Episode 23

jumong 23:
yeomieul tells jumong haemosu is jumong's biological father. jumong is shocked and yeomieul explains how back then she and budeukbul believed haemosu was a threat to buyeo and thus they handed him over the the han army and that was when he lost his eyes. and when the presumed dead haemosu showed up again she locked him up in the prison for 20 years. yeomieul explains she did this to follow the heaven's will.
yeomieul then says it was not an accident that jumong met haemosu afterall. she kneels and states this is what she meant when she said she gravely sinned against him. she says she will accept it if he wants to kill her. jumong gasps for air as he is without speech and full of shock. next, jumong looks out the cliff and remembers haemosu saying even though he said he didn't know why he was kept imprisoned but the truth is he is punishing himself for failing to protect the one woman he loved. jumong cries and remembers more time spent with haemosu thinking him as his master, and how haemosu said jumong's mother must be a bright and graceful woman whom jumong must protect... jumong cries more and yells out 'father' in the air...

meanwhile in the palace yeongpo tells daeso he plans to get rid of jumong next, now that yeomieul has been taken care of. daeso gets nervous and asks what he plans to do as the matter of jumong is very serious. yeongpo smiles and says daeso needn't get involved in the dirty work and yeongpo will take care of everything so daeso can just focus on his inheriting the throne. jumong returns to the palace and watches yeongpo and daeso pass by, remember how they murdered haemosu. next jumong arrives at yoohwa's and she comments he looks pale, and asks if something's happened. jumong asks yoohwa how she and geumwa met, and yoohwa answers just like she told him before the king saved her when her villagers were slaughtered. jumong then asks why habaek village was slaughtered by the han's army, and yoohwa pauses then says she will tell him about that another time. jumong then asks if she loved anyone else before geumwa and yoohwa asks why he would ask such thing and if soseono whom jumong likes is interested in another man.

next jumong visits the king and they two share wine. the king appears happy by the visit and compliments him on his great strength during the match. jumong answers he was named 'jumong' by his mother because of his father's swordsory skills. jumong studies geumwa and remembers yeomieul telling him not to hate king geumwa for not punishing daeso or yeongpo for killing haemosu, for geumwa was helpless before his own blood. the king tells jumong he should come back to the palace soon, and jumong nods and gets up to leave.

jumong returns to yeontabal's camp and gets a message from dochi. they meet and jumong asks what dochi wants but yeongpo arrives and says the condition is simple. all he wants is that jumong gives up the crown prince seat, and for that he will let buyeong go. jumong appears furious but says nothing. yeongpo further states the crown prince title should've never been a possibility for jumong in the first place, thus jumong should withdraw from the competition at once if he wants to see buyeong walk free.
the trio tell jumong he cannot withdraw from the competition and buyeong wouldn't want that for him either.
dochi goes to see buyeong who is tied up and gaged. dochi tells buyeong yeongpo told jumong to give up the crown prince competition in order to save her. buyeong reacts strongly but dochi slaps her down and leaves, telling his men to watch her closely.

next day in the palace, jumong tells yeongpo he will do as he wants, and that he will go see the king now so he should let buyeong go. yeongpo is happy and warns him not to say anything different before the king since buyeong is still in his control. next jumong arrives before the king and asks for the king to approve his withdrawal from the crown prince competition. the king asks why and jumong replies he should not have entered the competition in the first place, since that title belongs to the oldest prince. the king asks if he has any other reason, and jumong says no, and the king states jumong should remain but jumong asks for approval again and the king asks if he's sure that he will not regret the decision. jumong replies he will not regret and the king states he's disappointed at his decision after seeing jumong's abilities thus far. the queen's brother informs the queen that jumong is out of the competition. the queen asks if this is true and yeongpo smiles saying he's not the fool everyone thinks of him and what he did is something even daeso wouldnt' be able to accomplish.

lady yoohwa hears of the news and wonders what the reason is. next, jumong and the king meet privately and the king asks if daeso and yeongpo have threatened him, but jumong states it's nothing like that. the king is angry and says he believed in him but he has disappointed him once again.
jumong leaves and runs into yoohwa outside who asks what's going on. jumong asks yoohwa to tell him about the reason why habaek was destroyed and what it is that he must accomplish here.
yoohwa senses what's going on and calls out jumong's name. next, jumong asks yoohwa if haemosu is really his father, and yoohwa asks how he found out. jumong then asks why she didn't tell him this earlier. Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

yoohwa apologizes and weeps... jumong weeps too and asks what he is to do when he sent his own father to such darkness without doing anything for him, and how his father was locked up in such prison while he was growing up in carelessness. they part and yoohwa weeps in her room. jumong drinks alone in town and remembers the words of yoohwa, who told him how she met haemosu without knowing who he was and how for hiding him who was targeted by the hans her father and the habaek ppl were slaughtered. but before she even met haemosu she had heard of this hero of gojoseon and later she vowed to be with him to help raise their cause against the hans.. but after haemosu was presumed dead and she gave birth to jumong she brought him to the buyeo's palace. yoohwa says she raised jumong to avenge buyeo and han who killed haemosu. but it was later that she learned haemosu was kept alive in the prison all those years, something she had not imagined even in her dreams. meanwhile yoohwa also remembers jumong's promise to her, that he will undo her regret.. and to serve her in his father's place... with this yoohwa weeps more.