Chapter 114: The Bold Strides of Emperor Wu of Wei

"Ahem! Fellow student Wang, wasn't it said that... no one is allowed to ask questions or be informed in advance about this trip?" Young Lady Bian lowered her voice, fearful of being overheard by those outside. "Even fellow student Sima couldn't get an answer out of anyone, so how do you know? Heh, we've been companions on this journey, so just tell me—where are we actually going?"

The fellow student Sima she referred to was Sima Nandi, a female student among the group who wore beautiful new clothes every day and carried a fan that caught the wind at her waist.

To be honest, it was only after Wang Ge learned that there were members of the imperial clan among her fellow students that she truly grasped the weight of the "background and qualifications" mentioned by Pavilion Chief Huan, and realized just how rare it was to be an official student at the Xie Family School.

Including herself, there were only eleven of them!

Wang Ge replied with utmost seriousness, "Aren't we out on a trip to broaden our horizons?"

"Who lied... who told you that?"

"I can't tell you that."

Bian Zi pouted. Fine, Wang Ge is simple-minded; I’ll just pretend to believe her silly story. The little girl kindly changed the subject and asked, "What were you making just now?"

"Making a toy that I know how to play with, and perhaps you will too."

"That's not what you said a moment ago."

"Is that so? My memory isn't very good. There, look..." Wang Ge set up the wooden blocks and introduced the rules: "This largest block engraved with the character 'Cao' represents Wei Wudi, Cao Mengde. This one, which is the same length as the Cao block but narrower and engraved with 'Guan,' is Guan Yunchang."

"I know, I know." Young Lady Bian pointed to the other engraved blocks. "The rest are Zhang Yide, Ma Mengqi, Huang Hansheng, Zhao Zilong, and the four soldiers, right?"

"Correct. See this exit? You move the blocks around, and as soon as you get Cao Mengde to this exit, he wins."

In this era, there was no such thing as the "Guan Yu letting Cao Cao go at Huarong Trail" as fabricated in the later *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. There were only sparse accounts of Cao Cao retreating to Jiangling after the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Bian Zi let out an "oh," signaling she understood the rules.

Wang Ge said, "Let’s take turns moving Cao Mengde to the exit, but you cannot repeat my method. How about that?"

"I'm younger. I'll go first, okay?"

"Fine."

Bian Zi immediately plucked the "Cao" block out and placed it at the exit, looking at Wang Ge. The little girl knew she was cheating, so she deliberately shook her head and pursed her lips to suppress a laugh.

Aren't you clever! Wang Ge said, "My turn."

"Wait." Bian Zi returned Cao Mengde to his original position.

Wang Ge pulled out the bamboo strip fence at the top, moved Cao Mengde out, went around to the exit to poke him in, and then wedged the bamboo strip back in. "Your turn."

***

Oh? That’s trouble! Bian Zi blinked.

The twenty-fifth day. Late afternoon.

The caravan abandoned their carts and horses once again and began to climb the mountain. There were no paths trodden by foot on this mountain; as far as the eye could see, there was only tangled grass and wild vines. The young students were all carried by retainers, and Wang Ge obediently let a sturdy maid carry her as well.

Crossing streams, descending slopes, climbing upward...

The sturdy maid carrying Wang Ge had already been rotated several times.

Before dark, the group stopped to set up camp. The retainers used machetes to clear away the tangled vines and gnarled branches. Wang Ge benefited from the presence of the young students and felt perfectly at ease not having to help. The students split into two groups: one played the "pecking nail" game, while the other played "Wei Wudi’s Maneuvers."

"Wei Wudi’s Maneuvers" was, of course, the Huarong Trail game Wang Ge had crafted. The accompanying craftsmen had already carved several sets, all much more refined than her original version. Yet, Bian Zi still preferred to play with Wang Ge's first edition—the little girl was sharp.

After all, this was the first edition of "Wei Wudi’s Maneuvers"!

Xie Ju deliberately sat near the young Lady Bian for a while, but it was in vain; the young lady wouldn't let go of it at all. He pouted and walked away: *Hmph, what's so great about it? I have the first edition of the small incense brazier! And the first edition of the tube waterwheel!*

After playing the "pecking nail" game a few times, Wang Ge felt it was essentially the ancestor of street-side ring tossing and, finding it uninteresting, noticed Xie Ju idly poking an anthill with a small stick.

She went to fetch her chest, walked over to him, and said, "I have a puzzle for you."

Xie Ju smiled. "Please."

Wang Ge opened her chest, took out her carving knife, and whittled small sticks from the wooden scraps in her bag. They were the same size and thickness as ordinary matches from her past life. "Huzi, go get a ceramic dish."

"Right." Xie Ju hurried off and hurried back.

Wang Ge quickly whittled five small sticks, folded them in half into a "V" shape without breaking them completely, trimmed off the wooden splinters, and placed them into the shallow ceramic dish. She arranged them so that the points of the five "V" shapes faced each other, keeping the sticks closely parallel.

"Done. My puzzle is: without using your hands to touch or pull these sticks, how do you make them form this shape?" She drew a "five-pointed star" on the ground.

As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Ju puffed out his cheeks and blew air directly into the small space in the center of the "V" points. He blew very carefully, but the sticks were still blown into disarray.

"This method doesn't work." Xie Ju knew there was no point in trying again.

Bian Zi and Sima Nandi were already standing beside Xie Ju, hand in hand.

Sima Nandi said, "Let me try." She started to pull out a strand of hair, but Bian Zi immediately warned, "No, that's against the rules."

Wang Ge added, "That's right, using hair to nudge them is also against the rules."

Sima Nandi spread her small hands. "Then I'm out of ideas."

***

The three young companions all looked up at fellow student Wang.

What a sense of accomplishment! Wang Ge had Xie Ju hold the ceramic dish steady, used a leaf to fetch a bit of water, and dropped a single bead of water into the small gap in the center of the sticks.

What was happening? The three little ones stared at the ceramic dish. They saw the small wooden sticks spread out along with the water droplet as it flowed into every gap. Then, all the sticks slowly expanded, and a "five-pointed star" appeared!

"Wow!" As they exclaimed in surprise, fire pits were lit in the camp.

Night fell rapidly. In a certain spot on the mountain peak ahead, clusters of light appeared. It was too far to see anyone, but they were definitely campfires lit by humans.

Strange bird calls echoed through the sky. Wang Ge felt a bit afraid and looked up. Xie Ju told her, "Young lady, do not worry; those are hunting falcons. They are relaying messages to the mountain peak ahead. If I'm not mistaken, that is the destination of this trip."

"You mean... we'll arrive tomorrow?"

"It should be."

At this very moment, at Wei Pavilion.

In the warm kitchen, Wang Dalang lay flat on a mat while Yuan Yanshu performed acupuncture on him. Because quiet was needed, only Huan Zhen and Old Man Wang stood by. Yuan Yanshu used the golden needles to pierce the acupoints, then followed up with pressing and tapping to promote the circulation of qi and blood around the points.

By another stove, Grandmother Jia and Wang He, brother and sister, watched nervously. Wang Xing huddled in Tie Feng’s arms, weeping silently and sensibly, not making a single sound.

Fortunately, Yuan Yanshu had arrived today!

He saw at a glance that the discharge in the corners of Wang Dalang's eyes was not mere sleep crust, but pus. This was caused by the blockage of the acupoints due to long-term chronic illness. If the stasis were not cleared in time, in a few more years, Wang Dalang could have been in excruciating agony until his death.

Each acupuncture session should not be too long. Yuan Yanshu withdrew the needles and said, "It is fortunate we discovered this early; the blockage is not yet severe. We shall perform one session every three days; after a month, he should feel much better."

Old Man Wang helped his son up, choking back sobs as he bowed to Yuan Yanshu. "I am grateful, sir."

Yuan Yanshu quickly helped him up and warned, "In the next half year, the young master must avoid grief and tears." He comforted him, "Do not worry, sir. Saving lives is the duty of a physician. As long as the young master takes care of himself, I will heal him."

"Yes, yes. I will surely make him take care of himself!" Old Man Wang turned aside, wiping away his old tears without making a sound. So it was that his eldest son's eyes had reached the point of discharging pus and blood, and he, as a father, hadn't even known! Thank goodness for Master Yuan!

Of course, it was first due to the great fortune of Hubao and Hutou in being able to befriend Pavilion Chief Huan; otherwise, how could they have encountered someone like Master Yuan?