Since the beginning of the year, Ling-zhi and Liu-Xuanjue have been secretly working together to help each other out in times of need. But, from the beginning, they have been using each other as pawns in a game of "lies," and Liu says that he only takes him as his "life" , saving the "woodmere" from the "dangerous battle of power" . He says he doesn't love him, and he won't serve as his empress. He's sorry to hear that he's been waiting for him all night, but he can't wait to see the beautiful fish. He wants to know what's wrong with the fish, so he tells her the secret to making sashimi. He tells her that among the treasures sent to the grain merchants, some were found to be fakes, and she had to chop them in order to get rid of them. She also supervised the whole process of collecting the fish from the royal palace, and every box has her seal . She says that if they don't chop the fish now, they'll have to cancel all their deals with