Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Cold blooded and emotionless planning are the best ingredients for a delicious revenge.

Episode 27.

Seung-nyang was ordered to drink the tonic but Empress Dowager dropped by, ordering her not to do so since the tonic contained infertility medicine. Tanashiri said that she did it for the sake of the Imperial family (yeah, RIGHT) and Seung-nyang suddenly took the bowl. Instead of drinking it, she poured it onto the floor. Muahahahaha…what a rebel! Seung-nyang told Tanashiri that if she took it, then she won’t be able to conceive in the future. The Dowager was satisfied with the outcome.

The other concubines were angry that they were tricked into drinking the tonic and Seung-nyang was the only one who was able to escape. They met Ta-hwan outside and bowed (while flashing their best smiles) to him, but he only had his eyes on Seung-nyang. Tanashiri saw him and greeted him, but he just ignored her and walked towards Seung-nyang before pulling her hands, taking her away from the crowd. LOL, the concubines were jeering at her and Tanashiri acted like she didn’t really care about Ta-hwan’s preference among the concubines.

Ta-hwan was actually worried after hearing about the tonic and Seung-nyang assured him that she didn’t take it. He’s so happy and Seung-nyang asked for him to call on her every night, starting tonight. She also requested drinks for the night, something that instantly put Ta-hwan in a good mood. HA, if only he knew what her real intentions were…

Empress Dowager went to Tanashiri’s quarters to see Prince Maha and wondered why the Empress was so insecure that she intended to prevent the concubines from getting pregnant, even when she had the Prince. Tanashiri learned from history that brothers could harm each other because of the throne, but the Dowager assured her that the firstborn would take the throne. Tanashiri didn’t hide the fact that the person she had to be careful of the most was the Dowager, and the Dowager saw that the Prince didn’t have any resemblance to the Emperor. She told Tutor Jang to dig further into the matter, thinking that the baby might be linked to the temple which was destroyed in the fire.

Seung-nyang went to meet Taltal, who brought the books she asked for: Thousand Character Classic, which she would be using for teaching Ta-hwan. He also included several other books but warned Seung-nyang teaching the Emperor should be kept a secret. She knew about it and took the challenge to become Ta-hwan’s secret tutor. The clueless Ta-hwan was setting the table when she arrived and he didn’t expect that he would be spending the nights learning the characters while his servants were to finish the food. HAHA! They were very careful around the other maids knowing that the Empress would be spying on them, acting like Ta-hwan and Seung-nyang were spending their nights having fun together.

It must be the night where everyone got drunk, with Tanashiri getting upset after hearing about Ta-hwan and Seung-nyang, while Yeon-chul was happy that the girl Baek Ahn sent as the concubine had managed to distract Ta-hwan. The old man couldn’t see Baek Ahn’s real intention, but Dangkise knew that he was vying for the Chancellor’s position. Baek Ahn didn’t even try to correct him, saying that he’s doing it for the sake of the country. Dangkise must be burning inside since he couldn’t say anything to his father but hey, red looks good on you!

Ta-hwan was still learning the characters but he started to move closer to Seung-nyang…only to be told that he should be within three paces from her. LOL, repeating his orders back then, huh? He intentionally made a mistake and grabbed her hands when she was about to point out the mistake. Hehehe, so sneaky! Seung-nyang told him to concentrate, and Ta-hwan said that he could concentrate more if they’re holding hands. LOL! He decided to call it a day and sat on the bed while Seung-nyang was still trying to make him study. He told her,”If you’re tired, how about coming over here and sleeping together?” Kekeke! She had enough of his antics and sat on her chair reading books as Ta-hwan continued to stare at her.

At Heuksoo’s place, Jeokho was returned to him and ended up as a mere slave. Moo-song didn’t have a clue about Heuksoo’s plan to trap him and Bi-soo chose not to tell Yoo about it. Yoo was planning to launch his attack on the counterfeit group as a way to fight Yeon-chul. Later on that night, Heuksoo was expecting to see Yoo falling into the trap but Bi-soo saved the day by blowing off the counterfeits. Although Yoo’s life was spared while Heuksoo was mad over the destroyed counterfeits, Moo-song was caught by Heuksoo.

Byung-soo and Jo-cham were at the palace when they were surprised at Officer Park’s appearance in front of them, in an eunuch’s uniform on top of that. They couldn’t believe their eyes! Seung-nyang approached them and they had to bow to her. She reminded Byung-soo that his arrow had cut away her original destiny and he should be aware that she would do the same to him. You should be careful from now on! The governors heard about their daughters forced to take the infertility medicine by the Empress and they entered the palace to meet Yeon-chul. The old man didn’t really bother about the trivial matter and preferred them to focus on the country rather than thinking about the concubines.

Yeon-chul ordered to see Ta-hwan later on that night and as usual, he bragged about his achievement of changing multiple emperors in the course of thirty years. He knew that the Emperor’s seat was a lonely place and offered for Ta-hwan to abdicate his throne for the Prince while the Empress became the Regent. Ta-hwan was more composed this time and didn’t simply falter, it’s only that Yeon-chul acted way earlier than what he thought.

He was deep in his thought even during his lesson with Seung-nyang and soon stopped writing altogether. He wanted to throw away all those grudges, revenge, and whatsoever, but Seung-nyang had abandoned so many things for her to come all this way. It’s so heartbreaking to see him pleading for her to forget the revenge since he feared losing her more than his own life. His small wish was to live together with her, eating and sleeping together, instead of thinking about their plans 24/7. Seung-nyang thought that she had mistook him for a moment and decided that he’s no longer of use to her.

Golta had enough of hearing Seung-nyang chiding the Emperor and he’s probably planning of dragging Seung-nyang away, but Officer Park knew that she’s just helping the Emperor in her own way, just like a person should be assisting his lord. Ta-hwan realized that she’s just using him but Seung-nyang told him that her revenge won’t come to an end just because she didn’t get his help. He stopped her from leaving, for he won’t see her if she did so, but Seung-nyang herself told him not to see her before leaving. Ouch, Baby Emperor sobs

Seung-nyang went to meet Taltal, admitting that the task of teaching Ta-hwan was harder than what she thought. She wanted to hear his opinion, but he couldn’t do anything since she was the one who made the decision and she’s now the one who raised Ta-hwan. It’s all up to her own judgement and Seung-nyang got what he meant. Meanwhile, Tanashiri heard that Ta-hwan had been spending his time with Seung-nyang and noted that the maids and the court ladies must be laughing at her right now. Her sadness didn’t make her any weaker; instead, she’s more focused on getting rid of her newest opponent, Lady Ki.

Yoo didn’t hear anything about Moo-song and Eunuch Bang went to find out about him. He saw Jeokho among Heuksoo’s slaves and met him. Jeokho thought that he became a beggar and Eunuch Bang laughed when he heard Jeokho’s story about being abandoned because of his eunuch status. HAHAHA! He asked Eunuch Bang about Seung-nyang and the latter was surprised to learn that she’s still alive. FINALLY. Eunuch Bang told the whole thing about Seung-nyang to Yoo and they’re sure that she’s safe since Baek Ahn was the one who saved her. Hmmmm…

Seung-nyang was preparing herself for the morning greetings but suddenly, Dok-man came to tell her that she’s late. Tanashiri had planned it earlier and no maid told Seung-nyang beforehand. She refused to accept Seung-nyang’s excuse and told her to recite the Analects, which Seung-nyang recited perfectly. Thinking that she’s just trying to show off, Tanashiri ordered her to be stripped off her outer robes and locked in the library wearing her undergarments. Seung-nyang was to copy the texts and she couldn’t leave the library or given any food and drinks until she finished her task.

Byung-soo and Jo-cham were guarding the library as Dok-man, Officer Park, and Hong-dan were worried that Seung-nyang might really die this time. Seung-nyang won’t budge and continued to write while Tanashiri knew that it would be impossible for her to last without the food. Tanashiri wished that Seung-nyang would die and she could get rid of her easily this time.

Ta-hwan was still angry at Seung-nyang, who didn’t seem to understand his feelings (Awwww) and refused to hear anything about her from Golta. He jumped out of his bed upon hearing that Seung-nyang had been locked inside the library for three days and went there. Byung-soo tried to block him from entering the place per Tanashiri’s order, but Ta-hwan reminded him of his position before making his entrance to the library. Oh, God…I can’t wait for Ta-hwan to put those people in their rightful place!

Seung-nyang had already passed out from fatigue and Ta-hwan tried to wake her up, but she’s not responding to him at all..

**

Episode 28.

As Ta-hwan was holding the unconscious Seung-nyang in his arms, Tanashiri got to know that he went to the library. She wanted to prevent Seung-nyang from leaving the place with him and went there. Seung-nyang woke up and realized that she had lost consciousness for a while. Ta-hwan tried to persuade her into getting out of the library, but she refused to do so and continued to do the copying. He wanted to know what he could do for him, but Seung-nyang made him realize that he could do nothing, even protecting her from the people against her. She told him not to do anything for her, and she would do the same for him.

Tanashiri started to shout outside, calling for Ta-hwan to leave the Inner Court matters to her and not to interfere with her business. He decided to leave, but not before taking a look at Seung-nyang, who’s struggling with her own might to finish her task, even with her meager strength. Ta-hwan went out of the library without saying anything to Tanashiri, only glaring at her before taking his leave (I must admit that he looks cool when he’s pushing the doors open! Hehehehe). As they walked further away from those people, Ta-hwan started to speak to Golta. He realized that Seung-nyang had abandoned more things that what he initially thought of and he was wrong. He decided to continue learning the letters again, much to Golta’s delight.

Seung-nyang finally finished copying the texts and staggered out of the library, looking like she’s ready to haunt Tanashiri. Tanashiri warned her that it was how the Inner Court worked and if Seung-nyang dared to challenge her again, she won’t hesitate to punish her with a heavier sentence. Girl, you’re the one who should be careful! Ta-hwan received the news about Seung-nyang but he reminded Golta not to tell her about him learning the characters, since he wanted to show her that he could do something for her, and it would make her happier. Awwww! He’s also planning to speak agian in front of Yeon-chul when the old man wanted to force him for abdicating the throne. Go ahead and give that old man a heart attack, I highly approve of it!

Yoo was immersed in yet another memory of him with Seung-nyang, where both of them went to a fortune teller (a brief cameo by actress Shim Yi-young). The fortune teller read the tarot cards: Someone really loved the other one (Yoo coughed awkwardly LOL) but they would be apart soon, so far from each other. What a telling sight. Seung-nyang told Yoo that it was just empty talks and decided that they should leave. Yoo also recalled the last time her saw Seung-nyang before he left for Goryeo. Jeombakyi reported to him that they were still waiting for Eunuch Bang to find out about Moo-song’s current condition.

Poor Moo-song was being tortured by Heuksoo, who wanted to know the person behind him. Moo-song told him that his lord was..Heuksoo’s mother. Hahaha! Bi-soo warned him to let them know about his lord, if he wished not to die in pain. Jeokho suddenly entered the room bearing hot water by mistake, but he’s actually finding it out for Eunuch Bang, who was still disguising himself as a beggar around there. Eunuch Bang got to know that Moo-song was being tortured and ran away to tell Yoo about it, with Jeokho’s only rice ball in his hand. LOL I love these two! Yoo was persuaded by his men to stop thinking about Seung-nyang for a while and put his focus on Moo-song, who might die at any moment. He decided to meet them himself.

Heuksoo was actually more interested in finding the person who blew off the counterfeits with the fire arrow than dealing with Moo-song, and Bi-soo suggested that someone on their side might be the traitor (it’s YOU!). Their conversation was cut short by Yoo’s arrival. After hearing that he’s the deposed king of Goryeo, Heuksoo decided to meet him. Yoo didn’t hide the reason he’s there: he wanted to take back Moo-song. Knowing that he’s the person who killed his people, Heuksoo ordered Yoo to be killed, but Eunuch Bang told them that Yoo was Yeon-chul’s nephew-in-law. He immediately pay his respects to Yoo and ordered Moo-song to be released at once. Hmm…Yeon-chul’s name can be useful too!

Baek Ahn and Taltal met Seung-nyang after hearing about her conflict with the Empress, but Seung-nyang took the opportunity to think of something while doing her punishment. This time, she wanted to start the fire first, initiating the fight between herself and Tanashiri. Taltal was wary (as usual) but Baek Ahn trusted Seung-nyang with her own judgement. Seung-nyang met Ta-hwan on her way out and ignored him. Although Golta continued to persuade him into telling Seung-nyang about his study, Ta-hwan was thinking of doing so once he had completed the Thousand Character Classic. She was ignoring him intentionally since it would be one way for Ta-hwan to have his wake-up call. Suddenly, Hong-dan came to tell her that the other concubines had all gone to the Empress’ quarters bearing gifts for Tanashiri.

The concubines were trying to win Tanashiri’s heart and asked for her to stop sending them the tonic. Of course, Tanashiri won’t budge from her decision and chased them out. They were thinking of bribing Yeon-hwa since she’s the person who prepared the tonic and presented her with gold, money, and even jewelery. Yeon-hwa was more afraid of Tanashiri and she would never replace the tonic with something else. Seung-nyang knew her very well and met Seol-hwa, telling her that it could backfire on them. Seol-hwa wanted to know how to deal with it, and Seung-nyang slapped her, informing her that the slap was the way.

Tanashiri received gifts from Heuksoo, but her happiness didn’t last long when Court Lady Seo informed her that the concubines had been fighting with each other. It’s a bitchslapping fight between Seung-nyang and Seol-hwa, and Tanashiri refused to hear any excuses. The concubines were punished by not giving any meal to them for the rest of the day. Seung-nyang later sent some dried persimmons to Seol-hwa to apologize and the latter ate them without any suspicion. Tanashiri met the concubines for evening greetings and lectured them on their makeup as well as the fight earlier. They were ordered to drink the tonic and Tanashiri was hoping that Seung-nyang won’t drink it (she must be planning something!). However, when Seung-nyang was about to drink it, Seol-hwa choked on something and fainted, to everyone’s surprise. Empress Dowager also dropped by and she was greeted with the panicked faces of the people there.

Dok-man immediately took charge and asked for a silver hairpin. He put it inside Seol-hwa’s mouth and confirmed that she was poisoned. Uh-oh! Cue horrified expression on everyone’s face and Tanashiri looked as white as a sheet. Seol-hwa was carried away and Empress Dowager told Tanashiri that she would take charge of the matter. Yeon-hwa didn’t know anything about the poison. Ta-hwan was surprised to learn about the incident but he’s relieved that Seung-nyang was safe. Empress Dowager was so excited that Tanashiri would fall into a grave she’s digging herself at last and she’s planning to show her crime to everyone. Yeon-chul, knowing that Tanashiri wasn’t planning it promised to protect her. Dangkise suspected that the person behind the incident might be Empress Dowager.

The physician checked on Seol-hwa and assured the rest of the concubines that she was okay. He wondered about what she had eaten and the concubines pointed out that Seol-hwa only ate the persimmons sent by Seung-nyang. Now this makes me nervous. Yeon-hwa was eavesdropping and heard it all. All of them were summoned to the throne hall, where the investigation would be held in front of everyone. The investigator was to check the remaining tonic and concluded that there’s no trace of poison in the bowl. Tanashiri was so relieved (while Ta-hwan and Empress Dowager were clearly hoping that it was there. Hehehe) and took charge of the further investigation to find out who dared to harm the concubine. Baek Ahn and Taltal eyed Seung-nyang nervously, while Seung-nyang looked calm as usual.

Baek Ahn and Taltal demanded to know why Seung-nyang didn’t take this chance to get rid of Tanashiri but she’s not going to let it go so easily. Seung-nyang knew that Tanashiri would be planning to put the blame on her. At the same time, Yeon-hwa told Tanashiri about what she heard before, but the maids who ate the remaining persimmons were perfectly fine, proving that the persimmons weren’t poisoned. However, Tanashiri was set onto framing Seung-nyang at her task was easier since Seung-nyang had been fighting with Seol-hwa right before the incident. She told her court ladies to spread the rumour, saying that Seung-nyang tried to kill Seol-hwa. The rumour reached Ta-hwan and also the Empress Dowager. Seung-nyang went to meet the Dowager regarding the rumour and did she just admit that she was the one who poisoned Seol-hwa?? We didn’t get to hear the rest of their conversation, but after Seung-nyang left, Empress Dowager was thinking hard about it…before laughing loudly. Seung-nyang also walked away with a wide smile on her face.

Yoo brought Heuksoo to the courtesan’s house and Bi-soo acted like this was her first time meeting Heuksoo. She was already nervous, thinking that Yoo might have linked her to the counterfeits. Heuksoo told Yoo that he never met the person who administered the counterfeits. However, he gave the order from that person to Bi-soo and the order was to get rid off Yoo since he knew too much about their business. She was waiting until Yoo went to sleep before she sneaked into his room, bearing a dagger to kill him. She was about to strike when Yoo blocked her and pinned her onto the bed. She’s wearing a mask but it’s just a matter of time until he knew it’s her!

Baek Ahn and Taltal knew about the possibility of Seung-nyang being framed as the criminal, they were more nervous than before but they could only wait to see who would be the victim to the poison this time. The tonic was brought to the concubines and unlike before, Seung-nyang didn’t bother to go against Tanashiri and drank her portion. Tanashiri smiled at her and Seung-nyang smiled a very wicked smile in return. Muahahaha!

In a split second, Seung-nyang was suddenly choking and fell onto the floor, gasping for air…

*

Muahahaha~

Yang-ie ya~! Right, the girl is taking the matter into her own hands. She is a risk taker and she is not afraid to put her life on the line, but I’m sure that she’s brilliant enough to take care of herself without causing her own death. Seung-nyang is not only brave in terms of fighting Tanashiri, but she is risking her own safety by giving a cold shoulder to Ta-hwan for the sake of her effort to give him a wake-up call. In last week’s episodes, she was the one who acknowledge Ta-hwan’s influence in protecting her but this week, she’s pushing him away for his own benefit. I think Seung-nyang is aware of her own influence on Ta-hwan and she’s no doubt using it to change him, but deep down, she cares for him too. If not, why is she trying her best to teach Ta-hwan and encouraging him to prove himself? Seung-nyang is using him but at the same time, she’s taking the chance to make him a better man and subsequently a better Emperor.

I am so happy that Ta-hwan decides to continue his study in secrecy instead of bragging about it in front of Seung-nyang. His tantrums are still there, but he’s maturing fast enough in the sense that he’s starting to think instead of simply brooding around for a long, long time. Seung-nyang and him are working separately right now towards a common goal but I’m hoping that our Emperor will learn his characters fast enough so that he can earn Seung-nyang’s praises. Awww…I can’t wait to see Seung-nyang’s earnest smile, beaming with pride for him! Is that too much to ask for?

Also…I don’t think it’s appropriate to call him Baby Emperor anymore. How about Manly Emperor? Hehehe. Seriously, I’m swooning when he teased Seung-nyang about sleeping together. LOL!

Seung-nyang is so focused in her revenge but I’m anticipating her reaction when Yoo appears in front of her. So far, Yoo has been quite detached from the main story, plus with Seung-nyang being ‘dead’ to him before, his ties with her only remained in his memory (and to be exact, in his heart too). Hence, I’m glad that he gets to know that Seung-nyang is still alive (thank you, Jeokho ahjusshi!) because this means that he’s back in the game. I’m still waiting to see the significance of the counterfeits towards Yuan’s politics but I’m all for it if the fall of the counterfeit business will contribute to Yeon-chul’s downfall. Domino effect, anyone? But then, I assume that Yoo won’t appear at the Yuan court anytime soon, especially not before Seung-nyang can solidify her position in the palace. It’s for the sake of the plot, because she will be conflicted to meet Yoo once she’s in a higher position, so…more angst! Yay or nay?

Tanashiri is walking towards her own demise. She used to glorify the usage of poison to bring down her opponents and this time, those poison will cause her downfall, the same way it helped her to rise to her current position. It’s cruel to wish for her death and all the bad things to happen to her, but she doesn’t have any intention of repenting on her mistakes. She looks so terrified when she’s about to be framed for the poison and I was hoping that she would understand how it feels to be wronged, but she doesn’t even take a second to ponder about it and goes around trying to frame Seung-nyang. Ah, Tanashiri…what you can do right now is to be punished for all your crimes.

I was laughing at the scene where Byung-soo smiled while looking at Yeon-hwa, because they were like the impossible pairing; the last people in the whole story that I would like to see ending up with each other! LOL I will die from laughing if it really happens, but I hope not! Byung-soo has entered Seung-nyang’ss red list so I doubt it that he will last much longer. For once, I was so satisified to see him bowing to Seung-nyang. Next thing I want to see is Seung-nyang’s encounter with Dangkise. Their chemistry shouldn’t be wasted away just like that…right? But then, since Seung-nyang is close with Taltal, will we have a scene Ta-hwan getting jealous over these two? Heee~