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

New Year's Eve, the Wei King's Palace.

Cao Cao hosted a banquet in the Wenchang Hall, inviting all the civil and military officials. The room was packed with people, and the atmosphere was lively and bustling.

Cao Rui sat behind Cao Pi, wearing a newly made brocade robe. His face was still dark, but he looked very energetic.

After several rounds of drinks, Cao Cao suddenly stood up, holding his wine cup, and looked around.

"Gentlemen, today is New Year's Eve. This year, we moved our capital to Ye City and established the State of Wei. It was no easy feat."

The courtiers responded in unison, "Your Majesty is mighty!"

Cao Cao waved his hand and continued, "But I know in my heart that the world is not yet at peace. Liu Bei is in Yizhou, and Sun Quan is in Jiangdong, both of them are watching us. Next year, the year after, and the year after that—we will have to continue fighting."

He paused, his gaze falling on Cao Rui.

"But I won't talk about war today. I'll tell you something happy."

The courtiers pricked up their ears.

"My grandson, Cao Rui, is twelve years old this year. He served as a soldier in the Northern Camp for a few months, and he got as tanned as charcoal, but he didn't let me down. Last month, he won three first places in the grand competition."

The assembled officials all looked at Cao Rui; some nodded, some smiled, and some had complex expressions.

Yang Xiu stood in the crowd with a smile on his face, but there was something indescribable in his eyes.

Cao Rui stood up and bowed to the assembled officials: "My esteemed uncles, I am young and inexperienced, and I caused General Ma a great deal of trouble in the Northern Camp. I hope you will all guide me in the future."

Ma Chao shouted at the table of military officers, "Don't flatter me! You caused quite a stir in the Northern Camp!"

The courtiers burst into laughter.

Cao Cao laughed too, his mustache bristling with laughter. He picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Come, let's drink to this together!"

The ministers responded in unison, raised their cups, and drank together.

After the banquet ended, Cao Rui walked out. As he reached the door, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Young master."

Cao Rui turned around and saw Yang Xiu. He was standing under the eaves, the lantern light casting shadows on his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Registrar Yang".

Yang Xiu walked over, stopped in front of him, and looked down at him: "I have heard about what happened in the Northern Camp, young master. You are young and promising, and your future is limitless."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "You flatter me, Clerk Yang. I'm just going for a bit of fun, it's nothing serious."

"Just playing around?" Yang Xiu smiled faintly. "With this little game, you've won over half the hearts of the five thousand elite soldiers in the Northern Camp. Is that what you call just playing around?"

"Registration Officer Yang is joking. The soldiers of the Northern Camp belong to the King of Wei, not anyone's private army. How could I possibly win their hearts?"

Yang Xiu stared at him for a long time, then suddenly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Young master is right. I was being presumptuous."

He turned and left.

Cao Rui stood there, watching his figure disappear into the night, his brows furrowed.

Cao Rui stood under the eaves, looking at the stars in the sky, and suddenly sighed.

"Young master, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Cao Rui shook his head. "It's just that even during the New Year, things don't get peaceful."

He turned and left. Bixie followed behind, three steps away, no more, no less.

In the distant Wenchang Hall, Cao Cao was still sitting on his throne, holding a wine cup, looking at the mess in the hall, lost in thought.

Xu Chu stood at the door and asked in a simple and honest manner, "Your Majesty, it's time to rest."

"Hmm," Cao Cao responded, without moving.

Xu Chu stood there for a while, and seeing that he didn't move, he quietly retreated and closed the door behind him.

Cao Cao sat alone in the empty hall, facing the lantern that was about to go out, for a long time.

Then he stood up, walked to the door, and pushed open the palace door.

The snow outside had stopped, and the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, shining brightly on the snow-covered ground.

He looked at the myriad lights of Ye City in the distance and suddenly smiled.

"Next year will be better."

The wind blew from the Zhang River, scattering his voice.

The twenty-first year of Jian'an has passed just like that.

January of the 22nd year of Jian'an.

Before the snow in Ye City had completely melted, Cao Cao's headache flared up again.

Zhang Zhongjing carried his medicine chest into the Wei King's palace and inserted more than a dozen silver needles into Cao Cao's head.

Cao Cao sat on the throne, his head covered in needles, looking like a hedgehog with its fur standing on end.

Xu Chu stood at the door, looking at the king's appearance, his lips twitched, and he managed to suppress a laugh.

"Zhongkang, if you dare to laugh, I will deduct half a year's salary from your pay." Cao Cao said calmly with his eyes closed.

Xu Chu quickly turned his face away, his shoulders trembling.

Zhang Zhongjing put away the needles and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Your Majesty, headaches are a stubborn ailment. I can only alleviate them, not cure them. Please worry less, rest more, and don't stay up late."

"Not worried?" Cao Cao opened his eyes. "If I don't worry, who will? You?"

Zhang Zhongjing was taken aback, packed his medicine box, and took his leave.

As he reached the gate, he ran into Cao Rui returning from the northern camp. The thirteen-year-old boy had been training in the northern camp for several months, his face tanned as red as charcoal, but he had also grown taller, now surpassing Cao Cao in height.

"Master Zhang, how is my grandfather?"

"The same as always." Zhang Zhongjing sighed. "The king won't listen to advice. I told him not to stay up so late, but General Xu Chu said he was reviewing memorials until 1 a.m. last night."

Cao Rui sighed and entered the main hall. Cao Cao was sitting on his throne rubbing his temples. Seeing him enter, he frowned slightly: "Why are you so dark again?"

"Grandfather, it's winter now, the sun isn't shining."

"Then why are you so dark-skinned?"

"Last month in Beiying, we were crawling and rolling around in the snow every day, exposed to the wind."

Cao Cao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "Alright, stop joking. Zhang Zhongjing prescribed a formula for me, saying it can restore your complexion. Take it and use it."

Cao Rui took the prescription and saw that it listed: Angelica dahurica, Poria cocos, Atractylodes macrocephala, Bletilla striata, Ampelopsis japonica... a bunch of herbs starting with the character "white," to be ground into powder, mixed with honey, and applied to the face. (This is fake, please do not believe it.)

"Grandfather, is this for women?"

"As long as I can get my skin back to normal, who cares about men or women?" Cao Cao glared at him. "How will you face anyone with that black face? Your mother cries every time she sees you, and it annoys me."

Cao Rui chuckled and tucked the prescription into his pocket.

That evening, Cao Rui had Chunlan prepare a bowl of white clay according to the recipe. It was pure white and smelled of herbs. He sat in front of the bronze mirror, and Chunlan used a brush to apply the white clay to his face, layer upon layer, until it was completely covered.

Ma Yunlu passed by the door, peeked out, paused for a moment, then laughed so hard he squatted down on the ground.

"Yuan Zhong, are you going to put on a play?"

"Zhang Gong's prescription says it can restore your health." Cao Rui's face remained motionless as he spoke, making him look extremely comical.

After laughing enough, Ma Yunlu walked in, leaned closer to look at his face covered in white mud, and poked it with her finger: "Is it cold?"

"It's cold. But I'll endure it for Bai's sake."

Ma Yunlu shook her head, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and wiped the mud off his mouth: "You can put a face mask on, but don't get it in your mouth."

Chunlan watched from the side, a slight smile playing on her lips, thinking to herself that these two were already so lovey-dovey before they were even married.

After applying the compress for seven days, Cao Rui's face did indeed regain a considerable amount of its former radiance. Although he no longer had that exquisitely beautiful appearance, at least he didn't look like he had just crawled out of the stove.

Upon seeing this, Zhen Mi finally stopped crying.