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

After Yu Shiqi's surprise, he bowed and saluted, saying gently, "General Luo, what brings you here? I'm sorry for not welcoming you. I hope you'll forgive me!"

General Luo waved his hand, not caring at all. He looked at Zhang Ping'an and laughed, "Hahaha, nephew, how are you? You too, you finally made it to Yangzhou, but you didn't even come to visit me. If my men hadn't reported that they saw you having dinner at the restaurant, I wouldn't have known you came to Yangzhou from Ze County!"

In this matter, Zhang Pingan was indeed in the wrong.

Zhang Pingan bowed and sincerely admitted his mistake: "Uncle Luo, it's been a long time since we last met. How have you been? I was not thoughtful enough about this matter. I should have taken some time to come visit you. I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me!"

This General Luo is the father of Luo, a classmate of mine in the former provincial school.

When I was preparing to leave for the north in Lin'an, I visited Luo's mansion.

I delivered a message for classmate Luo.

There is a sense of face between the two families.

General Luo had never been so enthusiastic towards him in the past.

Zhang Ping'an knew that General Luo had come to visit him on purpose, probably because he had been promoted three levels in a row to the rank of fifth-rank prefect, so he attached great importance to visiting him to establish a good relationship with him.

Zhang Ping'an was not averse to this kind of interpersonal communication.

He had a good impression of General Luo.

After exchanging pleasantries, both sides walked in and sat down.

General Luo did not neglect Liu Sanlang and Yu Shiqi, and asked them a few questions from time to time.

After a while, he changed his words and called them nephews.

They verbally brought them closer together.

The atmosphere was quite lively for a while.

"Let's have a simple meal together tonight. We don't have to go to the restaurant. It's too conspicuous! I'll ask someone to bring some dishes from the restaurant, and we'll eat in the yard later. Is that okay with you?" General Luo asked.

Yu Shiqi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Uncle Luo, this won't do. You guys are here, and I'm the host. It's my responsibility to take care of the food. How can I let you pay for it?"

General Luo was a little angry when he heard this. He frowned and said sternly, "I am your elder, and Yangzhou is my territory. Please don't be estranged from me. A meal is nothing. I will arrange it. Don't refuse!"

Yu Shiqi and Zhang Pingan looked at each other. They didn't want to be polite anymore, so they agreed happily!

General Luo then smiled and said, "That's right!"

After a while, attendants packed food from the restaurant in lunch boxes and brought them in one after another and set them on the table.

Zhang Pingan was a little overwhelmed by General Luo's enthusiasm.

I never realized that General Luo was so eloquent before!

After three rounds of drinks, General Luo pretended to sigh and said, "You are all pillars of the court. Unlike my unpromising youngest son, who has been hanging around in Lin'an and has made no achievements. He relies entirely on the protection of his ancestors. The world is unstable now. Who knows when that protection will be gone. What will he do then?"

"Uncle Luo, the ancients said, 'Great wisdom appears foolish, and great skill appears clumsy.' The ignorant are blessed by God. Brother Luo will have a bright future in the future, so there is no need to worry," Zhang Pingan comforted.

"That's what I said, but who knows what will happen in the future?" General Luo shook his head and said indifferently.

Then he began to probe: "My dear nephew, the Qian family is a prestigious family that has existed for generations. Lord Qian is now rising step by step. Have you heard any news from this side?"

"Huh? What's the rumor?" Zhang Ping'an looked puzzled.

"Like the transfer of six ministries?"

"Uncle Luo, to be honest, although I am the son-in-law of the Qian family, I am now far away in Ze County and have no close contact with the Qian family. There are some things I have no way of knowing," Zhang Pingan did not want to get involved in this topic.

General Luo stopped asking questions and picked up his wine glass: "Come on, come on, drink, drink. I'm hosting you today, so you all have to eat and drink well. Don't be polite, or you'll say behind my back that I'm not a good host!"

"How could that be, Uncle Luo?" Yu Shiqi and Liu Sanlang asked hurriedly.

The meal lasted for more than an hour, and we talked about all sorts of things. Our relationship was indeed more familiar than before.

When he was leaving, General Luo patted Zhang Ping'an on the shoulder and said drunkenly, "Ping'an, if you have any problems in the future, just tell me. I will do whatever I can to help you. I treat you all as my own descendants. So, if my boys ask you for help in the future, you can't be careless!"

"Uncle Luo, you are drunk. I'll ask someone to help you get in the car," Zhang Ping'an said hurriedly.

General Luo waved his hand and shouted, "I'm not drunk, I'm sober, I don't need anyone to help me!"

After saying this, he pushed away the servants who came to support him and jumped into the carriage.

The horse reared up and neighed.

Zhang Ping'an instructed the driver, "Remember to make another pot of hangover soup for Uncle Luo when you get back. Don't just fall asleep like this. If you vomit and your throat gets blocked, it will be troublesome!"

"Understood, Sir Zhang, goodbye," the driver replied with a bow.

After the carriage turned the corner, they turned back and went into the yard.

Yu Shiqi still felt a little guilty: "Uncle Luo was so kind as to treat us to a meal, but he came back drunk. This is totally wrong!"

Zhang Pingan said calmly, "All of them who joined the army can drink a lot, and the Luo family is a family of military commanders for generations. I don't believe that just a few cups can knock him out!"

"So he's just pretending?" Liu Sanlang frowned and asked, "There's no need for that!"

"People like them, who have been in officialdom for a long time, whether they are civil servants or military officers, are well aware of the wisdom that alcohol can cover up shame and can also reveal the truth. They are very smart! I guess he got some rumors and happened to meet me, so he just wanted to test it out," Zhang Ping'an analyzed his guess.

"That shouldn't be the case. I haven't heard of any major changes in Lin'an," Yu Shiqi scratched his head.

Zhang Ping'an held his forehead helplessly. His sixth brother-in-law's family was at least a family of a minor official, and there were many people. He really didn't know how his sixth brother-in-law could still maintain such an innocent nature in such an environment.

"Once you know everything, it won't be long before we announce it to the world!"

"Huh?" Yu Shiqi scratched his head again, "That's true!"

At this time, Zhang Ping'an was still unaware of the bloody storm that had erupted in the Lin'an Imperial City.

Wei Xingzhou, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, the director of the East Factory, and the military supervisor, controls the harem and has been powerful in the court for a long time.

They secretly called him the Nine Thousand Year Old.

He has always been a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the aristocratic families.

The two sides have always maintained only a superficial peace.

In the past, the previous emperor had tried his best to protect this person, but after the capital was moved, the political situation became unstable and the aristocratic family was severely damaged.

The new emperor was young, so everything was decided by the empress dowager and Wei Xingzhou.

To put it bluntly, he was a puppet emperor.

Wei Xingzhou was very good at using the emperor to control the princes.

For the time being, the aristocratic families had no better way to bring this person down.

It has been delayed until now.

He is also Zhou Ziming's biggest supporter in the court.

Seeing that Zhou Ziming's power was growing stronger and stronger, and that he could not be summoned back from the north, it seemed that he could no longer be controlled.

The noble families could no longer sit still!