The prince of Lan Ling asks about his wife's whereabouts. He has not heard from her since he left her at the court. He tells the prince that she has been hoping to become a buddhist monk. When he dies, she will be able to return to practicing Buddhism. The prince tells him that he has five brothers. Two years ago, one of them, Prince Henan, died in a river. Many of the other princes have also passed away, indicating that they were "assassi" , or assassi of the emperor, in order to gain the throne. Lan Ling says that he does not know the name of the prince's mother, but that he guesses that she must be a woman of "low class." Lan Ling then asks the prince if he would like the lord to be the next emperor. He says that both his person and his power are perfect, but neither of them has the ambition to be emperor