Original subtitles

Me as the queen?

What do you mean, Your Highness?

Let us adopt you...

Episode 25 - so you can be selected. - I am a court maid.

Episode 25 A court maid is not eligible for selection.

Things are urgent, and we have no other option.

Someone must help Yeon Joo...

throughout the selection process,

and you are the only one we can trust.

If you succeed,

I promise that...

I will have your father's honor restored.

Your Majesty, the Queen Dowager is awake.

Your Highness, are you awake?

Your Majesty.

What on earth happened?

Someone poisoned you and the candidates.

That... That is impossible.

Your Highness! Check her condition.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your job is to protect them all. Why did you neglect your duty?

Subtitle ripped and resynced by redixion

I apologize,

Your Majesty.

Royal Physician. Check on this girl first.

Yes, Your Majesty.

You are excused.

There is nothing you can do here.

As soon as she is stable,

take her to the detached palace and treat her there.

Yes, Your Majesty.

What is going on? How did this happen within the palace?

My lord.

Who could have done this?

Your Majesty, the Minister of Personnel is here.

- Did you call for me? - Do me a favor.

Please save this girl.

Bring me cold adzuki bean water...

and an acupuncture set.

Yes, my lord.

Nurse.

How is the lady inside doing?

She is still unconscious.

She had a fever all night.

Are you sure she is okay?

The fever is fighting off the last of the poison.

She will recover once it goes away.

Do not worry.

I shall brew some medicine for her.

Master Chun Soo...

Were you here all night?

How is Ga Eun doing?

Do not worry.

She will suffer for three days,

but her life is not in danger.

I would like to...

see Ga Eun.

Lee Sun is inside with her.

I will help you see her once he leaves.

Ga Eun.

Do not worry, master.

I am all right.

Please.

From now on,

do not let me see you like this.

You can cry, smile, or get angry.

I will take all that.

However,

I do not want to...

see you like this.

Do you know how I felt...

when I saw you on the floor?

I bet you felt the same way I did...

when I saw you in the water.

When I am tired or in danger,

you are always there for me.

Despite it being...

under different guises...

each time.

A Book Seeker, a Chief Peddler.

Today, an officer.

I sometimes wonder who you really are,

but to me,

you are just Master Chun Soo.

How is Ga Eun doing?

She is stable now. I left after she fell asleep.

I was so afraid something terrible would happen to her.

It felt like my heart was going to stop.

How are the others?

No one's life is in danger.

That is a relief.

But no one died?

That is odd.

I mean, it is a relief...

but it is odd.

You are correct.

It feels clumsy for Pyunsoo Group.

It was not Pyunsoo Group.

Think about it. What have they gained by this?

There is no need to worry.

Both Ja Young and Eun Soo will recover completely.

The problem...

is that Ja Young and Eun Soo...

they are both too afraid and refuse to participate.

Who could have done such a thing?

Pyunsoo Group gained nothing,

but rather, they lost their candidates.

Why did we suspect them?

Because the Queen Dowager was also poisoned.

Yes. She did not lose anything.

Rather,

she gained something huge.

Lady Kim.

What do you think?

The cunning woman ingested poison on her own.

Are you saying the Queen Dowager ingested poison...

in order to gain control over the queen selection?

Yes.

Then do you think the person behind this incident...

was the Queen Dowager?

However, there is no need to worry.

Even if Ja Young and Eun Soo refuse, there is someone else...

who can partake in the queen selection.

There is? Who can do that?

Your Highness. Are you all right?

Do I look all right?

I cannot believe you risked your life to safeguard your power.

I am humbled by your dedication and will.

Stop speaking nonsense,

and tell Yeon Joo...

that her aunt...

took poison to hand her the position of queen,

so she had better participate in the queen selection.

Yes, Your Highness.

It is a relief that all the candidates have recovered,

and that we can continue on with the selection,

but I am concerned about what more will happen.

Pyunsoo Group lost two of its candidates.

It is suspicious that they have not done anything yet.

If things continue as is, the Queen Dowager's candidate...

will be selected to be queen.

You have all passed the first round of selections.

Elders of the Royal Family must preside...

to assist in the selection.

However, because of the unfortunate event in the previous round,

we are unable to ask them for assistance.

Thus, His Majesty came himself.

You should bow to him,

as it is an honor for you.

We will now begin the next round of selections.

Your Highness.

What is it?

Well... Someone has come to assist you...

in the selection.

What do you mean?

Who wishes to assist in the selection?

I hope I am not too late.

I came to assist you with the queen selection.

Hwa Gun, is that you?

What right do you have to get involved in the queen selection?

I have a right as the head of Pyunsoo Group.

Is that not sufficient, Your Highness?

Your Majesty, please tell us what you think.

Do I qualify to assist you?

Or shall I bring my grandfather here?

No. The head of Pyunsoo Group...

is fully qualified.

Finally, we will have a fair selection process.

Do you not agree?

It happened!

It finally happened.

The head of Pyunsoo Group...

showed up to be a judge at the queen selection.

I need to go.

The Third State Councilor's daughter...

is the Queen Dowager's niece,

so I am sure she is strong and tenacious.

We are choosing the future mother of the nation,

and thus we need to know whether you understand the lives of the people.

This question is for the Third State Councilor's daughter.

How much does a bushel of rice cost?

Oh, my. Do not tell me that you do not know the price of rice.

The Third State Councilor...

must have raised her sheltered like a flower in a greenhouse.

The price of a bushel of rice...

is five nyang.

Tell us what each region offers the Royal Family as tribute.

Chungcheong Province, Jeolla Province,

and Gyeongsang Province offer...

- Cotton. - cotton.

Pyongan Province and Hwanghae Province offer silk.

Hamgil Province and Gangwon Province offer...

pears as tribute.

Which is farther away,

the sun in the sky and the capital?

What you just asked is not a question, but a trap.

A trap?

Whichever answer she gives, you will be able to say...

that she is wrong. Thus, it is a trap.

If she said the capital was closer, you would have responded,

"Raise your head and look at the sky."

"The sun is right before you."

"However, the capital is so far away that you cannot see it."

"Thus, the sun is closer, is it not?"

If she had said the sun was closer, you would have responded,

"You can meet a person from the capital."

"However, have you ever met anyone from the sun?"

"Thus, the capital is closer, is it not?"

Who could answer correctly to such an improper question?

It is as you say.

My question was improper.

I will ask something very clear-cut this time, as a show of apology.

Either of you may respond. Whoever knows the answer.

I shall ask about the law of Joseon.

If someone dared falsely use the King's name,

what is the proper retribution for such a criminal?

This man is Deputy Magistrate Han Gyu Ho.

He falsely used my name, the Crown Prince.

I myself will behead him.

Did you not hear the question?

I will ask you again.

I asked what is the proper punishment for a criminal...

who falsely uses the King's name.

He must be executed.

Yes, that is correct.

Such a criminal must be executed.

He is beheaded at the Seoso Gate execution ground.

His head is hung high on a stick.

All the passersby...

spit at his head.

Is it not correct?

I have...

something to tell you.

He is beheaded at the Seoso Gate execution ground.

His head is hung high on a stick.

All the passersby...

spit at his head.

The adopted daughter of the Chambong, Choi Soo Yeon.

Please come outside.

To reward you for completing the selection process,

we have a present for you.

Please follow me.

Do you like it?

I prepared them for you.

Your feelings must have been hurt.

You endured it well.

Do you like that ornament?

I will ask the same artisan to make something more beautiful.

I heard that we are given silk after the selection process.

I will only take this like the other candidates.

Please excuse me.

I asked...

for a yellow one on purpose.

Do you not like it?

The yellow color.

How do you know that?

I heard someone poisoned them during the selection process.

It was not done by Pyunsoo Group.

That was my assumption.

Lady Kim.

Thank you.

I thank you with all my heart...

for helping me many times.

However,

I prefer that we no longer meet each other in private.

Either Pyunsoo Group or I must be destroyed.

That is the nature of my relationship with Pyunsoo Group.

You are...

the leader of Pyunsoo Group.

I apologize for saying this.

Please be well. Goodbye.

Crown Prince.

Since when...

have you known?

I have known...

for five years since I met you at the greenhouse.

I was the one who saved you at the cliff.

I made your heart stop temporarily with a drug...

to fool my grandfather.

Will you not ask...

why I saved you?

I...

like you.

Lady Kim, I...

I love you.

It has to be you.

Under the condition that I become the leader of Pyunsoo Group,

my grandfather promised me that he will not cause you harm.

I became the leader only to save and protect you.

But shall we not meet because I am the leader of Pyunsoo Group?

Did I ask you for anything difficult?

I ask you to be near me and not disappear.

Is that such a greedy thing to ask?

How much more shall I give for you to take a look at me?

You told me...

to fight against Dae Mok.

You said...

those above saved my life.

However, the truth is,

Dae Mok's granddaughter...

saved me.

Your Highness.

I find something strange.

Lady Kim said she made a promise with Dae Mok...

to save your life.

If that is true,

the person who tried to kill you last time...

was not Dae Mok.

Right.

I know...

who it could be.

The Queen Dowager tried to kill you?

I lost consciousness after drinking the poisoned tea...

at the Queen Dowager's palace.

How can you suspect her with that fact?

The Queen Dowager knew the truth...

that only...

the culprit would know.

Pyunsoo Group dared to come to your palace to poison someone.

Should you not look for the culprit?

It must be one of Dae Mok's men.

What is the point of finding him?

Then...

you should increase the number of guards.

Do you remember?

Pyunsoo Group's Ki Chal Team tried to kill me...

at this exact place.

I do remember.

I have not seen the Ki Chal Team before.

It was Ga Eun who told me.

However,

the Queen Dowager...

already knew.

I see.

What is your plan?

I will help...

the Queen Dowager.

Right now,

stopping Pyunsoo Group is priority.

Master Dae Mok, something seems strange.

During the selection process,

I noticed that the Queen Dowager had changed.

How so?

She became quick and agile.

She prepared the selection process and the people...

very quickly.

We lost our chances many times.

She has changed.

It is not that she has changed,

but her people that have changed.

There must be...

someone more sly than that cunning woman.

I cannot believe this.

What shall we do?

The Queen Dowager is...

being arrogant after covering up the poison incident.

Let us find the poisoner for her.

Should we find her follower who poisoned their tea?

It must be one of the court ladies.

There is someone else who will be a better example.

I just thought of one.

We have completed the selection process.

I will now announce the three girls who have made it...

to the final list.

Chief State Councilor. What do you think you are doing?

I apologize, Your Highness.

I had no choice but to interrupt you...

because we have an urgent situation.

What did you say?

It is about the poisoning incident during the first selection process.

We have found a person who is suspected to be...

the poisoner.

Chief Magistrate Han, arrest the suspect.

Yes, Chief State Councilor.

Subtitle ripped and resynced by redixion

Capture the suspect!

- Yes, master. - Yes, master.

Why are you doing this to me?

We are arresting you...

since you are the suspect of the recent poisoning incident.

Let us go.

(Episode 26 will be aired shortly.)

(Episode 26)

Stop, Chief State Councillor.

What evidence do you have to take this woman?

You are a mere palace guard. How dare you block my path?

Move aside immediately.

You need proof...

to arrest someone!

How dare you!

Will you come to your senses when your head gets cut off?

- Listen! - Yes, master.

Step aside.

Chief State Councillor.

Is this Master Dae Mok's order?

Master...

Let us go.

Subtitle ripped and resynced by redixion

Dae Mok made them arrest your person on purpose.

He warned you that he would not let you be...

if you did not make his person as the new queen.

Your Highness, you need to save Lady Han quickly.

A hasty move will...

only give them another excuse for their future actions.

She is innocent,

so she will be released soon after the investigation.

She was taken to the Department of Justice.

It is for certain that she will be tortured harshly.

However,

are you going to just sit here and watch?

Lady Han is my person.

I will take care of her matter,

so do not intervene.

What? She was taken to the Department of Justice?

Then we must hurry and get her out of there.

I shall find the real culprit.

If we hand the culprit in, she will be released.

That will not be an ultimate way to save her.

The Queen Dowager is the real culprit of the case.

She drank the poison herself...

to turn the queen selection in her favor.

She is...

more than capable of doing so.

I will take care of this matter.

Until then,

please buy some time.

Were you the one who poisoned the Queen Dowager during the selection?

No.

How dare you attempt to lie to us? Confess your wrongdoing.

I dare ask you a question.

What proof do you have to arrest me?

We looked through your personal information...

which you submitted for the selection.

You are the Chambong's daughter.

You are not qualified to be a candidate.

Is it not that you used poison to kill the other candidates...

and become a queen yourself?

Do you claim your ridiculous suspicion is proof?

- What? - Then...

who would commit such high treason like this?

I do not know.

You do not know.

Then we have no other choice but to point you as the culprit.

You are the Chief State Councillor of this country.

But your ground in putting the guilt on...

someone innocent is so weak.

What?

You will learn your lesson only when you get a beating.

You will remember your sin...

when we twist your legs...

and rip your body into pieces.

- Begin. - Yes, master.

Stop it.

Your Majesty, what brings you all the way here?

Do not tell me...

you are here to order us...

to release that woman.

I would not order you to do so.

My mother drank poison because of someone so evil.

I believe it is right for me...

to interrogate her myself as her son.

(The King himself will interrogate her.)

Put those torturing tools away immediately!

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

Will she confess her wrongdoing without being tortured?

I wish to know the truth.

If she tells a lie because she is afraid of the torture,

that will not let me reveal the truth.

I shall interrogate her myself, so get things prepared.

The King came forward to interrogate her.

- What should we do? - Did you say...

her name is Ga Eun?

Yes. She became a candidate as the Chambong's daughter.

I do not care whose daughter she is.

She is a useful pawn to win a game for us.

The sly Queen Dowager drank poison herself...

to turn the queen selection in her favor.

So we will use this useful pawn...

to put the King in trouble...

and turn it back in our favor.

I wish to take a look at the court ladies' work reports.

You are already too late...

if it is to investigate on the poison case.

The records of that day...

were sent to the Department of Justice.

I do not need the official records of that day.

I need the records from 20 days prior.

20 days prior.

That is the day the Queen Dowager tried to harm you.

One of the court ladies working in the Queen Dowager's kitchen...

must have poisoned my tea.

I am positive that the same person...

was behind this poisoning.

Even if you take the real culprit to the Department of Justice,

will they free Ga Eun?

He is right. The Queen Dowager is behind this.

The Chief State Councilor knows that...

and took Ga Eun to prevent her from gaining the upper hand.

The Queen Dowager and Dae Mok do not care for Ga Eun.

She is a pawn.

Even if we find the culprit, they will not release her.

I am not searching for the culprit to have that person arrested.

I will use that person to threaten...

the Queen Dowager.

I will force her...

so she has no choice but to release Ga Eun.

Did you just say Court Lady Jung from the kitchen?

Yes.

The Chief State Councilor is after her.

You must get her away.

Why would he be onto one of my court ladies?

And how did you find out about this?

I do not know why he is after her.

Would you have...

any idea?

I also have no idea.

Whatever the reason,

if Pyunsoo Group is after her, she is in danger.

Did you ask for me?

- Your Highness, this is... - The Palace Treasury...

will give you the money.

Take it and leave immediately.

Why are you doing this?

I served you faithfully for 30 years.

Those 30 years is the only reason...

I am letting you live.

If...

you speak of anything,

however hard you try to hide,

I will find you and have you killed.

I found out who poisoned the tea.

Court Lady Jung who works for the Queen Dowager.

Did she confess to the crime?

She insisted she knew nothing.

But...

for as long as we have her,

we can control the Queen Dowager.

I shall hand over Court Lady Jung to you.

Go to the Queen Dowager.

Say if she wants Court Lady Jung, she must release Ga Eun.

Negotiate for me.

I will.

I could say that I will hand Lady Jung over to Dae Mok...

if she refuses to do so.

You must...

save Ga Eun.

Ga Eun.

Master.

You look...

terrible.

What took you so long?

I was so afraid, all alone.

Were you very afraid?

That is not like you.

When you saved me,

you dove into the water without hesitating.

Because...

you were there.

I thought that if...

I were with you, I would not mind dying.

If you had...

not met me,

then you would be...

much happier.

I am happy right now.

You came to see me.

That alone...

is enough for me.

Very well.

I shall...

come for you soon.

The longer Ga Eun stays here, the more dangerous it will be for her.

We must release her...

from the Queen Dowager's clutches.

Please...

help me get her...

out of the palace.

Your Majesty.

I should have come sooner.

It must have been cold at night.

It was not.

Thanks to your grace,

I was spared from any torture.

Torture?

Do you think I would have...

the woman I love tortured?

Why are you so startled?

I told you before that...

I...

love you.

I apologize.

As I said before,

I cannot accept your feelings for me.

You are a court lady.

You belong to the king and, I am the King.

You belong to me!

Your Majesty.

Do you know why I became...

a court lady?

It was because of you.

I believed you had killed my father...

and came here to get revenge.

But...

you said you did not kill my father.

Tell me.

Did you...

really...

not kill my father?

Then...

I have...

no reason to consider you my enemy.

If I am not your enemy,

will you...

leave the palace...

and me?

Did the Chief Peddler ask you to leave with him?

That is not what I mean, Your Majesty.

Will you leave with him?

He has no right to claim you!

He is not a noble,

but he is a great man.

Lady Ga Eun, do you think you can love him...

the way you do even after...

you know the whole truth?

Your Majesty.

The Queen Dowager cannot receive any visitors right now.

I understand that you are the King,

but you cannot treat the Queen Dowager this way.

Everyone, leave us.

My Majesty.

What is this about?

There is a court lady...

trying to leave the palace secretly without the King's permission.

I came to ask you about it.

Are you here about Lady Han?

Lady Han is locked up in prison.

How could she possibly secretly leave the palace?

Then who tried to leave...

I mean Court Lady Jung, who works in your kitchen.

I caught her trying to secretly leave the palace.

She is one of my court ladies,

so I should be the one to punish her.

Where is she now?

Let us make a deal.

A deal? Between a parent and child?

If you want something,

just ask your mother.

I have asked.

I got on my knees, lowered my head,

and asked you.

You say you are here to make a deal.

What are your conditions?

Release Lady Han.

If you, the victim of the poisoning,

say Lady Han is not the culprit,

she can go free.

Are you acting this seriously for something that insignificant?

I understand.

Your mother will do her best to release her.

I have one more condition.

You are quite greedy.

What if I refuse?

You will not refuse...

because we will both gain what we want.

Master! Master.

They have made a decision on the poisoning incident.

What happened?

They concluded that no one poisoned them intentionally,

but rather, a poisonous leaf was mixed in with the tea leaves.

They agreed that it was merely food poisoning.

Sun must have faced off against the Queen Dowager.

What about Ga Eun? Can she go free now?

Do not worry.

She was declared not guilty, so she will be freed soon.

Ga Eun. You are now...

free.

You have been cleared of the poisoning accusation,

and you are no longer a court lady,

so no one can stop you from leaving the palace.

So please...

go home...

with me.

Master.

- I... - Lady Choi So Yeon.

We were ordered by the King to bring you.

Do you mean me?

The queen selection result will be announced soon.

Thus, you must come with us to the Gangnyeongjeon.

The result of the selection...

is being made there instead of at the Queen Dowager's residence?

Yes. That is what I was told.

Chief! Chief, what happened to Ga Eun?

The Chief Eunuch took her to the Gangnyeongjeon.

You should not be here. You must go there at once.

What is it?

Look.

Why that...

We will now announce...

the result of the queen selection.

1 of the 3 named...

will gain the honor of becoming the mother of the country.

The other two...

will be the King's concubines...

and serve him.

Let go!

The Third State Councillor's daughter, Choi Yeon Joo.

The Chief State Councillor's daughter, Choo Ja Young.

And the daughter of the Chambong,

Choi So Yeon.

What happened?

I asked what happened?

Why are you getting angry at me?

The Queen Dowager decided...

whom to select as finalists.

I told you to use Court Lady Jung.

To free Ga Eun in exchange for giving her to the Queen Dowager.

That is why she freed her.

Is Ga Eun still in prison?

Do not get angry at me.

Ask the Queen Dowager.

I know nothing about it.

Ga Eun is going to become my queen.

Do you think I will let her become a lowly concubine?

Then why...

can you not tell her the truth?

Once you take the throne,

you will make her your queen,

but do you lack courage to tell her now that you are the Crown Prince?

Tell her that the Chief Peddler...

is the Crown Prince, and admit to Ga Eun that you are the reason...

her father was killed!

Hyun Seok.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Was someone here just now?

I had been standing guard but did not see anyone.

Okay. I understand.

You may go.

We are searching everywhere for the antidote,

so I will send it to you as soon as we find it.

As for...

Ga Eun,

I will take her with me.

You have no authority, Your Highness.

I cannot give in regarding Ga Eun.

The same goes for me.

I cannot give in either.

Sun!

Do you want this mask? Take it.

Do you want the throne? I will give it to you.

I will give you everything that I can.

However!

Not Ga Eun.

I cannot give you Ga Eun.

Subtitle ripped and resynced by redixion

(The Emperor)

He called me a friend, and I believed him.

Master Dae Mok, the real Crown Prince is alive.

Lady Ga Eun was abducted by Dae Mok.

How can a man who cannot even protect the woman he loves...

protect the thousands of people of Joseon?

I have led you into a trap, Your Highness.

If by chance you get out of here alive,

do not ever come back.