Seeing Lu Xuan's ears turn red, Liu Tan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I was negligent. Miao Rui, go to the kitchen and get some snacks!"

Lu Xuan felt a little embarrassed, thinking that luckily the matter between him and Liu had been almost settled, and they were already familiar with each other. If this had happened three years ago when they first met, he would have wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide in.

Actually, it’s not his fault.

Liu Che would not eat much at his age. Even if he still had an appetite, he would rather eat small meals frequently than eat too much in one go for the sake of his health.

Liu Tan has never had a big appetite, so the kitchen prepared lunch according to the appetite of the father and son.

Liu Tan did wonder if Lu Xuan would not have enough to eat, but the kitchen would always prepare extra food, so Liu Che and Liu Tan basically could not finish it. In addition, Liu Tan also added a portion of Yuanxiao and a portion of rice dumplings with fermented rice, so he felt that it should be enough for even Lu Xuan.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xuan's appetite today seemed to have increased a lot compared to usual days.

This wasn't Lu Xuan's fault, mainly because he had exercised a lot more today than usual.

Normally he would practice in the morning and evening, and his body had gotten used to it, so the energy consumption was not that great.

Today was a good day. First he had a fight with three of Liu Che's guards in a row, and then he had an archery and horse riding match. After all these fights, Lu Xuan had already digested the little food he had eaten in the morning.

In addition, he was only twenty years old after the Chinese New Year, which was the age when he ate a lot. When he sat in front of the food table, his stomach had basically been empty for a long time.

So the reason he ate so fast was not really because of his eating habits, but because he was hungry.

However, he didn't expect that these things would only fill him up. He originally wanted to wait until Liu Tan's place to have some snacks, but he didn't expect that he would feel hungry again halfway through the journey.

Liu Tan was envious of Lu Xuan's digestive ability, but he still asked, "What did my father take you to do?"

Lu Xuan said calmly, "It's nothing, just a test of my martial arts."

Liu Tan didn't know what was going on in his mind. He swallowed and asked, "How did you take the test?"

Lu Xuan said, "Nothing much, just some archery and horsemanship, and then a few exchanges of moves with the guards around His Majesty."

Liu Tan didn't think anything of it when he first heard it, but when he heard the rest, he couldn't help but ask nervously, "Did they fight? Are you hurt?"

Lu Xuan smiled and said, "Don't worry. I fought my way out. There's no way I can be no match for those guards. I'm not injured, and I didn't hurt them either. Well, there may be some bumps and bruises. Don't worry, I didn't use too much force."

Liu Tan didn't care about the guards. As long as Liu Che didn't show any dissatisfaction, there was no problem. He only cared about Lu Xuan at this moment.

He was worried that Lu Xuan wouldn't tell the truth and would swallow the grievances alone, so he couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "You're really not hurt? You can't hide it from me."

At this time, the two of them had already arrived at Liu Tan's bedroom. After Lu Xuan took off his black fur cloak, he teased him, "How about I show you?"

As he spoke, he pretended to take off his clothes. Liu Tan glared at him and said, "You hooligan!"

Lu Xuan looked innocent: "You insisted on asking, and you refused to believe me. What do you want me to do?"

Before Liu Tan could think of what to say, someone came over with some snacks. Liu Tan took them, stuffed them into Lu Xuan's arms, and said, "Eat yours!"

Lu Xuan smiled and sat down next to Liu Tan and started eating. Liu Tan tilted his head and looked at him with his chin in his hand.

Lu Xuan's cheeks were slightly bulging due to eating. Liu Tan couldn't help but reach out and poke them as he watched.

Lu Xuan held his hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it. Liu Tan pretended to be disgusted and said, "It's so dirty, all greasy!"

Lu Xuan let him go, took the water handed to him by the waiter, rinsed his mouth, turned around and pulled Liu Tan into his arms, blocking out his screams.

After a while, Lu Xuan released the already breathless Liu Tan and chuckled softly, "Is it dirty?"

Liu Tan glared at Lu Xuan, but at this moment his eyes were filled with tears. This glare not only had no deterrent power, but also made Lu Xuan's heart beat faster and his blood rushed.

Lu Xuan let go of Liu Tan and took a deep breath for a while. Liu Tan didn't tease him this time. The last time he dared to do so was because he could run away at any time, and Lu Xuan was worried that he would leave, so he always remained rational.

But now... Liu Tan calculated Liu Che's lunch break time. Well, it's enough for them to do something. It's better not to do anything rash.

He turned to look at Lu Xuan, whose face was slightly flushed, and asked, "What did my father tell you?"

Lu Xuan felt somewhat helpless, thinking that after the emperor left, he must make three rules with Liu Tan. When the two of them were intimate, they must not mention Liu Che. The effect of cooling down the fire was too good.

But it is better now than before, probably because his name has been approved by Emperor Wu of Han. Although Emperor Wu of Han is not happy, he did not make any strong demands, so he is somewhat relieved.

Lu Xuan shook his head and said, "His Majesty didn't say anything, only asking me to send an envoy to the capital on New Year's Day."

Seeing Lu Xuan's slightly furrowed brow, Liu Tan said, "Is that so? That proves things are almost done. The rest are just details. Don't worry."

Lu Xuan felt a little relieved after hearing this: "I thought so too."

Liu Che would never compromise himself. If he felt that it was inappropriate for the occasion, he would reject Lu Xuan and would never hesitate to ask him to send an envoy to Beijing for talks.

Lu Xuan looked at Liu Tan apologetically and said, "I thought I could celebrate the New Year with you this year, but I didn't expect to be separated again."

Liu Tan was a little surprised: "Are you going to Chang'an in person?"

Lu Xuan nodded and said frankly, "I don't have anyone I can use."

If there was someone who could take on the responsibility, he would not have gone to Chang'an at the beginning. However, he was somewhat fortunate now. If he had not gone to Chang'an in person, he would probably not have met Liu Tan.

Liu Tan patted his head and said, "It's okay. We still have many New Years to come."

Only if they reach an agreement this time can they spend the New Year together peacefully in the future.

Just as Liu Tan said, Liu Che's failure to refuse was a disguised agreement, and he even invited Lu Xuan to have dinner with him.

Because the weather was cold today, Liu Che did not choose to go out for a walk, but sat in front of the crystal window to enjoy the scenery.

I have to say that crystal windows are indeed a good thing. It's a pity that the Weiyang Palace cannot have them. The national treasury has been empty due to the successive wars. If crystal windows are to be built, I'm afraid Sang Hongyang will quit.

Liu Che casually asked, "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

Liu Tan sat beside him, leaning on the windowsill, looking at Liu Che sideways and said, "I don't have any plans for tomorrow. I wonder if the emperor is in the mood to help me choose someone."

After hearing this, Liu Che turned his head and looked down at him and asked, "Choose someone?"

Liu Tan said, "Your Majesty, you know that I've always been short of people here. Previously, Prime Minister Huo was in charge of everything. I'm not afraid of Prime Minister Huo's power, but I'm afraid he'll be exhausted, so I wanted to select some people. I brought people from Chang'an before, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also helped with the selection. But I can't always trouble His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so I organized a few exams a while ago, and they just happened to be coming to an end, so I need the Palace Examination."

When Liu Che heard about the exam, he remembered what Liu Tan had written to him before, and couldn't help but sneer, "Is it the exam where you stabbed the governor of Xi'anyang County with a sword?"

Liu Tan felt a little guilty, so he sat up straight and whispered, "I know I was wrong."

The person is dead, so there is no need to argue. No matter whether he is right or wrong, just admit his mistake first. Anyway... Liu Che would not really think that he was wrong, otherwise he would have scolded and punished him.

Sure enough, Liu Che reached out and knocked on his forehead and said, "Stop pretending to be nice. Tell me in detail how you took the exam."

Before, Liu Tan only wrote down the general process of the examination. Liu Che certainly knew how big the difference was between the written process and the actual operation. Now what he wanted to hear was the actual operation.

Liu Tan suddenly perked up and turned to Miao Rui and said, "Give it to me."

He had already decided to tell Liu Che these things tonight, so he had naturally prepared the documents early.

After Miao Rui handed the document over, he retreated quietly. Liu Tan picked up the document and explained it in detail to Liu Che.

When Liu Che heard Liu Tan ask the county governors to first organize literate people to take the exam, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "Why are we still holding such an exam?"

Even in the Northern Kingdom, just being literate is not enough to become an official.

Liu Tan explained carefully, "Since they can already read, it proves they have a certain foundation. This is not only for selecting people for our sons and ministers, but also for the governors of various places to have an idea. If there are people they like but are not qualified to serve in the court, they can accept them first. If they gain experience in the future, they can be promoted to the royal capital."

Liu Che thought for a moment, "This is a good method. It will prevent talented people from being left behind."

As for whether some literate people would not take the exam, that was basically impossible. As long as one could read and write, who wouldn't want to become an official? Being an official meant the opportunity to cross social classes.

If the county magistrates in various places were pretending to obey but actually disobeying, Liu Tan had no good solution for the time being. He was not a god and could not take care of everything. He could only correct problems bit by bit as they arose.

However, there shouldn't be any big problems with the exam this time - these county magistrates are almost scared to death by him, how dare they do this?

Liu Che nodded, and Liu Tan continued to explain to him that the whole process was actually very simple, but it required a lot of manpower, and every link required cooperation from all places to achieve the current results.

Liu Che read to the end and asked, "Has it reached the palace examination stage?"

Liu Tan nodded. "Yes, there aren't many talented people in the Northern Territory. There are only about thirty of us left here. I'd love for them all to stay, but I'd still like to ask Father for his opinion."

Liu Che was in a good mood. Although he was only asked to preside over the palace examination, this also proved that the Northern Border Kingdom was under his control. These people were all selected by him, and those people would be grateful to the emperor in the future.

So Liu Che asked, "Who are they?"

Liu Tan had the files of those people brought up. The one at the top was the most outstanding. Liu Che took a look at the name, then his hometown and family situation, and couldn't help but be a little surprised: "Zhu Shanfu? Son of Zhu Maichen?"