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

Pei Jiaoran looked at Li Xiujing and turned to look out the window. At this time, the gate of Lu's mansion was opened, and a team of warriors walked out of the gate in an orderly manner. They stood at the door with straight postures, as if they were waiting for someone.

Li Xiujing, who was standing by, saw her looking out the window. He followed her line of sight. After a while, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe strode out, surrounded by servants.

Looking at the arrogant middle-aged man, Pei Jiaoran curled his lips and said, "I think this is the grandfather's brother of His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

"Why? Do you want to go down and meet him in person?" Li Xiujing asked with a smile.

"It's not the time yet. Let's go find Wen Shu." Pei Jiaoran said.

As the two walked out of the restaurant, they suddenly heard footsteps from behind.

"Mr. Pei, please stay."

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran frowned, but had no intention of stopping. Instead, he quickened his pace.

"Mr. Pei, please stay."

Hearing the footsteps getting closer, Pei Jiaoran turned around.

"It really is Mr. Pei." The visitor smiled when he saw Pei Jiaoran turning around, "I am Lu Yi..."

Before the other party finished speaking, Pei Jiaoran suddenly waved his hand, stopping the gesture of greeting, and the smile on his face faded, "Mr. Lu, have you met Pei?"

"I once had the honor of meeting Mr. Pei. His beauty is something I will never forget." Lu Yi smiled. "I didn't know that Mr. Pei suddenly came to Zhaoying. I was sorry for not welcoming him. I hope you can forgive me for the poor hospitality."

Pei Jiaoran glanced at Lu Yi and looked normal. She had left Chang'an to come to Zhaoying in secret. He could recognize her at a glance and said he had seen her before. She could assume that he had seen her before, but it seemed a coincidence that they met today.

Seeing Pei Jiaoran frowning, Lu Yi hurriedly said, "Mr. Pei, would you please honor me by coming to your house tonight for the banquet? I will do my best to be a good host."

Pei Jiaoran collected his thoughts and smiled, "No need. I have something important to do, and I am only here to recuperate. Mr. Lu does not need to mobilize so many troops."

Before Lü Yi could speak, Pei Jiaoran glanced at Li Xiujing. The two of them jumped on their horses and galloped away. They did not rein in their horses until they had left Lü Yi and his men behind.

"Lü Yi actually recognized you?" Li Xiujing asked.

Pei Jiaoran chuckled upon hearing this, "I don't think he recognized me, but someone tipped him off." He stroked the reins with his fingers, "Erlang, send someone to the county government to invite Wen Shu. I need to write a letter to Yuan Yanchong."

Since the other party already knew that she was in Zhaoying County, they would most likely be on guard. It was a bad idea to attack her openly, so she could only set up a trap in secret.

After returning to the manor, Pei Jiaoran immediately wrote a letter and ordered Li Xiujing's confidant to deliver the letter to Yuan Mansion in Chang'an by express horse.

As soon as the messenger left, Wen Shu arrived.

Seeing him sweating profusely, it was obvious that he had come at a high speed. Pei Jiaoran waved to the maid beside him and offered him tea.

He looked up at Pei Jiaoran, who was drinking tea in front of him, wearing a purple silk gown with a wild goose pattern and a goldfish bag hanging from her waist. Wen Shu had certainly seen the world and knew what this kind of clothing meant. After thinking it over, he figured out the clue. The other party didn't want to talk to him as Miss Pei anymore.

Pei Jiaoran put down his teacup and asked with a smile, "How did the County Magistrate Wen rest last night?"

Wen Shu looked ashamed when he brought up the topic. "What happened last night was my own idea. Xuan Yin helped me because he remembered our friendship back then."

Pei Jiaoran sneered, "I'm not that petty. But if it were me, I wouldn't dare to directly mention the affairs of my jurisdiction in front of my superiors. But I'm curious about how Lu Yi colluded with County Magistrate Zhou."

Seeing Pei Jiaoran had brought up the topic, Wen Shu smiled bitterly, "It seems that you, Mr. Pei, have already met Lü Yi. Although Zhaoying is not far from Chang'an, it is only a county after all. County Magistrate Zhou has not been promoted for decades, and it was not easy for him to get close to Lü Yi. Naturally, he tried his best to curry favor with him. I heard that your majesty's birthday is coming soon, and Lü Yi, following the instructions of His Royal Highness the King of Wu, is going to look for auspicious objects in Mount Li."

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran's eyes, which had been half closed, suddenly opened, "Auspicious signs? Is the King of Wu addicted to offering auspicious signs? There are not so many auspicious signs in the world. So so many people came to Mount Li because the Lu family instructed the county government to hire them at a high price. Are they looking for so-called auspicious signs in Mount Li?"

Wen Shu nodded when he heard the question. The county lieutenant was in charge of catching thieves and robbers, and he had just enough men under his command. However, a month ago, the county magistrate withdrew most of them on the grounds of insufficient manpower, leaving only two people. He said he wanted to present a gift to His Royal Highness the King of Wu. He had no one around him to use, so some bandits took this opportunity to commit crimes and hurt the people.

The people in the county also complained because the Lu family was preparing a birthday gift for the King of Wu.

Thinking of this, Wen Shu looked up at Pei Jiaoran. He knew that although the other party was a third-rank official, the King of Wu was also favored by the emperor. If he really helped him, he might not be able to punish the Lu family.

Wen Shu thought for a moment and took a deep breath. "Mr. Pei, if you find anything difficult, please tell me the truth. I am willing to sacrifice my life to eradicate the Lu family."

Pei Jiaoran smiled when he heard this, "Difficult? Actually, it's not particularly difficult. The Lu family is just the Wu King's wet nurse. They dare to cause trouble to the village by relying on the power of one person's success. It's not difficult to deal with them. It depends on how far the Wen County Magistrate wants to make this matter."

After hearing what Pei Jiaoran said, Wen Shu looked at Li Xiujing. Seeing him nod at him, he heard Pei Jiaoran say, "I have already sent a letter to the Chief Censor about what the Lu family did in Zhaoying. If they move quickly, they will be here tomorrow. But I am reporting it in your name. County Magistrate Wen, are you willing to bear the consequences?"

Wen Shu felt as if he was falling into an ice cave. He licked his lips. Pei Jiaoran's report in his name meant that he would bear all the consequences of this matter. The person behind his report was the emperor's beloved son. Whether he succeeded or not, his career and family would be implicated. He knew that his family had been out of favor for a long time because of the incident during Emperor Wenzong's reign, so he had to borrow external forces. Now that he was pushed to the front, it also meant that he had to put out more chips to have a chance of survival.

"I'm willing. But I hope Mr. Pei can save my life." Wen Shu said in a deep voice.

Pei Jiaoran glanced at Li Xiujing and nodded, "It is inconvenient for me to come forward directly because I am the prince's tutor. If the Censorate intervenes in this matter, the Lu family will definitely not end up well. However, before the Censorate comes, the Wen County Magistrate still has to do something to ensure that the Lu family can do something special."

"Mr. Pei, do you want me?" Wen Shu suddenly frowned.

"Didn't they say that the county government would withdraw manpower, so that the bandits would commit crimes and hurt the people? Can't the bandits appear in Lu's house?" Seeing that Wen Shu was still frowning, Pei Jiaoran said, "How about this. I will write you a letter later. Whether it can be accomplished depends entirely on County Lieutenant Wen."

Wen Shu nodded, thanked Pei Jiaoran, and hurriedly said goodbye.

After Wen Shu left, Pei Jiaoran glanced at Li Xiujing.

"I have to do my own thing. If you want to help Wen Shu, please help."