In the palace hall, the emperor and his wife, the empress, are preparing for the three-year banquet. The emperor's brother, the regent, has arrived late, and hopes that the emperor will forgive him for not attending the banquet. He tells the emperor that the concubine, ling-er, has brought yue-er to his mother, who has not seen her in a long time. The regent, the prince, and lin-yao-yue are also present, and they are all jealous of the emperor. The empress presents a picture to the regent of the phoenix feather embroidery, which the emperor has invented.