Post by ajk on Aug 29, 2014 23:59:23 GMT -5
Now Gongmin explains himself, and we realize that there's some understandable thinking behind his refusal to acknowledge the baby. "I would become a laughing stock," he says, if people learn that their king sought comfort from his grief by impregnating a commoner. Maybe he would, who knows...anyway, SD tells him he gave the child a name: Monino. It's a compound word with meanings that suggest a benevolent and wise follower of Buddha. Gongmin actually takes an interest, and listens as SD explains it, and calms down a great deal upon hearing it and thinking about it. But no, wait, now he starts laughing. "If people heard such a name, they would believe it was an offspring a monk tried to conceal!"
Deokun and Auntie are still with Ban Ya and the baby, headed through the countryside on their way to Gaetae Temple. They're walking through wilderness to avoid being seen...which is exhausting the just-gave-birth Ban Ya.
"They still could not find her?" The QD is furious. She wants Choseon arrested!
And that's what she gets. Soldiers invade Choseon's estate and arrest her. Her servants too.
Back at Unam Temple: Gongmin is trying to convince SD to restart the shrine's construction. Now he says he needs it finished to atone for the sins he's committed against Noguk. Ugh. But SD is firm: "Whatever the cost, we must first invade Liaodong." As soon as we do, he offers, I will personally oversee the shrine's construction and finish it. Gongmin starts to get angry and it sounds like the same old argument will start again...but then Eunuch Choi runs in with news of the baby's disappearance and Ban Ya's arrest. Gongmin laughs maniacally: "His name seems to suggest Buddha took his servant back!" But SD isn't laughing.
Good heavens, they've taken Choseon to the front of the QD's palace and have tied her down and are lashing her! On her back, with those big wooden paddles. The QD wants to know where the baby is and won't let the beating stop until Choseon tells her. Princess Deoknyeong and all of the attendants are horrified at what's being done to Choseon.
Won Hyeon is trying to convince SD that this could all work out great: because if the QD believes the baby to be Gongmin's successor, then they can kick Gongmin off the throne more easily. SD literally throws a book at Won and shouts at him to never suggest any such thing. But Won doesn't back down. "We must install a new ruler. Only then will our people dance on the street!"
Choseon goes unconscious from the beating. Deoknyeong gently presses the QD to release her, saying that if she was complicit she would have confessed by now. Lady Kim adds, "The moment she heard you summoned the child to the palace, she was overcome with happiness." (Lie, of course.)
Our four weary travelers are looking for food and can only round up some wild mushrooms. Pretty meager...then Auntie makes the mistake of suggesting to Ban Ya that give up the baby so she can live in luxury and eat whatever she wants. Poor choice..."This child is all I have. Without him, I will not survive." Clutching him more tightly now, she moves away from Auntie, food or no food.
Choseon was released and is back home, in bed recovering from her beating. SD visits her; she smiles upon hearing the baby's name. At least she can smile! She was unhappy with the QD for continually disregarding Ban Ya...and we learn she also was worried about Gongmin abdicating and handing the throne to the baby, because it would pretty much take SD out of the picture.
Evening: As the travelers near Gaetae Temple, Kim Sok Myeong comes to visit Gongmin at Unam Temple, at the QD's request. The QD wants confirmation that the child is his. Gongmin's answer? "Memory... fails me." Ugh. But then Kim throws a new idea out there: "Her Highness is trying to find just cause to oust Pyeonjo. If that child is our prince, we must escort him to the palace." Well now Gongmin has something to think about. Ordinarily he would have been furious, but in his current state of mind he sees SD as a threat.
Won Hyeon meets with his inspectors. Tells them that Gongmin is going to try to kill Pyeonjo soon...so they have to kill Gongmin first! And they'll do it while he's at Unam Temple. Apparently the security isn't very good there, so they have a window of opportunity.
Evening: SD is still at Choseon's bedside. She's been sleeping but wakes up, surprised to find him still there. "Not much time is left," he tells her. Gongmin will be returning to the palace soon and he (SD) will have to step down, he thinks. She tells him not to do any such thing. You broke your hermitage period to come back for all this, she reminds him, and promised Noguk you'd work with Gongmin. But now he's holding her hand and looking intently at her. "I give you my word," he says; "Once I leave this post, I shall join you in conjugal ties, and live the rest of my days with you." Doink! Well finally! They've been hinting around at each other for so long, it's about time somebody got down to business. So to speak. My days as a monk are over, he says, after breaking the hermitage. "Would there be any temple willing to accept me? If not in your embrace, I have nowhere left to go." " She smiles, tears in her eyes. They hug each other.
Safe at last! Ban Ya is at Gaetae Temple, offering a prayer of thanks as her baby lays next to her. She thinks back to her youth here, sleeping under the temple altar when she was in Wolseon's care. Now she's seeing visions of Wolseon waving at her approvingly and they lift her spirits immensely. Weird, but they help her.
Nighttime, Unam Temple: Uh-oh, guys dressed in black peering over the walls. It's Won and the inspectors. Suddenly an assault! They kill the eunuchs standing outside the place and rush inside, swords drawn to kill the king. Inside they find a solitary figure praying before Noguk's portrait. But it's not Gongmin--it's SD! He doesn't move, doesn't flinch, doesn't make any attempt to confront or capture the attackers. Just sits there, knowing he's foiled them.
Next day: VICTORY! A messenger arrives with news from Lee Seong Gye up north. He did it--Liaodong belongs to Goryeo! Gongmin is so happy he looks like his old self again...and all of the officials have to salute the victory, no matter how they felt about the decision to attack.
Mt. Yuluo, northern territory, army headquarters: LSG returns to headquarters to the wild cheers of his men. Subordinates on horseback are carrying poles that have the enemy leaders' heads stuck on top of them! Isn't that nice. The northern territory is rejoined with its people, he shouts, "so rejoice you may!" But he warns them that they all must be loyal to their king...or else "I shall behead them just like these miserable ringleaders!" Ecstatic cheers...so no disloyalty issues here.
Well, Gongmin's back and Liaodong has been won...so now what? Specifically, what about the shrine? No hesitation from Gongmin; Lee In Bok and SD are in his office and he tells them that "We subjugated Liaodong thanks to Lee Seong Gye, so we can now focus on the shrine's construction." And Lee In Bok surprises us by telling him that all of the officials support the shrine and he does too! Gongmin even has another Noguk portrait there right next to him, very much like he had in Unam Temple.
At the council hall, Lee Chun Bu is very agitated about all this, but he seems to be the only one. As Secretary Gyeong tells him sarcastically, "Courtiers pledging allegiance to their ruler. This world has truly turned upside down!"
Back in his office, Gongmin is talking to SD. Thanks him for heading off trouble at Unam Temple the previous night. And then turns to the portrait and tells Noguk how glad he is that SD will take charge of completing the shrine's construction now, as he had promised to do. But wait, SD starts complaining about it again! "What Princess Noguk truly wishes for is certainly not a sumptuous and opulent shrine! With the resources building that shrine would require, we would feed the people of
our entire country for over a year!" Well that is NOT what Gongmin wanted to hear, and now it's right back to butting heads over this again. Gongmin scolds him, more than loudly enough for everyone in the plaza outside to hear. Then Master Bou arrives and is gratefully and happily received by the king. "I would like to proclaim you Royal Preceptor once again." And asks him to complete the shrine! Well this is something Bou was completely opposed to. He wouldn't accept it now, would he? Whatever, it's all totally disrespectful to SD and everybody within earshot knows it.
SD leaves the building, a bitter, resigned scowl on his face. Maybe Bou did accept. He's terribly hurt that Gongmin would doubt his loyalty to his rule and to the nation.
"You are the only one left, Your Excellency." Now it's Lee Chun Bu before Gongmin. Gongmin is glaring at him and making him squirm. And it's working. Wants to make sure that he's loyal to the crown before all (as in, before SD). Chun Bu assures him that he is. But his body language suggests very mixed feelings, feelings that he doesn't dare articulate.
Choseon is looking much better now...physically at least. But Won Hyeon is telling her about what's just happened in the palace, and also how SD saved Gongmin from his assassination last night. Is she crying? She's visibly anguished over it, that's for sure.
Lee Chun Bu goes to SD, who tells him that the capital must be moved to Seogyeong now. And the shrine? "They are violating our forests to find lumber for that shrine. Stonemasons wander the mountains in search of rocks, while our people are being mobilized as construction workers, leaving behind what puts food on their tables, and perishing in droves. Is this what Princess Noguk would truly wish for?" Well no, but they've been over this a hundred times by now. "We must stop this construction at all cost, and transfer our capital to Seogyeong." He sincerely believes that any other path will lead to disaster for Goryeo.
Chun Bu leaves, gasping and rattled, not just about the seriousness of the situation but about the tough position he finds himself in politically now.
Next day: Gongmin has come to visit his mother. First time in quite a while, what with all of that time at Unam Temple. The QD looks happy to have him back...sincerely happy. Hyebi and three other women are there; apparently this is the full set of consorts that the QD has decided upon. She wants them to take turns--as in, "you shall alternate in serving His Majesty with utmost dedication." Beginning with Hyebi. A little too soon to push that on the king, isn't it? Gongmin doesn't say so but clearly he's not happy about it.
Eunuch Choi is looking over the new crop of palace eunuchs. They're all from influential clans, we learn. Hmm...one of them is named Hong Ryun; Choi hears the name and smiles; he knew Hong's grandfather well. Apparently was a well-known person. Choi chooses Hong out of the group to personally serve Gongmin.
Gongmin is with his consorts, playing that toss-the-sticks-into-the-urns game we saw him playing with Noguk once. Ikbi wins and starts asking to be the next one to serve Gongmin. He laughs. "So you were engaging in this game with myself as your prize?" Apparently so!
Evening: Hong Ryun is getting razzed by the other eunuchs...their way of congratulating him for getting picked for his position.
"So you want to bear me a child?" Gongmin is alone with Hyebi. Yes, she assures him; she wants to do so and serve him however she can. Fine, Gongmin says...and then looks at the door. "Is anyone out there?" Hong Ryun answers from outside; guess it's his first night on the job. Gongmin summons him in and then tells him, "You shall serve Hyebi's berth tonight." Doink! Huh? Hyebi is horrified, probably not so much because she's well older than Hong but because the idea is to bear the king's child, not some eunuch's! Gongmin has an answer for that, though...and it's a stunner: "A wicked monk bestows the slattern he violated to me, and then claims her offspring is my son. So after you give birth, you can howl to all creation how that is my child." Holy crap--he knows. He knows! No wonder he's all paranoid. Wow this is huge. Hyebi implores him to reconsider, if only for her late father's sake (her father was Lee Je Hyeon; this is the first we've heard that he died). Her pleading manages to get Gongmin to reconsider and he sends Hong away. "It will not work with Hyebi, so let us try with Ikbi tomorrow." He even sort of apologizes to Hyebi for upsetting her so much...but from his carefree laughter, he doesn't take any of it seriously. Wow.
Concurrently: "Don't worry. There isn't a single military official on Pyeonjo's side." Choi Young has come to visit Lee In Bok. Secretary Gyeong is there as well. "Just a word from you, and I will immediately make Pyeonjo pay." Gyeong urges Lee to see Gongmin "and gain consent to eliminate him (Pyeonjo). His Majesty feels as much resentment for Pyeonjo as we do." But Lee and Choi are wary of acting too quickly; they wonder if the apparent rift between Gongmin and SD is a ruse--"making it appear as if there is rift, and then using it to purge his adversaries." They decide to wait a little longer.
Lee In Im is visiting Lee Chun Bu. They were two of SD's earliest and biggest supporters...but now listen to them talk. They're ready to abandon him and even turn against him if it's politically in their interests. Easier to fight SD than the king, they acknowledge.
Same evening: Choseon pays a visit to SD's home. She's looking weak but managing to walk on her own. But SD isn't here. Won Hyeon tells her that he's spending all his time lately at Unam Temple. He's so downcast over losing Gongmin's favor that he's praying to Noguk now.
Unam Temple, a subsequent evening, or possibly later the same night: Uh-oh what's this--Gongmin has shown up. He walks into the main yard all by himself (seriously?) carrying two swords. A quick word to the eunuchs keeping watch over the place, and they all scatter. SD is inside, sitting in prayer before the Noguk portrait. Gongmin walks in. He's calm, focused, and all business. "I summoned our every official and asked them what they thought of you. Should anyone have tried to make us part or to belittle your name, I would have beheaded them right there. Yet...Everyone might disapprove of you, but they say your motives are noble, so there is nothing I could do." He tosses one of the swords at SD...and proposes a duel! "Should you vanquish me, I shall halt the construction, and devote myself to our Liaodong campaign and moving the capital to Seogyeong. But should I be the winner, we shall first complete the shrine. Once the shrine is completed, we shall build the new country you always dreamed of." Gongmin speaks so calmly of all this, it seems unfathomably ridiculous that he'd want it to come down to something as silly as a duel. And SD, he can't possibly go along with this, can he?
Oh yes he can. The two of them walk outside into the now-empty yard, each with a sword. They pace around a bit, and then charge each other!
Deokun and Auntie are still with Ban Ya and the baby, headed through the countryside on their way to Gaetae Temple. They're walking through wilderness to avoid being seen...which is exhausting the just-gave-birth Ban Ya.
"They still could not find her?" The QD is furious. She wants Choseon arrested!
And that's what she gets. Soldiers invade Choseon's estate and arrest her. Her servants too.
Back at Unam Temple: Gongmin is trying to convince SD to restart the shrine's construction. Now he says he needs it finished to atone for the sins he's committed against Noguk. Ugh. But SD is firm: "Whatever the cost, we must first invade Liaodong." As soon as we do, he offers, I will personally oversee the shrine's construction and finish it. Gongmin starts to get angry and it sounds like the same old argument will start again...but then Eunuch Choi runs in with news of the baby's disappearance and Ban Ya's arrest. Gongmin laughs maniacally: "His name seems to suggest Buddha took his servant back!" But SD isn't laughing.
Good heavens, they've taken Choseon to the front of the QD's palace and have tied her down and are lashing her! On her back, with those big wooden paddles. The QD wants to know where the baby is and won't let the beating stop until Choseon tells her. Princess Deoknyeong and all of the attendants are horrified at what's being done to Choseon.
Won Hyeon is trying to convince SD that this could all work out great: because if the QD believes the baby to be Gongmin's successor, then they can kick Gongmin off the throne more easily. SD literally throws a book at Won and shouts at him to never suggest any such thing. But Won doesn't back down. "We must install a new ruler. Only then will our people dance on the street!"
Choseon goes unconscious from the beating. Deoknyeong gently presses the QD to release her, saying that if she was complicit she would have confessed by now. Lady Kim adds, "The moment she heard you summoned the child to the palace, she was overcome with happiness." (Lie, of course.)
Our four weary travelers are looking for food and can only round up some wild mushrooms. Pretty meager...then Auntie makes the mistake of suggesting to Ban Ya that give up the baby so she can live in luxury and eat whatever she wants. Poor choice..."This child is all I have. Without him, I will not survive." Clutching him more tightly now, she moves away from Auntie, food or no food.
Choseon was released and is back home, in bed recovering from her beating. SD visits her; she smiles upon hearing the baby's name. At least she can smile! She was unhappy with the QD for continually disregarding Ban Ya...and we learn she also was worried about Gongmin abdicating and handing the throne to the baby, because it would pretty much take SD out of the picture.
Evening: As the travelers near Gaetae Temple, Kim Sok Myeong comes to visit Gongmin at Unam Temple, at the QD's request. The QD wants confirmation that the child is his. Gongmin's answer? "Memory... fails me." Ugh. But then Kim throws a new idea out there: "Her Highness is trying to find just cause to oust Pyeonjo. If that child is our prince, we must escort him to the palace." Well now Gongmin has something to think about. Ordinarily he would have been furious, but in his current state of mind he sees SD as a threat.
Won Hyeon meets with his inspectors. Tells them that Gongmin is going to try to kill Pyeonjo soon...so they have to kill Gongmin first! And they'll do it while he's at Unam Temple. Apparently the security isn't very good there, so they have a window of opportunity.
Evening: SD is still at Choseon's bedside. She's been sleeping but wakes up, surprised to find him still there. "Not much time is left," he tells her. Gongmin will be returning to the palace soon and he (SD) will have to step down, he thinks. She tells him not to do any such thing. You broke your hermitage period to come back for all this, she reminds him, and promised Noguk you'd work with Gongmin. But now he's holding her hand and looking intently at her. "I give you my word," he says; "Once I leave this post, I shall join you in conjugal ties, and live the rest of my days with you." Doink! Well finally! They've been hinting around at each other for so long, it's about time somebody got down to business. So to speak. My days as a monk are over, he says, after breaking the hermitage. "Would there be any temple willing to accept me? If not in your embrace, I have nowhere left to go." " She smiles, tears in her eyes. They hug each other.
Safe at last! Ban Ya is at Gaetae Temple, offering a prayer of thanks as her baby lays next to her. She thinks back to her youth here, sleeping under the temple altar when she was in Wolseon's care. Now she's seeing visions of Wolseon waving at her approvingly and they lift her spirits immensely. Weird, but they help her.
Nighttime, Unam Temple: Uh-oh, guys dressed in black peering over the walls. It's Won and the inspectors. Suddenly an assault! They kill the eunuchs standing outside the place and rush inside, swords drawn to kill the king. Inside they find a solitary figure praying before Noguk's portrait. But it's not Gongmin--it's SD! He doesn't move, doesn't flinch, doesn't make any attempt to confront or capture the attackers. Just sits there, knowing he's foiled them.
Next day: VICTORY! A messenger arrives with news from Lee Seong Gye up north. He did it--Liaodong belongs to Goryeo! Gongmin is so happy he looks like his old self again...and all of the officials have to salute the victory, no matter how they felt about the decision to attack.
Mt. Yuluo, northern territory, army headquarters: LSG returns to headquarters to the wild cheers of his men. Subordinates on horseback are carrying poles that have the enemy leaders' heads stuck on top of them! Isn't that nice. The northern territory is rejoined with its people, he shouts, "so rejoice you may!" But he warns them that they all must be loyal to their king...or else "I shall behead them just like these miserable ringleaders!" Ecstatic cheers...so no disloyalty issues here.
Well, Gongmin's back and Liaodong has been won...so now what? Specifically, what about the shrine? No hesitation from Gongmin; Lee In Bok and SD are in his office and he tells them that "We subjugated Liaodong thanks to Lee Seong Gye, so we can now focus on the shrine's construction." And Lee In Bok surprises us by telling him that all of the officials support the shrine and he does too! Gongmin even has another Noguk portrait there right next to him, very much like he had in Unam Temple.
At the council hall, Lee Chun Bu is very agitated about all this, but he seems to be the only one. As Secretary Gyeong tells him sarcastically, "Courtiers pledging allegiance to their ruler. This world has truly turned upside down!"
Back in his office, Gongmin is talking to SD. Thanks him for heading off trouble at Unam Temple the previous night. And then turns to the portrait and tells Noguk how glad he is that SD will take charge of completing the shrine's construction now, as he had promised to do. But wait, SD starts complaining about it again! "What Princess Noguk truly wishes for is certainly not a sumptuous and opulent shrine! With the resources building that shrine would require, we would feed the people of
our entire country for over a year!" Well that is NOT what Gongmin wanted to hear, and now it's right back to butting heads over this again. Gongmin scolds him, more than loudly enough for everyone in the plaza outside to hear. Then Master Bou arrives and is gratefully and happily received by the king. "I would like to proclaim you Royal Preceptor once again." And asks him to complete the shrine! Well this is something Bou was completely opposed to. He wouldn't accept it now, would he? Whatever, it's all totally disrespectful to SD and everybody within earshot knows it.
SD leaves the building, a bitter, resigned scowl on his face. Maybe Bou did accept. He's terribly hurt that Gongmin would doubt his loyalty to his rule and to the nation.
"You are the only one left, Your Excellency." Now it's Lee Chun Bu before Gongmin. Gongmin is glaring at him and making him squirm. And it's working. Wants to make sure that he's loyal to the crown before all (as in, before SD). Chun Bu assures him that he is. But his body language suggests very mixed feelings, feelings that he doesn't dare articulate.
Choseon is looking much better now...physically at least. But Won Hyeon is telling her about what's just happened in the palace, and also how SD saved Gongmin from his assassination last night. Is she crying? She's visibly anguished over it, that's for sure.
Lee Chun Bu goes to SD, who tells him that the capital must be moved to Seogyeong now. And the shrine? "They are violating our forests to find lumber for that shrine. Stonemasons wander the mountains in search of rocks, while our people are being mobilized as construction workers, leaving behind what puts food on their tables, and perishing in droves. Is this what Princess Noguk would truly wish for?" Well no, but they've been over this a hundred times by now. "We must stop this construction at all cost, and transfer our capital to Seogyeong." He sincerely believes that any other path will lead to disaster for Goryeo.
Chun Bu leaves, gasping and rattled, not just about the seriousness of the situation but about the tough position he finds himself in politically now.
Next day: Gongmin has come to visit his mother. First time in quite a while, what with all of that time at Unam Temple. The QD looks happy to have him back...sincerely happy. Hyebi and three other women are there; apparently this is the full set of consorts that the QD has decided upon. She wants them to take turns--as in, "you shall alternate in serving His Majesty with utmost dedication." Beginning with Hyebi. A little too soon to push that on the king, isn't it? Gongmin doesn't say so but clearly he's not happy about it.
Eunuch Choi is looking over the new crop of palace eunuchs. They're all from influential clans, we learn. Hmm...one of them is named Hong Ryun; Choi hears the name and smiles; he knew Hong's grandfather well. Apparently was a well-known person. Choi chooses Hong out of the group to personally serve Gongmin.
Gongmin is with his consorts, playing that toss-the-sticks-into-the-urns game we saw him playing with Noguk once. Ikbi wins and starts asking to be the next one to serve Gongmin. He laughs. "So you were engaging in this game with myself as your prize?" Apparently so!
Evening: Hong Ryun is getting razzed by the other eunuchs...their way of congratulating him for getting picked for his position.
"So you want to bear me a child?" Gongmin is alone with Hyebi. Yes, she assures him; she wants to do so and serve him however she can. Fine, Gongmin says...and then looks at the door. "Is anyone out there?" Hong Ryun answers from outside; guess it's his first night on the job. Gongmin summons him in and then tells him, "You shall serve Hyebi's berth tonight." Doink! Huh? Hyebi is horrified, probably not so much because she's well older than Hong but because the idea is to bear the king's child, not some eunuch's! Gongmin has an answer for that, though...and it's a stunner: "A wicked monk bestows the slattern he violated to me, and then claims her offspring is my son. So after you give birth, you can howl to all creation how that is my child." Holy crap--he knows. He knows! No wonder he's all paranoid. Wow this is huge. Hyebi implores him to reconsider, if only for her late father's sake (her father was Lee Je Hyeon; this is the first we've heard that he died). Her pleading manages to get Gongmin to reconsider and he sends Hong away. "It will not work with Hyebi, so let us try with Ikbi tomorrow." He even sort of apologizes to Hyebi for upsetting her so much...but from his carefree laughter, he doesn't take any of it seriously. Wow.
Concurrently: "Don't worry. There isn't a single military official on Pyeonjo's side." Choi Young has come to visit Lee In Bok. Secretary Gyeong is there as well. "Just a word from you, and I will immediately make Pyeonjo pay." Gyeong urges Lee to see Gongmin "and gain consent to eliminate him (Pyeonjo). His Majesty feels as much resentment for Pyeonjo as we do." But Lee and Choi are wary of acting too quickly; they wonder if the apparent rift between Gongmin and SD is a ruse--"making it appear as if there is rift, and then using it to purge his adversaries." They decide to wait a little longer.
Lee In Im is visiting Lee Chun Bu. They were two of SD's earliest and biggest supporters...but now listen to them talk. They're ready to abandon him and even turn against him if it's politically in their interests. Easier to fight SD than the king, they acknowledge.
Same evening: Choseon pays a visit to SD's home. She's looking weak but managing to walk on her own. But SD isn't here. Won Hyeon tells her that he's spending all his time lately at Unam Temple. He's so downcast over losing Gongmin's favor that he's praying to Noguk now.
Unam Temple, a subsequent evening, or possibly later the same night: Uh-oh what's this--Gongmin has shown up. He walks into the main yard all by himself (seriously?) carrying two swords. A quick word to the eunuchs keeping watch over the place, and they all scatter. SD is inside, sitting in prayer before the Noguk portrait. Gongmin walks in. He's calm, focused, and all business. "I summoned our every official and asked them what they thought of you. Should anyone have tried to make us part or to belittle your name, I would have beheaded them right there. Yet...Everyone might disapprove of you, but they say your motives are noble, so there is nothing I could do." He tosses one of the swords at SD...and proposes a duel! "Should you vanquish me, I shall halt the construction, and devote myself to our Liaodong campaign and moving the capital to Seogyeong. But should I be the winner, we shall first complete the shrine. Once the shrine is completed, we shall build the new country you always dreamed of." Gongmin speaks so calmly of all this, it seems unfathomably ridiculous that he'd want it to come down to something as silly as a duel. And SD, he can't possibly go along with this, can he?
Oh yes he can. The two of them walk outside into the now-empty yard, each with a sword. They pace around a bit, and then charge each other!