A woman who built a dynasty, made a king, and raised a king, but never got to leave a name for herself 

Tales on the love and challenges of Queen Wongyeong, the best kingmaker in Joseon Dynasty

Min Ja-gyeong, the crown jewel of Gaegyeong

Ja-gyeong, the eldest of the children of Minje, the head of the Yeo-heung Min family, is the most popular girl in all of Gaegyeong. So many men have already asked her hand in marriage after being charmed by her beauty, talent, wisdom, and intelligence, but she turns all of them down. Just as everyone is wondering what kind of man she will marry, Ja-gyeong announces her marriage. Her fiancé is none other than Lee Bang-won, the fifth son of Lee Seong-gye. The entire Gaegyeong is surprised by this unexpected marriage. 

The man who will rise to the top

People have a hard time understanding Ja-gyeong’s choice, as Bang-won is a man who does not seem good enough for her both in terms of family background and appearance. However, Ja-gyeong is confident in her choice – she does not want to die without a name just because she was born a maiden, although she is greatly talented. She wants to rise to the top and leave her mark on history, and in her mind, the man who can turn that dream into reality is Lee Bang-won, the smart fifth son of Lee Seong-gye. To prove that she was right, she vows to bring Bang-won to the top. 

No matter how good it is, there is no way you can force it on someone…or is there?

As Seong-gye establishes Joseon, Ja-gyeong becomes closer and closer to her dream. However, unlike her big ambition, Bang-won’s dream does not steer that much away from simply living as the fifth son of Seong-gye. He has no desire to overtake his brothers and become crown prince, but only wants his mother, surnamed Han, to be honored as queen. Ja-gyeong, who had made great plans around him, is greatly disappointed – however, she is not willing to give up just yet. 

Bang-won would never be able to bear the sight of Kang Bang-seok becoming the crown prince instead of his own brothers. That means in order to make Bang-won king, Ja-gyeong had to get Bang-seok’s mother to get her son to be the crown prince. Without realizing that she is being manipulated by Ja-gyeong, Bang-seok’s mother seeks the help of Jeong Do-jeon to make Seong-gye crown Bang-seok as the prince. And just as Ja-gyeong predicted, Bang-won is furious when his talented brothers fail to be crowned prince because of Bang-seok, his half-brother. 

Gaining power at the cost of losing love

Ja-gyeong mentions Bang-won’s mother as she persuades Bang-won that it is time to get revenge. Ja-gyeong introduces Bang-won to Ha-ryun, a skillful strategist, and mobilizes Bang-won’s family members to help him in all ways. As a result, Bang-won risks becoming a disobedient son of Seong-gye, something he wanted to be recognized for all his life, and causes the First Strife of Princes and eventually wins. However, he is appalled when realizes that this was all part of Ja-gyeong’s game. Bang-won is devastated to learn that he has been played and fooled by the woman he loved more than his life and coldly turns away, promising to repay her for his deception. Will Ja-gyeong be able to win her love back and protect her ambition?

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