In the 143rd year of Ning'an, on the thirteenth day of the fifth month, the wars ended and the realm began to settle.
"What should we do with him?"
"No need to keep him. Kill him."
The emperor died, and the Southern Dynasty fell. Consort He Xu seized power, proclaimed herself emperor, and ushered in a new era.
Li Wanyin: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has drafted several era names, all with auspicious meanings. Would you care to look?"
He Xu: "Restoration, Prosperity, Flourishing... Who came up with these names? Why do they all imply a return to former glory? What was so good about the past that we need to restore it?"
Li Wanyin feared she would anger He Xu and pressed her lips together, but He Xu tapped her fingers on the desk and said, "Call it the Women's Dynasty, and name the country Fenyan."
Li Wanyin did not know which two characters those were, and her voice rose slightly at the end. "...Fenyan?"
He Xu glanced at her and curved her lips in question. "If it's the Women's Dynasty, what else could those characters be? Have you forgotten everything you learned from the sages?"
Seeing that Li Wanyin was still bewildered, she explained, "Fen comes from the ancient state of Fenhu. Yan means sunny skies at sunrise, and peace under our dynasty, now and forever. How does that sound?"
"Good."
The Southern Dynasty's remaining loyalists had not yet been completely rooted out. The Marquis of Dingyuan fled to Qi with the Sixth Prince, hoping to persuade its ruler to help restore the Southern Dynasty.
In the first year of Fenyan, He Xu issued an edict: "All learned people under heaven may enter the service of the Women's Dynasty at any time. Whether you excel in writing or in scholarship, so long as you share our ideals and contribute your talents, you may earn a salary." She added a note in red ink: only women were to be recruited.
The edict spread throughout the realm. Countless women who had suffered fled to the Women's Dynasty, day and night. Song Qingjia was one of them.
Song Qingjia: "Director Li, the general told me to work under you."
Li Wanyin: "If you pass your three-month probation, I'll let you work under me."
Song Qingjia: "..."
All who came to the Women's Dynasty were clever and perceptive.
They were appointed and rewarded as soon as they arrived, and Fenyan grew stronger by the day.
Theme: Seek out the Way and set yourself right.
