Prince Dosung enters the palace and discovers the king is in a coma and the queen is by his side, crying her eyes out. When she finally calms down to tell him what happened, he is shocked to learn that the Queen Dowager was the one who poisoned the food and had the queen serve it to the king. In anger, he goes to her chamber. Drawing a guards sword, he steps inside her room, threatening her that he would kill everyone if she doesn’t let him in. The Queen dowager agrees, unfazed as Dosung accuses her of poisoning the king just to keep her disgusting affair hidden. He threatens to kill her for harming his family but Queen Dowager tells him the bitter consequences if he does that. His father would die, His mother would be held responsible and he would be put to death. For her to save them, he should choose whether to protect his mother or to betray his brother.
It’s because of this that Dosung eventually betrayed Lee Gun. However, before he was was taken away, Lee Gun knew something must have gone wrong and instead of getting angry, asked Dosung if something happened in the palace. Dosung replied that the king became unconscious. Gap Seok tries to fight the officers from taking Lee Gun but both are eventually arrested. After watching the scene, Myung Yoon hurries home to ask Moo Baek if what happened was related to her father but he’s reluctant to tell her. Meanwhile, prince Dosung speaks with Lord Choi warning him to keep to his ends of the bargain now that he has done what he wanted. As they are speaking, Myung Yoon enters, getting surprised when her father introduces Dosung to her as a prince. Dosung leaves, unable to look at her. After he’s gone, Myung Yoon speaks to her father demanding to know if he had anything to do with the young scholar (Lee Gun’s) arrest. She expresses her dissapointment at his sudden change of character but Lord Choi ignores her, ordering Moo Baek to lock her up in her room and not let her leave without his permission.
Meanwhile, Lee Gun, Gap seok and Sang Soo are kept in one prison. Sang Soo is severely beaten up and bleeding. He reveals why he’s locked up. He was accused of using the poison Lee Gun had given him to poison the king. But it was actually the queen dowager’s doing and Lee Gun understand why he was arrested. Meanwhile, The queen gets upset after learning Lee Gun was arrested and framed because of her. She takes the blame for everything and says she would expose the truth. Every effort by Dosung to stop her proves futile until she suddenly faints.
Dosung visits Lee Gun in prison and apologises for betraying him because he had to save his mother. Lee Gun chastises him for giving in easily. If it were him, he would have investigated the poison first. He tells him because of his fiery temper, he’s not ready to be king after he dies. Dosung isn’t happy with his words. He tells him the Queen’s condition. Lee Gun is worried about her and regrets being an unfilial son to her. Dosung is surprised that’s what he cares about more and begs him to use his smart brain to escape prison.
Myung Yoon tries to take her mind off things by practicing her martial arts. However, nothing works so she and Oh wol go to the gisaeng house. In other to have a drink, she makes Oh wol give medicine to someone. When she’s gone, she heads to the lounge area with two bottles of wine but when she sees Prince Dosung, she freezes and wants to head somewhere else but she changes her mind and goes to the area. Upon noticing her presence, Dosung is cold and doesn’t even regard her when she asks permission to drink there. Myung Yoon is concerned and tries to talk to him, even giving him some wine when he runs out. However, he rejects her good will which enrages Myung Yoon. Realising he went too far, he apologises for his harsh behavior and says he has a lot on his mind. Myung Yoon asks him about the scholar that was arrested and what he and her father talked about.
But Dosung doesn’t tell her. However, he expresses how much of a coward he feels for abandoning someone he thought he could even die for. Myung Yoon expresses her pain of not being able to save someone and how it drives her crazy. Both are thinking of Lee Gun as they each drown themselves in alcohol. Lord Choi convinces the left state councillor, Dosung’s grandfather that they should make Lee Gun admit to poisoning his father. It’s the only way that Dosung can become King without anyone questioning his sovereignty so the left state councillor visits Lee Gun in prison accompanied by the magistrate. However, he dismisses all of them in order to speak with him alone. But he is unaware that the Queen is coming to the prison to visit Lee Gun so she overhears everything he says, how he threatens Lee Gun with his father’s death if he doesn’t cooperate with him. Lee Gun accuses him of being power hungry and making Dosung king so he can control him for his selfish reason. He also accuses him of not caring if his daughter becomes a widow.
When the queen hears this, she’s devastated and goes to the king’s chamber, determined not to leave his side until he’s well. However, the magistrate who had seen the queen entering the prison tells this to the left state councillor and he’s completely shocked. He heads to the king’s chamber to see the queen but he’s unable to see her as she had ordered the royal guard not to let him in.
Lee Gun remembers the time when he and his father visited his mother’s grave before he was made king. He spoke of all the things they would go through in the palace and has him promise to bury him beside his mother when he dies. He also makes him promise to take care of his step mother and little brother.
The queen dowager has become the regent in place of the king and during a meeting with the ministers, they urge her to make someone occupy the office of the inspector general to investigate criminals. Left state councillor and the magistrate recommend Lord Choi and stops another official Censor Dae Seung from recommending himself. The Queen dowager agrees immediately but shocks everyone when she even appoints Lord Choi as the principal director of the royal house administration. The magistrate is surprised knowing that the Queen dowager increased Lord Choi’s authority in order to keep him in check but Left state councillor knows it’s really because they want to be together without arousing suspicions.
Lee Gun secretly meets with the queen dowager in her chambers. He tells her that after the king dies, the left state councillor will try to kill her and Lord Choi and make Dosung crown prince. He tells her that for her to live, he must make sure his father lives. The Queen dowager asks her if he’s telling her all this because he’s worried about her. Lee Gun doesn’t answer her question. He tells her that if she ever had love for him in her heart, she should spare Gap seok and Sang Soo. After saying this, he leaves.
His words touch her deeply as she’s reminded of her son prince Gwangchang who was taken away from her. She starts crying and goes after Lee Gun but Lord Choi who has been hiding in her room stops her. She begs him to spare Lee Gun, crying that she cannot bear to have him die like her son did. It would be like she’s relieving the pain all over again but Lord Choi just hugs her tightly apologising as she cries against his chest.
Lee Gun is brought publicly before Lord Choi, left councillor and the magistrate. They lay false accusations against him, urging him to confess he tried to kill his father. Left councillor even lies that the Queen said he gave her the poison. They try to make him confess. Meanwhile, the queen notices that the king’s finger is moving, indicating that he’s slowly regaining consciousness. The episode ends.
