Episode 12

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

Hae-ryung tries to keep up with the sudden changes in the king's daily activities. Sa-hui accompanies Yi Jin on a trip outside the palace.

## Plot Summary

Goo Hae-ryung and Prince Dowon both rush to the palace, where the royal assembly is already waiting outside of the Queen Dowager’s quarters. It is before dawn, and the Queen Dowager questions the King’s intentions as she readies. She asks her court ladies to take their time so the King has to wait in the dark.

Inside, the royals bow to the Queen. The King promises to visit the Queen Dowager every morning at this time. She replies that she will expect him there daily.

The King heads straight to the royal lecture well before 7am, asking the lecturers to also arrive early. At the lecture, the lecturer states the *Gunsangyukpye* (the six condemned behaviours):

-         Never deriving joy out of winning against others

-         Being embarrassed by hearing their own shortcomings

-         Giving excuses using one’s eloquence

-         Boasting about one’s brightness

-         Threatening others using one’s authority

-         Being cantankerous or stubborn

The King tries to lure the attendees into a trap by asking them to admit which behaviours he has committed. Only Prince Dowon accuses him of engaging in the behaviours – three out of six. He also rightly alleges that the King is purposefully making Goo Hae-ryung’s job harder.

Crown Prince Jin and Eunuch Heo Sam-bo brace themselves for the King’s anger, but he decides to laugh it off, claiming that Prince Dowon has inherited his honesty. Heo Sam-bo scolds Prince Dowon but the prince is only focused on whether he might have impressed Goo Hae-ryung.

The King continues to exploit Hae-ryung. He complicates his actions so she struggles to keep records, and even sends her to dispose of his chamberpot and faeces. She angrily returns to the Office of Royal Decrees, complaining about her treatment, but the historians beg her to stay strong and win the battle of wills against the King for all of them.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Jin leaves the palace undercover, and is accompanied by an insistent Song Sa-hui. She bests him at a game with the village children and eats with him, admitting that this is the first time she has seen him smile. He says that he enjoys getting out every so often.

Upon returning, he gifts her a silk tie, claiming that he bought it because he felt bad for the vendor. She suspects that he let her accompany him so he could interrogate her about the daily records. Now serious, he places the silk tie in her hand, and does not ask her anything. She keeps the tie, smiling to herself.

Officer Min spots blisters on an exhausted Goo Hae-ryung’s writing hand, which he helps her treat. He advises her on how to write in a less intensive way.

The King is woken early again, surprised that Goo Hae-ryung is already waiting for him. During the day, he is increasingly impatient and irritable, dismissing his officials as they greet him in the morning. Meanwhile, Prince Dowon leaves Goo Hae-ryung some food since she is too busy to eat.

Goo Hae-ryung is summoned back to the King, who initially tries to get her drunk to interrogate her easier, but she lets him know that it won’t work. Snapping, the King asks why she is determined to win against him, eventually promising to grant her any wish, if she destroys her records on the day of her eavesdropping.

In the Office of Royal Decrees, the historians suddenly receive an order from the Royal Secretariat, written by the king himself. The order allows the *Hanrim* to enter the royal chambers without express permission from the king, and adds that no one has power to stop them from doing so.

Goo Hae-ryung is hailed as a hero. The rest of her meeting of the king is revealed:

Hae-ryung had never managed to hear anything on that day, and thus her *sachaek* had actually remained empty.

> **Goo Hae-ryung:** A great historian is someone who doesn’t fear kings, and a great king is someone who fears historians. From what I saw, you feared a feared a female apprentice who was not yet a historian, listened to the words of scholars, and withdrew your wrongful royal order. And instead of using your power to threaten me, you tried to communicate with me so you could change my mind, which is very admirable. I am going to record this side of you in my *sachaek*. So please, your majesty, do not hate the historians. A historian isn’t someone who only writes your flaws. The reason historians always try to remain by your side isn’t just to record your every move, but it’s also to record your admirable words and behaviours so the next generation can read and learn from it. In the end, the historians are also your people and subjects.
>
>

The King reflects on the conversation and smiles, describing Goo Hae-ryung as ‘one interesting person’.

Mo-wha receives news that ‘he’ is arriving soon, and that he is going to Uiju to meet him.

Celebrating with drinks, the historians catch ‘Clerk Yi’ watching Goo Hae-ryung and force him to join them, sending Officer Min into a panic at their unwitting treatment of Prince Dowon while Goo Hae-ryung silently begs the officer not to reveal Prince Dowon’s real identity.

Goo Hae-ryung tries to save Prince Dowon from drinking too much. The historians break out into song and dance, and Prince Dowon takes Goo Hae-ryung to *Nokseodang* to recover from her drinking. As he makes her warm honey water, she spots his poem from Episode 6 and reads it:

*I hope you live for a long time and be the owner of my heart*.

Touched, Goo Hae-ryung quotes the poem to Prince Dowon before kissing him.

## 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