In the previous life, Fang Kuo hid the snake in his gift and framed him for killing the King. Later, he heard that the Regent had acquitted him on the ground of insufficient evidence. In this life, he says, he will not give the thieves a chance to harm him. He wonders how the snake was brought into the hanyuan hall. The servant remembers that the official who called for the thief was the same official who had caught the thief in the past life. The prince wants to hear the case within three days. He says that the servant was wronged and that the poisonous snake had not been released by the official. He asks the servant if he remembers that in his previous life no one saw the snake being hidden.