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

"I am a little curious," Zhang Pingan nodded, then shook his head and smiled, "But you should know me by now. I'm not that curious. I only focus on the present. After marrying you, I feel that my life is very good, and you are also very good. Other things are actually not that important."

Qian Youyi looked at her husband, whose expression was gentle under the candlelight, and smiled softly, "I know, but there are some things I've suppressed in my heart for so long that I always hope someone can share my burdens with me. I was planning to talk to you in a couple of days, when we've been married for a year, but tonight I suddenly feel very lucky and happy. Maybe tonight is the right time for us to chat. Are you willing to listen to me?"

"Of course, as long as you want to talk, I'm always willing to listen." Zhang Pingan put clothes on his wife and himself again, put on a listening expression, and said seriously: "Go ahead!"

"Puchi", Qian Youyi couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh when he saw Zhang Pingan like this, and he felt a little more relaxed.

Then he spoke slowly, "Although I am the second daughter of the Qian family, and I seem extremely noble as a legitimate daughter, there are simply too many children in my family. My mother alone gave birth to six children, and my father and aunts also had many children. Adding my illegitimate brothers and sisters, there are a total of 28 children in my generation. Because I was born weak, my father would favor me a little, but he had too many children and was busy with official duties, so this favoritism was very limited. Most of the time, I was alone in my own courtyard. As time went by, it was really lonely!"

Looking at his wife's melancholy face, Zhang Pingan patted her hand soothingly: "Anyway, this is all over."

"Yes, it's over, but I really found it very difficult to endure at that time. The deep loneliness was a chronic poison. I couldn't die but I couldn't live well either. My mother and aunts were afraid that other children would be infected with the disease, so they didn't allow them to play with me. I didn't go out on the street for the first time until I was eight years old and felt the fresh breath of life," Qian Youyi smiled.

Then he tilted his head and asked gently, "By the way, do you still remember that kid named Lu Yi, the one who sold herself in front of the bookstore to bury her father?"

"Him?" Zhang Ping'an raised his eyebrows. "Of course I remember. He's the only person who ever lay on my lap and said he would sell himself to bury his father. I have a deep memory of him!"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Pingan came to his senses, stroked his forehead, and asked, "You didn't send him there, did you? I remember that at that time, I had no connection with the Qian family!"

"Yes and no," Qian Youyi replied.

Zhang Ping'an had an expression on his face as if he was listening attentively. He was really curious at this moment. To be honest, Lu Yi's matter was too strange. He had been suspicious for a long time, but he didn't suspect anyone that it might be Qian Youyi.

"Have you forgotten the Luming Feast? My father praised you to me back then!"

"I see, I never thought my father-in-law would remember me after just one meeting." Zhang Ping'an nodded in realization, then jokingly said, "So your family has been eyeing me for so long!"

"Well, my father did mention it at the time," Qian Youyi nodded, and then explained the matter of Lu Yi: "But that kid, he was selling himself on the street to bury his father. I happened to meet him and felt sorry for him, so I gave him some money to go back and bury his father. Unexpectedly, I saw you seemed to be going to the bookstore, so I thought of letting him go and test you. My future husband can be poor, but he must have good character!"

"What was the cause of his father's death? I heard from the human trafficker that it seemed like some symptoms of poisoning," Zhang Pingan recalled.

"That has nothing to do with me. It is said that his father has been suffering from a cold for a long time, and has some other diseases of unknown cause. The doctor couldn't diagnose it, so he prescribed some Wu Shi San for his father to relieve the pain. If you take too much of this medicine, you will have some symptoms of poisoning," Qian Youyi said.

"I see. I suspected this was a conspiracy at the time," Zhang Pingan laughed. "You were also the one who arranged the child's whereabouts, right? You did a good deed, giving him a place to stay."

"Well, I asked my elder brother to arrange it," Qian Youyi admitted honestly.

"Then what's the matter with you going to the audition?"

Asked about this, Qian Youyi's smile faded a little: "In fact, my father had already heard about the selection, and going to the palace was just a formality. It is impossible for the Qian family to have a daughter enter the palace as a concubine at the moment. My father had already bribed the eunuchs in the palace to make me lose the selection.

However, women who are selected in the selection should not be too ostentatious when remarrying.

With my physique, marrying into another aristocratic family of equal status would not have been very good. Secondly, it was a sensitive period at the time, and my father didn't want to be suspected of taking sides through arranged marriages. Thirdly, conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and sisters-in-law are inevitable in wealthy families. I have seen too many of them since I was a child, and I am tired of dealing with such struggles in the harem, so I simply asked my father to find someone of lower status to marry.

That's why my father started looking for a husband for me in advance.

To be honest, with my background and body, I am not very smart or ambitious. Once something happens, I am destined to become an outcast of the family. The emperor is still young, and the selection is just a means to win over narrow families. Giving away a concubine is a slap in the face of the royal family. After choosing and choosing, I am the most suitable person in the family. I have already realized this!

I don't hate my father. If I hadn't been born in the Qian family, I might have died a long time ago. But it still hurts to be the one who was abandoned! "

"Alas, every family has its own problems. Don't be sad. You will be a mother soon." Zhang Ping'an picked up the handkerchief and gently helped wipe her tears.

"I'm fine, it's just that I still feel sad when I recall the past. I feel like I'm a little pitiful, but compared with these ordinary people out there, I'm afraid you can say that I don't know how lucky I am," Qian Youyi smiled. She didn't even realize that she had cried unconsciously.

"Come to think of it, I have to thank His Majesty for the selection, otherwise how could I have the good fortune to marry you," Zhang Pingan joked.

"Yeah, you got lucky, so just be content," Qian Youyi was amused, and the melancholy in his heart dissipated a lot.

Then he said seriously: "After telling you so much, I feel much better, but there is still one most important point."

"What?" Zhang Pingan tilted his head.

"I know my dad writes to you from time to time, asking you to help them with things, but what I want to tell you today is that you don't have to take your status as the Qian family's son-in-law too seriously. If anything goes wrong, you will be the first to be abandoned by the Qian family. So when it comes to major issues, just do what you think is right. Don't worry about me. I know you are very sensible."

"Did you hear any rumors?" Zhang Pingan pondered.

"No matter how useless I am, I am still the daughter of the Qian family. I have read the official reports and have a rough idea of ​​the situation on the front lines. Why did Lord Zhou specifically station the navy in Ci County? Everything is complicated. I am afraid that you will be caught up in the vortex of power."

"Oh, I understand!" Zhang Pingan was silent for a moment, sighed and nodded.