MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO  
After the heavens had spoken at the rain ceremony, Wang So rose
through the ranks of the Goryeon hierarchy at the most shocking speed. To
many onlookers, the prince had seemingly floated majestically up the stairs
and then, stood at the altar like the future king of Goryeo. He looked as if he owned the place. Representing the
Goryeon kingdom, the Fourth Prince had prostrated and thanked the heavens as
the rain pelted down.
  
The people celebrated the end of the drought with glee. There
was no faking the respect and admiration the Fourth Prince commanded from the
Goryeo people. Wang So had been elevated to a special status in the
commoners’ eyes. The triumphant Fourth Prince was carried in his palanquin
along the streets. Wang So, the rough diamond who had been polished for his
future greatness, had become a hero overnight.
Did the self-serving Queen Yoo reconcile herself to their
defeat? Queen Yoo seethed with rage; she gave Wang Yo a stinging slap for his
lost opportunity to be the rainmaker and the future Crown Prince. They went back to
plotting mischief against their rivals again. The vicious queen cawed that
even if his rival was his blood brother, Wang Yo must kill him and succeed at
all costs. Wang Yo was flabbergasted by his mother’s narcissistic and
self-centred motives when she declared, ‘If
I am to rise as the mother of a king, then you must be persistent and
ruthless.’
Were Wang Wook and Yeon Hwa also fearful of the rapid rise of
Wang So in the Goryeon palace? Wang So had won the hearts of the Goryeo
people and the love and trust of Taejo. At this stage, Wang Wook had Hae
Soo’s love and he sympathised with Wang So for the harsh treatment that he
had received all this time.
Yeon Hwa reminded him that Hae Soo had warned him against Wang
So. She whispered poison in his ear. A great adversary had appeared and, he
had crept closer to the throne.
Miraculous was the word to describe Wang So’s rain-making experience. The
Fourth Prince revelled in the attention the rain rites had brought; his
success held many spellbound. His world had started anew.
Taejo spelled out Wang So’s future. He would join forces with
the Crown Prince; their alliance would be useful. He was happy to be in the
Crown Prince’s shadow. Taejo was inordinately proud of him and Wang So warmed
to his father’s love and approving smile.
Deliriously happy, Wang So desired to share his triumph with
Hae Soo. He had turned into a towering figure overnight. Grabbing her suddenly, he embraced her with
a tight grip. Repulsed and terrified at being so close to his chest, she
wrenched herself from his hug. She could not even muster her usual bright
smile for him. He was surprised and confused for a moment. Mortified at what
she had done, she apologised.
She tried to dislodge the fear of him in her chest. Wang So was
a picture of pure joy and happiness. He disclosed that for the first time in
his wretched life, he was able to call the king, ‘Father’. It was such an
amazing experience for him to be truly accepted and trusted by his father.
His success as a rainmaker had broken the barriers between them. The king had
even advised him to be self-confident and show his bare face to the world. Laughing
happily, he credited Hae Soo for his new-found happiness.
Seeing his genuine delight and warmth, Hae Soo wondered if it
was possible for him to turn into a ruthless monarch.
The success of the rain ceremony had put the king in a generous
and genial mood. He wanted to reward Wang So and Wang So was granted his wish. Hae Soon was assigned to personally assist him. She was promoted to Senior Court Lady with immediate effect.
And, to celebrate the success of the rain ceremony, Taejo
announced that Grand General Park’s daughter would be betrothed to Wang Eun,
the Tenth Prince. The prince rejected the command because he only had Hae Soo
in mind. Defying orders meant death.
Visual imagery. Persuaded to accept his fate by the Crown
Prince, Wang Eun grudgingly thanked his royal father. The toy marbles, which
he had carelessly hidden in his sleeves, fell onto the floor. The dim-witted
and childish Tenth Prince was certainly losing his marbles. He wasn’t ready
to take a bride. It was a shocking mismatch; Wang Eun and his betrothed were stark
opposites. Park Soon Deok was a warrior woman who could be brilliant in
battle while Wang Eun was just a childish, foolish, immature weakling. One
almost laughs at the incongruity.
No one could have foretold the far-reaching consequences of
Wang So’s cosmetic change. Hae Soo continued to be Wang So’s source of
strength, helping him to cover up his scar and his star continued to rise. Wang
So was no different from other Goryeon men who were accustomed to putting on
makeup. The young lady also taught him how to apply his own makeup. It is clear
that in this scene that there are similarities between Goryeon men in the tenth century and South
Korean men in the 21st century.
It dawned on Wang So that Hae Soo had also changed. Seemingly
having undergone a 180° change, the assertive and aggressive tomboy had been
replaced by an acquiescent version of her previous self.
 
On her wedding day, Park Soon Deok encountered some problems
with her royal bridegroom. Wang Eun refused to come out of his room for the
celebrations until he was finally persuaded to do so by Hae Soo. Watching the
celebrations from afar, Hae Soo was struck by her visions again and she was
horrified to see Wang So laughing evilly as he killed Wang Eun with one swing of his sword.
The King, aware of Queen Yoo’s machinations to topple Wang Mu, assigned
new duties to Wang Yo and Wang So. In order to weaken Wang Yo and his
powerful clan’s stranglehold on the political life of Goryeo, Taejo decided
to send the Third Prince far away from Songak, the seat of power. His new job
was to check on the kingdom’s many grain storehouses to prevent robbers from pillaging
them.
While Wang Yo’s fortunes had declined, fortune smiled on Wang
So. The Fourth prince now assumed full control over military supplies, a
responsibility that was once the preserve of Wang Yo. Whosoever controlled
the military supplies controlled the kingdom.
When Wang Yo voiced his suspicion that the powerful astronomer
had plotted against him, Choi Jin Mong upbraided Wang Yo for his ambitious
plots to unseat the Crown Prince.
Surprisingly, for the first time since his re-entry into the
Songak palace, Wang So had been invited for a reunion dinner with Queen Yoo
and his immediate family. It seemed that a celebration was in order as Wang So
had taken priority in the king’s heart.
It was the first time that they ate together and Wang Jung was sincerely happy to eat
the meal with Wang So.
Wang So was hopeful that his mother’s attitude towards him would change. It had seemed that his royal mother was suitably impressed; she
tried to ingratiate herself in his good books. Meticulous attention had been
paid to ensure a scrumptious meal, including his favourite meat dish, was served.
It was rare of her to fawn over him. Eager to have him as an ally, Wang Yo
jumped on the bandwagon and told him to let bygones be bygones.
It was not long before the queen reared her ugly head. She
broached on the subject of assassinating the Crown Prince. Unlike mothers who
loved their sons, his evil mother proposed that he should be a murderer. Since
he was closely associated with the Crown Prince, he should take the
opportunity to kill Wang Mu.
There was nothing like a showdown with his ambitious mother who
had fuelled years of resentment in him. Wang So’s jaw did not drop when
she declared that it would not be the first time that he would be killing for
her. Wang Yo predicted that if he, himself, did not become the next king,
their family would all be dead.
The intelligent Wang So played with their emotions. He agreed
to do it on the condition that he becomes king. He pointedly questioned his
mother that since she wanted one of her sons to ascend the throne, so why not
him? And he reassured her that he would not harm his blood brothers.
Spurred on by his success at the rain ritual, he rationalised
that he had a legitimate claim to the throne. His success and his royal father’s approval
had breathed a new life into him. What a complete overnight transformation.
He was no more the humble young prince who previously kept silent out of
deference for them.
Smashing Wang Yo’s grand designs to smithereens, Wang So remarked
scathingly that while he had the mandate of the heavens, Wang Yo only had the
backing of his human in-laws. The Third Prince might be able to
muster some support from them, but who was the heaven-mandated would-be successor to the throne?
His furious royal mother cawed whether he thought he had
arrived. ‘Do you think you have
amounted to something?’
Playing Wang So against the king, Queen Yoo cattily emphasized
that he was being manipulated by his father. Queen Yoo drove home the point
that he was chosen for the rain ritual because if the ritual failed, he, not
the Crown Prince, would be the sacrificial lamb. He was the instrument to
shield the Crown Prince from harm or misfortune.
With this attack, the manipulative Queen Yoo was, in actual
fact, trying to achieve two ends.
First, she was trying to pummel Wang So’s ego and ambition, if
he had any. Second, in accusing King Taejo of manipulating him, she was
trying to drive a wedge between him and his supporters, King Taejo, the Crown
Prince and Choi Ji Mong. And, as they say, ‘Divided, they fall.’
In response to her venom, Wang So surprised her with his
mocking remark that he had already known about it all along. He even
depreciatingly described himself as ‘a
worm that had crawled headlong into the trap set for him.’ By this, he meant that he had
refused to be the Yoo family’s obedient hunting dog. It was indeed a
mind-blowing showdown.
Before he left, he praised the food but left a stinger that the
queen should eat with her own family. It was a point of no return. He had
finally cut ties with the family. They had also decided to sever their relationship with him;
there was no point of having an enemy within.
Disgusted with their machinations, Wang Jung, the Fourteenth
Prince, reprimanded them. This encounter finally opened his eyes to the
wickedness of his mother and brother.
Chagrined and emotionally exhausted by his Queen Yoo and Wang Yo's malice,
Wang So hoped to find solace in Hae Soo’s company. Wang So crept up from behind to hold her tight
but, she pulled roughly away from him. The Damiwon court lady couldn’t help but be
fearful of his presence.
She burst out that he would ruin everyone in the end. ‘Go, you’re better off far away!’
He couldn’t believe her rush of emotions. How could someone who
has shown a genuinely nurturing kindness and love to him could mouth those
cruel heart-slicing words?
‘Not you too! Don’t ever tell
me that I bring misfortune and that I’m an animal! You, of all people, should
not do this to me.’ What he meant was since she had been given to him, she ought to
take sides with him and be his pillar of strength. Despair had crept into his
eyes.
Wang So yet again staked his claim over her, ‘You are my person. You belong to me. You
are mine! Without my permission, you cannot leave me. You cannot die either.
You are completely my person.’
With that, Wang So grabbed her tightly and frantically forced
his lips on hers.
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