The scene opens on the city's main tower, where the emperor is being questioned by his father's soldiers. As the scene opens, the two men are still late for their meeting with the emperor. The emperor has already left the city and is on his way to meet with his father. The two men discuss the possibility of the emperor's assassination. The men decide that they should find the lantern float that is coming from the town where the assassins are hiding. As they approach the float, the men hear a crack and the men realize that the lantern is being fired at them. They hide and wait for the men to approach it. When they do, they are surprised to find that they have been spotted. They ask the men why they are ambushing them, and they are shocked to find out that the men are trying to kill the emperor himself. They are also shocked to learn that the assassins have been trying to protect the emperor, and that the emperor has been the victim of the assassins' plot. When the men learn that they are being followed, they panic and run away, but the men stay and wait.