The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

In times of chaos, military officers always have more say than civil officials.

The Great Xia Dynasty has always valued culture over military affairs, but since the complete fall of the north, this trend has improved.

From the bits and pieces of talk he heard from his classmates, Zhang Pingan could feel that the imperial court still valued civil officials over military officials, but now it had to promote military officers. It was an awkward situation where they had to be wary of military officers but also had to use them. If they wanted to recover the lost territories in the north, the road would be difficult and arduous!

After the protagonist appeared, there was a series of entertainment activities. First, there was a flying flower order. Zhang Pingan's performance was mediocre, neither outstanding nor disappointing.

Then they played the zither, drank tea, wrote poetry, viewed paintings, and finally even played pitching pots.

Zhang Pingan’s favorite entertainment is this one. It’s very challenging and allows him to get up and move around, which is great!

Classmate Zhong, who was in charge of paying the money to organize the event, was really generous. The arrows used for tossing the pot were actually feather arrows made of jujube wood. The ends of the arrows were inlaid with gold foil and were well-made. He would give the arrows that were thrown outside the pot to the servants with a wave of his hand.

This is real money!

The servants all loved to do this job, and they happily competed to pick up the arrows that the students threw out of the pot.

At noon, they had a prepared cold meal, which was also a salad. The chef was very skilled. Zhang Ping'an tried all kinds of dishes and was 70% full.

The morning passed like this.

The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon, neither too hot nor too cold. Everyone changed into their sportswear and played Cuju. Since they were all young people with a strong competitive spirit, they played until the afternoon.

Zhang Ping'an was also sweating, and an attendant brought clean hot cloths on a tray to wipe everyone's sweat.

The style of the paintings was normal during the day, but when Zhang Pingan got on the pleasure boat after having afternoon tea, he was truly amazed.

The pleasure boat moored on the shore has three floors, is about 25 meters long and 8 meters wide. The hull is painted red and green, with silk curtains and colored glass inlaid on the windows, which sparkle in the setting sun.

Walking into the boat, you will find that it is decorated even more luxuriously and exquisitely. The tables and chairs are all made of sandalwood, with fine carvings and various exquisite patterns and auspicious patterns. There are also many calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, thick Persian carpets covering the wooden floor, and incense rising from the incense burner.

Before everyone sat down, beautiful maids in cool clothes came in one after another, holding teacups and serving tea to everyone one by one. The fragrance of tea instantly filled the air.

Zhang Ping'an didn't know much about tea, so he picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling the fragrance lingering on his lips and teeth, and feeling very refreshed.

"Good tea, it's authentic pre-rain Longjing," someone praised.

It turned out to be Rain-Previous Longjing. The name was quite appropriate, Zhang Pingan thought.

"I have also arranged some good musicians and singers. If any of you want to drink and listen to music, please follow me to the third floor," said classmate Zhong, who was in charge of organizing the event, in an ambiguous tone.

There were many responses.

Zhang Ping'an was very self-conscious and did not join in the fun. In the end, only a few people who usually sat in the last row did not go up. After the others went upstairs, they smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.

Soon, the sound of stringed instruments and the loud singing of singing girls could be heard from upstairs, as clear and melodious as jade plates.

As the pleasure boat slowly moved forward and entered the Wutang River, the scenery on both sides of the river slowly unfolded like a scroll.

The sunset glow on the horizon is gorgeous and dazzling, the hills in the distance are undulating, willows are swaying on the nearby shore, the river surface is sparkling, and occasionally small fish jump out of the water, splashing a string of water.

There are many maids and followers left on the first floor. If you want to eat or drink something, just give the order. The few people left on the first floor are now more comfortable.

As the boat sailed farther and farther, the sun set and night fell, a servant lit up all the lights on the three floors of the pleasure boat, and in an instant the boat was brightly lit.

There were other painting studios on the river, and they all lit up their lights.

Under the starry sky, the river surface is beautiful.

Not knowing when it would end, Zhang Ping'an planned to find an empty room on the second floor to sleep for a while.

The people who were having fun were all on the third floor. There were many empty rooms on the second floor. Zhang Pingan randomly picked a room and lay down in his clothes.

Not long after I fell asleep, I suddenly heard a chaotic sound of footsteps above my head, followed by a loud noise and the sound of swords clashing, as well as the screams of my classmates. Something must have happened on the third floor!

Zhang Ping'an was startled and stood up immediately. Unsure of what was going on, he looked around but couldn't find any suitable weapon.

Before I could come up with a solution, footsteps were heard at the stairs on the second floor, followed by the sound of doors opening one after another.

There were not many people on the second floor, and the other party came to Zhang Ping'an's room very quickly. As soon as he opened the door, he was hit by a sandalwood chair and staggered a few steps.

Zhang Ping'an originally wanted to hit the other person's head, but the other person reacted quickly and dodged, so he only hit the shoulder.

While the other party was staggering, Zhang Ping'an quickly took out the paper cutter he had just found on the desk from his sleeve and slashed it straight towards the other party's neck.

The paper cutter was only three inches long. It had just penetrated half an inch when it was pinched by the opponent's hand. Blood immediately flowed from the opponent's hands and throat.

Although the other party's reaction was not slow, the throat is a vital part of his life and it was obvious that he was in danger of survival.

Zhang Ping'an clearly felt that the other person's grip on his hand was getting weaker and weaker, until it slowly slipped away.

He acted decisively and hit the man's head a few more times with the inkstone, and only let go after putting his hand on his nose to make sure he was dead.

He was dressed in black, with his head and mouth covered. He didn't look like a good person, so Zhang Ping'an felt at ease in dealing with him.

At this time, the screams from upstairs had not stopped yet. Zhang Ping'an quietly opened the window a little, stuck to the edge and looked down. He saw that the classmates and maids on the first floor had already fallen in a pool of blood, dying silently.

I listened carefully to the noise on the third floor and it was obvious that the guards were screaming more loudly. It seemed that they were probably defeated.

It is not advisable to stay here for a long time. Hiding is not an option. The pleasure boat is so small that there is nowhere to hide.

Zhang Pingan took a deep breath and decided to jump!