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

The body that woke up in the morning breeze gradually lost its sluggishness, but the warmth between the quilts made people feel indescribably comfortable. Pei Jiaoran stretched out his hand to the side with sleepy eyes, but found nothing.

He opened his eyes and looked at the empty bed next to him, with only a trace of warmth and a faint fragrance that was about to dissipate. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped barefoot on the ground.

There was no carpet on the floor, and it felt a little chilly on an autumn day in the mountains.

The maid waiting at the door heard the noise and knocked on the door gently. After getting permission, she came in to help her wash.

She let the maid comb her hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, Pei Jiaoran asked, "When did Erlang leave?"

"Girl, the master left before dawn." The maid combing her hair raised her eyes and said respectfully, "The master saw that you were sleeping soundly and didn't want to disturb you. He also told us to wait outside and come in to serve you when you wake up. The breakfast was also prepared according to the master's instructions."

Pei Jiaoran responded calmly. She only asked the maid to tie her hair into a bun on top of her head and then tied it with a jade hairpin. She did not wear a futou.

After breakfast, Pei Jiaoran went out to the county office. It was very cold in the villa, but he could still feel a little bit of heat when he entered Zhaoying City.

Without informing the servant at the door, Pei Jiaoran went straight to the county government office.

When he opened the door and saw Wen Shu and Yuan Yanchong were there, Pei Jiaoran chuckled and asked, "How is the investigation going?"

The two were discussing something when they suddenly heard Pei Jiaoran's voice. They were startled and looked over. They saw Pei Jiaoran looking at them indifferently.

Yuan Yan said, "I interrogated Zhou Xian all night last night. Zhou Xian refused to admit to soliciting and accepting bribes."

Pei Jiaoran walked slowly to the seat where Yuan Yanchong had just sat and tapped the table with his fingers. "Where's Lu Yi?"

"Lü Yi is really capable. He has everything a small cell should have." Yuan Yanchong snorted coldly, "If he really had no other choice, he would probably have brought his favorite concubine to accompany him."

"The best way is to attack their hearts. If the two are imprisoned separately, doesn't the Censorate have any means to make them confess?" Pei Jiaoran turned his head to look at Wen Shu who was half-sitting on the side, and smiled slightly, "It seems that County Magistrate Wen is almost recovered. Why don't you give me some advice?"

"I think what Prime Minister Pei said is very true. Send two people to interrogate Zhou Xian and Lu Yi respectively, and tell them that the other party has confessed. In order to escape the crime, the two will most likely tell everything they know." Wen Shu said hurriedly.

Pei Jiaoran nodded in satisfaction after listening to Wen Shu's words. He then looked at Yuan Yanchong and asked, "What do you think, Yuan Zhongcheng?"

"As long as I can find out something, I don't care what means I use." Looking at Pei Jiaoran thoughtfully, Yuan Yanchong said, "I am only worried that Chang'an will suddenly send an edict."

"What can an imperial edict do? Besides, I don't think Prince Wu and Concubine Zhang can get this imperial edict. Even if they can, it probably won't be a good thing." Pei Jiaoran said calmly.

As he was talking, the county magistrate came in in a hurry. He looked at the men and said, "Prime Minister Pei, Deputy Prime Minister Yuan. The jailer came to report that Lu Yi had eaten something bad and was complaining that he was in pain all over his body."

"Ask a doctor to take a look. When the doctor is seeing the patient, have someone stand by and watch over him," Pei Jiaoran said.

The county magistrate's eyes rolled, he nodded and ran away.

Wen Shu frowned, "His illness is strange."

"He can arrange the county prison like his own home. He must have his own connections. Let's see how far he plans to go." Pei Jiaoran sneered.

"Zhao Ying has me, you'd better go back to Chang'an as soon as possible." Yuan Yanchong reached out and patted Pei Jiaoran on the shoulder, "The Secretariat can't do without you."

Brushing away Yuan Yanchong's hand on her shoulder, Pei Jiaoran smiled, "I will leave tonight. But..." She lowered her voice and squinted her eyes, "Yuan Zhongcheng, don't be curious about things you shouldn't be curious about. Otherwise, your life may be in danger."

After she finished speaking, the corners of her mouth curled up sharply, and her eyes contained a warning.

Just as he stepped out of the county government office, a carrier pigeon flew out following the light. Pei Jiaoran looked thoughtfully at the direction the pigeon flew, and a cold look flashed across his eyes.

The carrier pigeon flew into Chang'an on the wind from Mount Li and landed in the mansion in Pingkangfang.

The servant waiting in the yard saw the pigeon land. He quickly grabbed it, took out the note from the mailbox, and ran up the corridor to the house not far away.

After taking off his shoes at the door, the servant walked in quickly. Thick curtains hung everywhere in the house, blocking out the light from the sky. You could vaguely see several pots of unopened flowers and a charcoal basin in the corner of the house.

It was not yet late autumn, so there was no need to use charcoal basins. Those charcoal basins were obviously used to fumigate flowers. The fragrance spread throughout the house.

There was an official sitting next to each flower pot. Although they were sweating profusely, they still sat upright.

"Mr. Jia, Zhaoying is trustworthy."

"Read." Jia Gonglu stroked the cat in his arms and whispered.

"Both Zhou Xian and Lu Yi have been imprisoned. They have denied soliciting or accepting bribes, and Yuan Yanchong has not tortured them yet."

The cat in his arms purred. Jia Gonglu looked down at the cat and asked, "Did the King of Wu ask for an order?"

"Your Majesty has been in poor health recently and has not seen anyone. Not even the East Palace." Someone not far away answered.

"The King of Wu will soon leave the palace to start his own government, so there's no need to make things complicated." Jia Gonglu's voice was unrecognisable, "Inform the palace that the King of Wu doesn't have to agree to this. He's a wet nurse's son after all, so why bother to tarnish his reputation?"

"Hey, Lord Jia, there are rumors in the palace recently that the Wuwei Su family is taking advantage of their power to seize land and swallow up the people's property." A voice came from the direction of the third person on the left. The man paused and continued, "Is this an opportunity?"

"The Su family also relies on the Cui family for support. The Cui family is a noble family in the north. Even though they are not prominent in the central government, their status is enough to attract many people." Putting the cat slave aside, Jia Gonglu took a sip of tea, "Since someone intends to deal with the Su family, you and I will just watch from the sidelines."

Looking at the teacup in his hand, Jia Gonglu sneered and said, "Go and find out where this rumor came from. If necessary, catch this person and find out her background."

The man who had just spoken responded.

The house fell silent again, with only the crackling of burning wood as the only sound.

"Who are the officials selected by the King of Wu to open his government?" asked Jia Gonglu.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of Personnel who was closest to him spoke up, "The Secretariat recommended Zhuge Chen of Langya, Shen Lang of Wuxing, and Zhou Xun of Yixing. These people were all temporarily given official positions by the Secretariat, and there are a few others who have not yet been given official positions. A total of six people."

"They are all high-ranking families. This is a good thing for His Royal Highness the King of Wu." Jia Gonglu smiled, "Let's do as they wish. Ziyuan, tell the guards transferred from the palace not to get too close to the King of Wu's inner residence for the time being."

"Yes." A middle-aged man who looked like a general bowed his head and nodded.