Chu Chengji casually asked, fearing that she might have been too exhausted by the recent battles, “No news yet. Perhaps the people aren’t in Jianghuai.

The scrutiny of refugees has been intensified at all major city gates.

If anyone comes from Liangzhou Prefecture, our subordinates will report it.

There’s only the final stretch left at the hidden river. You’ve been going out early and coming back late these days to watch over it.

You can’t afford to be distracted by these trivial matters. Leave them to Song Heqing.”

Qin Zheng was indeed a bit weary, but now was the most tense time for the entire Qingzhou.

She dared not slack off.

Once the hidden river was completed, it would eliminate the worry of floods caused by Chen Guo’s destruction of the reservoir.

In the final stages, one must be extremely careful.

She almost spent the whole day at the construction site.

Qin Zheng said, “Li Xin’s eldest son has been frequently communicating with officials from various places recently.

I’m worried that this large purchase of martial maids is also related to this matter. We need to understand the plans of the Crown Prince. We can’t afford to be passive.”

They had already suffered losses like this once.

After Lin Zhao led the troops north, they had expected the Chen army stationed across the Jianghuai River to act quickly.

However, there was no sign of them starting a war.

Instead, Xu Prefecture had already clashed several times with the forces of the Prince of Huainan.

Zhao Kui was fierce and had Cen Daoxi’s strategic advice.

Despite the Prince of Huainan’s harassment, they gained no advantage.

In the face of the stalemate, the Prince of Huainan sent one of his advisors to negotiate with Xu Prefecture.

It was said that this advisor and Cen Daoxi were classmates and had some friendship between them.

When the two armies clashed, and the envoy was not killed, after he returned, Xu Prefecture suffered a small defeat.

Rumors spread that Cen Daoxi had been persuaded by the envoy and defected to the Prince of Huainan.

For a while, the morale of Xu Prefecture was shaken.

Victory and defeat were common in warfare, but at such a critical moment, Cen Daoxi suddenly became the target of criticism.

If they ignored it, the rumors would only spread further.

However, if they removed Cen Daoxi from his position as military advisor at this critical moment, it would be tantamount to admitting his disloyalty.

Not to mention finding a replacement in the short term, just the loss of military morale would be the most deadly blow in the current situation.

In order to stabilize the morale of Xu Prefecture, Chu Chengji was prepared to personally supervise the battle in Xu Prefecture.

Only a brilliant victory could wash away the stain on Cen Daoxi.

Naturally, Chu Chengji also suspected that this was a ploy by the Chen army and the Prince of Huainan to draw them out.

If he went to Xu Prefecture now, perhaps the Chen army would attack Qingzhou.

For this trip to Xu Prefecture, he and his strategists had discussed for several days before formulating a set of tactics suitable for both offense and defense.

Yuan Jiang was Qingzhou’s first line of defense.

If the Chen army wanted to cross the river, the navy led by Dong Cheng could first inflict heavy casualties on them.

Thinking about Qin Zheng’s concerns, Chu Chengji recalled that in recent days, the Chen army had changed their tactics.

It didn’t seem like they were trying to secretly expand their power, but rather they seemed to be trying to force their way into the palace.

“Li Xin has just ascended the throne, and what he fears most is others probing into his power.

Previously, when his two sons vied for power and solicited ministers, it was done privately.

Now, the actions of his eldest son don’t seem like he wants to secretly strengthen his power but rather to force his way into the palace.”

“If the Li family ends up fighting each other, I would be delighted.” Qin Zheng couldn’t understand why the Crown Prince suddenly acted so recklessly.

She lay back on the low couch, resting her head on Chu Chengji’s lap, her fingers twirling the intricate cloud patterns on his clothes.

Her eyelashes drooped slightly, showing no intention of using her brain anymore.

Chu Chengji leaned on the armrest of the couch, one hand holding a scroll while his gaze was on the book, but his other hand skillfully removed the hairpin from her head, allowing her dark hair to spread out instantly.

Feeling his fingers combing through her long hair, Qin Zheng thought of the several troublesome matters and the words of Lady Qin recently, feeling a bit frustrated, she closed her eyes and exerted a bit more force on the intricate patterns on his clothes.

Chu Chengji noticed it and simply put down the book, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Zheng didn’t pretend to sleep. As soon as he asked, she opened her eyes, “When are you going to Xu Prefecture?”

“In the next two days.”

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Chu Chengji’s brows furrowed slightly, “Something on your mind?”

Lying flat like this, Qin Zheng met his gaze as he looked down.

She subconsciously looked away, retracting her hand from his clothes and tried to get up, but Chu Chengji pressed down on her shoulder.

She had been too abnormal tonight.

Under the candlelight, Chu Chengji’s eyes were as dark as ink.

His tone sounded calm on the surface, but discerning the underlying meaning, there was an indescribable dominance, “Just say it.”

Qin Zheng was forced to continue lying on his lap.

His robe happened to drape nearby.

Qin Zheng stared at the cloud patterns on it for a while before saying, “Mother talked to me about the issue of heirs.”

The officials of Qingzhou respected Qin Zheng, acknowledging her status and abilities.

But that didn’t mean they also agreed that there should only be Qin Zheng by Chu Chengji’s side.

Currently, in the divided forces of Great Chu, Li Xin and the Prince of Huainan had the most heirs.

Even Marquis Lian Qinhou of the North had two sons. Only Chu Chengji had no heirs.

For these courtiers who followed them, Chu Chengji needed heirs to avoid any accidents on the battlefield.

Qin Zheng was now in charge of all major and minor affairs of Qingzhou, and she had her own army.

The ministers didn’t treat her as just a housewife.

Even if they wanted to introduce women to Chu Chengji, they didn’t dare to directly bypass her and talk to Chu Chengji.

So those memorials were all sent to Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng knew that even those who claimed to be loyal for the continuation of the royal bloodline had their own hidden agendas.

But in this era, even loyal ministers like Song Heqing, who had always stood by her side, didn’t think there was anything wrong.

The consolations he offered were nothing more than selecting some honest and decent girls.

After Lady Qin’s insightful words and the officials’ visits, she helped select several official daughters for him.

“Zheng’er, don’t blame your mother. Your mother knows that you and His Highness are deeply in love, but His Highness is the future ruler.

The ministers who respect you today will accuse you tomorrow for His Highness’s lack of heirs.

His Highness is your husband, but also the Crown Prince of the world. You two are destined not to be like an ordinary couple. Do you understand?”

Lady Qin’s words echoed in Qin Zheng’s ears.

She felt resistance, even disgust, in her heart, but she was also in a position of power now and understood the rules of the game in this era.

These things ultimately stood between her and Chu Chengji and couldn’t be avoided.

Even if she tried to suppress this issue now and hide it, as time went on, it would still surface.

Feeling so frustrated, Chu Chengji thought for a moment and guessed that Lady Qin must have said more than just hoping she would bear him an heir.

This kind of thing had happened three hundred years ago.

Unexpectedly, three hundred years later, it was still the same.

He asked, “How did A’zheng respond?”

His tone was still calm, but it was too calm, which made people inexplicably uneasy.

Qin Zheng glanced at him sideways.

His hand was still on her shoulder, preventing her from getting up.

She raised her hand and grabbed his collar, pulling him down a bit, “I have not conceived so far, and it’s not just my own business. Your ministers are clever. They all send memorials to me and send people to persuade my mother. How do you think I should respond?”

Chu Chengji said, “Couldn’t guess, but I’d like to hear.”

Although she was supposed to know this person better than anyone else, sometimes Qin Zheng still felt like she couldn’t fully understand him, like now.

She couldn’t tell if he cared about her agreeing to take concubines for him or not.

It seemed difficult to make him show any emotional fluctuations.

Feeling a bit annoyed, Qin Zheng pushed him away with force, walked to the desk, and took out a covenant she had prepared when she was troubled about this matter: “I’ve already told you, I come from a time a thousand years from now, where we have a system of one husband and one wife.

Husbands and wives must be loyal to each other and cannot betray their feelings for each other.

In short, there cannot be any concubines or the like.”

Looking at him again, she added, “You yourself said that in the future, there will only be me. Would you sign this covenant?”

Qin Zheng had been frustrated for several days, but he had been too busy lately for her to talk to him about this matter.

So she had used the excuse of being busy with official duties to delay approving the memorials asking him to take concubines.

Taking the covenant handed to him by her, Chu Chengji was actually quite satisfied with her approach.

But as he read through the terms on the covenant, his face turned green instantly.

With each word pronounced slowly and heavily, he said, “If party B has an inappropriate relationship with another woman/man, this covenant can be used as a divorce document, with half of all lands under the name of party A. If the two have children, they belong to party A. Party A, Qin Zheng, party B, Chu Chengji?”

Qin Zheng was quite satisfied with the covenant she had prepared in advance.

But the idea of having a divorce document or something similar was too much for her.

She had fought side by side with him for their cause, and now if he were to find another love, she would have to pack up and leave?

Even if they shared marital property, it would have to be split evenly.

Seeing her looking quite pleased with herself, Chu Chengji struggled to maintain his composure, “A’Zheng, do you want to take a closer look at what’s written on this covenant?”

Qin Zheng looked through it again from beginning to end and suddenly realized, “Your current name is Chu Chengji, but I wrote Chu Chengji on it. You wait here, I’ll transcribe two new copies!”

Chu Chengji pressed his temple where the faint blue vein throbbed.

This cursed covenant shouldn’t have existed at all. “What is considered an inappropriate relationship with another man?”

Qin Zheng was already preparing to transcribe it, “This is for the sake of being rigorous. In the time and space I originally lived in, there were many emperors who had male favorites…”

“That’s enough!” Chu Chengji snatched the pen from her hand, looked at the two particularly eye-catching covenants on the desk, and directly lit them with a candle on the side.

Qin Zheng wanted to salvage them, but she was pushed down onto a pear wood chair with one hand by Chu Chengji.

He looked at her with lowered eyes, calming his breath a bit before making his expression less frightening, “It’s my negligence. You shouldn’t have had to handle this matter.”

To be honest, this was the first time Qin Zheng had seen Chu Chengji so angry.

Despite her struggle and the small concession she made for the benefits she had sought in that covenant,

Chu Chengji ignored her and went straight to the memorials on the desk, flipping through them, his tone calm but sharp like a knife about to fall from above.

Qin Zheng swallowed nervously, unable to speak in time, but she heard Chu Chengji’s cold voice, “Found them.”

Despite the calm tone, it felt as sharp as a knife, making Qin Zheng feel a chill for the officials who had submitted those memorials.