In the midst of his rage against the seventh prince and his mother, Ching-Ting says that he has been expelled from the kingdom because of his mother's cruelty. He calls for his mother to kill her son and flee, but she refuses to do so, saying that she is still alive and that she will never give in to her son's tyranny. She tells him not to worry about the disappearance of status or money because as long as they are alive, they can still take them back. He says that even if they are all gone, they still have the power to take back their status and money. The rope on which he is tied is a dragon rope, which means that they cannot use the power of the dragon to control him. He wonders if he still has a way to escape. He also wonders if the people of the valley are underestimated.