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

What Dugu Chen committed was in the Law of Good Recruitment. When encountering the enemy, soldiers and horses are urgently needed. If the troops cannot be recruited and dispatched in time, or although troops are recruited and dispatched in time, but they are not provided immediately, the number of troops required will be the same as the crime of being good at dispatching troops. The Third Division convicted him on this charge. When Guazhou was besieged by Tibet and asked for help, it needed more than a thousand troops. However, he delayed sending troops, and according to the law, if more than a thousand people were killed, they would be hanged. In addition to this crime, his corruption of ink was also punished.

Soon Yushitai and Jinwuwei sent people to Liangzhou and Duguchen's hometown to arrest his clan members. The interrogation about Zhang Rang also came to an end.

Since the testimony of one assassin was not credible, and there was no other evidence, the assassination of Pei Jiaoran at the request of Emperor Wei was not further investigated. But Pei Jiaoran had already prepared for this, and exposed the fact that Yuan Gongtai was bewitched by the deputy privy envoy Jiang Sheng and colluded with Zihua Shen to cause chaos in Haozhou.

Although Yuan Gongtai is dead, things are still not over. Upon receiving the complaint, Yushitai immediately asked for an order to arrest the person. The big net had just been woven, and the next news came that Jiang Sheng hanged himself in the secret room. He left a blood letter, saying in the letter that he was unworthy of trusting the king and unworthy of Zhang Jujuan. The method of his death was similar to Yuan Gongtai's use of poison to hide evil. The courtiers all knew that their purpose was to protect the people behind him.

After repeated offensives, Zhang Rang was exempted from the title of county king by Emperor Wei's decree. Together with the East and West privy envoys, they were also fined one year's salary, thinking about March. After accepting the memorial, the matter of cashiering the emperor's order was left to the young eunuch, the eunuch, to temporarily handle it.

After the rain, the sky clears up. Putting on a dark purple robe, Pei Jiaoran once again returned to Zhongshu's official residence outside the province after a long absence.

The room was cleaned spotlessly, and a bonsai of green pine trees was placed on the window frame. A small green pine is planted in a white porcelain pot. The sun falls on it.

She reached out and pushed open all the windows. Let the wind blow in, blowing the documents on the desk, and the lace of the futou fluttering. Zhongshu Sheng, who was in charge of the core of the imperial government, was hidden in Chengtian Gate, and as the adjutant of Zhongshu Sheng - Zhongshu Shilang, her power was no less powerful than Zhongshu Ling, even with the title of Prime Minister.

Although Zhongshu Ling is the chief of Zhongshu Province, like Menxia Sheng, both of them often live in introspection within the confinement. In his predecessor, Zhongshu Ling, he would never tire of traveling between other provinces and within the province.

Today, Su Jinghui spends most of his time working introspectively. All affairs in other provinces were left to her. In other words, she alone has the final say on affairs in other provinces.

Knowing that Su Jinghui was deliberately avoiding her sharp edge, Pei Jiaoran showed a rather calm look. He generously took over many affairs piled up in other provinces.

After finally looking up from the ultimatum, the servant came to report. He asked Wu Lingjia to see him.

Both of them are now deputies in the first department, and they are basically involved in trivial matters. Thinking that the two of them had not seen each other since they came back, Pei Jiaoran simply went downstairs to greet him in person.

Her public room is on the second floor, and below is the public room of Zhongshu Waisheng. As the core of the empire, Zhongshu's foreign provinces were also busy day and night.

Even if they heard footsteps, no one looked up.

Stepping forward to stop Wu Lingjia from saluting, Pei Jiaoran raised his hand and raised a finger in front of his lips. The two of them walked quietly to the second floor.

"Since you took office, this is the first time I have returned to Zhongshu from another province." Wu Lingjia took the tea cup from Pei Jiaoran, blew away the rising white mist, and took a sip, "When you are not here, you can only go Zhongshu is introspective.”

"There's nothing wrong with going introspecting more. Is there any news from Jianghuai?" Pei Jiaoran asked with a smile.

Wu Lingjia said: "The Duzhi Division reported that the water transportation has been successfully opened. If nothing goes wrong with this year's tax, the amount that can be sent to Chang'an will be more than expected."

"It's about as good as I expected, and it's not in vain that I stayed at Jianghuai for nearly a year. If I can't see satisfactory returns, these people should think about what they didn't do well." Pei Jiaoran said with a smile.

After returning to Chang'an, Emperor Wei did not remove her from her position as Jianghuai Salt and Iron Transport Envoy. It seemed that he was very satisfied with what she had done in Jianghuai. This also gave her the opportunity to continue to intervene in the Jianghuai salt and iron tax, so that she could completely control it and avoid being embezzled by Zhang Rang.

Pei Jiaoran rubbed the rim of the cup with his fingers, and the copper bell under the eaves was knocked by the wind.

"Hasn't the prince looked for you?" Pei Jiaoran suddenly asked.

"How is it possible that I haven't looked for him?" Wu Lingjia sat down next to Pei Jiaoran, "After the King of Wu returned from victory, he became more and more favored. His Majesty specially allowed him to ride in the palace and walk in the palace. This is a treatment that even the prince does not have. Xi Ma in the East Palace wrote a letter to admonish and was scolded. Fortunately, the prince was not implicated. However, since then, King Wu has acted more and more arrogantly."

"On the surface, the prince is calm. In fact, he has come to look for me several times secretly, intending to recruit me as an official in the East Palace." After a pause, Wu Lingjia took a sip of tea and said, "I remembered your advice and did not agree to him. .”

"The opportunity has come now." Pei Jiaoran said with deep meaning in his eyes, "In the past, there was no shortage of knowledgeable people around the prince. Even if you blend in, when the prince ascends the throne in the future, you may not be regarded as the one who made the first contribution. But now he is truly seeking talents such as When you are thirsty.”

When the prince's wings are still full, no matter how hungry he is for talents. New subordinate officers will not be accepted by the first batch of subordinate officials. When we talk about merit and rewards in the future, it will not be the person who gets the most generous merit. However, when Emperor Wei intended to promote King Wu, the number of subordinate officials of the prince suddenly dropped sharply. This is a good time to get involved.

"In that case, should we go to the East Palace to walk around a little more? Or should we wait for His Majesty's decree?" Wu Lingjia turned to look at Pei Jiaoran.

When asked, Pei Jiaoran raised his lips and said, "I heard that Your Majesty is interested in spring hunting. I think that would be a good time."

As soon as the voice fell, the two looked at each other and smiled.

When the two of them were talking, they were already approaching their climax. In the Sifang Pavilion next door, officials had already come out and chatted animatedly with Zhongshu's officials from other provinces while standing under the verandah.

The sound of conversation carried along the wind to the second floor. Pei Jiaoran and Wu Lingjia stood by the window and listened.

I don’t know if he was getting excited about it, but someone clapped his hands and exclaimed: "You must be a chef from other provinces in Zhongshu. It's not like our Sifangguan, who can't live anywhere."

"The chiefs of our other provinces are young. They are friendly when we meet each other on weekdays, and the food is of course good. If you are really hungry, try your best to come to our other provinces and work as an official."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Wu Lingjia smiled and said, "What? You, the chef from other provinces, also intervened?"

"Su Jinghui left all matters in other provinces to me. What's wrong with me using my power a little to satisfy my own desires?" Pei Jiaoran's eyes twitched, and a smile spread on his face, "All the people who go are serious public servants. If you want, you can come and hang out with me from time to time."

"Well, the affairs of the Household Department are becoming increasingly heavy. I'm afraid I don't have that much time, so I'll have to wait until I have free time in the future. I still have to be on duty tonight, so I won't delay your work."

Send Wu Lingjia out. The drums for closing the Chengtian Gate also sounded loudly, and the officials filed out of the city and hurried back to their homes.