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

He signaled Cui Xiancheng to let everyone stand up. However, the people still shouted thank you to the Ming Dynasty.

Sighed. Pei Jiaoran raised his head and looked at the people kneeling on the ground, and said loudly: "Everyone, please stand up. I have promised before that you will write to me to ask for God's grace to exempt this year's taxes. I am merciful and pity the people's hardship, and now I am exempting them. Taxes, you should follow me and kowtow to express my gratitude for this grace." After saying this, she knelt and knelt in the direction of Chang'an, then looked at Li Xiujing, "This matter cannot be accomplished without the full help of the governor."

She didn't know why the emperor issued an edict to exempt the Hexi prefectures from paying taxes this year. Let's put this matter first on Li Xiujing. Maybe it was their joint signature that played a role. But she always felt that this edict had a deeper meaning.

The huge credit was divided into three parts by her. The majority fell on Jin Shang, and the remaining two were one for herself and one for Li Xiujing.

The emperor is far away in Chang'an, and the people have no chance to see Tianyan. The gratitude towards the state and county officials is naturally even greater. After all the rituals were over, the people cheered and sang all the way, and surrounded the two people back to the city.

The joyful singing stopped at the gate of the state house.

Standing at the gate of Zhoushe, Pei Jiaoran thought for a while. She asked Cui Xian Cheng and others to go back first, as she still had some things to deal with. They came to Zhouse again in the evening to attend the banquet.

At this time, Li Xiujing also sent Governor Shi to lead everyone back to the public house to handle the official affairs of the state. And he and Pei Jiaoran entered the study.

Pouring himself a cup of tea, Pei Jiaoran looked deeply, "I originally submitted a letter just to exempt Guazhou from taxes, but now the edict exempts Hexi. If this happens, I'm afraid it will become very troublesome."

"You are worried that next year, the money to eliminate Mo may be allocated from Jianghuai and Yizhou to other Daozhou counties." Li Xiujing said in a deep voice.

"Absolutely." Pei Jiaoran smiled, "If we only catch one place, no matter how much gold and silver we have, we will have to move away. What's more, the Jiedushi over Jianghuai is not a peaceful person. At the moment, he is just in the way. For various reasons, we cannot ignore the imperial decree like the vassal towns in Hebei."

Her worries are not unfounded. In the previous life, except for Mo Qian, it spread to other realms because there were rebellions in Jianghuai. Although the rebellion was eventually suppressed, the imperial court suffered heavy losses. Jianghuai once lost popular support, and the central government's finances were even more precarious.

Now that the imperial edict has exempted Hexi from taxes, it means that the taxes on Jianghuai and Yizhou will be heavier. Leaving aside Yizhou, after all, the government is quite tolerant towards Yizhou, but extremely harsh towards Jianghuai. If the people are overwhelmed, they will naturally rise up and resist.

"In your opinion, is this the intention of the superior, or is it the instigation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

Pei Jiaoran's eyes were as dark as night, and she slightly curled her lips, "The power of the chamberlain comes from the imperial power, and the two complement each other. I am not a three-year-old child, and will not be easily controlled by the chamberlain. So I think there may be his instructions here. ."

In the Tian family, no one is born with authority. Even if you are not born with a powerful body, you should develop extremely high political acumen after being exposed to it for a long time.

She was wondering what role Konshang played in the three-party struggle. Is he really, as the courtiers see, a puppet emperor who cannot suppress any party and can only be coerced by three parties?

Pei Jiaoran pursed his lips and closed his eyes. In her mind, she pictured the person wearing the yellow robe on the throne of the Tai Chi Hall, with his dull but sharp eyes.

"If this is really the instruction from me, you and I are standing on the edge of a dangerous cliff. If we are not careful, we will be shattered into pieces." Li Xiujing looked at her and smiled.

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows, "I have long advised the governor not to sign it, but you didn't listen. Even if you are remembered in the future, it will have nothing to do with me."

She had a smile on her face, but her words were heartless and tasteless.

"Qingjia." Li Xiujing suddenly called.

The smile on Pei Jiaoran's face disappeared, "What did the governor call me?"

"What? Yuan Yanchong is the only one allowed to call you like this?" Li Xiujing's eyes sparkled and she said with a smile, "Can't I call you?"

Hearing Li Xiujing's question, Pei Jiaoran smiled again on his face, "I'm just used to hearing the governor call me by my real name, or calling me by my Mingfu. It's the first time I heard it called me by words, so I'm a little uncomfortable."

Yes. Qingjia is her given name. In her previous life, only acquaintances called her that. When she met Li Xiujing, she either addressed him by official title or called him by his first name.

But Pei Jiaoran and Pei Qingjia are just names. She didn't care how Li Xiujing called her, she only cared about what she could do to make him trust her more, and then she could use him as much as possible.

"Don't worry, it was my intention to sign the memorial. I will not regret this decision. So if they want to cause trouble in the future, they will just do it. I, Li Xiujing, have never been afraid of anyone." Li Xiujing said with a smile.

Looking at Li Xiujing who looked high-spirited, Pei Jiaoran took a sip of tea silently and said gently: "Are you really not afraid of the governor? But I will not be lonely even if I have the governor accompanying me on this trip."

Now that she and Li Xiujing were sitting on the same boat, she would not leave Li Xiujing easily. After all, it was difficult to support herself, and she couldn't go on alone.

"It's my honor to be able to travel with Qingjia."

Pei Jiaoran was bathing in the warm sunshine, holding a tea cup. He looked at Li Xiujing with a half-smile, a rare tenderness in his eyes.

She has been influenced by power since she was a child, and since then she has been involved in the government. She has become accustomed to the ruthlessness and unrighteousness in the power arena, but she also knows the beauty of holding power. Therefore, she was still willing to devote herself to it without hesitation in her next life. In the field of power, anything can be exploited, including personal feelings. She is not stingy about showing a little bit of false affection to others, but she will not be restrained by any emotion.

"Now the only thing left is Yuan Yanchong's side. If he can get Dugu Chen to agree to your plan to dig the canal, your journey back to Chang'an will only be smoother." Li Xiujing approached Pei Jiaoran, focused his eyes on the side of her face, and said with a smile. : "Qingjia, can you and I have a drink and talk tonight?"

Pei Jiaoran nodded.

When the moon reaches midday, the banquet begins.

This banquet is a celebration, and the credit belongs to two people. Therefore, Li Xiujing specially placed Pei Jiaoran's position at the bottom right.

At the banquet, people drank wine, sang and danced. The dancer has a slender waist and charming eyes, and the bracelets on her wrists match the necklace around her waist. The tassels of pearls rotate like stars shaking, and the flower vines flutter like dragons and snakes.

Pei Jiaoran smiled narrowly as he watched the leading dancer move up to Li Xiujing with a wine glass in his mouth. He turned to talk to the maiko who served him wine, and there were a few laughs between the two of them from time to time.

As the fragrant wind entered his nose, Li Xiujing glanced at the dancer. He took the golden wine cup and sent her away with a wave of his hand. He walked up to Pei Jiaoran with a wine cup in hand, leaned over to look at her, and then easily pulled her out of the maiko.

"What are you doing, Governor?" Pei Jiaoran called lazily, raising his eyes.