[This is a work of fiction. All the characters, groups, places, and incidents have no connection to historical facts. The use of animals during filming was done with props or special effects.]
Your Highness, Your Highness!
Chase him.
You must catch him
and show that
it was the work of people.
Your Highness, Your Highness!
Wake up, Your Highness!
Find the man who shot the arrow. We must catch him!
Yes, sir!
Your Highness! Your Highness...
There is nobody in the upper area.
Search carefully. He will not have made it out of the hunting grounds yet.
Yes, sir!
If there are two Tae Kangs, one can shoot an arrow at the Crown Prince,
Please wake up, Your Highness...
and the other could be by the Crown Prince's side.
They are twins.
That is right.
If they are twins, that is possible.
Should we tell His Highness that the Guardian Warrior has a twin?
Sir, where should we put this?
Place the cauldron in the kitchen.
Move it carefully.
Glue the paper weather strips carefully so no wind passes through.
- You have to attach the door properly so it does not fall off. - Yes, sir.
It is late at night, so hurry.
- Put it down. - Two, three.
Your Highness.
From here, you must walk.
[Episode 17]
Please go in. I will be guarding the front.
Let us go.
I am sorry that I had noble guests such as yourselves come all the way here.
It is okay.
We ended up here because we had a particular situation, so please excuse us.
By chance,
have you heard about us?
I am a wanderer, but I am capable of reading physiognomy.
You have a nobility about you that cannot be hidden.
Please let the Young Master and I have some time by ourselves.
Your Highness,
I am sorry, but I need to use the outhouse.
- Please be quick. - Y-Yes, Your Highness.
If that Guardian Warrior really has a twin,
then is that not a major problem?
One person is beside the Crown Prince,
but the other with the same face is involved in all these terrible incidents.
- Would they not be on the same side? - That cannot be.
Does the Guardian Warrior know that he has a twin?
If they were separated at a young age, he might not know.
That is something we can check in time.
Eunuch Go, did you not say you solved a mystery?
What is it?
It has to do with these peony petals.
Revered Goddess of Mercy...
Shim Young firmly believed up to the last moment he took his own life
that he was Min Jae Yi's secret lover.
How could such blind faith be possible?
That is what I mean. Unless he was possessed by a ghost-
He was not possessed by a ghost but was influenced by something else.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was something called opium.
I have met a merchant who said he went to the other end of the continent.
Supposedly, Western merchants brought in opium ever since the Tang Dynasty,
and you can still purchase it.
- I have heard of that. - I have heard of it, too.
If you eat it, you start to lose your mind
and you cannot even recognize your parents.
Is it something you eat?
I do not know about that.
But I heard you cannot tell if you are dead or alive if you are under the influence of opium.
If the peony flowers are similar to the opium I had heard about,
I wonder if he made Shim Young think that he was Min Jae Yi's secret lover
while he was under the influence of the peony petal fragrance.
What is causing you so much pain?
Grandfather!
My great-uncle gave me peaches.
I gave that to my Elder Hyungnim.
After he ate that peach,
the Elder Hyungnim
passed away.
Are you talking about hypnosis?
I have read in books that there are those who perform hypnosis.
What is that?
It is where one causes someone to grow confused and delusional,
plant false thoughts.
Grand Prince, you have never
given Crown Prince Ui Hyeon a peach.
Yes.
I have never given him a peach.
Crown Prince Ui Hyeon eating a peach and passing away
is also just a false rumor in the palace.
It is just a false rumor.
Now your painful memories will disappear.
All your memories of being afraid will disappear as well.
If you burn peony petals and perform hypnosis,
it is possible to control people's minds?
And Shim Young was also mind-controlled like that as well?
I have returned.
The Song family did not forget the unjust deaths and sorrow of the people of Byeokcheon.
I will take this country's throne!
I will take this country's throne.
The head shaman! The head shaman was the same.
As if she was possessed by something,
she appeared to believe she had received a prophecy about the Song family.
So he used peony petals and hypnosis
to implant false thoughts into people's minds
to make them believe it as truth.
This is our speculation without clear evidence.
But Master, your master said that
the peony petals were only used to calm people down.
Do you think he would know everything that exists in India?
I know the etiquette as a lady,
but I have a situation that I have called you,
so please do not be offended, Sergeant.
Please speak, Your Highness.
I need to ask a difficult favor of you.
You may give me your orders.
I must leave the palace with the Grand Prince tonight.
Why are you thinking of heading out of the palace at night?
The Grand Prince has a psychological trauma that the physician has been treating,
but no matter what we do, he does not get better.
So, I want to take him outside of the palace to treat him with hypnosis.
Your Highness, why are you trying to do what is prohibited by national law?
Sergeant, please do not ask me any other questions.
I did not come to this conclusion easily.
I decided this for the Grand Prince's well-being. However,
if something were to happen to the Grand Prince while we secretly left the palace,
how could I handle the consequences?
- Your Highness. - I am begging you.
You are the only one I could think of, Sergeant.
Could you please protect Grand Prince and me
tonight?
Are you all right?
Court Lady Kwon, are you all right? Court Lady Kwon!
The door over there...
No! You should not go! It is dangerous.
Court Lady Kwon.
You usually burn incense on this burner.
But I thought it was strange that there were dried flowers in it.
- Who are you? - Did you just ask who I am?
I am the one who has seen everything.
I have seen the land turn red
by the blood of the people due to the greed of rulers and aristocrats.
I have seen the despair of the people you have abandoned,
and their blood and tears.
From the nobility to lowly slaves,
is there any life that is not precious under heaven?
And yet, how could I just stand around and watch your wicked sins
of cutting off the tongues of innocent people and
declaring them as criminals and even taking away their barren land?
I dared shed blood with these holy hands,
but since peace for the people is more important than Buddhahood,
I have no regrets.
Stop making excuses and tell me your objective.
What have you done to the Grand Prince, and why did you try to harm the Princess?
I have one objective. Song Family...
Destroy Yi!
The Yi family will perish, and a true man of the Song Family will soon appear
and start a new dynasty.
It is only then that hierarchical order and social classism will disappear
and true...
utopia will...
finally...
come!
A woman frequented the Shamanist Bureau.
I think she visited whenever the head shaman came back from the temple in Gaeseong.
I could not see her face because she was wearing a veil.
[The Gaeseong murder case]
This is extremely dangerous, Friend.
More than a couple of people are part of their group.
They have access to the palace and the Royal Investigation Bureau,
have contempt for the royal family,
murdered the entire family of the Governor,
and even dared to attack the Crown Prince-
by shooting an arrow at him.
We must find out who is behind them.
The head shaman's prayer site is in Gaeseong?
Why are you telling me this now?
Also, while investigating the traces of the Byeokcheon case,
we've discovered that the Byeokcheon people left for Gaeseong
after saying they were going back to their hometown.
Also, there were eyewitness accounts of some sending various goods
to Gaeseong, saying they were sending them to their hometown.
Then, are you saying that their base is in Gaeseong?
I am not sure yet,
but a lot is pointing at both Gaeseong and Byeokcheon simultaneously.
The head shaman was also from Byeokcheon.
The people who were forced out of their hometown live together in Gaeseong?
If so, would Gaeseong people not know of the village where Byeokcheon people live together?
Rumors about it would have spread already.
By chance,
what if they are living in hiding?
And that is why they are sending goods over there.
If they buy what they need on Gaeseong streets,
their base could be discovered.
Since Mt. Songak is precipitous,
it is possible to form a village in a valley and live there in hiding.
But all of this is a hypothesis.
But when we are in the dark, hypotheses are also important.
If we start from hypotheses and eliminate many of them,
we can arrive at the truth.
Whoa! As expected of Eunuch Go!
All right, then, my student.
What are you doing? Please tell them.
My master told me this morning
that from today on,
we need to form an investigation team to investigate those cases systematically.
The name is...
Master chose the name as he pleased.
It's Shield Investigation Team...
- Shield Investigation Team... - What does that mean?
It means that we are shields that protect the Crown Prince
with our whole body!
- I will be the leader of the team. - But wait...
who says you can be the leader?
I said so. It's my Manyeondang.
I am the one who provides this precious space as our team's base.
So why can I not be the leader?
I also considered all night about our future.
- Are you bragging about something so minor? - Something minor?
If you can become the leader for something like this, let us move our base.
I will prepare an even better place for us.
Even so, how could we allow someone who cannot even use a shovel to become a leader?
One day, I will show you how well I shovel.
Anyway, I am the leader. I am the leader, no matter what!
Yeah, tell His Highness as well.
I, Myung Jin, am the leader of the Shield Investigation Team.
Well. Sure. Go ahead, go ahead.
Gosh. I do not obsess over becoming a leader,
so I will just be the youngest one.
In return, please call me the "golden maknae."
Then, I will take second-
I will take third.
Then, we should tell the Crown Prince
and investigate the Guardian Warrior first.
I do not know if it is his older or younger brother,
but that Guardian Warrior's twin is involved in all of these cases,
so we should be able to find out a lot from him.
Shield!
Your Highness!
Go and call the physician, and also tell the Queen's Palace.
- Yes, sir. - You must move secretly.
This must not leak outside the palace.
Are you all right?
Only a stab wound on my side...
I am fine.
You took the Princess and the Grand Princess there.
He tried to harm the Princess and you.
- How do you know the man who died? - I just...
heard some court maids talking about
a spiritual monk who helps to heal emotional trauma.
I would never have imagined this would happen...
Sergeant, Court Lady Kwon needs to be treated as well.
If that incense burner with peony petals really induces hypnosis...
did you not smell that incense as well?
I just do not have a clear memory of the events,
but I do not have false memories.
What differentiates me from the head shaman and Shim Young is that I smelled the incense
but no one performed hypnosis on me.
However, Ga Ram said she saw the master of Manyeondang Young Master
at our house in Gaeseong.
Are you saying he and Shim Young knew each other?
Shim Young killed your family under hypnosis.
If that man met Shim Young at your house in Gaeseong,
would that be a coincidence?
These are...
nothing special.
They are commonly used incense made for helping someone relax.
We must find out more about that man.
He might also be a part of that group.
But did you really not know that the Guardian Warrior had a twin?
You already have the entire list of the Royal Bodyguard Unit memorized.
Kang was adopted.
Thus, I cannot confirm his birth from just the records of the list.
If we investigate the Guardian Warrior's parents,
we can find out where and how they came to adopt him.
Kang's adoptive father was a Charity and Medical Services Unit constable.
The ones who entrusted Kang to them were Sergeant and me.
- Pardon? - I first met Kang
ten years ago.
Let us go over there.
- Which cup is it under? - Just move the cups.
Come on, be a bit patient, boss.
It is right here. Look closely.
- Choose one! - Here!
As expected, you guys are good at betting.
Hey! Catch him!
Your limbs are fine, and you have talent, so why are you living like that?
What is wrong with how I live?
What is wrong with living off my abilities without begging for money?
How dare you! Is making a living by pickpocketing using your own abilities?
Lead the way. Where is your house?
I must meet your parents and tell them what you have done.
If I had parents, do you think I would live like this?
I am your mother from now on.
Master Myeongdo said to the royal court, "Rule the nation
but on the foundations of correcting customs and acquiring talented people."
[3 years ago]
Did you really pass the military service exam?
I am proud of you.
I will never forget this debt.
If I did not meet you two, I would probably still be
living the life of a rascal on the streets.
No. Kang, you would have
lived an upright life, even if it was not for us.
That is the type of person
I have seen you to be.
He was definitely Tae Kang.
What is going on?
How could Kang do something like that...
He said that he wandered
without knowing his hometown or his parents' faces.
So Kang probably does not know that he has a twin, either.
Perhaps the Guardian Warrior's hometown is Byeokcheon.
Since his twin brother is moving on behalf of Byeokcheon,
his hometown is also probably Byeokcheon,
which means the Guardian Warrior is also from Byeokcheon.
On the one hand,
I do think that it is a relief.
- What do you mean? - If our deductions are correct,
the Guardian Warrior would have nothing to do with my family's death,
and did not attack you, either, Your Highness.
However, the Guardian Warrior's twin shot an arrow at you,
and killed the herald you had sent, Your Highness.
If he is in and out of the palace with the same face as the Guardian Warrior,
this would be terrible-
Your Highness, I went to the Eastern Palace, and they told me you were here.
- What is the matter? - You ordered me to go to the house near Tongun Bridge.
I got it ready as you ordered.
Great work.
Sir, why are you in that attire...
I had a situation. It is urgent. Tell him I am here.
His Highness is not at the Eastern Palace right now.
He said he would read at the library tonight.
The Guardian Warrior also went to the library to see His Highness just now.
Kang went to His Highness?
Your Highness, I am sorry for not wearing my proper attire.
How could you stand here perfectly fine?
Your Highness, could I check the Guardian Warrior's body for something that just took place?
What do you mean, something that just took place?
Where were you four hours ago?
Pardon?
Kang was near Tongun Bridge at that time.
That is not true, Your Highness.
Guardian Warrior was at a small temple in Mt. Surak.
What are you talking about?
I was at a house near Tongun Bridge per His Highness's order.
- Quite a few people were there with me, so- - That is not true, Your Highness.
Please make the Guardian Warrior bare his shoulders.
You just injured your left shoulder by being slashed by a sword.
It is not Kang.
Your Highness.
Show your left shoulder to the Sergeant.
This is an order, so obey.
Sir, why are you behaving this way to me?
I am sure I saw your face!
Just four hours ago, did you not point a sword at me?
I clearly saw your face at my house in Gaeseong.
I definitely saw you near the Royal Kitchen.
By chance, while His Highness was confined,
did you meet the Young Master of Manyeondang on the streets?
I have not.
However, the Young Master said he definitely saw the Guardian Warrior in disguise.
By chance,
do you have a twin?
Answer me.
I asked if you have a twin.
No, Your Highness.
No, I do not.
- Kang, please leave. - Your Highness.
I will call you back later, so leave for now.
Your Highness, does Kang have a twin?
Kang does not seem to know that he has a twin.
Did the man you encountered at the small temple in Mt. Surak have Kang's face?
Why did you go there?
Was he injured by your sword?
Even if they are twins,
they look so identical.
Are you talking about San?
I thought he was San.
He would not know in his wildest dreams that his hyung is still alive, right?
But did not his clothes look like that of a government official?
Why was he loitering around Manyeondang?
You do not know what San and the monk are plotting?
- When you went to the Shamanist Bureau- - Be quiet!
When are you going back home?
I had a dream where
animals were digging Oh Wol's grave.
We buried her without even a tombstone or a casket.
I do not know if we could even find her grave.
Go inside now.
Please watch Dal Rae and Meo Roo falling asleep.
Well, sir. Take care, then.
Okay.
Let's go. Lead the way.
- Are you not going home? - It is dangerous at night.
So?
Come on! It is because I am worried.
- Let me walk to your house. - Why, all of a sudden?
Come on! It is a scholar's duty to protect someone weak and small!
Gosh. Why are you calling me weak, anyway?
What? What is it? What is it?
Just now, a ghost...
- No, a goblin's hand... - G-Goblin...
I could feel it touching my neck!
You're so easily scared.
How would you walk alone on this dark street?
Do you not feel protected...
because I am standing in front of you?
Yes, sir.
I feel protected.
It is this way!
So Princess and Grand Prince are safe?
Yes. The two of them returned safely.
It looked like the Grand Prince fell asleep comfortably, but...
Your Highness.
I saw the same incense burner as the one at the shaman's house at the temple.
Also, the words he said were...
Song Family...
Destroy Yi.
The Yi family will perish, and a true man of the Song Family will soon appear
and start a new dynasty.
It is only then that...
the true utopia will...
How strange is that?
What did that man look like?
He was wearing a gray monk's robe but had long gray hair down.
He did not appear to be a legitimate monk.
But he said he got converted on his own and mentioned the true utopia.
He might be a vagabond,
but he must have studied Buddhism at some point.
He was with Gang's twin.
And if he mentioned Song Family Destroy Yi,
he was definitely involved with the head shaman.
What did you do with his body?
I told someone trustworthy to remove the incense burner and the body.
We could check the body as soon as the day breaks.
Remove the incense.
Sergeant directly ordered us to secure it.
We need to keep everything inside of it, too.
Yes, sir!
Your Highness, I do not know how to tell you this.
When Head Shaman was committing murders,
I said there was a woman who frequented the Shamanist Bureau.
The woman in a veil.
Court Lady Kwon wore a veil when she went to the temple today.
Court Lady Kwon, wearing a veil,
took Princess and Grand Prince to a place where blood was shed.
I need to ask Princess why she left the palace.
The Grand Prince has been saying nonsense like
seeing a ghost and a snake, and now
he says he gave a peach to Crown Prince Ui Hyeon.
How could everything that he says be true?
Grand Prince must have had his reason.
I need to visit him in his bedchamber.
Did he...
really die like that?
Sergeant...
removed Tae San's mask and saw his face.
Sergeant went to see the Crown Prince.
He must have told him about Tae San's face.
Your Highness.
The Crown Prince will come.
You know nothing about what happened.
If something goes wrong,
I will take all the blame.
Do not say that. You need to live.
You need to live and go back to your hometown.
It is not important for a lowly woman like me to survive.
You have to be safe so Grand Prince will be put on the throne.
That way, everyone can go back home.
Think about the people of Baekcheon who depend on you and the Grand Prince.
They are hiding in Naean Village
while waiting for the day they can return to their hometown.
You must be strong, Your Highness.
Let me take care of the rest.
Go to your living quarters and take care of yourself.
Grand Prince is just in a deep sleep.
His pulse and breathing are normal.
You do not have to worry.
You may leave now.
What made you leave the palace?
I heard Grand Prince cannot sleep
since he secretly saw the head shaman's interrogation.
He is not just your brother. He is mine, also.
If you decide to do something for him,
I must know about it as well.
Her Highness the Queen is here.
I just heard the news.
How could this have happened?
He is just asleep now.
- He will wake up, right? - Most certainly.
I am sorry for making you worry, Mother.
I am relieved that you are safe as well.
Tell me.
For what reason did you leave the palace with your little brother?
I need to know why, so I can catch those people.
What would have happened to you and Grand Prince if Sergeant was not there?
He tried to attack you with a sword.
You saw the man who tried to kill Grand Prince killing himself in front of Sergeant.
The two of them were on the same side.
Do you not understand?
This is not good. We cannot just let this go.
Father must know that someone tried to kill Princess and Grand Prince.
Orabeoni, please do not tell Father.
Princess, you must tell Crown Prince the truth.
After Grand Prince saw the head shaman dying at the interrogation site,
he saw the oyat tree burning.
He could neither eat nor sleep properly since then.
We saw a physician, but nothing seemed to work.
Since Princess was worried about her brother-
Since I was so worried,
Court Lady Kwon told me what she heard from other court ladies.
And out of desperation...
Mother, Cour Lady Kwon did not do anything wrong.
I decided to do this, not Court Lady Kwon.
I told her not to tell you, Mother.
Princess.
Orabeoni, I could not make you worry since you were about to get married.
So I asked Sergeant, trying to come up with a solution myself.
I had to do something.
Orabeoni.
It has been more than a month since he has been sick.
If anything bad happens to him,
how could I keep on living?
You must have been tormented all this time.
Do not cry, Princess.
I am just grateful to you.
Do not worry about Grand Prince.
Who are his older siblings? You and Crown Prince.
Both of you are so strong. I am sure he will overcome this soon.
The man who tried to kill Grand Prince. How did he appear?
He said he was a traveling monk. But I do not know what the truth is...
Did you see what he did
to Grand Prince?
Did you happen to see the incense burner in the room?
Incense burner...
I did.
Were there dried petals in the incense burner by chance?
I might have seen them.
What else was there?
It was a small temple. There was nothing unusual...
He was drinking tea!
Do you remember what tea it was?
I do not know. He did not give it to Grand Prince or me.
Your Highness, the fact that Court Lady Kwon
of the Queen's Palace escorted them to the monk be a coincidence?
Not only that, she was wearing a veil.
We can check with a court lady from the Queen's Palace when the day breaks.
But if she were on their side, she could easily lie.
Also, women often wear veils.
Court Lady Kwon is being treated for the injury. Leave her for now.
We have to be careful because she is a court lady of the Queen's Palace.
But Court Lady Kwon came to the palace as a bonbang court lady.
What does that mean?
It means she was brought here by the Queen from her family home.
She must work for the Right State Minister.
However, to say the Right State Minister was behind this,
the Jo family of Seongju has no reason to kill Grand Prince and Princess.
Also, since she works for the Right State Minister,
she cannot be a wife from the Song family.
If so, in the end...
all of this must be the work of the people of Byeokcheon.
If it is true that they are not bandits and
they put up a white flag and waited for the royal forces,
they must have targeted the royal family as revenge for that.
How come the Queen said...
You must tell Crown Prince the truth.
After Grand Prince saw the head shaman dying at the interrogation site,
he saw the oyat tree burning.
He could neither eat nor sleep properly since then.
Since Princess was worried about her brother-
She said she'd tell the truth,
but why did she not mention that Grand Prince gave
Crown Prince Ui Hyeon the peach?
It's getting late! Have a safe travel back.
Let me walk you to the gate.
My Lady, Scholar Park knows who we really are.
He gave me fabric and told me to make your clothes.
Fabric?
He said we would have to go back when things get resolved.
We would be able to clear our names and return to Gaeseong, right?
Ga Ram!
Also, I ran into a man who used to be a judge of Gaeseong Office in the market.
He saw my face.
I avoided the potential danger by running away out of fear.
But you might run into him when you go to Manyeondang, too.
So be careful.
A judge of Gaeseong Office?
Is he the one who was going to Hanyang because he was promoted as
a commander at the Capital Military Force?
If the reason her memory comes and goes is because of the thing called
peonies or opium that was in the kitchen,
I need to remember for her.
What I remember in the house in Gaeseong when the murders occurred.
It rained a lot and...
No, no. Nothing like that.
His Lordship was painting.
Was it even a painting?
Why did he paint in red?
It did not seem like he was painting orchids.
Why did he draw a few lines?
Does that have anything to do with the case?
By chance, do you have a twin?
I am sure I saw your face!
Just four hours ago, did you not point a sword at me?
Did you really not come to Mt. Surak?
Are you saying the body disappeared?
We searched everywhere inside and outside the temple,
but the body was not found.
I did look into the temple.
The temple is originally owned by Biwonseo.
It is a place for traveling monks to stay a night in.
The man who died rented that temple for the first time that night.
The man who took the body
has to be Tae Kang's twin.
It might be.
I asked the court ladies,
and there definitely were rumors about the traveling monk inside the palace.
The one who told Court Lady Kwon about him
mentioned him for no particular reason about two months ago.
You went through a lot last night. I sincerely thank you for protecting
Princess and Grand Prince.
I just did my job, Your Highness.
Her Highness the Queen summons you, Sergeant.
The Crown Prince saw the ghost's letter.
Crown Prince.
Why were you not conceived by me?
It would have been nice
if you were my child, who came from me.
A woman from the Song family is in the palace.
The Yi family will perish
and a true man of the Song Family will soon appear and start a new dynasty.
[It was the same as Shim Young's gray hair]
If you burn incense with peony leaves and cast hypnosis,
the hair of the one under a spell turns gray.
That is why Shim Young and Head Shaman had gray hair.
Crown Prince...
how much did you find out?
You are a smart man. Soon you will...
find out about me.
He was drinking tea!
He did not give it to Grand Prince or me.
That tea must have worked as an antidote, so the one who cast hypnosis
will not get intoxicated from the peony scent.
Jae Yi's memory faltered from just smelling it because she did not have the tea.
Stop.
- Hyung. - Pretend you do not know.
We could go back home soon.
Let us talk then...
Are you here to look for a book again...
Catch him! Catch him!
- Let go! I need to catch him! - No...
Let go, I said! What is wrong with you?
Let go of me right now!
Do not forget the ghost's letter that describes your destiny.
Dong Ja Bae Do Woo Ja Hyang Gum.
Which means your friend will point a sword at your back.
Your Highness, Sergeant is here.
Eunuch Go Soon Dol of the Eastern Palace is Min Jae Yi,
the daughter of Gaeseong's governor.
Let him in.
Welcome, Sergeant.
You saw your twin! You knew, too.
You are from Byeokcheon, are you not?
Stop! Please stop!
You must be one of them. I need to tell His Highness.
- He needs to know, too! - Shut up.
It is not true. It is not true!
[Our Blooming Youth]
Our card that will destroy the Crown Prince you mentioned before...
She is your betrothed.
She must be by the Crown Prince's side.
You must have had something to tell me secretly.
What kind of things happened without my knowledge?
The key evidence that can correct everything might be there.
It is something we cannot ignore to get to the truth.
Ripped and resynced by YoungJedi