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

A drunk person can catch people off guard when he gets drunk. Listening to Zhou Mancao's helpless sigh outside the door, Li Xiujing turned his head and looked at Pei Jiaoran who was sleeping in his arms. Suddenly, he felt fortunate that he had bolted the door when he came in, so that no one would come in and disturb him.

The noise outside the door continued until dawn. Throughout the night, whenever Li Xiujing closed his eyes, he would be woken up by the knocking on the door. It happened over and over again without a break.

Compared to Li Xiujing, Pei Jiaoran slept quite soundly. The summer breeze blowing in made him feel comfortable. Although the cicadas in the trees were noisy and people outside were chattering non-stop, he was still deeply immersed in a sweet dream.

The light from the sky fell on him as the curtains were lifted. Pei Jiaoran opened his eyes and turned to look at Li Xiujing beside him. Seeing that the other party looked like he had not woken up yet, he couldn't help but curl his lips.

As if he noticed her gaze, Li Xiujing tilted his head and looked at her, then stretched out his hand and gently pinched her waist, "Did you do that on purpose last night? You knew that Bi Fei..."

"Isn't it normal for Bifei to come to see me? Besides, didn't you lock the door?" Pei Jiaoran said in a gentle voice.

Li Xiujing was choked by Pei Jiaoran's words and swallowed back all the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He snorted lightly, got up from the bed neatly, washed and changed clothes.

The two of them parted in front of the Suzaku Gate as usual. Today's court meeting was cancelled because the Emperor of Wei was unwell. So as soon as the ministers entered the gate, they went to their respective offices.

The Zhongshu Yamen is bustling all year round. After finishing his work, Pei Jiaoran went out to the Zhongshu Province.

Ever since Su Jinghui deliberately avoided her limelight, other provinces had affairs to report almost every day, and the reporting of the affairs of the Secretariat was changed to the first day of each month, to be reported by the Secretary of the Secretariat.

Under the guidance of the servants, he pushed the door open and went in. In addition to Su Jinghui, Dou Huaizheng and the Right Imperial Attendant He Chong, Cen Xi was also in the room.

After thinking for a moment, Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "Why did Elder Cen come to attend the Zhongshu Province meeting?"

"I am planning to leave. But I heard about what happened to Ran Gan at Dajiao Temple yesterday, and I want to hear the reason." Cen Xi smiled and handed over a cup of tea, "The heat is unbearable, Xiao Pei, have some tea."

After glancing at the tea that Cen Xi had ordered the servants to bring him, Pei Jiaoran put on his clothes, sat down, and sipped the tea.

She handed over the written document. Although she was the concurrent post of the Jianghuai Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner, she was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue in name only, and therefore needed to report the transportation situation of the Jianghuai Canal to the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

Since the opening of the Xinguan River, the taxes transported to Chang'an have been four times higher than usual. Although there have been some losses, it is much better than before. The taxes and grain transported from Yangzhou to Chang'an have been increasing day by day, so Zuo Zang no longer has to be as strapped for cash as before.

Su Jinghui just nodded after reading it, and said nothing more. He had never served as the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner before, and he did not know the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue in recent years in detail. He waved his hand and signaled Pei Jiaoran to report other matters in the government office.

Pei Jiaoran sighed slightly, "Everything in the court is normal. The only thing that is worrying is the attitude of Nanzhao. At present, there is no hope for Tubo to marry us, and they will probably come up with other ideas."

The marriage plan failed. Given Tubo's nature, they must increase their contacts with Nanzhao and win them over to form an alliance. Although the current Nanzhao king is pro-Wei, he cannot stop his subordinates from being corrupted by interests. If enough benefits are given, Nanzhao will not refuse to give them face. After all, the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, and it is not just a rumor.

Born as a king, who wouldn't want to lead his people to expand his territory? Those who live in seclusion in a corner are still a minority.

"The envoys to Nanzhao have been gone for half a month. According to the past, Tubo is most likely to make unusual moves after the beginning of autumn." Cen Xi looked at Pei Jiaoran thoughtfully, "Did the military funding department take this into consideration in the August budget this year?"

"Only half of it has been considered. Military expenses have always been the biggest part. The army's supplies in peacetime, the repair and maintenance of weapons and armor, and the rations for military horses are all considerable expenses. Under the system of eating out-of-bounds food, the military expenses in wartime and peacetime cannot be compared. Wartime is more than half of non-wartime, and based on the current financial resources that Zuo Zang can allocate, it can only support three months at most. The rest can only be found from other places." Pei Jiaoran said.

Cen Xi frowned as he heard the words. He had seen the accounts for August this year. It was indeed as Pei Jiaoran said, the military funds allocated could only be considered in non-wartime. In wartime, military funds would be a bottomless pit.

As if remembering something, Cen Xi sneered, "So you have set your sights on Shu?"

"There is only a limited amount that can be gained from Shu. And we have to rely on the governor of Shu to resist Tubo and Nanzhao. So once the war breaks out, I'm afraid your public funds will have to be reduced again." Pei Jiaoran showed some helplessness on his face, shook his head and sighed, "In addition, now that the marriage alliance has failed, Your Majesty will definitely give rewards. This is also a considerable expense, and I plan to take this money from Zuo Zang."

"Why not use the inner treasury? Zhang Rang has embezzled so much money from it before, the inner treasury must have quite a lot of assets." Su Jinghui's face was full of disapproval.

Thinking back to what he had seen in the inner treasury after the Jingyuan mutiny, Pei Jiaoran glanced at Cen Xi, "The inner treasury is the emperor's private treasury, you and I have no right to interfere. Besides, the salt and iron and tribute are both abolished now, and we cannot allow them to revive just because we don't want to take money out of Zuozang."

How could the product she snatched from Zhang Rang be easily destroyed?

Cen Xi glanced at Pei Jiaoran and showed helplessness. He knew that Pei Jiaoran, as the former Minister of Revenue, had done much better than Su Jinghui during his tenure, and he knew more about the national expenditure.

The only pity is that such talents are not wholeheartedly on the same line with them. She has her own considerations, and her relationship with them is more like cooperation rather than dependence.

Smiling, Cen Xi said, "The final decision of this matter will still be made by His Majesty. Xiao Pei, why don't you tell me how Ran Gan agreed not to marry."

"The hexagram shows that it is inappropriate. God's will is like this, why should he go against it?" Pei Jiaoran raised his eyes and smiled, looking at the teacup in front of him thoughtfully, "Besides, this is not a private meeting, but a meeting of the Secretariat. Lord Cen, isn't it inappropriate for you to call me Xiao Pei?"

After these words were spoken, the room fell into silence, and the other three looked at each other.

Cen Xi smiled instead, "Ah, when I think back to when you first appeared, you were just a small Imperial Censor. I never thought that in just a few years you have become a provincial deputy. If Lord Changli knew about this, he would be pleased to see how well you have done."

"Lord Changli is a man of high integrity. How can I compare with him? But if it weren't for Lord Changli's support, I really wouldn't be here today." Pei Jiaoran raised his head and looked at the other three people, and said, "I have other matters to attend to in other provinces. Goodbye."

After Pei Jiaoran left, Su Jinghui lowered his voice and asked, "Why isn't she as humble as before?"

"Being humble and respectful is glorious, being modest and insurmountable is the end of a gentleman. But all these things can only cover up his actions and reduce his obstacles. However, if you are facing the abyss, you don't have to be humble and self-deprecating all the time." Cen Xi stared at the empty teacup on the table, "She has now revealed her edge, you need to be careful in everything you do."

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Cen, for your guidance."