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

Zhang Ping'an stood with his hands behind his back, and after taking another good look at the child, he raised his chin and said in a stern voice, "I didn't say you were a beggar. Stand up and answer me!"

"Yes, yes, sir, please feel free to ask me anything," the slave trader said cautiously, bowing his head and hanging his hands, showing great tact.

"Where did you buy these children, and where are you going to sell them?"

"Reporting to you, sir, these children were all acquired from Qing County by me. They were all bought and sold by their parents in a proper and voluntary manner. The paperwork and their contracts of sale are all here. Please take a look, sir."

After saying that, the broker took out a stack of deeds from his pocket.

Zhang Ping'an took it and saw that it had an official seal on it, indicating that it was indeed bought from a legitimate brokerage firm.

Qingxian County, which is near Tianjin Bay, is not too far from Beijing, but it's not exactly close either.

This human trafficker really put in the effort.

"What's the child's name? Which deed is it?"

The slave trader looked in the direction Zhang Ping'an was pointing and saw the boy who rarely spoke.

He couldn't help but frown slightly; this child was the only one among his group whose background was somewhat questionable.

Zhang Ping'an, being extremely astute, immediately saw through it and demanded, "Tell me, is this child of questionable origin?"

The slave trader's knees buckled at the shout, and he knelt down, crying out, "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I did buy this child from his parents. The deed is this one, and his name is Zhong Xiaobao. I hesitated just now because it seems he was adopted by that couple and his background isn't very good, so I haven't decided what to say yet."

“Zhong Xiaobao, born in August of the first year of Jianxin, from Dahuaishu Village, Luping Township, Anle Town, Qing County,” Zhang Ping’an read aloud as he looked at the place of origin and age on the deed.

Surprisingly, the child was actually older than he looked.

Upon closer inspection, the signatures of the parents were Zhong Sanniu and Wu Wangdi, completely unfamiliar names.

I couldn't help but wonder if I was overthinking it.

What a coincidence!

The slave trader carefully explained, "This couple are illiterate farmers. They wrote the contract, had the village chief witness and verify it, and then they put their fingerprints on it. The clerk has seen the household registration document, and there are indeed no problems."

After pausing for a moment, Zhang Pingan handed the contract back: "As long as there are no problems, just don't break the law!"

The slave trader breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he received the deed, knowing he had passed the test.

With a forced smile, he carefully replied, "Don't worry, sir. I'm doing legitimate business. These children are going to be sent to the palace to serve nobles. I wouldn't dare to make any mistakes. Having a clean background is the most basic requirement."

"Send it to the palace?" Zhang Ping'an, who was about to turn around, stopped in his tracks upon hearing this.

"Yes, the selection of the Crown Prince's consorts has ended, and many more noble ladies have been added to the palace. These noble ladies will continue to produce offspring for the royal family, so there won't be enough manpower in the palace. They will be castrated at the age of five or six and sent in. After a few more years of training, they will be ready to be used."

Zhang Ping'an realized that these children were actually potential eunuchs.

Looking at those bewildered faces, Zhang Ping'an felt sorry for them, but he also knew that he couldn't save them all.

If this batch isn't available, there will be another batch.

Compared to the previous dynasty, the number of servants in the palace has been reduced by more than half, making it impossible to completely eliminate the problem.

This is class difference!

In that instant, Zhang Ping'an made a decision.

He took the child out of the cart and asked the slave trader, "How much is he? I'll buy him!"

Human traffickers naturally have no reason not to do business, and such children are not hard to find anyway.

After rubbing his hands together, he tentatively held up three fingers: "Thirty...thirty taels?"

That statement sounded very unconvincing.

Having worked in the brokerage business for so long, the broker naturally knew that even if these big shots didn't pay him, and actually took the person away, there was nothing he could do.

But the man in front of him didn't seem like the type to do such a thing, so the slave trader only mustered his courage and tentatively tried to extort some money from him.

Zhang Ping'an naturally knew that the price was inflated.

He's not short of money, but he's not a sucker either.

Upon hearing this, he ordered that the boy eat his fill and give him twenty taels of silver, then took away Zhong Xiaobao's indenture.

The child remained quiet throughout, his dark eyes darting around nimbly.

You can tell what a person will be like at three years old. Even at such a young age, you can already tell that he will definitely be a shrewd and calculating person in the future.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but reach out and touch those eyes, then lowered his hand under the child's puzzled gaze and said calmly, "Come on, come home with me!"

After picking up the child and placing him in front of the horse, Zhang Ping'an nimbly mounted the horse again and led his men home.

After knocking, the doorman quickly came to open the door.

Upon seeing Zhang Ping'an return, the gatekeeper was both surprised and excited, and immediately sent someone to inform Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi.

"Oh dear, sir, you must be tired from the journey. The old master, the old lady, and the young master have been looking forward to it for a long time. Every time the young master has a day off, he goes to the city gate to wait for you. He told me it wasn't time yet, but he wouldn't listen. He's so happy and looking forward to your return, sir!"

The doorman helped take the things while chattering away.

It took a long time before he noticed that Zhang Ping'an was holding a child in his arms. He stared wide-eyed and hesitated, "Master, this...this...whose child is this?"

Could it be the master's illegitimate son?

Hmm, you know what, if you look closely their features do look a bit alike!

After eating, you could tell what the gatekeeper was thinking just by looking at his expression.

He slapped the gatekeeper impatiently and scolded, "Old Gong, why do you still talk so nonsensically? Open your eyes and take a good look. Dressed so shabbily, whose child could he be? This was bought by the master on the road. He's not very old and will be perfect to serve the young master in the future."

This was his true thought after eating his fill. When he saw Zhang Ping'an buy the child, he assumed it was for Xiaoyuer to be his page in the future.

Although he's a little too young and it's not quite right, there's no rule that says you can only have one pageboy. We can always buy another one later.

Just consider it an act of kindness and a good deed.

Their father has always been kind-hearted.

"Oh, is that so?" Old Gong said somewhat sheepishly. He blamed himself for reading too many storybooks and for the fact that the gossip in the capital was so exciting that his imagination ran wild.

"What else could it be?" He was speechless after finishing his meal.

The adults in their family have all sworn not to remarry, so how could they possibly have an illegitimate child?

At this moment, Xiao Hu arrived first and offered words of comfort and concern.

They also noticed the child.

After eating and being explained again, Xiao Hu understood and casually asked, "Brother Ping An is so kind. What's this child's name? It'll be easier to arrange work for him in the future. He can't be too shabby as a page for the young master!"

Zhang Ping'an then spoke up, thinking for a moment before saying, "His name used to be Zhong Xiaobao. There's no need to change his surname now that he's in the manor, but he still needs a proper name. From now on, let's call him... let's call him Zhong Zheng. It means fair and selfless, with upright character. It's simple and easy to remember. There's no need to assign him any work. He's too young to do much anyway. Just let him keep the young master company. Xiao Hu, please take good care of him!"

"Okay, I got it!" Xiao Hu nodded. "Brother Ping An, you must be tired from carrying me all this way, let me carry you!"

After saying that, she reached out to take the child.

Zhong Xiaobao obediently went into Xiao Hu's arms without making a fuss, but seeing his calm yet agile eyes, Zhang Ping'an knew that the child had actually seen everything.

They really don't seem like children raised by farmers.

At this moment, Zhang Ping'an had no idea what kind of child he would be leading into the door.