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

The snowflakes were falling, and there was no sign of stopping until the end of the shift. The snow bent the branches, and the cold wind made the branches rustle. Snow piled up on the tiles. Pei Jiaoran mixed in the crowd and returned to Chongyifang with the people in the square.

The cold moon was hanging high in the sky, with sparse stars and white frost reflecting the moon. The warm yellow candlelight shone through the light snow that was falling again. The candlelight stopped at the door of Li's house, and a man wrapped in black fox fur came forward and knocked on the door.

After a brief conversation, the servant at the door stepped aside and respectfully invited the visitor in. Led by the servant, he went straight to the inner courtyard. The corner of the purple robe was faintly visible.

"The madam has gone to rest. The master is still reading in the study. The master has instructed before. If you come, there is no need to inform." The servant said in a gentle voice.

Arriving in front of the study, the servant knocked gently on the door, then pushed it open and bowed as if to invite him in.

Pei Jiaoran came in from outside with snow on her body. As soon as Li Sikongfu saw her, he smiled and said, "Why did Mr. Pei come here so late at night?"

Pei Jiaoran glanced at Li Sikong with a smile, took off his fox fur coat and threw it aside, then placed the jade pendant in his hand on the table.

At this time, a servant brought a wooden bucket and helped Li Sikong take off his shoes and socks and soak his feet in hot water. No matter who the visitor was, such an action was considered rude.

With a quick glance, he saw that Li Sikong's legs were covered with scars of varying sizes. He lowered his head in silence and sat down.

When Li Sikong had completely adjusted to the water temperature, the servant walked behind him and took off his fu hat. Once the fu hat was taken off, his silver hair caught his eyes. Under the candlelight, the scars on his face became clearer. The bags under his eyes were like rotten fruits, hanging on his thin cheekbones.

Driven by the hot water, Li Sikong slightly closed his eyes. His voice was very old and tired, "I have been through the expeditions in the northern desert and the western regions in the past, and I have suffered a lot of injuries. Especially this rheumatism, which hurts my bones when it rains or snows, so I can only rely on hot soup to dispel the wind and cold. Please forgive me, Mr. Pei."

Pei Jiaoran couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. The Guanlong lineage was suppressed and besieged by the aristocratic families. Even though Li Sikong had great military achievements, he had no power and only an empty name. This was the incompetence of the rulers and the sadness of this world.

"We are a family, so why should we be so formal?" Pei Jiaoran took the teacup from the servant and poured the tea himself. "Hot soup is only a temporary solution. If the cold cannot be completely removed, rheumatism and bone pain will sooner or later make it difficult for people to walk."

Seeing that Li Sikong seemed to have expected her to come back, and deliberately exposed his old wounds in front of her, Pei Jiaoran understood that he just wanted her to clarify the political dividends again, and she was of course very happy to do so. She was too lazy to be shy and pointed out the key points directly.

Li Sikong laughed loudly, stroking his beard, "When I have nothing to do, I also like to read medical books. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says, 'The best doctor treats the disease before it occurs, not after it has occurred. This is what it means.' I am now terminally ill. How do you plan to treat me, Mr. Pei?"

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran raised his hand and casually placed it on the table. "Treat the disease immediately. You are sick, but others are not. There is a glimmer of hope. There was an emergency case sent to the palace this morning in Shu."

"Victory?" Li Sikong smiled thoughtfully, "The war is not over yet. One victory does not mean anything."

Pei Jiaoran said: "The Shen Ce Army went on an expedition to Tubo. They had to cross snowy mountains, swamps, high mountains and steep ridges. It was a journey of thousands of miles and they didn't know when they would return home. But there were people in Chang'an who were thinking about them and the power behind them. They were trying to stop them in various ways. The Shen Ce Army prepared for the border and fought for the country on the battlefield. Their contributions were remarkable. If someone stabbed them in the back, the army would be in chaos. Their relatives would be sad, but the vacant position would allow everyone to get a share, so how could they not be happy?"

The Shen Ce Army was ordered to go on an expedition. Although it was difficult for Cui Shao and Wang Guolao to attack them from the front, they could stab them in the back without limit. After killing them with a borrowed knife, they took advantage of the leaderlessness to annex them and plan for the aristocratic family to the greatest extent.

Li Sikong closed his eyes, slowly moved his feet in the hot soup, and whispered, "How does Pei Xianggong know that they will definitely take action? If they just want to test how deep the relationship between you is."

"Oh. I recommended him. In the eyes of your majesty, we are in the same boat. It is the same in the eyes of others." Pei Jiaoran paused, and spoke with great caution. "Although I am in charge of the Central Secretariat, I am not on the same side as them after all. The trust and cooperation between us are temporary. Now the Li family and even the Guanlong lineage are in a dead end. If you want to have a foothold after the storm, you also need the courage to fight to the death. Cui and Wang in the Political Affairs Hall are ambitious. Although Guanlong has claws, it is stuck in the quagmire. If you don't save yourself, you will be in danger."

Pei Jiaoran smiled after he finished speaking.

Li Sikong did not comment on her words. He waved to the servant to take the water away, and silently lifted his feet out of his hands. He wiped the water stains with a cloth, and then put on his shoes, socks and knee pads one by one.

"You didn't say that to Erlang, did you?" He knew his son's character. Although he was smart and good at strategy, his political vision was far less accurate than Pei Jiaoran's in understanding the pros and cons of the current situation for him. Unable to guess Pei Jiaoran's thoughts for a moment, Li Sikong felt a little protective of him, so he said: "You use him as a blade to fight for you. He gets the military merits, but you are the one who takes the power."

Pei Jiaoran raised her eyebrows with a light sigh. She did not deny that she had other intentions when she recommended Li Xiujing. After all, she could not control the military and political affairs of the dynasty, so she could only divide this part of power. Let the other party enjoy the credit, while she was actually the beneficiary.

"If he had the ability to ride the tide, why would he be thrown into the borderland and endure for so many years?" Pei Jiaoran's tone was full of sarcasm. "Now winter is approaching, and Chang'an has snowed several times. The food in Guanzhong area depends entirely on water transportation. Now that the Yellow River has frozen, the food cannot be delivered, and the people in Guanzhong will starve. The Ministry of Revenue is under pressure and can only take care of one side. Even if the war is won, it will still be useless."

"What does your words have to do with curing my illness?" Li Sikong hugged Fengchi acupoint, "You have to treat the disease according to the symptom, right?"

Pei Jiaoran frowned and looked up. He was too lazy to continue beating around the bush with Li Sikong, so he just got straight to the point, "The Cui family and the Wang family wanted to kill your son, and sent Yuan Zhengze to test me. These three people have reached a cooperation. His Majesty now favors Yuan Zhengze. If Li Sikong can hold them back for me, even if it's just for a short while, Li Xiujing will be safe."

"You two share weal and woe. Besides, I have no power now, what can I do?" Li Sikong narrowed his eyes and looked at Pei Jiaoran. He was aware of the thoughts of the Cui and Wang families. Both of them wanted to annex the Shen Ce Army. But it seemed that they could never find an opportunity to do so.

But now there is such a natural and excellent opportunity.