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

Chapter 426: Imperial Examination (Part 1)

The Guo family's house was a large house with five courtyards. Zhang Ping'an followed the servants all the way to the guest house.

On the way, we also met a few maids and old women who were responsible for cleaning.

The garden is kept clean and tidy.

When Zhang Ping'an arrived, Mr. Fan was feeding the thrush in the cage under the eaves, looking quite relaxed.

"This bird is really well raised," Zhang Pingan couldn't help but praise.

Although he knew nothing about birds, he could tell from the bird's bright and flawless feathers and its bright black eyes that it was well cared for.

Mr. Fan took the handkerchief from the servant, wiped his hands clean, and said with a smile: "I brought this from Nanjing. It's just right to keep me company!"

Then he called Zhang Pingan and said, "Come in and sit down!"

After the two sat down in the side hall, a servant came up to serve them tea.

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "It's quiet here. It's a good place to study!"

Mr. Fan took a sip from his teacup and said, "Yes, my uncle has high hopes for me in this imperial examination and specially arranged this side courtyard for me."

"How are you doing in Jinling?"

"Jinling is just like Lin'an, with many aristocratic families. Many people who migrated from the north to the south crowded into Jinling and seized many resources of the local aristocratic families. So in the beginning, the aristocratic families in the north and south did not get along very harmoniously. It has been much better since last year. Life is definitely not comparable to what it was like in the county town before, but it is still much better than that of ordinary people," said Mr. Fan calmly.

Then he smiled again and said, "When I first arrived in Lin'an, I was wondering if I could run into anyone I knew, and then I actually ran into you!"

Zhang Pingan also smiled: "This is all thanks to the letter you left for me. After I read the letter, I returned to my hometown, picked up my relatives and went to the provincial capital together. Then we took a boat from the provincial capital to the provincial capital. The situation was not so critical at the time. We took a boat from the provincial capital across the river to Yuezhou, and settled in Yuezhou for half a year. Later, Yuezhou was not doing well, so I thought of going to Lin'an to seek refuge with a classmate of mine. After all, Lin'an is at the foot of the emperor and it is much more peaceful. Finally, I settled down in Lin'an. Speaking of which, two years have passed quite quickly."

"This is all your good fortune," Mr. Fan said with a smile, not taking any credit for it. "Next, I'll also go to the provincial school and audit classes for a while. Now we can be considered half classmates!"

"That's great. We will have more opportunities to meet each other in the future and can discuss academic matters from time to time." Zhang Ping'an was really happy. Mr. Fan was considered a noble person in his life.

"Ping'an, there's no need for that. I just regard this exam as my last chance and I'm not obsessed with it. You should still put yourself first. With the support of the Qian family and your youth, you will definitely go much further than me in the future," said Mr. Fan, waving his hand.

Zhang Pingan knew that the other party meant well, so he said helplessly, "Then we can have lunch and chat together at noon, okay?"

Mr. Fan stroked his beard and laughed, "Of course!"

After they chatted for a while, Zhang Pingan realized that apart from Mr. Fan and Lin Junhui's families who were in Jinling, most of the other wealthy families in the county were also in Jinling, including the family of County Magistrate Tan.

"Your former classmate is the nephew of County Magistrate Tan. I wonder if you still remember him. He is currently studying in the provincial school in Jinling. He ranked third on the secondary list in last year's provincial examination and almost passed the imperial examination. It's such a pity!" said Mr. Fan.

"I remember him. Although he has a bad temper, he has a good understanding of books and is a bit arrogant. However, as the saying goes, there is life, there is hope. He is not old and still has many opportunities." Zhang Pingan was quite surprised to hear the news.

After all, being able to rank third on the sub-list shows that one’s strength is not bad.

Based on his understanding of this classmate, he must be furious with the results of the provincial examination.

"That's true, but times have changed. If you can enter the officialdom, you should do so as soon as possible. Who can predict what will happen in the future? In today's world, it's really hard to move forward without some power. If you can't withstand any storm, you will be at the mercy of others if you make the slightest mistake," said Mr. Fan meaningfully.

Zhang Pingan knew that this had a lot to do with the instability on the front line.

After all, Jinling is close to the river.

"Killing one person is a crime, but slaughtering ten thousand people is a crime, those who steal a hook will be executed, but those who steal a country will be made a marquis. There are many people who are ready to make a move. I understand this. Thank you for your advice." Zhang Pingan bowed solemnly to express his gratitude.

Mr. Fan smiled and didn't respond, changing the subject: "What a pity, you're already married in Lin'an, otherwise I really want to betroth my daughter to you!"

Zhang Pingan was embarrassed and laughed dryly, "I'm just not lucky enough to be worthy of your daughter."

It was already late, and it was not convenient for Zhang Ping'an to continue disturbing him, so he got up and said goodbye.

Anyway, we will be attending classes at the same state school in the future, so we will have many opportunities to meet.

When Zhang Ping'an went to the provincial school for class the next day, he found that Mr. Fan and his brother-in-law Mr. Huang had indeed gone to Class B of Shangshe together.

Seeing this, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but think of his teacher Han Juren, his senior brothers Pan Shibei, and his second senior brothers Liu Wenchang. He wondered where they were now.

If he were in the south, with my eldest brother's knowledge, he would have been on the list of the provincial examination last year, and he should have come to participate in this imperial examination.

I wonder if the two will ever meet again.

I hope everything is well with everyone!

Time passed by unknowingly, and it was early February, the day of Zhang Pingan's exam.

This time it’s a real leap forward!

In the past month, Zhang Laoer and Xu have brought back many Buddha statues and Bodhisattvas. They have placed all the statues of gods they remembered at home, burning incense and praying devoutly every day. They even go to the farm less often.

On the first and fifteenth day of every month, I would go to the temple to donate incense and oil money. This was learned from the women in other wealthy families.

The main thing is to seek peace of mind!

A major event also happened at the beginning of this month. The rebels in the north sent two groups of sailors to sneak into the south from Jiangning Pass and Xiakou Pass respectively, intending to destroy the defenses along the line.

Fortunately, it was discovered in time and no serious consequences were caused.

Jiang Fengping's uncle also died in this battle.

It can be seen from this incident that the confrontation across the river will not last much longer and the balance is about to be broken.

A large number of nobles who had been living in Jinling began to flock to Lin'an, housing prices became more expensive, and land in the east of the city became even more expensive.

Daya and the others were glad that they bought the house in advance.

Uncle Xu regretted it so much that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. He quickly borrowed some money from Mrs. Xu and emptied out all his family savings before he finally bought a small courtyard in a relatively remote location in the north of the city.

These are what Xu kept saying to Zhang Ping'an and Qian Youyi, which was equivalent to getting the borrowed money back in a clear way.

The young couple actually didn’t care about this at all. They knew how much the old man spent on his money and just watched over the arrangements.

"Mom, are there too many things to prepare this time?" Zhang Ping'an looked at the two huge exam baskets and felt a headache.

Judging from the size, it was probably custom-made by my dad.

The examination room was so small that once the two baskets were placed there, he had no place to step.

Mrs. Xu quickly explained, "Son, it's still cold now. The frost is very strong. If you don't bring some candles and firewood, you won't be able to withstand it!"