But, after you become a prince, what about your Duke's title? Will you give it to Lu Yun? Is he worthy of it?"

Lu Ze had been so busy that he hadn't considered this matter for a while. "The Duke's title can only be given to Lu Yun, right? The Lu family no longer has military power; it's just an empty title."

"To you, it's just empty fame, but to him, it will bring shame to your Duke Lu's Mansion. You didn't even know that he was still in Chunfeng Street on the day His Majesty passed away!"

Hearing the words "Chunfeng Street", Lu Ze frowned and said angrily, "Is he still mentally ill?"

Qi Yuning said, "He needs to gain some experience to become the Duke of Lu in the future."

Lu Ze didn't want to talk about the ignorant Lu Yun any more, so he said, "The Spring Examination will end in three days. I think Zhong Ming will definitely be among the top students."

Qi Yuning said, "I've never worried about Zhong Ming's talent."

Seeing Lu Ze's tired face, Qi Yuning reached out and touched his eyebrows. "Are you tired? Eat something quickly and go to bed."

Lu Ze held Qi Yuning's hand and said, "I'm not tired anymore after seeing you."

Qi Yuning smiled faintly, "Am I some kind of panacea?"

Lu Ze also laughed, "Seeing you is more useful than any panacea."

The days passed by in a busy manner. After the palace examination on February 15th, Zhong Ming was awarded the third place in the imperial examination. Although both the Zhong and Lu families were delighted, they did not dare to celebrate too lavishly.

At the end of February, Lu Ze's birthday is approaching.

Twenty-two-year-old Lu Ze is now the most powerful person in the court, second only to the emperor. A few days before his birthday, the side room at the entrance of the princess's mansion was almost filled with people who came to give him gifts.

Qi Yuning accepted some gifts from people close to him, and returned most of them.

There were no plans to celebrate Lu Ze's birthday on the 22nd. After all, Princess Pingrou and Duke Lu were in mourning in the palace, and Lu Baozhu and Lu Yun had been preoccupied with their own affairs recently, so they had no intention of celebrating his birthday.

Qi Yuning felt that she had to be somewhat gracious, so on Lu Ze's birthday, she went to the kitchen and personally made longevity noodles for Lu Ze.

It was Qi Yuning's first time cooking, and also her first time taming flour, which was more difficult than taming the Ferghana horses of the Wan Kingdom.

Sometimes there is too much water and your hands are sticky, and sometimes there is too much flour and it becomes dry and hard.

She had been busy all day and wanted to ask someone else to do it, but then she thought about it, this was the first time she made longevity noodles for Lu Ze, and she had been working on it for a whole day. She didn't believe that she was stupid enough not to be unable to make noodles.