Original subtitles

UNDER THE QUEEN'S UMBRELLA

EPISODE 11

PRINCE UISEONG, GRAND PRINCE SEONGNAM, PRINCE BOGEOM

You have come far by showing great performance during the contest.

I am proud of all of you.

Traditionally,

the King selects talent through chaekmun,

for the philosophies and beliefs of the future leaders of the royal court

are found in their answers.

If you were the King,

what kind of questions regarding texts and politics

would you ask to select the best talent?

I would ask why the King ordered Park Gyeong-u and Seo Ham-deok,

who denied the current dynasty, to be brought to the palace.

I would ask whether someone

who is competent yet immoral should be appointed to office

to find out what is more valued between morality and competence.

I would ask what kind of criticism

the candidate heard about the King outside the palace.

Do you intend to accuse the people?

Do you not know it is a grave crime to speak ill of the King?

It is to hear the voices of the people that have not reached the King.

If the people complain about the King despite their fear,

it means their suffering is unbearable.

So?

Did you hear anyone speak ill of me outside the palace?

Yes, Your Majesty.

"An excessive amount of usury is collected from the poor

only to increase the wealth of the nobles,

but the King is only trying not to upset the court officials."

"If the King does not understand the suffering of the people,

he is no better than a puppet."

They were complaining about Uichang.

UICHANG: AN ORGANIZATION THAT STORED EXCESS GRAINS FOR RELIEF

An organization that was established to benefit the people

is only inflicting suffering on them?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Uichang, the Righteous Granaries, was established to help those in need.

However, it became corrupt long ago.

I am glad you brought that up.

I would like you to discuss

what caused the degeneration of Uichang

and how to improve

the situation.

What is the matter?

His Majesty ordered this material to be included in the assessment.

Please deliver it to the scholars.

Submit it.

What?

His Majesty submitted more material to be assessed?

Yes, Lord Hwang.

But the behaviors of the scholars seemed unusual.

While pretending not to be involved,

His Majesty must be evaluating the candidates in secret.

No one knows how the additional material will affect the assessment.

You are here.

Did you find out?

Who is in the lead?

The additional material must have had an impact on it.

Just tell me already.

Who is ahead?

Grand Prince Seongnam.

He must have achieved good results in the secret evaluation of His Majesty.

At this rate,

he may really become the Crown Prince.

Your Majesty.

I hope the scholars will remain impartial and make fair judgments until the end.

I trust their integrity.

After all, it is to select their future king.

They will certainly make a prudent decision.

By the way,

no one is allowed to have any contact with the scholars.

So by what means

was this information obtained?

Grand Prince Seongnam is ahead?

Are you going to just sit back?

Prince Bogeom will lose at this rate.

Should you not do something?

Then,

I will try to persuade the fathers of the scholars who have remained neutral.

Before that,

there is someone you need to meet.

We need to make that person stand on our side.

May I ask what this is about?

You are the Ijojeongrang who has control over the Three Censorate Offices.

So is it not obvious?

IJOJEONGRANG: SECTION CHIEF OF THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL

WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF APPOINTMENT

This is a gift from the Queen Dowager.

Please open it.

Her Royal Highness believes

this is the least you deserve.

Stand on the side of the Queen Dowager this time,

and your sons will be appointed to office.

Most personnel matters are decided by those serving the Chief State Councilor.

So how can I trust what you say?

In case you were anxious,

I invited another guest.

This is the Ijojeongrang.

You will all hear good news when there are personnel changes.

The Ijojeongrang must be up to something.

He is said to be supporting Prince Bogeom along with Minister Yoon.

Is that right?

I always knew he would betray us at some point anyway.

Still,

in this manner?

Why did you want to see me?

As the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice,

I reckon you deserve to own some of the best lands in the capital.

I cannot give you anything in return

nor can I betray the Queen Dowager.

No, you should never betray Her Royal Highness.

All I ask is that you help me

find my dog that ran away.

No one is more suited for the task than you are.

And who knows?

If Prince Uiseong is crowned,

this deal may prove to be an opportunity for you.

You have been accused of corruption by the Office of the Inspector General.

The Ministry of Justice is aware of it as well.

I called you here to ask you something before the investigation begins.

Is it really true

that you embezzled that much?

I have turned a blind eye to your misdemeanors so far

since I believed you were on my side.

But rumor has it

that you went so far as to accept a gift from the Queen Dowager.

Were you intending to betray me or something?

My apologies.

Forgive me, Chief State Councilor!

One side won them over with land and government posts,

while the other threatened them with corruption charges.

A total tug-of-war is underway, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty,

should we not do something as well?

Why are you not stopping them?

It is advantageous for us

to let them compete against each other.

Then are you deliberately letting them go against each other?

Yes.

If the votes are split between Prince Uiseong and Prince Bogeom,

Grand Prince Seongnam

may benefit from it.

However,

in addition to leaking information,

the scholars are now even receiving messages from their fathers.

It will surely have an impact on the evaluation.

By the way, Uncle, how do they exchange messages

under such tight security?

What took you so long?

There were too many eyes, so I had to take a different way.

You may leave.

Step aside. I will do it.

No.

I could do worse than search through excretions

to make Prince Bogeom the Crown Prince.

There it is.

With Prince Uiseong gaining more support, Prince Bogeom is falling behind.

Prince Bogeom is falling behind? That is impossible!

It is possible.

I bet Prince Uiseong will take the lead soon.

Why? What is the reason he is gaining support?

What else? He must have offered the best bribes.

Well…

Would there be a way to turn the tables?

Are you sure that will work?

Yes. This is the only way to get the scholars to turn their backs.

I do not know whose idea it was,

but we may face a real crisis soon.

What do you mean by that?

From now on,

the general opinion of the scholars will fluctuate.

The Queen Dowager will become quite busy.

Well done, Lord Yoon.

I am expecting more guests, so prepare tea.

-What is wrong? -My stomach…

-Are you okay? -It hurts!

Send for help! Hurry!

Are you all right?

Your Grace.

One of the scholars urgently requests an audience.

What do you mean?

Prince Uiseong was in the lead this morning.

What caused him to fall behind?

It is due to the records in the Office of Royal Genealogy.

-What? The Office of Royal Genealogy? -Yes.

Multiple records were found

of Prince Uiseong assaulting the servants of the court.

I thought you had taken care of it.

They even found out that you tried to cover it up.

I bet it was the Queen Dowager's doing.

There is not much time left. What do we do?

The only person who can solve this

is the Queen Dowager.

We have finally realized

that without your help,

we can never

make Prince Uiseong the Crown Prince.

The outcome of this contest

depends on you, Your Royal Highness.

Please

support Prince Uiseong.

Being a Fourth Junior Consort must have put fear into your heart.

Are you afraid you may never return

to your position?

My rank does not concern me.

I only dread

that Prince Uiseong will fail

to become the Crown Prince.

So please change your mind

and support him.

I would rather not.

However,

to defeat Grand Prince Seongnam,

either Prince Uiseong or Prince Bogeom

should remain in the contest.

In that case,

which one should I choose?

Seeing that she also asked you to come, it must be good news.

Your Grace.

Her Royal Highness is waiting for you.

Please go on in.

Oh, my.

Have a seat, Prince Bogeom.

Your Royal Highness.

This is the first time you have summoned both of us.

I am absolutely delighted.

Very well.

Consort Tae.

I have a favor to ask of you.

Anything you say, Your Royal Highness.

Retrieve the identification plaque of Prince Bogeom, if you please.

What…

What do you mean, Your Royal Highness?

Drop out of the contest.

Why are you doing this so suddenly?

What do you mean, "suddenly"?

Have you forgotten the promise you made to me?

What promise do you mean?

I do not understand what you are talking about.

Do you really not remember it?

Are you bestowing this book unto me?

What can you give me in return, Consort Tae?

I will obey

whatever orders you give me.

What if…

it is your life that I want?

No…

This is not right.

I can never accept it.

You promised me you would support Prince Bogeom.

So why are you telling him to drop out now?

Shut your mouth!

I promised to support him, so I did.

But now I have to bring him down. That is all.

Do you think the two of you would remain alive

if Grand Prince Seongnam became the Crown Prince?

If you drop out now,

I will at least save your lives.

No.

Death does not scare me.

Why should Prince Bogeom give up because of the promise I made?

This is not right.

The two of us will never back down.

You will have to kill me

before you make Prince Bogeom drop out.

It is because of your lack of judgment

that Prince Bogeom will never become the Crown Prince.

Prince Bogeom,

I believe you are bright enough to understand what I mean.

Grandmother.

I have a question.

Between Prince Uiseong and me,

why do you think he should remain in the contest?

Is it really because of the promise my mother made?

In horse racing,

one of the horses takes the lead

to speed up the other horses.

That is you.

I have never considered you to be Crown Prince material.

You were born of a low-born mother.

Did you really think you could become the Crown Prince?

Your Royal Highness.

I am willing to do anything you say.

Please change your mind.

I cannot be the reason Prince Bogeom drops out.

Please reconsider, Your Royal Highness.

Please…

PRINCE BOGEOM

However,

to defeat Grand Prince Seongnam,

either Prince Uiseong or Prince Bogeom

should remain in the contest.

In that case,

which one should I choose?

Please choose Prince Uiseong.

What do I get in return?

I will give you my control over personnel matters.

Are you content with only having control over the Minister of War?

All six ministers

should be your people, should they not?

That sure sounds great,

but do you think I have gone to such great lengths just for that?

Even if Prince Uiseong becomes the Crown Prince,

I will not become queen.

Only the queen has control over the ladies of the royal palace.

And I will give it to you.

What has never been yours

despite your high rank…

will finally be yours.

Send a message to the scholars

to support Prince Uiseong.

Your Majesty, the majority have started supporting Prince Uiseong

since Prince Bogeom retrieved his identification plaque.

I feel utterly frustrated.

This is absolutely unfair.

When the scholars could decide on their own,

Grand Prince Seongnam was in the lead.

As if bribing and coaxing the scholars were not enough,

they even made a candidate drop out!

Calm down.

I saw this coming all along.

However,

I cannot accept it

if I lose like this.

Halt!

They say impure food

is no better than poison.

I fear the scholars will fall ill after eating this.

Your Majesty.

What are you doing here?

Is there any reason I should not be here?

His Majesty forbade anyone to enter the chamber,

so I ask you to leave.

I refuse.

Because you are

not carrying out your duties properly as the supervisor.

On what grounds do you say that?

What is going on?

With all due respect,

Her Majesty was examining

the food for the scholars against your order.

It was to verify a report of misconduct made by the inspector court lady.

"Misconduct," Your Majesty?

Do you have evidence?

Your Majesty.

I will find evidence,

so please allow me to go in.

I allow you.

Bring in the food.

"I have secured your post as assistant section chief of the Ministry of Justice,

be sure to vote for so-and-so"

"I have received a hundred majigi of valuable land in Seochon."

"Vote for so-and-so,

and you will be appointed to a post in the Ministry of Rites."

Until now,

I have turned a blind eye to these messages,

for I did not want the court servants who delivered them to be sacrificed.

Also,

I trusted all of you.

I trusted you had the principle and backbone

not to be swayed by mere pieces of paper.

After all,

you are the future pillars of this kingdom.

So why are you selling off a chance to become masters?

If you already engage in misconduct,

what will you possibly be able to do as officials in the future?

It is undesirable for the ignorant to be blinded by their faith.

But what is even more undesirable

is that those who should have principles act against conscience.

Whoever sent these messages

and whoever received them

will not be held responsible.

But this may be

your last chance…

to preserve your integrity.

My apologies, Your Majesty.

I did not find any evidence.

We refuse to have any contact with anyone from the outside.

We also refuse any food until the final decision is made.

Your Majesty.

The scholars summoned

Grand Prince Seongnam and Prince Uiseong to the chamber.

A family with huge gambling debts attempted to end their lives.

As a result, the wife died while the husband and the child survived.

The investigation revealed that the husband stabbed his family

as agreed by his wife

and attempted to kill himself afterward.

Discuss whether the husband, Kim, should be punished

for murdering his wife.

He should receive severe punishment for causing his wife to die.

However, since his wife agreed to it

and he has a surviving child,

his punishment should be reduced so he can support his child.

I disagree.

He should be punished properly for his murder.

There is something we have overlooked.

It is the life of the child.

The couple never asked the opinion of their child.

For the child, what happened was murder.

We must reconsider the idea that parents have control over their child's life.

Therefore, this case should be deemed to be family murder.

Accordingly, Kim should be severely punished

for attempting to murder his child.

Also, the government should separate the child from his father

and provide the child with protection.

Your Majesty.

I heard the evaluation just ended.

Is that right?

Your Majesty.

Prince Bogeom has arrived.

Will you excuse us?

Send him in.

Why did you send for me, Your Majesty?

I intend…

to punish your mother.

Her Majesty the Queen has urgently summoned you.

As of today,

you are demoted to a court maid of my quarters.

You have not only leaked information about me

to Minister Yoon behind my back

but also spread false rumors about me.

You deserve to receive capital punishment,

but I am merely demoting you

because you are the mother of Prince Bogeom.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Start by cleaning my bedchamber.

Clean it again.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Forgive me, Your Majesty.

Leave it. It is her duty.

Whoever

is caught helping her…

will not be forgiven.

Why is my mattress not mended yet?

Pardon?

Be sure to mend all of them

before I return.

Do not wake her up.

You are finally awake.

You seemed to be fast asleep.

Forgive me, Your Majesty.

Does your physical fatigue

clear your mind?

You are not a Third Senior Consort

just because you gave birth to a son of His Majesty.

Your rank came with your duty to take good care of the prince.

Also, as a parent, you should not let your child go down a dangerous path.

I wanted to make Prince Bogeom

the Crown Prince no matter what.

Do my son and I not even get to dream of that?

Even if you intend to help your child, if you choose the wrong means,

you may end up harming your child.

Your greed caused Prince Bogeom

to be used

and get hurt.

I did all that for his sake.

Motherhood is still

too daunting for me.

Your Majesty.

I apologize for betraying you

despite the kindness you showed me.

Please forgive me.

I also find motherhood the most challenging.

They say

the duty of a parent is not to lead the way

but to show their child the path they have walked.

You should at least

keep your child off dangerous paths.

If your mind has become clear again,

think carefully about what you should do from now on as a mother.

I do not think

Prince Bogeom would want to see me.

I certainly would not.

Neither would I if that is how you are going to look.

So go and wash your face

and dress up as usual.

You look terrible.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I intend to punish your mother.

What did she do so wrong?

Is it because I tried to become the Crown Prince?

Why would that be a problem?

As a son of His Majesty,

you had every right to partake in the contest

to select the Crown Prince.

Then why must she be punished?

By any chance,

is it because she enlisted the help of the Queen Dowager?

Prince Bogeom.

What did you gain

through this contest?

I realized

I would never be able to overcome the limits of my origins.

My hope turned out to be in vain.

Do you believe your failure was solely caused by your origins?

Was there any injustice involved?

Did you perhaps resort to improper means?

I would like you to reflect on that.

The world is full of people

seeking to take advantage of those blinded by their goals.

Prince Bogeom.

Becoming the Crown Prince is not the only way to prove yourself.

Even though the King possesses ultimate power,

he cannot do everything by himself.

I would like you

to assist the Crown Prince by his side.

Yes,

Your Majesty.

I have a favor to ask of you.

Go ahead.

Please do not punish my mother.

All this originated from my greed.

My mother, however, must be blaming herself

for all that happened.

Are you

worried about your mother?

Come closer.

What about you?

Are you all right?

I am.

I am perfectly fine.

When things are tough,

it is okay to say so.

It is all right to show that you are in pain.

Only then will others know

that you are not all right.

That is the Consort Tae I know.

Prince Bogeom.

Prince Bogeom.

I am sorry.

Prince Bogeom may be mature for his age,

but his mother must be the only person

he can truly rely on.

By the way, do you not resent Consort Tae at all?

To think that one of your maids

became the concubine of His Majesty…

I would be too upset to even look at her.

I did avoid her for a while.

-Really? -Of course.

I am a woman, after all.

When I found out I was not the reason

that His Majesty was visiting my chamber,

I secretly shed quite a few tears.

I still do not understand.

I would have ripped her to pieces.

It is just that

you seem to be very generous toward her.

She makes me smile.

She is one of a kind.

The palace would be…

boring without her.

What did the Queen say to the scholars?

Just what did she say

that immediately changed their attitude?

It is not known.

It is the only thing she has done

after being cooped up in her quarters throughout the evaluation.

All we were able to do was send in a few messages,

but she not only barged into the chamber

but also spoke to the scholars in person.

As His Majesty granted permission,

we should not raise an issue.

Prince Uiseong

must become the Crown Prince no matter what.

Your Royal Highness.

Was Prince Uiseong your choice all along?

Yes.

I have never changed my mind.

Then why have you been supporting Prince Bogeom?

I did not support him.

I used him.

Thanks to that, I have gained a lot more.

Then what will happen to Prince Bogeom and Consort Tae now?

Now that I have extracted all I can from them,

they are no longer of any use.

Becoming the Crown Prince?

Did the two of them ever deserve it?

I reckon you will turn your back on me

when I, too, am no longer of any use.

You are different.

Whoever becomes the Crown Prince,

your daughter will become the Crown Princess.

The way he looked at me

as the sun rose in the morning…

"It really is pretty."

He was not referring to the sun.

-I see. -I see.

Even though I did not see it myself,

the expression on his face, his breath, and the look in his eyes…

I could feel it all.

A woman can always tell when a man has feelings for her.

Even if he does not say a word, you can just feel it.

And that is what they call destiny.

Did that man

adore you that much?

Yes, Mother.

He must have such great taste in women.

That is not all, Mother.

The way he hid his feelings for me

and worked relentlessly to fulfill his task was truly amazing.

Father!

Father!

-You are home early. -You little…

Did I not tell you to stay in your chamber?

That is enough, my lord.

We should be grateful that she returned safely.

I become worried when she is out of my sight,

but I become even more worried when she is around.

My goodness.

Is that certain?

Yes, my lord.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

The representative scholar is on his way to the hall of governance with the result.

Before we start a discussion

to select the Crown Prince,

I will announce the evaluation delivered by the scholars.

Your Majesty.

I have something to report urgently.

Rumor has it that Grand Prince Seongnam,

who grew up outside the palace, is not of royal blood.

What are you talking about?

Do you intend to slander the Queen and me?

Your Majesty.

If the rumor proves true,

Grand Prince Seongnam cannot be the Crown Prince.

With all due respect, selecting the Crown Prince is of utmost importance.

So even if the rumor is false,

I believe it should be clarified before we proceed.

So?

What is it that you want?

I request that we verify whether or not Grand Prince Seongnam is of royal blood.

Your Majesty.

If this is not settled now, it will continue to cause controversy.

I advise you to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

Chief Eunuch,

bring the Queen and Grand Prince Seongnam

to the Royal Clinic immediately.

I cannot believe the court officials responded so eagerly

to a mere rumor on the streets.

Very well. I give my consent.

Please proceed.

I will use a method named haphyeolbeop from the medical book, Sinjumuwonrok.

Haphyeolbeop?

That will leave wounds on their bodies.

That is the most accurate method we can utilize to conduct this test.

You may begin.

I ask you to halt the process, Your Majesty.

A wooden bowl will make it difficult to see the result.

I ask that white porcelain bowls be used.

Do as she says.

If Grand Prince Seongnam is of royal blood,

their blood will blend together.

This is pit viper venom.

When added to blood, it causes it to congeal.

No one will be able to tell if it is added to water.

The blood of the two will congeal without blending.

The blood did not blend.

That proves Grand Prince Seongnam is not of royal blood, does it not?

Haphyeolbeop alone is not reliable.

Chief Royal Secretary.

This is a proven method from a medical book.

Your Majesty.

Grand Prince Seongnam is not qualified to become the Crown Prince

and should be eliminated.

I cannot accept the result.

Haphyeolbeop does not produce accurate results

when the water is contaminated.

Therefore,

I request that the Chief State Councilor and Fourth Junior Consort Hwang

be tested with the same method.

Also,

I request that the same water be used.

Chief State Councilor.

Is Consort Hwang

not your real daughter?

Therefore, I would like to use another method

to prove Grand Prince Seongnam is of royal blood.

Please summon Grand Prince Muan, Princes Uiseong, Bogeom, and Simso,

as well as the Queen Dowager here.

As you wish, My Queen.

His Majesty

has a distinctive bump-like bone behind his ear.

I reckon the Queen Dowager is well aware of it.

I am.

Interestingly,

most of the children of His Majesty

inherited the same characteristic.

Therefore,

I suggest that the Queen Dowager examine the ears of her grandchildren herself.

Royal Physician Cho.

Is there any sense in what she is saying?

Yes, Your Royal Highness.

The bone of the ear is considered a unique hereditary trait

and can be used to determine paternity.

He has the said bump.

Does Grand Prince Seongnam have it?

Yes,

he does.

All of the princes

have the same bump as His Majesty.

A child indecently conceived during the mourning period

for the previous king.

That is why Grand Prince Seongnam was forced to grow up outside the palace.

However, I was already pregnant

when the previous king passed away.

The mere speculation of the Queen Dowager

and the elders in the royal family

labeled Grand Prince Seongnam as indecent even before his birth.

However, foolishly,

I failed to stand up against them.

As you had just ascended the throne,

I was afraid that this matter would weaken your authority.

My failure to refute the accusation then

led to the controversy today.

Grand Prince Seongnam…

is my son.

The only reason I condoned this absurd test

is to put an end to the controversy caused by a false rumor.

Any doubt raised regarding the origins of Grand Prince Seongnam

from this moment on

will be deemed to be slandering the King

and led to capital punishment.

I have hidden the truth

even from you all these years,

and it is all my fault.

I could not

bring myself to tell you because I was ashamed of my foolishness.

Just because I am a mother and an adult

does not mean I am right all the time.

I am sorry.

You do not have to be.

I am aware that you used to come and see me when I was a child.

You also…

sent Brother to me.

He taught me how to read

and trained me as well.

Look at me now.

Did I not turn out much better than the naive princes who grew up

sheltered in the palace?

I will announce the winner of the contest and the next Crown Prince.

It is Grand Prince Seongnam.

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

We lost the crown before our very eyes.

To Grand Prince Seongnam, of all people!

Do not be upset.

I may still have a chance.

Not all crown princes become the king.

I ask both of you

to bring him down from his position with whatever means you can.

Very well. We will.

We have done it once. We can certainly do it again.

By the way, what happened to Seo Ham-deok?

He knows that I killed an innocent person.

If he ever reveals it,

I might lose my chance forever.

I will take care of him.

My stomach!

Goodness, my stomach!

-What is the matter? -My stomach…

-My stomach hurts. -Send for a physician.

He is to be questioned shortly. Please examine him before that.

Mother.

Promise me…

that you will remain strong.

Only then will I be able to die in peace.

I will stay by your side even as the wind.

Please do protect my son and brothers.

I think I have

kept the promise I made to you to some extent.

You slept in this chamber alone

for the first time when you turned five.

You held my hand all night.

I believe…

it is time for me to let go of your hand.

Clean out the quarters of the Crown Prince

and replace the mattress.

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

GRAND PRINCE SEONGNAM

UNDER THE QUEEN'S UMBRELLA

I cannot help but smile just by looking at your face.

What poison…

did you use on the Crown Prince back then?

A participation form?

We must find a strong candidate and recommend her.

Father, I want to be the Crown Princess.

It has to be me no matter what.

I must gift him the worst bride.

There must be people who are in league with the deposed Queen Yoon and her son.

The only one who can clarify the death of the Crown Prince

is Physician Kwon.

Subtitle translation by: Min-jin Kim