Episode 3

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

Goo Hae-ryung sits for the examination and contends with Yi Jin's questions about her point of view. Yi Rim tries to find the woman impersonating Maewha.

## Plot Summary

Goo Hae-ryung prepares for the civil servant's exam.

In a flashback, Goo Hae-ryung notices a royal banner asking for female historians. She visits her groom, Lee Seung-hoon, and asks him to call off the wedding as it would be more acceptable for the man to do so. Her groom is understanding, but asks if she is willing to accept the social consequences of her decision.

The next morning, Lee Seung-hoon calls off the wedding and Goo Hae-ryung leaves, bringing the events to current time.

Eunuch Heo Sam-bo manages to stop Prince Dowon from sneaking out to attend the exam.

The exam topic is revealed – *Our ancestors believed that solar eclipses are heaven’s way of chastising kings for their shortcoming sand wrongdoings. So they tried to right their wrongs, but heaven’s wrath continues to this day. What must a king do to prevent solar eclipses?*

Goo Hae-ryung believes the topic to be ‘wrong’, and spends most of the exam deliberating.

Seol-geum is scolded by Goo Jae-gyeong, and she asks for forgiveness, explaining that she thought this outcome would be best for Hae-ryung.

The historians deliberate the various answers, finding one answer to be brazen and impertinent. Crown Prince Jin enters to deliver his own verdict. He asks Officer Min Woo-won for what he believes to be the best answer, and the historian chooses Goo Hae-ryung’s “insolent” exam paper.

The results for the exam are revealed, with Goo Hae-ryung’s name on a list for a meeting at *Dongungjeon* (the Prince’s quarters). In her interview with Crown Prince Jin, she answers all of his questions correctly. However, his questions all pertain to historical instances where advisors to kings have been executed for harsh and brazen advice. Crown Prince Jin seems to admonish her for her exam paper, asking her if she thinks he is wrong. Goo Hae-ryung says that he is.

> **Prince Jin:** Thinking about things like books and celestial bodies is a luxury to them. Do you realise that? Even learning and realising things is a privilege that only people like us can enjoy. Are you aware of that? The royal court holds the ritual to give people peace of mind, there is no other reason. […] That is why we bow to the sky and play our instruments. Therefore, the topic of the exam and your answer were both wrong.
>
>

The names of the successful are announced – Oh Eun-im, Heo A-ran, Goo Hae-ryung, and Song Sa-hui.

At night, a figure in dark clothing infiltrates the quarters of the Third Inspector of the Inspector General Office, leaving behind an accusation of false wages, embezzlement, and excuses. He is fired, and the ministers are tasked to find a replacement.

Crown Prince Jin thanks Prince Dowon at *Nokseodang* for his help, allowing him to spend time at another royal quarters in Onyang. Prince Dowon and Heo Sam-bo happily depart, but first stop by the bookstore to confront Bookkeeper Kim about the fake Maewha, and they learn Hae-ryung’s name.

Prince Dowon arrives at the Onyang villa and finds a tombstone. The inscription reads, *Ho Dam and Yeongan. This is where the path was made.*

He later has a vision of himself lying on the ground, injured from a stab wound. He hears the name *Ho Dam*. Spooked, he hurries back to the tombstone but cannot find it – Heo Sam-bo tries to convince him that he is tired.

Goo Hae-ryung meets her fellow colleagues on her first day – Heo A-ran and Oh Eun-im. They are treated derisively, but Song Sa-hui is treated with respect. She explains that her father is a wealthy, important figure.

The four come across a few historians who give them false directions to the Office of Royal Decrees. Thus, they arrive late. They are labelled ‘clerks’, and given low-level tasks, such as fetching drinking water and cleaning. Goo Hae-ryung arrives home, exhausted, but tells Seol-geum that she will not leave her job.

Prince Dowon and Heo Sam-bo travel back to Hanyang, and Sam-bo tries to convince the prince that everything was a dream. The girls complain about their menial and exhaustive tasks, concluding that they are being treated badly because they have not been properly hazed as initiates.

Apprentice Song Sa-hui lets Officer Min Woo-won know that they are prepared to be hazed. Goo Hae-ryung challenges Officer Yang to a drinking contest herself so the other Apprentices don’t have to drink. Officer Yang eventually falls unconscious and Hae-ryung manages to celebrate her drunken victory with the female historians.

During the drinking contest, Prince Dowon waits impatiently at a bridge with Heo Sam-bo after sending Goo Hae-ryung a letter to meet, but she does not arrive. Heo Sam-bo accuses him of being too invested with his supposed ‘enemy’ and questions his motives.

The next morning, Goo Hae-ryung rushes to the palace, but is barred from entering by a palace guard. A sympathetic guard tells her that there is a hidden entrance at the back of the palace. She sneaks through, ending up in *Nokseodang* and getting caught by Prince Dowon.

## 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