r　his　father's　immediate　attendants；　who　then　rang　the　praises　of　his　virtues　so　loud　that　Cao　Cao　was　strongly　disposed　to　name　him　as　the　heir　after　all。

After　hesitating　a　long　time；　the　matter　was　referred　to　Jia　Xu。

〃I　wish　to　name　my　heir。　Who　shall　it　be？〃　said　Cao　Cao。

Jia　Xu　would　not　say；　and　Cao　Cao　asked　why。

〃I　was　just　recalling　the　past　in　my　mind　and　could　not　reply　at　once；〃　said　Jia　Xu。

〃What　were　you　recalling？〃

〃I　was　thinking　of　two　fathers；　Yuan　Shao　and　Liu　Biao；　and　their　sons。〃

Cao　Cao　laughed。　Soon　after　this　he　declared　his　eldest　son　his　heir。

In　the　winter　of　that　year；　in　the　tenth　month；　the　building　of　the　Palace　of　the　new　Prince　of　Wei　was　pleted；　and　the　furnishing　begun。　From　all　parts　were　collected　rare　flowers　and　unmon　trees　to　beautify　the　gardens。　One　agent　went　into　the　South　Land　and　saw　Sun　Quan；　to　whom　he　presented　a　letter　from　Cao　Cao　asking　that　he　might　be　allowed　to　proceed　to　Wenzhou　to　get　some　oranges。　At　that　period　Sun　Quan　was　in　a　most　plaisant　mood　toward　Cao　Cao；　so　from　the　orange　trees　in　his　own　city；　he　picked　forty　loads　of　very　fine　fruits　and　sent　them　immediately　to　Yejun。

On　the　way；　the　bearers　of　the　oranges　fell　tired；　and　they　had　to　stop　at　the　foot　of　a　certain　hill。　There　came　along　an　elderly　man；　blind　of　one　eye　and　lame　of　one　leg；　who　wore　a　white　rattan　headdress　and　a　black　loose　robe。　He　saluted　the　bearers　and　stayed　to　talk。

Presently　he　said；　〃Your　burdens　are　heavy；　O　Porters。　May　this　old　Taoist　lend　you　a　shoulder？　What　do　you　say？〃

Naturally　they　were　pleased　enough；　and　the　amiable　wayfarer　bore　each　load　for　two　miles。　When　they　resumed　their　burdens；　they　noticed　that　the　loads　seemed　lighter　than