The next day, Cai Ming tells the Empress that he has learned a lesson. He tells her that if she had kidnapped him, she would have killed him in a rage, and then the Empress would have mobilized her troops and turned the rebellion against the emperor into a full-scale war for imperial power. The Empress thinks that the Emperor is still in her hands, and she should return to the palace and protect him. Cai Ming admits that he followed exactly what she taught him, but he still failed. He says that if he hadn't warned her about the attack, he would have been unable to come up with a way to counter it. He asks the Empress to embrace him, and the two embrace.