THE RED SLEEVE: EPS 1 – First Meeting Between King Yeongjo and Deok Im.

History is the biggest spoiler of traditional sageuks, so I’m trying to follow mainly what is revealed in the drama and link the rest with more info and possible spoilers.

PLACE: Royal Concubine Yeong’s resident.
TIMELINE: 1764.
BRIEF BACKGROUND: Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jeonui Yi clan: (15 August 1696 — 23 August 1764). (from Wikipedia and @viki’s sub)
She entered the palace at age 6 and became a concubine at age 31. She is most well known for advising Yeongjo to execute their son, as the latter suffered from serious mental illnesses.

Yi San (flashback) – Grandmother, did you really tell grandfather to have my father killed? Is it true?
Yeong – Yes, Your Highness.
San – You are my father’s own mother. What kind of mother kills her own son? My father is dead because of you. How do you call yourself a mother?….
If I become like father, will you leave me too?
Yeong- Your grandmother killed your father. I never sought your forgiveness. Everything is grandmother’s fault. My poor grandson, I don’t deserve your forgiveness.

KING YEONGJO and young DEOK IM

King: Raise your face.
You look like PRINCESS HWAHYEOP (meaning harmony) when she was little.
 Come here.
That person (Royal Consort Yeong) went through great lengths for me and our future. But now, I can’t even stay by her side in death. No king has ever attended a concubine’s burial. How cruel is that? What do you think?
Deok Im: Your Majesty is right.
King: is that so? 
Deok Im: *nod* Your Majesty is certainly right! 
King: Even a young attendant like you know loyalty.
She used to be beautiful in her younger days. She used to be a lady of the court like you.
Her sleeves were so very red. Every time I saw her, my heart ached so much. Why did it hurt?
When court ladies dye their sleeves red, it shows that they are the king’s ladies. At the time, I was just a lowly prince born from a concubine. I never dared to dream. But, as time passed. I received God’s will and became a king. I was awarded the crown, and she came along with it. I deluded myself into thinking I could do anything I wanted in this world.
Deok Im: Why was that a delusion? Since you are the king, can you not do anything you want?
King: Do you know how many things a king can not control? You would be stunned when you eventually find out. …
Even Ice can’t be colder than my heart. … I finally lost her. Now… she won’t ever come back.
It’s fate that we meet tonight. I will grant you a special Imperial gift. Let’s see… Let me ask you… What kind of court lady do you wish to be?
 Deok Im: I want…to become a court lady who writes well.
King: Do you want to be a good writer? Here, take this. “Yeo Beom: A Buddhist Priest Sins With a Woman.” Royal Concubine Yeong wrote this book herself. 
Deok Im: Can I receive such a precious book?
King: Tonight, fate brought you here. Ah… did you say you were one of the Crown Prince’s young ladies? 
You never know. Your fate might turn out the same as the owner of the book.

ROYAL CONSORT YEONG and KING YEONGJO’s CHILDREN:
1. Princess Hwapyong (27 April 1727 – 24 June 1748) (화평옹주), third daughter.
2. Fourth daughter (3 August 1728 – 18 February 1731).
3. Fifth daughter (12 December 1729 – 21 March 1731).
4. Sixth daughter (1 January 1732 – 12 April 1736).
5. Princess Hwahyeop (7 March 1733 – 27 November 1752) (화협옹주), seventh daughter.
6. Yi Seon, Crown Prince Sado (13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762) (이선 사도세자), second son.
7. Princess Hwawan (9 March 1738 – 17 May 1808) (화완옹주), ninth daughter.

King Yeongjo of Joseon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeongjo_of_Joseon
Royal Consort Yeong
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Noble_Consort_Yeongbin_Yi

PART 2: To be continued..”The King’s Favorite Daughter, PRINCESS HWAHYEOP.”