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

"Are you sure you want to come with us? This trip is not just a sightseeing trip. It's a cold and bitter place in the northwest, and you're likely to suffer a lot," Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but said seriously.

"Really, there's no need to worry. We're also accompanied by Fusi's personal guards this time. Their exotic looks might actually make the trip smoother, and it might be easier for us to deal with the countries in the Western Regions." The man with the green eyes also put away his playful smile and looked serious.

"You know my personality. I can't stay in one place. Speaking of which, I haven't been to the Western Regions yet. It would be good to go there and broaden my horizons. Who knows, maybe I can make my Ge family's business famous all over the world in the future!"

Zhang Pingan smiled when he heard this, with admiration in his eyes.

"You can do it," Fusi encouraged with a smile.

Then he stood up, took the sword that Green Bean Eyes carried with him, and made a few beautiful sword flowers.

His moves were fierce and murderous, and he did have some basic skills in martial arts.

"Now I'm sure I can protect myself, right?" Fusi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Seeing Fusi's generous and cheerful appearance, which was different from the women in the Central Plains, and her confident look, Zhang Pingan began to understand why Green Bean Eyes was attracted to her.

Meeting such an extraordinary woman is a lifelong fate.

However, the Central Plains region has a low acceptance of mixed-race children, and the Ge family is a merchant family that values ​​profit the most. I'm afraid that if the two have children in the future, it will be difficult for them to have children in their family, and people around them will inevitably look at them with strange eyes and point fingers.

Zhang Pingan was somewhat impressed by Fusi's response. He thought it was okay for them to travel together. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Well... I'll make the arrangements. We definitely can't do it openly, so we'll just have to accompany you. My sister-in-law will just wait at the city gate. We can all keep it a secret. But I still need to explain the disguise to Brother Lin, since he's the leader after all."

"Okay, I understand, Fusi knows what to do," nodded the man with green eyes.

When they sailed to Goryeo, there was a rule on the ship that women were not allowed on board. In the end, Fusi also went to Goryeo on a separate ship, and then came back together.

Green Bean Eyes is already familiar with all of this.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and it was already time for dinner when they started chatting.

When Xu and Zhang Laoer learned that Green Bean Eyes was coming, they were very enthusiastic.

Although they were stunned for a long time when they saw Fusi, they knew how to entertain guests and said nothing, nor did they ask any questions out of excitement. They were very kind to Fusi.

He immediately won Fusi's favor.

Xiao Yuer was also very curious about the princess. After dinner, he pulled her aside and asked her some fantastic questions in childish words.

Fusi herself likes children very much, but she has never been pregnant. During the chat, she kept praising Xiaoyuer for being beautiful and cute, and cooperated with every question and answer, and did not act perfunctory just because he was a child.

This made Xiaoyuer feel a little shy.

When asked about her hometown, Orloth, Fusi smiled with a hint of sadness and said with emotion, "I can't go back. My marriage was ruined. The king no longer recognizes my status as a princess and has expelled me. I will live in the Central Plains from now on, but it doesn't matter. I have a husband who loves me and I will have lovely children in the future. I will be very happy just the same!"

It was the first time that Xiao Yuer saw with his own eyes that the people around him came from such a distant foreign country. It was also the first time he knew that a woman could be an emperor. His worldview was suddenly opened up.

While surprised, he didn't forget to comfort the sad Fusi: "It sounds so pitiful, but it doesn't matter. After the king dies, he won't be able to drive you away anymore. You can go home again. Maybe you can even become queen. When the time comes, I will ask my father to mobilize troops to help you. My father is a high-ranking official, and he will become even more powerful in the future. He can definitely do it."

"Pfft~", Fusi couldn't help but covered her mouth and laughed at this fairy tale talk.

The sadness in my heart was also diluted a lot.

She didn't tell the child that this was impossible because she had two older brothers and a nephew, and it was not her turn as a poor princess to dream of the throne.

What do children know!

After dinner and before taking a break, Green Eyes hesitated for a while, but still mentioned someone.

"Ping'an, Li Mingxuan, do you still remember him? He was your former neighbor. We said we took the exam together before and later met again at Daxiangguo Temple."

"Of course I remember. What happened to him? The last time I saw him, he said he was going to live in Shandong. Could he be in Jiaozhou?" Zhang Pingan reacted quickly.

"Yes, in Jiaozhou. He now runs an antiques, calligraphy and painting shop and lives a decent life," replied the man with green eyes, with a worried look on his face.

"Shuisheng and I met him on our way back to Jiaozhou. He was being hunted for unknown reasons and ran into us when he was dying. Since we had only just met and knew each other, we lent a hand and saved him. It was all thanks to the firearms you gave Shuisheng and me for self-defense."

At this point, the green-eyed man frowned, extremely tangled, with an apologetic look on his face: "But I don't know if I have caused you trouble. Those dead people look very much like palace guards, with tokens on their waists and secret tattoos on their bodies. When I asked Li Mingxuan, he didn't say anything.

I didn't want to reveal it in the letter before, for fear of leaving traces, so I didn't tell you. It's been such a long time, and everything has been peaceful, so I just kept it in my heart. But today, I thought about it again and again, and I still have to tell you. I have to tell you!"

"Imperial Guard?" Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but look solemn when he heard it.

"How did he offend the royal family?"

"I'm not sure about that," Green Bean Eyes spread his hands and shook his head. "I originally wanted to abandon him halfway, but he took the initiative to hire someone from the escort agency to escort him. He didn't encounter any danger afterwards, so Shuisheng and I stopped paying attention. After he settled down in Jiaozhou, he sent someone to deliver two thank-you gifts to my house. Apart from that, we didn't have much contact. It was only when I was shopping one time that I accidentally discovered that he had opened an antique shop in Jiaozhou."

"Is that so? When I asked him when I first met him, he didn't reveal much about his own experiences. I don't know what he went through during those years of war. However, his background is clean and he is unlikely to be a spy. Now that the royal family has taken action, it's better to have less dealings with him in the future," Zhang Pingan thought, but he and Li Mingxuan were not close friends, so he was not too worried and just kept it in mind.

Maybe I'll figure it out someday.

"Yeah, I think so too. Anyway, I'm telling you so that we can keep it in mind." Green Eyes patted Zhang Ping'an's shoulder, yawned, and went back to the guest room to rest.

Within a few days, Zhang Ping'an formally submitted a report to confirm the travel arrangements.

In addition to the more than 20 people in the official delegation, there were more than 100 people accompanying them to provide secret protection.

More than one hundred others escorted the valuable gifts to the northwest in accordance with state etiquette.

As the chief envoy, Lin Junhui was awarded a third-rank honorary title, and his rank was promoted four levels at once.

My fifth brother-in-law Xu Kezhang was also promoted to a seventh-rank translator to assist me.

As a vanguard scout, Maodaner was given an eighth-grade military position.

Although the official position is not high, it is a qualitative leap.

You have to know that many people spend their entire lives in the military camp and never get a position, and they are just pawns until they die.

As for Green Bean Eyes, he had the title of Juren and had experience in long-distance sailing. He had also been sent by Zhou Ziming to Luzon to look for sweet potatoes, so he was considered an acquaintance. In addition, with Zhang Ping'an's recommendation, he was easily appointed as a fourth-rank deputy envoy and took on the important task of the diplomatic mission.

When he got his official uniform, Green Bean Eyes happily put it on and took Fusi for a stroll before he was willing to take it off. "This trip was worth it. Brother, I can be considered an official now. So what if I didn't pass the imperial examination? I can still make a name for myself!"

"Don't show off. The most important thing is to come back safely. Only after you come back can your official position be put into practice. Now it's just an empty title," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Green Bean Eyes didn't care about these things and waved his hands: "I don't care about those things. No matter whether it's true or false, he is a fourth-rank official after all. He is not young anymore. Telling others about it will bring honor to the family. It's very respectable!"

"Oh, I really envy your cheerful and optimistic personality. Let's not talk about this anymore. I have prepared some things for you and Brother Lin. Of course, Maodaner and my fifth brother-in-law also have some."

"What is it?" Green Eyes became interested.

"Something that can save your life!" Zhang Ping'an replied solemnly, and then opened the box.

It was filled with powerful and easy-to-carry firearms, as well as different pills with corresponding diseases labeled on the bottles.

"You...you...this is not good. These are all new things that I have never seen before. What if they are discovered? You will be accused of rebelling, right?" The man with green eyes knew the seriousness of the matter and closed the box at once.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but roll his eyes and opened the box again. "After all, I am the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council. I still have some authority. Don't worry, we have a clear path ahead. Since I took on this task, I asked my sixth brother-in-law to develop these things. I asked Jianqiu to help make the pills. Let me tell you about the effects of these things. They might save your life in a critical moment."

Although the Ministry of Rites had made thorough preparations, Zhang Pingan still made some backup plans.

Green Bean Eyes was immediately touched, "Ping An, you are really my brother, don't worry, it's okay, I have my fortune told, I can live to be a hundred years old, it's still a long time!"

Zhang Ping'an didn't say anything sour, he just patted Green Bean Eyes' shoulder.

So in mid-March, on a sunny day, the diplomatic mission to the Western Regions finally set off.

Liu Sanlang went along to see his son off, and looked at his excited son with infinite worry.

In the end, he could only sigh and tell his son to take good care of himself.