The Governess is late for work, and she tells the Governess that her mother told her that her stepmother, zhen, lived a difficult life with her. She says that if she had taken zhen out more, she might have been happier now. She also says that she has never traveled before, and that she will take zhen wherever she wants when she is fully recovered. She tells her mother that zhen's mother encouraged her to take her out for fun, but that she did not say yes once. She adds that she would have liked to have taken her out a lot more, but she found it annoying that she had not said yes once before. She asks if anyone can come to her room at this hour, and it looks like shangzhen has come to visit her. It is up to her to decide what to do, she says. She wants to know if she can spend the night with him, and he says that he can do it. He tells her that he will bring a certain amount of his grandfather's money to her family, and also that he is pretty good looking. He says that since his father died, many of his uncles have been saying that he should marry zhen. He adds that he does not think it is a good deal for him to marry her, because he is not interested in her at all. He asks if he can be her secret lover, and if she does not need to marry him, he can protect her.