Dowager Plays Puppet Master
Physician Kwon and Hwa-Ryeong are face to face once more, and Kwon points out that revenge was never in his mind to begin with. He simply wanted to find out what happened to his brother.
Unfortunately, he used the Crown Prince as a test subject, knowing he was suffering from Hyeolheogwol and believing it was destiny to Uuse him as a test subject.
Kwon fed him gansu and pierced his organs with the acupuncture, speaking nonchalantly about the whole affair. Kwon is bitter and retorts back against Hwa-Ryeong’s shouting, telling her that four of his mother’s children died. “You will never understand the excruciating pain.” He says.
Kwon has not finished though and wants to turn everything to ash around him, telling Hwa-Ryeong this is not over.
Just before the soldiers arrive to arrest him, Kwon rushes out the back. Unfortunately, the guards lose Kwon who manages to get away. The King orders for them to find the Deposed Queen too, but Yoon is not at her house. It turns out that Kwon is actually at Prince Uiseong’s house, hiding.
He wants to find the autopsy report of the King so that he can show it to the world and undermine his authority.
The King has ordered for Kwon to be killed because he wants to find the report himself.
When Hwa-Ryeong finds out, she realizes that the King’s secret is about to be exposed and that Queen Dowager will want him dead when she finds out. As a result, Hwa-Ryeong tells Dowager what’s happening with Yoon and how she was deceived by Physician Kwon, who is actually Ik-Hyeon. ..
Hwa-Ryeong reveals that she has the autopsy report of Crown Prince Taein to the Dowager, much to the surprise of everyone. The reason for this is that she wants to find Kwon before the King DOES. If she can bring him to her alive, then she’ll hand over the autopsy report.
However, trouble is brewing in the palace as the Crown Princess falls ill. Her pulse is slow and smooth. When the physician checks her over, it would appear that she’s actually pregnant! Hwa-Ryeong congratulates her son and encourages Seongnam to stay by Cheong-Ha’s side. ..
When Cheong-Ha awakens at night, she’s shocked to learn that she’s pregnant and is immediately taken aback. While asleep that night, Seongnam checks on his partner and notices her journal. Reading it, he realizes Cheong-Ha is actually true of heart and it softens his feelings considerably.
Dowager learns about the pregnancy and decides not to jump on the chance to find her son, but instead works with Cheong-Ha to get him back.
Dowager is pregnant but Cheong-Ha has paid off the physician to make it seem like she’s not. He claims (in front of Hwa-Ryeong and Dowager) that Cheong-Ha’s irregular pulse is concealing her heart disease that she’s suffered from for a while. Since it’s nothing serious though, Hwa-Ryeong decides to treat this herself.
The Dowager Princess has a cunning plan to get the Crown Prince to hand over the autopsy report on her son. She moves to depose him, but agrees to overlook all of this if Hwa-Ryeong will hand over the report. This is something that sees her back on the front foot again.
After much deliberation, Hwa-Ryeong decides to hand over her crown to her younger sister, Crown Princess Yeo-Ri. She is unwilling to lose another Crown Princess, but she has a copy of the autopsy report that she keeps hidden for now.
The race is on to find Physician Kwon, and with the Dowager using the Chief State Councilor to her will, threatening him with faked evidence, Hwa-Ryeong asks Yoon for help in finding Ik-Hyeon first. Ik-Hyeon has already been found. The Councilor gets there first but finds himself up at knife-point after letting his guard down. ..
Kwon takes the scholar away from the others and proceeds to stab him, killing the old man in cold blood. Kwon’s not done yet though, and he has his sights set on his next target – the Queen Dowager.
Dowager Queen Jeongsun is nearing the end of her life, and she wastes no time in heading straight for her daughter’s chambers. Kwon, the Crown Prince, is not happy about this and points out all of the deaths that he has had to endure and how he has been chasing shadows. However, Dowager Queen Jeongsun isn’t sitting in her usual spot. Kwon is surrounded on all sides by Consort Hwang, Dowager Queen Jeongsun’s court lady and a whole rabble of guards outside the door. He has fallen right into the trap. ..
As Kwon confronts Consort Hwang, Uiseong comes storming in and stabs Kwon. However, as he bleeds out, Kwon reaches out to Uiseong and tells him that he’s actually his son and his wish is for him to ascend the throne. Of course, this was Dowager’s plan all along, and after feeding lies to Uiseong, made him kill his own father. Uiseong drops the sword to the floor and stands in stunned shock.
The Episode Review
The Dowager is one manipulative, evil woman who has to die. She plotted for an entire family to take themselves down – and at their own hands!
It appears that she is also on the verge of getting rid of the Crown Princess and Seongnam. It wouldn’t surprise me if we find out she is trying to give Cheong-Ha a miscarriage with that medicine, but we’ll have to wait and see. ..
The drama between Seongnam and Cheong-Ha is okay but the scenes of them together feel a bit slow now, especially as the rest of the chapter moves quickly. ..
With the Chief State Councilor and Kwon both dead, big questions remain about what will happen next. Roll on tomorrow’s finale!
