Scenes 31 to 40
Qingling officially calls for a "new way" in China. She declares on an improvised press conference that the National Party is dead and that the Chinese are now slaves of the slaves of the old China (an attack on traditional-minded Chiang). On the streets a battle is going on.
Chiang and Meiling sit at a large table opposite from each other at the heads of the table. Ailing and her husband are also there. Chiang wishes Qingling to die because she publicly denounced and humiliated him. The scene shortly switches to Qingling, walking on a street to buy flowers and followed by a car. The men in the car talk about how to stage an incident with Qingling. She may neither die nor only be injured, but should end up paralysed, neither able to talk or think. Meanwhile the two Song sisters and H. H. Kung try to dissuade Chiang from doing harm to Qingling. Meiling warns her husband that whatever his political beliefs, she would never accept his doing the slightest harm to her sister and leaves the table in protest. (Meanwhile the car behind Qingling accelerates.) Ailing then remarks to Chiang that killing Qingling would only make her a martyr which would bring him into even greater trouble. Now Chiang realises that he had rather control his temper – and the car suddenly comes to a halt in front of Qingling.
At the grave of her parents close to the echo wall where they used to play as kids, Qingling is laying down the flowers she bought when Meiling arrives. The two start to argue about politics. Meiling asks Qingling to not always oppose Chiang, but Qingling declines. Meiling then suggests that Qingling spread rumours about her as spending a lot of money for luxuries. Qingling turns the tables on Meiling, asking who spread the rumours about herself, instead, namely that she re-married in Russia. Meiling asks her whether she fears to be replaced as First Lady by her. Qingling gets upset and wants to leave but Meiling calls her back and tells her that she had actually come to warn her: she is in danger to be assassinated. Qingling defiantly tells her sister that "internal wounds are harder to heal" and so they both part ways.
Old Meiling says that she always protected her elder sister, whereas old Qingling in Peking remarks: We did not see each other for the next ten years, and Chinese started to fight Chinese.
Communist and Nationalist armies fight each other, whereas a triumphant Japanese army is pressing forward.
Outside of Chiang's government palace, demonstrators protest for the unity of all Chinese and for fighting against Japan. Chiang and Meiling discuss the possibility of a national front. Chiang disagrees with Meiling who tries to convince him of it, and still wants to fight the Communists first, reminding her of the end of the Ming. Only China's internal disunity gave the Manchus the chance to conquer her. He has decided to travel to Xi’an because two Nationalist generals there want to cooperate with the Communists. As his car leaves the office, a demonstrator burns himself in front of Chiang's car. Chiang shortly takes notice, but then looks sternly away as his car passes by. Still, his eyes are wet. [Here one wonders whether Chiang did reconsider for a moment his politics and whether he was not actually moved by this self-sacrifice].
Kung is on the phone. Something obviously went wrong in Xi’an. Meiling is nervously sitting on the sofa. They learn that Chiang has been kidnapped by the two generals. Qingling arrives and asks about the situation. Military officers then enter the room to discuss the matter with Meiling. They tell her that in Nanjing it had been decided to sent troops to Xi'an and to bomb the city. Meiling is shocked and tells the officers that this could mean Chiang’s death. The whole decision smacks of a conspiracy against Chiang to her. Since the troops are already on the move, she decides to take matters in her own hands and wants to fly in person to Xi'an to treat for Chiang's release. Qingling agrees that Chiang should be saved and suggests that if he agreed to cooperate with the Communists the incident could be certainly resolved. Ailing in turn offers to influence public opinion to pressure the generals to spare Chiang. Meiling is very grateful for her sister's support.
A plane arrives at Xi'an airport. Before leaving the plane, Meiling hands a pistol over to her servant, ordering him to shoot her in case something should go wrong. She does not want to die from other hands. Then she goes out, dressed in military clothes and behaves very masculine. She is escorted to meet her husband who seems very moved by her courage. [Here is one of the few scenes showing Chiang's real affection for Meiling]. General Zhang, one of his captors who wants to compel Chiang to cooperate with the Communists to fight the Japanese, states that the security of Chiang is very important to him and signals his loyalty in case Chiang would consent. Meiling convinces her husband that they should negotiate with the Communists by telling him of the ongoing conspiracy back in Nanjing that nearly would have killed him, which infuriates Chiang and makes him agree to stop fighting the Communists for the time being. Meanwhile in Ailing's home, the rest of the family learns of Chiang's release.
Chiang and Meiling leave from Xi'an airport. On the plane, Meiling and Chiang are shown as fond of each other. When the plane approaches Nanjing airport, the lights of the runway are blacked out so that the pilot cannot prepare for landing [again a conspiracy]. Ailing, H. H. Kung and Qingling are waiting on the ground and realise the problem. The plane is running out of fuel and Chiang starts to pray, vowing to stick to the new policy, should he be saved. Ailing suddenly has an idea and comments that with money many problems can be solved. By phone she rallies car owners in the city to drive close and enlighten the airstrip with their automobile headlights which makes it possible for the pilot to land the airplane safely. Chiang immediately declares resistance to Japan and officially promises that internal warfare will be stopped. He and Meiling are the heroes of the press and photographed from all sides. Ailing and H. H. Kung are happily observing the scene whereas Qingling turns herself away.
Old Qingling comments – somewhat frustrated – that the political spotlight now centred on Meiling. Meiling is shown then on her fund and support raising tour in the US. In the next shot, the three sisters, now reunited, are feeding poor children in rags and without shoes in war-ridden China.
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