In this chapter, we learn that Ming's parents died when he was a young child, and that he is now an elder. He tells his mother that she is trying to persuade him to marry her daughter, but that he does not want to be a burden to her. He asks her to give him time to consider the proposal, but she tells him that she thinks he is overthinking the matter. Ming says that he wants to give her a home where she can relax when she is tired and sleep. He says that his mother is the one who saw right through him, and he hopes that she was also overthinking it. Ming tells her that he already said that he would make her his daughter, and she is not the reason for him to trap her here. He thanks her for seeing him off, and says that after he finishes tending to his business, he will come back to visit her. Ming asks his mother what she thinks of the girl he likes, and her response is that she cares for him more than she does. Ming is surprised that her mother is making fun of him again, and asks her if she is planning on marrying the girl and only her, and if she knows that, he says that the magistrate of the yongan mansion is the cousin of the man Ming is marrying, and Ming is afraid that the man might harm the girl. Ming reminds her that she already helped her block off the little girl from the Pei family. If she does not hurry up, she might lose her