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

When the first snow of winter fell, Lin Junhui finally arrived in the capital.

It could have been done earlier, but there were too many government affairs to attend to, and Lin Junhui was extremely serious and responsible about his work, so it was delayed for some time.

Zhang Ping'an had been looking forward to this for a long time. He hadn't seen his old classmates for many years, and his excitement was so great that it couldn't be summed up in just a few words.

After receiving the letter, he took half a day off and went to the Shili Pavilion outside the city early to wait.

The winter wind was strong, and the sharp cold wind made Zhang Ping'an's face turn red. Even though he was wearing a fur coat, he could still feel the biting cold.

Xiaohu still remembered Lin Junhui and was even more moved than Zhang Pingan. "I didn't expect that Master Lin would still be so close to you, Brother Pingan, after all these years. What a rare fate!"

Whether it's his background, marriage, or career, Lin Junhui is the epitome of a nobleman that Xiaohu could imagine.

He was extremely envious and admired Master Lin.

But Zhang Ping'an knew that Lin Junhui's life was not easy either. There were few rising stars in the Lin family. As the helmsman of the younger generation, the pressure on Lin Junhui was enormous.

It gets dark early in winter. It was already getting dark in the afternoon. Before we knew it, snowflakes started falling from the sky.

One piece after another, white and light, like goose feathers.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but reach out to catch a piece of snow, then slowly crushed it open and whispered, "It's snowing!"

"Yes, it's the first snow of this winter," Xiaohu said with a smile as he caught a few snowflakes.

As his ability to handle affairs becomes stronger and his position beside Zhang Pingan becomes more and more stable, Xiaohu is becoming more and more confident, and his speech is much clearer and more powerful than before.

However, Xiaohu was a little worried: "I don't know if Master Lin can come today. It's getting dark."

"It's okay, let's wait another hour and see," Zhang Ping'an said as he calculated the time for the city gate to close.

Not long after he said this, several carriages suddenly drove up from the official road in the distance. Perhaps because it was snowing, the carriages were moving quite fast.

The driver also kept whipping the horse to speed up.

Zhang Ping'an was shocked and asked Xiaohu to go and ask.

As soon as the carriage stopped, a handsome young man in fox fur coat lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage nimbly, showing that he had good skills.

It’s Lin Junhui.

"Junhui!"

"Hahaha, sorry for the long wait, I'm safe!" Lin Junhui recognized his old friend at a glance.

The two patted each other's shoulders and hugged each other. Zhang Pingan asked with a smile, "You, you, why did you get here so late? Did you have a smooth journey?"

"The journey was smooth, but riding horses and carriages was really boring. My body was almost stiff," Lin Junhui said in his usual cheerful and humorous tone.

After not seeing him for a few years, Lin Junhui's facial features remained the same after his experience in officialdom, but he had become more resolute.

The separation of these years seems like yesterday, and the two of them are still so familiar when they chat, without any barriers at all. There is no better friend than this.

"It's getting dark and it's snowing. Let's go into the city," Zhang Ping'an said, looking at the sky.

In such a short while, a lot of snowflakes had fallen on the hair and shoulders of both of them.

"Okay, let's ride back first and let them follow behind. I can also stretch my body." Lin Junhui picked a horse at random and jumped on it nimbly.

Then he galloped freely.

Zhang Pingan followed closely behind.

A quarter of an hour later, the two arrived at the city gate.

Horseback riding was not allowed in the downtown area of ​​the city, so the two men dismounted and walked instead.

"I have booked the place. We should have a drink after not seeing each other for so long." As the host, Zhang Pingan naturally arranged everything first.

Lin Junhui was not polite either.

The two young men, with extraordinary appearance, demeanor and clothing, were very eye-catching when they walked on the road leading their horses in the evening.

After a while, he met an acquaintance, Master Yuantong, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, followed by two little monks.

Although Zhang Ping'an didn't have a good impression of this person, he still had to say hello since they had met. After all, this person was not only the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, but also the imperial teacher.

There is no benefit in making enemies.

"Master Yuantong, how are you?" Zhang Ping'an greeted.

"Amitabha, thanks to your majesty's great blessings, everything has been fine recently," Yuantong bowed his head slightly and chanted the Buddha's name.

Zhang Pingan was a little surprised that these monks were still on the street so late at night. He asked with concern, "Master, it's getting late and snowing. It's better to go back early."

"Thank you for your concern, donor Zhang. I just went to beg for alms from several wealthy families in the city, so I'm a little late. Now I'm preparing to go back. It's cold in winter. Daxiangguo Temple provides porridge to help the poor people in and outside the city every winter. If donor Zhang is interested, you might as well donate some incense money to accumulate blessings for future generations." Yuantong said slowly, as if the flying snow and cold weather had no effect on him at all.

"As a member of the imperial court, I should do my part for this good cause," Zhang Pingan did not refuse after hearing this. He took out a silver note of considerable value from his pocket and handed it over.

Yuantong took it with both hands, chanted the Buddha's name again, expressed his gratitude, and then said goodbye and left.

After the others had gone far away, Lin Junhui turned around and said, "This is the first time I've seen such a large temple still have the abbot come out to beg for alms. Although this man is a monk, his eyes give people a sense of unfathomable depth."

Zhang Ping'an agreed with this very much, "You are right, this monk is quite strange, I will be more careful when I meet you in the future."

The two of them walked and talked, and soon they arrived at the restaurant where they were going to have dinner, and they forgot about the matter.

After not seeing each other for many years, the two had a lot to talk about.

Lin Junhui first talked about his recent situation. After several years of management, he now has a good reputation in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. Moreover, under his governance, Taizhou, Yancheng and other places are far more prosperous than the surrounding areas.

He is very confident about his future career.

The way he spoke always reminded Zhang Ping'an of the time when they had a good chat in Lin'an.

"You are still so confident and full of ambition," Zhang Pingan praised.

Lin Junhui shook his head and sneered, "I'm old now, not like I used to be. Now that the world is peaceful, I'm more interested in carrying forward the family's prosperity. Unfortunately, I haven't found any good seedlings among the younger generation!"

After saying this, he raised his head again, revealing a teasing expression, "By the way, I heard that you swore before His Majesty during the autumn hunt that you would not marry? What happened? Apart from anything else, one offspring is still too few!"

"No way, this matter has spread to Jianghuai?" Zhang Ping rubbed his forehead and did not deny it.

Lin Junhui threw a peanut into his mouth, acting like a playboy and laughing, "Not to mention Jianghuai, I'm afraid everyone in Lin'an knows about this too. I think it won't be long before the whole world knows about it."

"Just know it if you know it. I'm not a very important person anyway," Zhang Pingan also smiled.

Now everyone in the capital knows that he will not marry again. Some people tease him, while others admire him. He has gotten used to it.

Besides, it’s no big deal if everyone in the world knows about it, and there’s no throne to inherit in the family.

They chatted until the restaurant was about to close, and then they left with a sense of reluctance.

"My eldest brother-in-law said that he will treat us to a meal tomorrow. If he didn't have a mission today, we would have come to pick you up together!"

"I have to stay in Beijing for a while to report on my work. There's no rush. We can make an appointment anytime when we are free. But I really need your help." When he arrived at the post station, Lin Junhui spoke more freely.