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

Although he knew that such a lucrative and powerful position probably wouldn't fall into his lap, he still found it hard to accept that it was given to his arch-rival. He would have preferred it to be given to Zhang Ping'an!

However, the other colleagues didn't care what Cui Ling thought. After court, they went up to Li Chong to congratulate him and urge him to host a banquet.

Surrounded by the crowd, Li Chong's face was flushed, and he smiled broadly, rarely showing such emotion. He bowed and thanked them, saying:

"Thank you all! Treating you to dinner is no problem at all. How about tonight at Zuixianlou? I'll have my servants book a table right now. Please do me the honor of coming!"

"Okay, okay, let's go to Zuixianlou then!" someone echoed.

So the matter was quickly settled.

Even though Cui Ling was seething with hatred inside, he still followed the others in offering his congratulations. He still had to go to the promotion dinner that night, otherwise, his reputation for being narrow-minded would spread throughout the court and the country the next day.

As their eyes met, Li Chong raised an eyebrow with a half-smile, and Cui Ling returned the smile, subtly spreading tension between them.

Zhang Ping'an watched from the sidelines, knowing that the two would eventually face off, but he didn't know who would come out on top. In his opinion, Li Chong had a better chance.

After a while of excitement, everyone had serious business to attend to, so they quickly dispersed and returned to their respective offices.

The day passed quickly. When they finished their shifts in the evening, all the officials of the Privy Council had packed their things early and were waiting for Zhang Ping'an to go to Zuixianlou together.

After all, today's dinner is not just a meal; it's also a great opportunity to strengthen relationships among colleagues. People from various government departments are all present, making it somewhat like a modern company team-building event. The excuse of congratulating each other on the promotion is also perfectly legitimate, and it won't be seen as forming cliques or engaging in favoritism if word gets out.

Moreover, since Zhou Ziming passed away last year, so many things have happened in the palace, and everyone has been keeping a low profile for a long time, eating vegetarian food. Now that there is a legitimate opportunity to relax, they are naturally eager to do so!

Zhang Ping'an didn't keep everyone waiting long before he pushed open the door and came out: "Alright, I'm all packed up, let's go!"

Everyone had a carriage. Zuixianlou was located in the city center, so it was convenient to get there. When they arrived, some of the people from the Ministry of Revenue had already arrived, and the atmosphere was lively.

Because of the large number of people, Zuixianlou Restaurant was booked out for the entire day and is not accepting walk-in customers.

The shopkeeper personally led a group to greet them at the door, while servants from the Li family collected the gifts and registered them on the gift list.

As soon as Zhang Ping'an entered, he was pulled aside by acquaintances to exchange pleasantries, and his subordinates quickly found their own circles as well.

Quite some time passed before Zhang Ping'an saw the beady-eyed man enter, at which point he made an excuse to leave. "Phew, there are so many people today. Li Chong has invited quite a few!"

With his beady eyes stroking his chin, he raised his head and gestured for Zhang Ping'an to look outside: "The carriages are almost overflowing, even I, a fourth-rank official, have a share, no wonder there are so many people! But Brother Li's promotion speed is quite fast, always closely following in your footsteps."

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand helplessly: "Don't tease me. That's a position with real power and lucrative benefits. And we're living in a peaceful and prosperous era. How can I compare to that?"

"Hehehe, aren't you two already in-laws? So I'm practically your half-helper. Why are you still distinguishing between you and me?" Green-eyed man said, winking and making faces, with an expression that said, "Everyone knows what's going on."

Zhang Ping'an was too lazy to explain anymore and turned around directly: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Since we're here, let's go upstairs together. It'll be good to say hello to Li Chong and have a seat. It's tiring to keep standing and exchanging pleasantries like this."

Zuixianlou has three floors. Although it is not the tallest restaurant in the capital, it is a top-notch restaurant because of its large area, good location, and luxurious decoration. You would be embarrassed to enter if you didn't have at least a hundred or eighty taels of silver in your pocket.

After the two went up to the third floor, they found it was even more lively upstairs.

Li Chong remained the center of attention, enjoying himself immensely.

Upon seeing this, Green Bean Eyes nudged Zhang Ping'an's shoulder and whispered, "Your in-law is getting a bit arrogant. He didn't even come to greet us right away when we came up."

"Keep your voice down, maybe others didn't see it," Zhang Ping'an replied in a low voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chong's gaze fell on them. He then pushed aside the people around him and strode forward, his face full of enthusiasm: "Jingbian, Yuting, you've arrived! Come, come, please take a seat. We've been waiting for you for a long time. There are many people today, so please forgive us if there is anything we haven't done well in our hospitality!"

"Not at all, you're too kind. There's no need to make a fuss about us. We'll just find a place to sit down," the beady-eyed man replied with a smile.

Zhang Ping'an nodded in agreement, and because the two families had already exchanged betrothal gifts, their conversation became more intimate.

"We're all family here, no need to be so polite. There are a lot of people here today, everyone is here to show their support, so we can't neglect anyone. You go ahead and get busy!"

After hearing this, Li Chong didn't exchange any more pleasantries. He arranged for the two to sit at the main table, and after settling them in, he went to greet the others.

With his beady eyes, he picked up his teacup and looked around, realizing that he was only sitting at the head table because of Zhang Ping'an; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have been able to get a seat.

The two chatted for a while, and then there was a noise from the stairwell. It turned out that Cui Ling had also arrived.

He's now considered a favorite of the emperor, and many people approach him to chat.

After Li Chong greeted him with a forced smile, Cui Ling walked straight to the main table and plopped down next to Zhang Ping'an.

He even asked, feigning concern, "Lord Zhang, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

Zhang Ping'an: ...That's such a fake question!

However, he could only feign generosity and reply casually, "I don't mind!"

Cui Ling didn't care whether the other party minded or not; he just wanted to annoy the Zhang-Li duo.

After sitting down, he chatted and drank tea with those around him, his face completely calm and composed, emphasizing that he was not embarrassed, but rather that others were.

Zhang Ping'an didn't care, but his beady eyes showed some appreciation for this straightforward person, which showed that the late emperor had good judgment in choosing people.

About fifteen minutes later, when almost everyone had arrived, the dishes were served.

Although the period of banning folk wind instruments had passed, everyone in the court had basic awareness and sensitivity. Therefore, Li Chong did not arrange for anyone to play music on the side; they simply ate and drank, and the banquet was very lavish.

Just as the banquet was halfway through and the atmosphere was at its peak, Li Chonggang prepared to take advantage of the situation to suggest playing a few small games, such as a word chain game, to further liven up the atmosphere.

Cui Ling's cheeks were flushed, and he looked like he had drunk too much. Suddenly, he staggered to his feet and overturned the table.

The cups, plates, and bowls were broken all over the floor, leaving a mess!

When Zhang Ping'an saw Cui Ling get up, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He dodged quickly, but some oil stains still got on his clothes.

Li Chong was closer, and the table was being flipped towards him. So, although he was skilled and noticed Cui Ling's actions, and even tried to save him in time, Cui Ling was a military officer, and he was no match for him. In the end, he still got most of his clothes dirty.

Soup and liquid spilled down, leaving him looking disheveled and no longer the smug person he had been moments before.

Seeing Li Chong's ashen face, Cui Ling continued to ramble incoherently, as if unaware of what had happened: "Hey, why can't I undo my belt? Where's the outhouse? Where's the outhouse?"

The scene was eerily quiet!