Original subtitles

Did you say it'll be over once we leave Sungkyunkwan?

Nothing will be over.

I will start anew every day.

Let's call it quits.

So you know?

Who was it?

I told you.

It's you whom I have faith in, not the king.

You said you would find

who was behind it,

so that the new Joseon...

The prime minister

was behind the whole thing.

What?

Keep your voice down.

The prime minister

was behind everything?

Lee Seonjun's father?

Answer me.

Was it the prime minister who was behind the plot

to destroy "Geumdeungjisa"'?

Keep your voice down.

What did you say, Yongha?

Who was...

behind everything?

I need you to tell me.

I'm sorry, Big Man.

We don't know for certain yet.

So, if we find out whose deed this was...

we'll know for sure

who was behind it all, right?

May I

look into this?

Can you do it?

If my father was really behind the plot...

am I not the ideal person for the job?

Is it because of Big Man?

That's why you want to call it quits?

You don't want Big Man getting hurt over Lee Seonjun?

This is just great!

When did those two...

And

how did you know?

Lee Seonjun took off...

to see the prime minister

about the deed.

What is this?

I want...

an answer.

The person on this deed, Baek Dongsu...

was our butler.

I see.

But

the real owner of the land was you, father.

Why did this deed

end up in the hands of a government soldier who was patrolling the city...

on that fateful night ten years ago?

Stop it.

Stop everything you're trying to do

right now.

Is it because you are ashamed

about what I may find?

Are you looking for "Geumdeungjisa"'?

Never once did I think

that what befell the king's father was wrong.

The responsibilities of a father to his son

are not as important as to this country and the royal court.

I still stand by that belief.

To defend a righteous cause,

fathers and sons often become enemies.

And if there is a winner,

there is also a loser.

The king's father was on the losing end,

nothing more and nothing less.

If that was the right thing to do...

why do you fear "Geumdeungjisa" now?

I don't fear "Geumdeungjisa."

What I fear is filial piety.

The former king yearned for the son he himself killed.

The present king

is still reeling from the memory of his dead father.

They're both weak and emotional and do not deserve to rule a nation.

If the power goes into the hands of the king,

Joseon will find itself in turmoil.

History will recognize my loyalty to Joseon.

So stop right now

your quest to find "Geumdeungjisa."

Your youthful idealism

may bring down the Lee family.

So was it...

for the prosperity of the Lee family,

that you killed Dr. Kim Seungheon and Proctor Mun Yeongsin...

and destroyed "Geumdeungjisa"'?

No.

I wish...

I could take your word at face value...

but this document in front me...

tells me otherwise.

Stop right there!

Are you turning your back on your own father?

You said for a righteous cause,

fathers and sons often become enemies.

Father...

I have decided...

to become your enemy.

The prime minister

was behind everything?

Lee Seonjun's father?

It's late.

If you read when you should be sleeping...

you won't grow tall.

I found the "Geumdeung" story

in one of the books

I got at the bookstore.

I understand why the Norons were afraid.

That's why they killed my father...

Let's slow down a bit.

One thing at a time, okay?

Let's go sleep.

I'm going to sleep in Yongha's room,

away from your tossing and turning.

Jaesin.

Do you think it's true?

Right?

Don't worry about it.

We'll find out when Lee Seonjun returns.

Did you already unfold secret instruction?

Why do you want to see me

in the night?

Would you withdraw

the command?

That is my order.

Is the reason for you to select me for I am a son of Noron?

No...

Or because I am a son of criminal?

If you tell me to pay for the crimes of my father,

Your Majesty...

I will take the punishment for all costs in lieu of the secret mission.

I am also

a son of a criminal as Noron said.

But, the reason for me to select you

is that I was envious of your brave and outspoken personality.

At the Grand Archery Contest,

I was envious of the fact that you have good friends

and at Sundujeonggang,

I was envious of your courage.

But

you are right.

The reason for rendering my secret mission to you is that,

you, Lee Seonjun, are the son of the Prime Minister.

I want you to see everything that your father did

to keep his wealth and power and to live as the

dictator of nobility of Noron with your own eyes.

I want you to live as a vassal of mine,

not the son of Noron.

Geumdeungjisa.

Is this purported to redress the past of Joseon? Or...

To open up a new Joseon?

Do you think those were different?

Did you say that you want to pay for what he had done?

Before the truth that will unfold before you,

do not close your eyes or turn away from it.

Then

bring "Geumdeungjisa" to me.

That is the punishment that I render on you

as the son of the culprit.

I...

The hope that you have given us

for a new Joseon

to march forward ...

could I take it as

the compass to guide me?

I should wait for him outside.

It's almost time.

He'll be here.

The incident transpired ten years ago.

Just because

you wait for him outside won't change the past.

Plus, there's someone else waiting for him.

Hey.

We need to talk.

Don't do it.

Just say you didn't find out anything.

That deed has nothing to do with you.

Just tell them that.

The mission is to find "Geumdeungjisa."

I'm going to stop looking

deeper into it.

Why?

We haven't cracked the code of the secret instruction yet.

Finding out who was behind the plot

is the only way we can find "Geumdeungjisa."

So why stop?

Plus, you have been in search

of the culprits all this time.

Yes, I have been.

It's cowardly to keep silent in the face of the truth.

I despise cowards,

and yet I'm willing to keep silent.

If you're going to talk about honesty and dignity

and act all high and mighty again,

don't even start.

Jaesin.

People become cowardly

because they have someone they want to protect.

Isn't Kim Yunsik

someone you want to protect?

Do you think he'll be able to forgive you?

Before asking for forgiveness,

the guilty party must genuinely and openly

owns up to his sins.

And the thing is...

Kim Yunsik is not the only one...

I need to apologize to.

I will try my utmost not to hurt Kim Yunsik.

What did you just say?

So...

I said the land deed that went to the Hanseongbu official

was

in fact my father's.

So it was...

the prime minister...

who killed...

my father?

I thought it was only right that I told you.

I don't know what to think.

Enough.

Asking me to listen to any more of this...

is cruel, don't you think?

If it is at all possible,

I'd like to ask you for your forgiveness.

If you can't forgive me...

I will have to accept that, too.

But if you allow me,

I would like to fulfill my duty.

I will be with you

until we find "Geumdeungjisa" and straighten everything out.

Straighten what out? What can we do now?

Geumdeungjisa?

How will that change anything?

I...

I need some time.

I need some time to think and digest all this.

Hey, Lee Seonjun.

When people are going through a rough patch,

they need drinking buddies.

Although you don't drink,

you still need buddies, don't you?

What you are saying is ...

perhaps, the prime minister might not be behind this incident?

It is the mistake that my father as I know him would never undertake.

If my father planned this incident from the beginning,

he would have left some traces behind

after ten years from its occurrence.

So, you want to believe your father even now?

I am saying that my father is a more persistent man that we think.

You are still very cold.

Yun Hyeonggu was...

Where is the man who guarded Dr. Kim Seungheon on that day?

I have to check on the fact.

Perhaps he has new clues of the incident.

What can I do? He must have some clue on it.

He has quit Hanseongbu and is not showing up at the gambling house either.

Now that your hound's got a juicy steak in his mouth,

he will disappear into the mountains, sir.

What a pity I can't say goodbye to the prime minister.

Please tell him I hope I can see him again under better circumstances.

You promised me.

You are being watched.

You have to leave the city within the next few days.

Please tell me, mother.

It's a child's duty to know how her father died.

I don't want you to turn against the world over your father's death.

The world is powerful.

If you turn against it,

it makes sure that you

will come to regret it.

That's how I lost your father...

So

you won't get anything out of me.

So mother,

you're saying father died unjustly,

unjust enough for him to have turned against the world, right?

You should've told me sooner.

It would have been better.

I wonder what he was like.

Whenever...

I think of father...

I can't shake off a sense of bitterness.

When he put you in his lap and read to you,

my place was always outside the door.

So when I try to think

of father's face...

it is always his silhouette

that pops into my mind first.

You...

really didn't know?

Father always read

at the top of his lungs.

Man-jang ask to

Sunwang went out to the field...

And he only read from difficult books

I couldn't even understand.

Father was not reading to me.

He was reading to you

sitting outside the door.

Are you saying you never knew that?

I learned that Sunwang went out

to the field

If earned that...

but I did not know that he cried out to

the heaven and his parents.

It is painful to see my daughter advancing in the letters.

Any teacher would want to take her talent under his wings.

But is it right to teach a daughter the desire to learn,

when learning is not permitted to her?

I am a pathetic father who cannot give his daughter the opportunity to learn.

I listen to her read

and

weep with my heart.

There's something I'd like to know, professor.

My father left a coded instruction on the location of "Geumdeungjisa."

So did he know his end was near?

Did he know he would be killed by those after "Geumdeungjisa"'?

Probably.

The former king initially kept "Geumdeungjisa" in Jongmyo.

But it was Professor Kim Seungheon who had it taken to Mount Wolchul,

away from those seeking to destroy it.

If he knew, why...

He believed "Geumdeungjisa" was

the key to realizing the Joseon envisioned by his majesty.

He wanted his talented daughter to get a chance to learn.

And "Geumdeungjisa" may have been...

his only hope.

Prime Minister.

Permit me to enjoy this scent of Chrysanthemum flower tea.

When it does start the transfer of the capital to Hwaseong,

there are pleas of people who

could show their literary talent of Bukchon.

Your Majesty.

Haven't you forgotten the last will of the king's father?

Perhaps the nobles of this country have so much concerns.

Since it was the last will of the king's father,

No one may say about the matter

of the king's father and no one can hear about it,

and no one can see it.

If disobeying the last will of the king's father,

it would be the treason even for the king.

How about the possibility of having

another will?

The false name in having

the king's father missing his son so much as to unable even to breathe.

Prime Minister,

isn't it right to render the crime of treason against

those who demanded my father with the death?

Don't forget.

The last will of the king's father that has been handed down is just one.

It will be seen as it is now

Let's wait and see.

Geumdeungjisa is in Sungkyunkwan.

What? Sungkyunkwan?

If you look at the coded instruction,

two lines, in particular, stand out.

They are not

normally found

in letters of resignation or poetry.

So...

"sung"

"Kyun"

The first characters spell out "Sungkyunkwan."

How did you figure this out?

How did it suddenly occur to you?

My father wanted Sungkyunkwan

to become the foundation of Joseon's learning, culture, and heritage.

He expressed this desire in his lecture notes.

Everything makes sense now.

There's a place in Sungkyunkwan

where learning leads and where a nation begins.

That's where "Geumdeungjisa" is.

We should find Sungkyunkwan's blueprints first.

I have to do this.

I...

thought

my father never cared

about me.

But it was me who never cared to find out who my father really was.

I want to find "Geumdeungjisa"

because I want to know why my father was so intent

on safeguarding it.

This may be my first and last chance

to understand my father.

I...

made my father very lonely for so long.

So I...

I get it.

You don't need to explain.

I understand.

I promise you.

We'll do whatever it takes

to find "Geumdeungjisa."

We need not worry about Yun any more, prime minister.

So I was thinking,

now that things are wrapping up,

the marriage...

Tell...

your son.

Yes.

Tell him what?

About "Geumdeungjisa"...

The king must be giving false hope

to the young students at Sungkyunkwan.

There are students looking for "Geumdeungjisa"'?

Your son's the proctor.

He can keep an eye on them.

But your son can do that, too.

Do you mean to say your son is...

What did I tell you?

We should've hurried up with the wedding and got him out of there.

Did you say "wedding", war minister?

Do you have no idea

why all this came to be in the first place?

Sir...

Don't you ever mention the wedding again.

I have no plans for us to become related.

But prime minister...

That is my final decision.

Need I say more?

He doesn't seem to remember

who put him where he is now.

Me?

My daughter?

It's time he finds out

what I'm capable of.

I must first get to the source

of all this trouble.

There's something you need to do.

- Me? - Did you call for me, father?

Lee Seonjun.

I will teach him how the world turns.

Talk of marriage for Hyo-eun is broken off by me.

I will no longer roll over in the mud before the Prime Minister.

The son of the Prime Minister is seeking for "Geumdeungjisa".

You mean Lee Seonjun?

Catch him.

But,

don't hurt him.

It will be a treat for us to see

a father punishing his own son.

Excuse me.

Is this the house of Inspector Yun from Hanseongbu?

Yes, it is.

Do you know where Yun Hyeonggu is?

- I don't know. - Have a drink.

- More wine. - Yes, sir.

- Let's drink. - Hey, there!

I don't know.

- I asked for more wine! - It's coming, sir.

- Hurry up with it. - Yes, sir.

Welcome. Please sit here.

I don't know.

- Do you know Inspector Yun? - I don't know him.

Enjoy.

Lee Seonjun's never late.

I guess it's not going well.

Let's give him another 15 minutes.

He's not one to break a promise.

But the promise was quite a tall order.

The king's cause is noble,

but it can't be easy uncovering your father's crimes.

Lee Seonjun has my sympathies.

So Lee Seonjun and his friends are poring over blueprints

of Sungkyunkwan?

It seems as though

they're looking for something.

Where learning leads... Any place of study is a candidate.

Here's the main lecture hall.

He said...

And the library.

Don't forget the Grand Shrine.

The thing is, what next?

All the places we mentioned

can be where "learning leads"

but we can't dig them all up.

That would be counterproductive.

We have another clue.

Where a nation begins...

The shrine to Confucius.

Ancestral tablets.

There are some in the main lecture hall...

some in the library...

and even some in the Grand Shrine,

to which access is highly restricted.

But exactly where can we find "Geumdeungjisa"'?

Where learning leads

and where a nation begins...

We're going to have to search

every single ancestral tablet on campus.

We should just get all the students...

This is a secret mission.

I'm just saying...

I was just trying to lighten up the mood, okay?

You're making me feel bad.

The coded instruction

is not to hide "Geumdeungjisa"

but to direct us to it.

I'm going to search through the books again.

Somewhere in Sungkyunkwan

lies the answer

to my father's coded riddle.

Why are you so startled, Yeorim?

Were you being naughty?

What are you up to?

Stealing? Chasing girls?

Or boys?

Shut up.

You must still be having fun hanging out with Lee Seonjun and Mun Jaesin.

It's getting

more fun by the day.

I hear you're poring over books

and blueprints related to Sungkyunkwan.

So, is there a treasure hunt going on?

Let me give you a piece of advice.

This doesn't suit you.

You're not like them.

It's still not too late.

I think...

Do you know that I'm Joseon's fashion trendsetter?

Let me share with you a little fashion secret.

For pieces that don't go well together, go all out with color coordination.

Don't forget.

Your sense of fashion

is rather sad, you see.

That twerp!

Should I teach him a lesson, proctor?

Leave him alone.

This is the last night he can act up anyway.

Let's consider it his farewell performance.

- Put that away! - Put that away!

What do you think you're doing?

What the hell?

Where do you think you are?

Crazy Horse! Crazy Horse!

Lee Seonjun

got into trouble.

Are you

the Lee Seonjun I know?

You were looking for Inspector Yun?

I couldn't just sit back,

simply relying on the coded instruction we're struggling with.

So you took action without careful planning?

It's not like you.

Why did you go through all this to find Inspector Yun?

Was it to find "Geumdeungjisa"

or to prove your father's innocence?

All I want to know is

what happened on that fateful night ten years ago.

Let me ask you something.

If we find "Geumdeungjisa" you may no longer be able

to lead a comfortable life as the prime minister's son.

Is that okay with you?

The life I end up leading...

will still be better than living

as the son of the murderer

of my friends' father and brother.

If this is for me,

you can stop.

I barely remember

my father's face

and yet I am in so much pain.

But your father means

so much to you.

So...

just stop.

You can stop now.

I can't stand

to see you like this.

I...

wanted to be forgiven.

You wandered the city in men's clothing

to support your family.

You went through so much hardship to get medicine for your ailing brother.

I want to make up for all those years...

of hunger...

and of pain.

In the meantime,

I sat in a comfortable room reading books.

I can't forgive myself. I feel terrible.

If I could...

I'd like to turn back time and let you have...

all that I had.

So...

please forgive me.

That's what I want to say.

Lee Seonjun's

something else, isn't he?

He turned his back against his father who used to be his hero.

This must be so hard for him.

You should know.

It's pure hell

hating your own father.

I...

have decided

to become your enemy.

Do you think the kids are making progress?

I believe so, given that they haven't yet

turned to me for help.

I cannot shake off the feeling

that the coded instruction

is Dr. Kim Seungheon's final lesson.

Lesson?

Do you mean his academic legacy?

Where learning leads

and where a nation begins...

I am curious

what he meant to teach...

those kids, Dr. Jeong.

This is the place where the masters of the lyceum nationwide

that I have to go there and give a speech as the director of Sungkyunkwan.

The students have no event today and tomorrow...

I trust you, Proctor.

Don't forget , Proctor.

I just can't stand the noise ones.

I just hate to be late in meeting time.

Good luck, everyone!

Lady Luck is never far away!

Look carefully!

Inspector Yun must have struck gold.

He paid off all his gambling debts and is heading to the county.

Why do you walk so fast?

I thought I'd never catch up.

They got me.

You were indeed Choseon.

Where learning leads

and where a nation begins...

That night,

they passed through Yeongin Gate from Dogap Temple.

The former king

originally kept "Geumdeungjisa" in Jongmyo to safeguard it against.

Jongmyo?

Where a nation begins...

Jongmyo...

where the ancestral tablets of Joseon's kings

are enshrined.

Where learning leads...

The former king kept "Geumdeungjisa"

under the ancestral tablets in Jongmyo in case his majesty

might need to strengthen the power of the throne.

Where learning leads and where a nation begins...

Where a nation begins is not Sungkyunkwan.

It was Jongmyo,

where "Geumdeungjisa" was originally kept.

Proctor,

Kim Yunsik bolted off all of the sudden

while leafing through a map of the city.

Jongmyo?

Spit it out!

What happened on that fateful night ten years ago?

This is interesting.

Who gave you the order to kill Dr. Kim Seungheon

and Proctor Mun Yeongsin?

What a shame.

I'm a hunting hound.

I don't open my mouth

until I have what I want.

You could've been killed!

Think about why Choseon from the Peony Pleasure House

might want to kill you.

Choseon?

Wow!

This is quite interesting.

Who gave him the money to settle his gambling debt?

Well...

Scram.

He did meet with the minister of war.

War minister?

It was the present prime minister

who told me to escort the two men.

Did the prime minister

really order you to kill them in exchange...

for the title to the land?

Tell us.

I don't do well being threatened, so let go of me.

It was the minister of war who ordered me to kill them...

regardless of the prime minister's wishes.

The prime minister gave me the deed to the land later to shut me up

once he learned what had happened.

May I be excused?

So the minister of war

is out to get me, eh?

How interesting!

So

it was the minister of war behind the whole plot.

Han Insu and the war minister's men

are headed toward Jongmyo?

Why?

You haven't found Kim Yunsik yet?

We need to find him.

He has to know

it was the war minister.

Jaesin.

What a relief for you

and for me.

It would've been very tiring spending my entire life

hating someone like you.

Big Man isn't here?

Jongmyo?

Has he gone to Jongmyo?

Ha Insu and the war minister's men were headed toward Jongmyo.

So what?

Ha Insu knows.

He's after Big Man.

He might get killed if they catch him there.

Geumdeungjisa is

under the ancestral tablets.

This is the last chance to destroy "Geumdeungjisa."

Then use whatever means necessary

to destroy it!

Yes, sir.

You promised

you would make sure Kim Yunsik wouldn't get hurt.

Jaesin.

I'll deal with the soldiers.

It's the Red Writer!

Catch him this instant!

- Yes, sir! - Yes, sir!

You go to Jongmyo! Right now!

- Yes, sir! - Yes, sir!

This is

where the former king first kept "Geumdeungjisa."

Where learning leads

and where a nation begins...

Where the ancestral tablets

of Joseon's kings are enshrined.

Right here.

Take him down!

If you're worried about me, don't be.

I've gotten enough already.

Thanks to you,

I've been able to do so many things

I never thought I could.

People become cowardly

because they have someone they want to protect.

Did you say it will be over once we leave Sungkyunkwan?

Nothing will be over.

I...

will start anew every day.

I love you.