There is an inconspicuous mansion next to the south gate of Dezhou Mansion, which is the ancestral home of the Zhang family. In mid-June, Zhang Bojin returned home from Zechang Academy, where he was preparing to take this year's township exam. There are only a few servants in Zhang's house, Zhang Bojin's father Zhang Hongchong is in the Criminal Department, and the family is in Beijing.

The yard is a little old and in disrepair, the eaves of the patio are covered with grass, Zhang Bojin sits under the eaves to read and enjoy the coolness, looks up at the sky in all directions, and secretly thinks that if he can be lifted this year, he must repair this house.

Thinking of his father's painstaking compilation of the "Collection of Calendar Holds Fortune" for his many years of painstaking efforts, Zhang Bojin's heart was difficult to calm down, he must not live up to his father's expectations, this township examination is not only to be lifted, but also to take a good ranking, and strive to win the Xie Yuan.

The names of the opponents he knew flashed in his mind, and there were several people in the Fuxue, Wu Yuanshi and Zhao Nanzhong, and they had read their articles by themselves, so they didn't have to worry; There are also a few people with good reputation in the county schools, who want to be on the same level as the people in the government schools; There are a few people who are also from the academy, and at most they can be equivalent to themselves, but they have the "Calendar Holding Luck Collection", and they have a better chance of winning.

Thinking of Jiang Anyi, Zhang Bojin's heart flashed a shadow, this talent is not under him, especially poetry, it is simply a gift from God, if he also participates in the township examination, he will be his fierce rival. There is also Qin Haiming, who was expelled from the academy and repeatedly came to him to ask for the "Collection of Fortunes in the Calendar", of course he couldn't agree. Returning to Texas early, firstly, to prepare for the exam, and secondly, to avoid this person, this person is entangled, which is a trouble, but as long as he is moved, then Qin Haiming will definitely not dare to entangle again.

The patio was shady and shaded, and a gust of wind blew through the hall, and Zhang Bojin fell asleep in a daze.

"Bojin." Hearing his father's screams in a trance, Zhang Bojin woke up and opened his eyes to see that it was really his father standing in front of him with a smile. Zhang Bojin was stunned for a moment, unable to make a sound with his mouth open, not knowing if it was a dream or a reality.

"Bojin, I haven't seen you for two years, I don't know my father anymore." Zhang Hongchong smiled lovingly. It's not a dream, it's really my father is back, Zhang Bojin rolled over and fell to the ground, crawled to his father's side on his knees, hugged Zhang Hongchong's feet, and shouted "father", his voice was choked, and tears flowed.

"Idiot, don't cry." Zhang Hongchong's eyes were also moist, he gently stroked Zhang Bojin's head, and said with a smile: "Get up, let me take a good look at you for my father." ”

The candle in the west window was bright, and Zhang Bojin's father and son were talking at night under the lamp. A few dishes and a pot of wine on the table, father and son talked while drinking.

"For my father, I returned home on vacation this time, and I came to try to enter your hometown." Zhang Bojin poured a glass of wine for his father and listened quietly.

"I just inspected your schoolwork for my father, yes, you have made rapid progress in the academy, and your learning is no longer under your father." Zhang Hong took a sip of wine and smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his son.

"The child does not dare to forget his father's teachings."

"Okay, okay, my son comforts my father's heart." Zhang Hongchong suddenly lowered his voice and said: "The chief examiner of this Dezhou Township Examination is Ma Jingxuan, Langzhong of the Ministry of Engineering, he is a good friend of his father, and his father has been very kind to him. On his way home from the Texas exam, he secretly sent someone to send a letter to his father, you can come and see. ”

Zhang Hong mysteriously took out a letter from his arms, Zhang Bojin took the letter, his heart pounding, this year's township test has been won steadily. When I opened the letter, it was three pieces of paper, and the first one was written "Visible", and the word was on the paper; the second "Zhijiye", the words are in the paper; The third sheet, "Naturally", is written at the end of the paper, and the number one, two, three.

Zhang Bojin shone into the candlelight and found that there was nothing wrong with it except these words. Zhang Hongjin smiled: "Don't understand? ”

Carefully stuffing the three pieces of paper back into the letter, Zhang Bojin smiled and said, "Could it be an agreed mark?" ”

"Yes, there are three tests for the township examination, and the number one paper reads 'visible', which means that these three words should appear in the first paragraph of the article on the answer sheet of the first exam, and 'Zhijiye' is the second one, which appears in the paragraph, and 'Shiranye' is the end of the article in the third one."

Zhang Bojin was ecstatic in his heart, except for his true ability, it was difficult to have this secret promise that he would not be able to move. Looking at the white silk on his father's sideburns, thinking that his father had paid too much for himself over the years, Zhang Bojin got up, knelt in front of his father respectfully, kowtowed, and said, "The child is not filial, so the father bothered for the child." ”

"Get up, you and I are father and son, what are you talking about?" Zhang Hongchong pulled up his son and said, "For my father's life, I hope you can shine on the lintel." ”

"How can my father be regarded as doing nothing, not to mention that there are a few people in the crowd who can live in the five grades, just say that the book written by my father is a treasure that candidates can't ask for, and after the child gets the Jinshi, this book must be made public, so that everyone can feel the kindness of his father."

Zhang Bojin excitedly picked up the wine glass, raised his glass to his forehead, and said, "The child toasts his father." ”

After drinking, Zhang Hongchong motioned for his son to sit down, took a piece of meat and chewed it carefully in his mouth, and slowly spoke: "My father has been an official in Beijing for many years, and the family has no savings. ”

Zhang Bojin knew that in order to compile the "Collection of Calendar Branches", his father invited people to eat and give gifts to people everywhere, and it was not easy for the Beijing master to live in this book, how could those Yulu have enough expenses, but fortunately, he had some oil and water in the Criminal Department, so that he could barely support this family.

"This township test is an opportunity." Under the candlelight, Zhang Hongchong said faintly: "There are only twenty places in the Dezhou Township Examination, but there are as many as six or seven hundred people participating in the examination, and there are many monks and few porridges. Jin'er, if there is a chance for people to be lifted, how much silver should that person spend? ”

Zhang Bojin's eyes were full of silver light, and he was speechless for a while.

"Five thousand taels." Zhang Hongchong set the price word by word. Zhang Bojin was pressed by Yinshan, and his breathing became difficult.

Zhang Hongchong smiled and said: "Jin'er still has less knowledge, you must know that every time the Jingshi will try, some people spend thousands of dollars just to ask the minister to come forward and say a good word for him." ”

Zhang Bojin was completely stupid, looking at his father blankly, throwing away the legendary story of thousands of dollars, is there really anything in reality? Are the rich people in this world so rich? Inferiority, loss, and indescribable feelings rose in his heart, Zhang Bojin raised his glass to drink, and the hot feeling rose from his heart, it was desire.

Zhang Hongchong looked at his son's changing face, silent, his son felt the same as himself, but he was getting older, and he had been trained as an official in Beijing for many years, and he was used to hiding his desires in the depths. Zhang Hongchong silently poured a glass of wine for his son, and said with a smile: "Is the prince a kind of Xiangning?" Jin'er, as long as you are motivated, everything will be there, the Zhang family will become a family, and power, wealth, and beauty will all be in your hands. ”

Zhang Bojin took a deep breath and nodded firmly, and the father and son smiled at each other and raised their glasses to drink.

Putting down the wine glass, Zhang Bojin pondered: "Father, in this way, how can Master Ma explain?" ”

"There is no need to confess, Ma Jingxuan has been friends with his father for many years, and his father has secretly covered up a catastrophe for him, this time he repaid his father, not to mention that his father planned to give him half of the money from the sale. He is as poor as his father, and he finally had this opportunity to serve as the chief examiner of the township examination, how could he not make a profit. Don't worry, my father will send someone to wait for him on the way tomorrow, send him a letter to inform him of this matter, count the days, your Uncle Ma should almost leave Beijing. ”

Zhang Bojin put his mind at ease and asked with a smile: "How many places is my father going to sell?" ”

"Not too much, you can only sell two other than you. Take the township examination as an example, the examiner has at least two to three places, the local government will have two to three places, and the family magnates will come forward to get a few, and almost half of them will fall into the pockets of different people before the exam. ”

Zhang Bojin secretly sighed that the officialdom was really dark, if he didn't have a relationship with his father, it was really not necessary to be promoted. Zhang Bojin thought about his classmates, there was really no one who met the conditions, Qin Haiming was originally the best candidate, but unfortunately he had torn his face, but he couldn't do his business.

Zhang Hongchong said with a smile: "You don't have to worry about this matter, you can study with peace of mind during this time, although there is a guarantee, but the article on the exam should also make people have nothing to say, Zhongxiyuan, your Uncle Ma's face is also good-looking." ”

The next day, Zhang Hongchong went out to pay a visit, Zhang Bojin studied hard at home, and at noon, there was a noise in front of the door.

Zhang Bojin heard Qin Haiming's voice from a distance, this kid actually found this place, and came to mess around again. Zhang Bojin stood in the dark and thought about it, and told his family to say that the master was not at home. Qin Haiming scolded and left, Zhang Bojin knew that this kid would never give up easily, what way to deal with him.

After holding the lamp, Zhang Hongchong came back, full of spring breeze and full of alcohol. When I came to the apartment, I lifted a hidden compartment on the inside of the bed, and put a stack of silver tickets inside, and it seemed that the business had been done. Sure enough, Zhang Hongchong greeted Zhang Bojin with a smile and said, "Jin'er, come here, let you see how to sell people." ”

The two IOUs were written "Taihe seven years of Texas Juren owed 4,000 taels of silver", and below was the handprint of the payment. Zhang Bojin Daqi, the seventh year of Taihe is this year, where did the township test come from? Zhang Hongchong took back the IOU, put it in the dark compartment, and carefully covered it. sat on the chair, poured a glass of water, and pointed with a smile: "Although it is an acquaintance transaction, the amount is too large, and there must always be a prevention between each other." I received a 1,000 taels of silver, told them the secret notes of the first two games, and the rest were IOUs, and after passing the exam, I could naturally collect the cash according to the IOUs. ”

Seeing that Zhang Bojin was a little puzzled, Zhang Hongchong said: "You can't tell them all three secret memories, what if Ma Jingxuan accidentally gets confused, so I can only tell them two, it shouldn't be difficult to win these two games, you might as well do the same if you have the opportunity in the future." ”

There was something in his heart, and Zhang Bojin was a little absent-minded. Zhang Hongchong found that his son was wrong, his smile gradually retracted, and asked, "Jin'er, what is on your mind?" ”

Zhang Bojin didn't dare to hide it, and told Qin Haiming about it, Zhang Hongchong slapped the table heavily, and said angrily: "Confused, how important is the "Like Holding Luck Collection", how can it be revealed to others." ”

Seeing Zhang Bojin hanging his head, Zhang Hongchong's heart softened, and he sighed: "The money given to you by the family is not much, and you refuse to ask the family for money, so you came up with such a way." Alas, the Father does not blame you, but also because the Father is incompetent and cannot take better care of you. ”

Zhang Bojin knelt on the ground, crying in tears: "The child is not filial, he can't share his father's worries, and if the father blames himself, the child will die and will be guilty." ”

"Get up, there is gold under the man's knees, don't kneel down at every turn, I'm just angry that you don't know the severity, and you're fascinated by a little profit. This Qin Haiming is just a trivial matter, the son of a businessman, and he actually dares to threaten my family. ”

Zhang Hongchong's tone was solemn, full of murderous aura, and the majesty of the criminal department was undoubtedly revealed.