When the ice and snow first started to melt, Chu Chengji brought Qin Zheng back to Bianjing.

Since the palace hadn’t been prepared yet, Chu Chengji wanted to find a quiet place for Qin Zheng to recover.

He decided to take her to a royal villa in the outskirts of the city.

The villa was easier to clean than the palace because it had been empty for years.

It also had a natural hot spring, and the doctor said soaking in it occasionally would be good for Qin Zheng’s health.

Qin Zheng finally had some time to relax.

Chu Chengji took care of all the government affairs himself, having the official documents sent to the villa.

While Chu Chengji reviewed the documents every day, Qin Zheng would read stories and travel books in the study with him.

When she got bored, she often went for walks in the hills behind the villa.

Chu Chengji thought she was weak and taught her a set of exercises to strengthen her body.

The exercises were a bit complicated, and Qin Zheng had trouble remembering the moves.

So, she decided to practice the simplified 24-form Tai Chi instead.

Chu Chengji was surprised that Qin Zheng knew Tai Chi and asked, “When did you learn this?”

Qin Zheng finished the last move, exhaled, and said, “I learned it when I was in school.”

In her school days, besides doing regular exercises, they often held Tai Chi competitions.

Qin Zheng, being tall and an outstanding student, was chosen to lead the group.

If anyone in the group didn’t perform the moves correctly, Qin Zheng had to demonstrate.

This forced her to practice diligently until it almost became muscle memory.

Later, when she started working, she barely had time to exercise, but she knew health was important.

So, she found Tai Chi videos online and practiced.

Among her friends who joined gyms, she was unique.

Chu Chengji didn’t understand some of the words she used and asked, “School?”

It was still cold, and Qin Zheng was wearing a padded jacket.

After finishing the exercises, her face was flushed.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a cloth and said, “It’s like a place where we study. In my place, there’s no strict separation between men and women; both can attend.”

This wasn’t the first time Chu Chengji heard about her previous life.

The society she described sounded like the ideal society proposed by the ancient sage Confucius.

He asked, “Does everyone in the school have to learn Tai Chi?”

Qin Zheng nodded and noticed Chu Chengji fell silent.

She looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Chengji said, “Your place sounds wonderful.”

Throughout history, only nobles received training in both literature and martial arts.

Ordinary scholars’ families focused solely on academics.

For common families, supporting a single student required the entire family’s effort.

He couldn’t imagine the world Qin Zheng described.

Even after three hundred years, Great Chu wouldn’t resemble her homeland.

Chu Chengji remembered asking Qin Zheng if she missed her home when they were on Liangyan Mountain.

Her eyes had reddened, and he thought she was sad about Bianjing changing rulers.

Now he understood she was mourning a home she could never return to.

Qin Zheng noticed the change in Chu Chengji’s mood.

She took his hand, interlocking their fingers, and asked, “What’s troubling you?”

Chu Chengji held her hand and slowly said, “Azheng, do you miss your home?”

Qin Zheng was startled and asked back, “Do you miss everything from three hundred years ago?”

Chu Chengji’s voice was calm and certain, “No.”

For him, Great Chu three hundred years ago and Great Chu now were the same.

Having been sent to a Buddhist monastery at a young age and with weak family ties, he had a detached nature.

The world three hundred years ago felt like he was an observer of human joys and sorrows.

He learned human interactions during his ten years in the world.

Qin Zheng said, “I sometimes think of the past because it shaped my knowledge and thoughts. I’m grateful and nostalgic, but that’s all. That life has ended, and this is my new beginning.”

Qin Zheng was nostalgic but not trapped by her past.

Knowing she couldn’t return made dwelling on it meaningless.

Chu Chengji gently embraced her, “Everything here can’t compare to your time.”

Qin Zheng looked up at him, smiling, “But you’re here.”

The sunlight on the snow was dazzling, making Qin Zheng’s smile even brighter.

Chu Chengji’s hidden unease dissipated, replaced by a swelling emotion.

His fingers on her shoulder tightened noticeably.

He held her closer, his chin resting on her forehead, eyes closing slowly, “I’ll do my best to give you a Great Chu like your homeland.”

Qin Zheng leaned against his chest and said, “Haste makes waste. History has its own pace. We should gradually develop Great Chu into what it could be in a thousand years. If we can’t complete it, our descendants will continue the work.”

The term “descendants” had never seemed so beautiful to Chu Chengji.

He had never feared death, but the thought that their descendants would continue working to improve the lives of the people on this land filled him with hope.

Their love wouldn’t end with their deaths but would continue through generations with their bloodline.

With no other servants in the courtyard, Chu Chengji kissed Qin Zheng’s smooth neck.

Reflecting the snow and sky, his eyes held her whole image, “Azheng, let’s have a child.”

Qin Zheng wanted to agree, but the bed’s creaking noises from last night had left her with a sore back.

She could only look at Chu Chengji with a conflicted expression, “Maybe another day?”

At the beginning of spring, good news arrived from the front lines.

The Northern Barbarian’s army had retreated from the Hexi Corridor, making their last stand in the final county of the Hexi region, Shazhou.

However, their resistance was desperate and weak.

A nation cannot go a day without a ruler. With peace restored, the ministers began to discuss Chu Chengji’s ascension to the throne.

During her recovery at the villa, Qin Zheng’s face had visibly rounded.

Worried about gaining weight, she stopped sleeping in and usually got up with Chu Chengji in the mornings.

While he practiced martial arts, she would yawn and practice Tai Chi.

She even managed to learn the complex set of exercises Chu Chengji had taught her.

Although waking up early was difficult, Qin Zheng felt much healthier after a while.

Sometimes, she followed Chu Chengji on hikes to the hilltop without getting winded.

Feeling revitalized, Qin Zheng couldn’t stay idle.

The reservoir at Yuzui Weir had been repaired, and Qin Zheng began planning to build more reservoirs to raise water levels and improve waterways.

The royal library had the most comprehensive hydrological data.

She had the records for the Yuan River and Chishui River sent to the villa and slowly studied them.

Great Chu had only recently stabilized.

After multiple wars, the national and local treasuries were empty, unable to support large-scale projects.

The people in Qin Xiang area had been plundered by both Li Xin and Li Zhong, suffering immensely.

Qin Zheng wouldn’t propose her plan immediately, but such large projects often took years, if not decades, to complete.

Drafting the proposal alone would take significant time, including selecting the reservoir sites and surveying the entire river system, which could take a year or more.

Starting now wasn’t too early.

Chu Chengji listened to Qin Zheng’s ideas and roughly calculated the cost.

His face, usually unchanging even in the heat of battle, showed a slight hesitation, “The treasury won’t have that much money for at least five years.”

Qin Zheng was optimistic, “We don’t need all the money at once. To raise the river levels and improve the waterways, this reservoir must be larger than Yuzui Weir and Dadou Weir combined.

The construction alone will take at least three to five years, or even a decade.

The treasury’s funds can be used for other things, you use what you need, and just save a bit each year for the reservoir.”

She showed Chu Chengji the map and explained, “The flood discharge canal we dug earlier can be used as a canal connecting Chishui and Yuanjiang.

Once the waterway is improved, shipping can continue even in the dry winter season, making trade between the north and south more frequent.

In a few years, we can earn back the money spent on building the reservoir.”

Chu Chengji agreed with this. He asked, “Have you thought of a name for this reservoir?”

Qin Zheng replied, “I’ve discussed it with Minister Qi of the Ministry of Works. We plan to name it Shanhai Weir.”

Chu Chengji smiled, “The name fits well for a project planned to take ten years.”

**

Chu Chengji ascended the throne in late spring of that year, and Qin Zheng was named co-ruler, titled “The Two Saints,” to govern the country together.

The decree shocked the nation since it was unprecedented.

Before the traditionalists could submit their objections, the people of Fengjun, Qingzhou, and Wucheng had already erected statues and temples in Qin Zheng’s honor, celebrating her achievements.

Among the court officials, half were loyal to Qin Zheng, and the other half followed Chu Chengji without question.

Since Chu Chengji issued the decree for Qin Zheng to co-rule, the traditionalists had no choice but to accept it.

Every official document required not only Chu Chengji’s seal but also Qin Zheng’s phoenix seal.

In rewarding meritorious service, posthumous honors were granted to the late Duke of Qin, Grand Master Lu, and Minister Tang, who had once gone alone to the camp of Prince of Huaiyang in Fengjun to negotiate and buy time.

When the Duke of Qin and Grand Master Lu died, the entire court had been too afraid of Li Xin to attend their funerals.

Now, whether out of sincerity or formality, the gates of the Lu and Qin families were bustling again.

Generals still on the battlefield sent congratulatory letters to the capital.

Chu Chengji’s rewards were sent as imperial edicts to those stationed beyond the borders.

Earlier, when Chu Chengji led the main army back to Zijing Pass to defend against the enemy, he had ordered the troops left at Qiangliu Pass, led by Lin Yao and his sister along with Marquis Lian Qin’s forces, to infiltrate Northern Barbarian and destroy their main camp.

Having suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Great Chu, the Northern Barbarian retreated to their homeland after the Chu army captured Shazhou.

Upon returning, they found their camp had been leveled.

In the wars against Great Chu, the old khan of Northern Barbarian lost nearly all his sons who could ride a horse, and most of his brave generals were either dead or crippled.

Returning to a destroyed homeland, the khan fell gravely ill in his grief.

Northern Barbarian no longer had the strength to wage war against Great Chu.

Lin Yao and Marquis Lian Qin’s troops, following Chu Chengji’s orders, forced the Northern Barbarian back north of the Wushao River.

Everyone believed this battle marked the end of the conflict between Northern Barbarian and Great Chu.

Great Chu, having endured many wars, could not afford prolonged conflict.

However, Chu Chengji ordered the army to advance north of the Wushao River without engaging in further battles.

Court officials advised against this, recalling that Emperor Wu Jia of three hundred years ago had also halted at the Wushao River.

They argued that exhausting national resources to push Northern Barbarian further would be counterproductive and might expose the borders to other foreign threats.

Seeing that Chu Chengji was not listening to their advice, the court officials turned to Qin Zheng for help.

Chu Chengji had recently told her about the empty treasury, so Qin Zheng didn’t believe he would make such a risky decision.

Sure enough, within half a month, more good news arrived from the frontier.

The Northern Barbarian tribes had been terrified by Great Chu’s fierce counterattacks.

When Great Chu’s army crossed the Wushao River and continued advancing, some tribal leaders, fearing extermination, beheaded the old khan and surrendered to Great Chu, promising annual tributes.

The court officials finally understood Chu Chengji’s strategy and praised his wisdom.

Chu Chengji sent envoys to Northern Barbarian. His terms for withdrawal were more than just the promised tributes.

Great Chu would establish a Protectorate in Northern Barbarian.

The tribal leaders chosen by Northern Barbarian would need Great Chu’s approval before taking power.

Additionally, Great Chu would provide medical aid, craftsmen, agricultural books, and crop seeds, promoting trade and helping Northern Barbarian become prosperous.

In other words, Great Chu would help Northern Barbarian which voluntarily became a vassal state, to become wealthy.

However, the leaders would be appointed by Great Chu, and a Protectorate would be set up to co-govern.

Unaware of Great Chu’s empty treasury, Northern Barbarian was intimidated by Great Chu’s army crossing the Wushao River, causing internal chaos.

Under these circumstances, they accepted Great Chu’s terms.

The Chu army returned triumphantly.

Marquis Lian Qin was promoted to Duke of Zhenguo, while Lin Yao and his sister, despite initially violating military orders, were recognized for their contributions.

Lin Yao was named General of the Cavalry and had his salary suspended for six months.

Lin Zhao was named General of Zhaowu, also with a six-month salary suspension, becoming the first female general recorded in history.

Wang Biao, mainly responsible for the pursuit, was named General of Weiwu and had his salary suspended for a year.

Once everything settled, Qin Sheng and Pei Wenyuan were brought back to Bianjing.

The Pei family of Liangzhou, who had died at the hands of Northern Barbarian and Li Xin, were honored as loyal subjects of Great Chu.

General Pei was posthumously honored, and Pei Wenyuan was granted the title of county princess with a residence in Bianjing.

To Qin Zheng’s surprise, shortly after Qin Sheng’s return to the capital, the eldest son of the Xie family, Xie Huan, submitted a request to return to the capital to pay respects at his family’s ancestral tomb.

The underlying message was that he wanted to serve as an official in the capital.

The Xie family had guarded the northern frontier for over a decade and had never made such a request before.

When Qin Zheng showed this to Chu Chengji, he simply said, “Very well.”

Frontier generals who held significant military power were rarely allowed to return to the capital without the emperor’s permission.

This was to prevent the border from being undefended and to guard against rebellion.

Their families were often kept in the capital as hostages.

The Xie family had also relocated entirely to the northern frontier in the past.

Now, Xie Huan’s voluntary return to the capital was, in some ways, an act of trust and loyalty.

At first, Qin Zheng thought the Xie family wanted to reassure Chu Chengji of their loyalty.

However, when she learned from Lady Qin that the Xie family frequently sent gifts to their residence despite the distance, she began to suspect something else was at play.