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

The question came so suddenly that Zhang Ping'an felt his thoughts freeze for a moment, and the whole world went silent.

He lived for more than 30 years in this life, and his life experience can be described as full of ups and downs.

He felt that everything from his past life was very far away from him.

Therefore, he rarely thinks about his past life now.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an realize that he had been guessing wrong all along.

It's possible that the person from his hometown wasn't Zhou Ziming, but rather the deceased Grand Tutor.

He must have traveled through time much earlier than I did.

Zhou Ziming, sitting at the head of the table, could clearly see Zhang Ping'an's expression, but he was in no hurry to press him for answers.

Instead, she slowly began to talk about her childhood.

"Actually, my origins are very humble, even dishonorable. My father was bought by an old eunuch who was released from the palace during the previous dynasty to be his son, so that he could take care of him in his old age. This kind of family is considered lowly, even worse than ordinary farmers. They have little education, and the farthest place they have ever been in their lives is probably within a few dozen miles. They also died very young."

According to seniority, I should have addressed my adoptive father as my grandmaster. However, due to a series of coincidences, I was adopted and then changed my address to him as my adoptive father. But no matter how powerful a eunuch is, he is still a rootless person and no one truly respects him. Therefore, when I was adopted as a child, I actually suffered a lot of grievances.

"Someone of my status wouldn't have been qualified to take the imperial examinations in the previous dynasty, let alone become an official. It was only because of my adoptive father that this rule was broken. In a way, I'm very fortunate."

"Thinking about it, it really has been many years. In fact, this is common knowledge in the court. It is not a secret and there is nothing to hide. When I was an official in the court, my colleagues often mocked me openly and secretly. It was not until I held great power that no one dared to mention it, and I gradually forgot about it. Now that I am nearing the end of my life, I often think about the past."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping'an fully regained his senses, and cold sweat poured down his chest.

When a person in a high position suddenly confides in you about the hardships they faced in their youth, there are only two possibilities: either you are a trusted confidant whom they trust implicitly, and they are simply expressing their loneliness in a high position to alleviate their solitude.

Or perhaps they are testing the waters, adopting a vulnerable stance and feigning closeness to lower the other person's guard.

Zhang Ping'an asked himself that although he was a close minister of the emperor, he was not yet at a position to listen to or discuss such palace secrets.

Moreover, these confessions seem all the more meaningful after that question was raised.

This immediately brought back all the worries he had harbored in his heart.

There was no sense of being flattered by the emperor's openness; instead, there was only a feeling of trepidation.

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Ping'an pursed his lips, preparing to say something.

Zhou Ziming waved his hand and continued slowly, his face filled with reminiscence.

"Although my adoptive father was a eunuch, he was poor and did not study before entering the palace. However, he was extremely talented and had a strong memory. When he was in the Inner Academy, he was always first. Even the Hanlin scholars who taught him at the time felt sorry for him and secretly praised him as having the talent of a top scholar."

Even if such a person becomes a eunuch, he is destined to be extraordinary.

He was adept at political maneuvering. After gaining a certain amount of power in the harem, he was no longer content to stay within the confines of the palace. He pioneered the practice of allowing eunuchs to go out and supervise the army, and gradually extended his reach to the imperial court. It was he who established the infamous Eastern and Western Depots, causing civil and military officials to live in fear.

Throughout history, even when eunuchs wielded power, it was mostly confined to the inner palace. Few, like him, held such immense influence in the imperial court. Among eunuchs, he must have reached the very top. In my life, I've encountered many eunuchs, but he truly was the most unique.”

At this point, Zhou Ziming became a little short of breath, clutched his chest to catch his breath, and then continued.

His gaze, gentle yet sharp, fell upon Zhang Ping'an. "But I know he is not happy. Even though he is second only to the emperor, he still feels inferior and suffers from his status deep down."

I spent many years by my adoptive father's side. He had many strange and unusual ideas, and often said strange things, like that he came from 2012. Sometimes he would unconsciously fill an entire sheet of paper with those numbers that I couldn't understand. I always thought it was a place name, and I was puzzled for many years. It wasn't until I met you and saw the familiar accounting style that I began to understand. Perhaps what my adoptive father said when he was drunk was true.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping'an unconsciously clenched his fist slightly and followed up by asking, "What is true?"

"Buildings can be built to be over a hundred stories high, and it only takes less than two hours to travel from Lingnan to the capital. Even if the distance is thousands of miles, communication can be instantaneous. I'm afraid only gods could have this ability. So I'm very curious, what does 2012 mean, and where exactly is this?"

Zhang Ping'an wasn't sure if he should just randomly choose a place.

Zhou Ziming, however, kept his eyes fixed on the words and said, “Or is this a secret code that belongs only to you? In fact, my godfather had originally planned to order the Ministry of Works to develop firearms before his death. He even drew up the blueprints, which were almost identical to those that were later produced. I do not believe this is a coincidence.”

Zhang Ping'an's heart sank after hearing this, but he suddenly calmed down and looked up to ask, "Then why didn't the research continue later?"

Zhou Ziming smiled and said, "Because my godfather later burned the blueprints. He said that the transition from cold weapons to firearms was a qualitative leap. Once firearms were produced, the number of deaths on the battlefield would be several times that of before, and he felt it was unnecessary."

"So when your sixth brother-in-law developed the firearms, my godfather was very surprised. He even went to the firearms workshop in person and secretly observed your sixth brother-in-law. But then he did nothing and came back by carriage. At the time, I couldn't understand it. Later I realized that the person he wanted to see was actually you. You two are the same kind of people!"

"Maybe," Zhang Ping'an nodded.

With clear eyes, he raised his head and replied, "When I was four or five years old, I had an illness with a persistent high fever. When I was delirious from the fever, I had a dream in which people could fly in the sky and the buildings were hundreds of stories high. This is exactly what Your Majesty just said. Perhaps that is where immortals live. But I think it was just a dream. There are thousands of people in the world, and dreams are all kinds of strange. It is not surprising to have a similar dream by chance."

"Dreaming?" Zhou Ziming frowned, his eyes filled with doubt, clearly disbelieving.

You're saying it was just a dream?

Zhang Ping'an nodded earnestly and said, "Your Majesty, it was indeed something I saw in a dream, including the way of doing accounts. At that time, I was still young and had not yet gone to school, so I did not understand what it meant. It was not until later, when I went to school, that I tried to use this method in the account books by chance. Because it was indeed easy to use, I have kept this habit ever since."