When the Warhorse Rests, Longing Begins

When the Great Wei Kingdom welcomed its hundredth spring, it also welcomed the third queen in its history. The people of Great Wei did not find a woman ruling the court as hard to accept as the storytellers claimed. After all, as the foremost power, Great Wei was far more advanced and open-minded than its neighboring nations. But the previous emperor had died young, and the new queen was only twelve when she took the throne and began to rule. Many among the people worried about internal strife and foreign threats. The common people's gossip was one thing, but the officials in court all seemed perfectly at ease, bowing to the command of a twelve-year-old girl. Most believed that this little girl, Di Jinglan, would be just like her mother: speaking of the world with a smile, uniquely gifted, and leading Great Wei into another glorious age.

Amid the sidelong glances, hopes, private grumblings, and accusations of those around her, the twelve-year-old empress stepped onto the stage of history. She would shape a magnificent and stirring national chronicle, as well as a deeply moving love story worthy of song and tears.

And yet, under the sun, there is nothing new. No story is ever all that fresh to its readers. So this is simply: arising, abiding, declining, and passing away; the length of a life, and nothing more.