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

Time flies, and another six years have passed. Now it is the fourteenth year since Jianxin was established.

A lot has happened in these six years.

Zhang Shi and Zhang Laotou passed away one after another. They were both already quite old, and it was rare for them to live to such an old age. It was considered a happy death, so Zhang Ping'an returned to his hometown to observe mourning for more than three years.

The funeral was held in great style, and Zhang Laoda, Zhang Laoer, and Zhang Laosan became filial sons praised by everyone in the surrounding villages.

Now the Zhang family is a prominent family in the county, and their descendants are thriving.

All children in the clan who were six years old or older went to school and were supported by the clan's land until they were 20. Only if they still had not achieved academic success would they seek other paths.

Everyone knew that Zhang Ping'an was a high-ranking official in the capital, so during his mourning period, he received a constant stream of visitors.

Countless women wanted to send women into his harem.

Zhang Ping'an met with those he needed to socialize with, and sent everyone else away under the pretext of quiet cultivation.

After Xiaoyuer returned to his hometown, he couldn't find a good teacher, so Zhang Ping'an simply taught him himself.

I took advantage of this break to focus on teaching my son his lessons.

Little Fish lived up to expectations, passing the imperial examination at the age of 12 with a very good ranking, becoming a subsidized student.

In the second year of the provincial examination, Zhang Ping'an felt that he was not yet ready, so he suppressed him and prepared to take the exam again next time.

With a higher chance of success, the ranking can also be better.

Little Fish listened to advice and worked hard, burying himself in his studies for another three years.

Three years later, in the provincial examination, which is this year, he actually made the list.

He was only 16 years old at the time, the same age as Zhang Ping'an when he passed the imperial examination.

Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi were so happy they cried and laughed, exclaiming that their ancestral graves were once again emitting auspicious smoke.

By this time, their mourning period had ended, and they had returned to the capital.

This should have been a joyous occasion, and we should have held a grand celebration.

However, it is common knowledge among the court officials that Zhou Ziming's health is deteriorating day by day.

Therefore, for more than a year, no household in the capital dared to hold a grand celebration, for fear of incurring bad luck.

Zhang Ping'an could only ask his son to make do and quietly invite close relatives over for two tables.

For example, the Wu Ya family, the Qian family, and people with green bean eyes.

Grand Tutor Qian was already quite old at this time, but he was still in good health and paid great attention to health preservation. In Zhang Ping'an's opinion, he could live for another ten years or so without any problem.

As the saying goes, old people are shrewd and old horses are cunning, and that's certainly true. During this sensitive time, Grand Tutor Qian kept a low profile, rarely went out, and seldom received guests.

Not only did he keep a low profile himself, but he also strictly disciplined the members of his clan.

Therefore, only Qian Ying and Qian Jie, a few of the Qian family's uncles, came to the banquet with congratulatory gifts.

Little Fish has grown into a handsome young man, no longer the child who used to chase after his father and act spoiled.

He also knew that this was a sensitive time, so he didn't care whether or not a banquet was held for him to become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.

Anyway, I've eaten at banquets quite often, so there's nothing special about it.

He doesn't care about that either.

Wuya is living a happy life now. Her son is in school and she has a lot of free time, which she spends mostly eating and shopping to pass the time. She stays at home and is getting fatter and fatter.

Zhang Ping'an reminded her a few times, but seeing that she was happy and enjoyed the feeling of being completely devoted to her husband and son, he stopped mentioning it.

Just be happy!

As for Green Bean Eyes, after Fushimi left with her son and disappeared for two years without a trace, he couldn't withstand the pressure from his family and remarried and had children again.

Now a father of two, he's become much more mature.

However, Zhang Ping'an noticed that he didn't seem very happy.

He often stares blankly to the north, alone.

He knew that Green Bean Eyes had sent people to the north to look for him, but he figured the results wouldn't be very good.

"This banquet is a bit unfair to Xiaoyuer. We'll definitely hold a feast for you next year if you pass the imperial examination," Qian Ying said with a smile, trying to comfort him.

He was afraid that his nephew would be unhappy about this.

Xiaoyuer genuinely didn't care, waving his hand and saying, "It's alright, Uncle. We eat banquets all the time anyway. I don't really like it when so many people come and it's so noisy. It's much better to have some peace and quiet like this!"

Qian Ying simply took it as the child becoming more sensible and smiled with relief, "Our little fish has grown up and become more mature!"

“That’s right, look who his nephew is,” Qian Jie said proudly.

"Here, this is your congratulatory gift. Keep it safe. Your second uncle knows you are good at studying and passing the imperial examination will definitely not be a problem. But you can't just study all the time. Those weak bookworms who don't know anything about practical matters have no future. Don't you like horse racing? I think you'll definitely like this horse farm."

"Ah, it's a horse farm? Second Uncle, you're the most generous, the best!" Little Fish exclaimed with delight.

He does enjoy horse racing, but his family's place is too small to keep many horses, and his father doesn't allow him to be too high-profile in public.

This made him feel that he was not quite satisfied.

Qian Jie's horse farm in the suburbs is very large, and it has many famous horses from the northern frontier, worth a fortune.

This gift is quite substantial.

It was a massive hemorrhage.

Zhang Ping'an was about to speak when Qian Jie stopped him, saying, "Today is a special day for the child, don't spoil the fun. This is a gift for my nephew, it has nothing to do with you!"

"Hurry up and thank your uncle," Zhang Ping'an smiled helplessly and accepted the kindness.

After the gathering, the men went to the study to drink tea, and inevitably the topic of Zhou Ziming's illness came up.

“Ever since His Majesty suddenly collapsed two years ago, his condition has become increasingly serious. I’m afraid I don’t know if he can make it through this winter,” Qian Ying said worriedly.

Everyone here is an insider and knows their place, so there's nothing to hide.

“I heard that His Majesty is planning to confer titles of nobility upon the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince and send them to their fiefdoms. Although it hasn’t been finalized yet, I think it’s pretty much a done deal,” Qian Jie said.

"The eunuchs whom His Majesty trusts most now are Liang Fu and Zheng Ping, but unfortunately, they are too tight-lipped and we can't find out anything from them."

After Zheng Ping led his fleet on a voyage to various countries and returned safely, he quickly became one of the leading eunuchs.

He held a high position of prestige among the eunuchs.

Not only did they take over the East and West Depots one after another, but they also submitted a memorial to the court proposing to open large wharves in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and southern Fujian to vigorously develop maritime trade.

Under his planning and management over the past few years, these wharves have become golden wharves, bringing huge amounts of tax revenue to the imperial court.

The docks were bustling with activity, with merchants coming and going constantly.

When Zhang Ping'an once inspected places like southern Fujian, he passed by a dock and suddenly felt as if he had lived a past life.

Various languages ​​mingled together, and everyone had a slick, worldly air about them.

This unique vitality is something that cannot be seen in the Central Plains region.

This was compounded by the prosperity of the Northwest Silk Road.

Peace and prosperity reigned throughout the land.

The national treasury has rapidly become full in the past few years.

The historian's record that "the capital's money was so abundant that the strings holding it together rotted and could not be counted, and the grain in the imperial granary was piled up in layers, overflowing and exposed to the elements, until it rotted and became inedible" is not an exaggeration at all.