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

Da Ya didn't show herself; she stood outside, holding a plate of snacks, and listened quietly for a long time.

Hearing Donkey Egg say that, she knew the matter was resolved.

We're all family, so we can't be too calculating about everything. As long as Donkey Egg understands the principle that harmony in the family brings prosperity, and he disciplines his wife well so she doesn't cause any trouble, this family won't have any major problems.

Zhang Ping'an didn't linger any longer. After discussing the details of Zhu Zhu's wedding with Daya, he said goodbye and went home.

It's a good time to take a short nap at noon.

When Zhang Ping'an woke up, he thought a long time had passed, but when he looked up at the sun, he realized that only half an hour had passed.

After finishing their meal, they heard a noise and came in to help serve tea.

After pouring the tea, he whispered and reported, "Master, the men we sent out have just returned. They have found out everything about Zhong Xiaobao's background."

Zhang Ping'an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and nodded: "Hmm, tell me about it."

"On the surface, Zhong Xiaobao's background is just that of an ordinary farmer's son, but there are indeed some unusual aspects to it. It's not anything else, but mainly that there are some shady and dishonorable things about him," he replied after finishing his meal.

After pausing, he continued, meeting Zhang Ping'an's questioning gaze, "According to the couple, the child's father is a monk from a temple near their county, and his mother is a nun from a nearby nunnery. Both of them are practitioners, and somehow they ended up together and had this child. They couldn't raise him themselves, so they found this farming family to foster him. Every few days, the nun would visit the child under the guise of begging for alms, and slip him some money as a child support fee."

Unlike ordinary farmers who simply feed their children, Zhong Xiaobao actually attended a private school, albeit for only a year. He already knows some common characters, and it's said that his biological parents wanted him to attend; they seem to value his education quite a bit.

At this time, adultery was a serious crime, punishable by imprisonment according to the law. In some remote areas, people would even be drowned in ponds according to clan rules, without needing to go through the authorities.

Moreover, it is truly disgraceful that two monks would do such a thing.

"What happened recently that made this foster couple want to sell their child? Or sell him to be a eunuch? That's incredibly cruel!" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"For the past six months or so, for some reason, the couple hasn't come back. Naturally, the farming couple couldn't raise someone's child for free, so after a few months, the woman of the farming family went to the nunnery to look for her. The abbess said that the nun had died of a sudden illness a few months earlier."

Because in the past, it was mostly the mother who came, and the father rarely showed up, maybe only two or three times a year. Each time he came, he was always secretive. So, this farming couple could only guess from his appearance and clothing that the child's biological father might be a monk from the temple in their county, but they didn't know who he was. With the nun's death, they were completely lost. They said they originally planned to give the child away, since it was a boy, and someone in the countryside would surely want him, but… then some things happened.”

Zhang Ping'an frowned upon hearing this. "What is it?"

"The farming couple said that Zhong Xiaobao was malicious and wanted to poison their whole family with rat poison, so they eventually sold him," Chi Bao said, half believing and half doubting this.

After all, Zhong Xiaobao was only a six-year-old child, and his biological mother had died. He had no reason to harm his adoptive parents unless they had done something extremely wrong to the child.