As the kingdom fell and its lands were torn apart, Xiao Yulan, the Northwestern King, seized his chance, marched on the capital, and claimed the throne.
The realm was split into four, but Xiao Yulan conquered the east and west. Within a year, he had reunited the land and changed the era name to Xi, meaning light and prosperity.
The former empress, Su Xiyao, rumored to have hanged herself, sipped tea in the imperial harem and scoffed, "Your Majesty, aren’t you afraid someone will see through the meaning behind the era name?"
Xiao Yulan, usually decisive and ruthless, had wine-reddened eyes. "You weren’t like this when you were trapped with nowhere to turn and seduced me, Your Highness."
Su Xiyao was left nearly dead from the ordeal. She kicked Xiao Yulan, thinking that she should never have seduced that bull of a man in the first place.
Kicked, Xiao Yulan pulled her into his arms and muttered, "Good thing you belong to me now."
Theme: True love comes first.
