The princes gather for drinks in one of the great halls. Having drunk too much, Yin'e rushes out to be sick but is seen by Ruoxi who, to his delight, has arrived bearing a birthday gift, a thousand personally folded paper cranes and also sings a birthday song for him. Unknown to the both of them, Mingyu also appears and after some heated words with Ruoxi, the two girls start fighting eventually falling into a pond. Fortunately, Yinxiang and Yinti, respectively the thirteenth and the fourteenth princes, arrive to help them from the pond. Ruoxi scolds Mingyu again, leaving her in tears. Her biting words and her furious demeanor earn her the nickname of "Defiant Thirteenth Sister". Ruolan is angered by Ruoxi's behavior and refuses to speak to her for several days. The Mid-Autumn Festival arrives and Ruoxi is summoned before the emperor. Ruolan trains Ruoxi in court etiquette to avoid humiliating herself before the imperial court. During the festival, the Kangxi Emperor arranges a marriage between Yin'e and Mingyu, crushing the former's hopes of taking Ruoxi as his wife but he is unable to defy his father's command. Seeing that even the princes have no control over their own fates, Ruoxi becomes afraid of the imperial court for the first time. Upon returning to the imperial residence, she dashes from the carriage causing others to mistake her fear for sadness at the Yin'e's betrothal.
