The narrator tells us that he's going to be living in the city for a while. He's worried about his mother, who has a concubine and a daughter who aren't very good people. He also worries about his father, who's cold and cruel to his mother. The narrator is worried that the general has rebelled in his previous life and is now trying to take over his mother's life. The lord doesn't show up to check on his sister when she's sick, but the lord's sister shows up anyway. She tells the narrator that she'll be taking care of the household when the lord isn't around