Have you found out anything else?
I looked into the painters the guild conducts business with.
But none of them seemed suspicious.
I also did not find questionable ledgers in the guild's library.
When it comes to the painter,
it seems the chief merchant handles the matter.
As is expected.
You must delve even deeper, then, I suppose.
To do so, you must not raise any more suspicions.
You were close to being found out.
Sim Jae-yi. That wench nearly ruined everything we've worked for.
And I'm certain she'll complicate things again.
Get rid of her.
DEAR HONGRANG
I appreciate all you have done for the chief merchant
as his lead merchants over the years.
Nevertheless, I am glad to see that you have all made the difficult decision
to come and attend this meeting.
For this loyalty,
I shall repay you generously for a long time to come.
You have my word.
Yes, my lady.
I have gathered you all here not to ask you to turn against my husband,
but to help guide the guild in a new direction.
I sincerely hope that you do not reproach yourselves at all
for attending this meeting.
However, if perhaps you leave here wishing you hadn't come,
then I hope you are prepared to lose your life
and for all of your kin to face the consequences
for generations and generations to come.
You have my word. It will be so.
Now then, shall we begin this auspicious meeting?
Lady Min.
Merchant Mun.
It is not us, the lead merchants,
or the guild's disposition that guide the chief merchant in any direction.
- What does then? - The patrons, my lady.
Those who have been instrumental in ensuring the guild's profitability
through their constant patronage.
But especially the patrons with significant influence
who've done business with the guild due to the trusted relationship they had
with the previous chief merchant, your late father.
That is the reason why they would be more favorably inclined toward you, my lady.
I suggest you win them over first.
Her Ladyship held a covert meeting with the lead merchants.
It does not bode well for us.
Rumors are circulating
that the guild's ownership has already been transferred to young master Hongrang.
Let us set off at daybreak.
I shall go to the Jin Arts store.
I want you to see to this task personally and in utmost secrecy.
Yes. I will be most cautious, my lord.
- Has business been good these days? - Yes, my lord.
Is something troubling you, my lord?
No.
I thought I smelled a familiar scent.
A scent?
Mun Gyu-ha.
What?
Uh, what of him, my lord?
How has he been faring these days?
He is dead, my lord.
His addiction to drinking and gambling ruined everything he had.
Then the mother he had been neglecting passed away.
He took his own life soon after that.
BIG EYES AND LEAN FACE
I am so sorry for keeping you waiting.
Let us get you someplace safe first, then…
What did you do to my sister? Where is she?
- Guards! - Where is she? Speak up!
What have you done to Kkot-nim? Where did you send her?
Where is she? Please tell me!
Make your choice.
Either you leave with that wench or take this stamp and assume your place.
It is up to you. Choose wisely.
You could leave with nothing
or secure your place here.
Young mistress.
My lady, are you still asleep?
Are you? I have brought you some food.
Four days have passed since you've been in here.
My lady?
And I'm certain she'll complicate things again. Get rid of her.
Whether you are an imposter or not,
I hope you are no longer in pain.
And yet,
she's in no position
to worry about others.
My lady.
Oh! Oh no, goodness! Eul-bun! Eul-bun!
Eul-bun!
- What is it, Mother? - She's not well.
The poor young girl.
What about my sister?
Sister,
please get better.
I feel sad when you're in pain.
Please… get better.
I want you to feel happy.
The combination of her being unable to eat, coupled with anxiety,
caused her spleen and stomach to malfunction,
resulting in her coughing up blood.
After a few days of good rest, she will be well.
There's no need to worry. I shall prescribe yeonsimsan.
Let it steep in water and have her drink it.
Oh my. This is Sin's Miindo painting, is it not?
How on earth did you manage to get your hands on this?
I shall buy it from you right now.
What is your asking price?
This is a gift.
A present from Her Ladyship to you, Your Honor.
- What? - Ah.
She's offering this as a gift? A piece as precious as this?
Very well. What would Her Ladyship like in return?
She has returned?
What? Is there something else?
I acted too rashly.
It was careless.
I know full well
the extent of your pain.
I've caused you even more suffering. I am so sorry.
Believe me.
Perhaps
he really is Hongrang.
Have you thought about that?
What would you do then?
I must accept it.
If he is your brother, in a way, he is my brother too.
If I understand correctly,
the person who conspired with Hong-sik to have me drink the pomegranate wine
was not Sim Jae-yi.
It was the substitute brother.
She was trying to protect him.
And I simply danced to her tune.
I am utterly repulsed. I've lost my appetite.
What is it you want to say? Why are we all here?
Please get on with it.
Hongrang.
- Yes? - Pay a visit to your great-uncle.
But he lives so far. Why do you wish him to go?
I received a letter from him.
He last saw Hongrang when he was but a child. He wishes to see him again.
It was inconsiderate of me not to have sent Hongrang to visit him sooner.
May I take my sister with me?
I have yet to recall so many memories from my childhood,
and it worries me that I may unintentionally cause him distress.
I'd like her to accompany me.
She would help alleviate my uneasiness and aid me in recalling my memories.
Very well. You may take her.
- He is away from home yet again? - Yes, my lord.
His leg condition must be completely cured, then.
He no longer needs his palanquin.
W-Well, that is--
Take this and have it delivered to His Honor.
- He gave you this and then he simply left? - Yes, my lord.
I see both the husband and the wife
are being remarkably tactful in their efforts, are they not?
However, since I've already received a treasure from Her Ladyship,
it would be unlikely for him to persuade me with anything else.
What?
What on earth?
Get my carriage ready.
I must go to the Min Family Guild this instant!
- This is an imitation. - How can you tell?
It is such intricate work. It is almost impossible to discern.
Are you suggesting that Lady Min sent me a forgery?
Are you sure about this?
Yeol-guk,
it is not that I distrust your judgment, but how can you be sure?
These two pieces look identical. How can you tell one from the other?
I am sure that I'm not mistaken.
All pieces that come into the guild have been marked in a certain way.
JIN
How deceitful! The nerve of that woman.
Your Honor,
you have been greatly wronged here.
Please forgive me.
Oh, no.
You have done nothing wrong.
I now realize that Lady Min
has been acting in a very undignified way to claim the guild for herself.
She likely meant no harm, my lord.
She lacks a detailed eye for art.
You see, she typically handles the guild's financial matters.
Huh.
Now, wait.
There must be others who have also received a forgery.
Lord Hong,
you should have sent word that you would be coming.
Please come inside.
Hmph.
Chief Merchant…
Find out what is going on.
Yes, ma'am.
- Why have you brought a dagger? - Do you remember what I taught you before?
I do, but vaguely.
I hold it like this?
Allow me.
I think it was like this.
Have mercy.
Was that correct?
Yes. I give you it so you can protect yourself like that.
You must come back safely.
I will.
Tie them up tightly. Make sure.
All right.
My dear son,
it pains me so much that I cannot go with you.
There is an urgent matter that I must attend to.
His Lordship is a strict and principled man,
so be sure to treat him with the utmost courteousness.
I will.
I will see you soon, Mother.
I'm having them followed. There's no need for worry.
- Help yourselves. - Let us eat.
Heavens, this tastes good.
Oh my goodness. You are just a fledgling, aren't you?
How ever did you fall from up there?
It might have been pushed out by its own mother.
What?
Mother birds tend to abandon chicks that are weak or have deformities.
Keeping it alive would mean another mouth to feed. Most likely it would die anyway.
I don't know. This one wants to live.
Look. See how its wings are flapping.
I believe it's telling us it needs our help.
It wants to go back to its nest.
Here. You hold it.
Hand it back to me once I get close to the nest.
Can you even… climb?
You hold it.
What are you waiting for?
Oh!
What?
Are you going to catch me?
- Hmm. - All right, then, as you wish.
Oh!
You said that you would try!
You said you would try harder to be a little brother. Is this what you meant?
I thought that's what little brothers were like.
Immature, reckless, and impulsive.
The objects I sent the patrons were all imitations?
Yes, my lady.
That cannot be.
We retrieved them from the strongroom, so how could that be possible?
Someone must have tampered with the pieces.
But who?
Why?
Do you mean the items were not authentic to begin with?
This is disastrous.
I have damaged the guild's reputation and the trust of its patrons.
I have to be the one accountable for everything, mustn't I?
My lady, I have heard rumors that Madam Gwigokja is close by.
Find out where she is. Right now!
Yes, my lady.
Do away with her on the journey.
Say she fled to find her brother. That should be a sufficient excuse.
I have evidence to prove she saved enough money working with the strays
to flee to Yanjing.
Hah!
Hongrang! My heavens, is it really you?
Why, you've not changed one bit, indeed.
I thought I would never get to see you again before I died.
Do you remember me at all? Please, take a look around.
Everything should be exactly as you remember it.
No wonder. I thought it looked familiar.
Beautiful.
Especially the pine tree.
Of course you remember that!
You used to stand on the tips of your toes
and say that you would grow taller than it. Hmm!
Goodness. Hmm.
I owe everything to my sister.
It's thanks to her I have been able to recall things little by little.
Oh, of course. You two were inseparable ever since you were little.
Oh, yes, yes.
Jae-yi, is it not? You have not changed a bit either.
Oh, yes. Welcome back.
…to become such a dashing young man.
I hear you thought differently.
Pardon?
What was it?
What instantly prompted you to deny
that he was the brother you had lost 12 years ago?
I did not
find him recognizable at all.
Then, what about now?
Do you still have doubts that he is your little brother?
Let me tell you something.
In my youth, I led countless soldiers, and every single one of them
had a fear of some sort pent up inside.
Fear often stems from something one experiences in childhood.
Soldiers who have memories of almost drowning as a child
develop a fear of water.
Those who recall falling from a considerable height
develop a fear of heights.
Which means that…
you must fear this.
You were severely burned by a brazier's flame in this very room.
It must have left you with a scar.
Yet, look at you. You do not seem to fear fire at all.
It is simply because I have experienced much worse horrors.
Intense hunger left my insides feeling as though they were being seared by fire.
The biting cold made my skin feel as if it were being torn apart.
That was worse than any pain from a burn.
In the darkness, where I could not see an inch ahead of me,
I hoped for a single ember to warm me.
I did not care if it meant I could burn up or die.
However, despite the hunger
and the bleak cold and dark,
what I feared most was nothing that would hurt me physically.
It was the fear of being alone.
No other kind of fear could surpass that feeling of loneliness.
No other fear
will ever be greater.
Fortunately, it appears that you will not have to endure such a fate.
She is here.
You should not be staying in such an awful place.
Come with me, please.
You are
at risk of losing something again, I gather.
I beg you to lay a blessing upon me.
I fear that both myself and my son appear to be at serious risk
of falling into grave danger.
Who is at fault?
If you had not put yourself at risk to begin with,
you would not have had to come here at all, would you?
Yes.
It is because I acted rashly.
An imitation exists only because an authentic one exists.
What?
What do you…
I once thought that it might be better if you did not in fact return home.
I had hoped that you had either passed on
or found happiness in another life far from your homeland.
I did not want you to one day suffer the consequences of your parents' sins.
Forgive me.
What do you mean by that?
Remember this.
Spilling innocent blood will have its consequences.
We will rest here for the night.
Take the porters and settle someplace farther.
Why are you lurking here?
Let us end this quickly. We wouldn't want to wake anyone.
Hongrang?
Hello? Are you sleeping?
I'm talking to you!
Such a shame.
Quite wasteful.
You are all good swordsmen.
Now tell me, who sent you?
You are up against a Soul Reaper.
Take only your most skilled men with you.
Do not let her out of your sight.
You must not let him harm a single hair on her head.
Get rid of the bastard.
But the grandmaster's orders were to protect the lady, sir.
I doubt your silence is due to loyalty. Perhaps pride? Or is it work ethic?
However,
pride and duty are luxuries
that mercenaries who kill for money can ill afford.
I do understand though.
You see,
I am not much different from you.
Where is she?
Oh! What is it?
- Did something hap-- - I…
thought I had lost you.
- Again. - What?
I said I thought I had
lost you again.
You thought you did what?
What was that just now?
Springing into action. Was that to protect me?
Just stop it.
What? Stop what?
What is it now?
That must have happened when I went for a stroll to, uh…
Why are you hurt?
Why do you keep getting hurt? I do not understand why.
Why?
Now then, we must resolve this issue.
In order to do so,
we will compare the pieces you received with the ones I have kept.
We will identify which ones are authentic
and which ones are imitations.
We will do it right here and now.
Send in the appraisers.
Goodness, why are they so quiet?
I, for one, remain hopeful.
Why do they need to stare at it for so long? Good heavens.
Be quick, damn it.
What is your opinion?
After conducting multiple examinations and speaking amongst ourselves,
we have reached a unanimous conclusion.
The pieces on the right-hand side are authentic.
We were had, then.
- How on earth did this happen? - I am curious to know as well.
Did you mean to deceive us from the start?
We would very much like to hear what you have to say.
Lady Min,
speak up and explain yourself!
- Oh, my heavens! - Oh! Oh!
What do you think you're doing?
You are mistaken.
This! And this!
All of these are the fake pieces!
We had the appraisers inspect them right before our eyes.
Yes.
I know.
They are fake as well!
All those imbeciles.
So now let me show you the truth.
Bring him in!
It is Chu, the son-in-law from Jin Arts Supply Store, is it not?
Which of these did you draw?
The ones on the right-hand side are the ones I drew, my lady.
What nonsense.
I leave my mark
on all my imitation pieces.
Is that so?
Then show us.
We need to see if there is a mark there.
JIN
No! Those markings indicate their authenticity.
It is a mark in my handwriting indicating that it is a work of imitation.
Work of imitation?
The character "Jin"?
- The handwriting is identical. - So that one is fake?
Exactly.
Now then, shall I fill that chest up with gold or
shall I have your family's heads cut off and put them in there?
This is ridiculous!
What do you think you are doing?
I merely took a page out of your book.
What did you do?
You had the authentic pieces replaced with forgeries.
Is that why you think you can do this?
That you can falsely claim that those imitations are authentic?
You will have to face the consequences of this action.
There are dozens of appraisers,
as well as the original painters who will be able to identify their work.
An imitation is what it is.
It will never be an original, no matter how much you insist otherwise.
But that is exactly what is happening now.
No! All of these are authentic pieces!
Put the fire out now!
Put it out!
Dowse the flames. Hurry!
Hurry! Put it out now!
- Fire! - Fire!
Fire!
These are authentic pieces! No!
What makes a fake a fake
is the existence of an authentic.
Well then,
which ones should be considered authentic now?
Will you do something for me?
Ridiculous.
I should not have cried.
Strange, is it not?
I am the one who is injured,
yet she's the one in pain.
Is it because we are alike?
It was pity.
I was feeling sorry for her.
Watching her show concern for someone else when she is clearly suffering.
It was such a sad sight to behold.
Rest assured
I am well aware that there are worse things.
Souls that are worse off.
This emotion will pass.
We cannot have the Min Family Guild's only daughter looking this gaunt.
You should go and rest. You will be exhausted from all the travel.
Welcome home, my beloved son.
- Have you been well, Mother? - Yes.
Let us go inside.
Oh dear.
Why is the girl still alive?
I doubt it was a failure on your part.
Have you kept her alive intentionally?
Yes.
It would be tragic.
Tragic, how?
I am not the guild master's real son.
Mu-jin is adopted, and he is just there to further his cause.
The girl, though,
Sim Jae-yi is his daughter by blood.
If you keep her alive,
she'll prove useful when the critical moment arrives.
But still, she remains suspicious of you. And she will keep you at risk.
Her trust…
That is all that I need to earn from her.
But can you truly earn her trust?
It has been a long time. My goodness, you look pale.
Have you seen a specter?
No.
It is just that I heard…
Ah.
You heard the rumor that my mother died
while I was searching for my missing sister,
and that I had killed myself after indulging in drinking and gambling, yes?
Mm. Well, I'm sorry to say,
it is only half true.
As you can see,
I am alive and well.
I have been living in Qing.
My uncle owns some land there, so I thought I would offer him some help.
I see.
What are you doing here now?
Oh.
Yes. I have a task to attend to.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have some place to be.
Let us talk some more at another time.
I must say, though…
how can you be so heartless?
She was once your lover, was she not?
I am curious.
How could you not ask about my sister Kkot-nim's whereabouts?
Perhaps you simply do not care.
Or is it
that you know better than anyone else where she is?
I will protect you
at all costs.
It is good to see you again, Master.
It has been so long,
dear Mother.