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

It is still relatively early now, so I sent letters to all my relatives, saying that I will visit them tomorrow morning.

Zhang Ping'an thought about it, and asked his servant to go to Jinbao's house to deliver a letter, inviting Jinbao to come over for dinner if he had nothing to do tonight.

We have been separated for so long, and I don’t know how Jinbao has been doing recently. In Zhang Pingan’s mind, Jinbao always seems to be a simple child who has not grown up, or the little tail behind him. He can’t watch him by the side, so he is always worried that he will suffer.

Jinbao came over very quickly. I hadn't seen him for almost a year. He had lost a lot of weight, his eyebrows and eyes were more handsome, his jaw line was more obvious, and he looked much more stable than before. He had basically lost all the childishness of a teenager, but still had some immaturity left.

Although the two hadn't seen each other for a long time, they didn't feel unfamiliar at all.

Zhang Pingan patted Jin Bao's shoulder vigorously and said with a smile: "You've become much thinner, but also stronger!"

"Yes," Jinbao replied with a smile, but his eyes turned red as he smiled.

Zhang Pingan didn't expose it, and walked towards the flower hall with him: "Come on, accompany me to dinner!"

Zhang Laoer knew that the two had a close relationship and hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they must have a lot to talk about. After dinner, he went back to his room, leaving the two to chat alone.

"Congratulations, you're going to be a father soon," Jinbao congratulated sincerely.

"Thank you very much," Zhang Pingan replied with a lazy smile while picking up a peanut, and then asked, "What about you? When are you getting married? Don't be too picky, just about right is fine. After all, no one is perfect. You'll be nineteen next year, and your parents will be so worried if you don't get married!"

"I also want to get married, but every time I think about living with a complete stranger, I feel uncomfortable and can't get over the hurdle in my heart." Jinbao was also very distressed when talking about this.

Every time when he wanted to settle for it, when his parents really talked about proposing, he didn't want to settle anymore and felt a little confused and timid.

Zhang Pingan was a little worried that Jin Bao was still single, so he exposed her words and said, "These are all excuses. You just have a cinnabar mole in your heart, mosquito blood, and want to find a girl who can play the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, who can talk to you about everything, and who understands your feelings."

"Where is that?" Jinbao asked in astonishment.

"I really regret taking you to drink with me. After meeting a girl like Miss Liu, you have looked down on ordinary girls who can't read a single word. Don't quibble!" Zhang Ping'an rolled his eyes and said.

Jinbao fell silent after hearing this.

There is nothing that cannot be said between the two of them.

Jin Bao said honestly, "To tell you the truth, last year my parents almost forced me to become a monk. I really couldn't get over it!"

After saying that, he waved his hand with a dejected look and said, "Don't worry about me. Let's not talk about this anymore. I finally came back. Let's drink!"

Zhang Ping'an secretly sighed in his heart, thinking of telling a few sisters tomorrow and asking them to help keep an eye on it.

After all, they are female relatives, and now they have some status, are very social, and are easy to find out.

Because I have to go out and visit various houses to wish them a happy new year tomorrow, I'm going to drink rice wine tonight. It's not strong in alcohol and won't be too intoxicating.

Early the next morning, Zhang Ping'an changed his clothes and went to his uncle and father-in-law's homes to pay New Year's greetings.

Every Chinese New Year is the busiest time for the Qian family.

My fourth uncle Qian Yu also came back from Xiangshan. It can be seen that he had a good time in the past year.

Minister Qian had been promoted to the second-rank Left Censor-in-Chief before the New Year. Although he was very busy, he knew that Zhang Ping'an was in a hurry to return to Ci County tomorrow, so he still took time out of his busy schedule to meet his son-in-law.

The court is now in a period of turmoil and unrest. This is related to the future power layout and we must not make any mistakes. Every chess piece has its own position, including himself.

"You have made remarkable achievements in Ci County over the past year, which is obvious to all. Now I ask you to give up halfway and transfer you to the Ministry of War. You won't complain, right?" Minister Qian said.

"Father-in-law, what are you talking about? The court is in need of people right now. I will go wherever I am needed," Zhang Ping'an said modestly with a smile, his expression revealing nothing.

When I looked up at my father-in-law, I saw that his hair was full of white hair. He didn’t have any white hair during last year’s Chinese New Year. It seems that he has been worried a lot this year!

Minister Qian sat behind a large desk and looked at his son-in-law. After being in Ci County for a year, he had indeed matured a lot and even learned to speak in official language!

"That's good," Minister Qian nodded, leaning back on his high chair and reminding him again in a solemn voice, "You must remember that you are the son-in-law of the Qian family. The Qian family protects you, so you should naturally be of the same mind as the Qian family!"

Haha... Zhang Pingan laughed twice in his heart.

He did not deny the Qian family's kindness to him, but that did not mean he had to devote himself to the Qian family and become the Qian family's puppet.

"Don't worry, father-in-law, I understand!"

"Well, you are a smart man, no need for me to say more," Minister Qian said.

He then brought up the war on the front lines, his face serious and deep, saying, "We've been hearing a lot of good news lately. While it hasn't done much to inflict any damage on the two northern factions, it's been enough to boost public morale. Plus, with his previous work quelling rebellions in various parts of the south, Lord Zhou now enjoys a high reputation among the people!"

"Indeed, even the people of Ci County are familiar with Lord Zhou," Zhang Ping'an nodded.

"Officialdom requires checks and balances; one cannot ever dominate. It's fine now, but if this trend continues, it'll be disastrous," Minister Qian frowned. "In short, be smart when you get there and know your place. Don't get too close or too distant from Lord Zhou!"

Zhang Ping'an wasn't stupid. He pondered, "Father-in-law, what do you mean? If this trend continues, will you try to replace Lord Zhou? What about the war on the front lines? A change of commander will definitely affect the morale of the army. We're still a long way from launching a full-scale northern expedition to recover lost territory!"

"So you have to choose a suitable time and learn to adapt to circumstances," Minister Qian said calmly.

"Why can't it be Lord Zhou? Just because he is related to the eunuch party?" Zhang Pingan asked calmly.

He knew that neither his father-in-law's family nor other aristocratic families were that loyal to the Great Xia court, especially now that the emperor was young and had no leadership charisma or checks and balances. With the imperial power dispersed, the aristocratic families became even more active.

Minister Qian also understood what Zhang Ping'an meant. Although he tried his best to control himself, he could still hear the disdain hidden in his words: "Since ancient times, it has never made sense to let the eunuch party take power. Maybe anyone can be replaced, but it can't be him!"

Anyone can become emperor, but not Zhou Ziming!