Liu Tan knew that it was not right that he had not written a letter for a long time, so he would always tell Liu Che in his letters that he missed him, and he would also act coquettishly and tell him what he wanted to eat, or say that he had some new things to bring back for him.

But this time... nothing happened!

Liu Che was very angry, so angry that he almost snatched the letter Liu Tan wrote to Liu Ju.

However, how could such a proud man like him do this? He just used his eyes to signal his son to pay the tribute himself.

The letter Liu Tan wrote to Liu Ju was a little different. It was just a normal conversation between brothers, interspersed with many complaints, especially complaints that Huo Guang treated him like a treasure-hunting rat and that he was no longer suitable to be the prime minister.

Liu Ju almost laughed out loud when he saw this, but fortunately he still remembered that he was in Weiyang Palace and held back his laughter. However, his shoulders were still shrugged, which made Liu Che's face turn black.

Liu Ju was quite fascinated by the show, but when he was halfway through, he also felt the resentment emanating from Liu Che.

To put it in a more metaphysical way, as he was looking at it, he felt a chill on his back, and when he looked up, he saw Liu Che looking at him expressionlessly.

Liu Ju was filled with confusion. He had no idea why his father, who had just been very happy to hear about his brother's letter, suddenly changed his expression.

Could it be that Liu Tan wrote something that made his father angry?

That shouldn't be the case. If it's all good news for him, then it should also be good news for his father, right?

Liu Ju whispered, "Father, my brother has had a hard time these days. It seems he's still living in the county government."

At this point, he couldn't help but laugh: "I heard that the place he chose to build the palace has mines underneath, which is why construction hasn't started yet."

Liu Che couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "He... what else did he say?"

Liu Ju: ????

If he hadn't been sure that his father was holding the letter, he would have doubted whether his brother had written a letter to his father.

Liu Ju said suspiciously, "Nothing much, just saying Huo Guang was too much..."

Before he could finish, Liu Che interrupted him and said, "Excessive? How excessive? Show it to me."

Liu Ju: ...

Oh my god, even at this age, my letters still need to be checked by my dad.

Thanks to the fact that Liu Tan did not mention any sensitive topics this time, Liu Ju still gave the letter to Liu Che with confidence.

Liu Che touched it and found that the letter to Liu Ju was thinner than the one to him, which made him feel a little relieved. But when he opened it, he became even angrier. Although Liu Tan wrote little to Liu Ju, there were many interesting things in it. He talked about the difficulties he encountered and the process of solving the problems.

In comparison, what Liu Che wanted to see more was a letter like this. As for those official matters, he could just directly ask for the person. After so many explanations, were you still afraid that he wouldn't give it to you?

Liu Che said angrily, "Choose a few useful people for him to go. If he wants to take the exam, that's up to him. What kind of talents can the Northern Border Kingdom have?"

Liu Ju was about to ask if he could send some people over, but after hearing what Liu Che said, he felt relieved. However, he still said, "Father, should we hurry up and send them over? It's almost New Year's Day, and the Northern Border Kingdom must be busy with affairs. My brother is already busy and has to do it himself. It would be better to send them over to help earlier."

Liu Che looked at him in surprise and said, "Do you still want to keep them at home for the New Year? Send them over quickly!"

Liu Ju: ...

It seems that he was too kind. He originally felt a little reluctant to not let people spend the New Year reunion with their families, but he didn't expect that Liu Che had no intention of letting these people spend the New Year at home at all!

However, when he thought about the fact that Liu Tan was still busy during the New Year, he decided to quickly select some people to pack up and send them away.

Liu Ju originally wanted to ask his father who to choose, but his father just threw the matter to him and left, and it seemed that he was heading towards the harem.

Liu Ju instantly felt a sense of crisis. There was never a lack of beauties in Liu Che's harem. Although Lady Li was gone and Lady Gouyi was gone, there were still others. If he had a younger brother, even though there was a big age difference, people couldn't help but worry.

For a moment, Liu Ju really wanted Liu Tan to come back. Liu Tan's return might not necessarily prevent other brothers from being born, but he could definitely get rid of all the other brothers!

Liu Ju walked out with a thoughtful look on his face, but in fact he misunderstood Liu Che. Liu Che did go to the harem, but to the Pepper Palace.

He suddenly remembered that Liu Tan always wrote three letters, one each to him and Liu Ju, and one to Chen Ajiao.

Liu Che really wanted to know what Liu Tan wrote to Chen Ajiao.

However, just as he approached the Pepper Room, he heard Chen Ajiao's laughter, and it sounded like the Pepper Room was very cheerful.

Liu Che's face couldn't help but darken, and for a moment he thought that the letters Liu Tan wrote to everyone were more interesting than those written to him.

Chen Ajiao was a little surprised when she learned that Liu Che was coming. She greeted him with a rare smile and asked, "Che'er, how come you have time to come here today?"

Of course, Liu Che couldn't say that he was here to read the letter Liu Tan had written to him. He just said, "Nothing, it's just that Tan'er sent some things this time. Did you receive the one for the Queen?"

Chen Ajiao was a little puzzled. When did Liu Che ever care about these things?

But she still replied, "It has been delivered. I also sent someone to take the one for Madam Wei."

Liu Che didn't notice: "He also gave it to Wei Zifu?"

Chen Ajiao and Wei Zifu should be old rivals, but after so many years of ups and downs, they have actually reconciled again.

Of course, this may also be related to the fact that Chen Ajiao no longer cared about Liu Che, and Wei Zifu became very honest after discovering that there was no possibility of her ascending to the throne.

She casually replied, "Maybe it's for the prince's sake."

When it comes to the word "crown prince", Chen Ajiao still feels a little jealous. She has always wanted her son to be the crown prince, but her son ran away and seemed to be having a passionate affair with the crown prince. This made her a little annoyed and helpless.

Liu Che thought so too. Liu Tan had only met Wei Zifu once, and they didn't even exchange a few words. What's more, no one else in the harem had met her.

As Chen Ajiao walked into the house with Liu Che, she complained, "He only has a few things, but he just gave them to me so eagerly. Isn't he afraid of losing out?"

After hearing this, Liu Che's mouth twitched. "He might be short of some things, but he should have enough money. Did he tell you that he discovered another agate mine? They say the quality is pretty good, and he's asking me for the person."

Chen Ajiao smiled and said, "Of course I said that. This kid does have some talent in this area, but he's still unhappy. No matter how many people beg him, he still can't be happy."

Liu Che thought to himself, what kind of talent is this? If it counts as a reward from the gods, then there is nothing to say.

Liu Che pretended to be indifferent and asked, "What else did he say?"

Chen Ajiao was about to say something when she suddenly came to her senses: "Didn't Tan'er write to you?"

Liu Che said: "Of course, it's just that writing to me is naturally different from writing to you. I'm worried that he might encounter difficulties and not speak out, which would only make him feel wronged."

As Liu Che spoke, he began to grit his teeth and refused to say anything. The whole letter was full of difficulties!

Although Chen Ajiao didn't care about Liu Che, she and Liu Che had been husband and wife for two lifetimes, and she knew Liu Che's temper very well.

Even if she didn't know what Liu Tan wrote to Liu Che, she could guess that the content might not be much, but at least it would make Liu Che dissatisfied.

So she smiled and said, "Want to know? I won't show you!"

Liu Che: ?????

These two are really going against the will of heaven.

No, I have to bring my son back and give him a good beating.

Liu Che did what he thought and immediately ordered someone to issue an edict to the King of the Northern Border, ordering him to arrive in Chang'an before New Year's Day.

Many people were surprised by this order. Originally, everyone thought that the King of the North had left and might disappear in Chang'an, and people's talk about him would gradually decrease unless he really won a victory.

Unexpectedly, although the King of the North was gone, Chang'an was still filled with his legends.

For example, he discovered a copper mine, or was granted the right to mint coins, and this time he was allowed to come to Beijing alone.

The new Prime Minister Liu Qumao couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, if that's the case, why not call back the other princes as well to ensure family happiness?"

Liu Che glanced sideways without saying a word, but Liu Quhao didn't dare to say anything else. He was quite anxious, and the person he was anxious about was Liu Bo, the King of Changyi.

Yes, the prince he supported was King Changyi Liu Bo.

This Liu Qumao was originally the son of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan. He was originally a county governor, but was later promoted directly to prime minister.

Such a speed of promotion is basically impossible for others, but considering that he is a member of the royal family and the nephew of Liu Che, it is not difficult to understand.

What's more, after Gongsun He's family died in prison, the position of prime minister seemed to be completely doomed. Only Shi Qing died of natural causes in this position, and that was because Shi Qing was already quite old when he was appointed prime minister, so no one dared to be prime minister.

Liu Che had no choice but to choose such a family member, at least he was not guilty of treason and would not be killed.

The fact that Liu Qumao was able to stand out among so many royal family members was actually somewhat related to Lady Li. He didn't know how he became friends with Lady Li's younger brother Li Cai. When Lady Li occasionally mentioned brothers in front of Liu Che, she would also bring Liu Qumao up.

Liu Che heard it a lot and took notice of his nephew, so he raised his hand and appointed him as the county governor.

Liu Qumao was originally considering the possibility of promoting King Changyi Liu Bo to become the crown prince, but if he wanted Liu Bo to become the crown prince, he would first have to depose Liu Ju.

As a result, the possibility of Liu Ju being deposed and the entire Li family dying together has become extremely low.

Most people would definitely give up this unrealistic idea at this time, especially Liu Qumao himself who had already become the prime minister.

However, Liu Qumao was not an ordinary person, or rather, his relationship with Li Cai was also very unusual. At this time, he actually wanted to let Liu Bo take the throne and then avenge the Li family!

However, not only was the position of Crown Prince Liu Ju still stable, but what made Liu Tan most hateful was that he could often make his presence felt in front of Emperor Wu of Han even after he became a vassal.

Liu Bo also wrote many letters to Liu Che, and presented him with good things. They were all rare jades, much better than the worthless local specialties sent by Liu Tan. As a result, Liu Che specifically asked the King of the Northern Territory to come back, and did not even mention his other sons!

Liu Qumao finally mustered up the courage to bring it up, but it still made Liu Che unhappy. He wanted to ask Liu Che: Your Majesty, aren’t the other kings your sons?

However, when Liu Tan, who was being thought of by Liu Qumao, received the edict from Liu Che, he was actually struggling with coal.

When the raw coal burns, the smoke is too much and too choking. Liu Tan wants to present it to Liu Che and Chen Ajiao this winter, so he can't just send the raw coal up there.

But in his impression, either the raw coal is separated into clean coal and other grades through coal washing, or it is... honeycomb coal!