Post by ajk on Sept 27, 2014 0:04:47 GMT -5
Gongmin tells Noguk's portrait (and we learn) that Empress Gi and her son have fled to the Mongol plains and that there is no more Yuan empire, and no more tribute for Goryeo to have to pay. "A most propitious day for us," he says, and that's an understatement. But he says he's worried about Ming and what new problems they might cause. "I cannot think of any solution. The Ming are now acting as our new keepers, so I wonder whether I should heed Pyeonjo's advice, transfer the capital to Seogyeong, and contend with Ming with all our forces." The alternative is to accept Ming's edict to continue as a vassal state. At that, SD, who's been standing behind him silently, has to speak up. "Sire! Even in death you shall not kneel before the Ming! Never again shall Goryeo live as a vassal to the Middle Kingdom!" Gongmin turns back, and glares. "I cannot force death upon all my people!" SD was born a slave and sees it differently. "Do you realize the grieving angst of being born into slavery? Men living like beasts, that is what slavery is all about. That is what Goryeo had to endure the last eighty years." But Gongmin thinks Goryeo doesn't have the ability to contend with Ming and can't go looking for trouble. SD implores him to never bow before Ming and starts making historical references, but they don't convince Gongmin. And then it goes right back to the shrine again. And Gongmin, one moment he's accusing SD of coveting his throne...and then the next is imploring him yet again to just give in and go forth with the shrine construction. Of course SD shakes his head no again. So Gongmin turns to the portrait. "Whatever it takes, this man will stop me from doing what I must." And adds, "Is it not natural that all those who can avoid forced labor will herald him as the second coming of the Holy Manjushiri?!" Well there's an interesting interpretation...He laughs out of sheer frustration as he says it.
Inspector Kim (the new one) is visiting the QD and getting scolded. "Aren't all those who tried to slay His Majesty part of Pyeonjo's cabal? How could you squander such a propitious opportunity?!" As in, opportunity to frame him for it. Ugh.
SD leaves Gongmin, who vents to Eunuch Choi about how "I spared his miserly life, and he still refuses to heed my words." Laughs cynically about how if Gi Hyeon had pointed the finger at SD during his torture, "I would have been forced to slay Pyeonjo without hesitation." Then he turns to the portrait. "Just you wait, Queen. The day shall come when Pyeonjo will kneel before me, wailing in despair, imploring me to save his life."
Hmmm...now the QD is hosting Lee In Bok and Lee In Im for tea. Lee Chun Bu arrives to join them. The other two have been complaining about "our concerns for this country." Chun Bu, of course, is SD's ally and clearly doesn't like the sound of that.
SD arrives at the royal temple to see Master Bou.
"Was it not Pyeonjo who directed Gi Hyeon's treasonous actions?!" The QD glares at Lee Chun Bu. He fires right back, "It was only thanks to the Prime Minister that His Majesty avoided tragedy." Lee In Im jumps in and credits Lee Seong Gye, though...which really is more accurate anyway.
Master Bou is inside the temple, so SD goes in and sits down next to him as Bou recites a prayer. Then Bou tells SD that his ties with Gongmin will evaporate eventually, and that he can and still should seek enlightenment as Bou and Wolseon had always hoped for. SD says he still hopes to change things in society to help the less fortunate, but Bou falls back on how the poor and helpless "existed a thousand years ago, and shall continue their existence a thousand years from now." And "The only thing that can change our people's hearts is Buddha's teachings. From here on in, follow Buddha's way." Bou is still trying--still has not given up on turning SD into a monk.
"We must expose whoever instigated Gi Hyeon and attempted to murder His Majesty!" Boy the QD just will not let this go. All three of the Lees fidget uncomfortably.
Lee Chun Bu goes to Won outside of SD's home and tells him about all this. Chun Bu is very worried about SD being forced into a corner, but Won is confident he can change SD's mind. (About what? Bumping Gongmin off the throne, I guess.) Won skitters away...and Secretary Gyeong happens by. "Pyeonjo is now nothing but a wrecked ship. Shouldn't you abandon it before you drown?!" Gyeong laughs...and heads inside a nearby building...
...where Lee In Bok is hosting a lunch. Important lunch. Choi Young is there, Lee In Im, Lee Seong Gye, Lee Saek, all the big guys. They're all scheming about how to get rid of SD. Reluctantly, Chun Bu goes in and joins them.
Won goes right to Choseon to warn her about the QD's intentions. "We have no time to waste! If we hesitate now, it shall spell our demise. Say something to the Guardian! We must act first!" She knows SD won't act against the king and tells Won so. But Won is going to do something, with or without her support, and says so as he walks out.
Back at the lunch, brainstorming about how to convince Gongmin to get rid of SD. Not the greatest ideas...but Lee In Bok is confident that just by the sheer weight of opinion of all of the elites in this room, Gongmin will have to give in eventually. They all leave, satisfied--all except Lee Chun Bu.
Wait, actually, Choi Yeong and Lee Seong Gye have stayed behind, and are trying to convince In Bok to have Lee Chun Bu killed! "I am sure," Choi says, "he will run to Pyeonjo and confess everything." But In Bok is reluctant, and says it may not be necessary anyway in the end.
"This is no laughing matter! The entire court has turned its back on you." But SD is smiling and chuckling a little as Chun Bu tells him what's been happening. Chun Bu wants him to give in and let the shrine construction restart. But as always, SD is adamant. "Goryeo is not His Majesty's country! It belongs to our people! So we shan't allow His Majesty to fulfill his every whim." As their argument continues, Won arrives at the front door and eavesdrops. "Just take a simple step back," Chun Bu implores.
Wow, look at all the paperwork. Scholars have written dozens of appeals; they're being delivered to Gongmin. This is part of the high officials' strategy. But Gongmin already knows what's in them: "The reason Gi Hyeon attempted to slay me is because he was instigated by Pyeonjo?!" He laughs cynically. "See what his reward is for opening the Academy and asking me to nurture Confucian scholars?!" Hey that is true, and pretty darned ironic! He laughs heartily.
Word of his reaction reaches the high officials and they're all in a snit about it. Chun Bu is still trying to defuse the whole thing, but the rest of them think that now Lee Saek--who we learn is chancellor--needs to go to Gongmin personally.
So he does. "Have any evidence?" Gongmin looks at him matter-of-factly as Saek sits before him. "If Gi Hyeon was instigated by Pyeonjo to slay me, there must be something proving it." Saek has no evidence, of course. "So I should believe these groundless accusations, and question Pyeonjo myself?! So what you people plan is to turn me into a laughing stock." Ouch--that did NOT go the way Saek wanted it to.
Now Chun Bu goes back to SD in a much better mood, laughing about Gongmin's dismissal of that stack of memorials. SD takes it calmly.
"Pyeonjo is a treacherous varmint." So says the QD. Gongmin is paying respects to his mother, and the poor king can't even get away from this nonsense at his mother's house. Gongmin merely smiles patiently.
Chun Bu leaves SD and happily tells Won outside, "We survived through the crisis. His Majesty's trust for the Guardian knows no boundaries." But Won isn't impressed. Reminds him that "Loyal followers of His Majesty like Jo Il Shin and Kim Yong perished by his punishing blade." True..."But this time, it shall not happen. This time it will be his turn to perish!" Oh dear....
Evening: Princess Deoknyeong pays a visit to Gongmin. Or at least shows up at the front door. But the racket from inside gives her pause. Yep, another one of Gongmin's parties. Consorts--three this time (the younger Jeongbi is with them), Junior Guards, a blindfolded Gongmin, all playing catch-me-if-you-can and undoubtedly all liquored up. The princess enters, and that stops them all in their tracks...all except for the blindfolded king, who keeps up the game until he lunges forward and manages to grab her in a hug. Realizing something unexpected is happening, Gongmin takes off the blindfold and then steps back in embarrassment. Deoknyeong orders everyone else out of the room, and gives him a scolding. "You must think of Princess Noguk. Stop besmirching her legacy." Gongmin is laughing from the alcohol, but she presses on. "Why did you create the Youth Palace Guard and bring juveniles into these sacred dwellings? It is natural the consorts would demean themselves in such decadent manner." But Gongmin is fine with that, as we know. "Whoever it comes from, all we need is a prince." Her response: "Then are you telling me the child you had with that lady isn't yours?" Whoaaaa...we weren't expecting her to play that card. Didn't hold back, did she! Gongmin's smile vanishes. "This is nothing you should concern yourself with. Should you not have returned to your Mongol Plains already?! If I think of all the obloquy I suffered at the hands of your people, even that nagging of yours makes me uncomfortable." Well give her credit for trying.
She leaves, and finds Hyebi outside, who tries to offer support. "Do not let it dishearten you, Your Highness. His Majesty..." But Deoknyeong cuts her off. "The prestige of this royal family has fallen into a dark abyss. Now even trifling eunuchs show contempt for their king, so tragedy shall soon befall him."
Gongmin heard her and from inside he mocks her words, literally. And then another cynical laugh. "Not even the lowly son of a slave heeds my words. What damned prestige?!" And he laughs at what SD would think of all this. Then he thinks about Monino. "That is Pyeonjo's offspring. He surely would want his flesh and blood to sit on my throne." Even wonders if SD considers himself Buddha! Laughs hysterically about it, and settles down for a nap.
Still evening: A disconsolate Ban Ya is with Choseon. "Don't worry about Monino," Choseon tells her; Won Hyeon has him in safe hands. (Really? We don't know where the kid is; does Choseon?) And the QD will take him in at any time. But she still wants to go into the palace with her son. "How am I supposed to live without him? His Majesty promised me that he would summon me to the palace." Choseon has to tell her yet again, "Would someone like him proclaim a lowly slave as his consort?! If you cannot forget him, it will only bring you demise!" She starts to cry. "If I could just see His Majesty once more, I would not resent such a fate."
Deokun and Auntie are outside and can hear all this, and now they're crying over Ban Ya's suffering.
Hey, there's the kid! Sleeping. Won is with him. Wow--he's brought him to SD's house! "Take a good look, Guardian. This child will one day become our king. He is the only heir to His Majesty." How did Won pull that one off, getting him in here?
Ban Ya leaves Choseon and walks past Deokun and Auntie, too devastated to even speak. She heads out into the city streets. Alone, at this time of night?
Now Choseon has summoned Park Seobang and his wife. Some papers and envelopes are in front of her. "After I leave," she tells them, "give these to Monk Jihyo." (Jihyo is her brother, remember.) Leave? What's this about? She doesn't say. "I left you two enough to live on. Should anything befall me, I entrust this child of mine to your care." The child she's carrying, that is. They're both terribly upset by her sudden, odd actions. "I shall leave early in the morning, so make all preparations." And she's a bit wistful: "Were the Master still alive, Gaetae Temple would be perfect"...and now a flashback to a conversation she had with Wolseon (which we haven't seen before): They talk about Pyeonjo a bit, and then she asks him if he can see a vision of her and Pyeonjo being married. "Sure I can!," he says without hesitation. But then she asks, "Will we live the rest of our days together, Master?"...and he tsk, tsks and shakes his head at the idea of some unspoken thing he doesn't want to say...uh-oh what does he foresee?
Ban Ya reaches one of the palace gates. It's late at night. She bows formally before the gate; she's the only one on the street so there's no missing her. With tears in her eyes she walks away...
and now Deokun is scrambling to catch up to her and find her. And finds her he does...dead, swinging from a tree. Hanged herself.
Still nighttime: Now what is this? Won Hyeon has been summoned to Gongmin's office. Strange. Gongmin is waiting inside, and there are about fifty lit candles arranged all around the room. Won is shown in. Gongmin wastes no time. "Treason, you said?" Huh...did he? "You came to confess attempted treason, I asked?" Won drops to his knees and says yes! "Sending Gi Hyeon to slay you on your way to Heonneung was schemed by Pyeonjo." Gongmin is skeptical. "So why did he come to my rescue?" Won is stunned momentarily, and has to think fast. Says it was because he found out about Lee Seong Gye's troops being ready to foil the attempt. Gongmin finishes the thought for him. "Pyeonjo pretended he came to my rescue?" He doesn't buy it. "I cherished Pyeonjo like no other, so why would he slay me?" Won doesn't back down. "Pyeonjo had treason in mind from the very beginning!" The beginning? "Pyeonjo knew I would become King, and approached me on purpose right from Yanjing?" Yes, Won insists: "Pyeonjo has never cherished you even once! Because of the resentment of his lowly upbringing, he merely used you!" Gongmin's wide eyes show he's interested. "And why do you only confess this now? Didn't you cherish Pyeonjo more than your own life?!" Won tells him, "I could no longer bear the affront Pyeonjo was subjecting Your Majesty to!" Then Won offers, "Should I confess his every and all malfeasant actions?!" No, Gongmin says, by now totally engrossed; "I shall summon Pyeonjo to the palace and ask him myself!" He tosses Won a cloth bag. It's filled with jewels. Gongmin calmly asks him, "Is it enough for Pyeonjo's life?" Won hesitates, and then answers, "To be enough for Pyeonjo's life, even bestowing me this country of yours would not suffice!" He sheds a tear. The answer surprises the king. "Not even Goryeo is enough?" He calls out to Eunuch Choi in the hall, "Summon the Prime Minister immediately! I shall find out once and for all how much His Eminence's life is really worth!"
Inspector Kim (the new one) is visiting the QD and getting scolded. "Aren't all those who tried to slay His Majesty part of Pyeonjo's cabal? How could you squander such a propitious opportunity?!" As in, opportunity to frame him for it. Ugh.
SD leaves Gongmin, who vents to Eunuch Choi about how "I spared his miserly life, and he still refuses to heed my words." Laughs cynically about how if Gi Hyeon had pointed the finger at SD during his torture, "I would have been forced to slay Pyeonjo without hesitation." Then he turns to the portrait. "Just you wait, Queen. The day shall come when Pyeonjo will kneel before me, wailing in despair, imploring me to save his life."
Hmmm...now the QD is hosting Lee In Bok and Lee In Im for tea. Lee Chun Bu arrives to join them. The other two have been complaining about "our concerns for this country." Chun Bu, of course, is SD's ally and clearly doesn't like the sound of that.
SD arrives at the royal temple to see Master Bou.
"Was it not Pyeonjo who directed Gi Hyeon's treasonous actions?!" The QD glares at Lee Chun Bu. He fires right back, "It was only thanks to the Prime Minister that His Majesty avoided tragedy." Lee In Im jumps in and credits Lee Seong Gye, though...which really is more accurate anyway.
Master Bou is inside the temple, so SD goes in and sits down next to him as Bou recites a prayer. Then Bou tells SD that his ties with Gongmin will evaporate eventually, and that he can and still should seek enlightenment as Bou and Wolseon had always hoped for. SD says he still hopes to change things in society to help the less fortunate, but Bou falls back on how the poor and helpless "existed a thousand years ago, and shall continue their existence a thousand years from now." And "The only thing that can change our people's hearts is Buddha's teachings. From here on in, follow Buddha's way." Bou is still trying--still has not given up on turning SD into a monk.
"We must expose whoever instigated Gi Hyeon and attempted to murder His Majesty!" Boy the QD just will not let this go. All three of the Lees fidget uncomfortably.
Lee Chun Bu goes to Won outside of SD's home and tells him about all this. Chun Bu is very worried about SD being forced into a corner, but Won is confident he can change SD's mind. (About what? Bumping Gongmin off the throne, I guess.) Won skitters away...and Secretary Gyeong happens by. "Pyeonjo is now nothing but a wrecked ship. Shouldn't you abandon it before you drown?!" Gyeong laughs...and heads inside a nearby building...
...where Lee In Bok is hosting a lunch. Important lunch. Choi Young is there, Lee In Im, Lee Seong Gye, Lee Saek, all the big guys. They're all scheming about how to get rid of SD. Reluctantly, Chun Bu goes in and joins them.
Won goes right to Choseon to warn her about the QD's intentions. "We have no time to waste! If we hesitate now, it shall spell our demise. Say something to the Guardian! We must act first!" She knows SD won't act against the king and tells Won so. But Won is going to do something, with or without her support, and says so as he walks out.
Back at the lunch, brainstorming about how to convince Gongmin to get rid of SD. Not the greatest ideas...but Lee In Bok is confident that just by the sheer weight of opinion of all of the elites in this room, Gongmin will have to give in eventually. They all leave, satisfied--all except Lee Chun Bu.
Wait, actually, Choi Yeong and Lee Seong Gye have stayed behind, and are trying to convince In Bok to have Lee Chun Bu killed! "I am sure," Choi says, "he will run to Pyeonjo and confess everything." But In Bok is reluctant, and says it may not be necessary anyway in the end.
"This is no laughing matter! The entire court has turned its back on you." But SD is smiling and chuckling a little as Chun Bu tells him what's been happening. Chun Bu wants him to give in and let the shrine construction restart. But as always, SD is adamant. "Goryeo is not His Majesty's country! It belongs to our people! So we shan't allow His Majesty to fulfill his every whim." As their argument continues, Won arrives at the front door and eavesdrops. "Just take a simple step back," Chun Bu implores.
Wow, look at all the paperwork. Scholars have written dozens of appeals; they're being delivered to Gongmin. This is part of the high officials' strategy. But Gongmin already knows what's in them: "The reason Gi Hyeon attempted to slay me is because he was instigated by Pyeonjo?!" He laughs cynically. "See what his reward is for opening the Academy and asking me to nurture Confucian scholars?!" Hey that is true, and pretty darned ironic! He laughs heartily.
Word of his reaction reaches the high officials and they're all in a snit about it. Chun Bu is still trying to defuse the whole thing, but the rest of them think that now Lee Saek--who we learn is chancellor--needs to go to Gongmin personally.
So he does. "Have any evidence?" Gongmin looks at him matter-of-factly as Saek sits before him. "If Gi Hyeon was instigated by Pyeonjo to slay me, there must be something proving it." Saek has no evidence, of course. "So I should believe these groundless accusations, and question Pyeonjo myself?! So what you people plan is to turn me into a laughing stock." Ouch--that did NOT go the way Saek wanted it to.
Now Chun Bu goes back to SD in a much better mood, laughing about Gongmin's dismissal of that stack of memorials. SD takes it calmly.
"Pyeonjo is a treacherous varmint." So says the QD. Gongmin is paying respects to his mother, and the poor king can't even get away from this nonsense at his mother's house. Gongmin merely smiles patiently.
Chun Bu leaves SD and happily tells Won outside, "We survived through the crisis. His Majesty's trust for the Guardian knows no boundaries." But Won isn't impressed. Reminds him that "Loyal followers of His Majesty like Jo Il Shin and Kim Yong perished by his punishing blade." True..."But this time, it shall not happen. This time it will be his turn to perish!" Oh dear....
Evening: Princess Deoknyeong pays a visit to Gongmin. Or at least shows up at the front door. But the racket from inside gives her pause. Yep, another one of Gongmin's parties. Consorts--three this time (the younger Jeongbi is with them), Junior Guards, a blindfolded Gongmin, all playing catch-me-if-you-can and undoubtedly all liquored up. The princess enters, and that stops them all in their tracks...all except for the blindfolded king, who keeps up the game until he lunges forward and manages to grab her in a hug. Realizing something unexpected is happening, Gongmin takes off the blindfold and then steps back in embarrassment. Deoknyeong orders everyone else out of the room, and gives him a scolding. "You must think of Princess Noguk. Stop besmirching her legacy." Gongmin is laughing from the alcohol, but she presses on. "Why did you create the Youth Palace Guard and bring juveniles into these sacred dwellings? It is natural the consorts would demean themselves in such decadent manner." But Gongmin is fine with that, as we know. "Whoever it comes from, all we need is a prince." Her response: "Then are you telling me the child you had with that lady isn't yours?" Whoaaaa...we weren't expecting her to play that card. Didn't hold back, did she! Gongmin's smile vanishes. "This is nothing you should concern yourself with. Should you not have returned to your Mongol Plains already?! If I think of all the obloquy I suffered at the hands of your people, even that nagging of yours makes me uncomfortable." Well give her credit for trying.
She leaves, and finds Hyebi outside, who tries to offer support. "Do not let it dishearten you, Your Highness. His Majesty..." But Deoknyeong cuts her off. "The prestige of this royal family has fallen into a dark abyss. Now even trifling eunuchs show contempt for their king, so tragedy shall soon befall him."
Gongmin heard her and from inside he mocks her words, literally. And then another cynical laugh. "Not even the lowly son of a slave heeds my words. What damned prestige?!" And he laughs at what SD would think of all this. Then he thinks about Monino. "That is Pyeonjo's offspring. He surely would want his flesh and blood to sit on my throne." Even wonders if SD considers himself Buddha! Laughs hysterically about it, and settles down for a nap.
Still evening: A disconsolate Ban Ya is with Choseon. "Don't worry about Monino," Choseon tells her; Won Hyeon has him in safe hands. (Really? We don't know where the kid is; does Choseon?) And the QD will take him in at any time. But she still wants to go into the palace with her son. "How am I supposed to live without him? His Majesty promised me that he would summon me to the palace." Choseon has to tell her yet again, "Would someone like him proclaim a lowly slave as his consort?! If you cannot forget him, it will only bring you demise!" She starts to cry. "If I could just see His Majesty once more, I would not resent such a fate."
Deokun and Auntie are outside and can hear all this, and now they're crying over Ban Ya's suffering.
Hey, there's the kid! Sleeping. Won is with him. Wow--he's brought him to SD's house! "Take a good look, Guardian. This child will one day become our king. He is the only heir to His Majesty." How did Won pull that one off, getting him in here?
Ban Ya leaves Choseon and walks past Deokun and Auntie, too devastated to even speak. She heads out into the city streets. Alone, at this time of night?
Now Choseon has summoned Park Seobang and his wife. Some papers and envelopes are in front of her. "After I leave," she tells them, "give these to Monk Jihyo." (Jihyo is her brother, remember.) Leave? What's this about? She doesn't say. "I left you two enough to live on. Should anything befall me, I entrust this child of mine to your care." The child she's carrying, that is. They're both terribly upset by her sudden, odd actions. "I shall leave early in the morning, so make all preparations." And she's a bit wistful: "Were the Master still alive, Gaetae Temple would be perfect"...and now a flashback to a conversation she had with Wolseon (which we haven't seen before): They talk about Pyeonjo a bit, and then she asks him if he can see a vision of her and Pyeonjo being married. "Sure I can!," he says without hesitation. But then she asks, "Will we live the rest of our days together, Master?"...and he tsk, tsks and shakes his head at the idea of some unspoken thing he doesn't want to say...uh-oh what does he foresee?
Ban Ya reaches one of the palace gates. It's late at night. She bows formally before the gate; she's the only one on the street so there's no missing her. With tears in her eyes she walks away...
and now Deokun is scrambling to catch up to her and find her. And finds her he does...dead, swinging from a tree. Hanged herself.
Still nighttime: Now what is this? Won Hyeon has been summoned to Gongmin's office. Strange. Gongmin is waiting inside, and there are about fifty lit candles arranged all around the room. Won is shown in. Gongmin wastes no time. "Treason, you said?" Huh...did he? "You came to confess attempted treason, I asked?" Won drops to his knees and says yes! "Sending Gi Hyeon to slay you on your way to Heonneung was schemed by Pyeonjo." Gongmin is skeptical. "So why did he come to my rescue?" Won is stunned momentarily, and has to think fast. Says it was because he found out about Lee Seong Gye's troops being ready to foil the attempt. Gongmin finishes the thought for him. "Pyeonjo pretended he came to my rescue?" He doesn't buy it. "I cherished Pyeonjo like no other, so why would he slay me?" Won doesn't back down. "Pyeonjo had treason in mind from the very beginning!" The beginning? "Pyeonjo knew I would become King, and approached me on purpose right from Yanjing?" Yes, Won insists: "Pyeonjo has never cherished you even once! Because of the resentment of his lowly upbringing, he merely used you!" Gongmin's wide eyes show he's interested. "And why do you only confess this now? Didn't you cherish Pyeonjo more than your own life?!" Won tells him, "I could no longer bear the affront Pyeonjo was subjecting Your Majesty to!" Then Won offers, "Should I confess his every and all malfeasant actions?!" No, Gongmin says, by now totally engrossed; "I shall summon Pyeonjo to the palace and ask him myself!" He tosses Won a cloth bag. It's filled with jewels. Gongmin calmly asks him, "Is it enough for Pyeonjo's life?" Won hesitates, and then answers, "To be enough for Pyeonjo's life, even bestowing me this country of yours would not suffice!" He sheds a tear. The answer surprises the king. "Not even Goryeo is enough?" He calls out to Eunuch Choi in the hall, "Summon the Prime Minister immediately! I shall find out once and for all how much His Eminence's life is really worth!"