Post by ajk on Aug 1, 2014 23:49:01 GMT -5
Oh no, Inspector Kim hasn't been arrested yet. The QD let him into her palace and is giving him sanctuary. Gongmin is angry and says he's heading over there to arrest Kim himself! Seriously? And we're off to a flying start.
Kim is shaking and groveling before the QD. Don't worry, she tells him; I'll protect you. But within moments, shouts from outside; officials and soldiers demanding that Kim be produced for arrest for treason. And now here comes an angry King Gongmin, shouting from outside and then storming right in. Points at Kim and tells his mother that Kim was plotting to kill SD, "so that is no different from trying to harm me!" She doesn't back down; she's furious about SD being given so much power. But Gongmin ignores her and demands Kim's arrest. He's a family member, she reminds him; "now you even attempt to harm your kin?! Then, begin by slaying your mother! You must go over my dead body to capture him!" Then a tense, silent staredown....
SD, well he's actually laughing about it. Lee Chun Bu has come to him with all the details of what happened. "I am fully prepared to handle them," SD says, speaking of anybody else out there who might want to do him harm. Lee urges him to go to Gongmin and demand Kim's arrest and severe punishment. "We must swiftly eliminate any influence Her Highness still possesses." Well there's an interesting angle—worrying about the QD causing further mischief.
Well Gongmin backed down and left. Kim is getting a serious scolding from the QD as Princess Deoknyeong looks on. Oh wait, now she joins in too. Kim denies he would ever actually kill SD, but is afraid to try to explain that to the king because he thinks the king is completely in SD's grip and would never believe him.
SD is back in the capital now, home from his scouting trip. Tells Gongmin that Seogyeong is the best choice for the new capital. Good choice, Gongmin agrees. Then SD shocks us. "Your Majesty: May you release Gyeong Cheon Heung." His wanting to kill me was only "a personal matter of mine" and doesn't require all this commotion. Seriously? Gongmin angrily refuses. "A personal matter?! You and I are one, Guardian. I entrusted regency to you, so if trying to harm a regent is not treason, what is?" SD looks shocked, like he hadn't thought about it that way. Gongmin laughs and says Kim will have to come out of the QD's house eventually and then he'll pay for his crime.
"His Majesty said he and Shin Don are one?!" Lee Saek hears about this. He's certainly not a political enemy of SD's to say the least, but clearly this disturbs him.
SD is pressing Gongmin about moving the capital. He wants it done quickly so that it won't interfere with the Liaodong campaign. Gongmin readily agrees. He also asks Gongmin to stop construction of Noguk's shrine temporarily so that the campaign will have the resources that it needs...and wow that does not go over well at all. Suddenly the two of them are arguing like we haven't seen in a long time. "We shall never do that! Her spirit is wandering the Hades!" SD tries to tell him No, she's in heaven by now. Gongmin disagrees. "Would she use Ban Ya's body to appear in my presence, then?! Ban Ya is pregnant with my child! She used Ban Ya's body and resurrected." Whoa...yikes. Now we understand a little bit better just what is going on in Gongmin's head. And it's not good.
Lee Saek goes to Chancellor Yoo and Lee In Bok, and asks them to talk to Gongmin to seek clemency for Kim and Gyeong. Yoo seems reluctant...but Lee simply doesn't understand any of this. Or else doesn't agree with it. "How could attempting to slay Pyeonjo be considered treason?"
SD leaves the king's office, with Gongmin screaming at him all the way out about his daring to suggest the shrine's construction be put on hold. Gongmin's raw vehemence shocks SD. As he walks away from the building, Lee Chun Bu stops him--clearly Lee heard the screaming from inside--and while he criticizes SD for even raising the subject, he observes that "His Majesty's behavior is turning into derangement" and they agree that this huge, opulent, expensive shrine is a terrible waste right now. "Her Majesty would have never wished for this," SD says, and he's absolutely right of course. Lee advises him not to be so aggressive about it right now, though. SD turns back towards Gongmin's palace, glares angrily and mutters that the construction has to stop for now.
Back inside, Gongmin is glaring at the front door and muttering about not suspending the construction and how SD should be the last person to suggest such a thing considering how much he personally benefitted from Noguk's interest in him. Eunuch Choi is brave enough to gently mention that most of the other high officials want the construction stopped too. But Gongmin doesn't care. He runs to the front door, still shouting. "I shall build a shrine higher than our tallest mountain and pay tribute to her benevolent soul!"
Inspector Kim has snuck away from the QD's palace; manages to find Lee In Bok and begs him for help. Go back to where you were, Lee advises, and wait it out. "Pyeonjo's influence is faltering," he believes, and that's your only hope.
SD meets with the high officials. Tells them the king has decided to move the capital to Seogyeong. Lee In Bok doesn't like it and says so. SD thinks moving the capital closer to Liaodong will help the campaign to conquer it, but Lee argues that makes no sense and that it will be too expensive. Chancellor Yoo, all he can say is, "If such are His Majesty's wishes...." Which they are. And nobody else seems to have the stomach to argue about it. SD insists that taking Liaodong is necessary to keep Ming from "trying to subjugate us and turning this country into a vassal state forced to pay tributes." And he accepts no further argument about moving the capital. But then suddenly it turns into an argument about allowing lowborns to take state exams and about the inherited wealth of the powerful clans, all of that stuff. SD says that Gongmin has pledged to stake everything he has to support these actions. Including his very throne?, Lee asks. This is all getting very tense.
Wow, look at this: Inspector Kim is kneeling outside of Gongmin's office door. It's an all-or-nothing gamble; he's begging for mercy and trying to explain himself. Doesn't work. Gongmin immediately orders him arrested. As eunuchs drag him away, Kim shouts about how SD has become crazed with power and that was why he considered killing him. It was all to protect the king, in other words. Ugh.
Back at the meeting, SD is reminding the officials about how Goryeo has suffered because of the selfishness of high officials and powerful clans, and says that's why the Yuan managed to gain control over the country. It's a passionate speech, and there's truth in it, no question...but it still doesn't explain why moving the capital is necessary to conquer Liaodong. He adds that the official should all be prepared to sacrifice their own wealth and power if need be, to help Goryeo accomplish these things. "Until you do that, you shall not follow His Majesty to Seogyeong."
Chancellor Yoo goes to speak to Gongmin after all. Gongmin is cordial, or at least tries to be. "The people call Shin Don our de facto ruler?!" That's what Yoo has told him, apparently thinking it would appall him. Nope. "So what if they do? What I wish to see are nobles and courtiers kneeling before Shin Don." Yoo is horrified. "They must face the ignominy of kneeling before the son of a slave. Only then they will begin to feel any compunction!" Hmmmm...
Lee Chun Bu and Lee In Im were in that meeting of high officials, and afterwards here they are with SD and piling on the flattery, telling him how great his speech was. And they urge him to tell Gongmin to behead Inspector Kim and Secretary Gyeong.
Things have moved ahead quickly, though. Now we're at the prison yard where Kim and Gyeong are being held. They've been brought into the yard and tied down and are about to be flogged. Lee Chun Bu whips out a scroll and reads Gongmin's order of punishment. It says he's considered "their meritorious service" and instead of beheading them will only subject them to a hundred lashes (which might kill them anyway!). And then exile. Oh and their clans will be demoted to slave status. Wow, that's mercy? Kim and Gyeong go bonkers, of course. Interestingly, Kim doesn't think he's going to survive this and grovels and begs, but Gyeong rebukes him for it. "Enough with your weepy tirades! Think of how elated that Pyeonjo will be to see you grovel like a beast!" Obviously Gyeong has some backbone at least. But none of it matters now anyway because the lashing begins.
Here's someone new: Kim Sok Myeong, an official who's Secretary Gyeong's brother. He's gone to the QD and is complaining about his brother's punishment, especially the family part. She's not happy either, we can see that...but all she can do for now is sigh in frustration.
Now soldiers and civilian employees are at Inspector Kim's home, ready to impose sentence on the family. Won Hyeon appears to be in charge of this and is overseeing it with great satisfaction. They're looking in particular for Kim's consort. But apparently she ran away. Or did she? As all of the servants kneel in the yard, Won spots one woman with unusually pretty hands for a servant. Yeah, that's her. Kim Sok Myeong comes running into the yard and demands she be left alone. But Won shoves him aside and the woman is hauled away.
"We sent Kim Won Myeong's sons to the merchants, while his consort will work as a temple slave. Once he hears of this, bitter tears will fill his eyes." Kim is reporting back to SD, who looks concerned because clearly he thinks Won has overdone it. "Why should you force even his sons to slavery? After a few months of labor, let them go. They are royals, after all." And he's not worried about whether or not Kim and Gyeong are beheaded either. He's sure they've learned their lesson. Won disagrees; tells SD they'll just try to hurt or kill you again. "Leave it all to me," Won offers. "I shall send some of my men, and nobody will find out who murdered those two." Not a word from SD...is he actually considering it?
We see Kim working as a slave, apparently out in the countryside at his place of exile. Hauling manure. It's hard work and he's struggling. And the soldiers overseeing him seem to be enjoying razzing him as he struggles. And then roughing him up a bit, too. But at least he survived the lashing.
So did Gyeong, and Gyeong has fared a little better. A local official in his place of exile is housing him. The official doesn’t like SD and is sympathetic to Gyeong. Still, he tells him, when they're outside in the open, "I will be forced to treat you like a slave, so I hope you'll understand." Gyeong agrees; SD will have people watching so it has to be that way.
Evening, and Kim has a few quiet moments to himself in the small room he's forced to live in. He writes a letter to his brother, a letter full of anger and threats against SD. Tells him, "Her Highness must act. She is the only one left who can spread discord between Pyeonjo and His Majesty." Then he stops, to sit by the window for some fresh air...and suddenly a sword punctures the window frame and skewers him in the neck! Blood pours from his mouth...then a second puncture, through his back! He slumps over, dead.
Now someone enters the room where Secretary Gyeong is supposed to be sleeping. Approaches a figure tucked into the bed...and stabs repeatedly. Wait, it's not him; it's a straw figure! It's a trap. Soldiers are waiting and rush in to try to capture the would-be assassin. It looks like he gets away.
Gyeong is still with his lodger and is horrified to hear of the attempt on his life.
Morning: Now the QD has returned the favor from earlier and has shown up at her son's palace uninvited. Wants to talk to him...but he's not here; he already left for Unam Temple. So she tells the eunuchs to summon SD to her house.
Yes, Gongmin is at the temple, kneeling before his wife's portrait. Eunuch Choi is giving him the report on last night's events...so it sure seems like Gongmin knew what was going to happen. Choi adds that "all the others involved in this treasonous act took their own lives." Then Gongmin decides to spare Gyeong after all. "We should spare at least one. Only then they will truly know how fearsome Shin Don is." Yes it does sound like this might have been his order.
The door isn't even fully opened yet for SD to walk into the QD's living room and already she's barking at him. "This is inadmissible! Kim Won Myeong is my kin!" She threatens to avenge his death. And the door closes, with SD standing there having not even uttered a word.
Council meeting, in the main council hall: "Pyeonjo sent an assassin and slaughtered Kim Won Myeong." Lee In Bok thinks so, at least, and he's fuming about it. Apparently the local official's report says it was a suicide, which chancellor Yoo mentions...but Lee doesn't buy a word of it. "Five people who joined Kim Won Myeong in a plot to murder Pyeonjo were found hanging from a rope. Are you telling me they all took their own lives on the same day?" Yoo can't even answer that. "I must be next," he says, a bit of an overstatement. "As long as Pyeonjo holds all that power, not a soul in this court will be safe." Boy is he angry. He's starting to rant like the late Inspector Kim used to rant.
Evening: SD arrives at Choseon's home. "What are you trying to say?", she asks him. "Would His Majesty possibly order Kim Won Myeong's murder?!" What's this about?
Oh dear, Gongmin is feeding the portrait again. And happily reminiscing about their experiences together, as Eunuch Choi watches uncomfortably (and as that damned pop ballad plays again, good grief!). But now Gongmin starts to cry, and blames himself for her death! "If I had eliminated all those troublemakers earlier," he says, talking about people like Gi Cheol and Jo Il Shin, "would you have risked your life to bless me with a child? It is all my fault. I was the one who killed you!" Wow, his mind is completely unable to right itself and see things clearly. And we can see the terrible suffering it's putting him through.
A strange scene at Choseon's estate. Choseon is happy about Inspector Kim and the other conspirators dying and explains to SD why she thinks it's such a good thing. No matter who sent them. And all the while he just sits there staring at her. Obviously he suspects her of arranging the killings. Because as he finally says when he speaks, "His Majesty is not that kind of man" and wouldn't have done it. Then as he leaves, Won Hyeon is standing there and tells him, "How could I dare slay Kim Won Myeong without your consent?!" So Won feels the need to deny it too. SD simply says "From here on in, I shall accept no imprudent behavior." Obviously he thinks they're behind it. On his way out Choseon offers to take him to meet Ban Ya; reminds him that she's pregnant with Gongmin's child. He doesn't want to meet her. She's disappointed. "His majesty refuses to acknowledge her. Do you have suspicions as well?" Suspicions about what? She adds, "That child is surely His Majesty's..." "Do not even mention that again!" Wow, he angrily cuts her off. Why so angry? That was odd.
Choseon goes to check on Ban Ya after SD leaves. She's sitting in a dark room, looking very sad and alone. Feeling abandoned by the man who knocked her up, king or no king. Choseon tries to cheer her up, saying Gongmin will return once the child is born...but all she can do is silently shed tears.
SD heads to Unam temple, where Gongmin is back with the portrait and now laughing about how "the heavens unleashed their fury" on Inspector Kim. He's in a calm, relaxed mood...until SD interrupts him and insists on the suspension of the shrine's construction. "Her Majesty loved our people more than anyone in the world. Would that kind of woman wish for such an opulent shrine?" Does he really think this is the time his plea for it will succeed? Well of course it doesn't succeed. "Again with that?" The smile on his face is gone instantly and he's shouting again. And of all things, he starts complaining about the Confucian scholars in the government. "I must look like a deranged fool in their eyes! They must be thinking I went berserk." Well, uh, yeah...He isn't budging, though. Tells SD to just use the Directorate to squeeze the cost of the Liaodong campaign from clans and high officials. And then he abruptly changes tone. The anger is gone and he's a pathetic, suffering figure, trying to explain his agony to SD. "What else am I supposed to do? This grief of mine is suffocating me! You must help me. Once the shrine is all built, you can do as you please. Invade Liaodong, move the capital to Seogyeong...Do as you please." He's grasping SD's hands now, and begging him rather than ordering him. He's so desperate for relief, it's heartbreaking. A worried SD leaves him...and back inside we see Gongmin starting to show signs of full-blown maniac laughter. "Whoever it is, I shall not forgive them! Anyone opposing the shrine's construction." Muttered threats and more laughing....
Next day: Gongmin is at the shrine site, exhorting the workers to hurry and work harder. Even jumps in and helps out here and there. Good intentions but he clearly has crossed the line into a significant mental-health problem.
Uh-oh...Chancellor Yoo has been summoned by the king. And Yoo knows the reason: the shrine construction has ground to a halt for lack of funds. He knows the country is out of cash. But he bravely says he's going to tell Gongmin the truth, even at the risk of Gongmin lashing out at him. "This old dullard has lived long enough, so why would I wish for more? I am the Chancellor despite not having a single thing to do, so I should live up to my hefty salary for the sake of our country."
"Our coffers are empty?!" So he went and told him. SD arrives outside Gongmin's palace and hears the king screaming at Yoo from inside. Yoo reminds Gongmin that it's farming season now; "Let us briefly pause" so the fields can be tended to. Gongmin wants no part of it. Calls out for eunuchs to come in. "Drag this old fart out of my sight!" They hesitate. "Get him out of my sight and imprison him immediately!" So they escort him out. Gongmin follows them outside and demands Yoo be tied up with ropes. Geez, he's just an old man. But soldiers come forward and do as they're told. He heads back inside, but not before turning back and staring at SD with a maniac look in his eyes. Goes back inside and mutters, "Think I didn't know what you schemed?!" SD is left standing there, utterly horrified at what Gongmin is turning into.
Kim is shaking and groveling before the QD. Don't worry, she tells him; I'll protect you. But within moments, shouts from outside; officials and soldiers demanding that Kim be produced for arrest for treason. And now here comes an angry King Gongmin, shouting from outside and then storming right in. Points at Kim and tells his mother that Kim was plotting to kill SD, "so that is no different from trying to harm me!" She doesn't back down; she's furious about SD being given so much power. But Gongmin ignores her and demands Kim's arrest. He's a family member, she reminds him; "now you even attempt to harm your kin?! Then, begin by slaying your mother! You must go over my dead body to capture him!" Then a tense, silent staredown....
SD, well he's actually laughing about it. Lee Chun Bu has come to him with all the details of what happened. "I am fully prepared to handle them," SD says, speaking of anybody else out there who might want to do him harm. Lee urges him to go to Gongmin and demand Kim's arrest and severe punishment. "We must swiftly eliminate any influence Her Highness still possesses." Well there's an interesting angle—worrying about the QD causing further mischief.
Well Gongmin backed down and left. Kim is getting a serious scolding from the QD as Princess Deoknyeong looks on. Oh wait, now she joins in too. Kim denies he would ever actually kill SD, but is afraid to try to explain that to the king because he thinks the king is completely in SD's grip and would never believe him.
SD is back in the capital now, home from his scouting trip. Tells Gongmin that Seogyeong is the best choice for the new capital. Good choice, Gongmin agrees. Then SD shocks us. "Your Majesty: May you release Gyeong Cheon Heung." His wanting to kill me was only "a personal matter of mine" and doesn't require all this commotion. Seriously? Gongmin angrily refuses. "A personal matter?! You and I are one, Guardian. I entrusted regency to you, so if trying to harm a regent is not treason, what is?" SD looks shocked, like he hadn't thought about it that way. Gongmin laughs and says Kim will have to come out of the QD's house eventually and then he'll pay for his crime.
"His Majesty said he and Shin Don are one?!" Lee Saek hears about this. He's certainly not a political enemy of SD's to say the least, but clearly this disturbs him.
SD is pressing Gongmin about moving the capital. He wants it done quickly so that it won't interfere with the Liaodong campaign. Gongmin readily agrees. He also asks Gongmin to stop construction of Noguk's shrine temporarily so that the campaign will have the resources that it needs...and wow that does not go over well at all. Suddenly the two of them are arguing like we haven't seen in a long time. "We shall never do that! Her spirit is wandering the Hades!" SD tries to tell him No, she's in heaven by now. Gongmin disagrees. "Would she use Ban Ya's body to appear in my presence, then?! Ban Ya is pregnant with my child! She used Ban Ya's body and resurrected." Whoa...yikes. Now we understand a little bit better just what is going on in Gongmin's head. And it's not good.
Lee Saek goes to Chancellor Yoo and Lee In Bok, and asks them to talk to Gongmin to seek clemency for Kim and Gyeong. Yoo seems reluctant...but Lee simply doesn't understand any of this. Or else doesn't agree with it. "How could attempting to slay Pyeonjo be considered treason?"
SD leaves the king's office, with Gongmin screaming at him all the way out about his daring to suggest the shrine's construction be put on hold. Gongmin's raw vehemence shocks SD. As he walks away from the building, Lee Chun Bu stops him--clearly Lee heard the screaming from inside--and while he criticizes SD for even raising the subject, he observes that "His Majesty's behavior is turning into derangement" and they agree that this huge, opulent, expensive shrine is a terrible waste right now. "Her Majesty would have never wished for this," SD says, and he's absolutely right of course. Lee advises him not to be so aggressive about it right now, though. SD turns back towards Gongmin's palace, glares angrily and mutters that the construction has to stop for now.
Back inside, Gongmin is glaring at the front door and muttering about not suspending the construction and how SD should be the last person to suggest such a thing considering how much he personally benefitted from Noguk's interest in him. Eunuch Choi is brave enough to gently mention that most of the other high officials want the construction stopped too. But Gongmin doesn't care. He runs to the front door, still shouting. "I shall build a shrine higher than our tallest mountain and pay tribute to her benevolent soul!"
Inspector Kim has snuck away from the QD's palace; manages to find Lee In Bok and begs him for help. Go back to where you were, Lee advises, and wait it out. "Pyeonjo's influence is faltering," he believes, and that's your only hope.
SD meets with the high officials. Tells them the king has decided to move the capital to Seogyeong. Lee In Bok doesn't like it and says so. SD thinks moving the capital closer to Liaodong will help the campaign to conquer it, but Lee argues that makes no sense and that it will be too expensive. Chancellor Yoo, all he can say is, "If such are His Majesty's wishes...." Which they are. And nobody else seems to have the stomach to argue about it. SD insists that taking Liaodong is necessary to keep Ming from "trying to subjugate us and turning this country into a vassal state forced to pay tributes." And he accepts no further argument about moving the capital. But then suddenly it turns into an argument about allowing lowborns to take state exams and about the inherited wealth of the powerful clans, all of that stuff. SD says that Gongmin has pledged to stake everything he has to support these actions. Including his very throne?, Lee asks. This is all getting very tense.
Wow, look at this: Inspector Kim is kneeling outside of Gongmin's office door. It's an all-or-nothing gamble; he's begging for mercy and trying to explain himself. Doesn't work. Gongmin immediately orders him arrested. As eunuchs drag him away, Kim shouts about how SD has become crazed with power and that was why he considered killing him. It was all to protect the king, in other words. Ugh.
Back at the meeting, SD is reminding the officials about how Goryeo has suffered because of the selfishness of high officials and powerful clans, and says that's why the Yuan managed to gain control over the country. It's a passionate speech, and there's truth in it, no question...but it still doesn't explain why moving the capital is necessary to conquer Liaodong. He adds that the official should all be prepared to sacrifice their own wealth and power if need be, to help Goryeo accomplish these things. "Until you do that, you shall not follow His Majesty to Seogyeong."
Chancellor Yoo goes to speak to Gongmin after all. Gongmin is cordial, or at least tries to be. "The people call Shin Don our de facto ruler?!" That's what Yoo has told him, apparently thinking it would appall him. Nope. "So what if they do? What I wish to see are nobles and courtiers kneeling before Shin Don." Yoo is horrified. "They must face the ignominy of kneeling before the son of a slave. Only then they will begin to feel any compunction!" Hmmmm...
Lee Chun Bu and Lee In Im were in that meeting of high officials, and afterwards here they are with SD and piling on the flattery, telling him how great his speech was. And they urge him to tell Gongmin to behead Inspector Kim and Secretary Gyeong.
Things have moved ahead quickly, though. Now we're at the prison yard where Kim and Gyeong are being held. They've been brought into the yard and tied down and are about to be flogged. Lee Chun Bu whips out a scroll and reads Gongmin's order of punishment. It says he's considered "their meritorious service" and instead of beheading them will only subject them to a hundred lashes (which might kill them anyway!). And then exile. Oh and their clans will be demoted to slave status. Wow, that's mercy? Kim and Gyeong go bonkers, of course. Interestingly, Kim doesn't think he's going to survive this and grovels and begs, but Gyeong rebukes him for it. "Enough with your weepy tirades! Think of how elated that Pyeonjo will be to see you grovel like a beast!" Obviously Gyeong has some backbone at least. But none of it matters now anyway because the lashing begins.
Here's someone new: Kim Sok Myeong, an official who's Secretary Gyeong's brother. He's gone to the QD and is complaining about his brother's punishment, especially the family part. She's not happy either, we can see that...but all she can do for now is sigh in frustration.
Now soldiers and civilian employees are at Inspector Kim's home, ready to impose sentence on the family. Won Hyeon appears to be in charge of this and is overseeing it with great satisfaction. They're looking in particular for Kim's consort. But apparently she ran away. Or did she? As all of the servants kneel in the yard, Won spots one woman with unusually pretty hands for a servant. Yeah, that's her. Kim Sok Myeong comes running into the yard and demands she be left alone. But Won shoves him aside and the woman is hauled away.
"We sent Kim Won Myeong's sons to the merchants, while his consort will work as a temple slave. Once he hears of this, bitter tears will fill his eyes." Kim is reporting back to SD, who looks concerned because clearly he thinks Won has overdone it. "Why should you force even his sons to slavery? After a few months of labor, let them go. They are royals, after all." And he's not worried about whether or not Kim and Gyeong are beheaded either. He's sure they've learned their lesson. Won disagrees; tells SD they'll just try to hurt or kill you again. "Leave it all to me," Won offers. "I shall send some of my men, and nobody will find out who murdered those two." Not a word from SD...is he actually considering it?
We see Kim working as a slave, apparently out in the countryside at his place of exile. Hauling manure. It's hard work and he's struggling. And the soldiers overseeing him seem to be enjoying razzing him as he struggles. And then roughing him up a bit, too. But at least he survived the lashing.
So did Gyeong, and Gyeong has fared a little better. A local official in his place of exile is housing him. The official doesn’t like SD and is sympathetic to Gyeong. Still, he tells him, when they're outside in the open, "I will be forced to treat you like a slave, so I hope you'll understand." Gyeong agrees; SD will have people watching so it has to be that way.
Evening, and Kim has a few quiet moments to himself in the small room he's forced to live in. He writes a letter to his brother, a letter full of anger and threats against SD. Tells him, "Her Highness must act. She is the only one left who can spread discord between Pyeonjo and His Majesty." Then he stops, to sit by the window for some fresh air...and suddenly a sword punctures the window frame and skewers him in the neck! Blood pours from his mouth...then a second puncture, through his back! He slumps over, dead.
Now someone enters the room where Secretary Gyeong is supposed to be sleeping. Approaches a figure tucked into the bed...and stabs repeatedly. Wait, it's not him; it's a straw figure! It's a trap. Soldiers are waiting and rush in to try to capture the would-be assassin. It looks like he gets away.
Gyeong is still with his lodger and is horrified to hear of the attempt on his life.
Morning: Now the QD has returned the favor from earlier and has shown up at her son's palace uninvited. Wants to talk to him...but he's not here; he already left for Unam Temple. So she tells the eunuchs to summon SD to her house.
Yes, Gongmin is at the temple, kneeling before his wife's portrait. Eunuch Choi is giving him the report on last night's events...so it sure seems like Gongmin knew what was going to happen. Choi adds that "all the others involved in this treasonous act took their own lives." Then Gongmin decides to spare Gyeong after all. "We should spare at least one. Only then they will truly know how fearsome Shin Don is." Yes it does sound like this might have been his order.
The door isn't even fully opened yet for SD to walk into the QD's living room and already she's barking at him. "This is inadmissible! Kim Won Myeong is my kin!" She threatens to avenge his death. And the door closes, with SD standing there having not even uttered a word.
Council meeting, in the main council hall: "Pyeonjo sent an assassin and slaughtered Kim Won Myeong." Lee In Bok thinks so, at least, and he's fuming about it. Apparently the local official's report says it was a suicide, which chancellor Yoo mentions...but Lee doesn't buy a word of it. "Five people who joined Kim Won Myeong in a plot to murder Pyeonjo were found hanging from a rope. Are you telling me they all took their own lives on the same day?" Yoo can't even answer that. "I must be next," he says, a bit of an overstatement. "As long as Pyeonjo holds all that power, not a soul in this court will be safe." Boy is he angry. He's starting to rant like the late Inspector Kim used to rant.
Evening: SD arrives at Choseon's home. "What are you trying to say?", she asks him. "Would His Majesty possibly order Kim Won Myeong's murder?!" What's this about?
Oh dear, Gongmin is feeding the portrait again. And happily reminiscing about their experiences together, as Eunuch Choi watches uncomfortably (and as that damned pop ballad plays again, good grief!). But now Gongmin starts to cry, and blames himself for her death! "If I had eliminated all those troublemakers earlier," he says, talking about people like Gi Cheol and Jo Il Shin, "would you have risked your life to bless me with a child? It is all my fault. I was the one who killed you!" Wow, his mind is completely unable to right itself and see things clearly. And we can see the terrible suffering it's putting him through.
A strange scene at Choseon's estate. Choseon is happy about Inspector Kim and the other conspirators dying and explains to SD why she thinks it's such a good thing. No matter who sent them. And all the while he just sits there staring at her. Obviously he suspects her of arranging the killings. Because as he finally says when he speaks, "His Majesty is not that kind of man" and wouldn't have done it. Then as he leaves, Won Hyeon is standing there and tells him, "How could I dare slay Kim Won Myeong without your consent?!" So Won feels the need to deny it too. SD simply says "From here on in, I shall accept no imprudent behavior." Obviously he thinks they're behind it. On his way out Choseon offers to take him to meet Ban Ya; reminds him that she's pregnant with Gongmin's child. He doesn't want to meet her. She's disappointed. "His majesty refuses to acknowledge her. Do you have suspicions as well?" Suspicions about what? She adds, "That child is surely His Majesty's..." "Do not even mention that again!" Wow, he angrily cuts her off. Why so angry? That was odd.
Choseon goes to check on Ban Ya after SD leaves. She's sitting in a dark room, looking very sad and alone. Feeling abandoned by the man who knocked her up, king or no king. Choseon tries to cheer her up, saying Gongmin will return once the child is born...but all she can do is silently shed tears.
SD heads to Unam temple, where Gongmin is back with the portrait and now laughing about how "the heavens unleashed their fury" on Inspector Kim. He's in a calm, relaxed mood...until SD interrupts him and insists on the suspension of the shrine's construction. "Her Majesty loved our people more than anyone in the world. Would that kind of woman wish for such an opulent shrine?" Does he really think this is the time his plea for it will succeed? Well of course it doesn't succeed. "Again with that?" The smile on his face is gone instantly and he's shouting again. And of all things, he starts complaining about the Confucian scholars in the government. "I must look like a deranged fool in their eyes! They must be thinking I went berserk." Well, uh, yeah...He isn't budging, though. Tells SD to just use the Directorate to squeeze the cost of the Liaodong campaign from clans and high officials. And then he abruptly changes tone. The anger is gone and he's a pathetic, suffering figure, trying to explain his agony to SD. "What else am I supposed to do? This grief of mine is suffocating me! You must help me. Once the shrine is all built, you can do as you please. Invade Liaodong, move the capital to Seogyeong...Do as you please." He's grasping SD's hands now, and begging him rather than ordering him. He's so desperate for relief, it's heartbreaking. A worried SD leaves him...and back inside we see Gongmin starting to show signs of full-blown maniac laughter. "Whoever it is, I shall not forgive them! Anyone opposing the shrine's construction." Muttered threats and more laughing....
Next day: Gongmin is at the shrine site, exhorting the workers to hurry and work harder. Even jumps in and helps out here and there. Good intentions but he clearly has crossed the line into a significant mental-health problem.
Uh-oh...Chancellor Yoo has been summoned by the king. And Yoo knows the reason: the shrine construction has ground to a halt for lack of funds. He knows the country is out of cash. But he bravely says he's going to tell Gongmin the truth, even at the risk of Gongmin lashing out at him. "This old dullard has lived long enough, so why would I wish for more? I am the Chancellor despite not having a single thing to do, so I should live up to my hefty salary for the sake of our country."
"Our coffers are empty?!" So he went and told him. SD arrives outside Gongmin's palace and hears the king screaming at Yoo from inside. Yoo reminds Gongmin that it's farming season now; "Let us briefly pause" so the fields can be tended to. Gongmin wants no part of it. Calls out for eunuchs to come in. "Drag this old fart out of my sight!" They hesitate. "Get him out of my sight and imprison him immediately!" So they escort him out. Gongmin follows them outside and demands Yoo be tied up with ropes. Geez, he's just an old man. But soldiers come forward and do as they're told. He heads back inside, but not before turning back and staring at SD with a maniac look in his eyes. Goes back inside and mutters, "Think I didn't know what you schemed?!" SD is left standing there, utterly horrified at what Gongmin is turning into.