A Shocking Secret
Shin is incredulous as she realizes that Cho-Wol has come to take her baby with him. She can’t believe that he would do something like this, especially after all the trouble they’ve been through. She’s also worried about what the future holds for them both. Will Cho-Wol be able to keep the baby safe? Or will he end up taking her away from them altogether?
When Hwa-Ryeong shows her son the baby, he falls to his knees and begs her to find Cho-Wol. Muan also suggests he take care of the child while she’s gone, but Hwa-Ryeong is quick to point out how damaging this will be. However, she promises to be there for the child, and after handing her over, Hwa-Ryeong and Court Lady Shin leave. ..
Muan is left with the crying baby and a taste of just how difficult it is to be a parent. Make friends with coffee, it’ll serve you well during this difficult time! ..
Meanwhile, in Seongnam, the Minister of War is feeling uneasy in the presence of Cheon-Ha. He believes she has been compromised by the Queen Dowager and that it’s only a matter of time before she stabs him in the back. Given that she’s the Minister of War, he concludes that his absence is due to bedroom problems and not from any military duties.
After Seongnam leaves the night before, she is concerned about her husband’s return. She tells her friend, Cheong-Ha, that she doesn’t want to consummate the marriage because she is not sure if he really came back quickly. Cheong-Ha covers for her husband and claims he came back quickly.
Cheong-Ha approaches Hwa-Ryeong, who is having problems with her bedroom with Seongnam. The two have a funny chat and eventually Muan comes in and asks for help with raising his baby. Hwa-Ryeong reluctantly takes the child and Muan leaves for a bathroom break. When he comes back, he finds Hwa-Ryeong has put the baby to sleep perfectly. ..
Meanwhile, officials and scholars debate whether to work with the new Crown Prince to reform and fix issues in Uichang. Although they allow him to be part of this, the Chief State Councilor throws out a tough ultimatum - if Seongnam is unsuccessful in his endeavour, he will not be allowed to get involved in political matters again. ..
Seongnam finds a missing page from the medical records of the previous Crown Prince, which confirms that Physician Kwon didn’t just treat him for his health issues. ..
In the wake of this, Hwa-Ryeong also puts Seongnam’s mind at ease, telling him that Cheong-Ha is not wed to him for malicious reasons, she genuinely wants to be with him and there’s no ulterior motive going on with the Crown Princess.
Anyway, Hwa-Ryeong takes the document and checks the journal, where it confirms that Crown Prince had a lot of acupuncture done during his recovery. If you’ll remember, Seongnam was told that acupuncture can be deadly for the Prince in his condition. It seems the coughing up of blood was not from the experimental treatment but almost directly related to the acupunture. Could it be that Kwon ruptured an organ while performing this act? It certainly seems that way! ..
Hwa-Ryeong decides to bring Kwon back to the palace in order to find out what poison he used against the Crown Prince.
Hwa-Ryeong, a researcher at the Royal Clinic, is handed a prescription written by Royal Physician Yoo at the time. Now, her mother also suffered from hyeolheogwol, just like the Crown Prince, and as such, took it with her when she left the Royal Clinic. Using this against the prescription for the Crown Prince, Hwa-Ryeong starts to realize the connection. ..
While all this is going on, Uiseong continues to plot for the throne, working with the Chief State Councilor to usurp the current King. He’s dead-set on making it no matter what, while Muan and the other Princes deliberate over what to call their new niece. Eventually, they decide on the name A-Ra.
Cho-Wol is already in the palace! Muan is worried that A-Ra is sick, but in truth she appears to have colic. That would explain her big bouts of crying for seemingly no reason. Muan blames himself, bemoaning how he’s incompetent. He also wants Cho-Wol to help him raise this babe, believing A-Ra should have her mother. Muan is ready to face the consequences this could have on his birthright – and the future of his child – and Hwa-Ryeong allows it. The thing is, Cho-Wol is actually already in the palace!
Cho-Wol listens attentively as Hwa-Ryeong tells him about her past, including how she abandoned a baby as a child and how she’s tried to make things right. Cho-Wol asks her about the baby, and Hwa-Ryeong reveals that she actually abandoned it as a child. She regrets it ever since and has been trying to set things right ever since.
Meanwhile, Seongnam takes the bokgeomsihyeongdo (a sketched autopsy report of the state of a dead body) to Master Toji and he immediately sees similarities to Crown Prince Taein, who was poisoned. Taein had a similar scar on his chest and he’s certain the man was poisoned. That would mean that Taein and the previous Crown Prince were both poisoned. Now, given Master Toji is actually Physician Yoo, Seongnam believes they can try and catch him off-guard by finding the record of death in Seungjeongwon. However, infiltrating this area is against the law so it’s a precarious situation. ..
Queen Dowager Yoo tries to encourage Consort Hwang to drink pine-needle tea, but the latter is clever and realizes that she’s being played. She smashes the cup and immediately accuses Hwang of attempting to poison her. Dowager speaks plainly to Hwang and demands to know who Uiseong’s true father is. ..
As the episode ends, Physician Kwon heads back to see his mother who happens to be deposed Queen Yoon!
The Episode Review
The big shocker at the end of this story confirms that Kwon is Queen Yoon’s son and even more so that he’s actually Uiseong’s father. The ramifications of this seem to confirm that Uiseong is actually the legitimate heir for the previous throne.
That is a major twist and it will have far-reaching consequences for the remaining episodes in this series. ..
This week’s chapter of Under the Queen’s Umbrella focuses on Muan and his babe, Hwa-Ryeong. It’s good to see the virtues Hwa-Ryeong has being instilled on her sons and each of them have their own roles to play in this drama, to great effect.
Hwa-Ryeong is a flawed parent, but she’s an inspiration to all of her children.
The future of the company is uncertain, but everyone is working hard to make it work.
