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

November of the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD).

Cao Rui emerged from the Prime Minister's residence wrapped in a sable fur coat, carrying a stack of bamboo slips in his arms—the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" that Xun Yu had asked him to take back and read.

The eleven-year-old boy had already grown to Xu Hu's shoulder height. He walked in the snow with big, fast strides, with Bixie following behind, no more, no less, three steps behind.

"Young master, slow down, the ground is slippery," Xu Hu called from behind.

"I can't slip." Cao Rui had barely finished speaking when his foot slipped, and he landed hard on his backside in the snow. Bamboo slips scattered all over the ground, and he himself fell flat on his back.

Bixie quickly stepped forward to pick up the bamboo slips, and Xu Hu ran over to help him. Cao Rui sat in the snow, watching the snowflakes falling from the sky, and suddenly smiled.

"Young master, have you lost your mind from the fall?" Xu Hu asked anxiously.

"I'm not stupid." Cao Rui reached out and caught a snowflake. "Uncle Xu, what does this snow look like?"

Xu Hu thought for a moment: "Like... salt?"

"wrong."

"Like candy?"

"That's not right either."

"What does that look like?"

Cao Rui stood up, brushed the snow off his clothes, and said in a serious tone, "Like tofu in a hot pot. White and tender, it absorbs the flavor as soon as it's cooked."

Xu Hu: "..."

Bixie lowered his head to pick up the bamboo slips, his lips twitching slightly.

Back at his residence, Cao Rui changed into dry clothes and took the bamboo slips to his study. Cao Pi was inside reviewing documents; seeing him enter, he didn't even look up: "You fell?"

How did Father know?

"Your trousers are still covered in mud." Cao Pi put down his pen, looked at him, and said, "How old are you? You still trip and fall while walking."

Cao Rui chuckled, placed the bamboo slips on the table, and sat down opposite Cao Pi: "Father, aren't you going to the Prime Minister's residence today?"

"I've been there. Your grandfather said that this winter will be cold, and he asked all the prefectures and counties to take stock of the people who lack food and clothing, so that relief can be provided."

"Isn't this something we do every year?"

"This year is different." Cao Pi rubbed his temples. "This year, Hanzhong is included. Hanzhong has just been submitted to the government, and the people haven't recovered yet. Your grandfather said that the relief for Hanzhong should be transferred from Xudu, not requisitioned locally."

Cao Rui nodded, secretly admiring him. Cao Cao's move was brilliant—transferring grain from Xuchang made the people of Hanzhong grateful to the court; requisitioning grain locally made them resent the government. The same grain, different sources, yielded vastly different results.

"Father, what is your opinion on Sun Quan and Liu Bei dividing Jingzhou equally?"

Cao Pi put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the roof beam for a while, thinking: "The two sides won't fight for now. But things won't stay peaceful for long either. Guan Yu is very arrogant. He's guarding Jingzhou, and sooner or later he'll cause trouble."

"What trouble does Father think Guan Yu will get into?"

"It's hard to say," Cao Pi shook his head. "But Zhuge Liang's decision to place him in Jingzhou wasn't without reason. Guan Yu is a capable fighter and can keep the situation under control. If someone else had been sent, Jingzhou would have been swallowed up by Sun Quan long ago."

Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully. Historically, Guan Yu did indeed "get into trouble"—he launched a northern expedition against Xiangfan, flooded the seven armies, and became a force to be reckoned with in China, only to be betrayed by Sun Quan and suffer defeat and death.

But that's a few years from now. Right now, it's still early.

"Father, do you think we should remind Sun Quan to be careful of Guan Yu?"

Cao Pi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "What kind of terrible idea is this? Reminding Sun Quan to be careful of Guan Yu, isn't that helping Sun Quan?"

"No," Cao Rui shook his head, "It's to make Sun Quan even more afraid of Guan Yu. The more afraid he is, the more he'll want to strike first. The more he wants to strike first, the easier it will be for him to expose his weaknesses."

Cao Pi stared at him for a long time, then suddenly sighed: "You've been corrupted by your master."

Cao Rui chuckled: "Father, this is called strategy."

The next day, Cao Rui went to Jia Xu's residence. Jia Xu was sitting on the veranda drinking wine, a chessboard in front of him, playing alone. Seeing Cao Rui enter, he didn't even look up: "You've arrived? Sit down."

Cao Rui sat down opposite him and rubbed his hands together: "Sir, what will we be teaching today?"

"No teaching today." Jia Xu placed a piece on the board. "Let's chat today."

"What are you going to talk about?"

"Let's talk about you." Jia Xu raised his head, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy old eyes. "You're eleven this year. In four years, you'll be fifteen. Marriage at fifteen is what your grandfather decided. After marriage, you'll be an adult."

Cao Rui nodded, waiting for what was to come.

"Adults should do adult things." Jia Xu took a swig of wine. "Your grandfather is old, your father is steady, and your fourth uncle... let's not talk about him. The burden you will have to shoulder in the future is not light."

"Sir, I know."

"Knowing is useless. You have to do it." Jia Xu put down his wine cup and said seriously, "Your grandfather's greatest skill in his life was not fighting, but judging people."

He has a keen eye for people, and he's even more adept at using them. Look at the people he's employed—Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Liu Ye, Sima Yi—aren't they all shrewd and capable individuals?

"Sir, you're quite shrewd."

Jia Xu was taken aback, then glared at him: "I'm a fox, not a human shrewd one."

Cao Rui chuckled.

Jia Xu continued, "Your grandfather was good at judging people because he learned from his mistakes. He misjudged many people in his early years, but he learned his lesson later. You haven't learned from your mistakes, so you're not as good at judging people as he was."

"Then, sir, will you teach me?"

"I can't teach you," Jia Xu shook his head. "You can't teach someone how to judge character. You have to observe them yourself, judge them yourself, and learn from your mistakes. You'll learn from your mistakes, and the more you learn, the more accurate you'll become."

Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully.

"But there's one thing you can remember," Jia Xu said, raising his wine cup and lowering his voice, "When judging a person, don't look at what they say, look at what they do. They can lie about anything they say, but they can't lie about anything they do."

It was already noon when they left Jia Xu's residence. The snow had stopped, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, shining brightly on the snow-covered ground. Cao Rui walked in front, Bixie followed behind, and Xu Hu led the horse at the very back.

"To ward off evil spirits."

"exist."

Do you think Mr. Jia is right?

Bixie thought for a moment and said, "Yes."

"Which one is correct?"

He said, "To judge a person, look at what they do, not what they say." Sima Yi was like that. He was polite on the surface, but harbored a knife in his heart.

Cao Rui stopped and glanced back at him. In the moonlight, Bixie's face was still as wooden as ever, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.

"When did you learn to judge people?"

"I learned it from the young master."

Cao Rui smiled, turned around and continued walking: "Let's go home. I have things to do tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"Let's go to the cozy teahouse and see if Sima Yi comes for tea."

The next day, Cao Rui sat in the cozy tea room all day. Sima Yi did not come.

On the third day, he still didn't come.

The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day—they didn't come.

"Young master, are you overthinking this?" Bixie asked softly from behind.

"I didn't think too much about it." Cao Rui picked up his teacup and took a sip. "His not coming means he's avoiding me. His avoiding me means he cares about me. His caring about me means—he takes me seriously."

"Is the young master happy or unhappy?"

"I'm not happy." Cao Rui put down his teacup. "Being taken seriously by Sima Yi is not a good thing."