Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Late autumn of the twentieth year of the Yongle reign.

The autumn wind in Shuntian Prefecture carried a hint of desolation, and the old locust tree at the foot of the imperial city shed its last withered yellow leaf.

Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, had already led a large army beyond the Great Wall, beginning his third northern expedition.

All the political affairs of the court fell on the shoulders of the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, who was in charge of the country.

The library of the Bureau of Scriptures is like an isolated island forgotten by time, remaining quiet and still despite the changing world outside.

At the exact moment of Mao Shi (5-7 AM), the water droplets from the copper water clock fell gently.

Gu Yannian, dressed in the blue official robes of a fifth-rank official, stepped steadily into the pavilion.

He walked to his desk and skillfully ground ink and prepared paper.

[Ding! Today's attendance complete. Attribute point gained +1.]

"Add to Agility."

Gu Yannian silently recited in his heart.

As a cool and refreshing energy coursed through his body, his various attributes had already steadily surpassed the 1,600-point mark.

If he were to exert his full strength at this moment, his figure would transform into a streak of light so fast that even a fleeting afterimage would be impossible to capture.

But he has always kept a low profile.

He used all his extraordinary abilities to do trivial things to pass the time.

For example, organizing this vast collection of books.

These past few days, Gu Yannian has been complaining that the cleaning done by Old Manager Wang and his several mute servants is not clean enough.

Those ancient books, accumulated over the years, always have a musty smell.

So he decided to take advantage of the quiet of the night and do it himself.

With astonishing speed and a photographic memory.

He completed the three-story pavilion with tens of thousands of books in just three nights.

They were reorganized and arranged according to classics, histories, philosophical works, literary collections, dynasties, and authors.

Not only that, he also used his internal strength to shake off the dust from each row of bookshelves, making them spotless.

Looking at the newly renovated and neatly arranged bookshelves in front of me.

Gu Yannian sat back in his armchair with satisfaction, brewed a pot of Mengding Ganlu (a type of sweet dew), and casually opened a book of strange tales from the previous dynasty.

He's now enjoying some peace and quiet.

Little did he know that his impulsive act had driven some people lurking in the shadows to the brink of madness.

In the afternoon, the sunlight slanted into the first floor of the library.

A fair-skinned eunuch with sparkling eyes was holding a basin of pruning shears for trimming bonsai trees.

Under the pretext of delivering flowers and plants to various parts of the Eastern Palace, he quietly slipped into the library.

This little eunuch was named Xiao Shunzi, and ostensibly he was a servant in the flower room of the East Palace.

In reality, it was a spy planted by Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui, beside the crown prince.

Although the Prince of Zhao had been reprimanded by the Yongle Emperor, his ambition to seize the throne remained undiminished.

They often took advantage of the fact that the library of the Bureau of Scriptures was rarely visited, using it as a base for transmitting intelligence.

Xiao Shunzi easily found his way to the third row of bookshelves on the far east side of the first floor.

As agreed, the secret letters sent from outside the Prince Zhao's residence would be tucked inside the fifth volume of the Zizhi Tongjian on the third layer.

He swallowed hard, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then hurriedly reached for the book.

Xiao Shunzi froze the moment his hand touched the spine of the book.

The Zizhi Tongjian, which should have been placed here, is missing.

Instead, there was a whole row of neatly bound volumes of the "Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Ming Dynasty".

"Is this a ghost?"

Xiao Shunzi rubbed his eyes, thinking he had misremembered the location, and quickly started searching up, down, left, and right.

He searched the entire bookshelf, sweating profusely with anxiety, but couldn't find even a trace of the secret letter.

The books in this library seem to have been bewitched, their positions completely changed.

If he fails to obtain the secret letter and jeopardizes His Highness Prince Zhao's important affairs, he will lose his head.

Just as Xiao Shunzi was getting anxious like an ant on a hot pan, a gentle voice suddenly came from above his head asking a question.

"Sir, are you looking for any books?"

Xiao Shunzi was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.

He suddenly looked up and saw the railing on the second floor.

The official in charge of the Bureau of Justice, Lord Gu, was holding a cup of tea, looking down at him with a calm expression.

"This servant...this servant greets Lord Gu!"

Xiao Shunzi stammered as cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

"This servant works in the flower room. I noticed that there was some dust on this bookshelf, and I was thinking of wiping it off for you, sir."

A faint smile appeared on Gu Yannian's lips.

His amazing hearing allowed him to clearly hear the little eunuch's rapid breathing and the subtle sounds of turning the pages of the book.

Moreover, the Zizhi Tongjian that the little eunuch had just been looking through had already been categorized into the history section on the second floor two days ago.

As for the note filled with coded messages tucked inside, he disliked it, thinking it would ruin the paper's smoothness.

I casually pulled it out and threw it into the wastepaper basket.

Last night, I joined the fallen leaves in lighting a fire and brewing tea.

"You're too kind, sir. However, I just rearranged the books in this pavilion yesterday, classifying them according to classics, history, philosophy, and literature. If you're looking for a book, simply tell me its name, and I'll find it for you."

"If you rummage through them and mess up the order, I will be angry."

Gu Yannian spoke in a calm and unhurried tone, yet it carried an inexplicable air of authority.

"No...no need! This servant takes her leave!"

Xiao Shunzi felt as if he had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the library.

Watching the little eunuch's disheveled figure, Gu Yannian shook his head.

The walls inside this imperial palace are drafty.

But he didn't want to get involved in these things. As long as they didn't disturb him while he was drinking tea and reading, he didn't care who was delivering secret letters to whom.

Two days later, the library welcomed an unexpected guest.

This man was not old, probably in his early twenties, wearing a slightly worn blue scholar's robe, and his posture was as upright as a pine tree.

He had a lean face with sword-like eyebrows that reached his temples.

His eyes shone like stars, exuding an indomitable and heroic spirit.

The young man, carrying a thick stack of documents, strode into the library.

Upon seeing Gu Yannian, he merely bowed slightly in a half-bowing manner.

He walked straight to an empty table in the corner of the first floor, put down the documents heavily, ground the ink, picked up the brush, and began to write furiously.

Gu Yannian sat on the second floor, observing the young man with great interest.

He recognized most of the officials in the Eastern Palace, but the person in front of him was a complete stranger.

Judging from his demeanor, he is not the kind of person who is slick and worldly.

Instead, it's like a sharp sword that has just been drawn from its sheath and hasn't yet learned to conceal its edge.

"This young man has a strong and vigorous writing style, and his words reveal a sharp and decisive spirit. He is a promising talent. However, this temperament may cause him great trouble in officialdom."

Gu Yannian silently commented to himself.

He walked slowly down the stairs and came to the young man's table.

"This gentleman looks unfamiliar. May I ask which ministry he serves in? And what is his task at the Bureau of Justice?"

Gu Yannian asked in a gentle tone.

The young man put down his pen and looked up.

He looked directly at Gu Yannian and answered stiffly:

"My name is Yu Qian, courtesy name Tingyi. I was a Jinshi in the Xin Chou year of the Yongle reign. I was originally serving in the Censorate, but I submitted a memorial to the throne to impeach the Ministry of Works for its extravagant spending on timber procurement and its harassment of the people. This angered my superiors, and I was punished by being sent to this place to copy old documents from the previous dynasty for a month as a warning to others."

Yu Qian!

A ripple flickered in the depths of Gu Yannian's calm eyes.

It was him.

Decades later, in the desperate situation of the Tumu Crisis, that person turned the tide and saved the collapsing empire.

He was the Ming Dynasty prime minister who wrote "Ode to Limestone" to express his aspirations and save the world.

Right now, I'm just a greenhorn who's being bullied for speaking out for justice.

Looking at the young man with a face full of indignation, Gu Yannian couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

The backbone of the Ming Dynasty was supported by such a group of unyielding and indomitable people.