Episode 4

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

Song Sa-hui tells Goo Hae-ryung that she can take care of herself. Min Yoo-won proposes to teach the recruits after they're browbeaten by ladies-in-waiting.

## Plot Summary

After catching Goo Hae-ryung at *Nokseodang*, Prince Dowon scolds Hae-ryung for wandering around. He asks her to apologise to him, both for the Fake Maewha incident, and for standing him up the night prior. However, she explains that she never received a letter, and thus cannot accept the blame.

Eunuch Heo Sam-bo comes across the two, but conceals the fact that Maewha is Prince Dowon. He escorts Goo Hae-ryung out of *Nokseodang*, claiming to the prince that protecting his identity is the safest idea.

The historians are struggling to recover from their night of drinking. Officer Hyun admits that he had ordered the palace guard to stop Goo Hae-ryung from entering, but she appears anyway. She is sent to clean the library with the other apprentices. In private, Sa-hui tells Hae-ryung that she doesn’t need or want her help.

The four apprentices are taken to the Queen Dowager, where they are welcomed kindly and encouraged to work well. However, Court Lady Choe and other ladies of the Inner Palace herd the apprentices into a courtyard, threatening them severely about their behaviour.

> **Lady Choe**: If you run your mouth senselessly, I will sear it. If you steal anything, I shall cut your hands off. And if you lose your chastity, you will be beheaded. You mustn’t remember anything you see or hear. Here, you are deaf, blind, and mindless…All you have to do is follow orders.
>
>

Goo Hae-ryung answers back defiantly, saying that, as historians, the conduct of the Inner Palace does not apply to them.

In time, Officer Yang and Officer Min Woo-won arrive with the historians, defending the apprentices. Officer Yang proceeds to scold the apprentices for being called away by the Queen Dowager, as there are proper protocols for summoning them.

Apprentice Heo Ah-ran snaps, yelling that they have only been treated as clerks not government officials, opening the way for Lady Choe to treat them badly. They have not been taught how to become proper historians. She storms off, with the apprentices in tow.

In the aftermath, Officer Min Woo-won volunteers to train the apprentices himself.

Elsewhere, armed men storm a small village. The occupants run out and are quickly killed, with one man slayed right after burning copies of *The Story of Ho Dam*.

Second State Councillor Min Ik-pyeong suspects that the plans concerning the *Ho Dam* novel are too sophisticated for only the Queen Dowager’s handling, and believes that there must be someone else outside of the palace working on the Queen’s orders. Goo Jae-gyeong is tasked to find that person.

Goo Hae-ryung is summoned to *Nokseodang*. Prince Dowon, masquerading as a eunuch, orders Goo Hae-ryung to complete several chores to earn forgiveness. She follows the orders but protests when the prince tells her to come back the next day.

A masked figure stands amongst the bodies of the village slaughter, finding on man alive. She stitches his wounds. Later on, Heo Sam-bo happily greets the woman, now dressed elegantly, and offering her a place to stay. She enters a room and opens a box, revealing the *Ho Dam and Yeongan* tombstone from Episode 3.

The apprentices are tutored about hierarchy so they know their place. It goes as follows:

-         The eight historians are called the *Hanrim*

-         They ordered by ranks, and within ranks, by seniority (how long they have been working)

-         First rank: Historian Yang Si-haeng, with First Historian Min Woo-won next

-         Second historians are Son Gil-seung, followed by Hyeon Gyeong-muk

-         Third rank: Hwang Jang-goon, Seong Seo-Kwon, An Hong-ik, Kim Chi-guk.

-         Kim Chi-guk has little seniority over the apprentices, as the women are older than he

The apprentices are taken to their first royal meeting. Crown Prince Jin is informed of a flood and landslide in the mountains, but the advisors are adamant in punishing the victims as they are mostly tax evaders.

> **Crown Prince Jin:** Asking a wealthy man to pay a portion of his wealth and asking a poor man to pay a portion of his wealth are different to the core. The people standing here own most of the wealth in this country. But you are busy trying to shift the responsibility to the poor and asking them to give more than what they own. That is why our people leave their homes and choose to live in the mountains. You think they show no loyalty to this country? Even if they turn their backs on this country, I will not turn my back on them. That is what a country should do. That is what a king should do.
>
>

However, the King arrives and kicks the prince out of the meeting.

The apprentices complain about what transpired. Officer Min Woo-won rebukes Hae-ryung, stating that, as a historian, her opinions should stay out of her records. At the Office, the historians criticize the writings and recordings of the apprentices, calling them barely legible. They are given a *Record of Appearance* to help them recognise the royal advisors.

Crown Prince Jin retreats to *Nokseodang* for a quick rest, but is informed that a village has been decimated for being suspected of printing *The Story of Ho Dam*. Furthermore, there is one survivor who had been saved by a strange medical practice.

Prince Dowon interrupts when he recognises the name *Ho Dam.* Meanwhile, Min Ik-pyeong orders that the lone survivor be dispatched for good – he had ordered the slaughter in the first place.

The apprentices are called to record the autopsies of the murdered men at the Royal Investigation Bureau. When Apprentice Goo Hae-ryung hears of the stitches used to save one of the men’s lives, she begs to see him, but is refused.

Prince Dowon goes to visit the survivor, but he has already been killed by Ik-pyeong’s henchman. The prince follows the suspicious man out of the palace, while Goo Hae-ryung pretends to have forgotten her *sachaek* so she can return to the bureau.

However, she sees Prince Dowon at swordpoint. He reveals himself to be Prince Dowon. Goo Hae-ryung overhears.

## 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