The...
The high-flying technique...
-How was it? -You.
Who are you?
I thought you weren't interested in me.
Are you curious now?
Did I spark your interest?
You son of a bitch!
Kang Chae-yun.
Your Majesty, I'll send men to judge the situation
and find Counselor Jang.
Where are they? Where did it happen?
This is so disappointing.
Is this all you can do?
You're panting like a puppy dog after just that?
Your breath is ragged too.
So, do you think you can beat me?
Who are you?
Me?
You know me. Kang Chae-yun of the Royal Guard.
So, who are you?
Never mind. I'll arrest you and put you through
a slow and painful interrogation.
How's that? You can still fight, right?
Let's fight.
That's the spirit.
They should be somewhere around here. Search thoroughly.
That's Mu-hyul.
What are you trying to do?
Let's fight this out next time.
No!
Take him to a physician now and he'll live.
Or give up saving him and chase me.
Damn it!
Damn it.
Forget about me and chase him. Go!
Stay still.
What are you doing? Go after him.
Be still.
Damn it!
What happened?
Is that... Oh, my. Cho-tak!
Hey. Are you all right?
What happened? Are you okay?
It was him.
Did you lose him?
Did he get away?
Yes, I presume so.
What about Counselor Jang?
I don't know if it was Counselor Jang,
but he killed someone.
Based on the direction I heard the scream,
the body will be somewhere over there.
Lead the way.
Search thoroughly.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
What's going on? There's nothing here.
That's strange. It must be around here.
Did you hear clearly?
Yes, I was sure...
It seems like he took the body.
What are you talking about?
Counselor Jang was murdered and his body's missing?
What's all this?
Hey, wake up. I said, wake up.
Hello, sir.
It's you.
I called him because it was past samkyeong,
and I couldn't get any other physician over.
SAMKYEONG: BETWEEN 11:00 P.M. AND 1:00 A.M.
How are you feeling? Are you okay?
I'm fine.
Unfortunately, you are not going to die.
You little pig.
I saved your lowly little life
and that's how you repay me?
I should have just buried you.
What's wrong?
You vulgar little thing.
Listen carefully.
In this world,
there may be lowly people and lowly classes,
but there's no such thing
as a lowly life.
Keep that in mind before I kill you.
Okay...
Goodness.
Sir.
Hello, Officer Jeong.
My gosh.
I'm glad you're here.
What's wrong with you, Officer Jeong?
Did something happen to you?
-What's wrong? -Gyeonghoeru Pavilion...
At Gyeonghoeru Pavilion...
My lord.
Mind your manners. Why such haste?
There has been a disaster.
Why does something like this keep happening?
What's that?
Over here.
Bring it over.
Pull.
Sir.
-Check the corpse. -Yes, sir.
-Oh, no! -My goodness!
Move the body.
There's something underneath.
Yes, sir.
A FLOWER IS JUST A FLOWER. IT CANNOT BECOME THE ROOT.
Are you okay?
FLOWER
IS ONLY
CANNOT BE
ROOT
Secret Roots.
Is it really...
them?
Is it really Jeong Gi-jun?
You can't do anything.
Father.
I dare to say,
although this is a misfortune--
I wish to sleep.
May I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?
KING SEJONG, YI DO
I'm sleepy.
I'd like to take a nap.
You may excuse yourselves.
His Majesty can't even sleep at night.
But a nap?
It's a first since I served him.
PRINCE GWANGPYEONG
This disaster is also a first of its kind, so it's natural.
He will wake up strong and brave.
I wish that were the case,
but somehow...
I have a bad feeling.
Could this be Secret Roots' doing?
Secret Roots?
We can't be sure
who in the Royal Court
are members of Secret Roots.
How could that assailant have entered the palace
without help from the inside?
The King
must first suspect those
who are the hardest to suspect.
If the King neglects his duties,
there will be another bloodshed within the palace.
Is that
what it means to be a king?
You said you would hide the poison
that comes with power
and be patient and endure everything, didn't you?
Do you really think
that is something one can do?
That path will be far more brutal
than the one I have walked on.
A brutal path...
Yes.
It is brutal.
It is so very brutal.
However, I am...
not like you, Father.
Suspect, bait, harm, and kill...
I will never do that.
She's burning up.
-Get some cold water. -Okay.
So-i, relax.
Breathe slowly and deeply.
Here.
You're such a nuisance.
We all saw the body.
So-i, it's okay. It's okay.
Calm down.
FLOWER
The seal has been broken.
The seal has...
That phrase
should never have been revealed.
My goodness.
How could this be...
PARK PAENG-NYEON
What's this? You're taking leave?
SEONG SAM-MUN
Last night,
I met Counselor Jang.
At Samgaksan Mountain?
He also had the tattoo.
And he said that he'd give me an answer.
But then...
he was killed that night?
I must find out.
Whatever it may be and whatever it takes.
No. You're in no condition to do anything.
It won't be there.
They wouldn't have left that behind when they took Counselor Jang's body.
Geun-ji is right.
They could have hurt Counselor Jang for that object.
The royal guard saw nothing during the fight.
Fine. Go if you want to.
I don't care if you waste your time.
She just doesn't know when to quit.
I know.
I doubt she will ever change.
You know why she's being like that.
I do, but still--
I'm worried that she'll blame herself again.
She must feel terrible.
People are talking
because that was the opening of that answer
from the ninth year of King Taejong's reign.
No one will speak openly about it, but...
What do you think?
It's nonsense.
I heard of that phrase when I was younger.
In 1409,
Jeong Do-jeon's nephew Jeong Gi-jun attended the exam
and submitted an answer that even Zhu Xi and Su Shi would not be able to surpass.
The first phrase goes like this.
"A flower is just a flower. It cannot become the root."
However,
that is just a rumor and no one has ever seen the answer sheet themselves.
And it happened decades ago.
I'm sure it's just a malicious joke.
Do you think it is just a malicious joke?
Then...
what do you think of Secret Roots?
Pardon?
Do you believe in such rumors?
It is not a matter of belief.
I'm asking because I was a member.
I can't believe our leader, Jeong Do-gwang, has died...
Gain fame and prestige and solidify your position
in the Royal Court.
Wait for your next order.
Young Master...
It's my command as the leader.
I will return one day.
When I do,
you must be a core member of the Royal Court.
Do you understand?
I'll execute your order.
Where are you planning to go, Young Master?
The best way to hide is to mix with the crowd.
I will hide among the people.
Take this.
Are... Are you teasing me?
Is this a joke?
It is a joke, isn't it?
There is no way you were a member of Secret Roots.
I'm telling you this
as a way of announcing that you're on my side.
Of course I'm on your side.
-However-- -No.
It's not just that.
Now that you know this,
you cannot
live or die
on your own.
Do you get what that means?
Yes, my lord.
But then...
Are you really--
However,
that was 20 odd years ago.
I never got my next command
and I believed the group had disbanded.
Therefore...
I just went about my own way.
And I got to where I am.
It wasn't because I tried to execute his command.
But it seems...
after 20 years...
the command has come.
What is this?
"When letters burn and the palace runs red with blood,
you must know that the time has come."
There was a fire at the Type-casting Foundry,
and today, Gyeonghoeru Pavilion ran red with blood.
Then Jang Seong-su's death...
Why did Jang Seong-su go to Samgaksan Mountain last night?
He was there to meet someone.
Could it have been Seong Sam-mun?
No.
Seong Sam-mun knew nothing of this.
SIM JONG-SU
That must be why he took leave.
To make a move.
What's that cut on your face?
Was that...
from Kang Chae-yun, the royal guard?
Of course not.
There was a small mishap while dealing with Jang Seong-su.
Kang Chae-yun...
Did you ask for me?
Go to Hamgil-do and look for Master Yi Bang-ji.
Do you understand?
Yes, sir.
What? So, you told him everything?
Yes. I am so sorry, Master.
Kang Chae-yun of the Royal Guard?
I thought it would be this as soon as I saw the body.
This is a pressure point connected to the brain.
If you apply pressure to this point, the brain will be severely damaged.
The killer didn't stop there.
His body stiffened with his head leaned forward.
He was poisoned by poison nut.
Poison nut?
It's the deadliest poison of all.
Who are you?
What's up with this guy? He's so bad at this.
You're poking me.
The second I unsheathe my sword...
Oh, dear...
Gosh, the sun's in my eye.
Oh, that tickles.
I can barely see.
You'd better tell me everything you found out in the investigation.
How much do you know?
Wait, you look...
rather familiar to me.
Tell me everything you know about Jang Seong-su's death.
Please don't kill me.
I don't know anything.
Some random fool... What was it...
-I don't know who did it or why. -Don't lie.
Do you really not know anything?
What is this?
Your hands...
You took my case log from me.
You stole a body, so that's nothing.
Why did you take the body?
To check something?
Or to hide something?
I have no reason to tell you.
You took the body at such an interesting time.
It happened right after I said I'd check the bodies
of all scholars at the Hall of Worthies.
What are you doing?
Here it is.
Huh Dam,
Yoon Pil,
and Jang Seong-su.
I found this on the dead scholars' bodies.
What is this?
Do you think I'd tell you?
Even if you kill me...
What's this?
"Gun, na, mi, yok."
What does that mean?
I think it means, "Why does the king try to become Maitreya?"
I know that much.
But the grammar is incorrect.
"Gun, na, yok, wi, mi." That is the correct phrase.
Now find out what that means.
Why should I do that?
I can think of three reasons.
First, that's a clue that Scholar Yoon Pil left before his death.
Second,
if you find that out,
I'll give you this.
Scholar Jang Seong-su died while trying to pass this on to someone.
Why did you keep such important evidence without reporting it?
Then why did you do all this
without reporting it?
How does that sound?
So,
you want to swap the secret of this phrase and that book?
Is that it?
I'll do it.
You go ahead.
So,
what is the third reason?
Whatever that phrase means and whatever order you received,
one thing's for sure.
You and I share a goal.
We want to unravel the secret.
Is that not true?
Chae-yun.
The court lady went to Samgaksan Mountain.
Samgaksan Mountain?
Yes. She walked like this as if she was looking for something.
She's looking for something?
Yes.
"Gun, na, mi, yok."
Father. Are you--
Leave immediately.
Prepare for a Royal Lecture.
Right now.
JO MAL-SAENG, MINISTER
His Majesty has...
decided to make a move at last.
Today's agenda is...
the tax laws.
The tax laws, Your Majesty?
Three scholars died in the palace.
The strange incidents are just one of many current issues.
Those in charge will deal with it.
We cannot postpone dealing with politics.
The officials of each region visit the fields in their jurisdiction
and decide how much to tax depending on the annual harvest.
The practice was decided upon by the previous King.
Regarding those local officials...
They say a good year was bad and a bad year was good
to steal from the people.
That never stops.
They collude with landowners
and even with the officials from the central government.
But Your Majesty, we reached a conclusion 13 years ago.
That is right. Thirteen years ago,
we even did a poll, just as you wished.
Despite the ministers' disapproval,
we carried out a poll that 180,000 farmers participated in.
Those who live and farm on barren and rough land objected,
and your idea was rejected.
About that rejection...
I did some research on that.
Inform them.
Yes, Your Majesty.
YI SUN-JI
Fifty-three men from Hoengseong in Gangwon-do...
NO
...stated that they drew this because they were told to.
None of them had heard of the public law.
The town leader of Gokju in Hwanghae-do
was accused of involving children under seven in the poll.
So this poll--
Your Majesty. Will you carry out another opinion poll?
This opinion poll will not be carried out by the local officials.
I, myself, will select officials to send out.
The Hall of Worthies will carry out this process,
and the person in charge
is Second Counselor Nam Sa-cheol.
NAM SA-CHEOL, SECOND COUNSELOR
Your Majesty, why are you upsetting the ministers at a time like this?
Your Majesty.
When we conducted the poll 13 years ago,
the officials were given one more task.
While asking for the public's opinion, they studied the local dialects.
Everyone believes it was for a geography book on the provinces.
That was not all.
Pardon?
Then...
When do you think the sounds you're studying were collected?
Yes.
It was then, 13 years ago.
I will not stop our work
because of them.
My lord, will you let this happen?
We must see to it that His Majesty
no longer brings up the tax laws again.
It's not just a problem right now.
This could decide whether or not we, ministers, will have power later on.
How dare you?
What are you saying?
Chief State Councillor.
He has a point.
We cannot reform the tax laws.
HALL OF WORTHIES
What must I do now?
Didn't the King tip you off ahead of time?
What do you mean?
This is the first I heard of it myself.
-Is that so? -Yes.
Considering what His Majesty is like, he must want me to start it tomorrow.
He would.
It must be wrapped up soon.
However...
May I ask
if you have some other intentions?
What do you mean?
Reforming the tax laws is for a greater good,
so is using the opinion poll to finish our work.
I explained both the official and hidden reasons,
so why do you doubt my intention?
Tax law reformation was the topic the ministers objected to most strongly.
-So? -Could it be
that you are ruffling their feathers to see who is against you?
My apologies. I upset you with my shallow opinion.
Do not try to read my thoughts.
Yes, Father.
I called you both.
Where is So-i?
Still?
Yes. She's searching the mountain on her own.
What will you do now?
-This. -So...
What about that?
This is what that court lady named So-i was supposed to get from Counselor Jang.
This is what she's looking for.
So what?
What'll happen when she gets her hands on it?
That's what we must find out.
You're saying we can find out if she's on the King's side or the killer's, right?
No?
Now you're beginning to think.
You animal.
Well done.
What is it?
Right after the Royal Lecture,
His Majesty ordered I check on everyone of senior third rank and above.
His Majesty has never ordered me something like this since I started serving him.
Then...
is the third reason really...
Pardon? What third reason?
There's another reason for the tax law reformation.
He wants to record sounds and finish our project.
Yes, I'm aware of that.
But is there a third reason?
You served King Taejong.
Do you not see it?
It can't be...
It won't be that.
His Majesty is stronger than anyone.
He is wiser than anyone.
He must be.
What is she looking for?
Now we just have to see where she takes that bundle.
Look. What's she doing?
Your Majesty.
Palace Guard Jeong Deuk-ryong is here.
Let him in.
Your Majesty. Members of the State Council gathered at Yeonwoljeong.
Officials from the Office of Censor General
are discussing the issue, led by Kim Cheo-lim.
The Deputy Minister of Ministry of Personnel
secretly sent men to all the provincial offices.
What do you mean?
Break down the Confucian scholars?
I tried very hard to shake this thought,
but I believe His Majesty thinks little of Neo-Confucianism.
However, no one studied Neo-Confucianism as deeply as His Majesty.
Even so, despite widespread objection,
he built a Buddhist shrine in the palace.
And the scholars of the Hall of Worthies have been studying
history, astronomy, math, literature over the Classics lately.
He's stuffing young scholars' minds with trivial knowledge.
That is true.
There is no way to stop him.
It would be a reach to say he belittles Neo-Confucianism just because of that.
Who would take the strongest hit when the tax laws are reformed?
That would be...
the Scholar-officials in the Royal Court...
No...
Yes. The Confucian scholars in local governments.
Of the scholar-officials who helped establish Joseon,
some remained in the Royal Court
and the rest went to rural areas and formed local governments.
Their dream was to spread Neo-Confucianism throughout Joseon.
So Scholar Hyegang
spent his own wealth to build a library and school in his village.
He is trying to realize his dream of establishing a Confucian Academy.
Is that so?
Yes.
If we no longer tax the farmers depending on the annual harvest,
how would the scholars maintain a stable income?
Disallowing the landowners and officials from being involved in the process
means that the scholar-officials will not be allowed to lead the people.
That means...
Neo-Confucianism will lose
its power in Joseon.
Your Majesty.
Aren't they old petitions?
Why are you reading them again?
There were so many objections
to my work in the past.
Your Majesty, I ask that you don't worry yourself.
What's important now is that we identify Secret Roots.
That is why I am reading this.
Your Majesty.
Those who object to you are not in Secret Roots.
It would be one of them.
Your Majesty. You must stay strong.
What did I do so wrong?
I only wanted to make Joseon stronger.
But even now, my subjects are gathering
to discuss ways to disobey me.
That's right.
If I think about it, it has always been like this.
When I said I'd make a calendar to replace the Ming Dynasty's,
when I sent men to the Ming Dynasty in secret to make astronomy tools,
when I did the polls for tax reform,
and when I wanted to give Jang Yeong-sil a title.
"We cannot go against the Ming Dynasty.
It's a waste of our funds.
You will disrupt public order."
What a load of bullshit.
What they want is to remain rich and powerful.
And they use law, order, and peace as their excuse.
When did Confucius say we can't make our own calendar?
When did Mencius say I can't listen to my own people?
I just wanted to make Joseon strong.
What the hell did I do so wrong?
HALL OF WORTHIES
The Hall of Worthies.
What are you going to do with that kind of institution?
You are a mess.
Secret Roots does exist.
Father was right.
Secret Roots is killing my men.
Power comes with poison.
If you don't let the poison out,
it rots from the inside.
So?
You said you would hide the poison that comes with power.
You said you would govern with words, not swords.
Your stupid and arrogant decision brought this upon us.
You killed the innocent.
You killed my men.
It was you, not me.
It was you who killed them!
Then...
it's not too late.
Go to Yi Bang-won's grave.
Shed tears
and apologize.
You lunatic. How dare you?
Why is Yi Bang-won Yi Bang-won?
Why is Yi Do Yi Do?
You are so pathetic that you can never surpass your father.
Stop it.
Stop it. Stop.
I said stop!
Stop it!
Stop.
Stop...
The Autopsy Office?
Why is she going there?
What is it?
What is what?
What's this?
I meant to take it to the Royal Academy.
That court lady named So-i...
Why was she here at night?
She comes here sometimes.
What for?
For that over there.
She came for some ziziphus seed and snowbell.
Ziziphus seed and snowbell?
Ziziphus seed is a stimulant, and snowbell is a sedative.
No.
Roasted ziziphus seed helps you fall asleep.
She has insomnia.
That's why she takes it.
And the snowbell?
There are times when she can't sleep for three or four days, so...
Even so, she takes medicinal herbs that will knock herself out?
Yes.
She has a very serious insomnia.
It's not insomnia.
She's just lazy.
Why can't you sleep if you work hard all day?
The early bird gets more insects.
It's not insomnia.
What? How do you know that?
I once took those herbs too.
Wait for me.
Don't take it.
Roasted ziziphus seed helps you sleep,
but taken raw, it keeps you up.
Snowbell is a sedative.
It makes you sleep so deeply, so it's often used in committing crimes.
Should I stay away from royal affairs?
Right.
It's none of my business.
Are you...
afraid of being asleep?
What happened to you
that you're afraid to sleep?
You take ziziphus seed to keep you awake
then take snowbell to sleep like the dead.
That won't last long.
Find another way.
How do you know that?
I asked how you know that!
I was once...
like her.
Why did you
take something
that could harm you?
To save me,
my father died.
Then I started taking those.
Did you miss
your father that much?
No.
I was afraid.
To me,
my father was my everything.
But then...
I was suddenly all alone.
That scared me.
On a day that seemed like any other,
I lost an innocent father
in a world that gave him no thought.
That scared me.
Whenever I fell asleep,
my father appeared, looking so gruesome.
He demanded a reason.
He asked me why he had to die.
He pleaded.
How were you cured?
Once I decided...
to get revenge against the man who killed my father,
I was able to stop taking them.
Your Majesty.
After you made that decision,
were your body and mind
put at peace?
No.
Plotting for revenge physically exhausted me,
and having to risk everything on it
taxed my mind.
Then why are you going down that path?
Why is a decision a decision?
Me without a will
is no longer me.
Why is Yi Bang-won Yi Bang-won?
Why is Yi Do Yi Do?
"Me without a will
is no longer me."
That's how desperate I was.
That's how furious I was.
That's how...
righteous...
I felt.
You were that desperate,
furious,
and righteous?
Your decision was all that?
Yes.
That was how determined
the little slave boy Ttolbok was.
You keep walking down your path.
I will keep walking down mine.
Subtitle translation by You-jin Lim