The maid comes to fetch the prince, who has heard that the princess is unwell. The maid tells the prince that she found the princess behind a rockery the night before, and that she is afraid that she has been poisoned. The prince asks the maid what the relationship is between him and the princess, and the maid tells him that although she is fond of the princess and feels sorry for her "flawed appearance," she has no use for the snow lotus that she brought for the princess. When the prince asks if she warned him not to associate with the princess consort, the maid replies that she already warned him, and when the prince gets up to leave, she asks him if he thinks his behavior is crossing the boundary between friendship and marriage