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

He lowered his eyes to look at the donkey meat on the porcelain plate. Pei Jiaoran stroked the fish symbol tied to the belt around his waist with his fingertips, and the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"Oh, no hurry." Pei Jiaoran waved to Fangge who was standing beside him, "Let them brew a pot of Mengding Shihua. Although the fish is fresh, the dipping sauce is too strong. If you don't wash your mouth with tea to remove the taste, how can you taste the fragrance of donkey meat?"

The moon was high in the sky, and the flickering candlelight shone through the window screen. The mottled shadows of the trees outside the window were also reflected on Pei Jiaoran's face. She smiled and glanced at the two people in front of her.

Soon, two maids brought a carved table and placed it in the middle of the room. They took the teapot from Fangge and started to make tea.

Seeing that she insisted on trying the Mengding stone flower first, the others did not dare to speak rashly.

She looked up at Shen Yunzhou and Tian Zizhan in front of her. As the future's core, with two prime ministers missing from the Political Affairs Hall, the one she paid the most attention to was Shen Yunzhou.

As for Tian Zizhan, although Wei Bo has surrendered, the political stain on him cannot be erased. At least during the reign of the current emperor, he cannot be promoted to the position of Zhongshu, and it is even doubtful whether the current emperor will suppress Wei Bo. However, when Wei Bo implemented the new policy, he had helped Wei Bo with all his strength, and for this reason alone, Pei Jiaoran was willing to give him more benefits.

The fragrance of tea wafts from the pot.

Pei Jiaoran relaxed his brows, "In fact, I know what you two are asking for. I have also thought about it, and I hope you two envoys will listen. The central government is in chaos now. Su Jinghui has only been dismissed pending investigation. Behind him are the Cui and Wang families, who may turn against us at any time. We can make plans after the examination is over. But we still need someone to go to Cui's hometown to appease the Cui family and make them give up Su. Secondly, your majesty is now old. Since the rebellion of the Three Towns and Jingyuan, the court has experienced several wars and is in financial difficulties. The southeast has always been a prosperous place. If you can give support, it may solve the court's urgent needs."

After a pause, Pei Jiaoran raised his eyes and looked at everyone, "Although the crown prince's position is stable, the King of Wu has made great contributions on this trip, and I am afraid that someone will have other ideas. I hope that Envoy Shen can lobby the nobles in Jiangnan to recruit talents from Jiangnan to assist the crown prince. As for the matter of ascending the throne, I am the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and I will pay more attention to it for the two of you."

Pei Jiaoran brought up the root of the problem. Although Su Jinghui was dismissed from his post, he was not convicted, and the Cui and Wang families were still standing behind him. This meant that he had the opportunity to turn the situation around at any time. Now she did not plan to ask the Emperor of Wei directly for this power. Since she was temporarily alienated from the emperor, it was more important to concentrate on suppressing Su Jinghui to death.

In addition, as for Shen Yunzhou, a Jiangnan noble, she was still willing to place him in the outer court. To be honest, having such a person from a Jiangnan noble family was a good thing for the court. After all, she was not from Shandong, nor from Guanlong, and was not tolerated by the poor. If the Jiangnan nobles were not given a leading figure in the court, they would inevitably be in a state of panic. When they looked at themselves at that time, they would look like the treacherous Yang Jian, who was disgusting.

She used the opportunity of assisting the crown prince as an inducement, and Tian Zizhan would personally arrange for someone to visit the Cui family, and Shen Yunzhou would write to Jiangnan. The two sides worked together, and in this way, Su Jinghui would have no way to turn things around. And no matter who the new Zhongshu Ling was, at least for a short period of time, she would be the only one in charge of the Zhongshu Province.

If her plan succeeds, the emperor and the crown prince, both out of trust and for the sake of balance, will have to appoint her as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, thereby increasing the central force to protect the imperial power.

"This..." Shen Yunzhou hesitated. To be honest, he originally wanted to join the prince, but Pei Jiaoran had already arranged for the Shen family's children to be the staff of the Wu Wang Mansion. If he joined the prince at this time, not only would it seem cheap, but even his motives would be suspicious.

While Shen Yunzhou was thinking, the two maids who were making tea were already distributing tea to everyone. The maids placed the tea in front of her first, then slowly walked to serve tea to others. In an instant, the fragrance of tea filled the air.

Listening to the discussions among Shen Yunzhou's trusted staff, Pei Jiaoran smiled faintly. These staff would certainly try their best to persuade Shen Yunzhou to accept the matter, and once this happened, the Jiangnan nobles would be completely bound to the prince and would not be able to think of anything else. But if Shen Yunzhou hesitated, those noble families would think that he was ungrateful and had already alienated himself from them. Once such an idea was known, the other Jiangnan nobles would do their best to fight for the governor of Zhejiang West. And Shen Yunzhou would be kicked out of the card table, or go home to farm the land.

But from a personal perspective, she was more willing to support Shen Yunzhou. After all, whether it was repairing the canal or destroying Buddhism, he had helped her a lot, so she was willing to give him such a political qualification as a reward.

At this time, Tian Zizhan suddenly said, "Prince Pei's words may not only want me to lobby the Cui family, but also have other intentions, right?"

Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, "Why do you say that, Your Majesty? What I said was all for the country, not for personal gain. However, if Your Majesty is unwilling to do it, I will not force you. But what will Your Majesty think of it when you recall it in the future? Well, well, since I have different aspirations from you, I will take my leave."

"Wait a minute!" Pei Jiaoran had just stood up when Shen Yunzhou stopped him. They were originally going to ask Pei Jiaoran for political dividends today, but now that she was gone, even if they would give it to her in the future, it would be greatly discounted.

Shen Yunzhou said hurriedly, "Eunuch Pei is loyal to the country and cares about the country and the people. We dare not doubt it. I am willing to write a letter to the government and use all our family assets to help Zuo Zang." Then he bowed to Tian Zizhan and said, "The three towns of Heshuo are rich in products, and Marshal Tian Jie is young and promising. I only beg Marshal Jie to join me in supporting the country."

Offering tea to Pei Jiaoran, Tian Zizhan said, "The court has forgiven our sins. Although I am not talented, I am willing to share the country's worries. After returning, I will personally write a letter to Wei Bo. Let my confidants go to Cui's house to help eliminate the traitors. The resources of Hebei will also be compiled into a book and submitted to the court."

Listening to Tian Zizhan's impassioned words, Pei Jiaoran couldn't help but curl her lips. When a handful of bait is thrown out on the card table, there will always be people rushing to grab it. At that moment, she also clearly saw the two tigers fighting for food.

Tian Zizhan was not against her at all. He was just angry that Shen Yunzhou could enjoy the profits while he had to lose more. He forced Shen Yunzhou to speak up and take his share of the expenses. Only in this way could he have a chance to wash away the stain and profit from it.

As for Shen Yunzhou, he had no choice but to speak up. Rather than waiting for the court to ask for it, it would be better to hand it over and give it to Pei Jiaoran as a favor. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, he will get more benefits.

With such a satisfactory result, everyone smiled and raised their wine cups and drank it together.

When Pei Jiaoran returned to the house, it was already an incense stick later.

After removing the robe, a thin layer of soft armor refracted a faint golden light under the candlelight. Stroking the armor pieces that overlapped like fish scales, Pei Jiaoran's mouth curled up with sarcasm.

The words Li Xiujing said when he gave her the armor that day echoed in her ears. After all, she failed to do what he wished, and she still put it on.

She really needed it right now to block the sword that might stab her at any time.