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

By the time the meeting in the government hall was over, it was almost noon. Unlike in the past, Pei Jiaoran stayed for the first time and went to the public kitchen to eat with everyone else.

Su Jinghui looked at her in surprise, as if he wanted to find out what she wanted to do. Pei Jiaoran smiled when she noticed Su Jinghui's gaze and started talking to others. Even Yuwen Jie was in her conversation.

The banquets in the Government Hall were dull and boring, and most of the food was cooked according to the habits of the gentlemen who had been dining there for many years.

"I didn't expect that Mr. Pei would be willing to have dinner with us old guys." Jia Gonglu said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Pei Jiaoran put down his chopsticks and looked around. Except for Jia Gonglu and Cen Xi, who were only sixty years old, the rest were all in their forties, in their prime, and could not be considered old at all.

But the rules of the Political Affairs Hall are like this. Everything is done according to the preferences of the person in charge. What to eat at the banquet, what kind of incense to burn in the Political Affairs Hall, and so on, are all based on the preferences of the person in charge.

"If I hadn't come to the public kitchen today, I wouldn't have known that your tastes are so similar to yours, Lord Jia." Pei Jiaoran tilted his lips and said with a smile, "But this is also a good thing. The servants in the public kitchen have saved a lot of trouble."

There was something ambiguous in Pei Jiaoran's tone, but the look he gave to everyone was extremely gentle.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Gonglu also smiled, "Look at this Pei Xianggong, he is really sharp-tongued. He said in various ways that we are old and can only eat soft food. She is young and has a good appetite. She can eat anything. Alas, it is really enviable."

"That's right. I heard that the public kitchens in the Secretariat and other provinces all make a special portion for her." Yuwen Jie glanced at Su Jinghui, stroked his beard and smiled, "Mr. Su, your Secretariat has always had more money than other government offices. You can follow suit."

Listening to Yuwen Jie's words, Su Jinghui snorted coldly: "She is young and doesn't know the seriousness of the matter. I am over 40 years old. Can I still imitate her extravagant style? Wouldn't it make people laugh at me?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Su. The government money I spend on my daily meals is all within the regulations and has never exceeded the rules." Pei Jiaoran smiled slightly.

This is indeed true. Although she asked the public kitchen to prepare a separate portion for her, the public funds she used were just the right amount.

Choked back by her words, Su Jinghui turned his head away without saying a word.

While they were talking, everyone had finished their meal. They looked at each other and left.

After passing through Chengtian Gate, Pei Jiaoran went straight to the Imperial Censorate. Led by his assistants, he went to Yuan Yanchong's official residence.

When he entered the room and saw Wu Lingjia there, Pei Jiaoran was slightly surprised.

"Lingjia is here too?" Pei Jiaoran asked with a smile.

"I came out of the Ministry of Revenue. I happened to meet Yuan Yanchong, and I remembered that the Censorate and the Ministry of Comparison were checking the accounts of Yanziku." Pulling Pei Jiaoran to sit next to her, Wu Lingjia continued, "I simply went to the Censorate to check the situation. Come and see, this is the part that the Ministry of Comparison has just calculated."

Pei Jiaoran glanced at the account book that Wu Lingjia pushed in front of her, and then she picked it up and started flipping through it. Looking at the snow-white, flawless account book, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

"The account book is very clean. But the host has already sent the Jinwu Guards to the Yanzi Treasury to arrest someone." Yuan Yanchong said with disdain, "The account book can be falsified, but if you use tricks, you will always hear the truth a few times."

Seeing his look, Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows. The three judicial officials are in charge of the world's prisons and wrongful convictions. They inevitably have their own methods. After all, sometimes they only seek results, not the process.

Pei Jiaoran sneered, "If you can find it out, that's great. If you can't, it doesn't matter. Account books can be falsified, but some things that are set in stone cannot be changed."

Historically, there are records of military expenditures. When allocating such a large sum of money, the Ministry of Defense must check it repeatedly.

"Yanziku is also asking for the arrears from last year to this year. According to the people in Yanziku, although the money in the library has not been used up, there are still some problems on the books." Yuan Yanchong added, "Are you sure you can abolish Yanziku?"

"What?" Pei Jiaoran looked at him in astonishment, then shook his head, "You don't think I can abolish the Yanziku like I abolished the Salt Court, do you?"

"Don't you want to?" Yuan Yanchong looked incredulous.

Pei Jiaoran shook his head upon hearing this. "The establishment of Yanziku was originally for border defense, which is a good thing. The problem is the person in charge of Yanziku."

"It would be best if we could bring down Ju Wenzhen and Bian Lingcheng and replace them with reliable people. But now we can't find a suitable candidate to take over Yanziku in a short time." Wu Lingjia frowned.

Pei Jiaoran smiled, "If we can pull it down, we won't be afraid of having no one. Left and right are just envoys, and there are naturally people in the three provinces who can take on the position."

After saying that, Yuan Yanchong continued, "Do you have a goal?"

"Not really. Besides, the accounts of Yanziku haven't been calculated yet, so there's no need to rush and think about who will take over." Pei Jiaoran said with a smile, brows relaxed, after closing the account book in his hand.

"I have followed your idea and informed Jia Gonglu about Zhang Rang's assassination. But he didn't say anything." Yuan Yanchong's tone was filled with worry.

When he met Jia Gonglu in the Shangshu Province's public house in the morning, he secretly looked at him several times. The other party was indeed a shrewd fox, and his emotions were not revealed on his face. He didn't know what the other party wanted to do for a while.

"If he expresses anything, you will worry about your future." Pei Jiaoran picked up the teacup and took a sip. "I will go to Jingzhao Yin later."

"You are planning to..."

"It's written in black and white, it's hard to deny. Once they open their mouths, we will have a better chance of winning against Zhang Rang later." Pei Jiaoran smiled without saying anything, his eyes sank into the depths, "Let's go, so as to avoid more trouble at night."

After all, it was she who sent the people to Jingzhao Yin, so it was most appropriate for her to go there.

Wu Lingjia had nothing to do at this time, and seeing Pei Jiaoran getting up to leave, she simply left the Censorate with her.

"Do you really have no candidates for Yanziku?" Seeing that there was no one around, Wu Lingjia lowered her voice.

"No. Once Bian Lingcheng fell, a position in the Council of Government became vacant. I intended to let one of my own fill this vacancy and then take charge of the Yanzi Treasury. This way it will be difficult for other people to interfere." Pei Jiaoran nodded and smiled.

Seeing Wu Lingjia nodding thoughtfully, Pei Jiaoran lowered his eyes.

The matter of Yanziku was being watched by people from both the Southern Court and the Northern Court. What she was more worried about at the moment was that the King of Nanzhao was avoiding meeting the envoys from Wei.

Avoiding them means that there is no way to figure out what the other party is thinking and no way to take precautions in the first place. All actions will be very passive. If the Nanzhao and Tubo coalition forces attack Wei, military funds will have to be allocated again.

Thinking of Li Xiujing's previous letter, Pei Jiaoran narrowed his eyes slightly.