The Story of Hua Yan

The chapter opens with a soliloquy by the Governess. The Governess tells the audience that she is the niece of the current Emperor and that she has some family ties to the current emperor's mother. She says that the Emperor's aunt is her grandmother and that her mother is the sister of yun chi, the man she is about to marry. She also says that she can do anything she wants to destroy the marriage between the two of them. She adds that the only way for her to please the Emperor is to "displease" him. She then tells the story of how she drank her best liquor from a glass and then drank it from a large bowl. She wants to try drinking the same thing from a big jar of liquor. She asks if she should stick to the rules of the big jar or not. She replies that she should drink it from the big bowl. He says that he never knew he could drink this kind of liquor before. He tells her that he has promised to come to her whenever he wants to drink. She tells him that she will finish all of his liquor in the next few days. He asks if it is too late for him to leave.