Bloody Heart (Red Single Heart / Beulgeun Danshim / 붉은 단심)

BLOODY HEART

THE PEOPLE, GROUPS, PLACES, AND INCIDENTS IN THIS DRAMA ARE PURELY FICTIONAL

I have seen

this arrangement before.

I saw it before you collapsed.

The one who caused the regency by the Queen Dowager,

the one who shook this nation and let it fall in danger was…

you…

and your design?

Yes,

it was all my doing.

It was an inevitable event.

And it was to protect us both.

But people died.

They were unavoidable sacrifices.

Ttonggeum has died.

She died because of your scheming.

She died stripped…

of her dignity.

BLOODY HEART EPISODE 15

You know,

I do not need to be born as a noble in my next life.

I would not mind being a servant or livestock for that matter

as long as you are my master.

Living in your shadows eating whatever you give me

will be a satisfying life.

A happy one too.

Put at least ten steps between you and the chambers.

Ttonggeum…

only came to the palace to protect me.

When I wanted to escape these walls,

she had brought herself in

to get me to safety.

She will be given a befitting funeral.

And this will never happen again.

Hundreds and thousands of lives

depend on the decisions you make.

Before acting,

you should have considered the consequences.

How do you wish for me to eliminate the meritorious subjects?

They are not to be dealt with by justice

and righteousness alone.

Consort Park,

you must surely remember what they did to us.

I remember clearly.

I remember how many lives were easily lost in a single purge.

But do you really believe that it was only them

who ruined my family?

The former King's decision to protect you

resulted in the death…

of my parents and my extended family.

That was…

the consequence of a king's decision.

You had the governor

protect the crafters at Bamboo Grove Village.

You even fasted so that your eunuchs and court ladies

would not be accused of poisoning you.

It is sad how innocent lives were lost,

but you should not reproach yourself.

But Siwol was one of them.

Consort Park is right.

I caused…

these deaths.

And as a result, you strengthened the royal authority.

Court Lady Choi,

His Majesty has requested that the consort joins him on a walk by the stables.

He must not be aware of her being unwell.

Inform him that I cannot.

I am afraid Consort Park has declined.

It seems as though her anger…

will not easily subside.

Ttonggeum's body will be buried outside the Capital today.

His Majesty ordered a funeral to be conducted with respect.

You should visit once she lays to rest.

She will be expecting you.

Report back to me on the status of the royal office.

Not his chambers,

but the royal office?

That is correct.

It is the first day of the month?

Yes, Your Highness.

Should I bring you some snacks?

Go ahead.

Your Highness,

Inspector Park requests an audience.

Should I grant him entrance?

Let him enter.

What brings you by?

I am only here to greet you.

I always have on the first of the month

after the grand morning court assembly.

Is that so?

After having challenged me so fiercely?

I was only fulfilling my professional duties.

And greeting an elder is a duty of mine as your junior.

The court is abundant with those

afraid of being shunned if found in association with me.

You are to leave. Neglect your duties…

like others choose to do.

I will be back to greet you next month.

Namsang.

-Yes, Your Highness? -I am grateful

for the company.

But…

do not come next time.

I will not see you anymore.

I hear that the Chief Scholar is moving to have you impeached.

His sense of inferiority has clouded his judgment.

But he is still my mentor.

Is it taking a toll on you?

Fulfilling one's duties

always has its difficulties.

Yes, it has been troubling,

Father.

Namsang.

Still,

do not deviate from your troubled path.

What you value

is the past I desperately

wished to protect.

That is how I taught you.

But if it is too much to bear,

feel free to resent me instead.

Father.

I would have led the same life

no matter what you taught me.

Between the two of us,

you must be the stronger one.

What are you planning to do after gaining all that power?

What exactly is power to you?

I wonder.

Is there anything

you actually wish to achieve?

We report the following with the utmost respect.

The Queen Dowager falsified evidence

and tried to take command of the troops with a fake dispatch token

revealing her traitorous crimes.

Despite her heinous actions, she hides behind her status as your mother.

We urge you to value the greater good

and lawfully punish the Queen Dowager by deposing her.

I do not allow it.

My mother would not have betrayed her own son.

The crime falls upon the Chief Royal Secretary

who wrote up documents in her name.

Interrogate the Chief Royal Secretary and uncover the crimes

of those associated.

Your Majesty?

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, scholars of the Confucian Academy were either

executed or imprisoned for speaking their minds.

The level of brutality gravely alarms us.

Please investigate the Queen Dowager.

I do not allow it.

It must stem from the impudent loyalty of the Chief of State Tribunal.

He will be interrogated and punished by exile

should his crimes be proven.

I do not allow it.

It is the Office of Palace Eunuchs that harbored a personal vendetta.

How dare you accuse my mother of such crimes?

Eunuchs and adjunct overseers,

round up all those who took advantage of the Queen Dowager's powers.

I wish to know why you are refusing to depose the Queen Dowager.

Is it to punish

the meritorious subjects using her crimes as an excuse?

Or is there…

another reason?

I cannot

dishonor my own mother

which will then justify an overthrow of my regime.

Then…

what is it that you are attempting?

I gave Councilor Park my order.

He is to bring me the Queen Dowager.

His Majesty is not interested in the Queen Dowager's deposition.

Eliminating us is his main objective.

The list of her crimes is not short

and he is trying to tie them around our necks.

I hear His Majesty gave the order.

"Bring me the Queen Dowager."

If you wish to live,

you are to serve him her head.

His Majesty cannot dishonor his mother

nor let her live for that matter.

Whether you persuade her with words or by force is up to you.

But he is pressuring you

to find a way that will let him be free of guilt.

It is unacceptable.

But the alternative will only put us in danger.

With a deposition being suggested--

Forcing her abdication may be undutiful,

but murdering her is a sin against heaven.

No dynasty or its people

can serve a king who murders his own mother.

Throughout his regime,

treason, rebellion, and mutiny

will be repeated.

I refuse…

to be the one…

who brings this country to ruin.

Deposement will not be enough.