The Cunning Emperor

Cao Mao took only a single day to become familiar with everyone around him.

That included both the four eunuchs of humble birth and the Yellow Gate attendants and guards drawn from the scholar class.

Cao Mao possessed an extraordinary warmth that drew people to him.

Historically, even under equally intense surveillance, he had managed to turn the men Sima Zhao had assigned to him and organize an armed force of more than three hundred within the imperial palace.

Those men had accompanied him to their deaths.

Cao Mao treated others with kindness and warmth, quite unlike the great figures at court.

Besides, in this era, although the emperor's prestige was steadily declining, things had not yet sunk to the point where "whoever has the strongest troops and finest horses becomes the Son of Heaven."

Cao Mao's ability to rally people of the middle and lower ranks was far from weak.

Perhaps because the Grand General had yet to return to court, no one had come to take Cao Mao to pay homage to the Founding Ancestor or issue any new edicts.

He was left to fend for himself in the prison called the imperial palace.

Yet Cao Mao refused to idle away even a moment. Taking advantage of this time, he led his attendants around the imperial palace, stopping everyone he met for a few words.

Before long, everyone in the imperial palace knew what sort of person this New Son of Heaven was.

He was rather different from the previous emperor.

He was warm and kind.

He would even take the initiative to ask their names.

Many of them had served Cao Fang for nearly ten years without the emperor ever learning their names.

To those great figures, there was simply no reason to grow close to such people.

Allowing them to serve was already the greatest kindness they could receive.

Somehow, word of this reached the Imperial Court, where most officials met it with disdain.

Why did the New Son of Heaven debase himself like this?

He had spent his days in Yuan City mingling with lowly people, and now that he was in the imperial palace, he was doing it all the more. They ought to find the Son of Heaven a teacher soon, so he could learn proper principles and distinguish right from wrong.

Early in the morning, Cao Mao opened his eyes, yawned, and sat up.

Li Sheng hurriedly knelt before him to put on his shoes.

"Bo Xun, they're only shoes. I can put them on myself!"

"I would not dare."

Bowing low, Li Sheng put the shoes on him.

"Then sorry for the trouble!"

Li Sheng shuddered. "Your Majesty, please do not frighten your servant... This is simply my duty..."

Cao Mao rose and went to wash.

Seated in the hall, Cao Mao looked at the dishes before him and began calling out warmly again.

"Bo Xun, Gong Yu, Zi Shun, Yan Cheng! Come over, all of you. I can't finish all this food alone. Come eat with me!"

Li Sheng and the others nearly lost the strength in their legs.

"Your Majesty, how could your servants dare eat with you..."

"What's wrong with that? If you truly don't dare, take it aside and eat there. Look how thin you all are. Take some, every one of you!"

Li Sheng hastily bowed again. "Your Majesty, we dare not! We would be punished for this. Please spare us!"

"Yan Cheng, go close the door!"

"If you eat here out of sight, who can punish you?"

"You have my protection. There's no need to be afraid. Just eat!"

Cao Mao was insistent, and how could they dare refuse him? The four knelt to one side, their faces full of conflict, unable to bring themselves to eat.

"There's no one else here. What are you afraid of? Just eat. Another day, we'll bring Zhao Cheng, Jiao Bo, and the others over to eat with us too!"

The four said nothing, their expressions extraordinarily complicated.

After the meal, Cao Mao went out. Every day, he visited Zhaoyang Hall to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager did not receive him every time. More often than not, he simply saluted outside the hall, and that counted as his visit. Even so, Cao Mao came every day without ever neglecting the courtesy.

As he walked through the imperial palace, Cao Mao was full of warmth. Whenever he spotted palace attendants, guards, or Armored Guards in the distance, he would call them by name and exchange a few words.

In just a few short days, Cao Mao had memorized a considerable number of names.

Once again, he paid his respects to the Empress Dowager without being received. Afterward, Cao Mao returned to his quarters.

"Zhao Cheng!"

"Your Majesty."

Cao Mao had two Yellow Gate attendants, and Zhao Cheng was one of them, responsible for running his errands.

"Go to the General Who Conquers the West's Residence again today. Tell the general I miss him very much, and ask him to come see me as soon as possible."

"As you command!"

"Jiao Bo, go to the Grand General's residence again and find Lord Jia. Tell him I have important matters to discuss with him, and ask him to come as soon as possible."

"As you command!"

This was Cao Mao's daily routine. He had already sent for Sima Zhao several times in succession, but Sima Zhao kept pleading other business and had yet to visit. The same went for Jia Chong; Cao Mao sent Jiao Bo to find him every day.

If he could not go out himself, he would have to get them to come in.

Afterward, Cao Mao resumed wandering around the imperial palace. He felt rather like a certain monkey who had just been proclaimed the Great Sage Equal to Heaven: with nothing to do all day, he ran all over the palace, getting to know all sorts of people and eagerly chatting with them, while they regarded him with both astonishment and fear...

Inside the General Who Conquers the West's Residence.

Sima Zhao looked at Jia Chong before him, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Lord Jia, what has happened to you?"

Jia Chong actually looked rather worn down. His face was pale, his gaze unfocused, and he seemed far from his best.

Jia Chong shook his head. "I am quite all right... It is just that handling palace affairs every day has become somewhat tedious."

"What? Tedious?"

Jia Chong pressed his lips together, unsure how to explain.

That accursed Guo Family!

Of all the people they could have chosen, they picked a chatterbox!

Every day, when the palace attendants piled their surveillance reports on his desk, Jia Chong felt as though he could barely breathe.

That fellow Cao Mao spouted endless nonsense. He ran all over the imperial palace and struck up a conversation with everyone he met. Every word had to be recorded, lest he use someone inside the palace to contact the outside world.

From time to time, he would also explain his thoughts, such as wanting Zheng Chong to become his teacher or hoping Sima Fu could be promoted to a higher noble rank. Those people had to record all of that too.

These records were delivered to Jia Chong at night. He dared not have someone else read them in his place, for fear of missing something important.

As a result, Jia Chong's workload had now grown somewhat excessive.

He then copied out the important portions and sent them to Sima Shi.

Presumably, the Grand General's workload was now soaring at a rate visible to the naked eye as well.

This was Cao Mao deliberately delivering a "blessing" to the Grand General.

Jia Chong fell silent for a moment before saying, "General, the emperor has had nothing to do these past few days and spends all day amusing himself. If this continues, sooner or later something serious will happen."

"I believe we should arrange for a suitable teacher to instruct His Majesty as soon as possible, so that he can settle down to his studies and stop stirring up trouble."

Sima Zhao immediately looked troubled.

"Shouldn't we wait until my elder brother returns before discussing this? It is a matter of great importance..."

"You do not understand. The affairs of the Imperial Court are what is truly tedious."

Sima Zhao said helplessly, "With a new sovereign enthroned, the officials naturally have to be rewarded... Yet we still cannot settle the matter of those rewards."

Jia Chong paused, then quickly understood. "Because of what happened on the day of his accession..."

"Exactly. They're all watching me now. That muddleheaded ruler simply opened his mouth and tossed out dukedoms and princely titles, saying the ministers who had helped enthrone him deserved lavish rewards... But how could we actually do that?"

"The Imperial Court's noble titles cannot be handed out lightly. It would drag the court down... These officials care nothing for the Imperial Court! They care only about their own gains and losses!"

Sima Zhao spoke through gritted teeth.

The Sima Family had long since regarded Wei as their own property, so they still cared deeply about such matters. They really were addressing local problems, increasing revenue, and cutting expenditure. After all, neither Sima Shi nor Sima Zhao wanted to damage what belonged to their own family.

But the colossal powers quietly rising at this moment cared nothing for any of that.

They did not mind draining the pond to catch every last fish.

It was as though the Imperial Court and the emperor had nothing to do with them.

They wanted noble titles, land, reputation, official rank, and more money!

They did not care whether too many noble titles would strain the state's finances, still less whether that burden would ultimately be shifted onto the common people or provoke popular uprisings. They no longer even cared about the emperor. Why would they need to care about any of that?

Ever since Cao Mao had spoken of granting rewards that day, quite a few people had set their sights on the matter.

They had even tried to persuade Sima Fu to accept the rewards.

They had also submitted petitions to Sima Zhao, hoping he would accept them.

Was their aim to have the Sima Family rewarded? No. They merely wanted to feast on meat alongside the Sima Family. If they persuaded the Sima Family to slaughter livestock for a feast, they could get a share of the meat stew.

But that livestock now belonged to the Sima Family themselves. How could they slaughter it?

What a cunning brat!