One day, the courtesan and her friends left the palace as usual, but, on the way to the river, they decided to walk through the town and stop at the market place. There they saw a note from the sage who lived up in the mountains. It had been nailed to a wall but had fallen under a large leaf.

The courtesan's friend advised her to visit the sage and ask him how to get back in the lord's good graces. They discussed it all the way down to the docks and decided to tell the lord about it. Surely someone as cultured as their lord would have something to ask of the wise man, and she could travel along with him. Having decided up on this, they got into their boat and sailed down the river toward the nearby seashore, still discussing the note.