Dun dun dun.

Episode 34.

 

 

Seung-nyang stopped right in front of Yoo for a moment of angsty and accusing stare from her side and the guards were ordered to drag her away, but Ta-hwan’s arrival at the throne hall turned out to be a surprise for all of them. Tanashiri expressed her (faked?) relief to see him up and walking, but he’s only interested in what were they doing with Lady Ki. Seung-nyang was happy to have him recovering from the poison and Ta-hwan smiled at her reassuringly. They only had eyes for each other, as if they were the only people in the hall! Still, I feel bad for Yoo, who must felt a pang of sadness upon hearing Seung-nyang’s concern directed towards Ta-hwan. Tanashiri kept insisting that Lady Ki failed to protect him and Ta-hwan’s explanation slayed them all: she personally removed the poison from him, making her his true saviour! He refused to hear any more ridiculousness and pulled Seung-nyang away. Well, dear Tanashiri..that’s double slaying for your pride in one day. But she seemed to be telling something to Yoo through her teary eyes…or was she just checking his reaction?

Ta-hwan brought Seung-nyang to his quarters but he suddenly fainted right after they entered his chamber. Golta explained that it was better for them to keep his weak condition a secret since it would be a problem if the baddies got to know the truth. It was Ta-hwan’s idea and Seung-nyang was touched at his selfless gesture, putting her life above his own health.

 

Yoo’s condition wasn’t that well either as his wound hadn’t healed yet (he needs bed rest with that kind of injury O.O). Bi-soo sent him some medicine and offered to help him (deja vu, anyone?). She took the chance to ask whether Lady Ki was the same Seung-nyang he talked about, the one whom he missed, and Bi-soo knew he didn’t get over her yet, judging from his gaze. Bi-soo broke a news to him: she’s going to pursue the Eagle Group leader and thanked Yoo for the lesson he taught her. Awwww..I’m beginning to like these two together, why she had to leave? Yoo knew he couldn’t stop her even if he’s aware that she’s going to walk on a dangerous path from now on and suggested that she took one of his underlings with her. She politely refused and promised that they would meet again soon before excusing herself. Ahhh~

Jeokho/Mak-saeng was waiting for her when Bi-soo walked out of Yoo’s quarters and introduced herself as the one who would follow her. LOL her face was priceless! She decided to ignore him and Mak-saeng looked happy to join her. Hehehe.

 

Seung-nyang spent her night taking care of the sick Ta-hwan and when he stirred up awake on the next morning, she was sleeping with her head on him. Heee~Ta-hwan took some time to process what’s happening (this reminds me of the cave scene in Episode 5!) and woke up before tucking the sleeping beauty Seung-nyang in his bed. He continued to look at the sleeping Seung-nyang with his affectionate gaze and planted a kiss on her cheek (Kyaaaaaa!). He walked out and unknown to him, the kiss didn’t go unnoticed by Seung-nyang, who was definitely moved thanks the affection displayed by Ta-hwan. Heeeee~and our Emperor was clearly getting better thanks to Seung-nyang’s care (LOL at Hong-dan’s chuckle!), telling Golta to summon Baek Ahn over since he’s going to give him an order.

 

In the prison, Jo-cham started to worry about their fate but Byung-soo knew they had no one but Yeon-chul’s clan to trust. Jo-cham freaked out and lashed out at Byung-soo although the latter was his superior. They were about to start fighting when Baek Ahn and Taltal paid a visit to the prison and brought them out. Byung-soo, you must had thought that they were there to save you…but they’re not! HA! Baek Ahn tortured them with the intention of finding the real instigator but Byung-soo challenged them to kill him. Suddenly, Yeon-chul and Co. made their appearance there (great timing…NOT), putting a halt to the interrogation. However, they were there to carry out death sentence to Byung-soo and Jo-cham. Taltal ordered his men to follow after them to make sure it was carried out properly.

 

 

The criminals were dragged out to the public and Yeon-hwa and Byung-soo exchanged sad glances as she witnessed the procession. Muahahaha! Jo-cham wasn’t that glad to see his ‘friend’ getting worried about a girl when he’s about to die. LOL. Dangkise ordered for the criminals’ faces to be covered and entrusted Tapjahae with the task of supervising the execution. At the same time, Seung-nyang thought that they had to be sure that the criminals would get sentenced properly and Eunuch Park volunteered to witness the execution since he wanted to see Byung-soo die with his own eyes. Only their mouths were visible as Byung-soo and Jo-cham were executed but Eunuch Park and Taltal’s men were satisfied to see them die, except that it would be easy for them to die this early, right? Yeah, they were still alive, hiding nearby wearing commoners’ clothes when they were approached by Dangkise. They were entrusted with another task with Byung-soo as the leader, much to Jo-cham’s disappointment. Whatever the order was, it must be something grand for them to rejoice happily after looking at it.

 

 

Seung-nyang was in her room, clearly distraught over something on her mind. She stared at the makeup and her reflection in the mirror before coming to a decision: she would spend the night with the Emperor. Aaaaand she’s wearing the red robe! Seung-nyang looked so beautiful! Eunuch Park conveyed her intention to Golta, who’s pleased to hear it and sent the servants away for the day. Ta-hwan was mesmerized to see the goddess in front of him and remarked that he won’t be able to pay attention on his book with her dressing up like that. HA, he’s thinking that she’s there to teach him and Ta-hwan was taken aback when Seung-nyang told him to put off the candles.

They sat on the bed as Seung-nyang removed her robe and Ta-hwan offered his help to do so (*ahem*).

 

Ta-hwan: Now, is it okay for me not be in pain because of you? The one who made my heart flutter…there’s no one but you, Yang-ie.

 

（´∀`）ｂ

(Okay, now I can die in peace.)

*One month later*

 

Baek Ahn and Taltal were still working together with Yoo and right now, they were planning to take over a garrison through Yoo. It was probably to reinforce their power for the Emperor’s aid and Yeon-chul agreed to it easily when Yoo asked for it. Taltal also found it out of the old man’s character to be this reckless but upon hearing that the original commander of the garrison, Wonjin, was made the Assistant Commander to Yoo’s commander position. Yeon-chul gave his permission just to give Yoo a hard time and he would be kicked out from the garrison in no time since there’s no way the soldiers would stay still after their leader was switched (loyalty stuff I guess). Baek Ahn also knew that the Wonjin guy was not an easy opponent either.

 

On their way out, Taltal kept talking about the dangerous move Yoo made to save Seung-nyang and Ta-hwan back then and demanded to know the reason why he’s doing it secretly. Yoo told him to stop talking about it and coincidentally, Seung-nyang was walking around nearby. They ran into each other and didn’t say a word since the misunderstanding was still there. Ouch. Yoo walked away after bowing to her and Seung-nyang still had this accusing look in her eyes, but then, seeing how Taltal was still close with Yoo, she seemed to have realized something.

 

Seung-nyang went to offer her morning greeting to Empress Dowager, who’s busy managing the Imperial Treasury matters. Seung-nyang offered to see the record and suggested an idea with a quick calculation thanks to her past experience dealing with the people in the market.The Dowager was impressed with her skills and entrusted her with the task to deal with the Imperial Treasury since it’s befitting for her to save the Imperial Family as a member of it. Seung-nyang was given the mandate to oversee the process to save money in their daily expenses starting from the Inner Court: cutting down on various things such as fabric and meat, plus the maids who didn’t adhere to these rules would have their pay cut accordingly. Tanashiri was mad to know about it and her anger multiplied upon hearing that the ceremony planned for Maha would be cancelled to cut down the expenses.

 

Tanashiri went to see Seung-nyang and demanded to know why she cancelled the ceremony. Seung-nyang was more concerned with the amount of mouths that could be fed with the lavish cost but Tanashiri accused her of being jealous of her son. Seung-nyang reminded her that the Imperial Treasury reached that state because of the Empress’ expenses and suggested that she use her own money if she insisted on holding the ceremony. It was rather a reckless move from Tanashiri when she pushed Seung-nyang down the stairs out of anger, causing Seung-nyang to pass out.

 

She was brought to the Emperor’s chamber (because it was nearby?) and the physician checked on her pulse. Surprise, surprise…Seung-nyang was already carrying Ta-hwan’s child! The  baby was safe and I swear I can see Ta-hwan’s face glowing with happiness! Meanwhile, Yeon-chul was laughing to hear Tanashiri’s story but their moment of bliss was only momentary as Yeon-hwa announced that Seung-nyang turned out to be pregnant.

 

Ta-hwan was waiting for the tonic to be prepared and as soon as it was sent to his chamber, he himself brought it to her as the three eunuchs smiled to see the excited father-to-be. Seung-nyang was awake and he told her to be careful when she tried to sit (Awwwwwwww~). Seung-nyang wondered if something happened and Ta-hwan shared with her the happy news. Gaaahhhh *flailing* Ta-hwan thanked Seung-nyang while hugging her and yeah, this was be a great blessing for Seung-nyang after losing Byul.

 

Ack, I’m so happy for them!

 

 

The ex-Commander Wonjin was waiting for Yoo to arrive at the garrison town and he recalled his conversation with Yeon-chul earlier. The old man wanted Wonjin to have his soldiers under his command instead of Yoo’s and Wonjin should treat Yoo harshly until he himself run away. He introduced himself to Yoo but remarked that the Yuan soldiers won’t receive orders from a Goryeo citizen. Huk. Yoo proceeded to hold his sword on Wonjin’s neck and the soldiers surrounded them to protect their Commander,but it was only an act from Yoo’s side, admitting that the commander was just like what Yeon-chul told him. Yoo seemed to have another plan and as soon as Wonjin was alone with them, Yoo’s underlings punished him for defying the new commander’s order. He brought Wonjin in front of the soldiers and told them to leave if they chose not to obey him. All of them left but Yoo wasn’t afraid; he’s recruiting the soldiers if they could obey his order, acknowledging him as their leader.

 

 

It’s a special day for Seung-nyang as she’s now an Imperial Concubine of the third rank and the title was bestowed because of her pregnancy. Tanashiri didn’t attend the ceremony, choosing to drink by himself. She assured Maha that he would be the nation’s Crown Prince and Court Lady Seo expressed her dissatisfaction as Ta-hwan never dropped by to hold Maha in his arms. But then, Ta-hwan suddenly dropped by her quarters without any notice. Tanashiri was glad to have him there, but Ta-hwan didn’t come for her or Maha; he was there to warn her against any idea of harming Seung-nyang just like what she did with Lady Park. Tanashiri then questioned him: if both Maha and Lady Ki’s child were his, then why was he paying attention only on the latter? Ta-hwan’s answer? Simple: Maha had so many people to hold him but Seung-nyang’s child would have only Ta-hwan as the person who would hold him, who would protect him from any harm. When Tanashiri insisted to have Maha as the Crown Prince even if Lady Ki’s child turned out to be a boy, Ta-hwan thought her to be so pathetic to see an unborn child as her opponent. Indeed. Wise words, dear.

 

 

 Tanashiri had never thought that such words would come out from Ta-hwan’s mouth and it shook her up. Court Lady Seo couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer, hence she suggested that Tanashiri tried a curse that would be able to kill a person in order to get rid of Lady Ki. Off they went to see a shaman (special appearance by Park Hae-mi, the one who gave Joo Jin-mo a rose during MBC Drama Awards 2013) specialized in that type of curse. The curse had its own weakness though: it would be a good thing if it hit the actual target but if it failed due to the target’s strong ki or inner force, the curse would go to another person. Amazing. Tanashiri agreed despite knowing the risk and the shaman looked through Seung-nyang’s saju (a document with a person’s birth date and time details usually used for wedding compatibility), noting that her son would had an Emperor’s fate with him. Yup. Tanashiri’s saju showed that she didn’t have a son and I think the shaman could see that she was lying about Maha. She cut the discussion about the saju short and listed few things to be prepared: the target’s undergarment and dog blood.

 

 

The shaman was secretly brought into the palace to cast the spell and send the curse to Seung-nyang (The Moon that Embraces the Sun, anyone?). Seung-nyang immediately felt the effect as she was chased by a dog’s apparition in her dream. She thought that it was just a nightmare, but she woke up with a bruise from a dog’s bite on her arm. Creepy. The  curse instilled fear in the target and if the target couldn’t overcome his own fear, he would soon die. Tanashiri was given the talismans to be burned while chanting the spell to send the curse every single night and by the time she finished burning all of them, the target would die. The shaman also wrote Seung-nyang’s name on a white tag to be buried in her compound that would be her identification tag to the Grim Reaper (Oh, this one… I miss Arang and the Magistrate!).

 

Seung-nyang started to lose her appetite due to her lack of rest and she’s getting weaker. She chose to consult Taltal regarding the matter, afraid that it would harm the child inside her. Taltal suspected that it wasn’t simply a sickness and took a look at the bruise. He knew about the curse that could kill a person and there’s no other method except for the target to overcome it himself. Seung-nyang knew that Tanashiri was the only person who would do such thing. Later, on that night, Seung-nyang was disturbed again in her dream when Tanashiri chanted the spell. However, instead of running away like the nights before, the Seung-nyang in the dream stopped and turned around to face the apparition.

Seung-nyang: Curse or whatever it is, send all of them to me. I won’t fall because of a mere curse. Tanashiri, I will become the curse soon.

**

Episode 35.

 

 

Seung-nyang continued to have nightmares and showed the new bruise she got on her neck to Taltal (Why am I getting a couple vibe from these two?!). Taltal had ordered for his men to find the shaman in the capital and told Seung-nyang about the tag for the Grim Reaper with her name on it, which would be hidden somewhere around her quarters. The maids conducted a search around her quarters and started digging the compound; however, nothing was found yet. Ta-hwan got to know about the curse after witnessing Seung-nyang having the nightmare and choking him in the process. He also thought that Tanashiri was the only person who would do such thing and he couldn’t stand still, watching her in that kind of suffering. He vowed that he won’t forgive Tanashiri for this matter but Seung-nyang advised him to refrain himself from attacking the Empress since they didn’t have any evidence.

 

She had the chance to confirm her suspicion when Tanashiri summoned her and Seung-nyang went to the Empress’ quarters. Tanashiri acted like she was so concerned over the baby and remarked that Seung-nyang looked pale. Seung-nyang didn’t hide the fact that she had continuous nightmares and watched their reactions. Tanashiri offered to send soem medicine but Seung-nyang refused, causing Tanashiri to mock her for being too suspicious. Well…mind you, she’s not to be blamed in this matter. The search for the tag continued for a few days and Dok-man thought that the tag might not be there in the first place since they couldn’t find anything. Suddenly, one of the eunuchs found the white tag and Dok-man had never thought that Tanashiri could be this vicious. Seung-nyang told him to send some men to watch over the Empress’ quarters for the next few nights.

 

Taltal was so pissed off that he threw the tag on the table when Seung-nyang showed it to him. The search for the shaman met dead end since they couldn’t possibly arrest all the shamans for interrogation without attracting attention from Tanashiri. Seung-nyang offered to find the shaman personally and she went out of the palace with Taltal to meet the shamans one by one (They do look good together…). They eventually found the shaman and judging from her reaction, Seung-nyang was sure that she was the person responsible for the curse. The white tags were found in her abode served as the solid evidence of her involvement. The shaman refused to disclose the person who sent the curse and Seung-nyang proceeded to burn the abode since the shaman was so scared of the sender. That was one cold way to send a message~

 

Tanashiri was still keen on chanting the spell and decided to go to the secret place she set up for the ritual. Ta-hwan got to know that they had found out the place and and went there to meet Tanashiri. She found it weird that the effect was different on that day after she chanted the spell and then, Ta-hwan barged into the place together with Seung-nyang and the eunuchs. He was ashamed to have the Empress resorting to a curse for the sake of satisfying her jealousy towards a concubine and arrested all her maids for interrogation although Tanashiri kept insisting that she was just praying for Maha. Ta-hwan assured her that she would be kicked out of the palace once they could obtain the confession from the maids, while Seung-nyang reminded her that she won’t be able to get rid of her simply by using a curse. The shaman and the maids were tortured and one of them was about to confess but Court Lady Seo stopped her from doing so. Tanashiri started to worry that her maids would betray her but she still seek help from her brothers to free them.

 

 

We got to see the good side together in one place (save for Yoo) as they gathered at Ta-hwan’s quarters. Empress Dowager got to know about the curse and thought that Yeon-chul’s clan knew no boundaries when it came to bad deeds. Seung-nyang was getting better, recovering from the effect (Baek Ahn was just like her father when he asked about her condition ㅠㅠ). They talked about the mission to raise the army on their side and Taltal told them about Wang Yoo who joined the brigand because of that reason. I think Seung-nyang had realized that she misunderstood him in some way (I really hope so!) when she heard about it and Ta-hwan was wondering why Yoo was so keen in helping them. Baek Ahn told him that Yoo only wished to get his throne back and Ta-hwan promised to reinstate Yoo as the King of Goryeo if their plan succeeded this time. Yeay!! The promise was conveyed to Yoo when Baek Ahn and Taltal met him after that but the new recruits were a problem: they decided to join the brigand because of the reward and the food, plus most of them were either beggars or poor commoners (they even bought their prized possessions like goats and chickens to the base!). His underlings insisted that these people won’t be a help but Yoo thought that every person could be useful and it wasn’t like they had any other choice.

 

Court Lady Seo and Yeon Hwa returned safely and Tanashiri was relieved that her maids didn’t betray her, but she got another bad news: Maha suddenly contracted measles. The physician couldn’t do anything since there’s no cure and she informed Ta-hwan about this.  Ta-hwan was with Seung-nyang, who was so immersed in her work to update the record for the Imperial Treasury. She told Ta-hwan that they would be able to send the fund to the army soon, but Ta-hwan admitted that he was slightly afraid thinking about his fight with Yeon-chul since he never thought about it seriously before meeting her. Seung-nyang promised that she would stay beside him and help him silently in order for him to regain his dignity as the Emperor. Golta informed him about Maha’s sickness but he insisted that he’d visit on the next day. Although Seung-nyang tried to persuade him into visiting the Prince, the thought of seeing Tanashiri after what she had done made him refuse to do so. I know that Maha wasn’t his real child but I felt sad for the child as Ta-hwan didn’t have any affection for him because of Yeon-chul’s blood flowing inside him.

 

 

Tanashiri went to call him herself (she sounded like woman who’s shouting at her neighbour). Golta blocked her from entering Seung-nyang’s quarters since the Emperor didn’t want to receive any guest, but Tanashiri refused to budge. She was so thick-skinned to do so in front of someone’s quarters and Ta-hwan thought so too. Seung-nyang stopped him from going outside, offering herself to deal with the Empress. She reminded Tanashiri that Maha was probably sick because of her and it wasn’t the Emperor’s fault. She suggested that it might be because of the curse since it could pick the new target from the sender’s family should the original target managed to fend of the curse. Her maids didn’t think it’s possible since Maha wasn’t her real son but Tanashiri insisted that he was her son. Oh my, that was scary! However, Tanashiri was willing to do anything for Maha’s sake and decided to pray to Buddha while being doused with cold water.

 

It was already late but Yeon-chul went to the throne hall by himself armed with his sword. He kept looking for Ta-hwan in the dark hall when something appeared behind him: it was his own corpse and the old man was taken aback. Ta-hwan approached him in the dark, mocking his fear towards a mere corpse when he had killed so many people. Darn, the young Emperor was so creepy, laughing menacingly that he had killed Yeon-chul. Although the old man insisted that he won’t die easily, Ta-hwan vowed that he won’t stop there: Dangkise, Tapjahae, Tanashiri, even Maha, all of them would lose their lives in his hands!

 

It turned out to be a dream and Yeon-chul mistook his sons as Ta-hwan who was trying to kill him. Dangkise and Tapjahae kept calling for his name until the old man snapped back to his usual self, realizing that it was just a vivid nightmare. He wondered why they came into his room bearing their swords and suspected that they were thinking of killing him too. He was about to strike them with his sword but soon passed out. This was the effect of the curse, right? RIGHT? OMG If only the dream was a reality O.O Tanashiri soon received the news about Maha’s recovery and she was relieved to hear that. Emmm…maybe you should check on your other relatives now?

 

 

Yoo started to train the men by making them run up the mountains. They were promised the pay and the food if they succeeded, but those who failed would become the slaves. The men were mostly weak runners and there were quite a number who couldn’t make the cut; however, Yoo was actually planning to take in all of them since he believed that they’re the same as him: he’s the loser who failed to protect his throne and he vowed to make it a success this time. The men were getting better and they finally managed to complete the training with no failure. They headed back to the base but their skills were still lacking.

*9 months later* (Wow, that was fast)

 

 

Seung-nyang was giving birth as Ta-hwan was pacing back and forth nervously outside her chamber. Empress Dowager told him to be calm since it as normal for the childbirth to take some time and finally, the baby’s cry was heard from the chamber. Meanwhile, Tanashiri kept praying that it won’t be a boy; it should be a girl or better, a stillborn. Who are you to interfere with the fate, girl? But then, her pray turned out to be fruitless since Seung-nyang delivered the baby safely and it was a boy. The Dowager gave the boy his name: Ayushiridara. Awwwww. The baby is so cute! At the same time, raining for the soldiers continued and they were improving by leaps and bounds after months of training. Yoo received the news about Seung-nyang giving birth to a baby boy and he kept thinking about her; however, he recalled her words asking for him to forget her.

 

Yeon-chul was still alive but he would lost his mind once in a while. He continued to be chased by his own fear in his dreams and even dreamed of Byung-soo taking his secret fund. Dangkise was heartbroken to see his father acting like that and begged for the old man to kill him since he couldn’t stand looking at him like that. Yeon-chul snapped back to his usual self and hugged his son. Ahhhh…He sent Dangkise out and wondered if he’s really going to die just like that.

 

 

Ta-hwan spent his time with Ayu and he was amazed with the boy’s face which took after both him and Seung-nyang. So adorable! Maha’s birthday celebration was going to be held on that day but Ta-hwan refused to attend the ceremony. Seung-nyang urged him to go since the governors would also be there. Yoo was also invited and he met Tanashiri on his way to the throne hall. He got to see Prince Maha and praised his good looks. Ack, if only he knew the truth! Nuns were brought into the palace to pray for Maha’s well-being and surprise, surprise…one of them was the nun from the temple Tanashiri where took Maha from! She survived the fire but with burns on her face. Court Lady Seo seemed to recognize her and the nun glared at Tanashiri, proving that she had never forgotten what happened.

 

The governors congratulated the Emperor for Prince Maha’s birthday (he should be two by this time). He was urged to say something to Maha but Ta-hwan couldn’t care less about the little boy and ordered for Ayu to be brought to him. He knew that the officials were expecting him to name his heir but he chose to wait until the two princes grow up before selecting one of them to be the Crown Prince. I feel bad for Maha, not because of the Crown Prince position, but because he didn’t get the love from his father 😦 Eunuch Park conveyed something to Seung-nyang and her expression changed.

 

Court Lady Seo went to the nuns and asked Dok-man about the nun with the scars but the nun already went to see someone: Seung-nyang. She told Seung-nyang about Tanashiri’s secret: Maha wasn’t the Empress’ real child and she burned down the temple to hide the secret. The nun told Seung-nyang about it since she had the power to stop Tanashiri’s son from being appointed as the Crown Prince. Seung-nyang was thinking of exposing it in front of everyone in the throne hall and the nun  said that she had a proof that would be known to the boy’s nanny.

“On the baby’s foot…”

**

No preview for episode 36!

This week’s episodes are moving at the fastest speed (LTE?) and it reminds me of the first few episodes. Then the realization dawns on me: we only have 15 episodes left for everything to be concluded nicely. I went through all the posts I’ve written for Empress Ki and if feels like yesterday when I first saw the teaser. Oh my, time sure flies very fast!

I’m so happy to see Seung-nyang finally accepting her fate as Ta-hwan’s concubine and I like to see how far Ta-hwan and Seung-nyang’s relationship have evolved since the first time they met. In my opinion, Ta-hwan’s willingness to sacrifice his own life for Seung-nyang made her realize that he had changed: from the timid prince who used to hide behind his protectors to an emperor who would protect his people. I think the gestures made Seung-nyang respect Ta-hwan and she decided to accept him. I just love to see their dynamic nowadays, with Seung-nyang supporting Ta-hwan in everything he’s doing, and Ta-hwan gving his best shot to become a proper and respectable Emperor. I can’t wait to see this Imperial couple wielding their power together, side by side!

Highlight of the week: Ayushiridara! I’m looking forward to the Prince’s appearance simply because we finally got a proper timeline to look at. I know that the drama is not following the exact history but it’s just the history lover in me who want to see if the upcoming events will happen in the nearest future. Since Prince Ayu was recorded to be born in 1338, I’ve got the answers to my questions: Ta-hwan was 18 years old while Seung-nyang was 23. A little bit lesson on the history: since we’re in the year of 1338 in the drama, it’s about time for Baek Ahn to rise to the power. It’s logic since we only have 15 episodes left and I assume that Seung-nyang will only become the Empress towards the end of the drama. I was looking forward to see Seung-nyang in action as an Empress but maybe I have to be satisfied to see her journey towards becoming one. At least I get to see Yeon-chul’s downfall (together with Tanashiri being kicked out of the palace and Dangkise’s rebellion), Baek Ahn’s rise and downfall, and the appearance of the new Empress from Baek Ahn’s clan. Heeee, I’m so excited to see these things unfold so I hope the drama will be able to deal with the story well!

With Ayu’s appearance, another issue appeared that was Ta-hwan’s evident favoritism towards his sons. Yes, I did pity Maha for not getting the attention from his father (although we know that he’s not even the real son of Ta-hwan), but who am I to question it when the maternal grandfather of the child was the same person who tried to harm the child’s father for so many times? The wound was probably too deep for Ta-hwan to accept the poor baby and I pity both of them: the father who couldn’t accept his son and the son who couldn’t get the attention from his father. That was just tragic and in a makjang setting, it could lead to a bigger conflict later (ㅠㅠ) Somehow the fact that Maha was not Ta-hwan’s real son made me feel better for both of them. Although I’m not sure how the truth will be played out, is it possible for Maha to be returned to Yoo? This is sure complicated O.O I should stop thinking about it now…

Wang Yoo…why are you looking so fine nowadays? He’s the one who was suffering the most but when he smiled occasionally…I’d go crazy. Ehehe *giggle* I want to see him happy but at the same time, his love for Seung-nyang was too deep for him to get over it so easily. His expressive nature makes it harder since it was evident in both his expression and his action, but he chose not to show it in front of Seung-nyang, afraid that it would be a problem for her. Dear, you’re giving yourself double dose of pain all the time! I wish that he would get over Seung-nyang and move on to spare himself from the continuous heartbreak but given his character, it won’t be that easy for him to do so. At least Seung-nyang seemed to have realized that Yoo was on the good side so I’m hoping that they could clear the misunderstanding between them. Ahhhh….

Yeon-chul going senile was something that I didn’t expect to happen but still, it’s kind of satisfying to see him getting weaker. But then, I hope he won’t encounter easy death without proper face-off between him and Ta-hwan. It would be a total cop out for him! He needs to see Ta-hwan cackling and gloating in front of him and realize that he had been fooled by Yoo all this while. Just like what he said back then, there are hundreds of way to kill people and I wish to see him making a grand exit, befitting his status as the main evil character. His death would be the reason for Dangkise’s coup and the rest would fall into the place, just like a domino effect. Although the baddies were evil, their loyalty to the family was something remarkable. Dangkise’s heartbreaking plea for Yeon-chul to kill him was just sad and when the old man hugged his son…ah, my feels couldn’t be described with words! Same thing goes to Tanashiri. I’m not sure if it was because of her strong motherly instinct or her obsession, but she cared for Maha although the latter wasn’t her real son. I wonder what woul happen if she got to know about Maha’s real identity; would she harm him or went crazy because of the mind-boggling truth? I would go crazy if I knew that the child whom I cherished so much turned out to be the son of the woman whom I hated to death. Mind = blown.

Another thing to look forward to? Seung-nyang and her babies. I am dizzy just from thinking about it but I’m sure our bright Seung-nyang would be able to solve the problem. I can’t imagine what she would feel to know that the child she thought to be dead is still alive…

Monday, where are you?

By the way, thanks for all your wishes! I’m getting better but still having headaches and hopefully I’ll recover before Monday comes! The latest casting news made me so excited and impatient for the upcoming episodes ^^