Sour, sweet

Guo Jian wore a stern expression and said nothing.

The Empress Dowager spoke helplessly. "Rise and speak."

Cao Mao stood up, his expression growing still more sorrowful and indignant.

"Uncle, do you remember when I went to see Wang Su, but Wang Su never appeared, and Hua Biao came out to receive me instead?"

Guo Jian said nothing, continuing to glare fiercely at him.

Cao Mao went on without waiting for an answer. "It was Hua Biao who told me everything about Lord Xiahou. At the time, I didn't understand why. Only later did I realize that Wang Su was deliberately making trouble for our Guo Family! Hua Biao and Wang Su were in it together!"

"He wanted to use this affair to drive our Guo Family to its death!"

"Later, when the Imperial Court decided that I should succeed to the throne as Son of Heaven, I suddenly faced an assassination attempt. Had Sima Yan not arrived in time, I would have died at the villains' hands. Who in Yuan City had the means to assassinate me?"

"I was on excellent terms with the local powerful clans, and Shu Wan, the only person who bore me a grudge, had already been arrested. I believe Wang Su, unable to stop my succession, was like a cornered dog leaping over a wall. He wanted to kill me, then pin the blame on the Guo Family!"

"If I died, he could tell the Imperial Court that the Guo Family had killed me to vent its anger!"

"With the new sovereign dead and our Guo Family implicated, how could the Grand General spare us? He would tear our Guo Family out by the roots!"

"Then the Grand General would welcome the Prince of Pengcheng as emperor with great fanfare, and our Guo Family would cease to exist!"

"That Wang Su is vicious!"

"If you don't believe me, Empress Dowager, you can ask Lord Gao! He can bear witness for me!"

Empress Dowager Guo looked visibly flustered and turned to Guo Jian beside her. Guo Jian, too, felt a chill of belated fear.

"That really is possible. If you died, Sima Shi would certainly find someone to take the blame. Wang Su is one of their own, so naturally, I would be the scapegoat..."

"Exactly! He deliberately wanted to frame you, Uncle!"

"You haven't heard, have you? When Wang Su learned of this, he insisted that someone familiar with my residence must have done it!"

"Uncle, tell me, who had stayed at my residence the longest?"

Guo Jian sprang to his feet. "How dare that old dog?!"

"If you don't believe me, Uncle, Lord Guo, Zheng Mao, Sima Yan, Cheng Ji, and others were there at the time. You can send someone to question them in secret and see whether I'm telling the truth!"

Seeing how certain Cao Mao was, Guo Jian believed him.

Guo Jian had always loathed Wang Su and remained deeply wary of him. Now his fury blazed three feet high, setting his whole body aflame.

"How lively!"

A man strode into the Palace, his expression cold and sinister, his eyes fixed on Cao Mao.

"Father."

Guo Jian hurriedly rose and bowed.

The newcomer was a little old man with something of Sima Shi's air about him and an icy gaze. He was Guo Li, the father of Guo De and Guo Jian.

The old man sat to one side and looked at Cao Mao with distinctly hostile eyes.

Cao Mao hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Guo Jian asked curiously, "Father? What brings you here?"

"The Grand General appointed me General Xuande to deter petty villains. I came here to prevent any scheming scoundrels from implicating the Empress Dowager."

With a calm expression, Cao Mao asked, "With Sima Wang, General of the Guards, stationed in the Palace, why would we need you here to deter anyone?"

Guo Li flew into a rage, but could find nothing to say.

Cao Mao said calmly, "Eldest Maternal Uncle has already passed away. That cannot be changed. We should seek revenge, but we must not act rashly. Our most urgent concern now is this General of the Guards."

"Since the Grand General has placed him in the Palace, I fear your trusted aides will be replaced next, Uncle."

Cao Mao dared say this because he firmly believed that Jia Chong had planted countless people in the Palace to watch him. There must have been considerable changes in personnel, and the Guo Family's opinion surely had not been sought.

Sure enough, Guo Jian's grim expression said it all.

Guo Li also fell silent.

Cao Mao continued, "I am confined to the Palace, unable to leave, yet countless people have been planted around me to watch me. Uncle, why do you think they are watching me?"

"Are they afraid I might do something inside the Palace?"

"What could I possibly do?"

"To put it plainly, what they fear most is my growing close to you, Uncle. They are watching us."

Cao Mao turned to Guo Li. "If I'm not mistaken, someone from the Sima Family sent you in, didn't they? Their own people couldn't get inside, so they sent you to interrupt our secret discussions?"

Guo Li did not answer.

Cao Mao let out a long sigh. "If we still cannot stand together at a time like this, the Guo Family will fall into complete ruin."

"Empress Dowager, the person we should deal with now is neither Wang Su nor the Grand General. It is Sima Wang!"

"Oh?"

Cao Mao said earnestly, "Sima Wang is Sima Fu's son. He enjoys great prestige at court and has the Grand General's deep trust. He is also highly capable himself. Having such a man in the Palace is truly unsettling."

"However, I do have a way to make him leave."

"Sima Fu and his son both place tremendous value on their reputations."

"I will find a way to make Sima Wang leave, but I'm sorry for the trouble, Uncle-the choice of his successor will have to fall to you. As long as the Minister over the Masses is willing to help, the Grand General will find it difficult to seize control by force again..."

All of them listened attentively to Cao Mao.

At his final remark, Guo Jian could not help shaking his head.

"Why even mention the Minister over the Masses? That fellow has grown increasingly cold toward us. Yesterday, when I went to question him, he refused to tell me anything."

"What? Without our Guo Family, how could he have reached his position today? How could he behave like this?"

Cao Mao asked in astonishment.

"What are we to do?"

Cao Mao lowered his head as though deeply troubled, his face filled with worry.

At that moment, General Xuande Guo Li spoke.

"Do not worry, Your Majesty... If you truly can make him submit a memorial asking to resign, I still have some influence at court. The Minister over the Masses is not our only option."

"That would be ideal!"

Overjoyed, Cao Mao clapped his hands and said, "Then we must discuss this matter properly."

"Although Wang Su is at odds with our family, we cannot move against him for now."

"As for the Minister over the Masses, we must be even more careful not to offend him. We should treat him with greater respect from now on. Even if we cannot secure his help, we absolutely must not let him turn against us..."

Cao Mao began earnestly analyzing their current circumstances.

The others listened with equal seriousness, and the Empress Dowager nodded as well.

"The Grand General did not return to Luoyang with us. If I'm not mistaken, the person currently responsible for watching the Palace should be Jia Chong."

"That dog Jia Chong keeps fanning the flames. You may not know this, but he has already set his sights on Sima You and Sima Yan... He intends to make them his sons-in-law!"

"We must find a way to eliminate that fellow too!"

Cao Mao discussed matters with them for a long time before leaving alone.

After watching him leave, Empress Dowager Guo turned to the two men before her. "What do you think?"

In his father's presence, Guo Jian did not dare speak first. He merely looked at him, assuming an obedient air.

Guo Li pondered for a moment before saying, "Let him handle it for now."

"If he succeeds, it will do us no harm."

"As long as we do not assist him, even if the Grand General asks, it will have nothing to do with us."

"Jian, I see that he is very friendly toward you. Don't remain so cold. You may show him a little warmth now and then, but you absolutely must not help him do anything."

"Yes!"

When Cao Mao emerged from Zhaoyang Hall, the four palace attendants were waiting.

At the sight of Cao Mao, all four breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to follow him.

Cao Mao smiled at Li Sheng beside him.

"Li Sheng... I had such a pleasant conversation with the Empress Dowager today..."

Li Sheng's smile slowly stiffened.

Bringing up the rear, Jiao Bo watched Cao Mao relentlessly assail the four palace attendants with his words, and a faint smile stole across his face.

These four had been brought in as sudden replacements. Even the Yellow Gate attendant beside him was someone he had never seen before.

How could Jiao Bo not know where they had come from?

What a pity. Even if His Majesty saw through them, it would do no good.

With that thought, Jiao Bo followed them all the way back to the Western Hall.

"Master Jiao!"

Jiao Bo jerked his head up and saw something flying toward him. He hurriedly caught it.

Looking down, he found a mandarin orange.

"Your Majesty..."

"This orange is very sweet. Eat it!"

Somewhat bewildered, Jiao Bo looked around. The four palace attendants also held oranges, their faces full of fear and unease.

Cao Mao paid them no mind, popping a piece into his mouth and beginning to eat.

Jiao Bo peeled his orange and put a segment into his mouth.

The orange was very sweet.

Yet his heart was very sour.