Under the Dark Tide

With the emperor’s power waning, heroes across the land vied for supremacy. The State of Yong, in the Guanzhong region, reformed and grew stronger until it became the most powerful of the many feudal states. Tang Ji had spent years undercover in Yong. To the world, she was a merchant in Chang’an; in truth, she was a spy for the State of Han. The brilliant hydraulic engineer Zheng Zitu answered Yong’s call for talent and joined the Hall of Worthies, where he oversaw the construction of the Jing-Luo Canal. He vowed to bring peace and prosperity to the realm within ten years. To obtain more intelligence, Tang Ji devised a plan to marry Zheng Zitu. But Zheng Zitu was no native of Yong either. Under the pretext of building the Jing-Luo Canal, he was pursuing a strategy to weaken Yong, with the ultimate aim of bringing the state to its knees. Both harboring their own schemes, the two were at once inseparable and willing to fight each other to the death. And in the most ill-timed of circumstances, they began to fall for one another. Peace across the land, happy common folk, loyalty to an old master, freedom, life, money, love… There are many wonderful things in this world, but even the greediest person cannot have them all. In the end, a choice must be made. An idealistic hydraulic engineer × a shrewd, loyal-hearted merchant woman