Chapter 1

"Probably really did travel through time—"

In the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, at the residence of the Marquis of Zhen Guo, within the Wannxiang Garden, flowers were in full bloom.

Gu Jinnian stared at the lake not far away, his eyes filled with a mix of emotion and helplessness.

He was a time traveler, his previous life being that of a screenwriter with extensive professional knowledge, a substantial income, and a good appearance, making him a young and wealthy man.

But he never expected that something like time travel would actually happen to him.

Fortunately, his luck was not too bad; he did not end up in a miserable situation like those in web novels.

He was not a useless person or a horse-herding youth, but rather a member of the nobility.

A true super-nobility of the Great Xia.

Gu Jinnian had already thought about how he would introduce himself.

The person standing before you is the eldest son of the Marquis of Linyang, the eldest grandson of the Marquis of Zhen Guo, with his mother being Princess Ning Yue, his uncle the Emperor of the Great Xia, his second uncle the commander of the Divine Mechanism Camp stationed outside the border, his third uncle the deputy commander of the Xuanwu Army also stationed outside the border, his fourth uncle the Left General of the Left Wing still outside the border, his fifth uncle the Left Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and his future Minister of Justice, and his sixth uncle the deputy commander of the Xuan Deng Si.

After introducing the previous generation, let's talk about his peers.

He had three elder cousins and one younger cousin.

His eldest cousin was the main wife of the Marquis of Guan Jun, his second cousin the last disciple of the Sword Immortal of Qingzhou, his third cousin the senior sister of the Linglong Immortal Palace, and his youngest cousin, the Holy Maiden of the Qingwei Immortal Sect.

As for his relatives, they were either princesses or princes, not worth mentioning.

And this was his identity.

He had connections in both the immortal realm and the imperial court.

To call him the first noble of the Great Xia would not be an exaggeration.

The most incredible thing was that he was the only male descendant of the third generation of the Gu family.

Yes, the only male descendant.

Because of this, no one in the entire Great Xia Dynasty dared to be arrogant in front of him, except for the Crown Prince.

Of course, if necessary, he could also be arrogant in front of the Crown Prince, but since they were of the same generation, there was no need to be arrogant in front of the Crown Prince. However, being arrogant in front of the Grand Prince would be fine.

Such a prominent and glorious identity left Gu Jinnian somewhat dazed.

To be honest, having read many web novels, Gu Jinnian subconsciously suspected that he might have become the antagonist.

After all, this identity was a perfect template for a major antagonist.

The Great Xia Dynasty was one of the three major dynasties in the Eastern Wasteland, with a strong national power and abundant martial virtue. According to legend, the founding emperor of the Great Xia received a divine object that could make the Great Xia Dynasty last forever.

Although this was likely an exaggeration, after all, which emperor doesn't boast about themselves?

However, Gu Jinnian showed a helpless expression, mainly because he couldn't accept it all at once.

He had traveled through time half a month ago.

As a normal person, it was impossible to accept something like time travel, even with such a high status. This world was still too unfamiliar to him.

Not only unfamiliar, but also uncomfortable. There were no computers or mobile phones in this technologically backward era, making it utterly boring.

If he had to say, it wasn't entirely without benefits. As the grandson of a marquis and the only male descendant of the third generation of the Gu family, even though he was only fifteen and a half years old, his family had already started to arrange a wife for him.

It was said that each one was beautiful and graceful.

This was the only good news, at least he wouldn't need to rely on his family's skills anymore, and marrying seven or eight wives would make life sweet.

Thinking about this, Gu Jinnian couldn't help but smile meaningfully.

However, at that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out, sounding agitated.

"Damn it, who dares to bully my nephew?"

"Feeling bored?"

"I just went out for a bit, and someone dares to bully my nephew?"

"Feeling like you have nine heads?"

The voice was extremely crude, but the person who spoke was a handsome man in black, exuding a killing aura, with a presence that only those in high positions could have, known as official authority.

This was Gu Jinnian's sixth uncle, Gu Ningya, who was twenty-seven years old and had once been the favorite of the Gu family.

He was no longer the favorite because of Gu Jinnian.

But Gu Ningya was not upset; instead, he enjoyed the feeling of growing up. Before Gu Jinnian was born, the whole family treated him like a child.

After Gu Jinnian was born, Gu Ningya was relieved and pampered him even more, covering up any mistakes he made.

According to the memories in his mind, this sixth uncle had truly raised him from infancy, and they had a deep bond.

Even after traveling through time, Gu Jinnian felt a deep sense of affection.

"Jinnian, are you hurt?"

Soon, Gu Ningya appeared in front of Gu Jinnian, his handsome face full of concern, and he even started to check for any injuries.

"Sixth Uncle, I'm fine, I'm fine. I've been here for half a month, eating medicinal pills every day, and even the worst illness would be cured."

Faced with such concern from his sixth uncle, Gu Jinnian, though deeply moved, quickly stopped him.

Damn it, he was his sixth uncle, not his elder cousin, so touching him like this was inappropriate.

Seeing Gu Jinnian lively and well, Gu Ningya slightly relaxed.

But soon, a murderous look appeared on his face.

"The one who pushed you into the water was the daughter of the Minister of Rites, right?"

Gu Ningya asked.

"Uh-huh."

Gu Jinnian nodded.

He had traveled through time half a month ago, and when he arrived, he was in a very weak state.

This was because he had been pushed into the water and almost died.

In fact, he had already died, otherwise, he wouldn't have traveled through time.

"Hmph, the Minister of Rites really wants to die."

"Jinnian, wait here for your sixth uncle, I'll be back soon."

Gu Ningya said, about to rush out of the house to confront the Minister of Rites.

"No."

"Sixth Uncle, the Minister of Rites came to apologize the same day, and his daughter was also punished. And I'm fine, right?"

"There's no need to continue this, let bygones be bygones."

"Besides, it wasn't entirely their fault."

Gu Jinnian said.

After all, the Minister of Rites was a high-ranking official. Although the Gu family was extremely powerful, this was ultimately a matter of the younger generation. Since the Minister of Rites had apologized, it was enough.

If he had died, the Minister of Rites would have been in trouble, but since he was alive, there was no need to continue.

If he continued, it would seem like he was trying to control everything.

A clear antagonist?

The Minister of Rites was one of the six ministers, a pillar of the Great Xia. Although he was not as powerful as a marquis, he was a minister of the emperor and a pillar of the Great Xia. To ruin him over this matter would not be a good thing.

The higher the position, the greater the power, and sometimes one had to be more cautious.

Of course, if it was a conflict between peers, Gu Jinnian could handle it himself, but involving the older generation would cause unnecessary trouble.

Gu Jinnian saw this clearly; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited for Gu Ningya to come and confront the Minister of Rites.

Moreover, the most important thing was that Gu Jinnian himself had forgotten why he was pushed into the water, and the memory was not clear.

The only memory he had was of some verbal conflict, and rumors spread that he had insulted the Minister of Rites' daughter because she was beautiful and graceful.

He was pushed into the water.

Of course, Gu Jinnian didn't know the specific details because that part of his memory was missing.

However, what puzzled Gu Jinnian was why he became seriously ill just from falling into the water.

This clearly didn't make sense.

But he didn't know the exact reason, as his memory had not fully merged yet, and he remembered the past clearly.

The memory before he fell into the water was a blank.

"Who cares who's right or wrong, bullying you is unacceptable."

"But you're right, the old man and your father didn't say anything about this, so they probably don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"But I can't swallow this, even if you can."

"Recently, I've been investigating the remnants of Jian De. Someone in the court has been in contact with them, and they probably haven't given up."

"If this involves the Minister of Rites, I'll take care of it for you."

Gu Ningya slowly said, planning the matter.

But if this were to be known in the court, it would cause a huge stir.

Jian De was the second emperor of the Great Xia, the current emperor's nephew, who was overthrown and whose fate was unknown. Rumors said that Jian De had escaped from the palace and was planning to reclaim his throne.

It was now the twelfth year of Yong Sheng, and Jian De had not shown up, but there were indeed many remnants of his supporters.

They either attempted assassinations or recruited soldiers under his banner, making them a significant source of unrest.

The officials in the court dared not get involved, as this was the emperor's most taboo matter, and anyone who touched it would die.

As a member of the Xuan Deng Si, Gu Ningya's duty was to investigate and arrest, and if he discovered something, the Minister of Rites would be in serious trouble.

Hearing this, Gu Jinnian didn't try to persuade him.

This was a matter of the court, and it was not his concern.

"Sixth Uncle, where have you been these days?"

Gu Jinnian changed the topic.

"Investigating matters for the emperor, don't ask. I'm afraid you might say something wrong."

"By the way, there's something else. Sixth Uncle asks you to think carefully. On March 12th, the day you fell into the water, did you notice anything unusual?"

Gu Ningya asked.

"Unusual things?"

"What happened?"

Gu Jinnian had no memory of it.

"There was an unusual phenomenon in the capital, a white rainbow piercing the sun. This is not a good omen. The Tian Jian Si predicted that a traitor might appear in the court."

"Recently, the capital has been busy, and everyone is on edge. This is probably why the old man didn't make a big deal out of it. Otherwise, the Minister of Rites would have had a hard time."

Gu Ningya answered.

A white rainbow piercing the sun?

Gu Jinnian was curious but quickly shook his head. "I don't know, I don't remember. Sixth Uncle, what's the point of asking me?"

He thought hard but still had no memory.

"It's not a random question. The white rainbow piercing the sun disappeared at the Wenxin Book Hall, where you study. So I came to ask you if you have any memories."

Gu Ningya explained.

"The Wenxin Book Hall?"

"The white rainbow piercing the sun?"

Gu Jinnian frowned and started to think seriously.

Suddenly, a beam of white light flashed in his mind, and fragmented memories began to reassemble.

But as he thought, his head started to hurt.

Suddenly, the pain intensified, and Gu Jinnian furrowed his brows.

"Ouch."

"Sixth Uncle, my head hurts."

Gu Jinnian instinctively grabbed Gu Ningya's sleeve, and the latter panicked.

"Jinnian, don't scare me."

"Jinnian, why are you suddenly having a headache?"

"Jinnian, get the imperial physician."

Gu Ningya's voice became increasingly anxious, and Gu Jinnian fainted.