With help of JangGeum, Court Lady Choi and GeumYoung clear themselves of a false accusation of using poisonous mushroom in the King’s meal. JangGeum and Jung, YoonSoo have conflicting diagnoses and prescriptions, and JangGeum is put in charge of providing treatment to King JoongJong at last. Court lady Choi and GeumYoung firmly believe that Jung, YoonSoo has plotted against them. With YeolI, they plot against Jung…

In front of SaHunBoo, everyone involved in the incident gathers and the testimony of Court Lady Choi and Oh conflicts. Witnesses are called upon and the truth is unveiled. JoaChanSung, newly appointed as a ChooGookGoan, indicts Oh, Court Lady Choi and everyone involved in the incidents. Court Lady Choi escapes but realizes she has been wrong and regrets her past in front of NaIn Park’s grave.

The Queen is shocked to find out that her own son, KyungWonDaeGun is suffering from smallpox. The only thing Queen can do to help her son is to hold a sacrifice ceremony wishing her son well. KyungWonDaeGun’s health takes a turn for the worse and Queen calls for JangGeum. JangGeum sincerely delivers treatment for KyungWonDaeGun.

Jang Geum's suggestion to perform surgery on the King is received with displeasure. Jang Geum is reunited with Min Jung Ho as she is sent away from the palace.

The Queen Mother starts to receive medical treatments but her condition grows worse as she has waited too long for the treatment. While Shin is busy looking for a cure, JangGeum prepares pills for the Queen Mother. The Queen and Jung, YoonSoo are offended when they find out the ingredients used to prepare the pill and demand to change the royal doctor in charge. One night, King JoongJong pays a visit to YeonSaeng’s residence. Instructed by Court Lady Min, YeonSaeng displays her feminine charm in awkward manners. The King adores YeonSaeng for it…

To unveil the truth about sulfur fed duck incident, they confiscate articles from the royal kitchens and Choi’s business to thoroughly investigate. In GeumYoung’s confiscated spice box, a poisonous mushroom is discovered and Court Lady Choi but GeumYoung strongly protests. On the other hand, JangGeum gets closer to finding out the answers to the doubts about King JoongJong’s diseases.

JangGeum’s prescription betters the King’s health and wins King and Queen’s hearts. Min has found a clue which will unveil Oh, GyumHo’s wrongdoings and concentrates on the matter. The erroneous diagnosis of Jung is discovered and as things go against their will, Oh, GyumHo and Choi, PanSool decide the fate of Jung, who knows secrets about them

After hearing the news of King JoongJong appointing JangGeum to become his royal doctor in charge, Min hands in a letter of resignation and leaves the palace. Min and JangGeum leave everything behind and take on a journey. Despite Queen, YeonSang, and DoJeDo’s advice, JangGeum carries out the King’s order, which causes upheaval in the royal court…

At the time of King Sung Jong in 1482, a deputy officer delivers the order from the King to bestow poison on deposed Queen Yoon as a death penalty. Chief civil administration officer Lee, SeJoa and Royal Military Guard Seo, ChunSoo visit deposed queen Yoon’s house to execute the death sentence. Deposed Queen Yoon says “You will pay for what you have done today” as her last words and passes away. One night, Royal army officer Seo falls from a cliff while walking the mountain path. He is saved by an ascetic, who has the ability to see the future, only to find out that he will die due to his involvement in killing deposed Queen Yoon. Not knowing how to react to this horrible news, Seo is encumbered with worries. Time flows to 1496 and King YeonSanGun has been ruling the country for 2 years. Na-In (one of the junior titles for female workers in the palace) Park reports NaIn Choi’s suspicious act to a court lady in Royal Kitchen. However, Na In Park is poisoned and thrown away deep in the mountain due to the Choi family’s power and influence in Royal Kitchen. Now resigned from the office, Seo finds Park in the mountain and saves her life. Park shows her gratitude to Seo and leaves the temple where she has been resting. Seo trails after Park without her knowing…

Chief Court Lady reports to the Queen mother that employees are being released from the palace due to the plague and that Court Lady Jung is among them. The competition gets cancelled and Chief Court Lady plots to appoint Court Lady Choi as Court Lady Jung’s successor. At last, the Queen mother appoints Court Lady Choi as the acting Chief Court Lady of the Royal Kitchen during Court Lady Jung’s absence. Court Lady Choi sends Court Lady Han and JangGeum to TaePyungGwan, where an ambassador is received with courtesy. Court Lady Han and JangGeum learn that the chief ambassador is suffering from diabetes and prepares his meal accordingly rather than impressing him with all kinds of oily delicacies. However, not knowing the full intention, the chief ambassador and Oh, GyumHo get offended…

Court Lady Jung falls ill and gets removed from the palace as the Royal regulations do not allow anyone but the King and his immediate family to die in the palace. Chief Court Lady explains the injustice of the Royal Culinary Competition to Queen Mother. Moreover, she reports to Queen Mother that Court Ladies from other departments are not willing to serve Court Lady Jung due to her low class background. Queen mother worries, not knowing the right thing to do. Court Lady Choi persuades Court Ladies from other department to go against Court Lady Han’s words. Court Lady Han is driven into the corner due to Court Lady Choi plotting against her…

While JagnGeum is practicing pine nut preparation under the moon light, she gets the chance to talk to GeumYoung. Not knowing who GeumYoung is, JangGeum tells her that the rest of SaengGakSi group have been complaining about her. GeumYoung teaches JangGeum how to prepare pine nuts. On the day of testing culinary skills, JangGeum is shocked to find out who GeumYoung is. The group of SaengGakSi is tested in their pine nut preparation skills and JangGeum takes the second place after GeumYoung. This incident causes the group of SaengGakSi to misunderstand JangGeum. A doctor disguised as a lady enters the residence of the Court lady in charge of the Royal Kitchen to examine the pulse for a diagnosis. On his way out, he is caught by a royal guard, which puts the Choi family in jeopardy. As the court lady in charge of the Royal Kitchen is about to be removed from her position, Oh, GyumHo and Chief Court lady appoints Court lady Jung as the successor, because she will behave like their puppet. The rumor that Court Lady Jung will be appointed as the court lady in charge of the Royal Kitchen is flying, and NaIn and SaengGakSi are agitated by the news. On the contrary to what Court Lady Choi has expected, newly appointed Court Lady in charge of the Royal Kitchen, Court Lady Jung, denies the existence of the absolute sense of taste and orders GeumYoung, who is seated next to her, to sit amongst SaengGakSi at the congratulatory ceremony. Also, Court Lady Jung insists that she will evaluate everyone for their capacity and will appoint her successor accordingly. GeumYoung studies culinary arts under Court Lady Choi and JangGeum does the same under Court Lady Han…

Queen announces the rematch between Court Lady Choi and Han to the palace and decides the subject for the competition should be rice cooking. Only two of them are left in the competition field to carry out the competition. To fairly decide the winner, Queen decides to have Court Ladies to vote the winner. To further investigate the ill practices of Choi, PanSool and Oh, GyumHo, Min, JungHo transfers to SaHunBoo. He examines the account book and starts investigating SoJooBang where Choi supplies the goods.

YoungLo steals the account book JangGeum has been working on and takes it to Court Lady Choi. In that account book, the letter which Na-In Park has left JangGeum is stuck between the leaves of the book. Court Lady Choi is shocked to find NaIn Park’s recipe book and returns the account and recipe books. Court Lady accidentally sees the recipe book but does not find out that the book belongs to JangGeum due to YoungLo lying to her. SaHunBoo pressures Oh, GyumHo by investigating government offices including SaOngWon. While the investigation is proceeding, King JoongJong finds out that Choi, PanSool is exclusively supplying the majority of goods to the palace and that management of the goods is being neglected. Oh, GyumHo and other people involved seek a way to come through this crisis.

JangGeum finds out the only way for a government slave to return to the palace and goes to JangDug to learn medicine. JangDug teaches the medicine skills to JangGeum, who strives to learn more. King JoongJong finds YeonSaeng crying for her dear friend JangGeum and sympathizes with her. At last, YeonSaeng sleeps with the King and become one of many king’s women. JangDug and JangGeum search for the doctor who sold ginseng to a patient with a high body temperature…

JangGeum is taken to the royal military guard office for interrogation. Min, JungHo visits the royal military guard office to prove JangGeum’s services in defeating Japanese pirates, knowing that JeJe Island’s governor has made a false report. Min stays at the royal military guard offices as ordered by the chief officer, and JangGeum and GooMan return to JeJu Island. On their way to JeJu Island, JangGeum tries to build a mound over the grave where the Court Lady Han is buried. JangGeum encounters a strange boy who orders her to exhume and bury the body in another place, as the ground is not for graves. However, JangGeum notices the boy’s illness and treats him kindly…

While diagnosing patients’ illnesses with SinBi, JangGeum realizes that she has been solely relying on her limited knowledge of medicine rather than diagnosing the illnesses with humbleness to get the complete picture. JangGeum gets a second chance to take the exam of distinguishing medicines. Shin advises her that a medical doctor needs to be a thoughtful person rather than a smart person. After this, JangGeum thrives on the training of becoming a royal doctor. However, not taking part in official discipline, JangGuem and SinBi are on the verge of failing the class…

JangGeum questions the result of examination of pulse and prescription for the Queen. Eventually the Queen complains about the pain while YoulI is performing acupuncture. JangGeum speaks of her doubts and the result of the pulse examination. At last, JangGuem and YoulI feel the pulse for diagnosis in front of the royal doctors, but their opinions conflict. JoaChangSung and Min, JeonHo pressure Oh, GyumHo to reduce the amount of GongSinJeon (paddy fields and dry fields awarded to government officials) to overcome the financial problems. Driven into a corner, Oh and his associates feels threatened and plots a conspiracy…

The Queen Mother refuses all medical treatment and loses her temper with the King. The Chief Court Lady Choi takes advantage of the situation and uses Queen Mother to take care of the GongSinJeon issue. Discharged official Lee, HyunWoo takes Queen Mother’s side to plot against JoaChangSung and Shin, IkPil and to go against King JoongJong’s will. With every effort to save her teacher, JangGeum wages her life on a bet with the Queen Mother. To win the bet, GeumYoung and Court Lady Choi join Queen Mother…

JangGeum visits Court Lady Choi’s residence to provide medical treatment for food poisoning. Even though he has no alternative, Court Lady Choi feels uneasy about having JangGeum treat her. Oh, GyumHo petitions the King regarding Min’s disobedience and Min is discharged from his duties. However, an appeal from the village where the epidemic has broken out gets delivered to the King and he learns about Min and JangGeum’s active engagement in curing the disease. YoenSaeng becomes SookWon, one of the titles given to women who have slept with the king and become one of many king’s women. Court Lady Choi and YeolI plot together and YeolI looks after YeonSaeng…

While SinBi examines YeonSaeng’s pulse in front of Sin, IkPil, YeolI’s mistakes become obvious. Sin questions YeolI about an erroneous diagnosis but she won’t cooperate. JangGeum takes this as a opportunity to unveil the truth about sulfur fed duck incident. JangGeum hides in NaeSooSa, (the bureau of investigations) where the access is strictly limited, to unlawfully take out the daily report on King JoongJong’s health…

JangGeum is taken to NaeSiBoo for taking out the daily report on the King’s health but gets released with the help of the Lord SangSun. Thinking this is a golden chance to get rid of JangGeum, Court Lady Choi protests to Lord SangSun but he turns her down. Choi, PanSool and Court Lady Choi take advantage of the position SangChaek (a position in the eunuch department) and corners Lord SangSun for protecting JangGEum. At last, Lord SangSun has no choice but to report the incident of JangGeum, taking the daily report on the King’s health to the Queen…

YoungLo visits JangGeum with a bill received from Oh and Court Lady Choi, hoping to negotiate, as she cannot trust neither Oh nor Court Lady Choi. Court Lady Choi also visits JangGeum for atonement for her sin of killing NaIn Park. Suspecting Oh plotting against her, Court Lady Choi kidnaps YoungLo heading towards SaHunBoo. Min discovers a definitive clause that reveals Oh’s involvement in contraband trading with Japanese commander. Queen Mother finds out about Jung, YoonSoo’s will and orders to deliver it to her…

King JoongJong is jealous of Min as JangGeum reveals her feelings about Min to the King. On his way to visit Min, JungHo, King JoongJong eavesdrops on JangGeum and Min’s conversation and feels jealous and angry. Through the king, the queen’s mother’s pressure intensifies regarding the demand given to Jagguem. The King has a sword fight with JungHo over a gift given from Janggeum.

Not able to bear her hunger, JangGeum enters DugGoo’s brewery to ask for some food. She is falsely charged as a thief but DugGoo’s wife feels affection for JangGeum and takes her in. JangGeum helps around the brewery with everyday errands. One day, Lord Park, WonJong makes JangGeum deliver bottles of rice wine, as part of a plot of treason against King YeonSanGun, to Prince JinSung. That night, the enthronement of King JoongJong and dethronement of King YeonSanGun take place and Prince JinSung becomes King JoongJong the following day. A Court lady in charge of training visits DugGoo’s house looking for JangGeum. JangGeum follows the lady and joins the palace with the dream of becoming the best cook there. JangGeum goes under the training of SaengGakSi (female workers under training to become maids of the palace) and become friends with YoungLo, YeonSaeng, and ChangI. However, coming from low-class background, JangGeum is treated with contempt. Mortified at being mistreated, JangGeum and YunSaeng hide in ToiSunGan (One of Royal Kitchens in the Palace), and find GeumYoung going down to the King’s private quarters. While hiding themselves in ToiSunGan, JangGeum and YeunSaeng get caught by Court lady Han and NaIn Min. Surprised, YeonSaeng falls and breaks the bowl containing King’s midnight meal. Court lady Han and NaIn Min are traumatized as King’s midnight meal has been ruined. They quickly come up with a new idea to prepare King’s midnight meal and concentrate on preparing it without paying any attention to JangGeum and YeonSaeng. JangGeum is very impressed with the work of Court lady Han and watches her preparing the King’s meal with admiration…