Episode 7

Park Ki-woong

Lee Ji-hoon

Park Ji-hyun

Choi Deok-moon

Kim Min-sang

Gong Jung-hwan

Kim Yeo-jin

Sung Ji-ru

## Episode Synopsis

The king dispatchewhen advisors raise concerns about an epidemic. Hae-ryung volunteers to go and sees someone she knows.

## Plot Summary

A visibly ill couple and their child are chased to the edge of the cliff. Cornered, they clutch each other protectively as an armed guard violently readies for a fatal blow.

In a meeting, the royals are informed of a smallpox pandemic in the Pyongan region. Second State Councillor Min Ik-pyeong suggests that the scale of the illness is too large for the people to be appeased by a royal letter, and asks that the royal family sends a *wimusa* – a representative sent to an area to pacify the people.

As expected, the officials are afraid to send their Crown Prince and King to a region of sickness, but Crown Prince Jin volunteers anyway, to his father’s disapproval.

The King leaves the meeting for *Nokseodang*, which explains the end of Episode 6. Goo Hae-ryung and Eunuch Heo Sam-bo leave the room. The King asks Prince Dowon to be the *wimusa* and dispatches him to Pyongyang, but Heo Sam-bo protests, afraid for the prince’s health.

Prince Dowon calmly accepts, determined to impress the King, and does not complain.

The historians debate who should accompany the prince to Pyongyang – each of them refuse to go for various reasons. Goo Hae-ryung volunteers, claiming that she has had smallpox previously.

The Queen Dowager confronts the King about sending Prince Dowon to Pyongyang. She barely conceals her anger, revealing that the prince is not the King’s son. She warns him that the prince better return healthy and without a scratch before leaving. She tells her Lady Choe to send Mo-wha to Pyongyang to protect Dowon, but this order is overheard by Song Sa-hui.

Prince Dowon seems happy to be tasked with such a big responsibility as he talks with Crown Prince Jin, who is worried for his welfare. In a meeting with other officials, Min Ik-pyeong divulges that sending Prince Dowon as a *wimusa* had been his plan all along. Later on, Song Sa-hui informs him that the Queen Dowager has dispatched Mo-wha to Pyongyang too.

Goo Hae-ryung packs, with Seol-geum trying to hinder her efforts – the caretaker clearly worried since Hae-ryung has never actually suffered from smallpox. However, Goo Jae-gyong does not stop her.

The Prince is sent off to Pyongyang the next day. During a rest stop, he notices Officer Min Woo-won hand Goo Hae-ryung a bowl of water, and watches on jealously as the two banter.

Song Sa-hui arrives home and notices that her father is hoarding mung beans, surmising correctly that her father is stocking up on smallpox preventatives so that he will be able to sell them for high profits once news reaches Hanyang and the panic starts. She asks him to donate the goods to the government office for use, but he refuses. They argue over morals and wealth.

> **Song Sa-hui:** *All the assets and money that Yi Dun hid in his storage are all gone now, yet people are still moved by the story of Fan Zhongyan sharing barley with his friend. […] Choose moral influence that will go down in history over your selfish greed.*
>
>

Prince Dowon arrives in Hwanghae and is welcomed by two governors – Yun Dae-eup, and Jang Seok-hyeong of Pyongan. After a shaky start in which Heo Sam-bo advises the prince on what to do, they are updated on the situation in Pyongan. The news seems to be optimistic.

The governors attempt to flatter Officer Min Woo-won so he can pass on a good word to his father, but instead he questions why Pyongan’s governor is in Hwanghae, rather than with his own people. The governor brushes off the question.

Prince Dowon invites Goo Hae-ryung to the beach, excited to see the sea for the first time, while evading Heo Sam-bo. She initially turns to leave, explaining that she is tired from walking for two days while he got to ride a horse, but is convinced to stay when she realises that he had been looking forward to spending his first time at the beach with her.

They walk on sand and wet their feet, talking about foreign places they’d like to visit. As they return, she meets Lee Seung-hoon, the man she had been about to marry in Episode 2. They are happy to see each other well, and Lee Seung-hoon congratulates Hae-ryung about becoming a historian while she thanks him for his sacrifice on their wedding day. When asked as to why he is in Haeju, he reveals to Prince Dowon that he had to meet him and tell him the truth.

The situation in Pyongan is worse than reported – with more casualties and dire consequences. He begs the prince not to believe the lies from the governors, as Jang Seok-hyeong had abandoned Pyongan when the pandemic worsened. Prince Dowon is clearly appalled by the news as Lee Seung-hoon asks for his help.

Goo Hae-ryung and the prince coincidentally meet at the stables and both sneak out to head for Pyongan to see the situations for themselves. They find the main roads blocked by guards and decide to head there on foot. They meet merchants who had used the pandemic to gain profits by selling food to desperate civilians at high prices.

They also come across the small-pox riddled woman and her daughter from the beginning of the episode (her husband has been killed). The woman asks them to take her daughter to safety, and while Prince Dowon wishes to do so, Goo Hae-ryung reasons that the girl may bring smallpox to a healthy area. Hae-ryung leaves them food and medicine and hopes that they will be okay.

They return to Haeju, where the governors are impatiently demanding for Prince Dowon’s presence at a ritual to combat smallpox. The prince arrives, incensed, and cancels the ritual. He gets the governors to admit that they have lied to him about how desperate the situation actually is in Pyongan, and furthermore, that they have kept the food and medicine destined for the needy in the villages instead of distributing them.

The governors beg Officer Min to contact Min Ik-pyeong and help them out, but he instead records their insubordination.

Records of the events in Hwanghae reach the Office of Royal Decrees. Extremely tense, Crown Prince Jin shoots arrows until he cuts his finger. Song Sa-hui bandages it, prompting him to tell her that she is out of line.

Min Ik-pyeong asks Goo Jae-gyong whether he knew that Mo-wha is still alive. Goo Jae-gyeong tells him that Mo-wha is in Pyongan.

The Prince and his entourage arrive in Pyongan – he determinedly walks through the quarantine barriers to witness the devastation of the village. However, the group hear the sound of children’s laughter, and find a physician inoculating a child with smallpox pus. Dowon orders her to stop. She removes her mask – it is Mo-wha.

## Starring

### Main cast:

* Shin Se-kyung as Goo Hae-ryung
* Cha Eun-woo as Prince Dowon
* Park Ki-woong as Crown Prince Yi Jin
* Lee Ji-hoon as Min Woo-won
* Gong Jung-hwan as Goo Jae-gyeong
* Kim Min-sang as King Hamyeong Yi Tae
* Choi Deok-moon as Min Ik-pyeong

### Recurring:

* Kim Yeo-jin as Queen Dowager Yim
* Heo Jeong-do as Officer Yang Si-haeng
* Kang Hoon as Officer Hyeon Kyeong-mook
* Nam Tae-woo as Officer Son Gil-seung
* Yoon Jung-sub as Officer Hwang Jang-goon
* Ji Gun-woo as Officer Seong Seo-kwon
* Oh Hee-joon as Officer Ahn Hong-ik
* Lee Jung-ha as Officer Kim Chi-gook
* Park Ji-hyun as Apprentice Song Sa-hee
* Lee Ye-rim as Apprentice Oh Eun-im
* Jang Yoo-bin as Apprentica Heo Ah-ran
* Jeon Ik-ryung as Mo-hwa
* Sung Ji-ru as Heo Sam-bo
* Yang Jo-a as Seol-geum
* Lee Kwan-hoon as Gak-soi
* Ryoo Tae-ho as Song Jae-cheon
* Kim Yong-woon as Gwi Jae