Late at night a favored concubine refuses her servant Sasha's urging to visit His Majesty; she vows to make him come to her. She explains Blossom Court's cherry grove was planted by the king's late mother and that on the fifteenth he comes alone to mourn — the moment she'll use. Later in the courtyard she meets an anonymous woman whose music matches hers; they praise each other's playing but the musician refuses to give a palace or name. The musician promises to reveal her name when they meet again, leaving the concubine's fifteenth plan and the stranger's identity unresolved.