Joseon Attorney: A Morality (2023) Episode 9

Joseon Attorney: A Morality episode 9 begins with Han-soo and Dong-chi awoken by some noises so they decide to investigate. They find Yeon-joo, Lady Hong and Yoon talking in low tones about the passing of Lord Choo.

The next morning, the King gets an opportunity to question whether Yoo Je-se is worthy of keeping his title as the executive minister. The King heard that many noblemen were lining up to offer bribes to Yoo Je-se to fill the open government positions left by the deceased.

The King calls for the dismissal of Yoo Je-se but his Hungu men in the Royal Court quickly come to his defense. The King is therefore unable to remove him from his position but he knew it won’t be easy.

There is also the fact that the Grand Queen Dowager has declared the end of her regency. She was hoping the King will be able to establish his power and do away with Yoo Je-se’s influence. Unfortunately, the King’s attempt fails but he has another plan in mind and hopes Han-soo will help.

He is not the only one with a plan, Ji-sun is also trying to recruit a royal court official to stand against his dad but is unsuccessful.

Of course, Yoo Je-se also has his own selfish plans. It is revealed that he saved Eun-soo (Han-soo’s sister) after she was kicked out of her matrimonial home since her family was accused of a huge crime. Eun-soo was hoping to go to Hanyang and complain about her grievances to the King.

However, Yoo Je-se lies to her that the King was actually responsible for the death of her family. He also promises to help her get revenge and Eun-soo will stop at nothing until it is all set and done.  Currently, she is seducing officials from Saheonbu and spying on Ji-sun who frequently visits her bar. Ji-sun is unaware of the fact that she owns the bar and is shocked to learn this.

One night, Yoo Je-se orders her to seduce a certain official while elsewhere, Ji-sun gets the report of Lord Choo passing and visits the crime scene. He meets Han-soo and starts questioning him about his involvement with Lord Choo. Han-soo tells him to look for the suspect among the people close to him and leaves. He heads to the blacksmith to buy a dagger and once again runs into Ji-sun.

This time Ji-sun asks him why he is still staying at the merchant’s house when his boat is almost done being repaired. He cautions him that he might put Yeon-joo and her servants in danger. Han-soo asks why he is so concerned about Yeon-joo and what their relationship is.

According to him, it must not be of importance if Yeon-joo never bothered to mention it to him.  Nevertheless, Han-soo is worried and doesn’t want to endanger Yeon-joo.

He goes back to the merchant’s house and is scared when he finds it empty. He quickly starts looking for Yeon-joo and finally finds her at the stables. She explains to him that things have been hectic with the killing of Lord Choo so she decided to close for the day. Han-soo was worried something had happened to her like it did to his mom.

After calming down, Han-soo fires Yeon-joo and tells her that he is leaving the merchant’s house. He gives her a dagger and tells her to use it to protect herself because he can’t. Yeon-joo is saddened but won’t fight back which Han-soo finds unusual.

Later he notices Yeon-joo and Ji-sun talking and thinks he is the reason Yeon-joo is not fighting back.  Dong-chi asks to remain behind as he has feelings for Lady Hong but Han-soo insists they have to go back to their boat.

Yeon-joo is troubled because she has to reply to Han-soo’s letter asking to meet the Princess. Ji-sun made a promise to Han-soo and must keep it. He is hoping that Yeon-joo will drop the matter but Yeon-joo is unwilling to.  She contemplates telling Han-soo the truth but decides against it. As she goes through the letter delivered by Ji-sun, she realizes that he is the benefactor that she has been writing to.

In the other room, Lady Hong treats the two courtesans who helped Han-soo and tries to motivate them to find another job. She offers to hire them but the ladies are not sure if they should continue to stay at the merchant house as Han-soo is leaving too. Later, she has a meal with Don-chi and he indirectly confesses that he likes her and is sad to leave.

Meanwhile, the King is visited by the official Kim Young-Jae, who met with Eun-soo the previous night. Young- Jae tells the King that he has a report to make.

Outside the palace, Han-soo returns to the boat and plans to find a way to have an audience with the King. He is hoping to find a case that he can’t solve and will need to ask for the King’s help. He spends most of the day meeting new clients but none of them have a hard case. His luck, however, turns when the King visits him and asks for his help.

The King asks him to investigate the death of Kwon Myung Woo’s brother. The King was hoping to appoint Kwon Myung Woo as a new commissioner but Kwon Myung Woo is on the verge of being accused of murder. The King believes that someone killed Kwon Myung Woo’s brother and framed him to stop the appointment because he is a member of Sarim.

If the King had succeeded in appointing him, he would have been able to start establishing a balance between Hungu and Sarim in the Royal Court.

Han-soo promises to help the King find the culprit and the motive behind Kwon Myung Woo’s brother’s murder. The King gives him a gate pass for the palace and asks him to report to him when he solves the case. Later, the King tells Yeon-joo that he feels reassured after meeting Han-soo and she asks him to protect Han-soo.

She is right to worry as Yoo Je-se was the one who set the plan in motion and knew the King would hire Han-soo to investigate. He tells Eun-soo that their plan is working and it is unfortunate that Han-soo is working with the son of the man who killed her family. He assures her that she will soon be able to meet Han-soo and reveal the truth.

Yoo Je-se is also keeping another card up his sleeve. He orders Jo Cheol-Joo to keep the knife he used to kill Lord Choo.

The next day, Han-soo visits Kwon Myung Woo’s home and starts investigating. They start with the crime scene and the body has already started rotting but it is clear he was stabbed in the neck.

On the list of suspects, there is the wife of Kwon Myung Woo’s brother, a female servant, a male servant and the housekeeper. Han-soo is also suspicious of Kwon Myung Woo too, as each one of them had a probable motive to kill the deceased.

However, the prime suspect is the housekeeper, he has a gambling problem and his alibi is iffy at best. Han-soo believes that the motive for the murder is money but is unable to fully focus on the case. This is mostly because he is distracted since he misses Yeon-joo. He remembers that she told him that she has a confession to make after the Lord Choo case and leaves to meet her.

Speaking of Yeon-joo she goes to meet Ji-sun and confronts him about the letters and his financial support of the merchant’s house. She confesses that she has been curious about his motives and thinks he is probably trying to atone for his father’s crime. Remember, Yeon-joo believes that Yoo Je-se killed her dad. She tells him that she doesn’t care about him or his motives and that he should stop trying so hard.

Ji-sun is heartbroken and tries to burn the letters but changes his mind and quickly retrieves them from the fire. He gets hurt and Eun-soo steps in to help him. She tells him that she owns the inn and reminds him of the days when she used to stay at his house.

It seems like they were close and she has feelings for him. It is uncertain if Ji-sun felt anything for her or was just being kind and considerate. Eun-soo tries to comfort him but he rushes out to chase Yeon-joo.

He catches up with Yeon-joo and asks her to use him as a shield to fight his dad. He asks her to allow him to stay by her side and fight Yoo Je-se. Yeon-joo asks why he is offering himself to her and he says he is hoping she will finally see him. She also notices that he is hurt and he pulls her in for a hug.

Han-soo watches their interaction from afar. He wonders if her feelings for Ji-sun are what she meant to confess to him. Yeon-joo pulls away from Ji-sun and it starts raining.

The Episode Review

Yoo Je-se is a scary man, the way he plans everything and has a backup plan is simply effortless. He is a villain but we gotta admit, he is really good at being bad.

Will Han-soo solve the murder case given that he seems so distracted? His distraction will only get worse after seeing Ji-sun and Yeon-joo hug. It will be best if he and Yeon-joo have a real talk and she confesses everything.

This whole thing she is doing of keeping her identity a secret from him is frustrating, especially because she knows how crucial she is to his revenge plan. I get that she is scared to lose him but he will find out. Isn’t it better if he hears from her first?

There is also Eun-soo, and for a smart woman she can be dumb. Hasn’t she ever wondered how and why the King would suddenly betray her family and then die in mysterious circumstances? She should have investigated deeper instead of lurching on every word Yoo Je-se said and selling her soul to the devil!