During the Lantern Festival, Song Jiang was falsely accused by Liu Zhizhai and his ungrateful wife and sent for punishment despite having rescued her earlier. Hua Rong attempted a rescue but was trapped, and both were imprisoned. Wang Ying led Qingfeng Mountain outlaws to rescue them, killing Liu Zhizhai. The prefect sent Qin Ming to suppress the bandits, but he was captured through strategy. Treated honorably, Qin Ming refused to defect out of loyalty to the court and returned home, only to find his household in distress, foreshadowing his tragic fate.