become a palace maid so that she could gain a standing. She entered the palace when she was 11, and her relative sent her baby brother, Seong Song-wook, to the family of a local physician who was kind enough to adopt him. On her first night in the palace Song-yeon met San, who was trying to get to the rice chest that held his father. Sadly, she and Dae-su were caught and kicked out of the palace. Angry at her, the relative that helped her enter the palace refused to take her in, so Dae-su's uncle, senior eunuch Park Dal-ho, took her in and raised her with Dae-su. However, enemies of the prince forced them all to flee the capital. They fled promising that they would return to the palace to keep their friendship. This they do, and Song-yeon becomes a damo (female painting assistant) and enters the Bureau of Painting. The promise of returning to the palace is not fulfilled until Song-yeon paints a Qilin for an ambassador from Qing China. Curious to learn more about her, San inquires at the Bureau and realized it was Song-yeon. He quickly visits her home where he finds Dae-su and his uncle. From then on, the three stay together. Song-yeon falls in love with San because of his kind heart and loyal personality, and shows great concern for him. Although Song-yeon loves San unconditionally, she thinks it is unwise to be with San as she assumes she would be an obstacle for him due to her lowly status, no matter how much she wants to be by his side. San eventually persuaded her to be with him, telling her that he loves her not as King, but a man. However, few people accept her due to her low status (damo were considered lower than slaves) and the fact that she was orphaned. It is not until she gives birth to a boy that she is accepted and formally recognized as the King's concubine. Unfortunately, her first son dies of illness and causes her to suffer severe grief. Consequentially, when she is urged to take medicine for her liver cancer, she refuses as it would kill her second child. Song-yeon dies of liver cancer while pregnant with her second child near the end of the series, but returns to San in a dream one last time just before his death. In the series,