In the illustrious tapestry of Joseon's history, amidst the grandeur of palaces and the whispers of court intrigue, there existed a tale of an unlikely prince, Kim Sang-min. Born out of wedlock to the king and his concubine, Kim Teri, Sang-min's arrival into the world was both a blessing and a curse. The king adored him more than his first child, his existence ignited envy and disdain within the royal family; particularly led the queen and his first son to despise Sang-min.

Sang-min's world shattered at the tender age of eight, when his father, the king, died in the war, saving his people and the kingdom. All the people were sad that their king died, but much more was felt by Kim Sang-min, as he not only lost his father but also his mother and his identity that very night. He managed to grow up in the harsh environment on the outskirts of the village of Hahoe until the age of 10. He didn't have proper food or shelter. He walked in the streets starving himself for days until someone lent him food, until he came across Shin Ha-ri, the daughter of a potter.

Ha-ri found the prince, who was full of scars and in torn clothes. She took him to her house and asked her father if he could stay with them. Her father was a righteous man; he let Kim Sang-min stay in their house on the condition that he had to earn his livelihood while continuing to educate himself. The prince, who had lived a hellish life due to people throwing him out, and not giving him food or work, had lost hope in people. But Ha-ri’s kindness and innocence melted the prince's heart.

Sang-min started living in their house, and his main motto in life was to see Ha-ri smiling forever like she did on the day they first met on those harsh streets. In the dangerous and vicious environment outside the village, they grew with a lot of happiness, it seemed like as long as they both were together, they didn't mind working hard and having each other's company through all the ups and downs.

The prince always protected Ha-ri from other boys and danger, as she was his only true relative in the world. Their bond as the savior and survivor turned to friendship and then turned to something more meaningful; amidst whispers of love and laughter, they pledged themselves to each other, vowing to weather life's storms together on Ha-ri’s eighteenth birthday.

In the embrace of love's sweet embrace, Sang-min found redemption for the trials of his past, and Ha-ri discovered a love that transcended the boundaries of class and circumstance. Together, they stood as a testament to the enduring power of love, a beacon of hope in a world fraught with darkness until that one day.

One day, the crown prince Kim Hee-Yun of the kingdom passed by the village and saw Ha-ri by the river, she was collecting lotus flowers. Astonished by her beauty, he gets off the horse, walks to her, and asks her name, Ha-ri replies “Kim Ha-ri, my lord”, The crown prince gazes at her deeply with vicious and lustful eyes, Ha-ri bows and goes back to her house. The crown prince orders the guards to immediately send her father a stamped letter to make Ha-ri his concubine, and in exchange for her, he would offer 2 bags of gold and a decent house near the palace.

Upon receiving the letter, Ha-ri's father opposed sending her to the palace. He firmly rejects it by telling the guards that she is already engaged. Listening to the rejection, Hee-Yun becomes furious and orders the secret knights to assassinate Ha-ri’s father and bring her to the palace. That night, the guards follow the cron prince's orders and assassinate Ha-ri's father, but they can't find Ha-ri in the house, so they silently retrieve back to the palace. The next morning, Ha-ri returns home from the forest, where she went to collect wood. As she steps into the house, she sees her father lying around the pool of blood. Ha-ri collapses down after looking at the sight, but she gets hold of it and crawls to her father, she holds him and begs him to wake up, but he is dead. Listening to her cries, all the villagers gathered around and tried to console her, but she didn't want anyone else but her father and Sang-min. She had already lost her father, and Sang-min was not around her at that moment. The funeral was done, and Ha-ri stayed near the doorstep for the next 2 days, waiting for Sang-min, who went to the Meonjan village to get materials for pottery. She waited for him to come back so that she could hug him and cry her heart out.

In the meantime, as fewer people visit Ha-ri’s house, the crown prince orders to bring her to the palace secretly, and he orders the people to stay silent if they want to live.

That night, guards dragged Ha-ri to the palace before the Sang-min could return. When the prince returned home the next day, he placed the materials in the backyard and ran to the house to find Ha-ri, but he couldn't find her anywhere, so he ran to all the places where Ha-ri usually goes, but he couldn't find her or her father. That night, Sang-min waited near the doorstep, hoping they would come back, but they didn't. The next day, he started asking all the villagers for Ha-ri’s and her father's whereabouts, but no one uttered a word, as it was the order of the crown prince.

6 days have passed since Sang-min returned, and he still couldn't find them. That afternoon, he collapsed on the banks of the river. A sage who was passing by the river picked him up and took him to his home. The sage treats Sang-min, and after 1.5 days, he wakes up. The sage asks him to look at the bird nest. He says, "Look how the baby birds are waiting for their mother in the hope of her return. You also have to live, which may not be for you, but at least for your loved one, so that one day, when you meet back again, you can live happily without pain.”

For the next year, the Sang-min went to all 8 provinces in the kingdom, searching for Ha-ri. Nowhere did he find them. The last place left to search for them was the palace, but he never wanted to step inside it after the humiliation and loss of his parents. But then one day, he pledged that for her, he would go to any lengths and even to hell if he could see her one last time and spend at least a moment looking into her eyes and embracing her warmth.

He went to a bar near the palace that afternoon and wanted to find a way to get into the palace, as he had no identity or the amulet which is used to pass through the gates of the palace. So he took the rice cart carrier to the bar and was an alcohol addict. As long as he got the alcohol, he was ready to smuggle people in and out of the palace. While drinking with the cart guy, Sang-min hears loud voices from the next table, about the concubine of the king, who had tried to commit suicide 10 times in the past year and who was from Hahoe village. Sang-min's heart started to race, hoping it would be Ha-ri, but on the contrary, he hoped it shouldn't be her. He moved the curtain with anxiousness and looked at those ladies, asking them what was the concubine's name with trembling hands, as it would be the last night before he could finally meet her if it was Ha-ri. They tell him her name is Kim Ara. After listening to it, he drops down on his seat, gulps the drink, smiles, and thinks to himself, “I hope you are happy, Ha-ri. As long as you are alive and happy, I will come and find you wherever you are.” Tears drop down his eyes. But in reality, Ha-ri’s name was changed as soon as she entered the palace, so Kim Ara was Ha-ri. Little did Sang-min know about it.

That night, finally, after all the preparations, Sang-min decided to go inside the palace, no matter what the consequences would be. And if he can't find her, his only way is to gain a powerful position so that he can allocate more people to locate them.

As he entered the palace, the cart was stopped near the gate, the amulet was checked, and then the rice bags were pierced with swords to check if any smuggling was happening. But thankfully, Sang-min was not caught, and the cart was safely taken to the main barn in the palace. Then he gives the cart driver all the money he has, and in return, the cart driver gives the head priest's assistant's address, where he can get a fake identity to roam around the palace. That night, Sang-min gets his fake identity as Kim Ji Hoon, and from then on, he starts searching for Ha-ri all around the palace. Ten days passed, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

One day suddenly, there was a huge ruckus in the market where the guards were hitting a woman in the middle of the street, but no one was helping her. Sang-min, who was dressed as a high-class person, stepped in and saved that woman, but the guards got confused as to who he was, as the guards knew all the masters in high-class families. The guards leave the women, but they take Sang-min to the palace court to check his identity.

As he enters the court, the mumbling among the prime ministers starts, and all the people in the palace court start to recognize the 20-year-old boy, as he is the spitting image of his father. The queen trembles behind the curtains, and the crown prince becomes furious by it, but they maintain their stability to not lose their faces in front of the court.

The guards start to tell all about the incident and announce his name as Kim Ji Hoon. The crown prince takes this opportunity to immediately punish him for treason and execute him, in order to bury the truth. But Sang-min shouts, “Only if my father were alive, there wouldn't be a day where I would die for treason for entering my own palace.”. Those words rang around all corners of the court in utter silence. One man from behind shouts, “Prove your identity, if you are the true son of the late king.”. Sang-min stands up and tears his shirt to reveal the scar on his chest, which he got at the age of 6 and which was then covered by a white Lilly tattoo by the court’s physician as a symbol of life over death. Jeon Jun, who was the right hand of the late king recognizes the mark, runs to him, and hugs him. Jeon Jun was at the war when the prince was thrown out of the palace. When he returned, he was told that the king, his concubine Kim Te-ri, and the prince Sang-min had died in a fire accident. Now that the truth was revealed, Jeon Jun stood by the prince's side and gave him all his support. The queen and the crown prince knew that if they lost Jeon Jun's support, the throne was gone, so they let the prince enter the palace.