Su tells his father that he doesn't need to stay in the prefecture because he's already learned how to handle the family business with him and his disciple, Lin Qing. He's going to go with his father and Lin to bring back his family's collateral branch that was expelled from the town more than a decade ago. Su says that they're going to raise the descendants of the family for free, but they'll have to pay for it. He also says that the imperial court has invited the military governor of the river to participate in the assembly. The military governor is from the river, which means that the court is trying to appease the river's xiao clan. Su's father says that if they don't kill Lin, their village will be shamed. He says that he has his own plans to get rid of his brother, but that he can't bring himself to kill him. The only thing that will help is to find another backer.