Episode 13
Episode 13 of The Tale of Lady Ok begins with Kim So-hye recognising Tae-young as Gu-deok. However, Tae-young claims she is mistaken and leaves. Inside, Scholar Cha takes Seung-hwi away as they learn Nak-su is backed by Minister Bak.
Meanwhile, the moneylenders are demanding money from those who borrowed to buy eternal ginseng. It seems that Minister Bak ordered Nak-su to use the eternal ginseng scam to buy the Magistrate position.
Back to the Gu-deok dilemma, Tae-young knows that if she leaves, it will confirm she is Gu-deok. Seung-hwi refuses to leave as well and claims So-hye will not remember his face. The couple laughs at the absurd situation they are in and Man-seok is in disbelief.
Unfortunately, So-hye hasn’t bought Tae-young’s lies and demands Nak-su arrest her and make her confess. He refuses as he doesn’t believe her.
Scholar Cha, Hong and Kim discuss the scam as well. They realise So-hye is Bak’s concubine and Nak-su sold her to win Bak’s support.
That night, Tae-young meets So-hye’s slaves and confirms she is Gu-deok. She is shocked to see that they have been brutally tortured for letting her escape but they don’t regret it. The next day, the female slave, Geumbok tries to convince So-hye to go home and drop the Tae-young situation but it doesn’t work.
Onto the ginseng scam, Scholar Cha is afraid of confrontation and Seung-hwi gives him the same pep talk. They confront Nak-su together. He is not cooperative and Seung-hwi threatens to sue him. Nak-su is confident that it is illegal but Scholar Cha boasts about Tae-young being their lawyer. At the same time, Hong gives a begrudging apology and asks for Tae-young’s help.
Seung-hwi and Tae-young put their heads together and investigate. Tae-young will negotiate with the moneylenders to delay the payment while Seung-hwi looks for the eternal ginseng seller, Heo Soon.
In her own investigation, So-hye spreads the rumour that Tae-young is Gu-deok. She even goes to Madam Kim who covers for Tae-young. Kim goes as far as to threaten So-hye by reporting to Minister Bak’s lawful wife and suing her for defamation to protect her thieving father.
Tae-young is delighted as Madam Kim confesses that she enjoyed shutting down someone as wicked as So-hye. However, Tae-young confesses everything. Madam Kim wants her to run but Tae-young needs to save the county and as penance, live the real Tae-young’s dream. Madam Kim accepts her decision.
Worried about So-hye, Seung-hwi comes up with a plan. Dokki and Man-seok act as Bak’s bounty hunters and claim to have captured Gu-deok. So-hye buys it and leaves for Hanyang instantly.
In Hanyang, there is a strange virus making the rounds. While looking into it, Do-gyeom tells the King about the ginseng scam. Madam Kim’s son, Deok-hun is appointed as Inspector General to investigate. His father is impressed but refuses to return as he is embarrassed. Deok-hun is worried and we see Scholar Lee is sick with the virus. Lee believes he is being punished for covering for Minister Bak.
Meanwhile, Minister Bak hoards all the medicines that may help treat the virus so he can sell them at double the rate. He is annoyed to learn that Tae-young got Do-gyeom to alert the King about the ginseng scam. At the same time, So-hye shows up, asking about Gu-deok which further irks him. Confused, she throws a tantrum and he chokes her.
While investigating, Tae-young learns there was another scam in Jeolla. As for Hong, to win back the county’s favour, the couple opens their granaries to the poor. To help, Tae-young too sends supplies.
Deok-hun arrives and he has a message from Provincial Governor Heo. Bak’s benefactor, the Left State Councillor is destroying the country with his greed. Bak provides the funds which he gathers illegally. Deok-hun and Tae-young have to stop Bak to stop the Councillor. They start by looking for evidence that the scams are related to Bak.
That night, Madam Hong tries to hide some jewellery for her son, Woong. Scholar Cha berates her for not having any conscience. Unable to take it anymore, he tries to break up with her. She cries and promises to do better and he gives in.
Tae-young and Seung-hwi also wonder how else they can help the county. They have run out of money but Seung-hwi recalls Man-seok carrying around his money from their theatre days. He tries to steal it but they are distracted as Man-seok has news. Heo Soon has a gambling addiction. Cha and Seung-hwi come up with a trap – the biggest gambling den in Cheongsu.
As planned, Heo Soon is caught but Madam Hong breaks their bubble. He is not the man who pitched the eternal ginseng investment. They realise that someone impersonated Heo Soon, a renowned doctor to fool the county.
Alerted by Nak-su, Minister Bak shows up at the end of The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 13. His fake smile falls as he looks at Tae-young. A flashback shows So-hye ranting about Tae-young and her lies. He is shocked to learn that the woman who has thwarted him at every turn is the same slave that So-hye is looking for.
The Episode Review
We are pleasantly surprised at how light-hearted The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 13 is from Scholar Cha’s clumsy schemes with Seung-hwi to Man-seok and Dokki’s playacting. After the overtly fluffy episodes of the previous week, the So-hye cliffhanger and the impending trial, we assumed the penultimate week would be full of angst, melodrama and misunderstandings.
But it looks like the writers are taking mercy on Tae-young and trying to delay the scary climax as much as they can. That being said, So-hye’s crusade against Tae-young was quite terrifying. We are glad she has such limited screen time because we doubt we could have dealt with the darkness of her cruelty. At least Tae-young is not alone now. Not only Seung-hwi but even the slaves and Madam Kim are on her side, ensuring that she is not caught.
And right when we’d forgotten that this K-drama was first and foremost about slaves and their plight, this particular chapter reminds us. Not only do we see the burden the Kim slaves are tortured to (literally), but it once again brings back Tae-young’s guilt at living the real Tae-young’s life as she still believes she is undeserving. We are glad she has loving people who are constantly there for her.
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