her back

as General Taltal suggested, are you?

They look exactly like real chao.

Our skills in producing counterfeit money

are just as good as the Eagle House's.

How will these help us to bring down the Eagle House?

All right. Hurry up, everyone.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

The counterfeit bills will soon be ready just as you instructed, Your Majesty.

What about the price of grain?

It went down to a third of the original price

since the high-ranking officials started selling competitively.

Have our traders

buy all the grain that is out in the market.

I thought the price needed to drop to one-fifth of its value.

The plan has changed. I need to speed things up.

Is it because of Imperial Noble Consort Ki?

We have to act

before the leader of the Eagle House finds out.

What are you saying?

You sold off your grain?

We were acting on your orders--

When did I ever give such orders?

It was 15 days ago.

All of us here heard you give the orders.

What is it?

Sir.

Buy the grain back.

Now!

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

They are out of it.

Are you saying someone bought a mound of grain over the night?

Yes. They say that men with branded faces bought them all.

Branded faces?

They must be the foreign traders who got kicked out of the market.

-You are correct. -Where did they get the money?

I have no idea.

The leader seemed confused as well. I have a bad feeling about this.

Where is General Dang Gise these days?

I have no...

This does not seem like

the work of the foreign traders.

Then who bought the grain?

The only foreign trading group

who did not get their faces branded.

I am sure

that Wang Yu is in Yeongyeong now.

Search everywhere.

Find out where he is.

-Yes, General. -Yes, General.

It has been a while, General.

I did not think you would be the commander of the Kheshig.

A lot of important positions have been replaced

since Park Bul-hwa and Taltal left.

Can you

place my men in the Kheshig?

That can be easily done. But why do you ask?

Open it.

You were once my favorite man.

I am only giving you what you deserve.

You can gladly take it.

Thank you, General.

Someone posed as me.

Who could it be?

We will find out

who dares to pose as the leader of the Eagle House.

We will let all the branch masters know.

Then we will never be able to catch him.

We will wait for a trail to appear

and kill him then.

Golta.

Are you there?

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Did you ask for me?

What is this?

I am the almighty Emperor,

yet I feel so empty.

Your Imperial Majesty.

I am tired of being called like that.

What is making me feel so suffocated?

I will have them serve you a drink.

It will help you fall asleep.

No. I want to go out

and get some fresh air.

I told you to stay within three steps of me.

My eyes are closed.

And my ears are covered.

I cannot see anything,

nor can I...

hear anything.

Please...

just sit back and relax.

How can she be so mean?

Your Imperial Majesty.

I will head to Ganye temple.

Do you miss Imperial Noble Consort Ki?

She has insulted me.

I will teach her a lesson.

How may I be of service?

Is she still

getting lashed?

Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.

Help His Imperial Majesty

become a great emperor.

Help His Imperial Majesty

stay healthy.

Your Imperial Majesty.

She specifically told us

not to interrupt her prayers.

Help His Imperial Majesty

stay healthy.

Hong-dan.

Stay still.

Let us return

to the Palace.

I am praying to Buddha

for you and Ayu.

I am not finished.

You should

return to the Palace.

Never disobey me again.

This may be

the last time I can forgive you.

Your Grace, welcome back.

-Welcome back. -Welcome back.

Mother.

Goodness.

How have you been, Crown Prince Ayu?

Do not leave me again.

I cried every night.

I promise

I will never make you cry again.

I thought the Imperial House would finally be at peace.

But that witch has returned so soon.

All her supporters

have been removed from office.

Losing them will surely take a toll on her.

It must.

The next time she leaves the Palace,

it will be as a corpse.

How much grain did we buy?

We have got 99 warehouses in each province full to the brim.

It is time to start spreading the counterfeit money in the market.

Which one of you is from Yoyang?

I am.

-I will leave that province to you. -Yes, sir.

Who will take care of Unnam?

I will.

What about Yeongbuk?

Leave it to me.

I will leave Yeongyeong to you, Mak-saeng.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Circulate rumors of counterfeit money

as soon as they are out in the market.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Your Majesty.

Taltal has sent a message

saying that he wants to meet with you.

This is the ledger kept at the Imperial Office of the Treasury.

The tax revenue has dwindled as the people are destitute.

As a result, the state's coffers are nearly empty.

These are from the Privy Council and the Ministry of War.

They will help you greatly

in controlling the military.

And this

is the information I gathered

on the Eagle House.

The Eagle House siphoned off a large sum of fund

intended for providing relief for the people.

If we catch and fine them,

it will be a great help to the national finance.

Why are you doing this?

Why are you giving all of these to me?

I fought against Baekan

to protect myself and Ayu.

Now that I have won that fight, I no longer need power.

These rightfully belong to you.

Now I can

devote myself

to serving you and educating the Crown Prince.

Is that not what you wanted?

I am sorry.

Like a fool,

I did not see your sincerity.

Yang, I am sorry.

If you are sorry,

may I ask you for one thing?

Of course.

You can ask for anything.

Please live long and healthy.

I cannot stand

watching you suffer from illness.

Please refrain from drinking alcohol

and be strong for me

and the Crown Prince.

All right.

I will not break your heart by ruining my health.

There is one more thing

I want to ask you.

Of course. Go on.

In the end,

I will have to kill Imperial Noble Consort Ki myself.

In the end...

Leader, counterfeit money is circulating the market.

Counterfeit money?

The market is flooded with a large sum of counterfeit money.

Did our branch masters

exchange their assets for money?

The currency value

has hit rock bottom.

The rat that posed as me

dares to challenge me.

Use any means

to find out who it is.

Yes, sir.

General.

What brings you

all the way here?

I sent Eunuch Park here three times.

You did not change your mind,

so I had no choice but to come myself.

His Imperial Majesty

has approved.

He wants you

to be the new Grand Councillor.

I do not...

deserve that position.

It was meant for a man like you in the first place.

It was unfortunate

for the Empire

that men like Yeoncheol and Baekan took the position.

I expect you to accept the position.

I will head back for now.

Counterfeit money...

is circulating the market.

Counterfeit money?

Counterfeit money has always caused great harm.

You should take this opportunity to carry out a currency reform.

You mean we should change our currency?

We should confiscate the money currently circulating the market

and make ourselves the sole issuer of silver coins.

The members of the Imperial House and nobles will be incensed.

But your people will welcome the change.

The rich have monopolized the chao up until now.

Should I risk getting on bad terms with the high-ranking officials

for the people?

Your Imperial Majesty.

Your power does not come from the nobles but from your people.

You must make policies

for the people.

"We have had constant trouble

due to the counterfeit money over the years.

Thus, I shall carry out the currency reform

by issuing new silver coins

and discarding the existing currency.

The existing currency may be exchanged to newly issued coins

only after its source is verified.

This will end the circulation of illegal funds

and stabilize the livelihood of our people.

The officials

should obey my command."

Are you all right?

Listen to my words.

I have

one more announcement to make.

I will appoint

Imperial Noble Consort Ki as the Empress.

Your Imperial Majesty!

I do not need your permission, Your Highness.

Imperial Noble Consort Ki,

do you accept

my offer?

Answer me.

Will you be the mother

of the imperial subjects?

Your grace...

is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your grace is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your grace is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your grace is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your grace is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

Your grace is beyond measure, Your Imperial Majesty.

The currency reform

will make some of the Eagle House branches go bankrupt

and drive their traders onto the streets.

I had no idea we would be able to get sweet revenge on the Eagle House.

All of us already knew, except you.

You did?

I will send the grain we have acquired

to the Yuan Imperial Palace.

What?

Your Majesty.

Why would you send

our precious asset to the Palace?

Who on earth

sent all of this grain?

This is not all.

The line of wagons stretches as far as the eye can see.

His Imperial Majesty asked who sent it.

We have a letter from the sender.

What does it say? Who sent it, and why?

They did not reveal their name.

But...

they want it to be used to feed our people.

Do you happen to know

who sent the grain?

I will tell you later.

Why not tell me now?

You will know

when the time comes.

Why did you want to see us?

Look carefully.

Golta.

Watch your mouth!

Those who have seen my face are bound to meet either of the two ends.

They either die or become my right-hand men.

Please spare us.

We will do anything you command us.

Someone is posing a threat to the Eagle House.

I need you to kill them.

I intercepted a letter Dang Gise sent

to request a meeting with the leader.

What does it say?

Dang Gise is planning to kill Imperial Noble Consort Ki and the Emperor.

Call him out right now.

That son of a bitch. I will kill him myself.

We will meet him first.

General.

What are you doing here?

I have waited here for days to see you.

What for?

What I am about to tell you

is nothing but the truth.

What is it?

Prince Maha

is Imperial Noble Consort Ki's son.

Imperial Noble Consort Ki?

His father

is Wang Yu.

Please let His Imperial Majesty know of it.

It is

the least I can do

to avenge the late Empress Tanashilli's wrongful death.

Imperial Noble Consort Ki will soon die

at the hands of me anyway.

Do you mean it?

May I

see your face?

You are impertinent.

How dare you?

I am putting my life on the line.

I cannot say anything

in front of someone who could be posing as the leader.

You would not be able to tell

whether he is the leader or not.

I need to confirm that he is not one of Imperial Noble Consort Ki's men.

Remove your mask, Leader.

If you do not,

it will mean a fight to the death between you and me.

Show me

your face, Leader.

I heard you suffered heavy losses

due to the currency reform.

There is only one solution.

Would you like to work with me

to crown a new emperor?

-Your words are absurd. -When an empire is in turmoil,

its people

lose their trust in their emperor.

That gives...

justification for overthrowing the throne.

And who would that new emperor be?

His second cousin,

Balracheopmoka.

All right.

-Thanks. -He is a horny scoundrel.

-Here you go! -He is also vain beyond words.

He will be a perfect puppet.

I ask you to join hands with him and the Empress Dowager.

I will kill the Emperor, Imperial Noble Consort Ki,

and Ayu.

How exactly do you plan to do so?

I have planted my men

in the Kheshig.

-Thank you. -Finally.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

Thank you.

Your Imperial Majesty,

do you know where the securest treasury in the world is located in?

It is in the people's heart.

The more you offer favors to them,

it will come back to you with much greater happiness.

You are quite right.

I am so proud of what we have done.

Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

-Hail to His Imperial Majesty! -Hail to His Imperial Majesty!

You are blocking His Imperial Majesty's way.

Make way.

Dang Gise.

Dang Gise?

Kill him immediately!

Your Grace!

How impudent! What do you think you are doing?

Dang Gise.

It is you again.

It is time

to put an end to this.

Kill them!

Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang.

Wang Yu.

Do you know

whose son Maha really is?

Let go!

He is the son

of Wang Yu and Seung-nyang.

That cannot be.

Ask Court Lady Seo. She will tell you the truth.

You never once were...

the one...

whom Seung-nyang's heart belongs to.

You poor bastard.

No!

No!

No!

No!

Your Imperial Majesty!

Wang Yu.

Subtitle translation by Eun-jin Kim