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

The summer wind and sun disappeared, and the hot days passed quietly in the wind from the northwest. The wind of early autumn brought the dryness and killing of the northwest and fell on the murderous city of Chang'an, leaving only a residual shadow.

An inconspicuous blue cloth carriage quietly came out when the gate was just opened and headed straight for Zhaoying County.

The city gate was already behind him. Pei Jiaoran lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out.

Next to the carriage is the calm and slow-flowing Wei River, and the Ba Bridge has become a blurred outline.

"Zhaoying County is not far from Chang'an. It will take at most half an hour to get there. Do you want to rest for a while first?" Li Xiujing handed over the tea with a soft tone.

He took the teacup and took a sip. Pei Jiaoran lifted the curtain and looked out of the carriage. "I should have brought Bifei and Mancao with me. I would have someone to talk to on the way."

"Tsk, I'm not a saw-mouthed gourd." Sitting next to Pei Jiaoran, Li Xiujing put his arm around her waist, "You're fleeing to Zhaoying under the pretext of illness, aren't you afraid that the situation in Chang'an will get out of control?"

"The situation in Chang'an is not under my control. The Crown Prince and the King of Wu have their own subordinates around them. They just need to do their best to maintain the situation." Pei Jiaoran narrowed his eyes, picked up the round fan placed aside, and lightly hooked the tassels tied to the fan handle with his fingers, "Let them fight among themselves. I won't get involved."

Catching the sharpness hidden in her eyes, Li Xiujing raised his eyebrows.

"So... they are all preparing for your wedding."

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran smiled and covered half of his face with a round fan, leaving only his eyes exposed. With silence in his eyes, he turned to look at Li Xiujing, "How can this be considered as making wedding clothes for me? I suggested signing the book, but it was Cao Shaoqing who came up with the idea of ​​collecting the book. Those who are responsible for collecting the book will benefit whether it succeeds or not."

Seeing her acting innocent, Li Xiujing couldn't help but sigh. He knew that things were far from as simple as she said. The issue of collecting books might cause a big conflict between the poor and the rich. He had a premonition that Chang'an would be in turmoil.

Noticing that Li Xiujing's gaze was still on him, Pei Jiaoran yawned and stuffed the round fan into Li Xiujing's hand.

"I'm tired after the long journey. I'll take a short rest first." After saying this, Pei Jiaoran leaned against the wall of the car, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Although Zhaoying County was not far from Chang'an, the road was difficult to travel on for some reason, so the two of them arrived an incense stick later than expected.

Zhaoying County is adjacent to Chang'an, and was built because of Mount Li. Even if it is not as prosperous as Chang'an, it is also well-known for its bustlingness.

Pei Jiaoran was awakened by the noise outside the car and saw himself resting his head on Li Xiujing's legs. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Li Xiujing who was reading.

"Why did it take so long?" Pei Jiaoran asked.

"For some reason, the road is crowded with people in all kinds of clothes. Although the autumn scenery of Mount Li is beautiful, it has never been like this in previous years." Li Xiujing frowned and said, "How about I ask someone to ask later?"

"No need. I'm here to recuperate. Do you need to meet your good brother the county lieutenant tonight?" Pei Jiaoran blinked.

Li Xiujing smiled, "I will invite him to the garden. I dare not trouble Mr. Pei to meet him in person."

Hearing the teasing in Li Xiujing's words, Pei Jiaoran sneered, turned his head and ignored him.

After a cup of tea, the carriage arrived in front of Li's garden.

"Greetings, Sir, Mr. Pei." The leading servant said respectfully.

Hearing this, Li Xiujing waved his hand, "No need to be polite."

The two of them walked into the garden together. Autumn had already appeared in the garden, with frost on the branches and leaves.

"You take a rest first. I'll ask someone to invite my good friend over."

"Okay." Pei Jiaoran smiled and looked at the maid in front of him, "Let's go."

The scenery in the inner courtyard was even more beautiful. The maid led Pei Jiaoran into the house.

Looking around, Pei Jiaoran curled her lips to see that the furnishings in the house were almost exactly the same as those in her house in Chang'an.

"He is very thoughtful." Pei Jiaoran said in a gentle voice.

The leading maid smiled and said, "My lord specially sent someone to arrange this two months ago. He said my lady likes it and wants it to be changed like this."

"Is that so?" Pei Jiaoran stroked the table and raised his lips, "You all go down. I'll be alone for a while."

"Here."

He flipped through a volume of the Book of Jin in the bookcase, came out, and sat down by the window. He flipped through the book and skillfully turned to the chapter containing the biography of Huan Wen.

This was the second person besides Zu Ti who was interested in the Northern Expedition after the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved south. Even though the Book of Jin listed Wang Dun and Huan Wen together in the Biography of Traitors, their achievements were by no means comparable to those of some of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's officials who were just sitting there doing nothing.

It's just a pity that the Gengxu Tuduan he presided over, although it seemed to be a good thing for the country and the people, had a far-reaching impact that far exceeded the profits from his Northern Expedition. Under the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, administrative efficiency was extremely low. The court had no arrangements for the liberation of such a large number of people and land. The land, cattle and seeds could not be allocated in time, turning the households into refugees, and finally entering the fortresses of the aristocratic families or becoming refugees.

Most importantly, the aristocratic families in the Eastern Jin Dynasty were in a group, but each of them had their own plans. They wanted to maintain the balance of the situation, but they had to pretend to be obedient to violence. Not only was Huan Wen politically isolated, but the aristocratic families' grouping also laid the hidden danger for the massacre of the noble families during the Sun En Rebellion several years later.

Now Jia Gonglu's proposal to collect books, although not as bad as the consequences of the Northern Expedition, is enough to stimulate conflicts among the poor families. As long as Cui Shao and others continue to stick together, play a delaying tactic with Jia Gonglu and others, and send people to incite them, Jia's party will most likely not get what they want.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the maid reporting outside.

"Madam, the young master said that the guests have arrived. You can go over now."

Pei Jiaoran responded, put down the book, called the maid in to wash her hair again, and then changed into a dark purple skirt and went to the front yard.

Before entering the house, I heard hearty laughter coming from inside.

"You said you've been back to Chang'an for many years. You didn't even come to Zhaoying to see me."

"I'm really busy with official duties and can't spare the time. Otherwise, why wouldn't I come?" Li Xiujing waved his hand and turned to look at the door, "You're here."

The blue-clothed county lieutenant nearby heard this and looked towards the door in the direction of the voice.

They saw a girl wearing a red half-sleeve top with gold floral patterns and a dark purple skirt standing at the door, looking at them indifferently.

"Who is this?" The blue-clothed county lieutenant lowered his voice, "When did you get married?"

"She is the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Pei Jiaoran." Seeing the confusion in the blue-clothed county lieutenant's eyes, Li Xiujing hurriedly said, "Okay, Wen Shu, I will explain this to you another day. Just think that we are just having fun, and don't worry about the rest."

Hearing this, Wen Shu nodded thoughtfully.

"Don't worry, you and I are friends for life. I won't tell anyone about this." Wen Shu stood up and bowed, "Your humble servant Wen Shu greets Prime Minister Pei."

Pei Jiaoran walked over to Li Xiujing and sat down. He smiled and said, "You don't have to be so polite, County Magistrate Wen. Since we are not going to talk about government affairs, you don't have to call me that. Just call me Madam Pei."

Wen Shu agreed with a smile.

The host and guests arrived and the banquet began.