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

However, he is still gentle and refined in his dealings with others.

At least Zhang Ping'an felt that facing the Crown Prince was much easier than facing Zhou Ziming.

The pressure emanating from Zhou Ziming was far too strong; even the Crown Prince was far inferior.

It was already late when I left the palace.

Zhang Ping'an and Qian Jie went straight home.

Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi knew that their son was going to the palace to meet the emperor today, and that he was likely to be promoted. This was a very important event, so neither of them had gone to sleep yet. They waited with Xiao Yu'er in the flower hall.

Upon learning that Zhang Ping'an had been promoted to Privy Councilor and had also been granted the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, the two were both overjoyed and excited.

They kept insisting on offering incense to their ancestors and writing a letter home to inform Old Man Zhang and the others to hold a ceremonial ceremony in the clan to properly comfort their ancestors.

The two men had limited vision; in their view, anyone who was associated with the Crown Prince must be a high-ranking official.

Little did they know that the Privy Councilor's core power was far greater than that of the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor. The Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was only a figurehead, like Grand Tutor Qian; the real power lay with the Privy Councilor.

The Jin family didn't care that much. Although they were happy, they weren't really short of money. Compared to the gold and silver they received as a reward, the promotion was much more prestigious.

Little Fish also felt proud, touching the imperial edict with some envy, "Father is so amazing, I want to be as amazing as Father when I grow up!"

“You must be even more capable than your father in the future. My grandson is very smart too,” Madam Xu said lovingly.

Zhang Lao Er couldn't contain himself any longer. After pacing around a few times, he asked his servants to prepare incense and candles, as he wanted to make a simple offering to his ancestors in advance.

At the same time, he generously rewarded all the servants in the mansion with three months' worth of monthly allowance.

While the Zhang family was overjoyed, Grand Tutor Qian was not so happy. Although Qian Jie had been promoted three ranks, he sensed a hidden message in this job transfer.

Qian Jie was still young and didn't quite understand: "Father, is there something wrong? I think His Majesty was in a good mood today. The Crown Prince was even accompanying him at dinner, and the conversation was quite normal. I didn't feel anything was amiss."

“Everything is fine as it is, but your transfer is a bit strange. His Majesty has been suppressing and undermining powerful aristocratic families and officials. Even if you have made meritorious contributions after returning from the Northwest, it is unlikely that you will be promoted three ranks. Two ranks would be more likely. And to transfer you to the Ministry of Works... If you were really promoted three ranks and then transferred to the Ministry of Rites, I could understand it. But the Ministry of Works... I don’t know what our Emperor is up to. I feel like he’s not planning anything good,” Grand Tutor Qian stroked his beard and pondered.

To put it bluntly, he felt that Zhou Ziming was up to no good.

At his age, with his experience, he no longer believes in free lunches.

Nine times out of ten, anything that doesn't make sense is problematic.

The father and sons pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with any solution. With the court now calm and peaceful, they found it difficult to see the hidden dangers beneath the surface.

So they had to put this aside for the time being and simply treat it as a good thing about the promotion. They discussed hosting a meal for close relatives and friends in the clan, which was also a matter of etiquette.

The two families didn't go to sleep until late at night.

The next day, Zhang Ping'an went to court with dark circles under his eyes, and returned to the Privy Council to work after court.

The same old faces, the Privy Council was the same as always, and Zhang Ping'an seemed as familiar as if he had never left.

Now that he is the head of the Privy Council, his subordinates naturally fawn over him.

Some people even egged Zhang Ping'an on to host a banquet.

This is also the usual practice for promotion.

Zhang Ping'an naturally wouldn't refuse and agreed with a smile.

"How about today?" someone tentatively suggested.

“Okay, tonight then,” Zhang Ping’an nodded.

The location was chosen to be the best restaurant in Beijing.

With free banquets and opportunities to get closer to their superiors, everyone was quite happy, and the entire Privy Council was filled with a pleasant atmosphere.

The days passed by at a leisurely pace, and more than ten days flew by. The court remained unchanged, with nothing particularly noteworthy happening.

With Zhuzhu's wedding date fast approaching, Zhang Ping'an and Madam Xu became a little busier, visiting Daya's residence more frequently.

That day, just as he was about to finish his shift, he suddenly heard someone say that good news had come from the Eastern Palace, which surprised Zhang Ping'an.

It seems that the problem of the Crown Prince having no heir will soon be resolved.

On their way home, they happened to run into the carriage of Qian Ying, the brother-in-law.

Upon seeing Zhang Ping'an, Qian Ying quickly signaled the coachman to stop, and then Qian Ying got into Zhang Ping'an's carriage.

Zhang Ping'an could tell at a glance that he had something to say, so he gestured for the other person to finish eating and sit outside to keep watch.

"Have you heard about what happened at the Crown Prince's Palace?" Qian Ying asked.

“How could we not know? The Crown Prince rewarded everyone in the Eastern Palace as soon as the diagnosis was made. He didn’t hide anything from us court officials, as if he was afraid we wouldn’t know!” Zhang Ping’an said gently.

He could understand the pressure on the crown prince. If no good news came soon, the rumors about his infertility would become more credible, and his position as crown prince would be in jeopardy. No dynasty would allow an infertile crown prince to become emperor.

Especially given that the emperor had so many sons to choose from.

Qian Ying frowned: "The Crown Prince is being far too impatient, releasing the news so early. What if..."

Zhang Ping'an understood the unspoken meaning behind those words. What if someone with ulterior motives tried to harm him beforehand? Wouldn't that be another case of wishful thinking gone to waste?

"The Crown Prince needs this good news. Moreover, it takes a long time for a child to grow up. You can guard against it for a day, but not for a hundred days. There are only thieves who will steal for a thousand days, but you can't guard against them for a thousand days. There is not much difference between announcing it now and announcing it later. Besides, it is in the inner palace, and no one can guarantee anything."

“Alas, that’s true,” Qian Ying sighed, “but now there’s probably going to be some trouble in the harem.”

"There's nothing we can do about it; the struggle for the throne is just that brutal," Zhang Ping'an said with a helpless smile, shaking his head.

“Yes, that’s true, but there’s one more thing I need your help with,” Qian Ying said.

"What's the matter?"

"It's about Qian Jie. He was transferred to the Ministry of Works, and he's been quite idle there lately, so he's been feeling uneasy. Of course, my father said some things that made him uneasy before, which may have given him a psychological suggestion. But I also have a feeling that His Majesty will make some big decision soon. My father, my uncles, and I have talked about it for a long time recently, but we haven't seen anything wrong. So I'd like to ask you to keep an eye out for him. More people means more help."

Zhang Ping'an asked, puzzled, "Did your father-in-law feel that something was wrong?"

“Yes,” Qian Ying nodded.