Our Blooming Youth 2023 Episode 3

Episode 3 of Our Blooming Youth begins with Min Jae-yi being grabbed by the Crown Prince and shutting her up with his hands. Min Jae-yi kneels and once again begs for the Crown Prince’s help. The Crown Prince asks her if it is true that she solved the murders in Gaesong.

He reminds her that, just a few minutes ago, she lamented about the fate of women in Joseon. He tells her to find her own way to the Eastern Palace if she believes she is reliable. Tae-gang interrupts them and leaves with the Crown Prince.  Min Jae-yi follows them and tells the Crown Prince that she will do as he has commanded. She asks the court ladies to direct her to the eunuch offices and claims to be a eunuch.

Elsewhere, a soldier leaves a hidden message for a court lady telling her that the Crown Prince brought in a soldier from the military training hunting grounds. Unfortunately, we don’t see the faces of these two.

Min Jae-yi gets changed and dresses as a eunuch. The other eunuchs are surprised that she will be working at the Eastern Palace and feel sorry for her. They dont think she will be able to survive working directly under the Crown Prince.

At the Eastern palace, the Crown Prince’s servants perform a small show to congratulate the Crown Prince on his success during the royal hunt. They ask if they can bring in a new servant but the Crown Prince turns their request down.  The eunuchs are disappointed and decide to go to the wishing shrine to pray for the Crown Prince’s change of heart.

Outside the palace, Ga-ram continues studying under Myung-jin and shows him all her hidden talents.  These are the talents she got from helping Min Jae-yi to solve crime cases in Gaesong. Myung-jin is left impressed by her talent to fight.

Meanwhile, Min Jae-yi finds herself lost in the place. Luckily, she runs into Princess Hayeon who was on her way to see the Crown Prince. She saves the Princess from a fall and the Princess asks her to accompany them. Princess Hayeon is taken by Min Jae-yi. She asks Min Jae-yi to take care of her brother well and try to see his good side.

Once they arrive at the Eastern Palace, they find the Crown Prince deep in thought. He is contemplating who he can trust. Princess Hayeon brings Min Jae-yi with her and the Crown Prince is surprised that she found her way into the Eastern Palace. Princess Hayeon asks why the Crown Prince agreed o bring in a new servant. His other servants are also curious about the Crown Prince changing his mind.

As they have tea, they are joined by Prince Myungan and they talk about how his education is going. The Crown Prince promises to teach him horse riding if he no longer skips his royal classes. The discussion moves to whether Prince Myungan or  Princess Hayeon would like to take Min Jae-yi as their servant. Prince Myungan asks for her name and Min Jae-yi is left dumbfounded. Luckily, the Crown Prince steps in on her behalf and says her name is Go Soon Dol.

Princess Hayeon brings up  Min Jae-yi ‘s case and the murder of her family. They remark on how evil it was for her to kill her family because she didn’t want to marry Sung-on. Princess Hayeon expresses her sympathy for Sung-on but it is clear she has a crush on him.

After the Prince and Princess left, the Crown Prince asks Min Jae-yi why she didn’t think of a name. Min Jae-yi tells him that she is only thinking of finding the truth about what happened to her parents. She asks him to trust her to solve the mystery of the secret ghost letters. She still believes her family’s murder and the letter are linked.

She brings up all the cases she solved in Gaesong while pretending to be her brother. The Crown Prince decides to give her a chance and asks her to solve the murder cases in the capital. Min Jae-yi promises to solve the cases in ten days and he gives her a summary of the cases and asks her to go through it.

Away from the palace,  Won-Bo meets with one of his henchmen and tells him about Sergeant’s Han visit to Oh Man Shik to ask about the blood at the celebratory event during the royal hunt. He claims that he also looked into the incident but he was surprised that Oh Man Shik was not at work. He wonders if the man is at home. He is not the only one looking for Oh Man Shik. Han Sung-on is also looking for the man but it seems as if the man sold everything valuable he had and fled.

Sung-on visits the merchant who bought Oh Man Shik’s belongings and finds an item that he believes belongs to his father. This leads to him having conflicted feelings about how to proceed with the investigation. He visits his father and updates him on the case.

His dad points out that whoever pulled the prank must have wanted to train the Crown Prince. He points out that the Crown Prince is too headstrong and doesn’t realize a king’s power comes from his court. He says the Crown Prince will make a dangerous king because he trusts no one, not even his best friend. Sung-on is shocked by his father’s words and he vows to protect the Crown Prince.

Later that night, Tae-gang takes Min Jae-yi to the Crown Prince’s secret room where he hid and practiced until he reimagined his strength. She realizes that the Crown Prince is much stronger than he looks. Tae-gang later asks the Crown Prince why he is helping Min Jae-yi and he says that he needs Min Jae-yi.

The Crown Prince is still not sure who to trust and Min Jae-yi is surprised by his demeanour. He comes off as a cold person but he is secretly caring.

The next morning, a court lady receives a hidden letter informing her about the Crown Prince’s new servant, Go Soon Dol. In the meantime, Min Jae-yi wakes up late and ends up late for her work at the Eastern Palace. She was in such a rush she forgot to wear socks. She also gets lost in the palace again.  The other eunuchs help her cover up her mistake and the Crown Prince is kind enough not to lose his patience with her.

He checks on her and asks if she was comfortable in his room. She also tells him about how she followed the sun when she got lost in the palace. She thinks it is cool that his palace is where the sun rises from. He also reminds her about the first time they met as children.

On the same morning, Sung-on gets some answers from the men he sent to Gaesong. They found the shoe he gave her as a present. They also tell him that there is evidence that someone was living in a cave deep in the forest. They are not sure if it was Lady Min Jae-yi but the officials believe she is dead.

The Episode Review

Based on the way the Crown Prince was looking at Min Jae-yi when she was dressing him, I think he has already started catching feelings. Those glances and smiles they kept sharing are for people who are cluelessly whipped. Unfortunately, it is too early for them to realize this.

I feel bad for Sung-on, he is desperately looking for his former fiancée and she is right under his nose. And even worse, unknowingly getting close to his best friend. His dad has already planted the seeds of doubt in him. I wonder what will happen when he learns the truth and the fact that the Crown Prince hid this from him. Will he end up betraying the Crown Prince? But then again, isn’t it fair to say the Crown Prince betrayed him first?