Chapter One: It Was All Old Zhu’s Fault

Yanzhou Prefecture, Teng County.

Gu Zhengchen gazed out at the night sky, a vast expanse of countless stars illuminating the serene world with a chilling clarity.

He couldn't understand it—really couldn't. It was just soaking in a hot spring and reciting a line from Li Bai’s poem: “The divine maiden perished in a secluded realm, the hot spring flows like a mighty river.” How on earth did that cause him to be transported through time?

Old Li, you are the immortal poet, not an actual immortal. Send me back! I want to return beneath the red banner…

“Ma De Cao?”

Gu Qingqing, with a tender, youthful face, looked at her brother worriedly. He was calling out that name again. Three days ago, he had jumped into the lake, pointing at the sun and repeating that name for a long time.

But in Dayan Village, there was no one with the surname Ma…

Aunt Hu said her brother had lost his mind from shock. No, their mother had said he was just afflicted with a strange illness.

“It’s all the court’s fault!”

Gu Qingqing whispered fiercely, teeth clenched, filled with resentment.

Gu Zhengchen looked up at the stars and nodded solemnly.

Indeed, it was all the court’s fault—more precisely, it was all Old Zhu’s fault.

It was now the fourth month of the sixth year of the Hongwu era.

Three years ago, in the fifth month of the third year of Hongwu, Old Zhu issued the imperial edict for the imperial examinations, grandly proclaiming, “Special imperial examinations will be held to recruit talented and virtuous men,” “to evaluate their learning and rank them accordingly, appointing them to official posts,” and ordered all provinces to hold the exams for three consecutive years to select talent.

Probably because too many were selected in the third and fourth years of Hongwu, there were fewer candidates by the fifth year. Even someone like Gu Zhengchen, who was not particularly scholarly, passed the provincial exam that year.

Passing the exam was a blessing, a joyous event. Not only did more people fawn over the Gu family, but Gu Zhengchen also secured a marriage contract with the third Miss Zhao. Hearing that the Gu family lacked the funds to travel to the capital for the metropolitan exam, Wang Fugui’s family generously lent them forty strings of cash.

The metropolitan exam, also called the spring exam, was held in the second month. To attend, Gu Zhengchen, then in Teng County of Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong, had to set out in the bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month, braving wind and snow to travel nearly a thousand li to Nanjing.

Finally arriving in Nanjing, he purchased brand-new paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones, eagerly preparing for the exam, just one step away from entering the Ming government.

Then…

Old Zhu issued a most unkind decree: “I sincerely seek talented men, but the world responds with empty words. Thus, all imperial examinations in various regions shall be suspended…”

In other words:

The exams were canceled; everyone should return home.

Gu Zhengchen was dealt a harsh blow by Old Zhu, and the Gu family was broken by him as well.

Old Zhu, could you not handle your affairs properly? If you weren’t going to hold the exams, why not notify us two months earlier? The travel expenses were spent, the supplies purchased, the inn rented, and half the funds gone—now you send us home?

There was no choice; Old Zhu was capricious.

Gu Zhengchen returned home despondently with only three strings of cash left. The news of the exam’s cancellation spread in Teng County. Everyone knew: no exams meant no scholars or successful candidates; those titles became meaningless.

The sycophants vanished, the Zhao family distanced themselves, never mentioning the marriage contract again. Wang Fugui’s family remembered the forty strings of cash they had lent and harshly took the Gu family’s old ox, forcing them to sell all ten acres of land, still owing six strings of cash and frequently demanding repayment.

While Fan Jin’s success in the exam brought many benefits, Gu Zhengchen’s success led directly to bankruptcy.

He might as well have been old Fan…

Unable to bear it, Gu Zhengchen jumped into the lake. When he was pulled out, the original Gu Zhengchen was gone, replaced by the Gu Zhengchen from the future.

In his eyes, it was all Old Zhu’s fault that the Gu family had fallen into such ruin!

If Old Zhu had notified them earlier about the exam cancellation, the Gu family wouldn’t have had to borrow such a huge sum to travel for the exam.

If Old Zhu had not canceled the exams, even if Gu Zhengchen hadn’t passed, and couldn’t repay the debt in a year, Wang Fugui wouldn’t have dared to pressure a scholar of the court so harshly, and the family wouldn’t have sunk so low.

Alas, there were no “ifs.”

Gu Zhengchen wiped the tears from the tear-streaked face of the sleeping Gu Qingqing.

This was no dream, but the harsh, cold reality.

This was no longer the twenty-first century, but the turbulent Hongwu era, a time of storms and bloodshed soon to come. This was no easy dynasty to live under…

He must pull himself together. A man born beneath heaven must strive to achieve and make a difference.

The next morning, Gu Zhengchen was awakened by a commotion.

“Don’t come near me!”

Gu Qingqing held a sickle, stepping back as Wang Youcheng advanced.

Wang Youcheng was the son of Wang Fugui, a scholar with a pointed face and a leering expression. He was looking at Gu Qingqing with a lecherous gaze. There was no denying, the young lady was charming and lovely, and her bright eyes, when filled with sorrow, were all the more captivating.

“Miss Gu, this is a contract for selling yourself as a servant. If you just press your seal here, you’ll become my household maid, and all your brother’s debts will be wiped clean. How about that?”

Wang Youcheng deftly pulled a contract from his sleeve and unfurled it before Gu Qingqing.

She hesitated, struggling with the decision.

Seeing her wavering, Wang Youcheng’s heart leapt with joy and he quickly said, “Your mother went to the Zhao family yesterday to borrow money. She knelt outside their door for two hours, but they didn’t even open it. No one in Teng County will lend you six strings of cash. Your mother doesn’t want to sell you, but as a daughter, shouldn’t you understand your mother’s hardship?”

Gu Qingqing’s heart ached; her mother had indeed pleaded with the Zhao family.

Wang Youcheng stepped closer and continued, “Think about it. If you come with me, you’ll have enough to eat, and your mother won’t have to beg anymore. If you serve me well and keep me comfortable, maybe I’ll ask my father to give your brother two acres of land. At least life could go on. You don’t want your mother and brother to starve to death, do you?”

Gu Qingqing stumbled back to the doorstep, nearly falling, tears streaming down her face. He was right. Food was scarce at home. Neighbors had helped, but they wouldn’t survive the summer without more.

“I…I…” she bit her lip hard, then steeled herself. “Return my family’s ten acres of land, and I will press my seal… and go with you.”

Wang Youcheng’s heart stirred. He took a step back and told his attendant to bring the red ink pad. “Once you sign this contract, I’ll go back and have my father return your family’s land. Hurry, your mother might come back and refuse again.”

Dropping the sickle, Gu Qingqing took heavy steps forward.

The attendant handed her the bright red ink. Slowly, she extended her right hand, curled four fingers, and pressed her thumb onto the ink pad.

The attendant turned away discreetly. Wang Youcheng slapped the contract onto the attendant’s back and said to Gu Qingqing, “You’re selling yourself to save your mother and brother. You’re a filial and devoted girl. Everyone will praise you. Hurry and press the seal.”

Gu Qingqing raised her hand, staring at the contract, hesitating, her heart torn in agony.

“Seal it now!”

Seeing her hesitation, Wang Youcheng seized her hand and forcefully pressed it onto the contract!

Bang!

A hand suddenly shot out from beside them, gripping Wang Youcheng’s wrist firmly. A low voice sounded:

“Scholar Wang, do you want to buy my sister? Did you ask me, her brother, first?”