In an effort to keep Jin Yi in the Song Do courtesan troupe, Mistress Im suggests a competition at the Palace to select the best courtesan novices and the best troupe to house and teach the courtesans.
When Young Master Eun Ho and Jin Yi's illicit relationship comes to light, the conflicts show both the class differences and limitations between courtesans and noble-borns.
With the Palace Courtesan Tournament early next month, Mistress Im informs the novice courtesans that they must first lose their virginity in order to enter the tournament.
In order to protect her love with Eun Ho, Jin Yi tells Mistress Im that she would rather live as a slave than as a courtesan. Although Mistress Im allows this, she meets Jin Yi with a wager.
When the Emperor orders for the best courtesans to be written down in the Book of Music, Mistress Im's encouragement for Jin Yi to dance again turns Jin Yi to a rival Headmistress.