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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Following the world altering demonstrations at the foundries, several incredibly peaceful, quiet days passed in the capital city of Xiapi. The weather was turning beautifully warm, the skies clear, and the bustling city markets were overflowing with the rich bounties of the spring harvests.
During this brief pocket of domestic tranquility, a highly unusual and secretive meeting took place deep within the most secure, opulent wings of the inner palace.
Lie Fan was seated in his private, fragrant study, casually reviewing a few minor provincial reports, when the heavy mahogany doors were gently pushed open. Without the usual loud announcements from the palace eunuchs, his five beautiful wives, Ying Yue, Diao Chan, Cai Wenji, Lu Lingqi, and Zhen Ji, came together into the room.
The sheer, concentrated beauty, grace, and intellect of the five women completely changed the atmosphere of the study. They moved with a shared, excited energy, their usual dignified, imperial composure replaced by the giddy, infectious thrill of conspirators who had just successfully pulled off a massive heist.
After ensuring the doors were tightly shut and the guards were dismissed to a respectable distance, they gathered closely around Lie Fan's massive ebony desk.
They had come with a specific, highly ambitious purpose. They excitedly asked for his sharp, unparalleled business opinion, of course, on making these revolutionary new undergarments they had been secretly developing a legitimate, widespread business enterprise.
"We have done it, Husband," Zhen Ji announced, her sharp, calculating eyes gleaming with the unmistakable thrill of commerce. She stepped forward, acting as the primary spokesperson for their covert syndicate. "We took the subtle... suggestions you made in the pavilion last month, and we put our most trusted, tight lipped female tailors to work."
Ying Yue nodded enthusiastically, her gentle face alight with joy. They happily reported that they had already managed to secretly tailor some of the garments themselves, experimenting with the finest breathable silks, incredibly soft imported cottons, and highly intricate, structural stitching.
"And the results are nothing short of miraculous," Cai Wenji chimed in, her scholarly demeanor entirely abandoned in favor of sheer, practical relief. "It is incredibly comfortable for us to wear. The difference is like shedding a suit of heavy iron armor."
Lu Lingqi, the fierce warrior who usually despised the restrictive nature of courtly attire, crossed her arms, nodding in vigorous agreement. "I can actually breathe properly during my morning drills," she stated bluntly. "The restrictive, exhausting weight of our traditional clothing, the terrible binding that crushes the ribs and traps the heat... it is lessened massively. These structured inner garments distribute the weight perfectly. It offers support without suffocation."
Diao Chan, her ethereal beauty glowing with a radiant, mischievous energy, fluttered her fan lightly. "And the lower garments, husband... they are a revelation in hygiene and mobility. To move without the constant, oppressive swathing of excess fabric in this warming weather is a luxury every woman in this empire deserves to experience."
Lie Fan leaned back in his heavy wooden chair, a wide, genuine smile spreading across his handsome face. He was genuinely happy to hear that their secret project was such a massive personal success. He had intended it purely to improve their quality of life, but seeing the five most powerful women in the empire forming a covert fashion syndicate was endlessly entertaining.
"I am thrilled that your brilliant minds have solved a problem that the male scholars of this court have blindly ignored for centuries," Lie Fan praised them, his tone rich with affectionate pride.
But before diving into the serious logistics of launching a nationwide commercial enterprise, the Emperor simply could not resist the opportunity. A wicked, playful glint flashed in his dark eyes. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his steepled fingers, and mischievously teased them first.
"Of course, as the supreme ruler of this land, I cannot simply offer my imperial endorsement to a product I have not personally inspected," Lie Fan casually suggested, his voice dropping into a smooth, incredibly suggestive purr. "Perhaps you could proudly show the garments to me privately later tonight? I will need to rigorously assess the... structural integrity and the aesthetic appeal of the silk, just to be absolutely certain of its market value."
It was a bold, highly playful comment, and the reaction was instantaneous and entirely predictable.
The five incredibly powerful, composed women immediately froze. Their cheeks predictably flushed a deep, vibrant shade of crimson, and they became deeply embarrassed for a bit. Ying Yue covered her blushing face with her delicate sleeves. Diao Chan snapped her fan open, hiding the lower half of her face as she let out a scandalized, breathless giggle.
Lu Lingqi coughed loudly, suddenly finding the intricate wood carvings on the ceiling incredibly fascinating, while Cai Wenji looked away, her scholarly composure completely failing her. Even the usually unflappable, shrewd Zhen Ji felt the intense heat rushing to her cheeks, though she managed to shoot her husband a searing, playfully dangerous glare.
"You are absolutely incorrigible, husband," Zhen Ji scolded softly, though the slight tremble of her smile betrayed her amusement. "We come to you with a very lucrative business proposal, and your mind immediately turns to the bedchamber."
Clearing his throat with a rich, booming chuckle that echoed off the study walls, Lie Fan relented. He loved teasing them, but he also deeply respected their ambition. His expression smoothed out, transitioning seamlessly from a playful husband back into the ruthless, infinitely calculating architect of the Hengyuan economy.
"Forgive me, my loves. I am merely a man who appreciates the fine arts," Lie Fan smiled, before he then proceeded to seriously lay out a brilliant, highly sophisticated commercial strategy.
He stood up, walking around the desk to stand among them, his mind rapidly constructing a flawless sociological rollout plan.
"If we simply announce this through the imperial tailors or attempt to sell it directly to the conservative noblewomen of the court, it will fail catastrophically," Lie Fan explained, his tone serious and analytical. "The rigid Confucian scholars will immediately brand it as scandalous, indecent, and a degradation of traditional confucianism modesty. They will forbid their wives and daughters from even looking at it. We cannot force a cultural revolution from the top down when it comes to intimacy. We must let the culture demand it from the bottom up."
He looked at Zhen Ji and Diao Chan, knowing they would understand the covert nature of his next suggestion.
"We will secretly work together with Wang Yi," Lie Fan stated, referring to the lethal, brilliant spymaster who oversaw the vast, shadowed networks of his intelligence apparatus.
The wives looked slightly confused for a moment. Why would they involve one of the empire's most feared and only woman spymaster in a clothing enterprise?
Lie Fan cleverly explained his logic. "We will be utilizing the vast, covert intelligence networks of the Oriole Agents that are heavily based around the high end brothels, the elite teahouses, and the premier entertainment houses of the major cities."
He held up a finger, outlining the brilliant psychological manipulation. "We will use those popular, highly influential courtesans and entertainment ladies first. They will become your initial, exclusive clients. Give them the garments for free. Let them experience the aesthetic appeal, the profound comfort, and the incredible way it enhances their natural figures."
Cai Wenji's eyes widened as the sheer, scandalous genius of the plan clicked into place. "The courtesans set the unspoken trends of the elite..." she murmured, her mind racing.
"Exactly," Lie Fan confirmed with a sharp nod. "The wealthy nobles, the merchants, and the aristocratic lords frequent those houses. Through their highly influential connections and the whispered rumors of the night, the words and trends of this comfortable, alluring new attire would rapidly spread. The aristocratic ladies and the conservative noblewomen, sitting in their suffocating, traditional manors, will hear whispers of this incredible new silk garment that makes the courtesans so highly sought after. Human nature is predictable, the noblewomen will become intensely curious, and then intensely jealous."
He paced slowly around the room, painting the picture of a society willingly abandoning its rigid traditions. "They will secretly seek out your tailors. What begins as a scandalous whisper in the entertainment districts will slowly, inevitably become a coveted, high status secret among the wives of the ministers. And after the strict upper echelons are successfully broken through, and the trend becomes completely normalized behind closed doors... only then do you open the storefronts to the public. You seamlessly expand the market to the common people, who will clamor to wear the garments that the imperial court favors."
He stopped, looking at his five wives, his expression turning grave and highly advisory.
"Of course," Lie Fan wisely reminded them, placing a hand gently on Ying Yue's shoulder. "This massive cultural and economic expansion will deeply need a great deal of time. You cannot rush the shifting of ancient morals. It will require careful patience, absolute secrecy in the initial phases, and meticulous care to avoid a sudden traditionalist backlash. Let Wang Yi handle the distribution to the entertainment houses. You handle the production and the aristocratic whisper network."
After hearing that brilliant, utterly flawless sociological and economic explanation, his wives stood in stunned silence for a moment. They had come to him expecting simple advice on tailoring merchants, and he had just handed them a blueprint to completely conquer the fashion industry of an entire continent.
They nodded their heads in deep, profound admiration. The blush had faded, replaced by the fierce, calculating light of incredibly powerful women ready to build their own empire.
They thanked him for his unmatched foresight, bowing gracefully, and quickly took their leave to begin their covert, highly lucrative work, already whispering furiously to one another about production quotas and Oriole contacts as they exited the study.
Shortly after they departed, leaving behind the lingering, pleasant scents of their various perfumes, the heavy reality of statecraft re entered the room.
An imperial maid entered the study with her head bowed low. She approached the desk and respectfully handed him an urgent, heavily sealed letter that was specially sent by imperial courier.
Lie Fan dismissed the maid with a wave of his hand. He looked at the heavy wax seal. It bore the unique, unified crest of the five venerated state elders who were tasked to revise the Nationalism ideology.
He broke the wax and unrolled the thick, premium parchment. Reading the elegant, masterful calligraphy, he immediately recognized the handwriting of Cai Yong. He saw that the elders earnestly hoped that he would visit the Xiapi Academy again tomorrow at his earliest convenience.
A profound sense of anticipation surged through Lie Fan's chest. They proudly announced in the beautifully written script that they have finally finished the meticulous, highly philosophical revision of the doctrine. They had worked day and night, debating every single character, ensuring that the dangerous pitfalls of blind zealotry and potential state rebellion were carefully navigated and philosophically neutralized.
The letter stated that they would respectfully like to show the finalized texts to him for his absolute, final imperial approval.
Lie Fan slowly rolled the parchment back up, a deep, resonant sense of triumph settling over his mind. The firearms were being forged to conquer the bodies of his enemies, but this document... this document would conquer the minds of his people.
Once he gave his final approval tomorrow, this ideology would formally begin to be introduced to the youth through the sprawling national education system. Every child, from the freezing northern steppes to the humid southern jungles, would grow up reciting the tenets of their shared, unbreakable Nation.
And while the elders focused on the youth, Lie Fan knew his own task was equally daunting. He would concurrently prepare to introduce the finalized doctrine to the highest, most cynical echelons of the Imperial Court, forcing the ambitious the entirety of nobles and gentries to completely submit their household pride to the eternal, absolute supremacy of the Hengyuan Dynasty.
The quiet night eventually passed, the cool, silver light of the moon giving way to the vibrant, brilliant hues of a new dawn.
As the morning sun illuminated the sprawling capital of Xiapi the next day, casting a warm, golden glow over the towering stone walls and the bustling, awakened city streets, Lie Fan prepared his imperial carriage to go to the prestigious Xiapi Academy once again. His objective was clear, to officially meet with the five venerable state elders and finalize the ideological foundation of his eternal empire.
This time, however, he did not go alone.
As Lie Fan stepped out of the inner palace, his dark, bespoke armor replaced by a magnificent, heavily embroidered black and crimson silk robe that suited a sovereign of peace, he was joined by three men of immense, unparalleled intellect. He specifically brought along three of his most trusted and brilliant civil administrators, Lu Su, Chen Qun, and Xu Shu.
He brought them because he knew that a philosophy, no matter how perfectly written on a bamboo scroll, was entirely useless if it could not be systematically enforced upon the masses. He wanted to formally hand over the heavy, monumental duty to meticulously oversee the nationwide spread of this new Nationalism ideology to them.
The elders had the philosophical authority to write it, but these three ministers had the bureaucratic fangs to make it the absolute law of the land. He deeply needed these three sharp political minds to work directly alongside the academic state elders in the spreading process.
They were to serve as the Emperor's unblinking eyes, rigorously maintaining strict oversight to ensure that the spread of this doctrine will constantly stay true to the exact, uncompromising vision wanted by Lie Fan himself.
The carriage ride through the bustling streets of Xiapi was smooth, the heavy wooden wheels rolling effortlessly over the newly paved stone avenues. Inside the opulent, spacious carriage, the atmosphere was one of quiet, intense anticipation.
Lu Su, Chen Qun, and Xu Shu sat perfectly straight, their minds already racing as they mentally prepared for the magnitude of the task the Emperor had briefly outlined to them. To unify the thoughts of millions across a continent fragmented by centuries of warlords and ancient blood feuds was a logistical and cultural nightmare, but they were the architects of the new world, and they thrived on the impossible.
Arriving at the grand, towering gates of the Xiapi Academy, the imperial procession was met with absolute, breathless reverence.
The students and junior scholars, recognizing the Emperor's carriage and the terrifying presence of the Yellow Ghost Bodyguards, immediately dropped to their knees along the gravel paths, bowing their heads in profound submission. Lie Fan stepped out of the carriage, flanked by his three ministers, and walked purposefully through the vibrant, manicured courtyards of the academy, heading straight for the secluded quarters at the rear of the complex.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 36 (203 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 11)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 1,010 (+20)
VIT: 659 (+20)
AGI: 653 (+10)
INT: 691
CHR: 98
WIS: 569
WILL: 436
ATR Points: 0