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

The group strolled until sunset and then went to eat at the famous old-fashioned Beijing Roast Duck.

Then return to the post station.

Liu Sanlang couldn't find a suitable opportunity to talk about Guo Jia.

We can only wait until the next day.

Unexpectedly, before he had the chance to mention this matter the next day, news came from the palace that the Nine Thousand Year Old Wei Xingzhou of the previous dynasty had passed away.

At this time, Zhang Ping'an was preparing to visit the Yue and Qian families.

Although all the civil and military officials knew that the fall of the previous Great Xia Dynasty was closely related to this Nine Thousand Year Old Man, they were still concerned about the delicate relationship between him and the current emperor.

The Ministry of Rites took the lead in handling the funeral.

In fact, there is a public tomb for eunuchs on the outskirts of the capital. The land was purchased with funds raised by eunuchs from all dynasties, and it is also the final destination of most ordinary eunuchs.

It is specially used to bury low-ranking eunuchs who have no talent or relatives, and is managed by the Pension Charity Association.

But Wei Xingzhou was clearly not suited to this process.

Finally, Zhou Ziming personally issued an order to bury him in the vacant tomb of a prince in the cemetery of the previous dynasty on Hutou Mountain.

A lot of yellow glazed tiles, jade, brocade and other burial objects were also used.

His funeral went far beyond the formalities.

The tombstone is engraved with words such as "Waiting for Gift from the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty" and "Granted by the Emperor", but does not mention the eunuch's identity.

The court officials had many complaints about this.

However, due to Zhou Ziming's consistent autocratic rule and power constraints, no one dared to oppose him in person.

Zhang Ping'an thought about it and decided that no matter what the relationship between this Ninth Thousand Year Old Man and the Emperor was, the civil and military officials above the fifth rank would definitely not attend the funeral.

It shouldn't affect my visit to my father-in-law's house.

So after packing everything up, he took the gifts and went to Qian's house.

As Zhang Ping'an expected, his father-in-law, Lord Qian, had just finished his court session and was drinking tea and feeding birds in the back garden of his mansion.

His face was filled with a relaxed and contented expression.

The father-in-law and son-in-law hadn't seen each other for several years, and when they met again they felt much more unfamiliar with each other.

After they finished their greetings and sat down, the two of them were speechless for a while.

It was Zhang Pingan who spoke first about his recent situation, breaking the awkward and stiff atmosphere between the two of them.

After hearing this, Lord Qian nodded and gave a few words of encouragement.

He is now a first-rank official, the Prince's Grand Tutor, and can wear a purple robe, a jade belt, and a goldfish talisman. He can also help his descendants and retainers enter officialdom.

For someone of his age, this speed of promotion is undoubtedly an honor.

But whoever is in power knows that compared to the prime minister who is of a slightly lower rank but holds real power, the Prince's Grand Tutor is just an honorary title!

Fortunately, the other descendants of the Qian family entered officialdom very smoothly, and the Qian family still maintained its past glory.

Lord Qian will no longer argue about anything!

He also has very complicated feelings towards his son-in-law. He is useful, but he cannot be fully utilized by him. He is useless!

But seeing that his son-in-law was rising rapidly and was no longer the same as before, Lord Qian did not want to make the relationship with him too strained, so he asked Zhang Pingan about his future plans.

"Are you planning to stay in Beijing to take up your post, or are you planning to return to Kaifeng? If you're staying in Beijing, remember to submit a petition to the Ministry of Personnel to apply for home leave so you can go back and bring your family over. It would be great for the whole family to be together. Xiaoyuer is already grown up, and he's been studying at the Qian family. If you bring him back, you'll have to find a good teacher for him."

"My son-in-law is planning to do just that. Whether he stays in Beijing to take up his post or returns to Kaifeng, I will go back to Lin'an to pick them up. I will also take him back to Ezhou Prefecture to worship his ancestors and let him know where his roots are," Zhang Ping'an replied respectfully.

"Time flies so fast. I almost forgot that you are from Huguang. Well, going back to pay homage to your ancestors can be considered a return to your hometown in glory," sighed Lord Qian, stroking his beard.

He then mentioned his sons: "If you are free these past two days, you can ask Qian Ying to get together. Young people should make more friends. He has gone to work at the Dali Temple. He is the only one of my sons who is with him now. The other three are out of town and haven't come back yet!"

"Don't worry, father-in-law, I will!" Zhang Ping'an nodded in response.

"You should know what happened in the palace these two days. Be more cautious and don't give others any handles. There is nothing else. Since you are here, play two games of chess with me and stay for lunch at noon." Lord Qian said.

So Zhang Ping'an stayed and played two games of chess, had lunch, and then said goodbye and left.

I have to say that Lord Qian is now more imposing and more stable than before.

When playing chess, the atmosphere can be silent for an entire hour.

Zhang Pingan also breathed a sigh of relief after coming out.

Thinking that it was getting late, I simply went to the teahouse to listen to a storyteller. When the time came, I went to the Ministry of War to wait for my brother-in-law to get off duty and have dinner together.

He knew that Lord Huang was present yesterday, and there were some things his brother-in-law might not be able to say, so it was a good opportunity to have a good chat today.

Liu Sanlang was very happy to see Zhang Ping'an coming, as it happened to be his shift.

He took the person to a small restaurant he often went to.

After they had almost finished eating, they talked about Guo Jia.

Zhang Ping'an was also stunned with surprise after hearing this. He never expected that the Khan of the Jinwu Khanate was actually Guo Jia!

This world is too fantasy!

"Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"I can't be wrong. That facial feature and that look are so real!" Liu Sanlang said, wanting to swear to the sky.

Prove that what you say is true.

"I was very worried about him at first, but now that I know where he went, at least I have a clue in my mind and don't have to worry about him all the time. Alas, life is too complicated!" Zhang Ping'an sighed while eating.

Liu Sanlang deeply agreed with this.

Within two days, Liu Shuisheng also arrived in the capital.

The Wu family was wealthy, so naturally they had a villa in the capital. The first thing Liu Shuisheng did after settling down was to send someone to deliver a letter to Zhang Ping'an.