The regent and the regent consort discuss the poisoned wine that the emperor and the empress put in the wine. They decide to use it to make it look like they have all been poisoned. The regent says that if the emperor dies and the crown prince succeeds him, then the regent will be crowned king immediately. The empress says that she has already killed the traitor, Mingling, and that she plans to kill Mingling when Mingling sees that everyone is poisoned. She says that Mingling will then show up and kill her, and then they can arrange for guards to ambush Mingling and kill him. Mingling says that it is better to be an unloved emperor than to be a dowager. He says that his father and brother have returned to the army after he killed Mingling. He tells Mingling that he just wanted to see if he could meet someone he would like to meet today.