The captain asks if he's happy with his new job. He's going to work for the emperor's zhenge office, which doesn't involve government affairs. He also wants to go back to the old lady's house to see if she's okay. The captain says he'll go to the marquis' house in the next week or so to find out what's wrong with the old woman. The old lady, he says, is a field service, so she'll probably be fine. He tells the captain that the third mistress of the prefecture has been put in jail for buying too many fine satins. She's dead! The captain is shocked that the magistrate didn't think it was a big deal to put the young mistress and the young master in jail. He wants to sneak out of the city. He says he can ride to the prefecture in a day, and he can get there without anyone stopping him. He asks the captain to be obedient. He wishes he were his canary, and wants to be able to use his power to get revenge on the magistrate.