Joseon Attorney: A Morality (2023) Episode 10

Joseon Attorney: A Morality episode 10 begins with Han-soo watching Ji-sun and Yeon-joo hug as it starts to rain heavily. Han-soo quickly approaches and asks what they are doing. Yeon-joo lies that she was asking Ji-sun to do her a favour regarding Lord Kwon’s case. Han-soo says that she should have come to him but Ji-sun objects, pointsing out that Han-soo fired Yeon-joo.

In any case, Ji-sun says he doesn’t mind doing Yeon-joo a favour and offers her an opportunity to work for him. Han-soo is not pleased and quickly says that Yeon-joo is of low status so tongues will wag and she will get in trouble if she associates too closely with Ji-sun.

He insists that Yeon-joo should stay close to him as it is safer. He quickly grabs her and they take their leave. Ji-sun is disappointed and walks back to the bar only to find Eun-Soo waiting for him in the rain. He goes inside to get her an umbrella but she is gone by the time he gets back.

The next morning, Han-soo heads back to Kwon Myung’s house and continues his investigation. He learns that Chung Soon (the housemaid) was very close with Housekeeper Cho even though she was set to marry Jang Dol. She was also the favourite servant of Kwon’s late brother. She initially worked for Lord Choong-won. Lord Kwon is anxious about the investigation but Han-soo tells him that everyone is a suspect including him.

As he wraps up his investigation in the house, Ji-sun and Yeon-joo arrive in an official capacity to oversee the second phase of the case. He checks the body and requests the household to bring all the knives in the house. After collecting all the knives in the home, they test them. It is discovered that Chung Soon’s knife is the murder weapon.

After the send investigation phase, Yeon-joo, Ji-sun and Dong-chi meet and discuss the possible suspect and the motive behind the killing. Han-soo realizes that it seems like someone is setting Chung Soon up but doesn’t know why. Han-soo still thinks that something is off when it comes to Housekeeper Cho. He believes he killed his master to hide his crippling gambling debt.

A few days before Kwon’s brother was killed, he caught Housekeeper Cho embezzling money.  They decide to re-check Housekeeper Cho’s alibi, at the time of the crime, he was supposed to be delivering a package to the master’s friend. In the meantime, as the evidence points to Chung Soon, they arrest her but she insists she is innocent. Han-soo promises to take responsibility if he is wrong and Ji-sun tells him that if he is wrong, he should never bring Yeon-joo into any case again. Han-soo is surprised by the demand but agrees.

On the other hand, it also seems like the Kwon household is hiding something. They all agree not to mention that a mysterious man showed up right before the murder.

Later that night, Han-soo spots Yeon-joo watching the moon and joins her. He tells her that he will arrest the real culprit the next day. Han-soo asks about her relationship with Ji-sun and she says he is one of the anonymous sponsors of the merchant house. Han-soo offers to give her financial support and asks her to cut ties with Ji-sun. He is also worried about how Je-se will react if he finds out about Ji-sun and Yeon-joo. Yeon-joo points out that she will be fine and that he should be the one to be more careful. She is however glad that he is no longer as reckless as he used to be before. Han-soo credits her for the changes in him and says he is happy with her but Yeon-joo feels guilty as she is hiding a secret from him.

The next morning, Han-soo sets his plan in motion to trap the real killer. He summons the members of the Kwon household and tells them that Ji-sun is heavily interrogating Chung Soon and it looks like she is about to break. In the meantime, he asks Dong-chi to watch the family and their workers closely. Dong-chi tries to watch Housekeeper Cho closely but is unable to.

On the other hand, Kwon Myung-Woo visits Lord Choong-won and confides in him about the troubled state of his family. Myung-Woo even tells the man about Chung-soon’s arrest and that she is being held in the family storeroom. The man visits Myung-Woo’s house late at night and tries to sneak into the storeroom and is shocked to find Han-soo dressed as a woman.  Han-soo summons the family again and tries to question who the man who snuck in is. He is surprised to learn that Lord Choong-won is the King’s uncle. They immediately pay their respect.

Elsewhere, Yeon-joo updates Ji-sun that her uncle Lord Choong-won is involved in the case and he is the prime suspect. They agree that this would negatively impact the King and that Je-se will use this to his advantage. They decide to interfere with Han-soo’s case to protect the King’s reputation but sadly Chung-soon is caught in the middle of this political warfare. Han-soo is also aware of Je-se’s intentions and believes he is the one who set the whole thing up.

Back at the palace, the King awaits Han-soo’s report but Han-soo meets with Myung-Woo and tells him that he is in danger f losing his reputation if he keeps hiding the truth. He informs Myung Woo that Lord Choong-won is the mastermind of the crime. However, revealing the truth will not be easy as Lord Choong-won is the uncle of the King. They sneak Chung-soon out of the store room and hide her in the merchant house. They make it look like she ran away because she is guilty.

As troubles arise for the King and Han-soo, Je-se and Eun-soo celebrate the success of their plan and relish in the discord. Han-soo meets with Ji-sun and Yeon-joo and realizes what they did and is not pleased that they want to use Chung-soon as collateral damage to save the king. He knows that they are trying to end the case and save the King. He is even more shocked and disappointed in Yeon-joo who he thought was fighting for the weak.

He calls her out and scolds her and asks her not to give up on her people or betray them. Yeon-joo tries to defend her decision but Han-soo asks why she would care so much about protecting the King and his legacy. He still doesn’t know that she is the King’s sister.  As the strife persists, Myung Woo is allowed to bury his brother.

Han-soo visits  Lord Choong-won and they talk about his growing reputation and how he got the culprit. Han-soo uses this opportunity to incite Lord Choong-won to get him to lose his composure. He brings up Housekeeper Cho and his gambling habits. Han-soo explains that he still believes Chung-soon is innocent and was framed by Housekeeper Cho because they were probably lovers.

Han-soo also brings up the question of Chung-soon being the favoured servant in Kwon’s household. It turns out that Lord Choong-won was in an intimate relationship with Chung-soon and ordered Housekeeper Cho to kill Myung-woo’s brother as he had started liking Chung-soon too.  He didn’t want Chung-soon to be married off to Jang Dol.

After hearing what Han-soo said before he passed out from being too drunk, Lord Choong-won goes to Myung-woo’s house and attacks Housekeeper Cho. Ji-sun arrives in time to save the housekeeper and hear him confessing to murder and Lord Choong-won’s involvement in the crime. He quickly orders the arrest of Lord Choong-won but Je-se arrives and promises to handle the matter as it involves a member of the Royal family.

At the palace, Je-se informs the latest news to the King and the Grand Dowager Queen. He uses Lord Choong-won’s crime to destabilize the royal family further. He points out that the Joseon law doesn’t cover the instigation of murder or the punishment for such a crime.

If the King is to punish Lord Choong-won he will be setting a new precedent. He however fears about the public sentiment so he says that Hungu will handle Lord Choong-won’s case.

The King knows what Je-se is after but his hands are tied. Je-se then asks that Myung-woo’s appointment be cancelled as he was the one who told Lord Choong-won about the impending nuptials between Chung-soon and Jang Dol. He also brings up a complaint against the Princess and what she has been up to lately.

He asks the Grand Dowager Queen to discipline the Princess as she keeps getting involved with the people’s lawsuit. Grand Dowager Queen asks the King to follow Je-se’s orders and not to provoke him further. She believes it is not time to engage in a fight with Je-se yet.  The King agrees and Myung-woo’s appointment is rescinded.

The following day, Yeon-joo meets with Han-soo and tells him that she had hidden Chung-soon and kept her safe. She explains that she didn’t want Je-se to manipulate Han-soo and that her priority is keeping him safe and alive. She says she is in love with Han-soo and doesn’t regret what she did.

At the capital, Housekeeper Cho is decapitated and Lord Choong-won is exiled. Once again, Ji-sun confronts his dad about his involvement in the case. Je-se admits to everything and says that he has the power to do as he wills. Ji-sun informs him that he plans to marry Princess Yeon-joo.

Je-se replies that he already called off their engagement when the King died. He won’t allow him to abandon his government post and his duties as his heir to marry a Princess. He says if Ji-sun is hell-bent on ruining his future by marrying Yeon-joo then he will revise the law. Je-se intends to change the law to allow Ji-sun to keep his government post and take after his political career.

Later, Eun-soo visits Je-se and tries to comfort him regarding his predicament with Ji-sun. Je-se tells her that he can’t allow Ji-sun to be a scholar instead of a politician. He points out that scholars are merely a tool used by politicians just like what happened to her dad. Eun-soo promises to help him.

Night rolls by and Jo Cheol-Joo visits Je-se too. He tells him that he did as he was ordered and in return, Je-se gives him the supply rights to the Palace.

Concurrently, Ji-sun delivers the Princess’s laughter to Han-soo. Han-soo is glad that the Princess is willing to meet him. On the other hand, Yeon-joo is worried about telling Han-soo her true identity. She is scared that he will hate her, she tells Lady Hong that she wishes she could remain So-won.

Han-soo heads to the set meeting place to meet with the Princess but the meeting doesn’t go as planned thanks to  Grand Dowager Queen’s interference. The King also sends an urgent message to Yeon-joo through Ji-sun.

In the meantime, Han-soo is captured and left in the middle of nowhere. He wakes up the next morning, unsure of his surroundings but manages to head back to the capital. Upon arriving at the capital he is arrested for the murder of Lord Cho. Yeon-joo comes to his rescue but the soldiers roughly push her aside.

At that moment, Ji-sun arrives and asks the soldiers to apologize to the Princess. Han-soo is left in disbelief as everyone quickly pays the Princess their respect.

The Episode Review

Jo Cheol-Joo hid the knife Je-se used to kill Lord Cho in Han-soo’s boat. This was Je-se’s plan and once again, Han-soo is like a rat caught in a trap. Han-soo needs to stop underestimating the lengths Je-se will go to.

Yeon-joo should have been honest with Han-soo from the very start. He looked hurt when he learnt the truth, especially from Ji-sun of all people. I wonder what he will do now and how will he save himself from this second trap.

Being accused of murder is a serious crime and there is already evidence and a fake witness. Han-soo might get into an even bigger hole in the next episode. Will the Princess come to his rescue or will the Grand Dowager Queen stop her?