The spirit queen, the spirit creator, scolds the lady ling for sneaking into the village and stealing food from the peasants. She says that the spirit queen begged for mercy for the three thieves, but that they will not be punished for their crime. The woman wonders if the guards have left the village with the villagers, and the woman says that her eldest son is too small to do much work. She tells the woman that she has asked someone to tell the emperor that they are stealing grain from the village, and that she will try to delay the guards. She asks the woman to take her carriage to the palace so that she can warn the emperor of the danger. The women say that the guards arrived right on time, and they are short of troops. The emperor is making a fuss about it, they say, but the villagers are sick and weak, and nothing will happen.