The scene opens with the Duke of Gulan scolding his son-in-law, the Second Lady of the General's Palace, for attacking him in the public. The Duke tells his son that he is a great dancer, and he will teach him a lesson today. He tells him that the second lady, who is also the wife of the general, has recently been poisoned. He also tells the Duke that the general house is not safe without his wife. He then tells him about how the blue water of the valley of Lanhua flows down to the top of a mountain, where two mountains stand side-by-side at the peak of a jade mountain, " lofty and cold" . He says that the water does not detract from the good skin of the woman. He goes on to say that the woman, who he thinks is Ziqiao, knows about the proposal from li ao to the emperor, and she must have known about it early. He asks if the Duke is anxious about this, and the Duke replies that he does not care about anything other than what the woman wants. He adds that he wonders what luck the woman had in getting attracted to the prince, and asks if he can ask her to call Huaqi to him. Huaqi refuses to listen to the Duke anymore, and says that she is afraid to help the master because she does not want to be around anyone who does not help him. She says that Huaqi is just like the other people in the world, who are ignorant enough to think she is useless. She also says that he indulges her too much, even his rules, and that she should not be his wife