To everyone including Yuh-Ri’s shock, the deceased head doctor arrives at the meeting, accompanied by Min Jung-Ho and Jang-Geum. Min Jung-Ho states the head doctor is the only one who can clear the truth. The head doctor states he needed time to sort things thus he agreed to Min Jung Ho’s request to fake death for a short period of time. Lady Choi and Right Prime Minister Oh continue to point their finger at each other. The head doctor tells everyone that both Oh and Lady Choi are responsible for the conspiracy against the king.
Oh and Lady Choi raise their voice to defend themselves but Min Jung-Ho brings a witness who was a servant at the soo-rak-gan at the time. The servant testifies against Lady Choi who still maintains her innocence. But Ma Sang-Goong arrives to testify as well. She brings her a proof which is a correspondance between Lady Choi and Oh. Lady Choi is taken to an isolated room. The king is given report about the situation. He orders all suspects to be brought before the confession court. Geum-Young, Oh, Choi Pan Sul who was captured when tried to escape, Yuh-Ri, and head doctor are all brought before the court.
The court session is interrupted by a guard who report Lady Choi is missing. Lady Choi hides in a freezing room to wait for the arrival of the mother queen’s messenger. Lady Choi begs the messenger to let her see the mother queen. The mother queen refuses to see her and tells the messenger to tell Lady Choi to turn herself in. Lady Choi tries to solicit help from another sang-goong who tells the guard Lady Choi’s whereabout. Lady Choi sees it and runs to the jar storage room to hide.
A kitchen maids hears noises in the jar room and reports to Lady Min. Jang-Geum arrives at the jar room to face Lady Choi. Lady Choi raises her arms to slap Jang-Geum but Jang-Geum grabs her hand and states if she doesn’t turn herself in Geum-Young will take all the blame instead. Jang-Geum tells Lady Choi to turn herself in then leaves. Outside Lady Min and Chan-Ee scold Jang-Geum saying they can just call the guards but Jang-Geum says she wishes Lady Choi to turn herself in.
Lady Choi steps out and begins to walk, with each step she remembers the way Lady Jung and Lady Han begged her to do the right thing before they each passes away. Lady Choi kneels in front of Myung-Ee’s grave to talk to Myung-Ee. Lady Choi wonders how life would be different had Myung-Ee never saw her putting poision in the queen’s food, and how things would be if Myung-Ee and her switched lives. She remembers her childhood laughters with Myung-Ee and Lady Han. Outside the cave, she sees a red ribbon hanging on a tree like when she was little and she tries to get the ribbon. Lady Choi gets the ribbon but slips and falls off the cliff. She grabs a twig hanging on the side of the cliff and remembers a similar time when she was little. Back then Lady Choi was scared to jump off but Myung-Ee and Lady Han caught her, so Lady Choi smiles and lets go of the grip on the twig and Lady Choi falls into the cliff of open forest.
Min Jung-Ho tells Jang-Geum where Lady Choi’s body was found and Jang-Geum replies that’s near her mother’s grave. Lady Min and Chan-Ee are saddened by the news of Lady Choi dying but Yun-Saeng reminds them how Lady Jung and Han died. Right Prime Minister Oh and Choi Pan Sul are given the death penalty. Geum-Young is to be banned from the palace forever. Before Geum-Young leaves, she sends a child messenger to get Jang-Geum. Geum-Young hands a letter to Jang-Geum saying it’s a letter Jang-Geum’s mother wrote to Jang-Geum. Lady Choi had told Geum-Young to detroy it but Geum-Young kept it.
Geum-Young leaves the palace. Min Jung-Ho tells her the only thing he can say to her is he’s sorry. Geum-Young replies if they meet again in the next life to please say to her anything but sorry. The king summons Jang-Geum to tell her he wishes to reward her. Jang-Geum tells the king and the lady queen she has 3 wishes. First is to restore Lady Han’s innocense. The king states he will and assigns the job to the lady queen. Next Jang-Geum tells the king her mother was a kitchen maid who was a scapegoat because she saw what she shouldn’t have. The then jae-jo sang gong is Lady Choi’s aunt. The lady queen is astonished and asks Jang-Geum if that’s why Lady Choi hated her so much. The king says he will clear Jang-Geum’s mother name as well and asks Jang-Geum what her third wish is.
At soo-rak-gan the maids wonder who the next kitchen head will be. Just then Jang-Geum arrives at soo-rak-gan dressed in sang-goong attire. A servant tells the maids to pay respect to Jang-Geum who is their new head. Jang-Geum tells the staff it’s time to prepare the king’s meal and smilingly asks Chan-Ee to help her. The medicine staff find out about Jang-Geum and is surprised. Min Jung-Ho tells them it’s just temporary as per Jang-Geum’s request to the king. The king tastes Jang-Geum’s food and praises her skills despite not being in the kitchen for such long time. The king continues to praise Jang-Geum.
Back at soo-rak-gan the nurses come to visit Jang-Geum and comment on her beautiful new attire. Lady Min and Chan-Ee try to talk up to Jang-Geum and asks Jang-Geum what’s going on. A nurse says Jang-Geum wants to be the kitchen head until an official head is selected. Lady Min asks Jang-Geum why and Jang-Geum states it’s because there is something she must do.
Alone, Jang-Geum reads her mother’s letter. In the letter her mother tells Jang-Geum to be the kitchen head and find her justice back. Jang-Geum goes around the houses of soo-rak-gan and watches as the child maids learn the ropes to kitchen life. Jang-Geum stops a running child and tells her not to run in the kitchen or else dust will be spread onto food.
Jang-Geum hallucinates Lady Han coming back to talk to her. Jang-Geum reaches out her hands to touch Lady Han but realizes she’s dreaming. Then she runs toward the place Lady Han burried her vinegar and weeps. Min Jung-Ho watches Jang-Geum. Later, Jang-Geum and Min Jung Ho walk in the kitchen field. Jang-Geum tells Min Jung Ho when her father was captured she started to feel guilty. When her mother passed away she began to miss her and feel guilty. Jang-Geum begins to cry as she recounts the happiness she felt as a child among her parents even though they were on the run. Min Jung-Ho draws her to comfort her and Jang-Geum cries leaning into his shoulder.
The king calls Jang-Geum. The king tells Jang-Geum when he was still a prince a little child delivered wine to him and begged him to take her into the palace to become a maid. The king asks Jang-Geum if she is that child and Jang-Geum replies yes. The king is elated Jang-Geum is that child whom he met as a prince.