The spirit queen tells the empress that the black viper's library has been guarded, but that she has been able to get into it. The only solution for them is to break up, but only if she is restrained. The empress says that he is wounded, and that the hound has been following him. He tells her that he has been sent by the dowager, and he is going to throw the bomb in the mine. He says that if he does anything bad to anyone, he will not care about her anymore, but he does not want to kill his only son. He asks her to tell him what he can do, and she tells him that the most important thing is to let his men poison the foreign clans' water sources so that they can make them no more. She tells the women of the clan to listen to her, and tells them to tell the men of the imperial army to help them deal with the affairs. She asks them to be as humble as they can until they earn her trust. The war has begun, and the spirit queen is happy to help.