Jang-Geum is told to leave the palace for breaking the palace rule by sneaking out without permission. All the senior Court Ladies beg on her behalf, but no avail. She starts packing. Her mentor, Court Lady Han (Yang Mi Kyung), pleas, begs and gives up her promotion privileges for the next 3 years in exchange for Jang-Geum to stay in the palace. Finally Jang-Geum gets to stay in the palace, but is sent to a herbal vegetable field outside of the palace instead. There’s usually where all the demoted people goes because that place hasn’t had much luck in last few years, as they failed to cultivate the precious medicines needed.
On her way there, Jang Geum runs into Min Jung-Ho (Ji Jin Hee) but they don’t meet each other. Jang-Geum sees that all the people in garden don’t work but drink and sleep all day long instead, just like they have all gave up on life, but she doens’t sit still as what she is told to. She starts to read the farm and medical journals and successfuly cultivates a very hard-to-grow herb in Korea. But the corrupt officials sends someone to ruin the crop, as he was making loads of money as the middleman in importing the herbs, so he doesn’t want to lose that income. But the Doctor Jeong Woon-Baek, the chief on the garden, who usually is drunk, figures out a way to trick the corrupt official’s servants so that the Justice court gets involved to investigate the situation. The Justice court is shocked that the garden can figured out a way to grow the rare crop and the judge wants to know how they did it. Jang-Geum gets praised and she gets sent back to the Royal Kitchen. She is informed of the good news by Young Seng.
Doctor Jeong Woon-Baek want to help Jang Geum to improve, so he asks her carry a letter to drop off at the library on her way back to the Royal Kitchen. At the library Jang-Geum can’t find anyone so she begins to read the books instead. Min Jung-Ho arrives and explains the meaning of a word to Jang-Geum… and he tells her that palace women are prohibited in the library, but Jang-Geum gives the letter to him. He opens the letter which says to let the one who delivered the letter given the privilege to read whatever book she wants to read, as the doctor believes she will help the people with her talents. The letter was actually written to someone who no longer works at the library. So Min Jung-Ho tells Jang-Geum to let him know whenever she wants to read a book and he’ll get it for her.