Reforging the Heavens, by Hou Zhi, Proofread by Qingyang and Xiaoming

This book is a sequel to Rebirth of Fate. It tells the story of Feilong, daughter of Meng Lijun. Because of her beauty and many talents, she is chosen by Emperor Yingzong of the Yuan dynasty to be his Right Empress. Feilong has always admired Wu Zetian, and is goaded by the powerful imperial clansman Tu Manxing and his son into framing Xiong Hao and his son, who command the army. She then tries to harm the Left Empress, Xiong Peiyu, and meddles in state affairs, throwing the court into chaos. The Empress Dowager later takes charge of government in person, and both Yingzong and Feilong are demoted. Tu Manxing and his son's conspiracy is exposed, and they raise an army in rebellion. Feilong's elder brother, Zhaoju, joins Yingzong's younger brothers, the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao, in leading troops to the capital to put down the traitors and quell the rebellion. Feilong's father, Huangfu Shaohua, welcomes Chengzong back to the capital from Mount Wutai, where he had become a monk. They restore order at court, Yingzong ascends the throne again, and Xiong Hao and his son regain command of the army, among other events.

The author of this book is Hou Zhi, courtesy name Xiangye, who called herself the Mistress of the Xiangye Pavilion. She was the daughter of Hou Xueshi, a poet from Nanjing in the mid-Qing dynasty. She was educated at home from an early age, knew the classics and histories, and loved composing verse. She exchanged poems with friends, but most of her poetry has been lost. She was especially skilled at adapting ballad stories. Often plagued by illness, she began devoting herself to adapting ballad stories in the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1811). In the first year of the Daoguang reign (1821), she adapted four more works. The works that survive today include Rebirth of Fate, in eighty chapters, adapted from Chen Duansheng's original; Jade Bracelet of Fate, in thirty-two volumes and two hundred thirty-four chapters; A New Creation of Heaven, an original sequel to Rebirth of Fate, in sixteen chapters; and Flowers Upon Brocade, made by combining two works, Fate on a Brocade Slip and The Golden Crown, in forty-eight chapters, or twenty-four in another edition. She also wrote a cleaned-up edition of Rebirth of Fate in thirty-two chapters, titled The Talented Lady of the Golden Chamber.

Theme: A thoughtful person with ambition