Has this show broken 40% yet? I think it's really amazing. 

Nok Young stepped in and got the guards to bring Yeon Woo away. Yang Myung stared at her and said, "Do you know whose path you are blocking right now?"

His expression hardened as he heard Nok Young telling him that him and Yeon Woo had no fate together and he asked angrily whose right it was to decide the fates. Nok Young advised him that if he really loved Yeon Woo, he should leave her. Woon heard this conversation from a side. 

Yeon Woo got interrogated by Hwon about her birthplace and her childhood. 

She started crying as Hwon pushed her to tell him about her family after he learnt that she wasn't an orphan right from the start (but was abandoned when she was young). She told him that the ritual to induct her as a shaman had caused her to have a break with all previous ties and fates.

Hwon shouted for her to unlock her memories so that she could remember again, and she begged him to stop asking her, "No matter what Your Majesty asks, I'm unable to give you the answer that you want…because I'm not the person that you are thinking of. Even though I have no idea how alike I am with that person, if Your Majesty still has any questions…you should ask that person directly."

I love Kim Soo Hyun's acting here!! Like wow, you could just tell from his side view how he's feeling, that's really awesome. 

Nok Young was really angry at what Jan Sil did and she wanted to throw her out. In an attempt to stay on, Jan Sil accidentally leaked out her opinion that since Hwon already had everything, why not let Yang Myung take it too. As she cried and begged on her knees, suddenly she got a pang. She stood up and stared at Nok Young, "Why Mother, are you always making me live my life for others."

The scene switched to Yang Myung visiting his mother, and from shouting, he ended up crying, "Do what you want to do for once, and there should be at least one thing that you can be greedy about…you can't tell me that at least once? From now on, I don't want to live for anyone."

With that same expression of hatred, Jan Sil told Nok Young that she would laugh when she wanted to laugh and she would be angry when she wanted to, "If I want to snatch it, I will snatch it over!" Yeon Woo happened to enter the room and Jan Sil told her to leave with her. Nok Young managed to get her out of the trance, and chased her out of Celestial Halls. 

I think it's really cool how Jan Sil momentarily got into this trance where she started being like Yang Myung! I didn't get it for the first few seconds but I love this small trance right now. Maybe it will play a bigger part in the future episodes! 

Yeon Woo told Nok Young that she wanted to leave because she knew that the one who could make Hwon feel better wasn't her, "I realise that I can't do anything for him…I wanted to share his troubles, not make him more confused." Hwon didn't sleep a wink the previous night, and kept scrutinising both letters. He suddenly started suspecting the line, "Father is going to bring medicine now, and I can't see you ever again." From there, he got the hunch that Yeon Woo didn't die from a natural death. 

The previous time Hwon and Yeom met, Hwon arranged for Yeom to go on a vacation for a month. Princess was really sad but Yeom came into her room, held her hand and consoled her. He thanked her for bringing life to the lifeless family after Yeon Woo's death. Princess's hopeful expression died a little, and she made him promise that he would never abandon her. The ministers felt that Hwon had an agenda in sending Yeom to that place for a holiday, because there were many scholars gathered there. They fabricated complaints from the public about the possibility of Yeom participating in politics. Hwon pretended that he was worried over the possibility of Yeom being a political shield, but smiled sarcastically and asked if they thought he was like a puppet. 

Here's a really random thought, but I would totally love to sit in on Hwon's daily morning courts. He makes such an interesting ruler!

On the way out of the courts, Hwon stopped in his tracks and told Woon that it's time to put up a show. He went to one of the ministers and made a scene about how there were so many petitions that weren't sent for his viewing, and yet the complaints about Yeom got to his courts so quickly. As he shouted over how his descendants would view him as a lousy ruler, Woon sneaked into the archives room and took a few log books from eight years ago. After he came out of the room and quickly passed it to Hyung Sun, Hyung Sun beamed at Hwon. 

HAHA. 

Hwon was really frustrated when he found no clues from those books, and started getting agitated about how impeccable the timing of Yeon Woo's sickness was. "If it was before the finding of Crown Princess, her family wouldn't be implicated. If it was after the coronation of the Crown Princess, Yeon Woo wouldn't be chased away from the palace in such a sad manner." He recalled how Yeon Woo was escorted out of her chambers, and muttered, "Why…is it that timing."

Spy Report of The Day. Bo Kyung stormed to Great Dowager's chambers after hearing the attendant's report on how Yeon Woo told Hwon that even though she looked alike with that person, she's not the person he should be looking for answers from. On the way there, she walked past the Hidden Moon Halls, also known as Yeon Woo's chambers, and heard someone crying inside. Ooh creepy~ 

Nok Young was in Great Dowager's room, telling her that Yeon Woo should not be allowed to stay by Hwon's side any longer, because Nok Young had been coming up with a new type of amulet — the one that would allow Bo Kyung and Hwon to consummate their relationship successfully. Great Dowager was horrified at the thought of Shaman Wol leaving Hwon's side initially, but agreed to leave the decision to Nok Young. 

Love how Nok Young manipulates this old woman left, right and centre. 

Nok Young left the Great Dowager's room and realised that Bo Kyung was waiting outside. She didn't let a single muscle move when Bo Kyung questioned her if the shaman really looked like Yeon Woo, and managed to convince her not to visit the Great Dowager. Nok Young told Yeon Woo that she could leave by the next morning. Jan Sil sent a letter to Yeon Woo to tell her that she's fine and she's seeking help from someone really nice (Yang Myung) and kind. She asked Yeon Woo to bring her clothes over. While packing her clothes, Yeon Woo found a pouch and untied it…and ta-da, now we know where the hairpin was all along. Before she could take a good look at it, she heard noises outside her room and quickly bundled up everything together. 

I don't know why, but Hwon got the deduction that his father must have thought something was amiss and sent someone to investigate. He started thinking about who might be involved with the incident, and came up with the attendant who had served his father. Hyung Sun was sent to make a snowman and when he came back, he realised it was just a ploy for Hwon to sneak out with Woon. He wailed Your Majestyyyy, and once again, Hwon tilted his head as if he could hear him. Haha! 

Hwon visited the ex-attendant's residence and was told that he wasn't at home. Even though he knew that the attendant was just right in the house, he said out loud that he wanted the attendant to enter the palace the next day, and if not, he would be going to jail. Woon asked later why he didn't force a meeting with the attendant and Hwon answered that the attendant must be really loyal to keep a secret for eight years. Hwon wanted him to come willingly and not force answers out of him, because then, the answers he got might not be the ones he was looking for. He's very sure that his father must have hidden reports somewhere, "If it's not a natural death, but a murder, why did he hide the truth?" 

I'm kinda confused here. Does Hwon's father actually know how Yeon Woo was killed?

Jan Sil told Yang Myung how she couldn't remember the faces of her parents, but she would always remember Yang Myung's face for he was the first one to save her without any regards for his own life. Yang Myung told her that he had similar experiences too, and narrated how there's a girl who's really smart and when he's with her, he felt really comfortable. Jan Sil lamented that she shouldn't have asked Shaman Wol to pop over, and Yang Myung's expression changed. 

Yeon Woo brought the clothes into the marketplace and as she walked by the rice paper shops, she suddenly heard her conversation with Seol eight years ago. Likewise, when she walked past the sword smiths, she heard Seol asking if she could pop over there just for a moment. The voices sounded in her head, till she almost fainted…but someone caught her. Phew, imagine my happiness when I saw that it was Hwon!

At the same time, Minister Yoon's faction was out on this trip to the brothels/party. Hwon and Yeon Woo walked together as Hwon tried to find topics to talk about. Hehe so cute! It's like their first date~ He said that the reason why he felt aches and headaches that morning was because Yeon Woo was out wandering about in public. Yeon Woo got genuinely worried, but Hwon told her it's just a joke. They parted ways, and Woon appeared to tell Hwon that Minister Yoon's faction was coming their way (so they should quickly leave). A little boy ran into one of the ministers, who had walked ahead of the rest to prepare the reception, and he wanted to bring the boy back to his residence so that he could work and pay off the compensation for the 'damages' done to his clothing. 

Yeon Woo heard this conversation and stepped forward to stop the minister. She started saying in her Yeon-Woo manner how being an official, he should have a generous heart. Besides, he shouldn't wear clothes that were made from another country. How would the commoners feel to know that he wasn't proud of their own country's products? The minister was so angry that she almost got hauled off to jail, but guess who saved her again? 

Woo-hoo, right, Hwon! Hwon grabbed her and pulled her away. They ran into Minister Yoon and sidekicks, and pushed through them. Minister Yoon caught a glimpse of Hwon's face, and muttered his name. When they finally ran to a safe place, Hwon got angry at how Yeon Woo didn't care for her own safety. She told him that she couldn't ignore the situation, and after noticing Hwon's expensive clothes, she said that the higher the rank of the official, the simpler their clothes should be. She narrated a story of how this official was really noble and he insisted on living in this house with no fence. His followers built one for him out of respect in the end. The moral of the story was that the official wanted everyone to be treated equally. 

You could tell that Hwon was really impressed by her knowledge, and started to say, "This shaman, why is each sentence of yours correc— not nice to hear." Haha! They happened to be standing near a puppet play, and one of the commoners pulled Hwon to a front seat before asking for money. Hwon gave a 0.0 face and Yeon Woo laughed before paying up for him. 

Hahahah. This is the look of a king who actually had no money to pay for a puppet play. 

As they sat down, he kept assuring her that he would pay up the moment they went back to the palace. Many people complained about his hat, and wanted him to take it down which was funny. Yang Myung got really impatient waiting for Yeon Woo, and after seeing that Jan Sil had fallen asleep, he placed a coat on her before leaving. Yeon Woo seemed to be really into the play, but she suddenly asked Hwon, "Have you met with…her?" Hwon told her that he hadn't…"Because…she's no longer in this world." Yeon Woo was really shocked and asked, "How…" Hwon's voice suddenly became a murmur, "It's all my fault…Even though I was determined to protect her, I couldn't do that…Even though I have so many things to tell her, I didn't manage to say them…that's why…to this day, I wasn't able to let her go."

Aww!!

He suddenly asked Yeon Woo if shamans could talk to spirits of the dead, and she answered yes. He asked her for a favour — to pass on the message that, "I really, really liked her."  

And then he smiled.

And…Yang Myung watched from a side. 

-the end-

I like so many points of this episode! The Jan Sil's Trance was really wow, and I wonder what's the ultimate significance of that. Does this mean that Jan Sil will become a much more powerful than Nok Young? That's such an entertaining thought, like what if she was motivated to help Yang Myung out with her powers, and to do things that go against Nok Young's plans? Then the fuss Hwon kicked up was really good too. It was really smart of him to get Woon to sneak in while he created such a distraction. And of course, who doesn't love Hyung Sun? 

And of course, I'm tickled that this meeting between Yeon Woo and Hwon was like their first date. They'd always met in his chambers. It's either that, or Yeon Woo got pulled into running around the palace like on their first stroll. This was something different. I thought that the puppet play was meant to trigger Yeon Woo's memories but apparently not, I was just thinking too much. Instead, it sets a really nice background for Hwon to tell Wol that he really liked Yeon Woo, and I love it. The puppet play was something that they had both shared before, and by having a puppet play in the present, it was like having Hwon's confession to Yeon Woo all over again. 

I'm sorry if you get confused between Wol and Yeon Woo. I use these two names interchangeably and when I see fit. 

I think Kim Soo Hyun is reallyyy delightful. Han Ga In, on the other hand…I don't know…I don't quite feel her yet. She isn't awful, no I don't think so…but somehow, the adult Yeon Woo does not impact me the way young Yeon Woo does..and that's saying something. 

Can't wait to recap the next episode! 

<3thoughtsramble