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

When she approached, the kneeling official in red turned around. It was Jingzhao Yin. Looking at Jingzhao Yin, Pei Jiaoran narrowed his eyes slightly. But he ignored him and looked at Jia Gonglu with a smile.

"I wonder what advice Mr. Jia has for me?" Pei Jiaoran sat down with his clothes on, speaking in a soft tone.

Glancing at her, Jia Gonglu stroked his beard and said, "Just now, the magistrate of Chang'an County came to report to me. He accidentally mentioned to me the assassination of Prime Minister Pei, and then summoned the Jingzhao Yin to question him. But the Jingzhao Yin was talking about the assassination of Yuan Zhongcheng."

The servant waiting in the room brought the tea as ordered. Pei Jiaoran took a sip of the tea, gently put down the teacup, and looked at Jia Gonglu with a smile.

In an instant the room became extremely quiet.

Pei Jiaoran tilted her head and glanced over. All the other officials in the room, including the Jingzhao Yin, lowered their heads and did not dare to look at her.

Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "Assassinating the Chief Censor is a crime, and assassinating the Secretary is also a crime. If that's the case, why not make it bigger? Lord Jia, don't you think so?"

The two of them looked at each other. They had already reached a consensus in words in the government hall just now. Now, asking this question suddenly seemed a bit deliberate.

Jia Gonglu clapped his hands and smiled, looking somewhat helpless. He leaned over to add incense to the incense burner beside him and said slowly, "What if the matter doesn't get out of hand?"

"How can we know the truth without weighing it? The assassin has confessed, and it is written in black and white and cannot be denied." Pei Jiaoran looked at Jingzhao Yin with a half-smile, "The confession was written by Jingzhao Yin himself."

As if he was distracted by the first sentence, Jia Gonglu's movements froze for a moment. When he heard the second half of the sentence, he lowered his eyes and glanced quickly at Jingzhao Yin.

He poured himself some tea and looked through the white mist rising from the tea. He said slowly, "Mr. Pei is really quick."

Pei Jiaoran raised the corners of his lips slightly, staring at Jingzhao Yin with a particularly sharp gaze, and said faintly: "This is a matter of life and death. If you are a step slower, you will lose your head."

Hearing this, Jia Gonglu's eyes instantly fixed on her. Today, she was not wearing a purple robe, which made her look a little out of place among the people in robes. However, her demeanor and the arrogance in her eyes still showed that she was not an ordinary person.

"Mr. Pei is a wise man who always thinks of danger in times of peace." Jia Gonglu stroked his beard. "If you were my daughter, you would definitely be able to revive the family. Unfortunately, you are not my son."

The Jingzhao Yin, who was kneeling beside him, trembled slightly and could not help but move back a few steps.

Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows when he saw Jingzhao Yin's actions. His tone was lazy and melodious, "I am not a drifter in troubled times, and I still have a king and father, so why should I recognize a fake father? Besides, you are not childless, but it is difficult for you to be the leader of a place."

As soon as the voice fell, Jingzhao Yin retreated further. This powerful Jia Gong did have a son, but he was a disappointing child. He was sent to Jingzhou as the governor because of his family background. Even though he was the governor, all the affairs of the state were decided by Jia Gonglu's disciples, the state Sima and the chief secretary.

At this moment, the room was so quiet that the only sound was the crackling of the candlelight.

It seemed that he had not expected that the other party would actually mention his son's incompetence in person. Jia Gonglu felt a little embarrassed. After a while, he said, "Why are you so proud, Mr. Pei?"

"It's not a bad thing to be weak. If you're not a tide rider, why bother to go to the deep sea? It's late at night, and I have friends in the market. Goodbye." Pei Jiaoran glanced at Jingzhao Yin and smiled, "Jingzhao Yin, remember to submit the assassin's confession at the court meeting tomorrow."

Without waiting for the Jingzhao Yin to respond, Pei Jiaoran turned away.

The next day, the autumn atmosphere in Chang'an was even more intense. Pei Jiaoran took out a fur coat from the box. Wrapped in the fur coat and wearing a hood, he rode towards Zhuque Gate.

It was dark. On Suzaku Street, officials walking with lanterns could be seen everywhere, as well as high-ranking officials riding horses accompanied by servants.

There were also officials eating at the food stalls on the street corners, looking up from time to time, fearing that they would be seen by the censor and impeached.

"Officials are not allowed to eat in restaurants on the street! Which government office are you from? Tell me your name. I want to impeach you."

A loud shout broke the quiet night. People who were running on the road turned their heads and looked in the direction of the sound. Officials who were hiding to eat somewhere else dropped their chopsticks and walked to the street, lest they be the next to be caught.

On one side was the chattering of the censor, and on the other side was the shouting of the hawker. Pei Jiaoran glanced around and curled his lips.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a familiar face walking hurriedly towards me, and I was afraid that there were two guards with serious looks following him.

"Li Jing." Pei Jiaoran called out.

Hearing this, Li Jing stopped and bowed, "Mr. Pei."

With the light of the lantern in Fangge's hand, Pei Jiaoran looked at Li Jing and sighed helplessly, "You have a heavy responsibility, but you don't know how to make yourself a winter coat to keep warm. Life in the court is hard, do you want winter to be hard too? The winter in Chang'an is not that comfortable."

Ever since she recommended Li Jing to deal with Bai Zhizhen's invasion of land, she has stood aside and watched. Giving him the defense pavilion was also to prevent him from being harmed.

Signaling the defense pavilion to stop, Li Jing lowered his voice and said, "Prime Minister Pei, the invasion of land has already made some progress."

Hearing the word "brows and eyes", Pei Jiaoran's eyes flickered slightly. He waved his hand, signaling Li Jing not to continue.

"There are still some things to be discussed, so I shouldn't tell others about it." Pei Jiaoran raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Seeing Pei Jiaoran's faint smile that didn't even reach his eyes, Li Jing's pupils shrank slightly. He thought that the other party was sneering at him because he had said something wrong.

Li Jing bowed his head and whispered, "I understand."

After checking the household register, a group of officials filed onto Chengtianmen Street. The officials who were supposed to be in the government offices returned to their offices, and those who were supposed to be in the courts attended the regular court sessions.

The regular court attendants were led to the east and west court halls to wait. Because it was cold, charcoal basins were set up in both rooms. The court officials sat in groups of three or four around the charcoal basins.

When people gather together, the smell is naturally not very good.

With a frown on his face, he looked around the room. Pei Jiaoran walked straight to the window and sat down, his hands tucked into his fur coat.

The Minister of Personnel standing by saw this and said, "Prime Minister Pei, why don't you come over and sit down?"

"There are too many people. I always like quietness." Pei Jiaoran said indifferently.

As soon as the words fell, the people in the room looked at each other and some began to whisper.

"Oh my. How come someone knows they have to attend the court and doesn't clean themselves up properly?"

"I don't know who it is. What will happen if the smoke gets to you gentlemen?"

As soon as the words came out, everyone dispersed.

Cen Xi, who was sitting not far away, looked at Pei Jiaoran helplessly, then turned to Jia Gonglu and said, "It's normal for us to smell like an old man as we age. Mr. Pei, please don't despise me."

"How could that be? There are just too many people gathered together, and the windows are closed so tightly, it's normal that it's stinking." Pei Jiaoran frowned, "I'll just open a window."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Jiaoran opened the window. The cold wind immediately poured in, and the smell in the room became much fresher.

"Mr. Pei, you..."

"Let's get some fresh air and wake up. Otherwise, you might lose your manners in front of the emperor later." Pei Jiaoran said with a smile.

Soon, a eunuch came in and told everyone that they could enter the court, and the Imperial Censor in the palace then stepped forward to lead the way.