The scene opens with Cai Ming's mother, Madame Xian, scolding her daughter-in-law, Miss Guizhou, for disobeying her orders. Cai Ming tells her that he has arranged for Cai Ling's sister, Madame Xiao-Yue, to perform a duet with Cai Ling at the Great Hall of the People in order to confuse Cai Ming and his mother, the regent, and to make Cai Ming look like a fool.