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

Pei Jiaoran's sudden end naturally attracted the prince's attention. His eyes moved around the candidates, and finally fell on the girl in the scarlet skirt. He noticed it just now, when others were still looking down at the scroll. She has already polished her ink and picked up her pen.

I kept writing without stopping. Even from such a distance, he could feel the girl's calmness and confidence. This is quite similar to Pei Jiaoran. He once accompanied Emperor Wei to the time when Pei Jiaoran went to take the exam.

She is also calm and confident, and she has already started writing before others have written. The most powerful thing is that ordinary people take one test, and the most are only three. But she was the only one who took the exam for five subjects at the same time, and the final result of each subject was an excellent answer sheet.

Pei Jiaoran, who was concentrating on watching the girl in scarlet clothes writing a policy in front of him, noticed the gaze of the prince behind him. Shi Ran turned to look back and stood up. He gave up his seat to the former secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

After gathering his clothes and sitting down, Pei Jiaoran smiled slightly at the prince. He took the tea cup from the chamberlain and took a sip, "What do you think, Your Highness?"

"Pei Qing is a piece of Kunshan jade. The person you like will definitely be good. I'm just curious. Isn't Pei Qing worried about being replaced by someone else?" The prince had a warm smile on his face.

Listening to the prince's words, Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"In the past, when Cao Mengde saw talented people running around, he also went out of the camp barefoot to meet them. There is no one in the world who does not cherish talented people. People who are jealous of talented people are really inferior." Pei Jiaoran gently turned the porcelain cup in his hand and spoke softly. , "If I were like them, wouldn't it be a joke?"

She is really not afraid of being replaced by a rising star in the future. After all, human intelligence is limited, and even the sages cannot take into account the overall situation. There are many ingenious people in history books, and the road paved with the efforts of several generations will be destroyed by small changes. After all, reality is not like what is said in the storybook. The protagonist takes every step, and all the characters in the book will follow his arrangements. But in reality, accidents and risks usually go hand in hand.

"Pei Qing is really unique."

There were only three subjects to take this year, so Juzi who chose one subject left early. There are only a few candidates left who have taken the same exam for three subjects and are still writing furiously.

Now that dusk has come early, the waiter lights the lamp in time. So that the light in the house was maintained. The examiner thoughtfully held candles for the remaining candidates so that they could write their essays with peace of mind.

Tapping his fingers on the table, Pei Jiaoran yawned lazily. There's still half an hour left before the paper has to be collected.

At this moment, the prince suddenly stood up, walked to the girl in scarlet clothes, and took the candlestick from the examiner's hand. He personally held a lamp for him and allowed him to write.

Looking at the prince in amusement, Pei Jiaoran narrowed his eyes. The corners of his mouth curved slightly.

The prince's thirst for talent was too obvious. Pei Jiaoran glanced at the Minister of Rites beside her from the corner of her eyes. When she saw that he was also squinting, the smile on her lips deepened.

Half an hour later, the last few people left. The girl in the scarlet skirt walked at the end and looked back at Pei Jiaoran. The two made eye contact and smiled at each other.

All the officials in the palace had left, and the chamberlains and clerks from the Ministry of Civil Affairs immediately stepped forward to seal all the documents. The imperial censor, who had been waiting for a long time, supervised them to seal all the documents in boxes without their names. Finally, he was handed over to Jinwu Guards to be escorted to Shangshu Province.

"Your Highness, it's getting late, why don't you go have a meal first?" the Minister of Rites said with a cheerful smile.

Hearing this, the prince raised his eyes and said, "That's fine. Anyway, Liu Shiyu and the others are here to watch, so I can rest assured. Will Pei Qing be with us?"

"I'm afraid I have to stay up all night to read papers. I want to go to the public room of the Ministry of Revenue to take a nap to refresh myself." After saying this, Pei Jiaoran bowed respectfully and left.

While walking on the verandah, I happened to meet Lu Zheng who was bringing someone over.

"General Lu." Pei Jiaoran called.

"Two...Pei Shangshu." Lu Zheng signaled his men to go to the south courtyard of the Ministry of Rites first, "Where are you going, Pei Shangshu? You need me to give you a ride."

After listening to Lu Zheng's words, Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "Oh, I have been in charge of the exam for a day and I am a little tired. I thought I would go back to the Ministry of Finance and take a nap first. Shi Yushi and the others are still waiting for General Lu. General Lu, please go quickly."

The purple robe brushed against the cold armor, and Lu Zheng reached out to grab Pei Jiaoran's sleeve out of nowhere.

"Is something wrong, General Lu?" Pei Jiaoran immediately pulled back his sleeves.

"It's nothing. I just haven't spoken to you for a long time. Are you still blaming me for what happened before?"

Lu Zheng's voice was as gentle as a mosquito.

"I'm not that narrow-minded. General Lu should leave quickly."

Pushing the door open, he entered the public room of the Ministry of Finance. The room was dark and quiet. Skillfully walked to the window and opened it. Through the moonlight, we can also get a glimpse of the situation inside the house.

Li Xiujing was seen wearing armor and sitting in front of the case, with a food box in front of him.

"Tsk, doesn't the Ministry of War need to know how to eat?" Pei Jiaoran sat down in front of the case and reached out to open the food box.

The aroma of food wafted out instantly.

"I declined. I'm not familiar with them anyway. Besides, I don't think you would eat with the prince." Li Xiujing handed her the chopsticks and poured her a cup of tea. "Eat quickly, it's all yours." like."

Looking at the broken jade, soft beef intestines, and sesame porridge in front of him, Pei Jiaoran licked his lips and said, "What if I don't come?"

"Then I can only send it to Shangshu Province."

"I'm in a good mood today." Pei Jiaoran said while drinking sesame porridge: "I saw the girl from the wine shop that day. She is indeed a good prospect."

"You want to win her over?" Li Xiujing frowned slightly.

Pei Jiaoran shook his head, "I do, but the prince also likes her. However, according to the convention, she has to serve as a county magistrate for a few years before she can enter the court."

In other words, the prince's wooing is only temporary. After all, there is no way to directly enter the center without letting the experience go. In her opinion, it would be best for the girl to work as a county magistrate in Chi County or Ji County, so that she could be close and have contact with her.

"The prince has been miserable in recent years. Your Majesty cultivated the King of Wu intentionally or unintentionally, which still gave him a sense of crisis." Li Xiujing looked at Pei Jiaoran, "Counting the days, the King of Wu should arrive in eastern Zhejiang soon."

"The courtiers sent to western Zhejiang have not returned yet. Now there is no news from the entire western Zhejiang. It seems that the situation is not good." Pei Jiaoran looked worried.

In order to ensure that the rebellion could be successfully suppressed this time, Emperor Wei directly issued an order to mobilize money and food from the Jianghuai River to supply the army. The military colleges in the two places were naturally very busy, and even the household department also had a lot of things to do.

"Well, in the final analysis, it still has something to do with Zhang Rang and others' control of government affairs."

Without denying Li Xiujing's words, Pei Jiaoran put down his chopsticks. He took a sip of tea. In fact, although this matter is related to Zhang Rang and others, it is not the only reason. Bad governance on the land is one of them. Although the new order she implemented is good for people to know their own facts.

But in some places, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and there are people who can't stand it. Self-operating can only solve part of the problem. More importantly, the court needs to own a large amount of land to return to the people, so that the court's tax revenue can have a source. Instead of relying on various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes to maintain.

"So we should come up with a reasonable plan for the dismantling of Buddhist temples. As you know, the land in the hands of Buddhist temples is no less than that of the powerful and wealthy gentry in the area, or even more." Pei Jiaoran rubbed the rim of the lamp with his fingers, " I have to find an opportunity to talk to the prince about this matter."

After listening to Pei Jiaoran's words, Li Xiujing held her hand. He knew her difficulties and knew that many problems seemed simple but were actually quite complex to deal with. Every step she takes is on the edge of a cliff.

"Okay. Jin Wuwei has probably sent all the test papers to Shangshu Province. I have to go." Pei Jiaoran stood up and looked at Li Xiujing. Leaning over and kissing him on the face, "You go back. I'm afraid I'm too busy."

"Ignore Lu Zheng." Li Xiujing grabbed her sleeve and said with a tyrannical expression.

"Don't worry, I don't have time to pay attention to him."