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

Xiao Yu'er is very smart and can understand many things at a glance. After Zhang Ping'an finished speaking, he began to understand something.

He listened to the advice and said in a crisp voice: "Then I will try another way next time"!

Then he said with some dissatisfaction: "My cousins ​​didn't help me today, and I was so nice to them!"

"How do you want them to help you? Fight with you? On one side are relatives, and on the other side are cousins. This kind of thing is likely to be thankless. It is most appropriate to ask the master to administer justice. There is no need to be angry with them," Zhang Pingan smiled and did not take it to heart.

These children who grew up in large families, although young, have many ideas and are very smart, which many adults may not be able to compare with.

Therefore, Zhang Pingan was not surprised by their behavior. Calling the teacher over at the critical moment was a good thing for Xiaoyuer.

"In the future at school, you must have your own close friends. If you are alone and too proud and domineering, you will be easily bullied!" Zhang Pingan reminded.

Xiao Yuer nodded, patted his chest and said confidently: "Don't worry, Dad, I won't be bullied! Back in Lin'an, no one in the Qian family school dared to bully me. I had many younger brothers. Now that I'm in the capital, I don't know many people. That's why I was careless and suffered a loss."

Seeing that his son was full of confidence, Zhang Pingan did not interfere too much.

When the father and son got home, they tacitly agreed not to mention this matter to their family members, otherwise Xu and Zhang Laoer would definitely make a fuss. Now Xiaoyuer is their lifeblood and the apple of their eye. Anyone who touches him will be beaten to death.

Fortunately, Xu just casually asked why he came back late today, and didn't take it to heart anymore. She directly ordered the servants to set the table.

"Your elder sister sent over a lot of braised food this afternoon, all made by herself. She said she would give us another dish, so come and try it."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuer couldn't wait to grab a pig's trotter and nibble on it. He had a light lunch at the clan school, so he hadn't eaten much and was already hungry. While eating, he couldn't help but praise it, "Aunt's braised pig's trotters are so delicious! Fragrant!"

"Look at this child, he must be hungry. If you like to eat, eat more. It's the time for growth." Mrs. Xu was happier to see her grandson eating so happily than eating herself, so she hurriedly helped him pick up a few more pieces and put them on the plate.

Zhang Laoer then got down to business. "By the way, your eldest sister said they've decided to listen to Donkey Egg and become a palace guard. Please help him get the position sooner so Donkey Egg can start his duties sooner."

"Okay, I understand," Zhang Ping'an nodded in agreement. The elder sister and her husband were finally wise.

Then he looked at his son who was eating happily, and said with some worry: "Dad, Mom, I have to go on duty tomorrow. From now on, Xiaoyuer will go to the Qian family school. He can no longer sleep in. Please keep an eye on him after I leave to make sure he doesn't miss the time."

"Oh, okay. Going to school is a good thing. I will definitely keep an eye on you. Besides, there is your father," Xu said with a smile.

After solving two major issues at once, the family went to bed quickly after dinner.

On the second day, before daybreak, at the fourth watch, Zhang Ping'an got up. This was his first time attending a morning court session after being awarded the title, so he had to be cautious.

The court meetings of the Zhou Dynasty were similar to those of the previous dynasties. They were divided into grand court meetings and daily court meetings. Grand court meetings were mainly held on major festivals, such as the New Year, the Winter Solstice, the Emperor's Birthday, or the Emperor's birthday. They were very grand and more ceremonial than political, in order to demonstrate national prestige and imperial power. They were the largest court meetings, attended by officials of almost all ranks and foreign envoys. The frequency was very low, only a few times a year.

Daily court meetings were for handling daily government affairs, discussing government affairs and presenting memorials between the emperor and his ministers. In theory, they were held every day except holidays, but the emperor's diligence directly affected the frequency. A lazy emperor might often cancel them. During the previous Great Xia Dynasty, the court was held every three days.

Zhou Ziming was a diligent emperor and would certainly not do so. As long as he was in Beijing, he would hold court every morning without interruption.

Zhang Ping'an arrived early and waited for a long time outside the Donghua Gate before the palace gate opened. There were many other people like him, and they exchanged greetings and made each other feel at ease.

After a while, his father-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law and others arrived, and he followed his brother-in-law and other familiar people into the palace one by one.

Then they would wait in the designated court room. After hearing the bells and drums signaling the start of court, all the civil and military officials would be divided into two rows, civil officials in the east and military officials in the west, and would enter the main hall and stand in order.

For a moment, the court was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

As the eunuchs shouted "The Emperor has arrived," all the officials bowed and chanted "Long live the Emperor." Only then did Zhou Ziming come out with the Crown Prince. He then sat on the dragon throne and said calmly, "Stand up!"

Behind the pearl curtain, the emperor still looked as majestic as he did during the celebration banquet, awe-inspiring and inviolable. The prince sat at the bottom, and it was obvious that he was already participating in politics.

This way of sitting and listening to government affairs also represents Zhou Ziming's special favor to him.

Zhang Ping'an secretly memorized everything he saw. On his first day in court, he naturally had nothing to say or discuss. He was just a listener, so he just needed to watch, listen, and remember more.

I originally thought that it had nothing to do with me, but unexpectedly, at the end of the discussion, two major issues were mentioned in today's court meeting. One was the prince's wedding that my eldest brother-in-law had mentioned yesterday. Today, the emperor officially issued an imperial decree to grant the marriage.

Another thing related to him was his mission to the Western Regions.