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

After lingering in Lishan for three to five days, Emperor Wei returned to Chang'an with his clan courtiers and Tibetan envoys. The sun and moon seem to change more slowly in the mountains than at the bottom. It feels like spring when you leave, and the feeling of summer in Chang'an when you return.

The servants stood in the corridor and were replacing all the heavy curtains with thin Xia Ying gauze. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a man dressed in deep purple, floating into the main hall of the East Palace.

The chamberlain led Pei Jiaoran into the palace and then left.

The prince was discussing matters with a group of officials from the East Palace. Hearing the movement, they all stopped talking and looked up at the door.

"Pei Qing is here." The prince smiled gently.

Pei Jiaoran gathered his clothes and bowed calmly, "Your Majesty, Pei Jiaoran, pays homage to the Crown Prince."

When she stopped talking, her eyes wandered around the prince's officials, almost all of them were unfamiliar faces. Based on the color of their clothes, they roughly inferred their identities.

The Third Master and the Third Young Master are both gifted officials and have no real power. Therefore, among the Three Young Masters of the East Palace, only the Prince's Young Master is concurrently held by Zuo Pushe and Yang Shidao. However, all matters in the East Palace are still handled by Prince Zhan Shifu.

If she remembers correctly. The current crown prince Zhan Shi is Wei Shulin, who is after Wei Xuancheng, Duke of Zheng. However, due to decades of trouble involving the two parties, the family gradually declined. Although he has a title, he is actually from a humble family. He entered the officialdom from the Ming Dynasty and worked as a grassroots official in various states and counties for more than ten years. He was finally transferred back to Beijing, where he stayed in Yushitai for half a year and went straight to Zhan Shifu.

The authority of Prince Zhan Shi is equivalent to that of Shangshu Ling, and his subordinates, Zuo Chunfang, are from the same family as Zhongshu Second Province. In other words, Wei Shulin was on an equal footing with her.

She had basically never seen the remaining people and made a rough judgment. It should be the other assistants of Zhan Shifu, as well as the prince's guests and the prince's horse washing.

"Why is Pei Qing here suddenly?" The prince ordered someone to bring a cushion for her to sit on, and said with a smile: "Do you have any ideas about Tubo's request for a marriage?"

"Whose daughter is not the heart and soul of their parents? If the emperor has no daughters to marry, why would the other clan officials be willing to let their daughters marry far away?" Pei Jiaoran chuckled, "Even if they can marry palace maids, they still have parents and relatives alive. For the sake of peace on the border Marrying outside the country may leave a name in history, but it is so unfair to them, so I don’t want the princess to go out to get married. "

Hearing this, Prince Shao Zhan said: "But Tubo has always been eyeing us. If we can't comply with his request this time, how can we give up?"

"Tubo believes in the oracle. What if the gods don't let them marry the princess of the Celestial Dynasty? How will they treat it? They can't go against the oracle and marry the princess of the Celestial Dynasty." Pei Jiaoran raised his lips, "As long as they give up on their own, they are not ours. question."

She thought about it and only came up with this idea. After all, Tubo was determined to marry the princess of the Celestial Dynasty. Emperor Wei could not refuse Tubo's invitation openly, but it did not mean that as a minister, she could not design a plan to refuse Tubo.

"Refuse with the oracle? What if Tubo doesn't believe the oracle and insists on marrying the princess of the Celestial Dynasty?" the prince asked.

After hearing this, Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "Since we are marrying the princess, there is no problem if we marry each other and ask Tubo to bring their Khan's Geng Tie. If the Geng Tie does not match and causes a disaster or something, they will probably give up this idea. "

After the words fell upon his ears, the prince frowned. Obviously he was dissatisfied with Pei Jiaoran's idea.

"Xiangong Pei's idea is a good one. But as His Royal Highness the Prince said, what if Tubo doesn't believe it? Even if we can use the name of He Geng Tie, it is a custom in the Central Plains. Tubo will definitely not abide by our customs." Wei Shulin said To be straightforward.

He knew that if he wanted to gain a foothold in the East Palace, he had to prove his abilities. After thinking about it, Pei Jiaoran said: "Rumors can kill people. There are many Tibetan merchants in Chang'an. If you let them spread rumors, Rangan will believe it even if you don't believe it."

"Please, Qing Pei, please pay more attention to this matter." The prince said with a gentle expression.

He understood that the prince had given all the power to deal with the Tubo marriage issue to himself. Pei Jiaoran smiled.

"It's rare for Pei Qing to come to the East Palace. If you have time today, why not stay here." The prince pointed at a group of assistants, "I'll get to know the officials of the East Palace, and I'll inevitably work together in the future."

"Zhongshu Province still has important matters, and I dare not stay for a long time. I hope Your Highness will forgive you." Pei Jiaoran lowered his head and spoke in a respectful tone.

After hearing this, the prince said no more and sent Wei Shulin to get up and see him off.

When Wei Shulin came back, the prince was the only one left in the palace.

"Wei Zhanshi, sit down." The prince pointed to the seat next to his hand.

After Wei Shulin thanked him, he gathered his clothes and sat down, saying, "May I ask Your Highness, is this Pei Jiaoran trustworthy?"

The prince smiled and said, "Gu and she have the same views on the issue of restricting Buddhism. She is a disciple of Wuchang Li, and she is not on the same page as Jia Gonglu. Now that the talent in the East Palace is withering, she is more suitable than anyone else."

Wei Shulin was still a little worried, "But your highness, please don't forget that she also took refuge in Jia Gonglu in the past." Although he understood what Pei Jiaoran did, it was not a stain. To put it bluntly, she can swear allegiance to you today and choose someone else tomorrow.

Knowing why Wei Shulin was worried, the prince said: "She had no choice but to do so. She joined the East Palace as an assistant, and Gu was even more powerful. Zhan Shi, you know that there are not many available talents around Gu."

Wei Shulin said: "In that case, why don't Your Highness submit a petition to recruit her as an official of the East Palace." It is useless to just let her express her allegiance openly. It is best to completely tie her into the official system of the East Palace. Only in this way can she be She became Dong Gong's real trump card. In fact, over the years, Wei Shulin also noticed that Emperor Wei was wary of the rise of the prince.

"Zhan Shi has a heart. Although Gu Gu has gained momentum since moving into the East Palace, there are still many constraints. The joy of young family relationships has been lost forever. Sometimes it is not as good as King Wu to show his dignity in front of the emperor." Prince He sighed slightly, with a look of confusion on his face. He simply told the story of the false accusation made by King Wu of Lishan that day. Then he said: "Thanks to Pei Jiaoran, he was so anxious that he gave the gift he had prepared for Xuan Li to Gu. Let Gu and Xuan Li each have their share of dignity."

After thinking for a moment, Wei Shulin said: "Pei Jiaoran is well versed in the way of wielding power and forbearing, and the calculation of your heart is as good as applause. Your Highness, even if you want to use her, you must be careful. Don't make your Majesty suspicious, otherwise you may be afraid of the cruel garden again." disaster."

Wei Shulin's words were based on his careful consideration. But there is one thing that is different between him and Prince Ru. His Aye loves his mother very much. No matter how high the post is, it will never be reestablished. Even though Concubine Zhang has the power to co-manage the Sixth Palace, she still cannot surpass her mother.

The prince retracted his thoughts and smiled slightly, "Thank you Zhan Shi for reminding me. I know better."

"Your Highness does not need to worry about matters within your duties." Wei Shulin said.

Hearing that the prince now trusted Pei Jiaoran, Wei Shulin stopped talking and resigned.