The Empress Ki

Yan of Goryeo is being transported as a royal tribute to the Yuan, but she and her mother flee. Yan spends her childhood as a boy named Seung-nyang.

Seung-nyang is arrested for smuggling, and Wang Yoo becomes king of Goryeo. Crown Prince Ta Hwan is banished to Goryeo. What is Yeon-chul plotting?

King Wang Yoo hurries to Ta Hwan’s encampment. The Yuan are plotting something. Ta Hwan is in danger. Seung-nyang must take action.

Seung-nyang and Ta Hwan begin to get closer, leaving Wang Yoo conflicted. Yeon-chul takes action in the Yuan empire. Baek-ahn is given orders.

Seung-nyang desperately tries to bring Ta Hwan to Wang Yoo in order to save her father, Ki Ja-oh, who has been falsely accused of Ta Hwan’s murder.

Ta Hwan breaks his promise to Seung-nyang, and Ki Ja-oh dies. Seung-nyang vows revenge against Ta Hwan.

Dang Ki-se realizes Seung-nyang is a woman, and begs her to become a concubine. Yeon-chul pushes through his daughter’s wedding in the Yuan capital.

Seung-nyang becomes a servant in the Yuan palace, planning to kill Ta Hwan at a state ceremony. Wang Yoo fights for command over the Goryeo armies.

Seung-nyang is assigned to look after a lady of the court, and runs into Ta Hwan. Meanwhile, Wang Yoo thinks of a strategy to counter Baek-ahn.

Park, selected to be a concubine, becomes pregnant, exposing her conflict with Tanashilli. The battle on the western frontier worsens.

Seung-nyang passes a test to be Tanashilli’s spy and is ordered to cause a miscarriage. Ta Hwan starts to suspect Seung-nyang’s identity.

Park pretends to be ill, leading Tanashilli to believe she’s succeeded. Wang Yoo achieves a reversal of fortune on the western frontier.

Caught between Yeon-chul and the Empress, Ta Hwan bemoans his powerlessness. The battle of the western frontier is coming to a conclusion.

Wang Yoo arrives in the Yuan capital and heads for the palace. Seung-nyang goes after him. A message left by the dead emperor brings new developments.

Wang Yoo secretly meets with Seung-nyang and reveals a plan to defeat Yeon-chul. The Empress invites Wang Yoo to dinner to gain his allegiance.

Though worried about Seung-nyang, Wang Yoo forsakes her. She consoles Ta Hwan after his coercion by Yeon-chul, leaving Wang Yoo feeling conflicted.

Amid the scandal over the documents revealing Yeon-chul’s crimes, the Empress makes her move. The documents infuriate Yeon-chul.

Ta Hwan becomes jealous of Wang Yoo and orders Seung-nyang to stay away. Wang Yoo directs the people’s anger toward Yeon-chul.

Ta Hwan is stunned to hear Ki Ja-oh was Seung-nyang’s father. Ta Hwan teams up with Yeon-chul in order to eliminate Wang Yoo.

Yeon-chul is on the verge of death, so Wang Yoo tries to eliminate the rest of the family. Before he goes into action, he gives Seung-nyang a present.

Before Wang Yoo can make a move, Seung-nyang tells him that Yeon-chul is alive. Ta Hwan plans to assassinate Yeon-chul.

Lady Noh tells an ailing Seung-nyang she’s pregnant, but Seung-nyang refuses to believe it. Wang Yoo starts investigating fake currency in Goryeo.

Seung-nyang flees the raid and gives birth in a cave, but is caught while on the run with her child. Rumors of fake currency spread in Goryeo.

The captured Seung-nyang finds a message hidden in Lady Noh’s mirror. Wang Yoo grieves over Seung-nyang’s death. Yeon-chul offers him his niece.

Ta Hwan is shocked to find Seung-nyang among his concubines; she tells him it is in order to defeat Yeon-chul. Wang Yoo’s wedding concludes.

Seung-nyang is selected as a concubine. Tanashilli bullies her out of jealousy. Ta Hwan vows revenge on Yeon-chul after finding the emperor’s message.

Seung-nyang makes Ta Hwan look hedonistic to hide his learning to read, increasing Tanashilli’s jealousy. Wang Yoo finds out Seung-nyang is alive.

Seung-nyang is locked in the library, but her lack of reaction further spurs on Tanashilli. Wang Yoo learns a secret about the merchants’ group.

Seung-nyang corners Tanashilli. Wang Yoo learns that Seung-nyang is Ta Hwan’s concubine and gets his hands on an account book of the merchants’ group.

Tanashilli is chased out of the palace, vowing revenge on Seung-nyang and the empress. Wang Yoo succeeds in cracking the code in the account book.

Seung-nyang is given the account book proving Yeon-chul’s misdeeds. The Empress begins to doubt Prince Ma-ha’s parentage.

Ta Hwan becomes determined to take back control, and even be accepted as the true emperor. Tanashilli becomes murderous after being hurt by Wang Yoo.

Seung-nyang and Ta Hwan escape the trap set in the mountains, but Tanashilli corners them. Wang Yoo risks his life to let Seung-nyang escape.

Tanashilli’s hatred of Seung-nyang intensifies, leading her to cast a curse. Wang Yoo attempts to take control of the garrison to counter Yeon-chul.

Seung-nyang gives birth to a son. Prince Ma-ha begins to look strange, and Yeon-chul descends into confusion. A nun with secret knowledge appears.

The nun claims Ma-ha is not Tanashilli’s son. Tanashilli searches desperately for the nun. Ta Hwan raises an army to defeat Yeon-chul.

Ta Hwan prepares to fight to the death. Wang Yoo’s garrison fights against Yeon-chul’s men. Yeon-chul orders the deaths of Seong-nyang and Ta Hwan.

Yeon-chul is executed, leaving Seung-nyang feeling her father’s death is avenged. As she prepares to be empress, another battle begins.

Seung-nyang obtains documents about Yeon-chul's secret funds, starting a war for their possession. Poison is found in food she gives to the prince.

Seung-nyang searches for the secret funds. She asks for Wang Yoo’s help, but is not sure he can solve the puzzle. Threats of invasion abound.

Seung-nyang uncovers the location of the secret funds. She comes up with a plan to reach them before Baek-ahn, and the race to retrieve them begins.

The reinstated Wang Yoo starts a revolt. Despite Seung-nyang’s pleas, Ta Hwan begins a war of suppression. The losses gradually get to Ta Hwan.

Yuan’s losses mount, and the Empress turns public anger toward Wang Yoo in order to dethrone him. What will Wang Yoo’s fate be?

The dethroned Wang Yoo is brought to Yuan, and the Empress pressures Ta Hwan to execute him. Ta Hwan takes action to save Seung-nyang’s life.

Ta Hwan is enraged at being asked to nominate a crown prince. The Empress pushes for Ma-ha, but Ta Hwan refuses. Ma-ha’s parentage becomes known.

Word is out that Ma-ha is not the child of Ta Hwan and Tanashilli, and he is cast out. After losing Yeon Bi-soo, Wang Yoo learns Ma-ha is his child.

Ta Hwan is driven to drink. The retainers push for Baek-ahn’s dismissal, but he gains Ta Hwan’s trust. Wang Yoo plans to bring Ma-ha to Goryeo.

Lady Seo attempts to tell Ta Hwan of Ma-ha’s parentage. When Ta Hwan falls ill, Seung-nyang moves him to her part of the palace to care for him.

Ta Hwan blames Seung-nyang for taking Baek-ahn’s life, and becomes even more unstable. He then threatens the retainers into pledging allegiance.

Ta Hwan beheads Dang Ki-se for knowing Ma-ha’s parentage. He vows to kill all who know, in order to save Seung-nyang ... even Wang Yoo.

Ta Hwan distrusts Golta’s medicine, and his growing paranoia only hastens his breakdown. Seung-nyang has her suspicions, but her survival is in doubt.