Chapter 17: Sunny Day "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, wake up." Bi Jin called softly outside the bedroom in a long voice. In the early morning, the birds in the trees in the courtyard chirped non-stop. Concubine Mao, who had been awake for a long time, gently pushed the shoulder of Cao Rui, who was still sleeping, trying to wake up her pillow. Although Cao Rui had woken up, he did not want to end the warmth of the moment. At this moment, the Emperor of Wei was lying on the couch pretending to sleep. In fact, the last time Cao Rui stayed in Maopin's palace, nothing happened between the two of them. They just lived in the same palace, that's all. The only real substantive progress between the two was last night, after Cao Rui and Concubine Mao had gotten to know each other in depth for more than ten days. Last night, the two of them talked about everything from the starry sky to myths and legends, from the scenery of Hanoi to the emperor's recipes, and to literature and poetry. They talked non-stop until midnight. Then the moon became dim and the stars began to fade, and the magpies flew south. After that, the mountains will never get too high, the sea will never get too deep, Zhou Gong spits out food to feed the guests, and the people of the world will be at peace. Cao Cao wrote great poems.
Maopin was undoubtedly a contradiction. This twenty-year-old woman was bold yet shy, wanting to be loved by her husband but also wanting to be reserved. At that time, Cao Rui looked down at Concubine Mao's blushing face and said, "If I give you an order, will you obey me or not?" This is a bit of bullying. He took advantage of his power as an emperor to bully the people under him. Concubine Mao also happily took the opportunity, and the two of them remained silent all night until the sun came out. I feel refreshed and relaxed after waking up. Cao Rui's ability to pretend to sleep was not very good, and his eyelashes on his handsome face trembled slightly. Concubine Mao pushed him but he did not move. "Your Majesty, Minister Wei Zhen is already outside your Majesty's study." Bi Jin's shrill voice shouted outside the door, which sounded very unpleasant. After hearing Bi Jin's words, Cao Rui did not want to let Bi Jin in. Instead, he got up from the couch, put on a thin silk robe, walked to the door of the bedroom and opened it. "Why did Master Wei arrive so early?" Cao Rui asked Bi Jin. Bi Jin said respectfully, "I have asked Minister Wei, and he said that since this is the first time that His Majesty has summoned him to the palace, he dare not neglect him in the slightest. Minister Wei is waiting outside His Majesty's study right now." Cao Rui said quickly: "Why didn't you tell me earlier that Master Wei was here!" Cao Rui hurriedly ordered the eunuch to hand him his robe. After he had dressed and combed his hair, he hurried to the study to see Wei Zhen. Before he reached the study, Cao Rui saw Wei Zhen standing at the door of the study from afar. There was no one around, but Wei Zhen still stood straight. "Master Wei, I am late." Cao Rui said as he walked forward. "Your Majesty, I, Wei Zhen, pay my respects to you." Seeing the emperor coming, Wei Zhen bowed respectfully. Before Wei Zhen could stand up, the emperor supported him by the arm. Cao Rui smiled and said, "Master Wei is my teacher, so there is no need to stick to conventional etiquette." Wei Zhen's usually cold face also showed a little smile: "The etiquette is like the law, how can I not abide by it?" Cao Rui took Wei Zhen's arm and walked into the study: "Master Wei, please come in with me, let's sit down and talk." The two slowly sat down in the study. Wei Zhen has a deep connection with the Cao family.
In the past, when Dong Zhuo was ruling a chaotic regime in Luoyang and the princes in the Guandong region rose up in arms to fight against him, Cao Cao wanted to raise an army in Chenliu but suffered from a lack of military pay. It was Wei Zhen's father, Wei Zi, who spent all his family wealth to support Cao Cao, and helped Cao Cao recruit 5,000 soldiers in Chenliu. Wei Zi said, "The chaos has been going on for a long time, and it can only be rectified by soldiers." He also highly praised Cao Cao with the words "The one who can pacify the world must be this man." However, Wei Zi was killed very quickly. In the first year of Chuping, when Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong, a general under Dong Zhuo, in Xingyang, Wei Zi also led 3,000 soldiers with him and died in battle. Wei Zi's help to Cao Cao and the Cao family was huge, and naturally turned into a legacy for Wei Zhen after Wei Zi's death. Wei Zhen first worked as a clerk under Xiahou Dun, and was later appointed by Cao Cao as the Yellow Gate Minister, and later entered Cao Cao's Prime Minister's Mansion to manage taxes for Cao Cao. It is truly a task that requires a lot of trust. After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he appointed Wei Zhen as Palace Attendant and conferred him the title of Marquis of Anguo Ting. Later, he successively appointed Wei Zhen as Shangshu and Zhonglingjun. Not to mention that Cao Pi asked Wei Zhen to teach classics and state affairs to his eldest son Cao Rui, and he had a teacher-student relationship with Cao Rui. What does it mean to have a good family background? Ministers like Wei Zhen are the most upright in Wei. Wei Zhen looked at the emperor, cupped his hands and asked, "I heard the imperial edict in the Shangshutai yesterday. Why did Your Majesty call me into the palace today?" Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Master Wei is my teacher. I have just ascended the throne and want to make progress in state affairs, but I don't know where to start." "Master Wei, is there anything you can teach me?" Wei Zhen nodded, but did not immediately answer the emperor's question about state affairs. Instead, he mentioned an incident that happened in the Shangshu Taizhong. Wei Zhen said, "I have something to tell your majesty. Before your majesty's first court meeting, I was in the Shangshutai and heard Sima Yi and Chen Qun asking Liu Ye, who had just come out of the North Palace, about something related to your majesty." Cao Rui frowned slightly, but did not speak. He nodded gently, motioning Wei Zhen to continue. Wei Zhen continued: "Chen Qun asked Liu Ye this question, asking 'Who is your Majesty?' Liu Ye replied, 'Your Majesty looks like Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.'" Cao Rui sneered. He asked Liu Ye about ghosts and gods, and Liu Ye compared him to Emperor Wen of Han. How could Cao Rui not see that Liu Ye was using the meaning of "Emperor Wen of Han" to tease him and use the name of "Emperor Wen of Han" to evade the two ministers? Cao Rui did not want to correct the matter with Wei Zhen, but instead used Emperor Wen of Han as an introduction to question Wei Zhen. Cao Rui said: "If I become Emperor Wen of Han, would Master Wei be willing to be Song Chang for me?" When Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, was still the Prince of Dai, Song Chang was a close confidant of Emperor Wen of Han as the Lieutenant of the Prince of Dai. On the night Emperor Wen of Han ascended the throne and entered the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, Song Chang was appointed as the General of the Guards to lead the imperial guards in the palace. Wei Zhen was well-read, how could he not understand the emperor's intention? The emperor ascended the throne at a young age, and all he thought and felt was that his ministers were holding him back and that his power was not being extended. By letting Wei Zhen be Song Chang, is he using Wei Zhen to seize power from the assistant ministers? Wei Zhen thought for a moment and then cupped his hands and said, "I have received great favors from the Wei family for a long time. I will die for your majesty, so I am naturally willing to be Song Chang." "But I think that Your Majesty is the eldest son of the late emperor, and no one can shake Your Majesty's position, so naturally there is no need for me to act as urgently as Song Chang." Cao Rui understood what Wei Zhen meant. Wei Zhen was telling him that there was no need to rush to seize power, as the ministers would not do anything for the time being and he should just take his time. Upon hearing this, Cao Rui asked Wei Zhen directly: "Master Wei, Chen Qun and Sima Yi are friends of the late emperor, but not my friends. In your opinion, are these two people loyal to the country?" (End of this chapter)