This chapter opens with a flashback to the time when the Ming family visited the princess. The princess was suffering from a severe illness, and Ming was worried that she would not be able to give her the ginseng that she needed for her recovery. He had planned to give the ginseng to his wife, but she had been ill for some time and needed the ginseng more than he did. He asks his wife to prepare a nourishing soup for him, and she agrees.