Confined in her chamber, Zetian struggles to manipulate her Yellow Dragon Earth-type armor by channeling her dominant Metal qì, then Fire qì, through her meridians. She fails to make the pieces budge and grows frustrated, fantasizing about reviving a generation of female Iron Widow pilots—an idea complicated by the fact that current powerful female pilots are locked in Balanced Matches she refuses to break.

Her servant Wan'er arrives with books on metaphysics that Zetian requested. Wan'er reveals Secretary Gao (Yizhi) inspected the books and recommended Zou Yan's Theoretical Foundations of Metaphysics. Hidden inside, Zetian finds a secret note from Yizhi: Tomorrow noon, estate temple. She conceals it without reaction.

Zetian learns Wan'er was educated by her mother because her grandfather, a former Sage, was politically destroyed by corporations after backing worker unions, leaving the family disgraced and Wan'er unbound. Wan'er refuses Zetian's offer to push her grandfather's pardon, hoping the new government will favor merit over connections. Impressed by Wan'er's literacy, Zetian asks Wan'er to teach her by reading the book aloud together, learning the foundations of yīn-yáng and the wǔxíng. Zetian promises to push for women's access to civil service exams. She casually asks about the estate's temple to set up her rendezvous with Yizhi.

The next morning, Zetian tells Qin Zheng she wants to burn incense for Shimin before their wedding. Surprisingly, Qin Zheng agrees, requiring only that General Dugu escort her. He looks gravely ill—pale, dark-eyed, distracted—and quietly carves seams into her armor without mockery so she can remove it. He admits he suffered a minor stroke while thawing, which is why he wears the mask, also citing horror at modern high-definition cameras. He insists she keep her veil down outside, then departs without his usual cruelty.