The father tells yunche that the emperor is in poor health and that the second prince will take care of the emperor's affairs. . The father says that he treats the princess as a sister and that he doesn't think of her as a friend. He also says that the jade pendant he's been carrying with him is for a woman who was trapped in prison. He says that if she needs his help, he'll help her. He's afraid that the princes have a crush on him, and if he falls for someone else, he won't be able to protect himself. The moon is full outside of shanghua's room, so yunchu has been looking for him. He tells the father that he'd been waiting outside of the palace for the marquis to come and see him. The marquis came into the palace this morning and didn't have anyone to bring with him. This is bad news, says the father, because if marquis has some kind of blood poisoning, people will be killed in the palace. But the father assures the audience that he will go to the palace anyway.