Three Kingdoms: A wise grandson, Cao Wei can last for three generations!

"Yang Xiu killed the gatekeeper?"

"Yes."

"Is Sima Yi sitting with Ziheng at the city gate?"

"Yes."

Cao Cao stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside.

"Zhongkang, tell me, who won this test today?"

Xu Chu thought for a moment and said, "Young Master Zijian has won. He has delivered the command flag."

Cao Cao shook his head.

You're wrong.

Xu Chu was stunned.

Cao Cao turned around and looked at him.

"Zijian won the command flag, but lost the hearts of the people. Yang Xiu killed a captain, but destroyed the reputation of the Prime Minister's office. From now on, who will dare to work for him? Who will dare to stop him? To stop him is to die, so what's the point of stopping him?"

Xu Chu seemed to be deep in thought.

Cao Cao continued, "Ziheng lost the command flag, but he won a lesson—not to violate the duties of a subject, nor the duties of a son. He waited there not because he had no other choice, but because he knew that some things cannot be done."

He paused, his gaze deep.

"Only those who can endure can achieve great things."

That afternoon, the Prime Minister's Office issued two imperial edicts.

One of them was: Cao Pi appointed him as General of the Five Offices, Deputy Chancellor, and Director of the Secretariat.

One of them is: Cao Zhi was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingyuan, with a fief of five thousand households, and was granted the authority to govern.

The news caused an uproar throughout the city.

No one expected that Cao Pi, who lost the command flag, would receive an even greater reward.

Cao Zhi, who won the command flag, was only granted the title of marquis.

That evening, at Cao Pi's residence.

Cao Zhen was drinking, and his face was flushed red.

"Ziheng! I told you! You'd definitely win! So what if Yang Xiu killed someone? We won't kill anyone, we'll still win!"

Chen Qun nodded with a smile, "Young Master Pi's actions today have won the Prime Minister's favor. Only by enduring what ordinary people cannot endure can one achieve what ordinary people cannot achieve."

Cao Pi sat in the main seat, a faint smile on his face.

But his gaze fell on a person in the corner: Sima Yi.

He remained expressionless, sitting there as if nothing had happened.

Cao Pi picked up his wine cup and walked up to him.

"Zhongda".

Sima Yi stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Young Master."

Cao Pi looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Thank you for today."

Sima Yi shook his head: "You flatter me, my lord. I was merely sitting with you and did nothing."

Cao Pi smiled.

"Doing nothing is the greatest achievement."

He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Sima Yi also raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Cao Rui stood aside, watching this scene, and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

This Sima Yi is incredibly good at hiding his true intentions.

From beginning to end, he did nothing and said nothing. But he made Cao Pi do the right thing, allowing Cao Pi to win this unseen victory.

This kind of person is a hundred times more terrifying than Yang Xiu.

Meanwhile, at Cao Zhi's residence.

Cao Zhi sat in the courtyard, holding his dog named Xiaobai, without saying a word.

Yang Xiu sat opposite him, holding a wine pot in his hand, and his expression was not good either.

"Zijian," Yang Xiu spoke, "I didn't think things through properly today."

Cao Zhi shook his head: "It's not your fault, sir. It's my own fault for being useless."

Yang Xiu sighed and took a swig of wine.

"The Prime Minister had too high expectations of you," he said. "He enfeoffed you as a marquis and granted you the authority to govern, hoping you would have your own staff. But today's events have disappointed him."

Cao Zhi smiled bitterly: "I know. I didn't kill that captain, but I tacitly approved of you killing him. That's worse than if I had killed him myself."

Yang Xiu looked at him, a complex meaning in his eyes.

"Zijian, you are too kind."

Cao Zhi shook his head: "I'm not kind. I'm cowardly."

He looked up at the stars in the sky.

"My second brother can sit at the city gate for a whole morning, but I can't. My teacher can kill people, but I can't either. All I can do is write poetry, drink alcohol, and stare blankly while holding a dog."

He paused, and his eyes suddenly reddened.

"What my father wants is someone who can inherit his great cause. I am not that person."

Yang Xiu remained silent. After a long while, he stood up, walked to Cao Zhi, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Zijian, don't say that. You have your strengths. The Prime Minister's high hopes for you are not without reason."

Cao Zhi shook his head and didn't say anything. He just sat there all night, holding the dog.

The next day, Cao Rui went to Jia Xu's residence as usual.

Jia Xu remained as lazy as ever, sitting on the porch with a wine pot in his hand.

"You're here?" He didn't even look up. "Sit down."

Cao Rui sat down next to him and recounted what had happened the day before.

After listening, Jia Xu squinted and thought for a long time before suddenly smiling.

"That Yang Xiu, his cleverness backfired."

Cao Rui nodded: "Sir, you are right. He was too hasty."

Jia Xu took a sip of wine and said slowly, "Haste makes waste. He thought he could win by killing someone, but he didn't realize that he didn't just kill a captain, he killed the rules of the Prime Minister's mansion."

Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully.

"And what about Sima Yi?"

Jia Xu glanced at him, a hint of approval in his eyes.

"Sima Yi is the real master. He did nothing, yet he made Cao Pi do the right thing. He made Cao Pi wait, waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the hearts of the people."

Jia Xu continued, "Do you know why your grandfather appointed your father as General of the Five Offices, Vice Chancellor?"

Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Because Father is stable."

"That's right." Jia Xu nodded. "Only stability can lead to great things. Your fourth uncle is unstable, too impetuous. Yang Xiu is also unstable, too hasty. Your father is stable, and Sima Yi is even more stable. If these two are together, they can achieve great things in the future."

Cao Rui felt a chill run down his spine. "He will achieve great things in the future"—this statement carried a hidden meaning.

"Are you saying, sir, that Sima Yi will help my father?"

Jia Xu shook his head: "It's not helping. It's mutual exploitation. Your father uses Sima Yi's talent, and Sima Yi uses your father's power. Both get what they need."

Cao Rui paused for a moment, then asked, "And what about the future?"

Jia Xu looked at him, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

"The future? In the future, once your father has secured his position, Sima Yi won't be able to make a move. Or, if your father hasn't secured his position, Sima Yi might make a move. It's that simple."

Cao Rui's heart sank. Jia Xu's words were too insightful.

"Alright," Jia Xu waved his hand, "that's enough for today. Go to Pang Tong's place this afternoon and have him teach you something else."

Cao Rui rose, bowed, and left the mansion.

In the afternoon, Cao Rui went to Pang Tong's place.

Pang Tong hadn't been drinking today and was writing in the courtyard. Seeing Cao Rui enter, he waved.

"Come on, take a look at my handwriting!"

Cao Rui leaned closer to take a look and saw it was a piece of running script calligraphy, containing a line from the Book of Songs—

"With trepidation, as if facing an abyss, as if treading on thin ice."

Cao Rui's heart skipped a beat.

"Why is the gentleman writing this?"

Pang Tong put down his pen and looked at him.

"This is for you to see."

Cao Rui was taken aback. Pang Tong sighed and sat down opposite him.

"I heard about what happened yesterday. Your father won, and your fourth uncle lost."

Cao Rui nodded.

Pang Tong continued, "Do you know why your father won?"

Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Because he is stable."

"That's right." Pang Tong nodded. "But composure isn't innate. It's cultivated, it's developed through patience, it's nurtured through perseverance."

He paused, looking into Cao Rui's eyes.

"Your father has endured his whole life. He endured your grandfather's favoritism, your fourth uncle's limelight, and those who looked down on him. He endured all these years, and that's how he got to sit here yesterday."

Pang Tong continued, "You're only seven years old now, and you're already learning these things. In the future, you'll also be able to endure, suppress your feelings, and live in constant fear, as if facing an abyss or walking on thin ice."

He pointed to the calligraphy.

"Remember this. The higher you stand in the future, the more you should remember—you are standing on thin ice."

Cao Rui stared at the calligraphy in silence for a long time. Then he nodded solemnly.

"Sir, I understand."

Pang Tong smiled and reached out to rub his head.

"Alright, go ahead. Come again tomorrow."

Cao Rui rose to take his leave. As he reached the door, he glanced back.

Pang Tong picked up his pen again and continued writing. In the sunlight, his lonely figure appeared especially solitary.