After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

The porridge shed was set up five miles outside the city, and the smoke could be seen from a distance. There were far fewer refugees on the road than before, and most of them gathered near the porridge shack.

"What did you write in the tips bag for He Liang?" Li Xiujing couldn't help but ask.

Wenwen Pei Jiaoran raised his lips and said, "You will know when the time comes. Anyway, it will be a very good idea."

Seeing the sharpness in her eyes, Li Xiujing smacked her tongue. He urged the horse to run up the high slope near the porridge shed with her, and looked down into the shed from a high position.

The porridge in the shed is fragrant. The people were waiting in line in front of the porridge pot with bowls in their hands, their eyes full of desire for food. As soon as the porridge was put into the bowl, I didn't care whether it was hot or not, and just drank it. One after another, they greedily ate the hot porridge in the bowl.

Looking at the scene in the porridge shed, Pei Jiaoran narrowed his eyes. Her thoughts drifted back to the time when she encountered a severe drought in Jinchang. That year, the red land was thousands of miles away, and the entire Hexi area had no harvest. Everyone was in great difficulty. Many granaries have been exhausted, but there are still profiteers and evil gentry colluding together to control grain prices so as to annex land. The people were forced to eat grass roots, tree bark, even rice and meat, or they fled outside the region and became refugees.

She remembered that she was on her way to the public house that day. She met a child who grabbed her trouser leg and asked her for food. And she didn't give it.

Because the prefecture and county can no longer provide any food. More and more refugees died of starvation due to severe drought. In order to prevent improper disposal of corpses from causing a plague, she had to order the expulsion of refugees who wanted to enter the city.

After all, Jinchang is an important line of defense against Tibet, but it is also a small place. How can it afford so many refugees? In the end, she ordered the city gate to be closed for the sake of the livelihood of the people in the county. And this incident has become an indelible stain on her political career. So much so that it triggered a civil uprising in the previous life.

At that time, after the city gate was closed, the sounds of banging and cursing coming from below gathered together and kept hitting her ears.

She knew that when she reached the end of the road, she made a panicked sound.

But she had no choice.

As a parent official, she is also a courtier. Her choices and positions are destined to be unsatisfactory. You can only be selfish and narrow-minded.

So he relived his life and faced the survival of the people. She will make a choice only after struggling.

"Go back." Pei Jiaoran said in a deep voice.

Seeing Pei Jiaoran staggering away, Li Xiujing quickly chased after him. After she mounted her horse, she also climbed onto her horse. Protect her as she goes into the city.

When the two returned to the inn, it started to rain again.

Li Xiujing lit the lamp in the room and sighed as he looked at Pei Jiaoran lying on his back. The sound of rain fell on my ears like a drum.

He didn't understand why Pei Jiaoran suddenly became like this. The person who was high-spirited a moment ago became very depressed in the blink of an eye.

The veil was twisted in a copper basin. Li Xiujing wiped the water drops from her face with a handkerchief.

Under the candlelight, her skin was like jade, but there was an unconcealable fatigue floating among her limbs and bones. The rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive.

Looking down at her, Li Xiujing said: "Qingjia, what's wrong with you?"

"I remembered something about Jinchang." Pei Jiaoran's voice was muffled.

He knew what Pei Jiaoran was referring to, and Li Xiujing's eyes were filled with tenderness.

"You've done a great job. You didn't break your promise to them, right?" Li Xiujing reached out and hugged her, "Qingjia, you did better than anyone else."

Burying his head on Li Xiujing's shoulder, Pei Jiaoran said indifferently: "But I always feel that there is something missing. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to use public opinion to make Jia Gonglu lose power, but I didn't expect that he would take the initiative. In this way, many plans will be eliminated. So put it on hold.”

"If everything was done step by step, Jia Gonglu would not be where he is now. Qingjia, you and I still have a long way to go." Li Xiujing hugged her and said warmly.

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran didn't say anything, but just hugged Li Xiujing silently. But he remained motionless. Frankly speaking, she didn't hate him, but she couldn't say she liked him very much. But at this time, she was very greedy for the warmth of the person in front of her.

The smell of Xun Ling's ten-mile incense rushes into the nose with the breath. Li Xiujing pursed his lips. He cherished this rare embrace. Only by getting close can he feel her heartbeat, letting him know that she is not actually heartless, but that her heart is hidden under the iceberg and difficult to touch.

Pei Jiaoran closed his eyes and held his lips. She really wanted to use the body temperature brought by this embrace to dispel the chill lingering around her body, in order to try her best to stabilize her chaotic thoughts.

Li Xiujing seemed to know what she wanted, and did not make any overstep.

Time passed quietly in the sound of rain.

It wasn't until there was a knock at the door that they were brought back from their thoughts.

Pei Jiaoran opened his eyes and looked at the door, "What's the matter?"

"Servant Pei, two censors are here. They are waiting for you downstairs."

It was Yi Cheng's voice.

After thinking for a while, Pei Jiaoran replied, "I understand." He quickly arranged his robe, tied up his hair again and went out.

Seeing that the two censors both looked tired, Pei Jiaoran turned around and asked Yi Cheng to prepare four bowls of noodles. She and Li Xiujing also ate with them.

After a few people finished eating the noodles, they rested for a while. Pei Jiaoran just said, "How was the investigation?"

"The disaster situation in each county is different. Some villages were directly washed away by floods, and the people disappeared without a trace." The bearded censor looked at her, "No one can live in the affected areas. It is best to build new villages."

Another censor from Jianghuai Province continued: "In addition, those fields will also have to be reallocated after the water level recedes."

After listening to what the two of them said, Pei Jiaoran rubbed his forehead. Indeed, compared with disaster relief, the problem of post-disaster reconstruction will be more difficult. Knowing that the two of them had a hard journey and asked some questions, she ordered Yi Cheng to order them to rest.

"How do you want me to cooperate with you?" Li Xiujing asked.

"Xuan Yin only needs to be present. The rest depends on He Liang's side." Pei Jiaoran took a sip of tea and said, "If everything goes well on his side, we can make the next move."

Her secret was buried in He Liang's hands. Whether he can seize the food from the tiger's mouth this time depends entirely on He Liang. If that doesn't work, we can only break up with these gentry.

"Looking at you, you should be confident. But I'm curious about what's going on in Chang'an now." Li Xiujing's eyes darkened slightly.

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran said coldly, "A few days after we left, the prince and all the ministers from the political affairs hall went to the southern suburbs to pray for clear weather. But now the heavy rain only stops for a while, and then resumes after a while. Obviously their prayers have not had any effect. effect."

She didn't have much thought about praying. In her opinion, no matter whether it is a crime or an edict, it is not as good as actual disaster relief measures. But for those in power, prayers and edicts are necessary to stabilize the political situation.

"Qingjia, have you ever thought about a question? Will the three towns of Heshuo take this opportunity to cause trouble?"