Seo Ji Yoon is offered the tremendous opportunity to write a research paper on a 500-year-old painting, but things go south in her personal and professional life soon after. When she travels to Italy, her mysterious fate begins to unravel.
An accident brings Ji Yoon into the past after she discovers Saimdang's diary, which details her interest in art and the beginning of her relationship with Lee Gyeom.
Whieumdang and the other mothers try to prevent Hyun Ryong from attending school. Gyeom decides to hold a contest, but not everyone is willing to play fair.
Gyeom is distraught when he learns what truly happened 20 years ago. Saimdang and the drifters find the secret to paying off their debt, but can't seem to perfect it.
Saimdang worries she won't be able to pay the drifters' taxes in time, but the Ming Dynasty's problems may offer her profitable solutions. Ji Yoon takes the first step toward taking Professor Min down.
Gyeom is bewildered when the king allows Min Chi Hyung to participate in the goryeoji competition. Saimdang tirelessly tries to figure out the secret within the poem.
Ji Yoon, Sang Hyun, and Hye Jung must regroup when "Mount Geumgang" is stolen from them. Sabotage keeps coming Saimdang's way in the goryeoji competition.
A portrait of the king is commissioned, but an artist must be chosen when Gyeom turns the offer down. The laws concerning women working for the government come into question.
With Rade on her side, Ji Yoon begins to make moves against Professor Min. Back in Joseon, the king places Saimdang under house arrest in order to lure Gyeom.
In the final episode, Ji Yoon and her colleagues receive help from an unexpected ally, and Saimdang prepares her family to move forward with their lives.