At a tense imperial wedding, attendants force the nervous bride through a fire-basin ritual and keep her veiled while relatives jeer and threaten a lingering visitor. The groom refuses to marry a "domineering" woman, but officials bar him from leaving because an imperial decree demands he marry the Bale family's younger daughter since celebrated general Nina Bale is already promised. Guests compare two sisters marrying today, and someone notices a knife wound on the bride, asking if she is Nina. The ceremony stalls as rumor of a possible identity swap spreads and the bride's true identity remains unresolved.