In this chapter, we learn that the poetry banquet is being held at the emperor's palace. The emperor has invited all the talented young ladies and gentlemen to attend the banquet, and if they refuse to attend, he will ask his father to kidnap them and bring them to the banquet. The narrator tells us that poetry was once popular in the imperial capital, but then something happened that changed the course of history, causing poetry to become more popular again. Many of the young women and young masters of the capital are artistically talented, and their father excelled at martial arts. Young master lang tells the narrator that he is afraid of studying, but that he can still memorize some poems. He tells him that he heard that Zillah is a girl of "unparalleled beauty" and that she is cold and arrogant, and that he never expected to receive an invitation from her. He also tells the young master that if he finds the banquet boring, he can go for a walk alone in the garden. He says that he will sneak around the garden and wait for Zillah to arrive.