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

The chill after the first snow seeped in through the cracks in the window, and the charcoal basin in the house had long been extinguished. When the first bell and drum sounded, Pei Jiaoran walked out of the house with his hair loose.

She walked slowly to the window in silk slippers, opened it and let the cold wind whistle in. The trees had turned into jade trees and white flowers, long icicles formed under the eaves, and even the wind chimes were covered with snow. Pei Jiaoran took a deep breath, his lungs filled with coolness.

He called the servant in and washed himself with hot water. Pei Jiaoran then went downstairs slowly.

The servants were already sweeping the snow from the courtyard. The night watchman in the public housing downstairs came out yawning. Before he finished yawning, he suddenly raised his hand to rub his eyes.

A man in a purple robe came down the stairs from the second floor. After confirming that he was not mistaken, he hurriedly asked, "Mr. Pei, you didn't go home last night?"

Upon hearing the question, Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "It's snowing, so I'm too lazy to go back. I just happen to have something to discuss with Li Buque. Let's go and have lunch together in the public kitchen." After that, she turned and walked towards the public kitchen.

The public kitchens of the three provinces have always had the best food. Since she came, the food in the Secretariat and other provinces has improved greatly, but it is basically within the scope of the public funds. The Censorate has come several times before, and seeing that the public funds in the Secretariat and other provinces are still surplus, they no longer ask more questions.

There were only a few officials on duty in the public kitchen. After looking around, Pei Jiaoran chose a deserted place to sit down.

Seeing her sit down, the servants served her the meal. After she had taken a few bites of the ancient bowl of rice, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar.

When I looked up, I saw Li Jing running towards me in a hurry, his face showing an unconcealable haggardness.

"Why are you so flustered?" Pei Jiaoran asked.

Li Jing's throat rolled slightly, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and lowered his voice and said: "Mr. Pei, Bai He is dead."

Even though his voice was lowered, the tone of the last two words couldn't help but rise a degree.

Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Pei Jiaoran waved his hand, motioning Li Jing to sit down. He then smiled at everyone and asked them to continue eating.

"When did it happen?" Pei Jiaoran asked in a deep voice.

"The people from the Imperial Censorate reported that it was Zishi." Li Jingwei sighed, "If he dies, there will be no evidence. And we can't take action against Zhang Rang."

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran looked out the window, resting his right arm on the table, and gently stroking his other fingers with the thumb of his right hand. Bai He used poison to conceal his evil and died to resist the law. It seemed that he wanted to make an understanding of the matter and not implicate other people, but his death was also a suicide out of fear of punishment.

Suddenly, I thought of Yuan Gongtai, the governor of Haozhou, who also committed suicide in prison. Like Bai He, they both used poison to conceal their crimes and died to resist the law in order to protect the interests of their descendants.

After thinking for a while, Pei Jiaoran said: "The Censorate will not report this matter to the Ministry of Shangshu for the time being. You will go to the court this morning and continue to make a confession according to yesterday's agreement. As for his suicide..."

She suddenly smiled and said, "I'll take care of it. There's still half an hour before the court meeting. You can go and take a rest. Don't lose your manners in front of His Majesty."

After watching Li Jing leave, Pei Jiaoran glanced at the unfinished breakfast on the table. He instantly lost his appetite and walked out the door.

The bells and drums had only been ringing for half an hour, and the palace gates were not open. In addition, it was winter, the night was not over yet, and the morning sun was still on the road, so it was pitch black everywhere.

He walked around to the front of the Eunuch Department and took advantage of no one's attention to sneak in. He walked skillfully to the Eunuch Supervisor's bedroom and pushed the door open to listen.

Yuan Zhengze, who was in the room, had just stood up when he suddenly saw another person in the room. He was about to grab the dagger hidden under his pillow when a pair of hands pressed accurately on his palms.

The knuckles were long and thin, and there was a thin layer of callouses on the fingertips and palms. In the moonlight, he could see a ray of purple.

"As the eunuch supervisor, you actually secretly hid a dagger. It seems that you are having a hard time, Yuan Juyuan." Pei Jiaoran said with a low laugh.

As if he heard the sarcasm in her words, the hand that she was holding bent slightly.

I only heard Yuan Zhengze say, "With wolves all around, I have to learn to protect myself. I wonder what you are doing here, Mr. Pei."

Upon hearing this, Pei Jiaoran withdrew his hand and retreated behind the curtain, "Bai He committed suicide in prison."

The few numbers were like thunder, hitting Yuan Zhengze's ears.

Without caring whether his manners were inappropriate, Yuan Zhengze suddenly opened the curtain and said, "How could it be? Yesterday, the Privy Councilor specifically asked me to go and see him. He said that they knew each other and he couldn't bear to see him suffer."

"So you saw Baihe before midnight last night." Pei Jiaoran tilted his head to look at Yuan Zhengze, "Did you send him food?"

"Yes. Envoy Wang said that we are all colleagues. If I don't help others who are in trouble today, how will others look at me if I am in trouble in the future?" Yuan Zhengze glanced at Pei Jiaoran, lifted his clothes and knelt down, saying: "Please, Mr. Pei, save me."

Listening to Yuan Zhengze's words, Pei Jiaoran let out a sneer. It seemed that someone was planning to use Yuan Zhengze to get rid of Bai He and pull him down at the same time. Replace him with someone else.

"Save you? You have your own ideas, but now you want me to save you. I don't have the ability to do that." Pei Jiaoran looked around and sighed, "It's a pity, I'm afraid you can't escape."

"Please, Mr. Pei, save me! Bai He said that if he had known that Zhang Jue would not save him, why would he have done so many things for him." Yuan Zhengze grabbed Pei Jiaoran's clothes and cried, "I brought him a lot of wine. He told the truth after drinking, and I knew it. I promise that no one else knows."

Looking down at Yuan Zhengze kneeling on the ground, Pei Jiaoran raised his lips and said, "But he is dead now. Unless you can find a scapegoat, you will inevitably be implicated."

Hearing the word "scapegoat", Yuan Zhengze raised his head and asked, "Who does Pei Xianggong want to be the scapegoat?"

"Alas. Yuan Juyuan, it's not that I want someone to be a scapegoat. It's that you need someone to be one." Patting Yuan Zhengze on the shoulder, Pei Jiaoran said softly: "Zhang Rang has controlled the Ministry of Internal Affairs for so long, doesn't he have spies? Cut off his spies, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not be your world. Anyway, no one saw you go to the Censorate, and the people in the Censorate have never seen you in there either."

The interrogation room of the Censorate was heavily guarded, and no one was allowed to enter without an imperial order. But the suspect died in the Censorate, and the situation in the Censorate had been leaked before. These two factors made the guards of the Censorate a joke.

"You mean to put the blame on Zhang Rang?" Yuan Zhengze met her gaze. "I know what to do."

"Yuan Juyuan is indeed smart, no wonder he is favored by His Majesty." Pei Jiaoran looked at him meaningfully, "I will impeach Bai He, and you will be responsible for framing Zhang Rang. Do you understand?"

"I saved it. Lord Pei, are you only impeaching Bai He?"

"The time is not right yet, don't be reckless." Pei Jiaoran smiled and turned away.