Chapter 1: The Zhuangyuan Makes His Dazzling Debut

In the Great Feng Dynasty, inside the courier inn where the Hanlin Academy's newly minted jinshi were staying.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu opened his eyes, and the scene before him left him astonished and confused.

He found himself in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by antiquated furniture and decorations; he was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, with straw sandals on his feet.

He also caught a damp smell of earth and timber, mingled with some unfamiliar incense.

He scrambled to his feet in a panic, nearly falling to the floor. "What the hell is this place?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu blurted out, only to find his voice had changed too. "Damn, what's wrong with my voice?"

He felt his hair and found it was a head of jet-black long hair, utterly unlike his original short hair. A chill ran through Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart; he understood completely now.

"Could it be... I've really transmigrated?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had been an ordinary college student who liked reading transmigration novels, but had never imagined he would have such an experience himself.

He had always felt transmigration was a fantasy of escaping reality, and he was a down-to-earth person.

He had a clear plan for his future — to take the graduate entrance exams, find a stable job, and live an ordinary yet happy life.

Yesterday, he had borrowed a book from the library called Transmigrating into a Fictional History, which described a poor scholar named Jiang Jiang Mingyu who, after placing first in the imperial exams as zhuangyuan, was chosen to enter the palace and became a renowned minister of his generation.

Because the protagonist described in the book happened to share his exact name and surname, Jiang Jiang Mingyu found the book very interesting and took it back to his dormitory, planning to read it at night.

That evening, lying in bed, he opened the book. He had only read a few pages when his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

He didn't know what had happened, only feeling as if some powerful force had sucked him away. He wanted to struggle, to cry for help, but couldn't make a sound.

At this moment his heart was filled with fear and confusion.

What on earth was going on?

Had he really transmigrated?

Was he really the Jiang Jiang Mingyu from the book?

Then what about his original identity and life?

What about his parents and friends?

Would they be worried about him?

Just as he was sinking into bewilderment, a man who introduced himself as "Magistrate Gao" lifted the door curtain and walked in.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu awake, Magistrate Gao said with a face full of joy: "My lord, you've finally woken up! It's been three days already; we all thought you were done for!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart jolted — three days?

Had he been unconscious here for a full three days?

He tried hard to sit up, only to find his whole body was weak, with almost no strength at all.

Magistrate Gao hurried forward to support him, saying: "Don't rush, my lord. You've only just regained consciousness; your body is still very weak."

"Exactly why am I here?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked, puzzled.

Magistrate Gao then slowly explained that three days ago Jiang Jiang Mingyu had placed first in the imperial exams as zhuangyuan, and after returning to the courier inn where the new jinshi were staying, he had suddenly collapsed, frightening everyone into quickly summoning a doctor.

The doctor said it was caused by overexcitement combined with prolonged exhaustion, and that he needed quiet rest.

Therefore, everyone had been looking after Jiang Jiang Mingyu; fortunately, he had finally woken up today!

Through the window, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could see the street outside, where people hurried past in plain clothes.

On either side of the street stood rows of shabby little shops, with stall-keepers busy running their businesses.

From an alley in the distance came the sound of simple folk songs and children's laughter, as if he had returned to an ancient, bustling era.

A strange emotion welled up in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart — he had to accept reality now, and understand that he had been cast into this new time and space.

"My God, is all this real?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes went wide as he stared in shock at the bustling crowd outside the window. "Have I really come to ancient times?"

A tidal wave of memories surged in, giving him no chance to react, forcefully inserting themselves into his brain and flowing rapidly.

Surname Jiang, given name Jiang Mingyu, courtesy name Jiang Xingqiu, a native of East Prefecture, Nanping Circuit.

Twenty-seven years old this year, the newly minted zhuangyuan of the Great Feng Dynasty.

His thoughts began to recall the history he had gleaned from the Jiang Jiang Mingyu he had transmigrated into — this world was under the rule of a feudal dynasty, with no human rights, and for a poor scholar to make something of himself was no easy matter.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu lost in thought, Magistrate Gao said softly: "My lord, you should rest more. You are now the newly minted zhuangyuan. If you need any service or have any requests, please do tell me; we will do our best to satisfy your requirements."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu came back to himself and gave a slight nod.

Seeing this, Magistrate Gao withdrew from the room, leaving Jiang Jiang Mingyu alone to think.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu lay in bed, his mind a whirl of thoughts.

How was he to face this sudden change before him?

How was he to establish himself in this entirely new era?

How was he to avoid altering the course of history?

How was he to return to his original time and space?

Question after question came rushing in, leaving him at a loss.

"Sigh, what on earth am I supposed to do?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu knit his brows. "What if I can never go back?"

Yet reality was so cruel; Jiang Jiang Mingyu understood he was now lost in this ancient era, and returning seemed nothing short of a pipe dream.

"System?"

After a moment of silence, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's tentative voice rang out in the quiet room.

The system ignored him.

"System... System Daddy, come out." Jiang Jiang Mingyu's voice was edged with urgency.

Silence, nothing.

No system — there was actually no system!

Damn, there's no cheat ability at all — what am I supposed to do!

"But at least the opening didn't drop me onto some beggar; it's not hell mode at the very least."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sighed softly to comfort himself; his new life had quietly begun at this most unexpected moment.

From today onward, he would play the part of this poor-scholar-turned-zhuangyuan well, and in this brand-new world, he would begin the legend that belonged to him.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu understood that a brand-new journey of life was officially about to begin!

All of this seemed to be destined by fate.

Although his heart was still filled with fear, Jiang Jiang Mingyu realized that before him there was only one path: accept reality and strive to survive.

He had to play this new identity well, to carve out a career in this ancient era—only this way might he have a chance to return to the spacetime that belonged to him.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu drew in a deep breath. From today onward, he would start over here!

"Zhuangyuan Jiang Jiang Mingyu"—with that, he takes the stage!