Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Kim Byeong-in interrupts the attack on Bong-hwan and fights the masked Cheoljong, allowing the queen to escape immediate danger. He takes her back to the palace, still troubled by So-yong's misery before her wedding. Bong-hwan cannot give him the reassurance he wants because the memories belong to someone else. Cheoljong must also work out what the queen overheard, with his secret activities now threatened by her unexpected appearance outside the palace.
Frustrated by the food he is served, Bong-hwan enters the royal kitchen and puts his own training to work. His skill surprises the cooks and brings him into a contest with royal chef Man-bok. Cooking gives him a way to act confidently in a life where almost everything else is unfamiliar. It also offers a practical route to the Grand Queen Dowager, whose approval could help him get the lake filled and attempt another escape.
The meals win the senior queen's attention, and workers begin carrying water to the lake. Around Bong-hwan, servants and royal relatives keep watching one another, each interpreting his conduct through their own suspicions. Cheoljong remains particularly wary of a queen from the family controlling his throne. During another private conversation, a remembered detail from the drunken outing falls into place for Bong-hwan: the man who threatened him in the street was Cheoljong. Their uneasy marriage now includes a concealed attempt on his life.