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

On that day, the birthday banquet of Emperor Wei was held in the Hua'e Xianghui Tower of Xingqing Palace. This place was originally built by merging the residences of the late emperor and his brothers. In his old age, the late emperor built this flying tower at the corner of the city. It is ten feet long and has three peaks. You can look up to the sky and overlook the imperial city. The interior of the tower is decorated with gold and pearls, with painted arches, flying beams and hanging caissons.

Coming out of Chongyifang, the Wuben, Pingkang, Chongren and Dongshi along the way were all the brightest places. At this moment, carriages from various mansions set out for Xingqing Palace.

Sitting in the carriage leaving Li's house, Pei Jiaoran lifted the curtain and looked out. This year, the fish-dragon silver flower lantern tower in front of Xingqing Palace stood tall and dazzling. Since yesterday, it has attracted countless people to watch the lanterns. After the lights were turned on today, the people of Chang'an gathered here.

In order to ease the pressure, the gates of all the towns were opened wide today. Even so, the speed of carriages and horses was still slow.

"Your Majesty's birthday is always celebrated with such a grand ceremony. Just burning the lanterns for three days would cost a lot of money, not to mention the cost of the banquet." Pei Jiaoran paused and sighed, "How many people have been displaced and shed tears for such a grand occasion."

A faint laugh came from his ear, and Li Sikong stroked his beard, "Would Mr. Pei also say such a thing?"

"Oh, 'The heaven and earth are the furnace, and nature is the worker; yin and yang are charcoal, and all things are copper.' Every cent used today is made up of the two taxes. When the accounts are settled in August next year, the Ministry of Revenue will have something to worry about." Pei Jiaoran took a sip of tea, "Today I want to give Su Jinghui a surprise."

"Today?" Li Sikong looked at her with a look of surprise and said, "Today is your majesty's birthday. It's not appropriate to do this, right?"

Pei Jiaoran said, "Today, the people are gathered in front of Hua'e Tower. Isn't it a good opportunity to hear the voices of the people? Did Li Sikong hear about what happened at the city gate a few days ago?"

"I've heard of it. But it's almost New Year's Eve, so it's okay to be a little cautious." Li Sikong looked at her and said in a deep voice, "Did you deliberately leak that person's whereabouts?"

Pei Jiaoran laughed, his eyebrows curved, "If I had let her go, she wouldn't have gone through so many dangers to come to Chang'an. But now in Su Jinghui's eyes, that person is already a dead person. Li Sikong has been an official in the court for many years, and he must have many old friends. Can you give him some convenience?"

Hearing this, Li Sikong narrowed his eyes and looked at Pei Jiaoran. He slightly pulled his sleeves together and said, "He is really an old fox."

"Sikong is wrong. With my current qualifications, I am just a little fox, not worth mentioning." Pei Jiaoran raised the corner of his lips.

As the carriage approached Hua'e Xianghui Tower, the streets became more and more lively. The sound of drums and music continued, and the streets were filled with the fragrance of powder and the glittering pearls. Finally, the carriage approached Xingqing Palace Square. In front of the square were solemn-looking Shen Ce soldiers holding spears and guarding each entrance and exit.

The lantern tower with fish, dragon and silver flowers was standing in the distance, dimly lit by candlelight. Pei Jiaoran jumped off the carriage and raised his hand to smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes. Looking back, outside the barricades were people queuing up to enter the square.

Stroking the fish charm tied to his belt, Pei Jiaoran smiled, "She will appear at three quarters after twilight."

After checking their family records and searching their bodies, the ministers filed into Xingqing Palace and headed for Hua'e Xianghui Tower. At the hour of You, the Emperor of Wei, accompanied by a guard of honor, slowly arrived.

The Emperor of Wei sat down with the help of Concubine Zhang, but he sat next to the Crown Prince, while Concubine Zhang sat at the lower right. The rest of the royal family and concubines sat at the east seat, and the officials sat at the west seat.

Led by the crown prince, all the ministers stood up and shouted "Long live the king", wishing the king a long life. With one blessing after another, the emperor of Wei smiled.

Music and dance were all here, and three rounds of wine were served. The Emperor of Wei looked around. There were only a few of his brothers and sisters left among the nobles of the imperial family. Only his nephews were left. Although they were about the same age as his son, they looked immature. It was not a good thing to have no ambition and desire. Once something unexpected happened, the blood flowing in them would become a tool used by the ruling group. Stimulating their ambitions could cause chaos, attack dissidents, and reap the benefits.

But because of this, he couldn't send these people back to their fiefdoms, which might be connected to the vassal towns. The connection between the vassal towns and the clansmen who led the troops was the source of the chaos. Even though the previously unruly Heshuo Three Towns had surrendered, he still couldn't rest assured.

Thinking of this, the Emperor of Wei sighed. His favorite youngest son had gone to the Uighurs, and the only person who could be of great use to him was the Crown Prince.

Everyone was drinking and talking happily, and no one noticed the Emperor's unusual behavior. It was not until the last round of wine and the singing and dancing were in full swing that Yuan Zhengze walked to the throne and knelt down.

"The time has come. Your Majesty, please go up to the Que Tower and bless all the people." Yuan Zhengze said in a low voice.

As the voice fell, the drunken relatives and ministers in their brocade robes woke up as if from a dream, and stood up one after another. Led by the Emperor of Wei, they climbed up to the Que Tower to look out.

When the bell rang in the bell tower, the lantern tower in front of us was lit up from the bottom to the top. The colorful silks fluttered, the pearl lanterns shone brightly, and the brilliance was dazzling. Suddenly, the fireworks were set off, breaking the sky into day.

The waiting people were now let into the square. After waiting for Yuan Zhengze to ask the Emperor of Wei, two eunuchs stepped forward and scattered a large number of gold coins. The rain of gold coins fell, and the people all shouted that the emperor was wise and wished him a long life.

"A grand scene and a magnificent chapter cannot be achieved without the efforts of the people." Jia Gonglu said with a smile.

"This is clearly the emperor's grace, blessing the people to have such a grand scene." Su Jinghui looked indignant, "Why did Lord Jia say that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud shout suddenly came from the crowd, followed by a burst of passionate drumbeats. The drumbeats were so loud that they could be heard by the heavens.

"Who is like this?" Emperor Wei frowned.

Before Yuan Zhengze could go down, the general of the Right Shen Ce Army hurried up the stairs and stopped in the distance and said, "Your Majesty, it was the people beating the drum downstairs. She said that she wanted to use this drum to imitate the drum for hearing reports, and she wanted to report it to the court officials."

"Report? The drum set up downstairs is not for reporting, and the matter will not be filed in the bronze box. Who dares to be so bold and presumptuous? Now that you are the emperor's entourage, are you going to neglect your duties like this?" Su Jinghui glanced at Pei Jiaoran, and seeing the smile on her face, he shouted sternly.

"What Prime Minister Su said is wrong. When the emperor is in power, everything can be reported to the emperor, and it cannot be made into a copper box." Pei Jiaoran looked at the Emperor of Wei and said in a gentle tone, "I think that since this person is so bold and presumptuous, why don't you listen to him? If there is really a grievance, you can ask him to throw a letter in the plain box. If there is no grievance, you can falsely accuse the chief official and convict him."

"Ridiculous! This person's identity is unknown. If he is an assassin and has hurt Your Majesty, can Prime Minister Pei take on this responsibility?" Su Jinghui scolded angrily.

"When the king worries, the ministers work hard. When the king humiliates, the ministers die. We are all willing to die to protect Your Majesty." Jia Gonglu smiled and took over the conversation. He stared at Su Jinghui sharply.

After these words came out, the Emperor of Wei's eyes relaxed slightly and waved to Yuan Zhengze.

"Go and bring the person up." said the Emperor of Wei.