Senior student Zhao Youning is riding the bus home after evening study when a man suddenly attacks people with a knife. Zhao Youning steps in bravely to stop him and is stabbed.
When she wakes again, Zhao Youning discovers that she has transmigrated to the end of the Qin dynasty, into the body of a maidservant belonging to the son of Fusu.
By this time, Zhao Gao has thrown the court into chaos, and Qin Er Shi, Hu Hai, has ordered the slaughter of all his brothers and sisters. The young master Zhao Youning was escorting is the only one who escaped.
Unfortunately, the young master dies during their flight. Zhao Youning continues to flee, and when Fusu's trusted followers find her, they mistake her for Fusu's son.
Zhao Youning is at an age of boundless ambition. She remembers her mother telling her that their Zhao ancestors had produced quite a few emperors.
Her mother hadn't lied. Zhao Youning thinks, I really do have a claim to the throne. Who says the Zhao in Zhao Youning can't be the Zhao of the Ying clan?
Zhao Youning goes along with the misunderstanding and takes up the position of sovereign, shouldering the responsibilities of Heaven's chosen one: recruiting soldiers and horses, then vying for dominion over the realm.
Xu Fu, the master physiognomist: My lord has the features of an emperor!
Zhao Youning: No wonder you're a master of physiognomy.
The daughter of Ba Qing, who controls immense wealth: I wish to follow Lü Buwei's example and invest in rare goods with potential.
Zhao Youning: You've come to the right person for investment advice.
The peasant rebels fighting under Fusu's banner: Avenge Prince Fusu! Are kings and nobles born to their stations?
Zhao Youning: I was a commoner in my past life, and I'm Fusu's son in this one. Get yourselves into my ranks, now.
The Qin armies of Zhang Han, Wang Li, Li You, and others, still holding out: Could the fate of Great Qin really be at an end? We beg Heaven's chosen one to save Great Qin.
Zhao Youning: Don't rush. I'll take care of you after I've taken care of them.
A chaotic era calls for collecting famous generals and strategists, of course. And so, under her guidance, the resourceful Cao family opens a chain of inns and builds an intelligence network spanning the nation; the gifted singer and dancer Qi family daughter is presented as a saintess with the power of prophecy, helping her shape public opinion; the hardworking Bo family daughter devotes herself to farming and builds granaries to feed the realm; and the capable Lü family daughter is recognized as a brilliant minister, taking charge of military provisions and logistics and holding down the home front!
Looking at the four outstanding women under her command, Zhao Youning only belatedly realizes: Aren't these Liu Bang's four wives?
Sorry about this, Lord of Pei, but I'll gladly take all four of your wives. This time, though, each of them will have a name of her own. From now on, the world will know the Four Heroes Who Raised Qin, not the Three Heroes of Early Han!
You, Liu Bang, have Xiao He managing the whole army? I, Zhao Youning, have Lü Zhi coordinating the realm!
Xiao He chases Han Xin by moonlight? I'll make sure you can't catch him. Han Xin, the God of War, is mine!
Chen Ping proposes disguising two thousand women as soldiers to draw the Chu army's fire and send them to their deaths?
Such a loyal and righteous army should hurry over to serve under me, Zhao Youning, and win glory!
“Yu, oh Yu, what am I to do with you?” My cavalry commander Yu Qianying doesn't have time for such melancholy!
One morning, before dawn had broken, Li Si set out under cover of darkness with several old servants, leaving Xianyang, the city where he had weathered forty years of ups and downs, to retire in Shangcai.
As the carriage curtains fluttered, Li Si caught sight of the young sovereign, full of ambition.
The newly crowned emperor, dressed in a black cap and jade robes, had appeared alone on horseback at the end of the road to see him off.
Li Si hurried out of the carriage and knelt, deeply alarmed.
The emperor helped Li Si to his feet. “Chancellor Li, you were supposed to die in a busy street ten years from now, your body hung on the city wall while the masses reviled you. Do you know why I saved your life?”
“Why?”
The emperor smiled. “I want you to see how I will transform the world with the system you designed to keep the empire running.”
The sun rose, and the morning light grew bright, while Li Si's carriage disappeared into billowing yellow dust.
His era had come to an end, while hers was slowly beginning.
P.S. There is a pairing: Zhang Liang. A young tyrant who hates evil × the virtuous Zifang, who is as beautiful as a woman. This tyrant is not that kind of tyrant. The romance is a very small part of the story. The main focus is nation-building and the struggle for supremacy. The female characters mentioned in the blurb each have relatively independent storylines and a substantial role, so there are many original interpretations. The male characters will generally retain the personalities recorded in historical texts, neither glorified nor vilified.
An alternate Qin at the end of the dynasty, covering the reign of the Second Emperor and the Chu-Han Contention. Parallel timeline, historical fan fiction, many original interpretations, and some characters' ages differ from the historical record.
Blurb dated August 1, 2026.
Theme: None
