Post by ajk on Oct 25, 2013 22:07:23 GMT -5
State council meeting: Gongmin is complimenting Lee Je Hyeon on the job he did as substitute regent during the months before Gongmin's arrival. He wants Lee to become Chief Director of Deliberation. Lee protests that he's too old, but Gongmin nicely urges him to accept. He also wants to reward the people who were with him in Yanjing and put up with him being so difficult to deal with back then. He's naming all of them "Merit Subjects." And he has special plums for those three allies of his. Jo Il Shin is now Manager of Affairs for the Council of Deliberation. Kim Yong will become Royal Chief of Security, commanding the guards inside the palace. And Jung Se Woon is given a position he doesn't tell us the name of; only that he "will be in charge of maintaining peace and order in the capital." All the while, Gi Cheol is standing there and looking around, waiting for what's coming to him...
...which turns out to be big fat squat. Afterwards, his Brother Gi Won finds him outside the Council hall and is stunned to find him empty-handed and fuming. Which only gets worse as the rewarded officials leave the hall, laughing and excited. But Gi knows "The Council is still in my hands" and that's where the real authority lies...so he's going to let all this sit for now and lie low, except for the requisite disgusted grunt.
Now Gongmin is meeting privately with Lee Je Hyeon, Yeom Je Shin and Lee In Bok. What to do about Gi Cheol and his private guards and all of his loyalists, that's the subject. Even with the military control that Gongmin just awarded to Kim Yong and Jung Se Woon, well, that military is full of Gi loyalists. It's a tough spot, no question. And then there's the former king, trapped on Ganghwa Island. Gongmin wants to bring him back home once the heat has died down...but his three advisors all seem to agree that the boy is too big a potential draw for disloyal subjects, and shouldn't be allowed to return--or even to live.
Now we're out in the woods somewhere. This looks like a private army of some sort, in training. Is this Gi Cheol's? Yeah, there he is inside a tent talking to loyalists. Two are named Kwon Gyeom and Noh Chaek. They're all grumbling and feeling disrespected. "If we hadn't married our daughters into Yuan nobility," Gi complains, "this country would be in ruins already." He wants to make sure he has plenty of muscle to contend with the government's muscle...meaning more conscripts...meaning more money. And now he puts the squeeze on everyone present to cough up generous contributions to the cause.
Oh dear, it looks like Pyeonjo and Won are going to be tortured. Or at least whipped severely. Pyeonjo's calm about it, and he's trying to keep Won calm as well. Good for him. And now without any questioning or comment, it starts. They're using a long stick on Won, striking his back again and again. Pyeonjo begs them to stop and says he's the one who killed the soldier and should bear the punishment. They ask him where he hid the woman he fled with; Won immediately answers that the she died in childbirth. "So, where is that wench's child?" Died with her mother, they both say. But the guards don't believe that, and the beating resumes. Now on both of them. Pyeonjo's trying to distract himself by thinking of his time as a young boy, with his mother--which we see in flashback--and when we return, the beating is over and Won is unconscious.
Noguk is working on her walking and bowing and Goryean stuff, and gradually picking it up. Not flawlessly, but coming along. But now look, Princess Deoknyeong is here. Noguk is so happy to see her; she's grateful to have a friend here. (She should have brought her attendant.)
"Where did His Majesty sleep last night?!" Gongmin's mother, now titled Queen Dowager, is angrily questioning eunuch Choi. Choi waffles, because it's really no business of hers. She demands to know whenever Gongmin goes to the queen's palace. Awfully pushy, isn't she. Lee Hyebi is there with her; not sure how she feels about this.
Yeom Je Shin is pressing Lee Je Hyeon about his daughter. "Are you planning to make her a widow for life? People are saying you're sacrificing your daughter just to become in-laws with the royal family!" Lee isn't concerned with what people think.
"Wait just one year." That's what the queen dowager tells Lee Hyebi. Clearly she's going to do everything she can to undermine her "barbarian" daughter-in-law. But be careful, mom, because your son the king just showed up. Gongmin respectfully bows to her--how about that--and she receives him with a smile. And makes sure to introduce Hyebi, and talk her up. And adds, "Actually, I had picked her as your wife. Even though now it's all in vain." Geez, lady, real subtle. Couldn't be a more awkward moment, for Hyebi or for Gongmin.
Deoknyeong and Noguk catch up over tea. Deoknyeong says she's going to live outside the palace; it's the custom, and besides, "What could be possibly good about so many women living here?" And suggests she have her mother-in-law's former home attended to. Why? She's living in the palace now. "Tell that to your husband," she says. Odd.
The two monks are back in their cell. Won's in a lot of pain; Pyeonjo isn't (or at least isn't letting on). But Pyeonjo doesn't think their captors will let them die. Wonder why not? But what's this? Now look who's just been tossed into the next cell. It's Gong Cheol, the non-monk we met last time. He actually got himself caught stealing so he could be brought here. Because, he needs to tell them that "some monk was looking for you two. It doesn't look like he'll allow them to kill you." What the heck? And he's even brought them something: ointment for their wounds.
Here's an unexpected visitor to the city: Wolseon! He's in the city, literally being carried by Deokun, on his back. Looks like he's paying Choseon a visit.
"It won't be easy, if he even killed someone." Choseon has just been asked by Wolseon for her help in freeing Pyeonjo. She's concerned...but then with a smile adds, "Have I ever disappointed you, even once?" So it's not easy, but not impossible. She leaves him and heads outside, presumably to see what she can do about this.
Inside, Wolseon makes himself comfortable and takes a nap.
So Choseon goes to see Master Bou. Figures he can help. She's distressed to learn that Pyeonjo also abducted one of the women Gi Cheol wanted to send to Yanjing for the annual Yuan tribute. So this is gonna have to go through Gi himself, it sounds like. Yikes.
Wow, she doesn't mess around. Now she's sitting with Gi and offering him a document. It's a deed to a tea field he had envied. The monks aren't worth killing, she tells him, with the deed on the table. He's grumbly about it, but then warms to the whole thing. Confident they have a deal, she nods and stands to leave. What's your hurry, Gi says; stick around a while. "Just exuding your scent and leaving like that, You'll disappoint me!" What is this guy, a hyena?
Evening: The queen dowager is angry, wondering where her son is. Her attendant tells her he hasn't spent one night in his wife's palace since they arrived. Of course she's convinced it's Noguk's fault and complains about her.
Another lavish, untouched dinner spread out in front of Noguk as she waits at her palace. Alone.
Hubby is still at the office. An Dochi tells him his wife has been skipping her dinners because of this, she's so upset. Gongmin gets up, if only out of concern...but then hesitates and sits down again. Why the reluctance? "It's because that woman still thinks of me as a hostage of the Yuan." An assures him that isn't true, and tells him about how hard she's working to learn Goryeo customs.
Now the two of them are headed to the queen's palace, so obviously An convinced him. An is carrying a lantern, as usual for evenings. Gently but boldly, An talks about the prospect of a little prince--how handsome he'd be and how happy it would make Gongmin's mother. And would take a lot of heat off Noguk. Gongmin agrees with him: "my mother still looks at her with contempt." Good that he knows this.
The queen mother gets word of Gongmin's destination, and complains. Sheesh, what a whiner.
"I heard you've been skipping dinners, so I came." Gongmin looks very uncomfortable being here, but he's here. Noguk looks a little uncomfortable too.
Oh good grief--now the queen dowager gets up and heads for the queen's palace! To break up the party, obviously. She gets to the porch...just in time to hear them talking inside. "What you're telling me is to send my mother away from the palace, isn't it?" Did Noguk really suggest that? Ouch! Of course Gongmin doesn't take kindly to that at all...and outside, the queen mother is beside herself at hearing it. "That shameless little wench!" She turns right around and heads home. Back inside, Gongmin tells Noguk, "That's why I keep avoiding this place." It's enough that you're looking down on me, he says, but now you're trying to create trouble between me and my mother. He leaves in a huff.
Wow, it worked! Pyeonjo and Won are taken from their cell; a team of guards is under orders to tie them up and escort them outside the city to be released. Which is what we see happen--but before whoever is supposed to receive them can get there, the guards decide they're going to kill the monks! They whip out their swords and it looks like curtains...but suddenly another squad of swordsmen converge on the scene and run the guards off. Off to the side we can see Choseon--so those must have been her men. Close call.
Deokun is treating Won's wounds. And Pyeonjo giving his thanks to Choseon and Wolseon. "Suspicion moved me to follow them," Choseon explains to Wolseon; "Lord Deokseong is not the type to spare people like you." Very shrewd. She goes outside and thanks her men for the good job they did. Back inside, Pyeonjo can't keep up the facade any longer and finally starts moaning and grimacing. His back was beaten up just as badly as Won's was. Wolseon gives him some guff about it, and now they're harmlessly bickering again like they used to.
Next morning: Well here's an odd pairing: Kim Yong, who's now security chief, talking to Gi Cheol. Kim's not happy that Gi didn't finish off Pyeonjo; he didn't like Gongmin hanging around with the monk back in Yanjing. Gi didn't realize this, as the disgusted grunt indicates. He took Pyeonjo too lightly.
"Act again without my consent, and I won't forgive you!" What's going on here? Jo Il Shin bursts in on Lee Je Hyeon and Yeom Je Shin in an office and starts berating them! Not sure if this is related to the Pyeonjo situation but it quickly deteriorates into resentment over who was and wasn't in Yanjing with then-Prince Gangneung. It's not pretty. (Lee calls Jo "Grand Manager" in this scene; so that's his title, or part of it.)
Wow, now Jo Il Shin is so angry that he wants to see the king about those two. He storms to the king's palace, where Kim Yong meets him in the front yard and asks him what he wants. "Those old farts are killing me with their nonsense!" Well isn't that nice. "He needs to get rid of them all!" But Kim only chuckles, and urges patience, and refuses to let Jo in. Which is his job now, of course--but Jo is stunned that his friend is obstructing him. It infuriates him and now he's wide-eyed and ranting! He storms away in a fit. Kim goes back into the yard and tells Jung Se Woon that "Ever since he was proclaimed Manager of Affairs, his bluster has gotten worse." And then, changing the subject, mentions rumors he's heard about "All the subjects endorsing the former king on Ganghwa Island" and possible intrigue against Gongmin. We need to be very careful, he says.
The queen mother is so upset, she's lying in bed with a damp cloth over her forehead. Princess Deoknyeong has come to visit her. And surprises her by confessing that the idea for her to live outside the palace, well, "That was entirely my idea." The idea was to rebuild her home, Deokkyeong Palace, which was old and worn, and give her a beautiful new home. But that's not well received, surprise surprise. "Please," Deoknyeong implores, "stop blaming the Queen, and allow her in. You can't leave her outside like that." Literally--the queen is standing out there waiting to see her mother-in-law, we realize, and isn't being let in! Oh and like it can't get any dicier, well, here comes the king. He walks by his wife without a word and heads inside. But his mother doesn't want to see him either. "My head hurts and I can't get up," she says to him through the closed door. And rolls over to go to sleep. Outside, Noguk sheds a tear of frustration.
Yanjing: Empress Gi is shocked to hear that the former king is still alive on Ganghwa Island. Why doesn't Gongmin do the sensible thing and have him executed, she wonders with irritation. "I knew it from the first moment. His hands looked like a woman's."
"He must be hiding somewhere inside the palace!" What's going on? Kim Yong is urgently ordering soldiers around. "Check every single inch of this place!"
It's Yoon Shi Woo they're looking for. The former Chief Deliberator. Well, he's the former king's uncle, so maybe he was making trouble. We don't know. Turns out he's hiding with his sister, the former queen mother Lady Yoon. Kim Yong figured he'd be with her, so he takes some men and barges right into her home. She's furious, but Yoon is summarily picked up and hauled away. Not before shouting a piece of advice, though: "Go to Ganghwa Island! Protect your son! He has no one but you to protect him!" Wow does she look angry. Can't blame her, really.
Ganghwa Island: "Mother! Save me!" The poor kid--still here, still whimpering and scared to death, all alone. Pathetic.
"What did the former king do to deserve death?" A state council meeting, and Gongmin is angrily rejecting the idea that someone put forth about executing his nephew. Okay, it was the still-angry Jo Il Shin. Everybody else is just standing there, too scared to even twitch, but Jo is unabashed. "Why are you all keeping quiet?!" He barks at Gongmin, "If you spare the former king, those planning treason will flourish."
Turns out the boy is even refusing to eat. Hasn't eaten in days.
Back in Gaegyeong: Pyeonjo is looking much better now. Choseon is showing him a well on her property. The water it produces has some sort of special property, we learn. It's been used in the production of lipstick, of all things, and it has an unusual taste that made the lipstick so popular that its maker became a rich man. Turns out, that man was Choseon's father.
...which turns out to be big fat squat. Afterwards, his Brother Gi Won finds him outside the Council hall and is stunned to find him empty-handed and fuming. Which only gets worse as the rewarded officials leave the hall, laughing and excited. But Gi knows "The Council is still in my hands" and that's where the real authority lies...so he's going to let all this sit for now and lie low, except for the requisite disgusted grunt.
Now Gongmin is meeting privately with Lee Je Hyeon, Yeom Je Shin and Lee In Bok. What to do about Gi Cheol and his private guards and all of his loyalists, that's the subject. Even with the military control that Gongmin just awarded to Kim Yong and Jung Se Woon, well, that military is full of Gi loyalists. It's a tough spot, no question. And then there's the former king, trapped on Ganghwa Island. Gongmin wants to bring him back home once the heat has died down...but his three advisors all seem to agree that the boy is too big a potential draw for disloyal subjects, and shouldn't be allowed to return--or even to live.
Now we're out in the woods somewhere. This looks like a private army of some sort, in training. Is this Gi Cheol's? Yeah, there he is inside a tent talking to loyalists. Two are named Kwon Gyeom and Noh Chaek. They're all grumbling and feeling disrespected. "If we hadn't married our daughters into Yuan nobility," Gi complains, "this country would be in ruins already." He wants to make sure he has plenty of muscle to contend with the government's muscle...meaning more conscripts...meaning more money. And now he puts the squeeze on everyone present to cough up generous contributions to the cause.
Oh dear, it looks like Pyeonjo and Won are going to be tortured. Or at least whipped severely. Pyeonjo's calm about it, and he's trying to keep Won calm as well. Good for him. And now without any questioning or comment, it starts. They're using a long stick on Won, striking his back again and again. Pyeonjo begs them to stop and says he's the one who killed the soldier and should bear the punishment. They ask him where he hid the woman he fled with; Won immediately answers that the she died in childbirth. "So, where is that wench's child?" Died with her mother, they both say. But the guards don't believe that, and the beating resumes. Now on both of them. Pyeonjo's trying to distract himself by thinking of his time as a young boy, with his mother--which we see in flashback--and when we return, the beating is over and Won is unconscious.
Noguk is working on her walking and bowing and Goryean stuff, and gradually picking it up. Not flawlessly, but coming along. But now look, Princess Deoknyeong is here. Noguk is so happy to see her; she's grateful to have a friend here. (She should have brought her attendant.)
"Where did His Majesty sleep last night?!" Gongmin's mother, now titled Queen Dowager, is angrily questioning eunuch Choi. Choi waffles, because it's really no business of hers. She demands to know whenever Gongmin goes to the queen's palace. Awfully pushy, isn't she. Lee Hyebi is there with her; not sure how she feels about this.
Yeom Je Shin is pressing Lee Je Hyeon about his daughter. "Are you planning to make her a widow for life? People are saying you're sacrificing your daughter just to become in-laws with the royal family!" Lee isn't concerned with what people think.
"Wait just one year." That's what the queen dowager tells Lee Hyebi. Clearly she's going to do everything she can to undermine her "barbarian" daughter-in-law. But be careful, mom, because your son the king just showed up. Gongmin respectfully bows to her--how about that--and she receives him with a smile. And makes sure to introduce Hyebi, and talk her up. And adds, "Actually, I had picked her as your wife. Even though now it's all in vain." Geez, lady, real subtle. Couldn't be a more awkward moment, for Hyebi or for Gongmin.
Deoknyeong and Noguk catch up over tea. Deoknyeong says she's going to live outside the palace; it's the custom, and besides, "What could be possibly good about so many women living here?" And suggests she have her mother-in-law's former home attended to. Why? She's living in the palace now. "Tell that to your husband," she says. Odd.
The two monks are back in their cell. Won's in a lot of pain; Pyeonjo isn't (or at least isn't letting on). But Pyeonjo doesn't think their captors will let them die. Wonder why not? But what's this? Now look who's just been tossed into the next cell. It's Gong Cheol, the non-monk we met last time. He actually got himself caught stealing so he could be brought here. Because, he needs to tell them that "some monk was looking for you two. It doesn't look like he'll allow them to kill you." What the heck? And he's even brought them something: ointment for their wounds.
Here's an unexpected visitor to the city: Wolseon! He's in the city, literally being carried by Deokun, on his back. Looks like he's paying Choseon a visit.
"It won't be easy, if he even killed someone." Choseon has just been asked by Wolseon for her help in freeing Pyeonjo. She's concerned...but then with a smile adds, "Have I ever disappointed you, even once?" So it's not easy, but not impossible. She leaves him and heads outside, presumably to see what she can do about this.
Inside, Wolseon makes himself comfortable and takes a nap.
So Choseon goes to see Master Bou. Figures he can help. She's distressed to learn that Pyeonjo also abducted one of the women Gi Cheol wanted to send to Yanjing for the annual Yuan tribute. So this is gonna have to go through Gi himself, it sounds like. Yikes.
Wow, she doesn't mess around. Now she's sitting with Gi and offering him a document. It's a deed to a tea field he had envied. The monks aren't worth killing, she tells him, with the deed on the table. He's grumbly about it, but then warms to the whole thing. Confident they have a deal, she nods and stands to leave. What's your hurry, Gi says; stick around a while. "Just exuding your scent and leaving like that, You'll disappoint me!" What is this guy, a hyena?
Evening: The queen dowager is angry, wondering where her son is. Her attendant tells her he hasn't spent one night in his wife's palace since they arrived. Of course she's convinced it's Noguk's fault and complains about her.
Another lavish, untouched dinner spread out in front of Noguk as she waits at her palace. Alone.
Hubby is still at the office. An Dochi tells him his wife has been skipping her dinners because of this, she's so upset. Gongmin gets up, if only out of concern...but then hesitates and sits down again. Why the reluctance? "It's because that woman still thinks of me as a hostage of the Yuan." An assures him that isn't true, and tells him about how hard she's working to learn Goryeo customs.
Now the two of them are headed to the queen's palace, so obviously An convinced him. An is carrying a lantern, as usual for evenings. Gently but boldly, An talks about the prospect of a little prince--how handsome he'd be and how happy it would make Gongmin's mother. And would take a lot of heat off Noguk. Gongmin agrees with him: "my mother still looks at her with contempt." Good that he knows this.
The queen mother gets word of Gongmin's destination, and complains. Sheesh, what a whiner.
"I heard you've been skipping dinners, so I came." Gongmin looks very uncomfortable being here, but he's here. Noguk looks a little uncomfortable too.
Oh good grief--now the queen dowager gets up and heads for the queen's palace! To break up the party, obviously. She gets to the porch...just in time to hear them talking inside. "What you're telling me is to send my mother away from the palace, isn't it?" Did Noguk really suggest that? Ouch! Of course Gongmin doesn't take kindly to that at all...and outside, the queen mother is beside herself at hearing it. "That shameless little wench!" She turns right around and heads home. Back inside, Gongmin tells Noguk, "That's why I keep avoiding this place." It's enough that you're looking down on me, he says, but now you're trying to create trouble between me and my mother. He leaves in a huff.
Wow, it worked! Pyeonjo and Won are taken from their cell; a team of guards is under orders to tie them up and escort them outside the city to be released. Which is what we see happen--but before whoever is supposed to receive them can get there, the guards decide they're going to kill the monks! They whip out their swords and it looks like curtains...but suddenly another squad of swordsmen converge on the scene and run the guards off. Off to the side we can see Choseon--so those must have been her men. Close call.
Deokun is treating Won's wounds. And Pyeonjo giving his thanks to Choseon and Wolseon. "Suspicion moved me to follow them," Choseon explains to Wolseon; "Lord Deokseong is not the type to spare people like you." Very shrewd. She goes outside and thanks her men for the good job they did. Back inside, Pyeonjo can't keep up the facade any longer and finally starts moaning and grimacing. His back was beaten up just as badly as Won's was. Wolseon gives him some guff about it, and now they're harmlessly bickering again like they used to.
Next morning: Well here's an odd pairing: Kim Yong, who's now security chief, talking to Gi Cheol. Kim's not happy that Gi didn't finish off Pyeonjo; he didn't like Gongmin hanging around with the monk back in Yanjing. Gi didn't realize this, as the disgusted grunt indicates. He took Pyeonjo too lightly.
"Act again without my consent, and I won't forgive you!" What's going on here? Jo Il Shin bursts in on Lee Je Hyeon and Yeom Je Shin in an office and starts berating them! Not sure if this is related to the Pyeonjo situation but it quickly deteriorates into resentment over who was and wasn't in Yanjing with then-Prince Gangneung. It's not pretty. (Lee calls Jo "Grand Manager" in this scene; so that's his title, or part of it.)
Wow, now Jo Il Shin is so angry that he wants to see the king about those two. He storms to the king's palace, where Kim Yong meets him in the front yard and asks him what he wants. "Those old farts are killing me with their nonsense!" Well isn't that nice. "He needs to get rid of them all!" But Kim only chuckles, and urges patience, and refuses to let Jo in. Which is his job now, of course--but Jo is stunned that his friend is obstructing him. It infuriates him and now he's wide-eyed and ranting! He storms away in a fit. Kim goes back into the yard and tells Jung Se Woon that "Ever since he was proclaimed Manager of Affairs, his bluster has gotten worse." And then, changing the subject, mentions rumors he's heard about "All the subjects endorsing the former king on Ganghwa Island" and possible intrigue against Gongmin. We need to be very careful, he says.
The queen mother is so upset, she's lying in bed with a damp cloth over her forehead. Princess Deoknyeong has come to visit her. And surprises her by confessing that the idea for her to live outside the palace, well, "That was entirely my idea." The idea was to rebuild her home, Deokkyeong Palace, which was old and worn, and give her a beautiful new home. But that's not well received, surprise surprise. "Please," Deoknyeong implores, "stop blaming the Queen, and allow her in. You can't leave her outside like that." Literally--the queen is standing out there waiting to see her mother-in-law, we realize, and isn't being let in! Oh and like it can't get any dicier, well, here comes the king. He walks by his wife without a word and heads inside. But his mother doesn't want to see him either. "My head hurts and I can't get up," she says to him through the closed door. And rolls over to go to sleep. Outside, Noguk sheds a tear of frustration.
Yanjing: Empress Gi is shocked to hear that the former king is still alive on Ganghwa Island. Why doesn't Gongmin do the sensible thing and have him executed, she wonders with irritation. "I knew it from the first moment. His hands looked like a woman's."
"He must be hiding somewhere inside the palace!" What's going on? Kim Yong is urgently ordering soldiers around. "Check every single inch of this place!"
It's Yoon Shi Woo they're looking for. The former Chief Deliberator. Well, he's the former king's uncle, so maybe he was making trouble. We don't know. Turns out he's hiding with his sister, the former queen mother Lady Yoon. Kim Yong figured he'd be with her, so he takes some men and barges right into her home. She's furious, but Yoon is summarily picked up and hauled away. Not before shouting a piece of advice, though: "Go to Ganghwa Island! Protect your son! He has no one but you to protect him!" Wow does she look angry. Can't blame her, really.
Ganghwa Island: "Mother! Save me!" The poor kid--still here, still whimpering and scared to death, all alone. Pathetic.
"What did the former king do to deserve death?" A state council meeting, and Gongmin is angrily rejecting the idea that someone put forth about executing his nephew. Okay, it was the still-angry Jo Il Shin. Everybody else is just standing there, too scared to even twitch, but Jo is unabashed. "Why are you all keeping quiet?!" He barks at Gongmin, "If you spare the former king, those planning treason will flourish."
Turns out the boy is even refusing to eat. Hasn't eaten in days.
Back in Gaegyeong: Pyeonjo is looking much better now. Choseon is showing him a well on her property. The water it produces has some sort of special property, we learn. It's been used in the production of lipstick, of all things, and it has an unusual taste that made the lipstick so popular that its maker became a rich man. Turns out, that man was Choseon's father.