Post by ajk on Sept 6, 2013 21:11:20 GMT -5
We don't entirely know what happened after Pyeonjo and Gangneung jumped that railing. What we see is Pyeonjo carrying a woman in a sack! Outside of a house somewhere. He opens the sack, reassures her and tells her to keep quiet. Now here comes Gangneung carrying another woman. This woman kicks up such a racket that several men come running from inside the house, a few brandishing swords. But look at this--Gangneung starts kicking their butts! Who would have thought this? Pyeonjo is so concerned that he can't help but jump in--not like he needed to--and Gangneung just steps back and watches Pyeonjo admiringly. Soon the men tire of the beating and run away. Maybe you are a real monk, the prince says with a laugh, noting that Pyeonjo had managed to grab a sword but only hit the men with its metal hilt and not the blade. "After all, a monk can't kill anyway."
Nine women--they've saved nine women, all total, and now we see the women flee to safety (or wherever they can go, this far from home). And now, just for fun, since the two of them are holding swords, they decide to have a duel. Not to hurt each other of course. And once again the prince is handling himself very well. Who knew?
Gaetae Temple: The wet nurse has come for her evening check on the baby Ban Ya. But inside, Wolseon doesn't want to stop playing with her! And from the way he talks to his assistant Deokun, part of the reason he's so attached is that Pyeonjo was responsible for the baby being here. So the old guy really as a fondness for Pyeonjo after all. He heard about the ship disaster, too--but feels pretty certain that Pyeonjo would have found a way to survive it. Wolseon takes the baby out into the night air and they're all having a good time looking at the moon.
Quite a duel; it's still going. But now look, Pyeonjo managed to get in a slash that cut the prince's robe a little. But that's enough dueling. They both sit down and chuckle at the good time they've had.
Next morning: Jung Se Woon finds a worried An Dochi outside the prince's home. Inside, the prince is laughing, saying Pyeonjo outdueled him--"so for the next month I'll treat you like my older brother." And starts trying to put food into Pyeonjo's mouth. Jung barges in and starts yelling at Pyeonjo, who jumps back from the table and bows in respect. Gangneung calms him down and then laughs off his admonition to shape up. Jung leaves in a huff, still loyal to the prince but increasingly frustrated. Pyeonjo tells the prince, "Catching those Goryeo maidens brought here as hostages, and having fun with them like you showed me, already purged my lust for the flesh." Ah, we didn't see that part, did we. Saving them was the noble thing to do, he acknowledges, even though saving just a few hostages means little in the grand scheme of things...and then tries to slip in a little lesson: "You need to look at things from the bottom up to understand the world. But how can you change it without noble intentions?" As in, maybe you could be a little less self-pitying and cynical. The prince turns away--and then nods just a little. Message perfectly delivered.
Later, Pyeonjo accompanies An Dochi to the market to help with the shopping. "No matter how I look at you," An tells the monk, "I can't
feel any of that monk image." And you're good with the sword? "Be very careful, you fool. I'll always be watching you!" Now Pyeonjo starts joking around about killing the prince--just to rankle An, which it sure does (he has no sense of humor, does he). And then adds, "He feeds and shelters me. Why would I stab him in the back?" Good point--but they get no further because look who comes running up to them: Won Hyeon! He and Pyeonjo hug, both at a loss for words. Then Won takes Pyeonjo to Jihyo, who's also in the marketplace, and is also grateful (albeit less demonstrative) to find Pyeonjo alive. Won gives thanks for Buddha's mercy--but Pyeonjo fires back, "Do you know how many of those people died, thanks to Buddha's mercy? The only reason the ship turned upside-down was because those monks were busy praying. If they had helped the sailors with the oars, would all those people have died?" Bitterly, he adds, "I severed all my ties with Buddha after that." And turns and walks away. Don't even call me "Monk" anymore, he says to Won as Won follows him. "If it's in our destiny, we'll meet again." Won doesn't think Pyeonjo really means any of this. And all that stuff about "making even the lowest of people nobles, was that all just talk?" Yes it was, Pyeonjo says, and walks away to head home with An.
Later, Won tells Jihyo that he was born into the lowest social class in Goryeo. Didn't want that for himself, "so I jumped into the river hoping to end all this misery. But Monk Pyeonjo, who was passing by, saved me." Now we know how they met.
Evening: Gangneung is at the dinner table, but isn't eating. Just staring straight ahead. He gets up and walks outside. "I loved the look in his eyes as he pointed his sword at me and tried to go at me," he tells An. "It felt great." Acknowledges the monk's skill: "I wasn't a match for him." And then suddenly..."Do you know how long I have craved for that? Someone who'd come here to kill me." Oh dear...They've completely forgotten about me, he says; even if Pyeonjo wanted to kill me, it wouldn't have been worth his time. Because nobody cares.
Botap Shili's attendant is laughing at her. Honghwa; we learn her name now. "It's the first time I've seen you blush." Makes fun of how she's walking now--"much more well-mannered." And "You even make yourself up every day." And now she's embroidering? Not exactly the horse-riding archer we saw before, is she? "Keep making fun of me," Botap says with mock indignation, "and I'll bring someone else to the palace." Honghwa laughs; "Without me, you wouldn't last a day there." Clearly they have a good relationship. But now there's some sort of commotion outside...
...Botap runs outside to see her father being taken away in handcuffs, a sign around his neck reading "traitor"! He calmly nods to his daughter.
Hey look, the emperor got himself out of bed. He's on his throne and talking to Qunluan, who's kneeling before him. "He (the King of Wei) planned to go back to the Mongol plains and start a new kingdom. He openly wandered around, gathering followers of his cause. If that is not treason, what is?" No, Qunluan argues, he only talked about returning to our roots, not severing the empire. But the emperor's head has been filled with baloney by Empress Gi. "Do you know who would sit on the throne of that new (northern) kingdom? None other than you, Qunluan!!" I can't prove you're a traitor but I'm exiling you. "Because the Empress insisted. Take him out!" Good grief, just like that? It's like a mob hit. Qunluan shouts, "Your Majesty! Empress Gi is the temptress who killed my mother! Now will you even kill your son because of her scheming?!" But the emperor's mind is made up already, and Qunluan is dragged away screaming. Now Empress Gi emerges from the wings. "If it weren't for you," the emperor tells her, "I could have lost my life at the hands of my own son!" Boy she REALLY has him messed up. "Just forget about it," she tells him, "and have a good rest. I'll take care of everything else." Yeah, I'll bet she will...
...and sure enough, there he is back in bed again with his four hotties and the aphrodisiac drugs being carefully dispensed into his mouth.
"Why don't you capture Princess Botap Shili as well?" Attendant Park asks the empress an obvious question as they leave the emperor. "Let her go," she instructs; "I need her for something else." And now look who's here to greet her in the hallway: her son Ayushiridara. "I will give you the Yuan Empire for a birthday present," she says with a laugh as she picks up the boy and smiles like a proud mom.
Gaegyeong, royal palace: A state council meeting, and look at this: Yeom Je Shin is complaining to the queen mother (Lady Yoon; we have to call her QM now) that queen mothers traditionally don't get involved in state affairs, especially in person like this. "Even the former king's mother, Princess Deoknyeong, always waited for a report over at her quarters." Gi Cheol--the one you'd think would be making this kind of a complaint--is standing there silently, but no doubt approvingly. The QM's brother Yoon Shi Woo steps forward to defend his sister, but he seems to be alone...and the QM can't sidestep that. "There seems to be quite the opposition," she acknowledges, "so I'll try to refrain from coming here in the future." But she has a backup plan: she's naming her brother "Chief Deliberator of State Affairs" (sounds like a new title she's cooked up) to handle what she says will be the little things that come up. We'll see what she means by little things. A trademark Gi Cheol disgusted grunt.
Leaving the meeting, now all of the ministers are grumbling. But Lee Je Hyeon doesn't think these latest shenanigans can go unchecked for long. "Just wait with patience, and another storm will come."
"Let's just kill them all!" Wow, quite the advice Gi Won is giving his brother. Your sister the empress will protect us, won't she? Another disgusted grunt, because he doesn't think she will. Sure, Cheol says, we could kill them--but then who gets the throne next? Have to think about THAT too.
Princess Deoknyeong is saying good-bye to the empress dowager, who's very sad to see her go. The princess is headed back home to Yanjing. The ED is worried about her, but then remembers, Empress Gi, "she's a Goryeo woman, so she'll treat you well." Really? But then she says she used to be close to the empress...but..."That damn greed. I helped her so much, and not a word of gratitude." Deoknyeong says she's cutting her political connections anyway and just wants to go live in a temple. Which the ED doesn't like at all; she thinks the weasel politicians are forcing her to do it and gets all huffy. The princess restrains a smile at the outburst.
As Deoknyeong leaves, we learn she's going to ride a horse the whole way there rather than be carried or sit in a carriage. She's a Mongolian, she reminds the ED's surprised attendant, and grew up riding horses. No big deal. But when the ED hears this, well, she thinks that's just not something palace ladies should do.
Back in Yanjing: Empress Gi has four attendants hovering about her. Botap Shili is there to talk to her. The crown prince will be demoted and exiled, the empress says, but not killed. "Don't worry about your father, either. He's always been a loyal subject. His Majesty won't kill him." And since you were preparing to get married, she adds, "I will find you the perfect candidate for marriage." Botap says she doesn't want to marry anybody else; she'd rather live alone. And then boldly goes further: "Your Majesty gained everything you wanted. As you wished, Ayushiridara will be the heir to the throne. How can you try to separate me and Prince Qunluan as well?" You ought to rethink that stubbornness, the empress answers with a smile..."since the lives of your father and the crown prince depend on it." She leaves in a huff, insisting she'd rather kill herself than marry someone else. Then attendant Park enters and asks the empress why she's bothering with this; why stop them from marrying? She explains that the emperor might--no, probably will--start second-guessing all of this before long. "If that happens, the crown prince will come back from the frontier, join hands with the King of Wei, and kill us. Isn't it obvious? So that's why we need to stop that little wench from marrying Qunluan. And kill her father after that. Then we will get rid of Qunluan as well." Wow.
Qunluan is riding off into exile...and Botap has ridden out to join him! But he won't let her. "Do you want to see your father dead? Do everything that Empress Gi tells you to." Your father has many followers in the palace, he tells her, enough that the empress is wary of him. "Your father needs to survive if I am to live, too." She's hugging him and crying, and trying to deny the truth of what he says, but she probably knows just as well as he does. "The only one who can save me is your father."
Now attendant Park has pitched an idea of his own to the empress: marry Botap Shili to Prince Gangneung! She's puzzled at the idea, but he explains: Send them to Goryeo and it will keep her away from Qunluan, and your brother will be there to keep an eye on them. And about the prince's mother? Isn't she a troublemaker?, the empress asks. "She will pledge allegiance to you, Your Majesty," if it gets her son back home. Remember those jewels she sent as a gift, for that very reason? This guy is no dummy, is he....
Now Park is talking to An Dochi; apparently he's suggested the marriage to An and An likes it. Hints that another load of gems would be a good idea; An doesn't think that will be a problem.
But HERE'S a problem: Gangneung is having a screaming, throwing-things tantrum at the very idea of it! He even throws a jar at An's head and it shatters and draws blood. Sheesh. But as An eventually explains, This will get you home again, and you can be with your mother in her final years. At that the prince starts to calm down; tosses An a handkerchief to wipe away the blood. And then he remembers who Botap Shili was, from their hunting encounter. As in, the almost-wife of the almost-crown prince, and the King of Wei's daughter. "If you become in-laws, who would ever dare to confront you?" That sets him off again; in moments his sword is at An's throat. "Are you telling me to become the Mongols' hound dog, and take Goryeo's throne?" Calm down, prince.
Evening, back in Gaegyeong, at the empress dowager's home: Jung Se Woon has returned home to give the ED news of this marriage idea. And hey, she's all for it if it gets her son back home. "So what if she's a barbarian? Tell them to have them married right now!" Okay...the only problem is, remember she had picked out Lee Je Hyeon's daughter Hyebi to be Gangneung's bride...and Hyebi just happens to be standing outside the ED's front door waiting to visit her. She hears all this...
...and runs home to tell her father. They both sit there in silence for a while, both obviously crushed. "I did so much for Prince Gangneung," he sighs.
Next morning: The rumor is spreading like wildfire and officials are asking Lee Je Hyeon about it. But as Kim Yong and Jo Il Shin (now home) realize, does it really make any difference? "The king is just thirteen. To earn that throne, Prince Gangneung will have to live another hundred years."
And now it's reached the queen mother, who's expressing her concern to her brother Yoon Shi Woo. But she's smiling once again after he tells her the bride-to-be's father is an accused traitor. "Even if Gi Cheol and Prince Gangneung join hands, all we need to do is buy Empress Gi's graces. That will secure His Majesty's future for sure." But be careful, Yoon--Choi Man Saeng is eavesdropping again and heard that last part. And he runs right to Gi Cheol with the news.
Yoon is leaving his sister, headed home in an eight-bearer covered chair. That thing is really hauling! Top speed.
Here's someone new: Lady Lee, mother of Empress Gi and Gi Cheol. Gi Cheol is whining to her about the family's "impending doom." Doesn't think much of his sister any more: "If you bring her money, she'll go down on all fours." Ouch! "She just enjoys the shade while we're dealing with all the heat." It gets his mother riled up plenty good.
An afternoon reception in a courtyard in Empress Gi's palace. Outside the building, here's An Dochi propping up a drunk Prince Gangneung as he staggers forward. He was just told this morning to be here and it was too short notice, clearly. They go into the courtyard, and all of the palace ladies stare unflatteringly at him as he stumbles ahead.
Now inside to meet the empress. We see Botap Shili in there too, but off behind a screen like she's hiding. The empress sizes up the wobbly prince. "Looks like you went overboard with your drinking last night." Ya think? He tries to explain, and makes a fool of himself doing it. Botap watches him, and recalls their evening encounter in the Goryeo Village when he was similarly drunk (episode 4). She sheds a tear at the thought that she could end up stuck with this lush.
An thinks this was like a formal interview and that Gangneung blew it. They return home, and on the way An asks, "Where are you going all the time at night, Your Highness?" They pass Pyeonjo and Gangneung mumbles something about having located "tonight's prey."
Nighttime: Pyeonjo and Gangneung are together. "Your Highness, the rumor started spreading all over Yanjing. About those scoundrels stealing only Goryeo hostages in the night." They're out in the woods somewhere. Pyeonjo thinks this rescuing stuff may be a waste of time: "No matter what you do, they'll end up back with their owners." Maybe...But the problem has to be stopped at its source, Pyeonjo explains. "All those corrupt court officials in Goryeo sending hostages as a tribute, just to fill their bellies and improve their riches." Makes sense to Gangneung, but he acts like he can't do anything about it. Pyeonjo disagrees: "So what if it's a barbarian princess if that can make you King?!" Hmmm...but now here come some local men walking up the path, carrying two Goryean women in bags. At the sight of Gangneung and Pyeonjo, they drop the bags. Wait, not women, surprise, two men with daggers! And now more men appear, and suddenly the two Goryeans are surrounded by at least ten men wielding swords or daggers. Not the time to fight, against these odds...so they manage to duck the first man's charge and run through the gap he left...And they're both very fast, obviously, because next we see them reach two waiting horses, with the men nowhere in sight and obviously long gone. They start laughing about their near miss, and then sit down to rest. Now a question for the monk: "If I made you into a noble, what's the first thing you would do?" Pyeonjo answers with a question: "If Your Highness became King of Goryeo, what's the first thing you'd do?" He says he'd help his mother. "Make her angst vanish." Bring her into the palace, "improve her rank, and her way of life." After that...so much to do, but he can't think of one particular thing. But he tells Pyeonjo with a chuckle, "I promise. If I become King of Goryeo, I'll make you into a noble!" That wasn't the answer Pyeonjo wanted to hear--All he can think of is taking care of his mom?--and he actually starts screaming at him. Why?...Now a flashback, to Pyeonjo being punished by Wolseon because he said the very same thing--that he did some sort of bad thing to "make his mother's angst vanish." Wolseon is furious. "You fool. Angst is spread all around the world. If you compare your mother's angst to that, how big will it be?" You weren't born a slave, Pyeonjo says, terribly upset; you don't understand. Wolseon is disgusted: "Can a slave's son do anything?"...Flashback ending, Pyeonjo is still screaming mad. But now it's Wolseon he's mad at. Whatever happened back then scarred him severely.
Next morning: Gangneung is out riding, alone, off his horse for the moment...and who should ride by but Botap Shili. At the sight of him she dismounts and angrily confronts him. "I will never marry someone like you. Go talk with Empress Gi right now, and tell her to find you another woman." He answers, "They say he who wants to eat the fruit is the first to climb up the tree." Huh? "I have no intention of marrying a Mongol woman, either." And with that he mounts his horse and rides away. Burned!
Back home, she's pacing and furious. "A mere scoundrel of the royal family with nothing to do all day insults me?" Her attendant is trying to calm her down...
...but it doesn't work. Now it's evening and she bursts into Gangneung's home unannounced, to tell him off. "I felt sorry for you deep down, as you were brought here as a hostage. But I see you're just a pathetic scoundrel. You insulted me so I have come here to face you." But Gangneung was expecting her. He's sitting at a table that has two goblets on it. "Neither you nor I have any interest in this marriage," he says. "There is poison in one of those goblets. Which one will you choose?" Still wide-eyed with anger, Botap absorbs this for a moment...and then points. So Gangneung drinks the other one. Nothing...not immediately anyway. Botap boldly steps forward to drink the other goblet, but the prince grabs her hand at the last moment. "If no poison is here," she says angrily, "you'd have fooled me and I won't marry you. But if that is not the case, I'll pay with death the insolence of doubting you." And tells him to let go of the goblet.
Nine women--they've saved nine women, all total, and now we see the women flee to safety (or wherever they can go, this far from home). And now, just for fun, since the two of them are holding swords, they decide to have a duel. Not to hurt each other of course. And once again the prince is handling himself very well. Who knew?
Gaetae Temple: The wet nurse has come for her evening check on the baby Ban Ya. But inside, Wolseon doesn't want to stop playing with her! And from the way he talks to his assistant Deokun, part of the reason he's so attached is that Pyeonjo was responsible for the baby being here. So the old guy really as a fondness for Pyeonjo after all. He heard about the ship disaster, too--but feels pretty certain that Pyeonjo would have found a way to survive it. Wolseon takes the baby out into the night air and they're all having a good time looking at the moon.
Quite a duel; it's still going. But now look, Pyeonjo managed to get in a slash that cut the prince's robe a little. But that's enough dueling. They both sit down and chuckle at the good time they've had.
Next morning: Jung Se Woon finds a worried An Dochi outside the prince's home. Inside, the prince is laughing, saying Pyeonjo outdueled him--"so for the next month I'll treat you like my older brother." And starts trying to put food into Pyeonjo's mouth. Jung barges in and starts yelling at Pyeonjo, who jumps back from the table and bows in respect. Gangneung calms him down and then laughs off his admonition to shape up. Jung leaves in a huff, still loyal to the prince but increasingly frustrated. Pyeonjo tells the prince, "Catching those Goryeo maidens brought here as hostages, and having fun with them like you showed me, already purged my lust for the flesh." Ah, we didn't see that part, did we. Saving them was the noble thing to do, he acknowledges, even though saving just a few hostages means little in the grand scheme of things...and then tries to slip in a little lesson: "You need to look at things from the bottom up to understand the world. But how can you change it without noble intentions?" As in, maybe you could be a little less self-pitying and cynical. The prince turns away--and then nods just a little. Message perfectly delivered.
Later, Pyeonjo accompanies An Dochi to the market to help with the shopping. "No matter how I look at you," An tells the monk, "I can't
feel any of that monk image." And you're good with the sword? "Be very careful, you fool. I'll always be watching you!" Now Pyeonjo starts joking around about killing the prince--just to rankle An, which it sure does (he has no sense of humor, does he). And then adds, "He feeds and shelters me. Why would I stab him in the back?" Good point--but they get no further because look who comes running up to them: Won Hyeon! He and Pyeonjo hug, both at a loss for words. Then Won takes Pyeonjo to Jihyo, who's also in the marketplace, and is also grateful (albeit less demonstrative) to find Pyeonjo alive. Won gives thanks for Buddha's mercy--but Pyeonjo fires back, "Do you know how many of those people died, thanks to Buddha's mercy? The only reason the ship turned upside-down was because those monks were busy praying. If they had helped the sailors with the oars, would all those people have died?" Bitterly, he adds, "I severed all my ties with Buddha after that." And turns and walks away. Don't even call me "Monk" anymore, he says to Won as Won follows him. "If it's in our destiny, we'll meet again." Won doesn't think Pyeonjo really means any of this. And all that stuff about "making even the lowest of people nobles, was that all just talk?" Yes it was, Pyeonjo says, and walks away to head home with An.
Later, Won tells Jihyo that he was born into the lowest social class in Goryeo. Didn't want that for himself, "so I jumped into the river hoping to end all this misery. But Monk Pyeonjo, who was passing by, saved me." Now we know how they met.
Evening: Gangneung is at the dinner table, but isn't eating. Just staring straight ahead. He gets up and walks outside. "I loved the look in his eyes as he pointed his sword at me and tried to go at me," he tells An. "It felt great." Acknowledges the monk's skill: "I wasn't a match for him." And then suddenly..."Do you know how long I have craved for that? Someone who'd come here to kill me." Oh dear...They've completely forgotten about me, he says; even if Pyeonjo wanted to kill me, it wouldn't have been worth his time. Because nobody cares.
Botap Shili's attendant is laughing at her. Honghwa; we learn her name now. "It's the first time I've seen you blush." Makes fun of how she's walking now--"much more well-mannered." And "You even make yourself up every day." And now she's embroidering? Not exactly the horse-riding archer we saw before, is she? "Keep making fun of me," Botap says with mock indignation, "and I'll bring someone else to the palace." Honghwa laughs; "Without me, you wouldn't last a day there." Clearly they have a good relationship. But now there's some sort of commotion outside...
...Botap runs outside to see her father being taken away in handcuffs, a sign around his neck reading "traitor"! He calmly nods to his daughter.
Hey look, the emperor got himself out of bed. He's on his throne and talking to Qunluan, who's kneeling before him. "He (the King of Wei) planned to go back to the Mongol plains and start a new kingdom. He openly wandered around, gathering followers of his cause. If that is not treason, what is?" No, Qunluan argues, he only talked about returning to our roots, not severing the empire. But the emperor's head has been filled with baloney by Empress Gi. "Do you know who would sit on the throne of that new (northern) kingdom? None other than you, Qunluan!!" I can't prove you're a traitor but I'm exiling you. "Because the Empress insisted. Take him out!" Good grief, just like that? It's like a mob hit. Qunluan shouts, "Your Majesty! Empress Gi is the temptress who killed my mother! Now will you even kill your son because of her scheming?!" But the emperor's mind is made up already, and Qunluan is dragged away screaming. Now Empress Gi emerges from the wings. "If it weren't for you," the emperor tells her, "I could have lost my life at the hands of my own son!" Boy she REALLY has him messed up. "Just forget about it," she tells him, "and have a good rest. I'll take care of everything else." Yeah, I'll bet she will...
...and sure enough, there he is back in bed again with his four hotties and the aphrodisiac drugs being carefully dispensed into his mouth.
"Why don't you capture Princess Botap Shili as well?" Attendant Park asks the empress an obvious question as they leave the emperor. "Let her go," she instructs; "I need her for something else." And now look who's here to greet her in the hallway: her son Ayushiridara. "I will give you the Yuan Empire for a birthday present," she says with a laugh as she picks up the boy and smiles like a proud mom.
Gaegyeong, royal palace: A state council meeting, and look at this: Yeom Je Shin is complaining to the queen mother (Lady Yoon; we have to call her QM now) that queen mothers traditionally don't get involved in state affairs, especially in person like this. "Even the former king's mother, Princess Deoknyeong, always waited for a report over at her quarters." Gi Cheol--the one you'd think would be making this kind of a complaint--is standing there silently, but no doubt approvingly. The QM's brother Yoon Shi Woo steps forward to defend his sister, but he seems to be alone...and the QM can't sidestep that. "There seems to be quite the opposition," she acknowledges, "so I'll try to refrain from coming here in the future." But she has a backup plan: she's naming her brother "Chief Deliberator of State Affairs" (sounds like a new title she's cooked up) to handle what she says will be the little things that come up. We'll see what she means by little things. A trademark Gi Cheol disgusted grunt.
Leaving the meeting, now all of the ministers are grumbling. But Lee Je Hyeon doesn't think these latest shenanigans can go unchecked for long. "Just wait with patience, and another storm will come."
"Let's just kill them all!" Wow, quite the advice Gi Won is giving his brother. Your sister the empress will protect us, won't she? Another disgusted grunt, because he doesn't think she will. Sure, Cheol says, we could kill them--but then who gets the throne next? Have to think about THAT too.
Princess Deoknyeong is saying good-bye to the empress dowager, who's very sad to see her go. The princess is headed back home to Yanjing. The ED is worried about her, but then remembers, Empress Gi, "she's a Goryeo woman, so she'll treat you well." Really? But then she says she used to be close to the empress...but..."That damn greed. I helped her so much, and not a word of gratitude." Deoknyeong says she's cutting her political connections anyway and just wants to go live in a temple. Which the ED doesn't like at all; she thinks the weasel politicians are forcing her to do it and gets all huffy. The princess restrains a smile at the outburst.
As Deoknyeong leaves, we learn she's going to ride a horse the whole way there rather than be carried or sit in a carriage. She's a Mongolian, she reminds the ED's surprised attendant, and grew up riding horses. No big deal. But when the ED hears this, well, she thinks that's just not something palace ladies should do.
Back in Yanjing: Empress Gi has four attendants hovering about her. Botap Shili is there to talk to her. The crown prince will be demoted and exiled, the empress says, but not killed. "Don't worry about your father, either. He's always been a loyal subject. His Majesty won't kill him." And since you were preparing to get married, she adds, "I will find you the perfect candidate for marriage." Botap says she doesn't want to marry anybody else; she'd rather live alone. And then boldly goes further: "Your Majesty gained everything you wanted. As you wished, Ayushiridara will be the heir to the throne. How can you try to separate me and Prince Qunluan as well?" You ought to rethink that stubbornness, the empress answers with a smile..."since the lives of your father and the crown prince depend on it." She leaves in a huff, insisting she'd rather kill herself than marry someone else. Then attendant Park enters and asks the empress why she's bothering with this; why stop them from marrying? She explains that the emperor might--no, probably will--start second-guessing all of this before long. "If that happens, the crown prince will come back from the frontier, join hands with the King of Wei, and kill us. Isn't it obvious? So that's why we need to stop that little wench from marrying Qunluan. And kill her father after that. Then we will get rid of Qunluan as well." Wow.
Qunluan is riding off into exile...and Botap has ridden out to join him! But he won't let her. "Do you want to see your father dead? Do everything that Empress Gi tells you to." Your father has many followers in the palace, he tells her, enough that the empress is wary of him. "Your father needs to survive if I am to live, too." She's hugging him and crying, and trying to deny the truth of what he says, but she probably knows just as well as he does. "The only one who can save me is your father."
Now attendant Park has pitched an idea of his own to the empress: marry Botap Shili to Prince Gangneung! She's puzzled at the idea, but he explains: Send them to Goryeo and it will keep her away from Qunluan, and your brother will be there to keep an eye on them. And about the prince's mother? Isn't she a troublemaker?, the empress asks. "She will pledge allegiance to you, Your Majesty," if it gets her son back home. Remember those jewels she sent as a gift, for that very reason? This guy is no dummy, is he....
Now Park is talking to An Dochi; apparently he's suggested the marriage to An and An likes it. Hints that another load of gems would be a good idea; An doesn't think that will be a problem.
But HERE'S a problem: Gangneung is having a screaming, throwing-things tantrum at the very idea of it! He even throws a jar at An's head and it shatters and draws blood. Sheesh. But as An eventually explains, This will get you home again, and you can be with your mother in her final years. At that the prince starts to calm down; tosses An a handkerchief to wipe away the blood. And then he remembers who Botap Shili was, from their hunting encounter. As in, the almost-wife of the almost-crown prince, and the King of Wei's daughter. "If you become in-laws, who would ever dare to confront you?" That sets him off again; in moments his sword is at An's throat. "Are you telling me to become the Mongols' hound dog, and take Goryeo's throne?" Calm down, prince.
Evening, back in Gaegyeong, at the empress dowager's home: Jung Se Woon has returned home to give the ED news of this marriage idea. And hey, she's all for it if it gets her son back home. "So what if she's a barbarian? Tell them to have them married right now!" Okay...the only problem is, remember she had picked out Lee Je Hyeon's daughter Hyebi to be Gangneung's bride...and Hyebi just happens to be standing outside the ED's front door waiting to visit her. She hears all this...
...and runs home to tell her father. They both sit there in silence for a while, both obviously crushed. "I did so much for Prince Gangneung," he sighs.
Next morning: The rumor is spreading like wildfire and officials are asking Lee Je Hyeon about it. But as Kim Yong and Jo Il Shin (now home) realize, does it really make any difference? "The king is just thirteen. To earn that throne, Prince Gangneung will have to live another hundred years."
And now it's reached the queen mother, who's expressing her concern to her brother Yoon Shi Woo. But she's smiling once again after he tells her the bride-to-be's father is an accused traitor. "Even if Gi Cheol and Prince Gangneung join hands, all we need to do is buy Empress Gi's graces. That will secure His Majesty's future for sure." But be careful, Yoon--Choi Man Saeng is eavesdropping again and heard that last part. And he runs right to Gi Cheol with the news.
Yoon is leaving his sister, headed home in an eight-bearer covered chair. That thing is really hauling! Top speed.
Here's someone new: Lady Lee, mother of Empress Gi and Gi Cheol. Gi Cheol is whining to her about the family's "impending doom." Doesn't think much of his sister any more: "If you bring her money, she'll go down on all fours." Ouch! "She just enjoys the shade while we're dealing with all the heat." It gets his mother riled up plenty good.
An afternoon reception in a courtyard in Empress Gi's palace. Outside the building, here's An Dochi propping up a drunk Prince Gangneung as he staggers forward. He was just told this morning to be here and it was too short notice, clearly. They go into the courtyard, and all of the palace ladies stare unflatteringly at him as he stumbles ahead.
Now inside to meet the empress. We see Botap Shili in there too, but off behind a screen like she's hiding. The empress sizes up the wobbly prince. "Looks like you went overboard with your drinking last night." Ya think? He tries to explain, and makes a fool of himself doing it. Botap watches him, and recalls their evening encounter in the Goryeo Village when he was similarly drunk (episode 4). She sheds a tear at the thought that she could end up stuck with this lush.
An thinks this was like a formal interview and that Gangneung blew it. They return home, and on the way An asks, "Where are you going all the time at night, Your Highness?" They pass Pyeonjo and Gangneung mumbles something about having located "tonight's prey."
Nighttime: Pyeonjo and Gangneung are together. "Your Highness, the rumor started spreading all over Yanjing. About those scoundrels stealing only Goryeo hostages in the night." They're out in the woods somewhere. Pyeonjo thinks this rescuing stuff may be a waste of time: "No matter what you do, they'll end up back with their owners." Maybe...But the problem has to be stopped at its source, Pyeonjo explains. "All those corrupt court officials in Goryeo sending hostages as a tribute, just to fill their bellies and improve their riches." Makes sense to Gangneung, but he acts like he can't do anything about it. Pyeonjo disagrees: "So what if it's a barbarian princess if that can make you King?!" Hmmm...but now here come some local men walking up the path, carrying two Goryean women in bags. At the sight of Gangneung and Pyeonjo, they drop the bags. Wait, not women, surprise, two men with daggers! And now more men appear, and suddenly the two Goryeans are surrounded by at least ten men wielding swords or daggers. Not the time to fight, against these odds...so they manage to duck the first man's charge and run through the gap he left...And they're both very fast, obviously, because next we see them reach two waiting horses, with the men nowhere in sight and obviously long gone. They start laughing about their near miss, and then sit down to rest. Now a question for the monk: "If I made you into a noble, what's the first thing you would do?" Pyeonjo answers with a question: "If Your Highness became King of Goryeo, what's the first thing you'd do?" He says he'd help his mother. "Make her angst vanish." Bring her into the palace, "improve her rank, and her way of life." After that...so much to do, but he can't think of one particular thing. But he tells Pyeonjo with a chuckle, "I promise. If I become King of Goryeo, I'll make you into a noble!" That wasn't the answer Pyeonjo wanted to hear--All he can think of is taking care of his mom?--and he actually starts screaming at him. Why?...Now a flashback, to Pyeonjo being punished by Wolseon because he said the very same thing--that he did some sort of bad thing to "make his mother's angst vanish." Wolseon is furious. "You fool. Angst is spread all around the world. If you compare your mother's angst to that, how big will it be?" You weren't born a slave, Pyeonjo says, terribly upset; you don't understand. Wolseon is disgusted: "Can a slave's son do anything?"...Flashback ending, Pyeonjo is still screaming mad. But now it's Wolseon he's mad at. Whatever happened back then scarred him severely.
Next morning: Gangneung is out riding, alone, off his horse for the moment...and who should ride by but Botap Shili. At the sight of him she dismounts and angrily confronts him. "I will never marry someone like you. Go talk with Empress Gi right now, and tell her to find you another woman." He answers, "They say he who wants to eat the fruit is the first to climb up the tree." Huh? "I have no intention of marrying a Mongol woman, either." And with that he mounts his horse and rides away. Burned!
Back home, she's pacing and furious. "A mere scoundrel of the royal family with nothing to do all day insults me?" Her attendant is trying to calm her down...
...but it doesn't work. Now it's evening and she bursts into Gangneung's home unannounced, to tell him off. "I felt sorry for you deep down, as you were brought here as a hostage. But I see you're just a pathetic scoundrel. You insulted me so I have come here to face you." But Gangneung was expecting her. He's sitting at a table that has two goblets on it. "Neither you nor I have any interest in this marriage," he says. "There is poison in one of those goblets. Which one will you choose?" Still wide-eyed with anger, Botap absorbs this for a moment...and then points. So Gangneung drinks the other one. Nothing...not immediately anyway. Botap boldly steps forward to drink the other goblet, but the prince grabs her hand at the last moment. "If no poison is here," she says angrily, "you'd have fooled me and I won't marry you. But if that is not the case, I'll pay with death the insolence of doubting you." And tells him to let go of the goblet.
