Your Majesty, Prince Iksang has arrived.
Has his son come as well?
Yes, Your Majesty.
How is Prince Yeongan's health?
There has been no improvement,
so he will not be able to attend at this time.
- You may leave. - Yes.
It seems that Gu-cheon has failed his part, Your Majesty.
I've heard people say
the reason I am able to sit on this throne is due to spirits.
Now they mock me,
saying that my position will be threatened because of spirits.
Which do you believe to be true?
We will know which one when we get there.
Kneel before the honored guest, straighten yourself,
and perform the four ceremonial bows.
Bow.
Straighten.
Bow.
Straighten.
Bow.
Straighten.
Next, the Crown Prince would present a ceremonial drink,
praying for your long life without illness.
However, as the seat is vacant, I suggest you omit it.
No. That's enough.
This tired and old body
cannot be certain any longer of another birthday to come.
And what do you think of that, Your Majesty?
Then you must do as you wish, Mother.
Prince Iksang's eldest son, will you step forward right now?
Prince Iksang, congratulations.
This is the drink presented by Prince Inha.
Your Royal Highness, I pray for your well-being.
What is happening?
I can tell that something has arrived here.
All right.
I knew that if I drove you far enough,
you would come to me with that resentment.
Now,
what will you do?
Gu-cheon!
Get a hold of yourself!
You'll become an ak-gwi.
If you kill, that's what's going to happen to you.
You said that becoming an ak-gwi after death
was what you feared more than anything.
Gu-cheon!
Your mother's death was not your fault. You must believe that.
You were possessed by the gwi-mae.
If you still won't trust me,
then I'll get to the bottom of this.
The second we can leave the palace,
I will go find your mother's grave so we can uncover the…
Please, Gu-cheon.
Let us make it out of the palace alive.
THE EAST PALACE
What is wrong with him?
What happened to him? Come on. Wake up!
Send for the physician!
Summon the physician now!
Your Majesty.
This child is a little flawed.
You must be disappointed with what you're observing, Mother.
In such a frail state,
how could he ever endure the palace's energy?
I must say you need improving when reading others, Mother.
Resume the banquet at once.
Carry on the music!
What are you standing around for? Attend to Prince Inha at once!
No, no.
Princess.
Princess!
Have you lost your mind?
I told you to never set foot in there.
You've never listened to me once.
I saved you, and this is the thanks I get.
Am I supposed to do nothing and just stand by and watch you become a gwi-sin?
You are never to do something like that again,
whether I am a spirit or not.
I never want to see someone die because of me again.
I will never do it again
if you truly cannot bear it.
I, too,
cannot convince myself to go in again.
I was terrified.
It must have been very difficult for you,
having spent all that time in there.
Everyone who carries the King's blood is mad.
There are no such things as spirits.
Mother.
There are no spirits.
Mother?
Your father is the palace entity.
How are you?
What are you doing out there?
How is it? Your fever?
Why would you open the window without asking?
At least you still have your temper.
Miss Saeng-gang, you're awake!
How are you feeling now?
What in the world is going on?
I thought Gu-cheon was dead.
Now he's talking to you and walking around.
And you, who are perfectly fine, slept for three days and nights.
I mean, you basically slept like the dead.
It was three days?
Yes! Have this first.
I had to beg the female royal physician to brew this medicine,
and I snuck some rice cakes to bring to you here.
You haven't eaten one thing for three days.
Here, please have these.
I appreciate it.
But, um, why did you bring me so many rice cakes?
It's Gu-cheon.
I brought some for him also.
But he just left.
He must have terrible luck with food. Is he not even hungry?
He has not eaten for three days.
Mmm.
After three days without food, it tastes better.
Do you want some?
I don't have an appetite.
Please help yourself.
You should eat too.
You cannot work without it.
I found something at the guard's house.
I will handle all of that.
You needn't be concerned, Your Highness.
"Your Highness"?
What?
You have changed somehow.
So, anyway,
tell me what you have found at the house.
I found what the Favored Court Lady made for the child she was carrying.
Do you think this could ease her resentment?
It might be possible, but the preparation will be complicated.
Her spirit is not ordinary.
She killed people for 30 years as a won-gwi.
Oh! The lightning-struck jujube wood. Where did you get that?
Ah! The jujube tree inside the palace was struck by lightning.
- Oh. - Was that branch helpful at all?
It helped a great deal having that wood, and it will continue to help.
Well,
I believe I have helped in more ways than one.
The least you could do is say thank you.
You know, the second you brag, it makes all of your goodwill disappear?
And how is that bragging?
It is simply the praise I am owed.
I nearly died dealing with your family's mess,
and you want my thanks and praise?
What? You want recognition that badly?
Forget it.
Fine. I do not need your thanks.
But you should be thanking the Ggeomeoksali.
The gwi-mae had you in the well, and it saved you.
That saved me?
I did wonder why I had not seen it roaming around here.
It fell into the well while helping fight the gwi-mae.
How sad.
Good riddance.
Don't be cold about it!
I don't make stupid decisions like getting attached to it like you do.
Let's just focus on the pond spirit and how to get rid of it.
Is something wrong?
The truth is…
…when I crossed over to the other side, I came face-to-face with the pond spirit.
It clawed my back and drained my spiritual energy.
But I was able to come back because you pulled the rope just in time.
It clawed you?
What's the matter?
Uh…
The spirit that consumed your soul down there…
has likely begun to regain its strength from it.
The curse that had briefly weakened will grow stronger again.
Your Majesty.
The royal physician attending Prince Yeongan
says you must prepare yourself for what is to come.
Why?
Is confronting the spirit impulsively like this truly wise?
I believe Prince Yeongan won't make it through the night, most likely.
He's reached his limit after enduring the curse for so long.
We cannot waste more time.
Sh!
Can you hear it?
That sound?
Be careful, please.
I am not saving someone who will not say thank you.
You're still on that?
My baby.
You know how to shoot a bow?
Everyone tried to stop me because I'm a princess,
but I stubbornly insisted my father teach me.
So you have been peculiar since you were little.
I will spin thread from the shirt made by the Favored Court Lady,
and stain it with my blood.
If you wrap this thread around an arrow and hit the spirit,
it can weaken its resentment.
Here.
When the baby's crying stops, that is when you shoot.
We must release the resentment born of being falsely accused,
as well as the grief of losing her child.
Killing those of royal blood
will not bring you your child back to you.
So release your resentment now, and go to the afterlife.
Free yourself from this hell of a palace, now!
Your Royal Highness, Prince Yeongan has awakened.
What?
Are you saying he's shown signs of improvement?
Not merely signs of improvement. He is said to have recovered completely.
It seems that the feng shui master His Majesty had brought in
has eliminated the pond spirit.
Your Majesty.
Father. I am better, Father.
You are.
So he finally put an end to the curse that lasted 30 years?
But…
that feng shui master…
How did he prove that the pond spirit is gone?
I am not sure, Your Royal Highness.
In the process of eliminating the spirit,
he must have learned what the spirit's true identity was,
and now that man knows the secret.
He knows the truth behind how that lowly wench turned into a won-gwi.
That man must be silenced at once.
The pond spirit has finally been eliminated, Father.
Yes.
It does seem that way.
I have now completed your orders.
So I am entitled to a reward.
Before that…
Father.
The palace frightens me.
Frightens you?
And who would ever dare to frighten a princess?
I keep hearing strange sounds everywhere I go.
Saeng-gang, come over here.
Here. Carry this with you.
And if you do, this bell will drive away
all of those strange sounds you are currently hearing.
He lives because of you.
Thank you.
I did not do this to be praised like a child by you.
Very well.
Then the reward you desire.
What would you like?
Allow Gu-cheon the honor of leaving the palace immediately.
Of course I will allow it. Yes.
And do not harm him at all.
That is my humble request to you, Your Majesty.
Why are you not packing your things?
I, uh, have nothing worth packing.
I only need the jujube wood.
For someone leaving the palace, you do not look very cheerful.
It's just…
Something feels wrong.
What do you mean?
Has Prince Yeongan truly recovered?
Is he completely well?
That is what I was told.
How about your wound? How is that?
The pain is gone at least.
What is the matter?
It should not have been destroyed so easily.
It was a won-gwi that had killed the princes
of the East Palace for 30 years.
Four of the late King's sons, and three of the present king's sons.
For a won-gwi that killed seven,
its power was far too weak.
Are you really sure
that the princes were killed by the pond spirit alone?
If it wasn't the actions of the spirit, what's responsible?
I don't know.
I mean, I thought it would be a life-or-death struggle.
But seeing how easily it was resolved is making me doubtful.
I must be out of my mind.
Completely out of my mind.
Since you are departing, will you go to the temple?
As if I would.
I'm honestly still thinking about where to go.
And what will you do, Your Highness?
Have you found the one responsible for your mother's death?
There is just one person it could be.
Are you not the daughter of the banished Third Senior Consort Han?
What brings you all the way here?
I have brought a gift to celebrate Your Majesty,
for your 70th birthday.
It's quite modest compared to the other offerings.
You came all this way for nothing, then.
I never once permitted you to enter the palace.
It was Father that granted permission.
If that's true, he did so without my consultation?
Your mother was sent away for committing a crime.
You mean you framed my mother
and drove her out to cover up the court maid incident
in the salt storehouse.
Because you feared that if that incident were to be revealed,
the death of the Favored Court Lady would come to light.
It's the matter tied to the pond spirit.
One Your Majesty may wish to keep concealed.
So you barge in spouting nothing but absurd nonsense in front of me.
Your mother was banished.
She was banished for burying a cursed object
and because she refused to confess--
Is that why you had my mother killed back then?
Was her begging my father for help over and over before she died
what brought up the fear of exposing your buried sins?
And that poor woman's curse of the serpent's shed skin.
Is it because you were raised so lowly outside the palace,
or your mother's origins perchance?
You have truly lost your mind, child,
sitting there, daring to slander me with such delusions!
You may open the gift.
I have recreated the hangwa she received from the palace the day before she died.
Not only the taste, but also the ingredients are the same.
You may try it.
Who on earth told you lies about such a story?
I had no hand in your mother's death,
nor in the death of the Favored Court Lady.
How could you possibly know events from long ago?
Was it that feng shui master Gu-cheon who told you all of this?
I should have taught that bastard the palace's lesson sooner.
That those who dare to spread lies, here within these very walls,
will soon be dead.
Tell me about the pond ghost and what you've learned about it.
A ghost?
In a pond?
Are you talking about your grandfather who drowned in the bath?
Throw him into the wooden chest.
Death is the only fate for liars in this strict palace.
Just like your mother in the end.
She was put to a stop.
I remit
those very words to you.
This is the baby shirt made by the Most Favored Lady of the Court.
You gave it to the royal guard and forced him to falsely claim
the child as his own.
- What is this? - Your Royal Highness.
I know the Favored Court Lady was smeared by your lies
and how you managed to have the royal bloodline all but eliminated.
The late King's bloodline, you say?
That lowly maid who decided she wanted to dance
with a mere royal guard?
Why go that far?
Unlike the other concubines who received the King's favor,
why did you frame and kill her?
Could it be that you were…
jealous of a mere maid, Your Highness?
Jealous?
Did you say I was jealous?
That I harbored jealousy toward such a lowborn girl?
She once lived as my family's servant.
I was the one who allowed her to serve in the palace
as a menial labor maid, and you think I was jealous?
Is that what you're saying?
Unlike you, I hail from a noble lineage spanning generations!
For years on end,
I endured the late King's scorn and neglect
for failing to bear a child for him.
The fact that a lowly maidservant received His Majesty's love
and could carry his child, I could not accept it!
I could allow daughters of the noble households
and their children, but I could never allow
for that lowly, feeble woman to carry his child.
She had to be eliminated by any means necessary at all.
Is that why you made all those false claims then?
Yeah!
I had that slut tortured, then I myself killed the filthy blood
that continued to grow inside her!
Your Majesty.
I heard you clearly.
Your confession that you killed the Favored Court Lady
and eliminated the King's son.
What? What?
I will make this public before Father and all the other ministers.
You stated to me earlier
that liars meet their timely death in the palace.
Tell me, Your Royal Highness,
what would death mean to you?
It would be losing the palace and everything that defines you.
The home you have lived in all your life.
The power you've enjoyed for many years.
I'll make sure it's all gone.
Your Majesty.
And what could someone like you
possibly do?
Who would ever believe the words of a lowborn expelled from the palace?
Who?!
That much I know.
Who would listen to the mere words
of the lost princess?
Your Majesty, I believe your voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Now,
the time has come
for you to kill these women the same as you did before.
You will need a lot of jars for their bones.
Let us go.
Your Majesty!
I cannot keep my eyes off you for a second.
Why are you lying in there, beaten to a pulp?
What trouble did you cause today
to make Her Majesty want you dead?
Was it not ordered by the King?
To see if I'm capable of keeping my mouth shut or not?
Since you believe that,
it would be pointless to mention that is not true.
Then why do you spare me?
The princess earnestly… pleaded with His Majesty
to let you leave the palace unscathed.
She must have foreseen something like this.
This is your pass to leave the palace.
And your compensation.
Watch your mouth out there.
All eight provinces of Joseon lie in the hand of His Majesty.
They do not let me go easily.
Still, it's over now.
Ah…
I saw nothing.
Nothing at all. I did not see anything.
Ah no!
Whoa, whoa.
I have repaid the debt I owed you for saving me.
So take care.
I'll give you a bit of my yang energy.
Just enough for your body to recover.
Get off!
Let go!
Don't take too much, damn it. That's enough!
You do not look well.
Perhaps you are ill?
It's been hard on me, I think, working alongside Gu-cheon lately.
And considering the part you played
at the Queen Dowager's quarters last night,
it makes perfect sense.
And the Queen Dowager, do you plan to do anything about her?
Is that why you wanted to talk this early in the morning?
No.
I wanted to make sure Gu-cheon made it out all right
and is free of the palace.
You fret too easily.
He will have left the palace by now and surely will have traveled far already.
After all, he saved my son.
I have no desire to hurt Gu-cheon.
He saved my child from death.
Do not be worried.
I must say, though,
I did not expect him to deal with the pond spirit so easily.
Indeed, Father. Even Gu-cheon felt strange about it.
He questioned whether it was truly the pond spirit that killed the princes.
Father…
…I want to know about the late King's first son, the Crown Prince.
How exactly did he pass away?
Your Royal Highness!
Summon the physician!
The physician!
The Crown Prince… Your Royal Highness.
A curse.
He passed away because a spirit had cursed him.
What of the late King's second son?
A spirit killed him.
The third and fourth brothers as well. All four of them.
Are you really sure
that the princes were killed by the pond spirit alone?
What is the matter?
Your Majesty. The hunting preparations are complete.
Prince Yeongan is waiting for you.
Very well.
We will continue this later.
We cannot allow him to learn the truth of the pond spirit.
- Stop. I don't wanna hear it. - You do not need to know either.
I do not want to know any more.
Please, someone…
…admitted to the crime…
- Help me. - Your father is the palace entity.
Why are you crying?
More importantly, why haven't you left yet?
There's one thing I didn't see.
The spirit that cursed Prince Yeongan
was not the Favored Court Lady.
The one that tore your body and soul was not her.
There's got to be another.
Then, um…
…who was the one that tried to kill
Crown Prince Yeongan?
I will have my revenge.
The King
must pay for the sins that he has committed.
The secrets of the royal house will be revealed.
And I…
I will become the real one.
I will wipe out the royal bloodline!
Prince Yeongan. We need to go find Prince Yeongan!
Wait.
It's already too late.
Is there a royal physician back there?
Send for the royal physician!
Take formation.
Stay calm, everyone. Don't break formation.
Secure the perimeter.
- What's happening? - Protect His Majesty!
Then you should leave the palace through this path.
You must run away now.
Since you were unable to save his son,
he will find you and kill you immediately.
But if I leave you behind,
you will die the same as Prince Yeongan.
- That is a matter beyond your concern. - It does concern me.
You saved my life.
You risked everything coming to the other realm to save me,
and now this time, I'll be the one who is going to save you.