With the Zhang family's travel arrangement, Li Zhongming and Zhu Xu made a big bargain. Along the way, eating, resting, and traveling, everything is manned and responsible, and the two of them don't need to bother at all.

During the journey, Li Zhongming and Zhu Xu in their spare time, in addition to chatting with Zhang Yuan and talking about the past and the present, they did not let go of their own learning, and would always find time to review the scriptures in preparation for the exam.

Along the way, Li Zhongming also increased his knowledge. Through the scenery along the way, he saw not only the green fields, but also the many people toiling, although each of them was not dressed decently, and each of them had folds and patches on his clothes. But there was no vegetable on their faces. In addition, from their busy figures and slightly eager faces, they all reflect the race against time in order not to violate the agricultural time. It can be seen that the current life of the people at the bottom should be returned, and if they are not idle all year round and manage the fields, they can still make a living for the family.

Through the observation of children along the way, although some are too young, they are still playing and playing. However, few of them were well-dressed and well-fitted, and most of them were shabby, patched everywhere, and dressed in large and small clothes. Many of the older children are helping out in the fields. Combined with the conversations of the people along the way, it can be known that the life of the people at the bottom is not easy.

Seeing that the people's lives are so hard, Li Zhongming couldn't help but feel pity at the same time, but also thought that in the future, if he can really get an official position, or when he has enough ability, he will definitely make the life of the people around him better.

Although Li Zhongming's ideas are very narrow-minded, and he does not have the grand ambitions and lofty aspirations among the scholars, he is quite practical and easier to act. And those high-minded theories are not only difficult to achieve, but also unrealistic.

As the saying goes, read 10,000 books, travel 10,000 miles. With what he saw and heard along the way, Li Zhongming felt that he had a better understanding of the current society, and also made him understand how lucky he was. Although he was also born in a poor family in the countryside, he was not only fortunate to be able to study and be reasonable, but also received help from others during this period. Even Gu Lingqing and Zhang Yuan, who are eunuchs, always treat themselves as equals, but they have never despised them. Therefore, while Li Zhongming is grateful to everyone, he has also established the ambition of self-improvement and benefiting others.

As time passes, the capital will get closer and closer. And Li Zhongming's heart became more and more excited, not only happy to be able to see the prosperous scene of the capital, but also happy that after such a long journey, he finally arrived at his destination. Not only Li Zhongming, but also Zhu Xu and Zhang Yuan's moods were also excited.

Soon, when the morning sun rose again, Li Zhongming and the others finally saw the city wall of the capital. Looking carefully at the towering tower, looking at the mottled and mixed traces on the city wall, all indicate the thickness of the historical years, and also show the profound heritage of this dynasty.

With everyone, from the guarded city gate, slowly entered, Li Zhongming and the others seemed to have entered another world. In this world, there are not only dense crowds, but also rich items that everyone can't guess. There are shouts and bargains everywhere, and there are never-before-seen food and snacks, and the smell of people in them really makes people full of relish.

Li Zhongming looked at this glittering and prosperous scene, and when it was far beyond his imagination, he did not forget to warn himself not to be confused by the prosperity and beauty in front of him, but also to remember his dream and purpose of coming to the capital. Looking at the two people who lifted the curtain and looked out, their bodies and heads stretched out of the window, and while watching, they also called Li Zhongming to come to his side, saying that they wanted to show themselves the objects, scenes or buildings they had just seen. Li Zhongming was dealing with the two people who were lingering outside the window, and looked at the slightly naïve two with tears and laughter, telling the two to be careful not to fall out of the car.

After a long while, the two reluctantly turned around and sat back down. At this time, Zhang Yuan spoke: "Two, this capital has arrived. If you have any plans, you might as well talk about them now, and I can give you ideas. ”

Li Zhongming and Zhu Xu glanced at each other, Zhu Xu motioned for Li Zhongming to speak, the trip to the capital, based on what they had discussed before, with Li Zhongming as the main and Zhu Xu as the auxiliary. Therefore, Li Zhongming said directly: "Brother Yuan, after the two of us arrive in the capital, we plan to live in the inn first, and after we are familiar with the affairs of Beijing, we will go to the corresponding Yamen bookstore to hand in the relevant documents. Then find a monastery in or near the capital to live, and after that, study hard in Beijing until the provincial examination begins. ”

"Brother Li and Brother Zhu have plans, so it stands to me that I shouldn't have forced you to keep you anymore. However, I still want to ask the two of you to go to my place in the capital for a few days. After all, you and I know each other well, so we must be familiar with the door of my residence in the capital, otherwise how can we get together in the future? Besides, I also have to arrange for my subordinates to do things such as paperwork. It's better for us to hand it in together, so it's easy and troublesome. Finally, it is the capital residence, which is not easy. The two of them, living in the inn, must have spent a lot of money. It is better to stay with me for a while, and when everything is done and you are familiar with the situation in the capital, it is best to choose a place for the temple, and then it is not too late to move from me. ”

Hearing Zhang Yuan's persuasion, Zhu Li and the others couldn't help but ponder, what Zhang Yuan said was very reasonable, since he had already troubled Zhang Yuan all the way, he didn't have to worry about it for a while. As the saying goes, if there are more lice, it will not itch, and if there are more debts, there will be no worries. Li Zhongming and Zhu Xu agreed.

With Zhang Yuan came to the Zhang family's residence in the capital, which was a three-entry courtyard. Although there is no home of the high-ranking officials and the wealthy in the capital, the courtyard is vast, and the pond and garden are all together. However, this is also the ancestor of the Zhang family who spent a lot of effort to buy such a place. Thanks to the foresight of the ancestors of the Zhang family, most of the children of the Zhang family lived here in Beijing. Therefore, this courtyard was arranged by the Zhang family to be cleaned and taken care of.

Therefore, the people brought by Zhang Yuan can easily arrange everyone's accommodation in an orderly manner, and the rooms in the courtyard do not need to be deeply cleaned, as long as they are cleaned a little, they can move in with peace of mind.

Li Zhongming and Zhu Xu were arranged in two adjacent houses, and then Zhang Yuan also arranged for his subordinates to purchase various materials, and prepared a rich banquet that night, and everyone in the palace was rewarded. On this night, there was enough wine and meat, and there were no restrictions, so as to comfort everyone in the conscientious and hard work of the journey.

Therefore, on this night, the Zhangfu in the capital was very lively, not only to usher in the long-awaited host, but also to celebrate the beautiful life. In the inner hall, in addition to the necessary servants to serve, there were only three people on the table: Zhang Li and Zhu. Seeing the sumptuous meals and mellow wine prepared on the table, the three of them took the glasses and chatted, eating the exquisite rice on the table while looking forward to the eventful years in the future.

To be honest, Li Zhongming doesn't like drinking and tasting too much, but prefers the delicacies on the table, especially the well-cooked beef and mutton. Therefore, at the table, let the remaining two drunkards drink each other, Li Zhongming just responded from time to time, and more importantly, tasted this rare delicacy. And of course, don't forget to insert a few sentences into the conversation at the table.

Because it was a release after a long period of fatigue, Zhang Mansion rested very late tonight, and many people were drunk, even Zhang Yuan and Zhu Xu were drunk and fell on the banquet. Fortunately, the stewards around Li Zhongming and Zhang Yuan have been paying attention and staying awake, so that they can command the remaining sober people, help the rest of the people back into the room, and clean up the follow-up mess. asked the steward to write down the list of people who worked hard tonight, in case tomorrow, Zhang Yuan rewarded him, and Li Zhongming went back to his room.

Lying on the bed, Li Zhongming missed his mother at home. When you are on the road, you may be in a hurry, so you don't have much time to diverge your thoughts. But when I arrived in the capital, I relaxed the tense spirit during the journey, and the longing for my mother and hometown became more and more intense. I already have a place to live in the capital, and does my lonely and frail mother eat well, rest well, and take good care of herself at home? Don't worry too much about me when I'm outside, so that I feel sad and sad.

Li Zhongming looked at the bright moon in the sky, it was not fifteen at this time, so the moon was just a crescent moon. Looking at this crescent moon and missing his mother at home, Li Zhongming suddenly understood why his predecessors were able to recite so many poems of Mochizuki homesickness. There is a moon in the room, which shines on me and my mother in the house. The two people, who are thousands of miles apart, can only be connected a little bit in the middle of the night through the unperfect moon in the sky.