This chapter opens with a warning from the empress that the western frontier has been attacked by an army from the west. The empress tells the royal brother to hurry back to the city because the enemy soldiers have been treated very well. The royal brother is grateful for the treatment and is ready to go back to battle. He is interrupted by the royal's servant, who tells him that the imperial dowager has prepared a dish for the royal to eat. The servant informs the royal that the dish is poisoned and that the royal is losing his concentration on the battlefield. He asks the servant if the royal has been eating the dish every day, and the servant replies that he has.