"As an Attendant Cavalry, I failed to guide my sovereign onto the proper path. This is my failing."
"On my knees, I beseech Your Majesty to withdraw your decree, draw close to worthy men and distance yourself from petty men, carry on the aspirations of the sage rulers of the Three Dynasties, and achieve a great unification in accordance with the Spring and Autumn Annals..."
"If Your Majesty refuses, I shall kneel before the hall until I die..."
Sima Yan read the composition in his hands under his breath, then looked at Cao Mao.
"Your Majesty doesn't really expect me to kneel outside Taiji Hall, does he? It's snowing heavily out there..."
"Not just kneel. You'll kneel bare, with your outer robes off, right in the snow."
"What? Would I even survive that?!"
Startled, Sima Yan hurriedly shook his head. "No, absolutely not! I'll die out there!"
Cao Mao laughed. "What are you afraid of? Look at Lord Wang. As a boy in his teens, he could strip naked and lie on the ice, using his body heat to melt it, and he didn't die!"
Sima Yan watched Cao Mao warily and backed away several steps. "I'm not doing it, no matter what!"
Cao Mao grabbed him and pulled him back to his side.
"Do you think Lord Wang really lay on a frozen river?"
"Didn't he?"
"Of course not. How could body heat melt solid ice?"
Sima Yan narrowed his eyes. "Your Majesty wants me to fake it?"
"You'll have to kneel there once first, to get the news out. After that, find someone with a build like yours to kneel in your place and take turns... after two or three days of that, I'll issue an order granting your request."
"Once word of this spreads, you'll be Great