Chapter 2

It was a white light.

An incomparably intense white light.

Fragments of memories reassembled in his mind.

This was the scene before he crossed over.

As a large amount of memory reassembled, the pain was overwhelming, but eventually all the memories returned.

When the memories recovered, a massive divine tree appeared in his mind.

This tree stood tall in his mind, branching out, surrounded by divine light, with nine branches, appearing incredibly mysterious.

It contained unparalleled energy.

Moreover, each branch condensed a ball of light, as if nurturing something.

Gu Jinnian completely remembered everything that happened before he crossed over.

In the Wenxin Study.

The original body indeed had a dispute with the daughter of the Minister of Rites, but the reason for the dispute was that this group spoke rudely first.

Later, the original body indeed said some harsh words, and the other party pushed him into the lake.

Coincidentally, a white rainbow pierced the sky, eventually disappearing into the lake.

This beam of light also entered his body, causing the original body to fall seriously ill.

Although the guards in the academy rescued the original body in time, no one knew that something had entered his body.

The tree stood tall, evolving the universe, surrounded by divine light, demonstrating its extraordinary nature.

Gu Jinnian's consciousness gradually awakened, and when he fully awoke, he showed confusion.

He looked at the mysterious ancient tree in his mind, filled with curiosity.

He didn't understand what this thing was.

It was very strange.

"Why the original body fell seriously ill and couldn't be cured was because of this tree. Will it affect me now that I've crossed over?"

This was Gu Jinnian's doubt.

He didn't know what this tree was, whether it was good or bad, he had no idea at all.

The only thing he knew was that the reason the original body died was because of this tree.

But the specific reason, Gu Jinnian knew nothing about.

"Sixth Uncle seems to know something. I'll probe him later, but I need to be careful so as not to be discovered."

Gu Jinnian thought to himself, unable to analyze anything, so he could only ask Sixth Uncle.

Thinking of this, Gu Jinnian slowly withdrew from his mind, just by dispersing his mental energy.

Soon, a heavy sensation of falling came over him.

Suddenly.

Gu Jinnian woke up.

A familiar voice also rang in his ears.

"Jiannian, don't scare your mother."

"If anything happens to you, I won't live either."

Crying sounds rose.

Gu Jinnian slowly opened his eyes.

What he saw was a beautiful woman, elegant and noble, wearing a cloud fairy hairpin, with a string of pearls around her neck, further highlighting her nobility.

This was his mother, Li Wanjing.

The Princess Ningyue of the Great Xia, the younger sister of the current emperor, though not the eldest princess, she was deeply favored by the founding emperor.

At this moment, Li's face was tear-streaked, her eyes full of pain.

But when Gu Jinnian woke up, the pain in her eyes instantly turned to surprise.

"Jiannian, you're awake."

"Jiannian, you scared me to death."

The voice was still tearful, but full of surprise.

With Li's voice, the room suddenly became lively.

"Mother, what happened?"

"Where is Sixth Uncle?"

Gu Jinnian's head was still a bit dazed. He used a bit of strength to sit up slightly, looking at the room full of people, and finally fixed his gaze on his mother, his eyes full of curiosity.

In the room.

Besides his mother Li, there were also Third Uncle, some family servants, and imperial physicians.

Before Li could answer.

Third Uncle's voice rang out.

"Doctor Xu, quickly check on Jinnian."

With Third Uncle's voice, Li immediately stood up, letting the imperial physician come to diagnose.

After a brief pulse-taking, Doctor Xu's expression was uncertain.

This made Li a bit anxious.

After the diagnosis, Li's voice rang out.

"Doctor Xu, how is my son?"

"Princess, the young master is fine, rather, he is full of energy. It seems that he has been eating too many tonics recently, causing discomfort in his body."

"During this period, the young master just needs to practice some physical exercises to release the yang energy in his body, and there will be no problem."

Doctor Xu spoke, giving the diagnosis.

But this statement surprised everyone, as no one expected that Gu Jinnian's sudden fainting was due to eating too many tonics.

This was a bit awkward.

On the bed, Gu Jinnian gradually returned to normal. He still had doubts and wanted to ask Sixth Uncle, so he looked at his mother and said.

"Mother."

"I'm fine, where is Sixth Uncle?"

Gu Jinnian asked curiously.

Hearing this, Third Uncle's voice rang out, not in a good mood.

"Your Sixth Uncle is being whipped by the old man, hanging from a tree."

"This guy didn't report back when he returned, but went straight home, and even made you have a headache. The old man said that if he doesn't whip him until he's skinless today, he won't let him off."

Third Uncle answered.

This made Gu Jinnian a bit confused.

Why would he be whipped for no reason?

But he quickly came to his senses!

The Gu family's rules were like this. No matter how dragon-like the Gu family members were, whether it was his father or Second Uncle and Third Uncle, if they did something wrong, they would be whipped, and whipped severely, hanging from the tree in front of the Marquis's mansion.

The servants saw it clearly, and sometimes if the whipping was severe, even people outside could hear the screams.

This was the Gu family's unique way of discipline.

"Jiannian, it's fine, don't worry about your Sixth Uncle. He's thick-skinned, a whipping won't hurt him."

"What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

Li spoke, looking at Gu Jinnian with a pained expression, not caring about Sixth Uncle's life at all.

"Mother, no need, I'm really fine."

"This has nothing to do with Sixth Uncle."

"I need to go talk to Grandfather."

Gu Jinnian was still curious about what was in his mind, and if he didn't stop Grandfather, Sixth Uncle would probably be whipped unconscious.

Thinking of this, Gu Jinnian couldn't help but get up, wanting to find Grandfather.

But at this moment, an unhappy voice rang out.

"What time is it, and you're still thinking about playing with your Sixth Uncle."

"Look at your peers, who isn't well-mannered and refined? You're like a wild child, always playing."

"I'm telling you, when you're better, you'll go to school tomorrow. If you don't get into the Great Xia Academy next month, I'll beat you to death."

With the unhappy voice, the door was pushed open, and the next moment, a middle-aged man entered.

The man looked heroic, though around forty years old, he exuded a sense of authority, a quality only those in high positions could possess.

This was Gu Jinnian's father, Gu Qianzhou, the Marquis of Linyang.

Facing this father, Gu Jinnian felt an instinctive fear.

Though he was an only child, deeply loved by the family, he still felt fear when facing his father.

Moreover, though the family doted on him, it didn't mean he could do whatever he wanted. If he really did something wrong, he would still be punished.

But Li's voice immediately rang out.

"What exam?"

"Jiannian just recovered from a serious illness, and you want him to go to school?"

"You can bear it, but I can't. If it doesn't work, I'll take Jiannian to the palace. Seeing you makes me upset. You're always out, not caring about your son. Are you even a father? Marrying you, I really must have been blind."

"Living with you for so many years, enduring so much委屈, I won't say a word, but now you want my son to suffer. Gu Qianzhou, listen to me, if you scare my son one more time, I'll leave right now. I don't believe I can't live without you."

"Jiannian, come, let's go to the palace. If anything happens, your uncle will support you."

Li became more and more agitated, her fiery temper showing. She loved Gu Jinnian deeply, and seeing him suffer from illness made her heartache. Hearing Gu Qianzhou's words, she immediately flared up.

She was about to take Gu Jinnian to the palace.

This made the situation awkward.

Especially for Gu Qianzhou, who was the Marquis of Linyang, but in terms of status, he couldn't compare to Gu Jinnian's mother, Li Wanjing.

A princess, and the current emperor's younger sister. If she were to suffer, the Gu family couldn't bear it.

"Big Sister, Big Sister, don't be angry."

"Jiannian just recovered, he can't move around yet."

"My big brother is just being unreasonable, don't listen to him."

Third Uncle quickly tried to calm her down, looking at his big brother with a displeased expression.

"Big Brother, I'm not saying this to be mean."

"Like father, like son, we're all martial experts. Why do you insist on making Jinnian study?"

"Besides, when you studied, you weren't even as good as Jinnian. Oh, you couldn't do it, but you want your descendants to do it?"

"Isn't that selfish?"

"Grandfather said that if Jinnian really can't study, it's fine. Our Gu family doesn't lack a scholar."

"Is it that serious?"

Third Uncle was a bit annoyed.

Though the Gu family had great power, they indeed hadn't produced any scholars, not that they couldn't read.

Mainly, they had no cultural bloodline. They could fight and practice martial arts, but studying was like a death sentence for them.

They had experienced this pain themselves and naturally didn't want the third generation to suffer the same.

Though they hoped the Gu family could produce a talented child, they couldn't force it.

Oh, if he can't, he should just give up?

Why don't you study?

Do you know what it means to lead by example?

In the room.

Gu Qianzhou was a bit confused.

He came in to maintain his fatherly authority, but he didn't want Gu Jinnian to suffer.

He also knew that a doting mother could spoil a child, so he came to discipline Gu Jinnian.

But he didn't expect his wife to explode.

Even more surprisingly, his third brother joined in to scold him?

Instantly, Gu Qianzhou got angry.

Good, so it's not your son? Just doting? If he's spoiled, it's not your problem?

I'll show you my position in this family today.

"Ridiculous."

"Truly, a doting mother spoils a child."

"These years, you've been too lenient, making Jinnian so frivolous."

"Do you know what people are saying about our Gu family?"

"Jinnian teased the daughter of the Minister of Rites, causing a scandal. At such a young age, he's already so despicable, and they say I didn't raise him well."

"If it weren't for Jinnian's serious illness, this matter wouldn't have been resolved so easily."

"Sending him to study is to teach him right from wrong. Are you happy that the third generation of the Gu family produces a frivolous child?"

Gu Qianzhou scolded.

This matter had indeed caused a lot of controversy, as the Great Xia was governed by Confucian principles and gentlemanly conduct.

Now, the entire capital was talking about this matter.

The gist was that Gu Jinnian, at such a young age, was like a hooligan, verbally teasing the daughter of the Minister of Rites.

In a sense, this wasn't a small matter.

Three years determine eighty.

If a young person is given such a bad reputation, it would be hard to wash it off later.

Especially with Gu Jinnian's strong family background, it could easily lead to gossip.

Fortunately, Gu Jinnian suffered a serious illness, otherwise, the Ministry of Rites and the scholars would not have been idle.

The conflict between scholars and martial experts was ongoing, and such an incident could cause significant trouble.

Being in a high position meant that every move could cause trouble.

But this family acted as if nothing was wrong.

How could he not be angry?

At this moment, Gu Qianzhou stood on the moral high ground, scolding everyone in the room.

This made Gu Jinnian a bit depressed.

He didn't say he wouldn't study, why did he become a street thug?

But there was a key point that Gu Jinnian敏锐地抓住了.

The daughter of the Minister of Rites was spreading rumors.

Since he had remembered the entire sequence of events.

There was indeed a dispute.

But the cause was not him, but the daughter of the Minister of Rites and others who provoked him, leading to a verbal conflict, and said some harsh words.

It wasn't teasing, just some childish insults.

It seemed that the daughter of the Minister of Rites was trying to avoid responsibility and frame him.

Good, really good.

"Father, I understand. I'll go to school tomorrow."

"Mother, don't argue with Father. After this incident, I've grown up a lot."

"But, Father, I remember everything. I didn't tease them, it was just a verbal conflict. They couldn't argue with me, so they pushed me into the water."

Gu Jinnian spoke, stopping the argument.

He could see that his mother had a fiery temper, and if he didn't say something, the argument would get worse.

He also clarified the matter.

Hearing this, everyone was surprised.

Whether it was Gu Qianzhou, Li, or Third Uncle, even the family servants, they didn't expect Gu Jinnian to be so obedient?

Moreover, this matter wasn't as rumored?

"You didn't tease them?"

"Good, this rascal Yang Kai, how dare he spread rumors?"

Instantly, Li exploded, almost in a rage.

Her son almost died and was falsely accused, how could she remain calm?

But the Marquis of Linyang frowned, looking at Gu Jinnian.

"Do you mean you didn't tease them first?"

He asked.

"Yes, I didn't tease them."

Gu Jinnian nodded firmly.

He wouldn't bear this injustice.

But after he spoke, Li became even angrier.

"Gu Qianzhou, why don't you send people to catch Yang Kai? This guy is a disgrace, a scholar who twists the truth."

Li's face turned pale, her eyes almost blazing with anger.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Who can say what really happened? I believe Jinnian wouldn't do such a thing."

"But Jinnian is known for being mischievous. Everyone in the capital knows. Yang Kai is the Minister of Rites, and his granddaughter is known for being well-behaved. Without evidence, it's a hundred mouths against one."

"But I will investigate this matter."

"Jinnian,