Three Kingdoms: Prince of the Great Wei, Prime Minister Cao

Chapter 14: The Birth of the Cao Clan’s Kneeling Tradition! Tension Between Father and Sons, Cao Ju Confronts Emperor Wei!

With Cao Pi opting to go with the flow and kneel, Cao Cao, whose rhythm of reprimanding his sons had been interrupted, looked at the three sons kneeling in a row not far away and burst into laughter.

“Hehe!”

“Not bad at all!”

“Since you brothers have deep brotherly feelings and enjoy kneeling, just keep kneeling.”

Having said that, Cao Cao picked up the documents from the edge of the long table and immersed himself in handling official matters, completely ignoring the three kneeling individuals on the ground.

Seeing Cao Cao’s attitude, neither Cao Ju, Cao Pi, nor Cao Zhang dared to speak up or face Cao Cao’s displeasure.

Especially Cao Zhang. He cast a resentful glance at his elder brother, Cao Pi, his eyes filled with bitterness. Cao Pi knew that he had implicated Cao Zhang, so he dared not meet his gaze and lowered his head even further. This scene, observed by Cao Ju, who was positioned to the side and watching Cao Pi and Cao Zhang out of the corner of his eye, led him to doubt: If there was a crack in the ground, the kind of mess Cao Pi had gotten them into, he probably would have chosen to dive right in.

If there were a patch of sand on the ground, his elder brother could probably use his feet to dig out an entire city of Changan. Amused by these sarcastic thoughts about his elder brother Cao Pi, Cao Ju suddenly felt a subtle gaze from the main seat, seemingly falling upon him. This made his heart shiver, prompting him to straighten his posture and make his kneeling position even more proper. At this moment, even without using his eyes, he could guess that his father, Cao Cao, was secretly observing and evaluating him in the main seat.

In the main seat, Cao Cao, who hadn’t fully immersed himself in the documents, naturally noticed Cao Ju’s subtle movements. Seeing that they hadn’t settled down even after kneeling, Cao Cao let out a soft snort. He had initially intended for them to kneel for a while and then rise. However, seeing they couldn’t even sit still while kneeling, he decided to leave them be.

Half an hour passed, then a full hour, two hours, three hours, an entire hour. By the time the sky outside had turned completely dark, Cao Cao still had no intention of allowing the three to rise. As for Cao Ju, Cao Zhang, and Cao Pi, the situation didn’t fare better after enduring this prolonged kneeling.

“Creak!”

Just as the three of them completely lost consciousness in their knees, and when their backs were about to give way, the study’s door was pushed open.

Xu Chu walked in, holding a tray of food. He only gave the three of them a faint glance, then glided past them and arrived at the long table where Cao Cao was seated. He set the food down. The meal was simple. A bowl of steaming rice, a plate of boiled greens, and a bowl of venison soup served in a copper container.

“Lord, it’s time to eat!” Xu Chu reminded Cao Cao with a sentence and then left without saying more, turning around and exiting.

Cao Cao didn’t look at the food placed in front of him. Instead, he raised his eyelids and glanced at the three sons still kneeling on the ground. After a moment, Cao Cao’s expression remained calm. He pointed toward the door with his finger and said, “Lao Ba, stay. Pi’er, Zhang’er, both of you, go out!”

Upon hearing this, Cao Pi and Cao Zhang’s expressions immediately brightened.

“Father, your child takes leave!”

“Father, your child takes leave!”

As if fearing that any delay might incur Cao Cao’s anger, Cao Pi and Cao Zhang got up at lightning speed. They also remembered to slam the door shut with a bang as they left. After the two sons left, Cao Cao turned his attention to Cao Ju, who remained kneeling. The frustration building up for a long time immediately burst forth.

“Rascal!”

“Rebellious son, do you realize you’ve jeopardized your father’s grand plans?”

“The matter of Xun Yu.”

“Is it something a rebellious son like you can interfere with?”

Anger surged. Cao Cao, who had no appetite whatsoever, suddenly grabbed the ceramic bowl filled with rice closest to him and slammed it upside down on the long table. Then, his whole demeanor turned even more piercing as he glared at Cao Ju, his expression grim. Below, facing the stern reprimand of his father, Cao Cao, and having already anticipated this, slowly withdrew his gaze from the “Cao Family Covered Rice” on the table.

The next moment, under Cao Cao’s watchful gaze, and without receiving his permission, Cao Ju stood up slowly. He raised his head. Fearlessly, he met Cao Cao’s intense gaze.

“Father, when you say your child has ruined your plans, are you referring to saving Xun Yu and disrupting your ambitions of assuming the title of Duke of Wei?”

“On this matter, your child believes he is not at fault.”

“If you are determined to be a duke, to be a king.”

“Your child doesn’t believe a living Xun Yu can stand in the way.”

“However, I want to ask you something, father.”

“After Xu Wenruo, who had worked alongside you for many years, a companion and advisor like a friend, was bestowed death by you.”

“Could it be that in the future?”

“You will be able to comfortably and justly proceed from the title of Duke of Wei, King of Wei, to further usurp the throne as an emperor?”

If one were to say that when convincing Xun Yu not to take his own life in Shouchun City, Cao Ju had only revealed his edge. Then, at this moment, Cao Ju was like a sword honed for decades. It was dormant when in its sheath. But once drawn, it uses the matter of Xun Yu to pierce directly at the heart of his father Cao Cao’s intentions, questioning whether he would dare to push Xun Yu to his death and then proceed to usurp the throne as an emperor.

The reason he dared to do this was quite simple as well because the history of his previous life had already provided the answer to this question.

And that is: After Xun Yu’s death, Cao Cao assumed the titles of Duke of Wei and King of Wei. But he never proclaimed himself emperor until the very end.

At the point where he was merely half a step away from the position of the Supreme Sovereign. Cao Cao did not follow the expectations of his subordinates and the people of the realm by proclaiming himself emperor, as many had hoped he would. Instead, he halted his steps, never actually taking that final step.

As he neared the end of his life. He defined his entire existence. He sealed his legacy as Cao Cao, the loyal minister of Han.

The rebel who usurped Han was Cao Mengde. Cao Ju wasn’t certain about the exact thoughts that went through Cao Cao’s mind when he refrained from claiming the imperial throne. But he was sure of one thing. At that moment, Cao Cao must have thought of his dear friend Xun Yu, whom he had ordered executed. He must have considered Xun Yu’s unwavering commitment to serving Han as a loyal minister.

Cao Ju looked at the Cao Cao before him and couldn’t help but sigh. Perhaps, in his final moments, the historical Cao Cao, who never dared to usurp the Han throne, might have regretted it! He might have regretted ending the lives of Xun Yu and Xu Wenruo, who had advised him with their very lives to remain loyal ministers to Han.

This was the foundation of his courage to now confront Cao Cao and demand answers from him.