HESHEN is arrested; whereas CHANG MEI disappears. HESHEN is then taken to JIAQING, who threatens him with the accessories and jewellery worn by DOUKOU in order to make him confess his crimes. DOUKOU wakes up to find herself tied up; whereas NAYANCHENG tells her what he has discovered about her family massacre, seeking to persuade her to be a turncoat. Disguising as a palace maid, CHANG MEI requests an audience with ROYAL NOBLE CONSORT, in hopes of meeting HESHEN, but to no avail. FENGSHEN-YINDE asks a eunuch to prepare the last meal for HESHEN, and then tenders his resignation to JIAQING, seeking to leave the palace, which is endorsed by LIU YONG and eventually granted by JIAQING. When JIAQING denounces HESHEN’s twenty counts of crimes at Qianqing Palace, HESHEN suddenly coughs up blood and collapses!