This chapter opens with a conversation between Cai Yun and the mistress of the household. Cai Yun tells the mistress that he is a member of a family that was forced to sell their property and become slaves due to the empress's displeasure with the family. He is willing to join Cai Yun's family as much as he does. He tells Cai Yun that he would like to take back all of his property from Cai Yun if he should need it. He says that he and Cai Yun were supposed to be both nobles, but now that they are both slaves, they have become playthings. He asks Cai Yun to help him with the household accounts, and she agrees to do so. She tells him that she was once a noble, like Cai Yun, and that she is now a slave. She says that the life of the family has changed, and many of the people have lost their fortunes because of their birth. She asks if chunxi has been avoiding her lately, and he replies that she used to be thick-skinned like her. She laughs at her, saying that she still knows how to blush.