Regent (Extra): 

In the first year after Gu Juntian crossed into the State of Jin, he was extremely busy, and the second year was not much better.

At the beginning of the second year, he came of age, and at the same time married Zhou Qinghao. After that, he took Zhou Qinghao with him to begin inspecting the State of Jin.

He examined conditions in various regions, made all kinds of arrangements, and revised and improved the laws according to the actual situation in Jin.

Gu Juntian had always thought he liked being busy.

But after being busy for a long time, he realized that he actually wanted to rest too.

Fortunately, while he was busy, Zhou Qinghao was always by his side, and in the breaks between work, he could share moments of intimacy with him.

This inspection lasted a full year.

During this time, he encountered all sorts of things.

He saw people living like primitive humans.

He saw places where living people were used for sacrifices.

He even discovered that a county magistrate he had sent out had been killed and replaced.

This era was indeed quite chaotic.

It wasn’t until that year’s autumn harvest that Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao returned to the capital.

They didn’t rush into the city, but first went to the royal estate near the capital.

After executing many members of the royal clan and confiscating their property, Gu Juntian distributed some of the land to commoners and kept some for himself.

He built schools and workshops there. Now, the students at the school included children of court officials, children of commoners, and even descendants of the royal clan whose property had been confiscated.

In theory, those children of the royal clan bore a grudge against him, but some were from collateral branches, some had not been favored at home, and after being captured, they held little resentment toward him, the King of Jin.

After personally meeting them, Gu Juntian kept them at the estate to study.

As soon as Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao’s convoy entered the estate, they saw a group of children being led to harvest wheat in the fields.

This was part of the curriculum he had set.

In Jin, if one wanted to be an official, they could not be ignorant of the life of the common people.

Even if they couldn’t do farm work, they had to at least know how it was done.

Further inside, Gu Juntian encountered the Queen Dowager, who had come to greet him.

The night he rode a hot air balloon to act against the royal clan, the Queen Dowager had been startled awake and saw her son floating in the air.

Qi had chosen her to marry the former King of Jin, and after he became king, he hadn’t killed her only because she was easy to control.

Having lived secluded in the deep palace, she had little worldly experience.

That night’s scene had frightened her, and the way she looked at Gu Juntian changed—she believed her son was favored by the heavens, a son of destiny.

Therefore, when Gu Juntian later sent the people from Qi who were around her back home, she did not object. When he asked her to rest at the royal estate, she obediently went.

Gu Juntian had gauged her temperament well and selected people who would speak well of him to care for her, taking her to various amusements so that she could live comfortably at the estate.

Indeed, the Queen Dowager lived quite comfortably there.

She saw many things she had never seen before, and in the room Gu Juntian prepared for her, there were all kinds of furniture, a heated bed, and a more varied diet than she had ever enjoyed.

More importantly, there were many amusements at the estate.

Unfavored in childhood, she had been married to the former King of Jin at a young age, and had never really enjoyed herself in life.

When someone took her to plant flowers, she was happy. When someone wove a grasshopper from straw for her, she liked it. When someone took her to the river to catch fish, she was overjoyed.

She was so happy at the estate that she no longer wished to return to the palace.

This year, after Gu Juntian went to inspect Jin, the Queen Dowager even took in a few seven- or eight-year-old girls as students and taught them various things.

Although satisfied with her current life, she still thought often of her son.

Now, not yet forty years old, the Queen Dowager happily came to welcome Gu Juntian.

“Mother,” Gu Juntian greeted her with a smile.

The Queen Dowager smiled as well. “My son is thinner… uh… my son is darker.”

She had wanted to say he was thinner, but seeing the muscles from his constant training, she couldn’t say it.

But that he was tanned was true—now his skin, like Zhou Qinghao’s, was a healthy wheat color.

Even the Queen Dowager herself had tanned a little.

“Mother looks younger,” Gu Juntian said.

The Queen Dowager replied, “Indeed, I am much healthier! Every day I follow your advice for good health—getting up early to go outside and absorb the essence of heaven and earth for an hour—and my body has grown stronger.”

The Queen Dowager had once been inactive, often unwell, eating and sleeping poorly.

Gu Juntian had told her that going outside every morning to “absorb the essence of heaven and earth” for an hour would strengthen her body.

By “absorbing the essence,” he meant taking a walk outdoors.

Now, every morning after breakfast, as long as the weather was good, she would stroll outside for an hour. Her health was excellent, she ate well, and she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“Like this, Mother will surely live a long life,” Gu Juntian smiled.

The Queen Dowager beamed, but soon after, for some reason, she looked worried.

She held onto Gu Juntian and kept talking, not sparing Zhou Qinghao a single glance.

She had never been satisfied with Zhou Qinghao as “queen.”

Gu Juntian didn’t force her to like him—after all, the two saw each other less than twice a year.

He had arranged for the Queen Dowager to live at the estate precisely to keep them apart, so Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t have to endure her criticism.

He couldn’t bear it.

“The food here is truly delicious. There are so many fresh dishes I’ve never had before. I always thought I didn’t like meat, but now I find it’s truly tasty…” the Queen Dowager chattered on, pulling Gu Juntian forward and occasionally glancing behind her, clearly trying to shake off Zhou Qinghao.

Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao exchanged a look, and Zhou Qinghao went off to do something else, granting her wish.

Seeing this, the Queen Dowager immediately said to Gu Juntian, “My son, does Zhou Qinghao treat you well?”

“Very well,” Gu Juntian smiled.

“He’s never looked down on you?”

“Of course not.” Why would Zhou Qinghao look down on him? He was young, strong, handsome, and charming—the perfect lover!

The Queen Dowager looked conflicted. “But now… now you’ve grown to look like this…”

Gu Juntian had told her long ago that he only liked Zhou Qinghao and intended to be with him for life.

Naturally, the Queen Dowager wasn’t happy. She thought that even if he liked Zhou Qinghao, he should still have children with a woman.

So Gu Juntian had simply lied, saying he had come to this world to change the order of heaven and earth, and because of that, he would have no descendants.

She believed him. After that, although she remained cold toward Zhou Qinghao, she no longer opposed their being together. But now, she seemed worried again, afraid Zhou Qinghao might dislike him.

Gu Juntian said nothing, and the Queen Dowager continued, “My son, men are fickle and like tender, delicate youths. Looking like this, I fear he won’t favor you…”

This time, she found her son broad-shouldered and muscular—just like Zhou Qinghao.

Would Zhou Qinghao still like him?

Gu Juntian looked at the muscles he had worked hard to build over the past year, then at his mother’s concerned face, momentarily speechless.

Though he knew she had misunderstood, true love wasn’t so shallow!

No matter what he looked like, Zhou Qinghao would still like him—and vice versa!

After soothing the Queen Dowager, Gu Juntian went to find Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao was reading, but Gu Juntian went over and snatched the book from his hands. “Uncle, do you know what Mother just said to me?”

“The Queen Dowager wants His Majesty to have children?” Zhou Qinghao guessed.

“No, Mother’s afraid you’ll dislike me for being too burly now and leave me for some delicate little lover.”

Zhou Qinghao: “…”

“Uncle, you wouldn’t dislike me, would you?” Gu Juntian asked.

“Of course not…” How could he ever dislike Gu Juntian? If anything, he worried that as he aged, Gu Juntian might dislike him.

But after spending this year together, he felt sure Gu Juntian would never do such a thing.

“I don’t believe you. You have to prove it,” Gu Juntian said, kissing him and steering him toward the bed.

Zhou Qinghao became even more certain that Gu Juntian would never dislike him.

Though one day, he might not be able to keep up.

Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao’s sweet life together repeatedly disappointed the States of Qi and Chu, who were waiting for them to fall out.

Qi and Chu tried everything to drive a wedge between them, but nothing worked. They could only watch as Jin grew stronger and stronger.

How could Jin grow stronger when its king had done so many things that outraged gods and men?

The commoners of their countries kept fleeing to Jin!

Their own lands were going untilled!

Worried that at this rate, Jin would become like it had been under King Wu of Jin and attack them, they finally set aside their enmity and attacked Jin together, also sending people to persuade the King of Jin not to appoint Zhou Qinghao as a general.

They feared no one but Zhou Qinghao.

Gu Juntian indeed did not appoint Zhou Qinghao—he intended to lead the army himself.

When Qi and Chu heard this, they were overjoyed.

But soon, they realized they had celebrated too early!

They had always thought the King of Jin was just Zhou Qinghao’s pretty lover with no ability, but…

The King of Jin could fight even better than Zhou Qinghao!

He liked to charge into battle personally, and when he did, Jin’s soldiers were greatly inspired and unstoppable!

And although Zhou Qinghao wasn’t leading the troops, he was still there!

With the King of Jin charging in front and Zhou Qinghao arranging the troops behind,

In just one month, Jin captured several of their cities.

Later… the States of Qi and Chu ceased to exist, and Gu Juntian finally unified the realm.

For many, many years after, the former nobles of Qi and Chu, now reduced to commoners, waited for Zhou Qinghao and Gu Juntian to break apart.

They didn’t believe the two could be together for a lifetime!

But they remained together all their lives and even died on the same day.

It turned out that true love really did exist in this world.