The story has diverged from my original ideas. I guess their story can only go this far for now. Maybe I'll come back and update it someday. (I'm very sorry!)
The Zhang clan is an aristocratic family of great standing. After a single act of entrapment, they are repeatedly demoted, and members of the Zhang family die amid false accusations. Seeing her family's fortunes decline, Zhang Yuanzhen takes on the burden of the clan by herself.
When she returns to the capital to clear the Zhang family's name, the emperor carelessly arranges her marriage to Li Xianji, the nine-year-old heir to the Prince of Zhenxiong.
Utterly absurd!
*
When they first meet, the small, skinny child is pinned to the ground and beaten by a crowd. His fierce gaze stays fixed on everyone present.
Zhang Yuanzhen tosses him a dagger and says, "Remember, you are a person of noble birth. Their lives and deaths should be in your hands!"
*
She teaches him to grow strong in a turbulent age and stand on his own.
But he says, "Elder Sister, you taught me how to be a king, but you don't know that all I've ever wanted is to be your shield."
Note
1. A female-to-male mentorship story.
2. Set during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, with rival clans holding power. The countries where the leads live are fictional.
3. The title was inspired by Lu You's poem To My Son: "In death, all things are empty, but I grieve that I will not see the nine regions united."
4. The romance will only begin after the male lead turns nineteen. The early chapters focus mainly on the female lead's efforts to enter the imperial court through her own abilities and the political maneuvering involved.
Thesis: Strive tirelessly to improve
