In this short scene, the empress explains to her family how she came to be in Dongchang. She tells them that she has always suspected that her husband was spying on her, and that he took her hostage and killed nine of her ten bodyguards on the morning of the coup. She says that she did not want to tell her husband that she had always treated him well, but now that she knows that he is one of the dowagers, she wants to know if he is also one of her husband's. The empress tells her that she can kill her as long as her family is safe, and if she can save the family, then she will do it.