Chapter Summaries

Cao Mao received Sima Yan, who had come on the Grand General’s orders to urge him to take the throne. The two bonded over their admiration for Zhuge Liang, and Cao Mao left Sima Yan promising to make him his Zhuge Liang if he became emperor.

• Guo Jian turned away Wang Su’s messenger and reassured Cao Mao that his elder brother would protect them.
• When a visitor from the Sima Family arrived on the Grand General’s orders, Cao Mao sent Guo Jian to the rear hall and went to receive him.
• Cao Mao recognized Sima Yan, greeted him warmly, and pulled him inside despite Sima Yan’s attempts to discuss his mission.
• Sima Yan urged Cao Mao to accept the throne and praised Zhuge Liang as a model minister, while Cao Mao argued that Sima Yi was greater.
• Cao Mao and Sima Yan found common ground discussing famous figures and promised to unite the realm together if Cao Mao became emperor.

Cao Mao used his meeting with Sima Yan and Guo Jian to secure agreement that he would be received and taken to Luoyang, while trying to keep Sima Yan close to him. Wang Su distrusted Cao Mao and warned Sima Yan to avoid him, but feared the emperor might not submit quietly.

• Cao Mao warmly courted Sima Yan and agreed to go to Luoyang, asking that Sima Yan serve beside him as an Attendant.
• Cao Mao introduced Sima Yan to Guo Jian, who told him to ask Wang Su to receive the emperor the next day.
• Cao Mao toured his residence with Sima Yan, then escorted him to Wang Su’s lodging.
• Wang Su said he distrusted Cao Mao and warned Sima Yan not to tell anyone what he had said or have further contact with the emperor.
• Wang Su planned to take Cao Mao to Luoyang the next day but remained uneasy that the emperor would not submit easily.

Cao Mao refused to accept the throne unless the court restored the reputations of Xiahou Xuan, Li Feng, and the others executed in the plot involving Zhang Ji. His demand terrified Wang Su and Guo Jian, while Cao Mao remained determined to proceed.

• Yang Zong warned Cao Mao that Guanqiu Jian would not support him, but Cao Mao insisted he would follow Heaven's mandate and told Yang Zong to remember his instructions.
• Wang Su arrived for the third time with the Empress Dowager's decree and urged Cao Mao to return to Luoyang and ascend the throne.
• Cao Mao challenged the court's handling of the King of Qi's reign and demanded the restoration of Xiahou Xuan's and Li Feng's reputations, the release of their enslaved clansmen, and posthumous honors.
• Cao Mao declared that he would not become emperor until the court cleared the names of the accused ministers and the Empress Dowager.
• Wang Su and Hua Biao left in alarm, while Guo Jian feared Cao Mao's demand would bring his entire clan to ruin.

Cao Mao remained at his residence with Guo Ze as news of the Xiahou Xuan case spread throughout Hebei. Wang Su realized the scandal could ruin his reputation, while Sima Shi’s response threatened Cao Mao’s life.

• Guo Jian, Yang Zong, and the Wanderers left Cao Mao’s residence, leaving Guo Ze as his sole companion.
• Cao Mao told Guo Ze that he did not want him to die with him, but Guo Ze pledged to stay by his side.
• Cao Mao and Guo Ze prepared meat and talked cheerfully despite expecting Sima Shi to kill them.
• Rumors about the case spread throughout Hebei, and Shu Wan blamed Cao Mao for organizing the news campaign while begging Wang Su for protection.
• Wang Su had Shu Wan dragged away and admitted to Zheng Mao that Cao Mao’s death could destroy his reputation.
• Zheng Mao told Wang Su that the outcome was not necessarily settled.

Zheng Mao warned Wang Su that the court’s discontent over Sima Shi’s executions could matter more than Cao Mao’s fate, and agreed to speak with Cao Mao. Meanwhile, Yang Zong urged Guo Jian to spread the controversy widely to protect his clan, leaving Yang convinced he had repaid his debts and would interfere no further.

• Zheng Mao told Wang Su that ministers were likely to protest the extermination of Xiahou Xuan’s and Li Feng’s kin, and that their discontent could constrain Sima Shi.
• Wang Su wondered whether Cao Mao had considered the court’s anger, and Zheng Mao volunteered to speak with him and report back.
• Yang Zong barged into Guo Jian’s room and warned that the Grand General might suspect the Guo Family of instigating the controversy.
• Yang Zong told Guo Jian to alert his allies and spread the matter widely so that Sima Shi could not punish every involved clan.
• Guo Jian agreed to send word, while Yang Zong left after deciding he had done all that kindness and duty demanded.

Guo De discovered that Sima Shi had come to confront him over a letter from Guo Jian urging Cao Mao to demand the exoneration of Xiahou Xuan and Li Feng. Sima Shi blamed Guo De for stirring up imperial opposition, and the chapter ended with Sima Yue begging her father to spare her husband.

• As Guo De waited anxiously for news from Yuan City, Sima Shi arrived at his residence with armed soldiers, frightening Guo De into collapsing.
• Sima Shi presented Guo De with a severed hand holding Guo Jian's bloodstained letter and demanded that Guo De read it aloud.
• Sima Shi explained that Cao Mao had required Xiahou Xuan, Li Feng, and the others to be exonerated before he would ascend the throne.
• Guo De denied responsibility at first, then confessed that he had urged Cao Mao to seek Xiahou Xuan's exoneration and insisted the others were innocent.
• Sima Shi rebuked Guo De for making the court believe Cao Mao intended to oppose him, while Sima Yue knelt and begged her father to spare her husband.

Sima Zhao's advisers debated whether to restore Xiahou Xuan and Li Feng's reputations after Cao Mao's remarks, while influential officials pushed for the move. Unable to oppose the aristocratic clans and furious at Cao Mao, Sima Zhao ordered men to Yuan City to make the Noble Rural Duke die of illness.

• Du Yu warned Sima Zhao that restoring Xiahou Xuan and Li Feng's reputations would undermine the Sima family's authority, while Xun Xu argued it would win support from the court and aristocratic clans.
• Most of Sima Zhao's trusted aides sided with Xun Xu, and Sima Zhao noticed that their sudden agreement seemed suspicious.
• Du Yu cautioned Sima Zhao privately that clearing the men's names would empower his opponents and damage the Grand General's plans.
• Sima Zhao learned that the court ministers wanted to convene a session to discuss restoring the dead men's reputations, and he sent his aides home without resolving the matter.
• Sima Zhao vented his anger to Du Yu, then ordered men sent to Yuan City to kill Cao Mao and disguise his death as an illness.

Du Yu persuaded Sima Zhao to protect the Noble Rural Duke and support clearing Xiahou Xuan’s name, then Sima Zhao faced ministers demanding action at court. An Empress Dowager’s edict condemned the effort, and Guo De’s reported suicide stunned the assembly, leaving Sima Zhao to wonder whether Sima Shi had secretly intervened.

• Du Yu convinced Sima Zhao not to kill the Noble Rural Duke and to support clearing Xiahou Xuan’s name.
• Sima Zhao went to Taiji Hall and told the assembled ministers he would petition Sima Shi to clear Xiahou Xuan.
• Gao Rou urged Sima Zhao to join the ministers in petitioning the Empress Dowager directly for an edict.
• A palace attendant read the Empress Dowager’s edict rejecting the effort to clear Xiahou Xuan and ordering punishment for Guo De.
• A messenger reported that Guo De had confessed to misleading the new ruler and disrupting the court, then killed himself with poison.
• Sima Zhao was left wondering whether Sima Shi had arranged the edict and Guo De’s death.

Cao Mao persuaded Zheng Mao and Sima Yan to help clear Lord Xiahou’s name, then survived an apparent assassination attempt at his residence. Zheng Mao suspected the attack was meant to inflame the court, while the masked men who staged it escaped and hid.

• Cao Mao welcomed Zheng Mao and Sima Yan to his deserted residence and explained that his servants had fled for fear of being implicated.
• Cao Mao defended Lord Xiahou and denounced Zhang Ji and the King of Qi, then urged Sima Yan to join him in submitting a memorial.
• Zheng Mao stopped Sima Yan from agreeing before consulting Wang Su, as Cao Mao’s arguments left him wary of their political implications.
• Arrows flew through the window, and Cao Mao shielded Sima Yan as Guo Ze and the guards drove off the attackers.
• Cao Mao asked Zheng Mao to have the county town sealed, while Zheng Mao suspected the attack was intended to prevent Lord Xiahou’s name from being cleared.
• The masked attackers hid in a private home, changed clothes, and said that Lord Cao had ordered them to stage the assassination.

After an assassination attempt on Cao Mao, he used the attack to pressure Wang Su into publicly supporting the effort to clear Xiahou Xuan’s name. Cao Mao explained to Guo Ze that the provocation was meant to force Sima Shi to consider the consequences of killing him, and later became acquainted with the Knights assigned to protect him.

• Wang Su arrived to find Cao Mao unharmed, while Sima Yan questioned him and Zheng Mao about the attackers, who had escaped after fighting Guo Ze.
• Cao Mao suggested the assassins might have been former Wanderers from his residence, then pressed Wang Su about avoiding him and praised him into declaring support for clearing Xiahou Xuan’s name.
• Cao Mao told Guo Ze that the staged assassination attempt was an open tactic to unsettle Sima Shi and make him consider the fallout of Cao Mao’s death.
• The court officials left, and additional Knights remained at Cao Mao’s residence to guard him.
• Cao Mao chatted with the Knights until he learned that their leader, Cheng Ji, was Deputy General Cheng Cui’s younger brother and an Assistant Cavalry Commander.

Cao Mao cultivated Cheng Ji by training under him and recommending him for promotion, while the city lockdown kept him confined. Guo Jian then accused Cao Mao of causing his elder brother’s death, and the chapter ended with Guo Jian collapsing in grief after Sima Yan challenged his blame.

• Cao Mao recognized Cheng Ji as the man who had killed him in another timeline and began winning him over by asking for martial instruction.
• Cheng Ji defeated Cao Mao in sparring, taught him more direct techniques, and earned Cao Mao’s praise and promise of a recommendation.
• Cao Mao introduced Cheng Ji to Sima Yan and urged him to recommend Cheng Ji to the Grand General without revealing Cao Mao’s involvement.
• A cavalryman reported that Guo Jian had brought men to force his way into the residence, and Guo Jian accused Cao Mao of causing his elder brother’s death.
• Cao Mao pretended to despair and drew his sword, but Cheng Ji restrained him as Sima Yan condemned Guo Jian for blaming him.
• Guo Jian dropped his sword, knelt, and wept after Sima Yan challenged him to pursue the real killer.

Cao Mao learned that Sima Shi had crushed his attempt to clear Xiahou Xuan’s name and planned to kill him. Though Yang Zong advised him to seek protection from Sima Zhao, Cao Mao decided to write to him while insisting that Sima Shi could not kill him easily.

• Guo Jian accused Cao Mao of killing Guo De, and Cao Mao realized Sima Shi had turned his own information-gap tactic against him.
• Cao Mao worried that Sima Shi had taken control of the Empress Dowager, while Guo Ze grieved over his brother’s death and defended his sacrifice.
• Yang Zong returned and, after Guo Ze pleaded with him, revealed that Sima Shi had forced Guo De to kill himself, silenced the ministers, and was likely to target Cao Mao next.
• Yang Zong urged Cao Mao to ask Sima Zhao to enthrone the Prince of Pengcheng in exchange for his life, but warned Guo Ze that he might not survive.
• Cao Mao heard Yang Zong’s advice and announced that he would write to Sima Zhao, while declaring that killing him would not be easy.

Sima Shi planned to enthrone Cao Huan and later eliminate Cao Mao, but Guanqiu Jian’s unexpected support for Cao Mao forced him to reconsider. He decided to focus on Guanqiu Jian, sending Sima Zhao to Yu Province as tensions grew.

• Sima Shi rejected Sima Zhao’s plan to enthrone the Prince of Pengcheng and named Cao Huan as the intended emperor, while planning to kill Cao Mao later.
• Zhong Hui reported that Guanqiu Jian had sent an envoy, and Sima Shi received a letter supporting Cao Mao’s succession.
• Sima Shi and Zhong Hui suspected Cao Mao had contacted Guanqiu Jian through his son, while Sima Zhao argued against killing Yang Zong.
• Sima Shi judged that the Sima family was not ready to face military opposition from several directions and said Guanqiu Jian was the immediate threat.
• Sima Shi ordered Sima Zhao to go to Yu Province.

Cao Mao revealed that his confidence came from seeking Guanqiu Jian’s support and sent Sima Yan with a letter accusing Sima Shi of wrongdoing. When they returned to the residence, they found it surrounded by armed guards and Sima Shi waiting for them.

• Cao Mao explained to Yang Zong that he had contacted Mouqiu Dian to seek Guanqiu Jian’s support by clearing Xiahou Xuan’s and Li Feng’s names.
• Cao Mao secretly gave Sima Yan a letter for Guanqiu Jian, accusing Sima Shi and asking the general to uphold justice.
• Sima Yan urged Cao Mao to destroy the letter, warning that Sima Shi might see it and have Cao Mao killed, but Cao Mao insisted he feared no death for a righteous cause.
• Cao Mao and Sima Yan returned to the Cao Residence and found it filled with armed guards, with Sima Shi waiting at the entrance.
• Sima Yan timidly addressed Sima Shi as his uncle, and Cao Mao trembled in fear.

Cao Mao met Sima Shi in Yuan City, where the Grand General questioned his refusal to go to Luoyang and revealed how much he knew about Cao Mao’s allies and political maneuvering. Sima Shi ended by asserting his control over appointments and the realm, leaving Cao Mao facing a formidable opponent who seemed to regard him as insignificant.

• Sima Shi arrived at Cao Mao’s residence with armored guards, while Jia Chong explained that he had come to welcome the emperor and escorted Cao Mao to meet him privately.
• Sima Shi ignored Cao Mao at first, and Cao Mao studied his frail appearance while hoping the Grand General would continue to underestimate him.
• Sima Shi asked why Cao Mao kept refusing to go to Luoyang and hinted that he knew Cao Mao had connections at Mouqiu Dian’s residence.
• Sima Shi revealed that he knew Yang Zong had helped Cao Mao persuade Guo Jian and alert the great clans, and Cao Mao defended Yang Zong as a worthy man.
• Sima Shi criticized Guo Ze and raised the question of Shu Wan’s appointment, then warned Cao Mao that governing the realm was difficult and claimed Great Wei would perish without him.

Cao Mao realized Sima Shi was using threats against his allies to control him, and he pretended to submit while concealing his success in winning Guanqiu Jian’s support. Sima Shi decided to install Cao Mao as emperor so he could use the throne’s legitimacy to draw Guanqiu Jian to Luoyang, while planning how to handle Zhuge Dan and the other commanders.

• Cao Mao inferred that Sima Shi had not captured Liu Lu and was holding back from killing him because Guanqiu Jian had endorsed his succession.
• Cao Mao acted frightened and asked Sima Shi to spare Guo Ze, then left the residence with Jia Chong’s reassurances.
• Jia Chong urged Sima Shi to kill Cao Mao, but Sima Shi decided to establish him as a legitimate emperor and use his authority to summon Guanqiu Jian to Luoyang.
• Sima Shi told Jia Chong that Cao Mao could be killed if Sima Shi became gravely ill, then discussed Zhuge Dan, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and a possible rift between Zhuge Dan and Wen Qin.
• Sima Shi ordered Jia Chong to escort Cao Mao to Luoyang and arrange his prompt enthronement while he remained in Yuan City.

Under house arrest, Cao Mao met the beaten Guo Ze and used coded admonitions to persuade him to endure serving Jia Chong for the sake of the realm. After Jia Chong left, Cao Mao vowed to make him pay once they reached Luoyang.

• Cao Mao remained isolated under Sima Shi's house arrest and worried about Guo Ze's safety.
• Jia Chong brought the battered Guo Ze to see Cao Mao, and Guo Ze accused Jia Chong of trying to make Cao Mao's followers testify against him.
• Cao Mao told Guo Ze that he would go to Luoyang and urged him to serve Jia Chong and avoid provoking the Grand General.
• Guo Ze reluctantly bowed to Jia Chong after Cao Mao insisted that he put the realm first, then left the room.
• Cao Mao asked Jia Chong when they would leave for Luoyang and secretly resolved to repay him for Guo Ze's injuries.

Cao Mao left Yuan City for Luoyang under Jia Chong’s escort, planning to protect Guanqiu Jian and use the opportunities awaiting him in the capital. Along the journey, he cultivated an exaggerated closeness with Jia Chong, unaware that their colleagues had begun to view Jia Chong differently.

• Cao Mao left Yuan City for Luoyang, resolving to keep Guanqiu Jian calm and plan his next moves in the capital.
• Wang Su, Zheng Mao, and Hua Biao discussed Jia Chong’s role in escorting Cao Mao while Sima Shi remained behind in Yuan City.
• At Yinping, Jia Chong refused the local magistrate’s request to see the emperor and camped outside the city.
• Cao Mao complained about his meal, invited Jia Chong to eat with him, and praised Jia Chong’s service and reputation.
• During the journey, Cao Mao repeatedly summoned Jia Chong, shared meals with him, and asked for his advice, making Jia Chong suspect he was trying to win him over.
• Jia Chong dismissed Cao Mao’s attempts as harmless, but his colleagues had begun to look at him differently.

Cao Mao tested Jia Chong by proposing a marriage to Jia’s daughter, then learned that Jia reported the exchange to Sima Shi and still intended to eliminate him. Cao Mao reached Luoyang, where the ministers welcomed him as the new emperor.

• Cao Mao asked Jia Chong for advice about meeting the Empress Dowager, then proposed marrying Jia’s daughter and watched Jia reject the idea in alarm.
• Cao Mao reflected on how to exploit Jia Chong’s self-interest, while Jia wrote Sima Shi a truthful report and resolved that Cao Mao had to be killed after Guanqiu Jian was subdued.
• Jia Chong continued accompanying Cao Mao with his usual smiles, and Cao Mao concluded that Jia had told Sima Shi everything.
• Cao Mao arrived at the Black Tortoise Lodge outside Luoyang, where Wang Su and two companions arranged his meeting with the ministers.
• The ministers, led by the Three Excellencies, bowed to Cao Mao and greeted him as their emperor.

Cao Mao met the Three Excellencies and other ministers, presenting himself as a courteous young ruler while raising concerns about his safety. Before leaving, he secretly told Gao Rou that Wang Su had tried to kill him.

• Cao Mao greeted the assembled ministers and refused Wang Su's suggestion that he go rest instead of meeting them.
• Cao Mao courted Gao Rou, exchanged words with Sima Fu, and greeted Zheng Chong and the other officials.
• Cao Mao described an attempted assassination in Yuan City, shocking the ministers and prompting Sima Fu to promise his protection.
• Wang Su urged Cao Mao to leave, and Cao Mao whispered to Gao Rou that Wang Su had wanted to kill him.