Han, Wei, and Jin

The brook burbled, and several children stood barefoot in the water, covered in mud.

Suddenly, one caught a little fish and proudly waved it for his companions to see. Their clear laughter could be heard even from far away.

Cao Mao watched the scene quietly.

A faint smile rested on his lips, and even his heart grew at ease.

A woodcutter carried a heavy load of firewood on his back, singing loudly as he walked along the road.

The songs of Zhao were stirring and impassioned, enough to lift the spirits.

Cao Mao could not help humming along.

"If you enjoy it, Lord Cao, why not have him seized and brought over to sing for you?"

Liu Lu could not resist suggesting it.

Cao Mao glanced at him. "Had you been born fifty years earlier, you could have served Dong Zhuo."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"We should come out for walks more often. Once Lord Cao leaves the residence, his mood improves considerably. He isn't nearly as irritable as he is inside..."

Cao Mao shook his head.

To him, the most precious thing was time.

He, too, wanted to immerse himself in this leisurely pastoral scenery and enjoy its tranquility, but he still had much to do.

They did not linger in the countryside for long, soon setting off toward their residence.

The man sent by the Imperial Court would not be so easily dealt with.

Perhaps Wang Su had already dispatched a rider, whipping his horse onward to carry news of Cao Mao's refusal to succeed to the throne back to the Capital.

How would Sima Shi react?

Surprise? Fury? Disdain?

"Liu Lu! Go buy a jug of wine!"

"Right away!"

When Cao Mao swaggered into the residence carrying the wine, Lord Yang, lying beneath the shade of a tree, was the first to see him.

He immediately shook his head disdainfully and turned away.

But Cao Mao did not stop beside him, walking straight into the inner hall.

Lord Yang waited a long while with his eyes narrowed, yet never heard Cao Mao speak. He stole a few glances, discovered that the front hall was empty, and was dumbfounded.

Wasn't that fine wine bought for me?

"Come, Lord Guo. Set your work aside today and have some wine with me!"

Cao Mao took Guo Ze by the hand and led him toward the inner room.

Guo Ze was still in that dazed state and simply let Cao Mao pull him inside.

Guo Ze was undoubtedly a devoted and conscientious steward.

Although he had always opposed Cao Mao's friendships with merchants and wandering swordsmen, he truly regarded Cao Mao as his sovereign.

Throughout the past year, he had personally handled everything at Cao Mao's Residence: its income and expenses, the merchants' offerings, relief for those seeking help, and even accommodations for the wandering swordsmen.

He worked earnestly and meticulously. Though he was not particularly efficient, he never made any major mistakes.

"Lord Guo."

Cao Mao smiled and said softly, "My birth mother died when I was born, and my father disliked me because of it. I was born of a concubine, and my brothers were not close to me either. Though a son should not speak of his father's faults, my father truly cannot be called a good man. He drove two of our household servants to their deaths."

"Only after I came to Yuan City and met you did I feel that I was no longer alone."

"Over these past few years, you may have been the only person in the entire world who cared about me."

"Thank you for looking after me all this time! My gratitude knows no bounds!"

Cao Mao rose and bowed to Guo Ze.

Only then did Guo Ze come to his senses, hurriedly stepping aside.

"It is merely my duty as your servant... Lord Cao, what do you mean by this?"

"Nothing else. I simply don't want to leave any regrets. I should have thanked you long ago."

Cao Mao sat down again and said earnestly, "By refusing Wang Su this time, I have effectively refused Sima Shi. Not everyone has the privilege of declining three times out of modesty."

"I don't know whether today will be my last day..."

"Would Sima Shi actually dare..."

Guo Ze sprang to his feet, then seemed to remember something. Like a ball with all its air let out, he collapsed back into his seat.

"Hahaha, Lord Guo, if only everyone in the world respected propriety as you do."

Cao Mao continued, "Even if he doesn't kill me, he won't let me off lightly. I probably won't be able to keep my title, and we won't have much longer together."

"Why are you unwilling to ascend the imperial throne?"

"Though it may run contrary to ritual and law, I know that you are intelligent, merciful, kind, and generous. If you became emperor, it would be a blessing for all the people under heaven!"

Cao Mao took a sip of bitter wine.

"I performed a divination over this matter, and then I saw the future with perfect clarity. This is a road to death..."

Guo Ze frowned. "Human endeavor is the root; Heaven's way is merely the branch. There is no heavenly destiny in this world. Everything rests on human endeavor!"

"You are quite right, but the present situation lies beyond what human effort can change."

"As I am now, I am like a bird in a cage, a fish in a net! I can only watch calamity draw closer, step by step, powerless to stop it. In the imperial palace, my confinement would be even worse. Better to be a commoner outside the court."

Seeing the resentment written all over Cao Mao's face, Guo Ze was deeply astonished.

"I never knew you thought this way!"

"Then what exactly do you intend to do?"

"I want to cast off my title, escape their control, and head to the frontier. There, I will secretly build my strength and wait for an opportunity!"

Guo Ze remained silent for a long time.

"You intend to hide?"

"Lord Cao, I know you are very capable. But if you abandon your status as a member of the imperial clan, even a village head could arrest you and call you to account."

"The realm is now divided into three. Though it has not been unified, this is no longer the age when provinces and commanderies ruled independently. There is no opportunity for a hero to rise and claim dominion."

"As you yourself just said, you have refused Sima Shi. Even if he does not kill you, he will certainly not readily allow a member of the imperial clan who defies him to escape his control."

"Your talk of living outside the court is nothing but a fool's dream."

"Moreover, the emperor has suffered misfortune, and the state is in turmoil. As an honored member of the imperial clan, how can you think of hiding rather than ridding the state of traitors and bringing peace to its people?"

Cao Mao picked up his wine cup and drained it.

"As if I have never wanted to rid the state of traitors... If only things were as simple as you imagine."

"What am I to rely on to eliminate them? Do you know what a ruthless overlord Sima Shi is?"

Guo Ze was as solemn as ever. "If you act, you may succeed. If you do not, you certainly will not."

"You all say Sima Shi is an outstanding man. I have never met him, but I believe that if he chose you as his puppet, Lord Cao, he cannot be particularly clever."

"I have heard that every man must die, but some deaths weigh more than Mount Tai, while others weigh less than a goose feather!"

"Before, you could draw your sword against a county magistrate for the sake of a single commoner. Can you not now draw your sword against the Sima Family for the sake of all the people under heaven?!"

"Why do I smell wine in here?"

The door suddenly swung open, and Yang Zong staggered in, reeking from head to toe.

Guo Ze frowned.

Yang Zong paid him no heed. He sat down beside them and reached straight for the wine cup in front of Guo Ze.

Guo Ze stood and addressed Cao Mao. "In the world today, rites have collapsed and music has fallen into ruin. Powerful ministers dominate the court, petty men wield authority, and loyal, worthy men are suppressed. Those with ambition cannot put their talents to use, while the loyal and virtuous suffer repeated persecution. Local magnates own hundreds of adjoining houses, fertile fields stretch across the countryside, their servants number in the thousands, and their dependents in the tens of thousands, yet the common people have not even enough ground to plant an awl!"

"In Yuan City, you can protect the people of one city. In Luoyang, you could protect all the people under heaven!"

"Please consider this carefully, Lord Cao. I am already drunk and dare not drink any more."

He bowed to Cao Mao, then turned and left.

Yang Zong watched Guo Ze with a complicated look in his eyes as he finished speaking and departed.

"That fellow simply doesn't want to drink with me."

"Lord Cao, Guo Ze is not a bad man, so don't be angry with him. His family has merely sheltered him too well, leaving him unable to see the true nature of things. He clings to the bullshit principles he has learned, imagining they can save the world."

Yang Zong took a small sip of bitter wine. "In truth, they are utterly useless. The teachings of sages cannot save the world."

"All those principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, all that talk of mastering learning to govern the world-it is all nonsense, all devilish words meant to bind people!"

"You need not mind what he said. You are right to want to distance yourself from the turmoil of the Imperial Court. No one has any right to criticize you. This is your own affair. Pay no heed to worldly opinions."

"Since you have kept me supplied with wine all this time, I can teach you how to preserve your life."

Yang Zong wiped the wine from his beard, his expression turning serious.

"Wang Su will come again. If you refuse him on this second visit, I fear you will land yourself in serious trouble. Sima Shi is not someone just anyone can use to build a reputation."

"When he comes, no matter what he says, you must look utterly terrified. Then recommend Cao Ju, the Prince of Pengcheng, as emperor. Keep praising the Prince of Pengcheng and beg to have him take your place."

"That way, Wang Su will believe you are not sincerely opposing the Sima Family, but fear their power and therefore dare not accept the throne. And since you were recommended by the empress dowager, this will amount to declaring your position among the imperial clan, choosing a side on behalf of the Great Wei Imperial Clan. Then your life will no longer be in danger."

"Lord Cao, you must not think I am trying to goad you. This is the best choice. You are still young, and the young are often hot-blooded and impulsive. When you are older, you will understand my earnest intentions."

"As for Guo Ze, you need not mind him either. One day, he too will understand these things."

As Yang Zong spoke, his expression grew distant. Once again, that spirited young man from years ago appeared in his mind, with ambitions he could never realize and his helplessness in the face of everything.

In anguish, he picked up the wine cup and drained it.

"Sooner or later, he will understand."