Chapter Summaries

Wang Xiang persuaded Empress Dowager Guo to assert her authority and announce reforms, prompting her to defy the Guo family when they confronted her. After Guo Jian was blamed and struck by his father, he went to Cao Mao drunk and lamented how his family had treated him, leaving Cao Mao to wonder who he could confide in.

• Wang Xiang urged Empress Dowager Guo to unite the ministers and issue an edict reforming the Zhongzheng System, and she agreed.
• Empress Dowager Guo began appearing confidently in the palace and ordered Guo Li, Guo Zhi, and Guo Jian removed after Guo Li scolded her and demanded she obey the Grand General.
• Outside Zhaoyang Hall, Guo Li blamed Guo Jian for the family's troubles and slapped him, while Guo Zhi pulled Guo Li away.
• Guo Jian arrived at Cao Mao's Western Hall drunk and told him how his father and brother had favored his elder brother while he suffered abuse and neglect.
• After Guo Jian fell asleep, Cao Mao reflected on his words and wondered, “But what about me?”

Sima Yan staged a winter protest outside Taiji Hall to oppose Cao Mao’s indulgence with the eunuchs, while his supporters spread praise of his loyalty throughout Luoyang. Sima Zhao mistook the publicity campaign for a sign that his son had learned political showmanship and ordered Sima Yan’s reputation to be promoted further.

• Sima Yan knelt outside Taiji Hall in the snow and sent his memorial to Cao Mao through Sima Xun.
• Cao Mao rejected Sima Yan’s protest and ordered Sima Xun to leave him outside, so several burly men took turns impersonating Sima Yan while the real Sima Yan stayed warm at home.
• News of Sima Yan’s supposed endurance spread through Luoyang, and ministers and scholars praised him as a loyal and worthy servant.
• Sima Zhao learned of the protest and, believing Sima Yan had staged an effective public display, praised his son’s political instincts.
• Sima Zhao instructed Xun Xu to publicize Sima Yan’s example throughout the realm.

Cao Mao used Sima Yan’s three-day ordeal in the snow to win him public renown and teach him to see through the ministers’ motives and the people’s suffering. Sima Yan returned home repeating Cao Mao’s lessons, leaving Sima Zhao astonished that the emperor had taught him.

• Cao Mao finally let Sima Yan into the Western Hall after ministers and eunuchs pleaded for mercy, then publicly agreed to withdraw his order.
• Once they were alone, Cao Mao reclaimed his robe and explained that ministers were promoting Sima Yan because they wanted a weak successor to Sima Zhao, unlike the capable Sima Zhao’s younger son.
• Cao Mao urged Sima Yan to visit villages and see the poverty ordinary people faced, then planned for him to cultivate scholars and host gatherings at the East Hall.
• Cheng Ji thanked Cao Mao for helping him gain respect among scholars and promised to kill anyone Cao Mao ordered him to kill.
• Sima Zhao praised Sima Yan’s new renown, but Sima Yan repeated Cao Mao’s warning about reputation and the scholars’ motives, revealing that His Majesty had taught him.

Sima Zhao struggled to understand why Cao Mao was teaching Sima Yan, while Du Yu suspected the emperor was preparing a wise successor for the people. After learning that Cao Mao had won Empress Dowager Guo’s trust, Sima Zhao ordered Guo Li to reconcile with her and report her plans, though Guo Li left believing the Sima family feared him.

• Sima Yan told Sima Zhao that Cao Mao had urged him to distrust court ministers, inspect conditions among the common people, and rely on Du Yu.
• Du Yu suggested that Cao Mao might be trying to leave the people a wise ruler if Sima Zhao deposed him, and Sima Zhao dismissed the idea while ordering Shiji to keep Cao Mao under control.
• Sima Zhao agreed to receive Guo Li and Guo Zhi after Du Yu advised him not to neglect their visit.
• Guo Li told Sima Zhao that Cao Mao had gained Empress Dowager Guo’s confidence and warned that she might act against him.
• Sima Zhao told Guo Li to make peace with Empress Dowager Guo, stay close to her, and report her intentions.
• Guo Li left convinced that Sima Zhao feared him and that Empress Dowager Guo would eventually regret trusting Cao Mao.

Sima Shi recovered enough to resume directing Sima Zhao, but concealed the agony and bleeding in his eye as he urged ruthless action to preserve their power. Gao Rou sent his son to Huainan, only for armed guards and Sima Shi to confront them at home.

• Sima Zhao told Sima Shi about the Empress Dowager, Cao Mao, Guanqiu Jian, Zhuge Dan, and the unrest in Hebei, and Sima Shi ordered him to investigate the Empress Dowager’s visitors and find an empress for Cao Mao.
• Sima Shi proposed sending his widowed daughter Sima Yue to become empress, reasoning that her son could be used to control her, and urged Sima Zhao to sacrifice whatever was necessary for their cause.
• After Sima Zhao left, Sima Shi collapsed in pain as his left eye bled, and he pleaded for half a year to settle matters involving Guanqiu Jian, Zhuge Dan, Cao Mao, the Empress Dowager, and Wang Xiang.
• Gao Rou told Gao Guang to depart for Huainan and advised him to cultivate Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin.
• Gao Rou and Gao Guang arrived home to find armed guards surrounding the residence and Sima Shi waiting on the Study steps.

Sima Shi coerced Gao Rou into keeping his son from serving under Guanqiu Jian and reporting anyone who tried to recruit him, while concealing the encounter. At the General's Residence, Sima Zhao considered marrying Cao Mao to Sima Yue, and Zhong Hui endorsed the plan as a way to sever the emperor's ties with the Guo Family.

• Sima Shi confronted Gao Rou in his residence and threatened to kill Gao Guang to force him to choose between compliance and death.
• Gao Rou agreed to live, remain Minister over the Masses, prevent his son from going to Huainan, and report anyone who approached him with a plot.
• Sima Shi said he had no intention of harming the Gao Family and asked Gao Rou to watch for conspirators while his son was kept from leaving.
• Sima Zhao told Du Yu and Zhong Hui that he wanted Cao Mao to marry Sima Yue, the widow of Guo De.
• Zhong Hui supported the marriage as a way to alienate Cao Mao from the Guo Family, while Du Yu objected to its impropriety and political risks.
• Du Yu asked Zhong Hui why he supported the plan despite admiring Cao Mao, and Zhong Hui replied that his respect for the emperor was why he had to give it his all.

Sima Zhao forced Sima Yue to accept a marriage to the young Emperor, threatening her son’s future if she refused. Meanwhile, Cao Mao stirred Empress Dowager Guo’s anger against Guo Li and his relatives by falsely claiming they had joined Sima Shi, deepening the rift within her alliance.

• Sima Zhao visited Sima Yue and her son Zhen Ping, then told her he intended to marry her to the Emperor.
• Sima Yue refused at first, but Sima Zhao threatened Zhen Ping’s safety and future, and she reluctantly agreed.
• Sima Yue wept after Sima Zhao left, and Zhen Ping began crying when he found her.
• Cao Mao met Empress Dowager Guo and falsely claimed that General Xuande and his clansmen had sided with Sima Shi and planned to help him against her.
• Empress Dowager Guo flew into a rage, while Cao Mao was pleased that his lies would estrange her from the Guo Family.

Cao Mao and Empress Dowager Guo turned Guo Li and Guo Zhi’s attempt to probe them into an opportunity to feed the Sima Family false information. Sima Yan then announced that Cao Mao was to marry Sima Yue, and Cao Mao was shocked to learn she had previously been Guo De’s wife.

• Cao Mao persuaded Empress Dowager Guo to receive Guo Li and Guo Zhi so they could learn what the Sima Family was planning.
• Guo Li and Guo Zhi tried to reconcile with Empress Dowager Guo and asked what she had been planning, but she claimed she was merely weary and sent them away.
• Cao Mao suggested misleading the Sima Family by pretending to reconcile with Guo Li and Guo Zhi, and Empress Dowager Guo agreed.
• Sima Yan arrived to congratulate Cao Mao on his impending marriage and said his bride would be his cousin, Sima Yue.
• Cao Mao learned that Sima Yue had previously been Guo De’s wife and reacted with shock.

Cao Mao learned that Sima Zhao planned to marry Sima Yan’s sister, Guo De’s widow, to him and feared the Sima family was tightening its control over the court. Sima Shi wrongly suspected Wang Xiang of helping the Empress Dowager, while Cao Mao warned Wang Xiang that the Guo Family might betray them and urged him to protect their plans.

• Cao Mao reacted with alarm to the proposed marriage to Guo De’s widow and suspected Sima Shi had planned to control him through her.
• Sima Yan told Cao Mao that Sima Zhao had announced the match, and Cao Mao worried that Sima Shi had noticed the Empress Dowager’s political activity.
• Sima Shi confronted Wang Xiang over suspected collusion with the Empress Dowager, but Wang Xiang denied it and offered to resign; Sima Shi chose to keep watching him.
• Wang Xiang went to the palace, where Cao Mao warned that Sima Shi might test him and advised him not to admit to supporting the Empress Dowager.
• Wang Xiang cautioned Cao Mao that the Guo Family might side with the Sima Family and urged him to warn the Empress Dowager not to reveal their plans.

Cao Mao and Wang Xiang discussed Sima Shi’s plans and the danger of provoking him, while Wang Xiang predicted that the Grand General would die within half a year. Cao Mao relayed the news to Empress Dowager Guo, who urged him to endure Sima Shi’s final counterattack and wait for her chance to act.

• Cao Mao continued studying with Wang Xiang while maintaining ties with Empress Dowager Guo and preparing for the danger he believed Sima Shi still posed.
• Wang Xiang warned that Sima Shi’s plan involving Sima Yue could provoke Empress Dowager Guo into a damaging confrontation and urged Cao Mao to remain patient.
• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao that Sima Shi had grown visibly weak and would die within half a year, after which Sima Zhao would pose little threat.
• Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that Sima Shi would soon die and warned that he might launch a final counterattack before then.
• Empress Dowager Guo cautioned Cao Mao against recklessness and told him to endure hardships until Sima Shi was gone.

Cao Mao kept Cheng Ji’s loyalty secret while enduring his brutal training and considered how to gain control of the imperial guards. When Guo Jian arrived drunk, Cao Mao learned of his fears and urged him to feign a grave illness until the coming struggle over the dying Grand General had passed.

• Cheng Ji struck Cao Mao hard during their sparring, then left after arguing with Sima Hui and threatening to report him to Sima Zhao.
• Old Eunuch Xu urged Cao Mao to use his injuries to turn the Attendant Cavalry against Cheng Ji, but Cao Mao refused because he wanted to recruit him.
• Cao Mao welcomed his drunken uncle Guo Jian into the hall and considered whether he could win over the commander of the imperial guards.
• Cao Mao told Guo Jian that the Grand General was near death and advised him to feign a grave illness to avoid the ensuing turmoil.

Cao Mao persuaded Guo Jian to feign illness and leave his post, then urged Empress Dowager Guo to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects. After she tentatively accepted the proposal, Cao Mao met Gao Guang, who revealed that the Sima faction had humiliated his father, the Minister over the Masses.

• Cao Mao convinced Guo Jian to claim grave illness and ask Empress Dowager Guo to dismiss him from office.
• After Guo Jian stopped attending court, Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that he had feigned illness to avoid serving as General Xuande's inside man.
• Cao Mao proposed Yang Hu as Guo Jian's replacement, and Empress Dowager Guo reluctantly agreed to hear Wang Xiang's case for him.
• Old Eunuch Xu informed Cao Mao that Gao Guang had arrived as a new Attendant Cavalry, and Cao Mao led him to the Western Hall.
• Gao Guang told Cao Mao that the Grand General had blocked his appointment as a governor and that his father had been humiliated and fallen ill.

Cao Mao suspected Gao Guang was lying about his plans for Huainan and tested his supposed offer to help overthrow Sima Shi. After Gao Guang was handed over to Sima Zhao, Sima Zhao wondered whether Cao Mao had seen through the ruse or was acting for reasons he could not understand.

• Cao Mao questioned Gao Guang’s story about going to Huainan and suspected that Sima Shi had sent him to gather information.
• Gao Guang claimed Sima Shi had threatened the Gao Family and offered to secretly help Cao Mao, so Cao Mao had him seized as a rebel.
• Cao Mao ordered Cheng Ji to behead Gao Guang, then stopped him and sent Gao Guang to Sima Zhao instead.
• Cao Mao explained to Old Eunuch Xu that Gao Guang’s cautious nature made his dramatic offer implausible and dangerous to trust.
• Sima Zhao freed Gao Guang, heard what had happened, and wondered why Cao Mao had arrested him after Gao Guang offered to rebel.

Sima Zhao announced a five-rank noble system, winning the ministers’ enthusiastic support, while Wang Xiang privately approached Chen Qian about Cao Mao’s policies. Chen Qian recognized the proposals as the Emperor’s ideas and agreed they were good, leaving his own position on supporting them unresolved.

• Cao Wei’s ministers discussed Chen Zhi’s influence in Shu Han and considered exploiting tensions between him and Jiang Wei.
• Sima Zhao proposed creating five ranks of nobility, and the ministers eagerly praised the plan.
• Wang Xiang told Chen Qian that hereditary noble titles would entrench the great clans and limit new families’ advancement.
• Chen Qian accepted Wang Xiang’s invitation and attended a banquet at his residence.
• Wang Xiang presented Cao Mao’s policies, including the Zhongzheng System, and revealed that they were the Emperor’s and Empress Dowager’s ideas.
• Chen Qian said the policies were very good but had not yet explained whether he would support them.

Wang Xiang recruited Chief Imperial Censor Chen Qian to support Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, while Chen urged them to act before Sima Shi confronted Guanqiu Jian. The next day, Cao Mao told Wang Xiang that the Empress Dowager wanted to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects, and Wang considered whether Yang Hu could be won over.

• Wang Xiang persuaded Chen Qian to join the alliance with Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, and Chen proposed winning over ministers before Sima Shi moved against Guanqiu Jian.
• Wang Xiang warned Chen Qian that a sudden revolt could give Sima Shi an excuse to destroy their clans, and Chen agreed to meet the Empress Dowager without acting rashly.
• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao that Chen Qian had joined them and warned him that Chen was wise but rash.
• Cao Mao told Wang Xiang that the Empress Dowager wanted to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects, and Wang said winning Yang Hu over might be possible.

Wang Xiang reassured Cao Mao about approaching the Empress Dowager and appointing Yang Hu, while Sima Zhao arranged to remove Sima Fu from military command as he prepared to confront Guanqiu Jian. Sima Zhao returned home to find eminent scholars visiting his son Sima Yan, who tried to respond as Yanshi would.

• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao to speak honestly with the Empress Dowager and reassured him that he had allies, including Chen Xiuyuan.
• Sima Zhao told Sima Fu he would request his transfer from Grand Commandant to Grand Tutor, and Sima Fu recognized the move as an effort to remove him from military affairs.
• Sima Zhao discussed the coming campaign against Guanqiu Jian, then privately resolved not to let Sima Fu command an army again.
• Sima Zhao returned home and learned that the eminent scholars gathered there had come to visit Sima Yan, not him.
• Sima Yan greeted the scholars from his desk, credited them with persuading the emperor, and promised to visit them after recovering.

Sima Yan won the celebrated scholars’ support for a banquet at the East Hall, while Cao Mao and Empress Dowager Guo navigated the Sima Family’s political maneuvering. Zhong Hui’s visit exposed a supposed marriage scheme involving Sima Yue, and Cao Mao left the Empress Dowager believing he had narrowly avoided a trap.

• Sima Yan invited celebrated scholars to gather with Cao Mao at the East Hall, and they agreed to attend.
• Sima Zhao confronted Sima Yan about his banquet, and Sima Yan credited his success to his father’s guidance.
• Cao Mao persuaded Empress Dowager Guo to delay summoning the Chief Imperial Censor and to recruit Yang Hu before Sima Zhao could.
• Zhong Hui claimed Cao Mao had asked him to arrange a marriage with a Sima daughter, angering Empress Dowager Guo and prompting Cao Mao to challenge him.
• After Zhong Hui left, Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that Sima Shi might intend for him to marry Sima Yue, and she urged him to endure rather than act rashly.

Sima Yue prepared to enter the palace as Sima Shi’s instrument for weakening the Empress Dowager’s influence, while leaving her young son Ping in Yang Huiyu’s care. After Sima Yue formally met Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, Cao Mao was stunned by how closely she resembled her father.

• Yang Huiyu visited Sima Yue, promised to care for Ping, and reassured her that he would receive proper attention and medicine.
• Sima Shi instructed Sima Yue on her palace role and told her that he, not her Second Father, had ordered her sent there.
• Sima Shi and Zhong Hui discussed the uncertain prospect of Guanqiu Jian’s appointment and the risks of a military conflict.
• Sima Yue paid her respects to the Empress Dowager and Cao Mao, who accepted her arrival without resistance.
• Cao Mao escorted Sima Yue from Zhaoyang Hall and privately lamented her startling resemblance to Sima Shi.

Cao Mao learned that Sima Yue was despairing because Sima Shi had kept her young son, Zhen Ping, with him, and he recognized how cruel his rival could be. He called a banquet of renowned scholars, insisting it was not a move against Sima Shi, and Sima Yan arrived limping before revealing his injury was real.

• Cao Mao questioned Sima Yue about her son, and she said Zhen Ping was living with the Grand General.
• Cao Mao realized Sima Shi might be using his grandson to control Sima Yue and left without saying more.
• Cao Mao asked Old Eunuch Xu whether Sima Shi could feel pain and despair, then ordered a banquet for Luoyang's worthies and summoned officials and scholars.
• Sima Zhao left the banquet preparations to Zhong Hui, while Sima Shi paid them no attention.
• Sima Yan arrived limping, and Cao Mao praised him for convincingly feigning illness before Sima Yan said his injury was a gift from his father.

Cao Mao hosted a banquet for celebrated scholars, where Zhong Hui defended his past conduct and Sima Yan repeatedly unsettled him with questions about mineral powder. Lü An criticized Cao Mao for holding banquets instead of governing, leaving the gathering tense.

• Cao Mao told Sima Yan that famous officials would lend prestige to the East Hall banquet, and Zhong Hui arrived to attend.
• Zhong Hui argued that his earlier actions had protected Cao Mao, while Sima Yan asked whether he took mineral powder and darkened his mood.
• The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove arrived, and Ji Kang introduced Lü An, whom Cao Mao recognized as an outspoken opponent of Sima rule.
• Lü An rebuked Cao Mao for holding banquets while the state remained unsettled, and Cao Mao challenged his blunt criticism.
• Sima Yan asked Lü An whether he took mineral powder, leaving the scholars silent.