MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO  
Wang Yo’s insurrection against King Hyejong, although an
instant success, set into motion the tragic events that would lead him to sink into political and mental quicksand four years later. Never before have Goryeons had the
chance to watch tragedy after tragedy unfold before them.
When Hyejong drowned, Wang So instantly wised up to the fact
that pig-headed insubordination would do nobody any good. It would give Wang
Yo more ammunition to kill him and Hae Soo. And, his loyal supporters would also be
horrible casualties. Hae Soo was more important to him than life itself. The muscles
of his neck tightened as the tension rose. Forced into a corner, he fell to his knees and kowtowed to his older brother.
‘Greetings to the new king,
You Majesty!’ Long live the king, long live the king!’
But, Wang Yo knew that his brother could not be tamed or reined
in that easily.
Flashback. Admist all the grief, Choi Ji Mong was lost in
thought about the good old days when he had spent happy, carefree times with Wang Mu and Wang So. Wang Mu, like Wang So, had been ill-treated by
Queen Yoo. When she miscarried her child, she accused of him of schadenfreude, of revelling in her misery. Wang Mu’s mother was the second queen, Janghwa whose
Naju relatives weren’t politically powerful. But, Choi Ji Mong had reassured the
young Wang Mu that he had the star of a king as indicated in the Heonwon
constellation. What was particularly interesting was the astronomer had also prophesied that Wang So would also ascend the Goryeon throne.
Wang Yo’s ascension to the throne not only changed the
political climate but also the political landscape in Goryeo.
Once the jubilation of Jeongjong’s crowning had quietened down,
the third king launched a mission of ruthless persecution. Powerful Goryeo
figures were toppled. Wang Eun’s residence was searched by Wang Shik Ryeom,
the cousin brother of Taejo. The family of Wang Gyu, the maternal grandfather
of the Tenth Prince, was purged or butchered, or whatever way you want to
word it.
Wang Gyu, one of the most powerful figures since Taejo’s reign,
was accused of treason. According to history, Wang Gyu had been able to not
only marry off two of his daughters to Taejo but also a third daughter to
King Hyejong. That made his two daughters the rivals of Queen Yoo, Jeonhjong’s
mother. He had also made the mistake of lobbying for Wang Eun to be the next
king. After the death of Taejo, the sickly Hyejong had lived under constant
threat and pressure from Wang Gyu.
The very shaken Wang Eun and his wife had escaped but not
before witnessing the slaugthering of his grandfather from the shadows.
The greed for power corrupts. Wang Wook had changed beyond
description. He was by far, the prince with the sharpest but most vicious
mind. The Eighth Prince proposed that Wang Gyu be accused of not only treason
but also the murder of Park Sool Hee, whom they had captured. He even
suggested hunting down the unambitious and naïve Wang Eun. Wang Yo, although
evil, could not but applaud Wang Wook for his most creative but horrific
ideas.
Jeongjong stated the obvious when he raised the issue of the
use of poison. The cool, calm and collected Wang Wook had previously
masterminded the use of mercury in King Hyejong’s bath. And, what was worse,
Wang Wook had advised him to use Hae Soo to manipulate Wang So. Imagine using
the young lady whom he claimed to love as a tool to trap his half-brother.
The viewers, who must have shuddered, have now got a whole new
perspective on the Eighth Prince.
Despite the enormous help that Wang Wook had rendered to Jeongjong, Wang
Shik Ryeom, his uncle, demanded that the Eighth Prince kneel to the new monarch to
show obeisance to him. Jeongjong, ever mindful of his previous treachery,
smiled an insolent smile. Wang Wook’s humiliation was complete when he finally
dropped to his knees. The tide had turned against Wang Wook and what he had previously
thought was a clever act of betrayal.
Queen Yoo could not say that she was surprised in the least
when she became the Queen Mother. She cooed with pleasure, ‘You were a perfect child ever since you were born. I foresaw you’d
bring me great glory.’
Jeongjong acknowledged Wang So’s act mercy when both of them
were previously fighting at the cliff. When he jumped off the cliff, no one
expected him to live. His uncle, Wang Shik Ryeom had found him and taken care
of him. Did Wang So regret that he did not kill his older brother there and then?
Vengeance was waiting for those who had conspired against Wang
Yo, and the same went for their immediate and extended families. On the
advice of Wang Wook, Wang So was appointed as the hatchet man. The Fourth
Prince was ordered to hunt down Wang Eun, Jeongjong’s imagined rival.
When Wang So met up with Hae Soo earlier, he had confided to her
that he would be leaving the palace for a while because the king wanted him
to catch a criminal who had committed treason.
Managing to escape everybody’s notice, Wang Eun and Park Soon
Deok came to Hae Soo for help. He divulged that they were preparing to leave Songak by boat.
Meanwhile, Woo Hee, the last princess of Hubaekje or Later
Baekje, made a petition to King Jeongjong: allow the people of Hubaekje to
farm the land in the southern territories without paying taxes for three
years, and restore the status of the law-abiding Hubaekje citizens. If
Jeongjong guaranteed their survival, they would accept him as their king and
be loyal to him.
Wang So dropped in at Wang Wook’s mansion. It was late at night. The Fourth Prince accused him of being the mastermind who
had prompted all kinds of evil. Wang So postulated that the late king,
Hyejong had been affected by mercury for at least two years. He had ruled for
less than three years before he died.
At first, Wang So suspected it was Wang Won’s doing. But after
considering everything thoroughly, the Fourth Prince had concluded that meticulousness
and a methodical approach to planning were not Wang Won’s strong points. Wang
So had already solved the perplexing puzzle; everything had fallen into
place. Put simply, the complicated plans fitted Wang Wook’s personality.
Moreover, it looked suspicious to Wang So that revenge against Wang Wook had
taken a backseat in Jeongjong’s agenda. After all, Wang Wook’s betrayal in
the previous revolt had sent Wang Jo flying off the precipitous cliff. In that case, the
ruthless third king would have killed him for his disloyalty.
Wang Wook accused the Fourth Prince of harbouring unfair suspicions
about him. They eyeballed each other. Wang Wook stared at him with solid
hatred. Wang So had half a mind to give him a sucker punch. Then, he posed a
really inconvenient question, ‘Did you
cause Hyejong’s death?’ The shrewd Wang Wook, who was well-versed in the
art of deceit, did not squirm. He lied through his teeth, ‘I did not poison the late king.’
His brazen denial did nothing to undo Wang So’s conviction of
his guilt but the Fourth Prince couldn’t pin the blame on him.
Technically, it was not him but Chae Ryung, who had inserted the mercury into King Hyejong’s bath. She was the actual killer. Wang Wook was the mastermind of the palace plot but he was just as guilty.
Wang So’s suspicions were confirmed by Jeongjong. When Hae Soo was called to serve tea to the new king, the foxy Jeongjong cunningly insinuated that she had poisoned the deceased king. He
asked, ‘Why did you put mercury in the
king’s bath water?’ and not, ‘Did you
put mercury in the king’s bath water?’ There was already a presumptuous
tone in his words. She denied the allegation. If tortured, she
would accuse him of forcing her to do it.
Having disarmed him with her confident answer, she boldly questioned him about the person who was
responsible for the mercury poisoning. At that precise moment, the Eighth
Prince marched into view.
The king’s lips curved into an enigmatic smile. He asked the
rhetorical question, ‘How is it that he
could show up at the right time?’
Jeongjong had a long memory. Having a grudge to work off, he
went all out to put Wang Wook in an embarrassing position in Hae Soo’s
presence. He declared that Hae Soo was dying of curiosity to know the culprit
who was responsible for poisoning King Hyejong. Without missing a beat,
the crafty Wang Wook shrewdly stated that the king died of an illness. There was a
light incredulity in Jeongjong’s laughter when he agreed that it was true.
After Wang Wook’s audience with the king, he waited for Hae Soo
outside the king’s palace. When she was off duty, he tried to remove her suspicion
of him concerning King Hyejong’s murder. But, Hae Soo could not be
objective. The facts told a different story.
Wang So trusted Hae Soo enough to disclose the king’s desire to
kill Wang Eun. But, he confided that he intended to help Wang Eun to escape. Being
eaten up by visions of Wang So killing Wang Eun, the young maiden committed
the mistake of not trusting her beloved prince with Wang Eun’s hiding place.
Wang Eun wondered whether he should get help from his brothers.
When Wang So’s name cropped up, Hae Soo’s heart jumped. She objected to the
suggestion. Park Soon Deok was puzzled by her attitude. ‘Shouldn’t you trust the person you like?’
In the attempt to find an escape route, Wang Jung and Park Soon
Deok tried to break down the rocks that were blocking the cave exit near the
Damiwon. When they rested, they talked about the loves in their lives. Park Soon
Deok’s dream since a child was always to marry Wang Eun. And Wang Jung had
fallen for Hae Soo since the plucky girl defended him from some scoundrels.
 
Desperation led Yeon Hwa to seek an audience with Jeonjong. What was her real objective? It was not so much a mission to congratulate him on his ascension to the throne
but a fact-finding exercise to ascertain her marriage prospects with him. She was in for a shock. Knocking her
down to size, he informed her of her impending marriage to a Khitan chief. He
could almost smell Yeon Hwa’s fear when she heard that she was the
replacement bride for Princess Kyung Hwa, who was lucky enough to be married
to Wang So.
Yeon Hwa must have cringed when her hope of being a queen was
derailed. Was she all mixed up? Jeongjong was astounded that she still saw
him as a marriage partner after Wang Wook’s betrayal. Even worse, she had
sided with her brother.
The poor young lady was reminded of the earlier rejection by Wang
So when she proposed marriage to him. The Fourth Prince was, by all accounts,
a brilliant catch. But, he told her in no uncertain terms that he loved Hae
Soo and he just couldn’t live without her.
The Tenth Prince and his consort, who had to keep a low
profile, were hiding in Hae Soo’s room. Knowing that Wang Eun felt he was
cooped up in the little room, Park Soon Deok invited him to take a bath in
the pool one night. Wang Eun flaunted his skills at making animal shapes
using towels. Early the next morning, Hae Soo discovered his handicraft which
littered the bath area. She was insufficiently sensitive to the fact that the
pieces of artwork were dead giveaways that Wang Eun was there.
Hae Soo had a surprise visitor, Yeon Hwa. Fortune was on the
princess’s side. Yeon Hwa’s eagle eyes spied the handicraft and her suspicions were aroused. She was certain that Wang Eun was there. The fate of
Wang Eun and his consort was sealed.
Yeon Hwa’s motive of visiting Hae Soo was soon revealed. She compelled Hae Soo to
leave Wang So. If not, she threaten to reveal the latter’s secret romantic relationship with her brother, Wang Wook. ‘I know what you did with Wook,’ she warned. Did Wang Wook and Hae
Soo do anything naughty? Yeon Hwa told Hae Soo that she couldn’t bear to see
the indecent behaviour anymore and claimed that Wang So was bewitched by her.
Wang Wook, ever the consummate strategist, suggested that the king
must separate Grand General Park Soo Kyung and Royal Astronomer Choi Ji Mong. United they stand, divided they fall. In the midst of their
discussion, Yeon Hwa walked in unannounced and she told Jeongjong she was
there to do a transaction. If her plan worked out, he had to cancel her
marriage to the Khitan chief.
Wang So stormed into Yeon Hwa’s room to demand to know where Wang
Eun was hiding. She revealed that Hae Soo had been hiding the Tenth Prince
and his consort in the Damiwon. She knew it for a fact because Wang Eun had a knack for
folding shapes out of towels since young. And
she had seen those things in the Damiwon.
It was overwhemingly obvious to Wang So that Hae So, in
concealing Wang Eun’s whereabouts from him, had actually demonstrated her
distrust in him. His heart must have sunk down to the soles of his feet.
The hour drew near. It was time for Wang Eun and his consort to
leave the Damiwon Palace for the boat that was waiting for them. A harassed
Wang Jung warned them that the royal guards were everywhere. He urged
the two of them to flee while he held the fort.
But, Park Soon Deok instinctively knew that they would not be able to escape.
Being a warrior, she had to defend her beloved prince. Smiling reassuringly
at her consort, she declared that she would try to delay the palace militia. Panic
must have snagged at Wang Eun’s mind but his courageous consort promised that
she would follow later. She instructed Hae Soo to bring Wang Eun to the boat.
With that, she raced to fight the palace soldiers.
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