Liu Tan almost choked to death on his own saliva. If he were to separate them, he would be able to tell at a glance that something was wrong.

Liu Tan hurriedly said, "Father, the kitchen has prepared food for everyone, and we two have our own!"

Liu Che said, "That's different. Yours is definitely not as big as mine."

Liu Tan was almost crying. Although he was very happy that Liu Che would share it with them and that only he and Lu Xuan had it, the problem was that if they really divided it, the secret would be exposed!

Although Liu Tan maintained a good expression, Lu Xuan was not far away from him and could see at a glance that Liu Tan's body looked a little stiff.

Although he didn't know why Liu Tan was unwilling to share, Lu Xuan still spoke, "Your Majesty's ability to catch this fish must be a blessing bestowed upon you by heaven. Dividing it would be detrimental to your majesty. My prince and His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory only hope that your majesty's blessings will continue. This is our blessing, and therefore, your majesty should enjoy this fish alone."

Liu Che was in a good mood at the moment, and since Lu Xuan spoke with such sincerity, he smiled with satisfaction and said, "If that's the case, then fine. Next time I catch two more big fish, I'll give them to you."

Liu Tan heaved a long sigh of relief, then raised his wine cup and gave Lu Xuan a thumbs-up.

Liu Che saw their flirting very clearly from above, but he didn't say anything. He just let Hu Ji help him serve the dishes and tasted the West Lake vinegar fish first.

The piece of fish Hu Ji picked up for him was the most tender part of the whole fish. When Liu Che took a bite of it, he found the fish tender, sour and sweet, with some of the original sweetness of the fish. He couldn't help but be a little surprised: "This fish doesn't have a single fishy smell. Not bad."

Nowadays, people don’t really like to eat fish because the fishy smell is too strong and difficult to remove. No matter how it is cooked, it still has a fishy smell, and people who don’t like it really dislike it.

Liu Che didn't like eating fish at first, but this fish was the result of his hard work, and when he heard that Liu Tan had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, he was willing to eat a few more bites. Unexpectedly, the taste surprised him. It had the sweet and sour taste he liked without any fishy taste. It was completely different from the taste of sweet and sour spare ribs. Compared with the sour, sweet, salty and fragrant sweet and sour spare ribs, this dish was lighter and more refreshing. Even Liu Che couldn't help but eat a few more bites.

Not to mention Liu Che, there is no one who doesn’t like Liu Tan’s version of West Lake Vinegar Fish.

There was little sugar in those days, so there were not many dishes that used sugar. These people rarely had the chance to eat such dishes on weekdays. They had heard of the palace's secret dish, sweet and sour pork ribs, but few people had eaten it. Only the generals who followed Liu Che to Liu Tan's manor had eaten it, and everyone who had eaten it praised it.

Many people before could not imagine what the smell was, and thought that these people were just following the emperor's words, or they were afraid to offend the King of the North.

After eating this dish, I vaguely understood why so many people recommend sweet and sour pork ribs. For a moment, some people even thought that if the fish is so delicious, then the sweet and sour pork ribs must be delicious too?

Liu Che enjoyed the meal and asked casually, "What is the name of this dish?"

Liu Tan had just had a false alarm and was busy eating, so he answered casually, "West Lake Vinegar Fish."

After he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong. Sure enough, he heard Liu Che ask in confusion: "Why is it called West Lake Vinegar Fish?"

Liu Tan was stumped for a moment, then quickly came up with an idea: "The Oxbow Lake where my father fishes is just west of Shuofang City, so it's West Lake. And vinegar fish is... made with vinegar."

Liu Che raised his eyebrows, looking as if he didn't like the name. Liu Tan immediately said, "I've never been good at naming. Why don't you give it to me, Father?"

Liu Che said without thinking: "Let's call it Taichu Zhenyu."

Taichu was the reign title that Emperor Liu Che changed last year. Now it is still the first year of Taichu, and after the new year it will be the first year of Taichu.

Liu Tan's ears twitched. Naming a dish after the reign title showed that Liu Che really liked it.

However, Liu Tan's suspicion was also related to Lu Xuan's nonsense theory of fortune.

It was just that Liu Che had already come up with a name, so everyone naturally decided to call it this, and it did sound much better than West Lake Vinegar Fish.

Although the Taichu Zhenyu fish tasted good, the sweet and sour taste in the mouth was too strong to bear if you ate too much. It happened that the boiled fish fillets were served at this time.

Boiled fish fillets are much easier to make than the previous Taichu Zhenyu. Although you need to fillet a lot of fish fillets and ensure that there are no tiny bones in the fish fillets, it is less troublesome to make. You can directly boil the fish fillets in a large pot and then drizzle a layer of chicken oil on them after taking them out of the pot.

Because it was drizzled with chicken oil, everyone could smell a rich aroma when the dish was served. It was mixed with the flavor of green onions and ginger cooked in chicken oil, mixed with the aroma of chicken oil and chicken soup, which made people salivate.

When the boiled fish fillets were served, the appearance gave a visual impact. The Taichu Zhenyu just now was thick with oil and red sauce, while the boiled fish fillets now were much lighter.

The surface of the boiled fish fillet is light yellow chicken fat, the inside is white fish soup, and white and pink fish fillets float in the middle. With the addition of dogwood to enhance the flavor, it looks eye-catching.

Before Liu Tan, he specifically told Bu Fan to take out the fish fillets and let them air dry for a while before giving them to Liu Che. Because there was chicken fat on top, even though the temperature underneath was very high, it didn't look hot. But if Liu Che ate it like that, he would probably get more burns in his mouth.

After picking up the fish, Liu Che looked at it carefully before putting it into his mouth.

Boiled fish fillet is different from Taichu Zhenyu. Without the sweet and sour sauce to cover it up, the freshness of the fish is more thoroughly revealed. In addition, the dogwood brings a slight spicy flavor, and the taste in the mouth is very rich. Coupled with the unique smoothness of the fish, Liu Che nodded with satisfaction: "This dish is not bad either."

Having learned the lesson from last time, Liu Che did not ask Liu Tan what his real name was this time. He found that he did not like the names Liu Tan said. He did not know whether it was because the gods in the fairy world believed that vulgarity was elegance or what, but his aesthetic tastes were different.

Although Liu Che had been seeking immortality, what he was seeking was longevity, so he would not let go of anything related to immortals, because those things might also hide the secret of longevity.

But now... it's just a name, and it shouldn't have anything to do with longevity, so he decided to follow his own aesthetic taste.

So no matter whether it was sweet and sour fish, Song Sao’s fish soup or boiled fish fillets, he finally gave them all the title of Taichu. Boiled fish fillets were Taichu fish fillets, and Song Sao’s fish soup was Taichu fish soup.

To be honest, Liu Tan was relieved. It was much better than racking his brains to think of a name again.

Forget about boiled fish fillets, but as for Song Sao's fish soup, he would probably just call it fish soup.

It's fine now.

Most of the dishes in this meal were fish-related. There were not many other meats, but there were some pickled meats. Compared with the previous dietary structure of the Han nobles, this was considered a breakthrough.

Yet everyone was content with the meal, especially when someone heard that Liu Tan had wanted to cook a few more dishes but was stopped by Miao Rui, they all looked at Miao Rui with resentful eyes.

Li Ling was the worst among them. At his age, he was active and ate a lot. His appetite was on par with Lu Xuan's. Moreover, he was very greedy. When he heard that there were other dishes that he hadn't eaten yet, he felt very regretful.

After all, it’s uncertain when the next time we’ll be able to eat the dishes prepared by His Royal Highness the King of the North will be.

Miao Rui felt a chill run down his spine when he was looked at by him, and couldn't help but hide closer to Liu Tan. Liu Tan turned around and saw Li Ling's resentful gaze. Thinking that Li Ling wasn't full, he said, "Do you want the kitchen to bring you another portion? You're welcome."

Li Ling asked eagerly, "Your Highness, will you have any new dishes for tomorrow?"

Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "It depends on the situation. I may not have time tomorrow."

It is not known whether Boli has produced any results yet. If there is any progress tomorrow, he may not even be able to accompany Liu Che, let alone create new dishes.

However, Liu Tan has also thought about it. Next time, he will just write down the menu and let people follow it. There shouldn't be any problem.

After Liu Che had eaten to his satisfaction, he left, perhaps because he was a little sleepy after playing outside all day. Liu Tan and Lu Xuan also left at the same time.

When the two of them went out, Liu Che happened to be walking slowly outside.

When he saw Liu Tan, he waved and said, "Come here and walk with me."

Since arriving in the Northern Territory, Liu Tan would always persuade him to go for a walk after every meal, saying it was good for the body.

Because the scenery of Changshou Palace was nice and Liu Tan would accompany him every time, Liu Che agreed.

During this period of time, apart from other things, I have not had any abdominal discomfort caused by accidentally eating too much.

Liu Tan immediately ran to Liu Che's side. Liu Che looked at the colorful flowers and trees in the yard and sighed softly, saying, "Even Shanglin Garden in winter can't compare to the scenery of Changshou Palace."

He felt a little disappointed when he thought about having to go back and face a yard full of dead branches and fallen leaves.

Upon hearing this, Liu Tan immediately said, "When Your Majesty returns to Chang'an, I'll have someone bring back some flowers and trees. And the maintenance workers will also take some back. Your Majesty, please place them wherever you want! I'll pay for it!"

Liu Che laughed after hearing this: "You? Forget it, how much money do you have? I wouldn't use my son's money."

Liu Tan was not convinced. He was very rich now, especially after the production of honeycomb coal resumed. It was also recently transported to Chang'an, so he made some money. Not to mention that broken evil gold was often sold at a sky-high price. If he hadn't suppressed the kiln from producing too much copper coins, his treasury would probably be full now.

But he really didn't dare to show off his wealth to Liu Che, mainly because the little money he had might not be much in Liu Che's eyes.

Liu Tan had no choice but to say, "This little money is still within my reach. Moreover, since this is a gift from my son to my father, they have nothing to say."

Liu Che asked, "Aren't you afraid they will turn their spearheads against you?"

Liu Tan said confidently, "As long as the emperor doesn't blame me, I'm not afraid."

Liu Che chuckled and said, "Whether I blame you or not depends on whether you are honest or not."

Liu Tan leaned over and said, "I have always been the most honest person."

Liu Che nodded and said, "Well, then tell me why you replaced the fish I caught today."

Liu Tan: Damn!