The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 140 Why is Your Majesty laughing?

The celebrities were very pleased with Sima Yan's words. They stroked their beards and their evaluation of Sima Yan became higher and higher.

I didn’t realize it before, but now I know that Sima Anshi is truly a wise man!
Sima Yan continued, "I believe that Your Majesty is wise and the reason he is so close to eunuchs is because he lacks wise men like you around him."

"What does Sima Sanqi mean?"

"I would like to hold a banquet in the East Hall, inviting all the wise men to gather around Your Majesty, to discuss learning, drink wine, compose poetry, and comment on the world's famous scholars. What do you think?"

"Okay!"

"We are willing to go!"

The celebrities all agreed. If Cao Mao came to summon them to the Taiji Hall, they would definitely not dare to go. But since Sima Yan invited them, what was there to be afraid of?

Since Sima Shi is not in power now, Sima Zhao is the one who takes care of everything. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Sima Zhao is bound to inherit Sima Shi's position, and Sima Yan is Sima Zhao's eldest son.

Although Sima You was adopted by Sima Shi and had a good reputation, he could not withstand the fact that this eldest son was becoming more and more outstanding. At such a young age, he was already on par with the famous scholars. In the future, could Sima You still compete with him for this position?
The celebrities had different ideas, but they all wanted to get close to Sima Yan.

What's more, going to Taiji Hall will also be good for their reputation. Judging from what Sima Yan meant, this is not a one-time or two-time event, it is likely to become a special event of the Wei Dynasty, the kind that is exclusive to celebrities. This kind of event has appeared in the past, and anyone who can participate can gain a good reputation.

Recently, many people have been trying to gain popularity with His Majesty and meet with Him. Maybe they can get a chance too?
Just like Sima Yan today, famous throughout the world.

The celebrities confirmed the date with Sima Yan before saying goodbye and leaving.

Sima Yan said goodbye to them and looked at the gate carefully. After making sure that everyone had left, he jumped up and began to rub his legs. He had been kneeling for so long that his legs were about to become lame!

Just as he was rubbing his legs without any manners, a man suddenly broke into the house.

"Sima Sanqi has a great reputation."

"You have summoned so many famous people, and you still dare to invite them to the East Hall?"

Sima Zhao looked coldly at his son in front of him with an ugly expression.

Sima Yan was startled by him and quickly straightened up.

Sima Zhao saw his son was lost in thought. The next moment, he stepped forward tremblingly, then slowly held his hand, raised his head, and looked into his eyes.

"Father!! This is all thanks to your good teaching!"

"If it weren't for you, how could I have been valued by so many famous people?"

"I should thank you!"

Sima Zhao gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and looked at his son in front of him.

"Thank you, right?"

"You're not pretending to be sick. Do you want me to teach you?"

In Zhaoyang Palace, Cao Mao hurriedly informed the empress dowager of the good news brought by Wang Xiang.

Empress Dowager Guo has been really happy recently.

Since she got rid of the clan, she felt that her life was getting better and better.

The Inspector of the Imperial Capital came to seek refuge with him on his own initiative. Cao Mao came to see him every day, telling him all kinds of funny and humorous stories that made him laugh, and also brought him good news from time to time.

What Sima Shi is going to die, what Sima Zhao has offended another minister, and today even brought the good news that Chen Qian has surrendered!

Empress Dowager Guo vaguely felt that the Sima family was nothing special, and it seemed that she had the confidence to challenge them.

In the past, she never dared to have such thoughts.

"Okay, I'll give the order now and summon the Chief Censor!"

Cao Mao was frightened by her and hurriedly tried to persuade her, "Mother, no! If we summon him now, won't the Sima family find out?"

Empress Dowager Guo waved her hand and said, "Master Sima is about to die. What good will it do if he finds out?"

Cao Mao just felt a headache.

The Queen Mother has gone from one extreme to another.

If she had half the ability of Empress Lu, Cao Mao would have said nothing and just followed her. But she didn't have that. Not to mention Sima Shi, even Sima Zhao could defeat her. At best, she could be on equal terms with An Shi, and she might not even be as good as An Shi!
Although An Shi was a little stupid, at least he listened to advice, was not a weakling, and knew how capable he was.

But Cao Mao had no choice. When it came to forming an alliance with the aristocratic families, the Queen Mother was an absolutely indispensable link, and the most crucial link. Her edict was effective!
At least she dared to fight against the Sima family. This was the only way Cao Mao could comfort himself.

"Mother, Sima Shi is indeed seriously ill, but didn't you say earlier that it was because of his illness that we were avoiding his sharp edge?"

"Yes, the prince said so before."

"Now that we have the Inspector General of the Imperial Guards and the Chief Censor, the important matters can be settled. Why don't we summon him another day?"

"Mother is wise!"

Cao Mao said, and then reminded: "Mother, the prince told me that we should not act rashly now and should endure for a while. He said that it is not convenient for him to meet with you, and mentioned the matter of Yang Hu."

Speaking of Yang Hu, the empress dowager's face turned a little ugly.

"Since that's what the prince said, then summon him to serve as the Protector General. But can he come?"

"The Queen Mother has personally summoned him, so how could he not come? If he doesn't come, that's even better. If Sima Zhao wants to summon him in the future, he won't dare come again. Otherwise, it would be considered disrespectful to the Queen Mother and have ulterior motives, and he would surely be ridiculed by the world. This man is too famous to do such a thing!"

"Yang Hu is extremely talented. If Sima Zhao cannot recruit him, it will be a great loss to the Sima family!"

Empress Dowager Guo nodded and said, "Let's do it this way. I will issue the decree now."

"only!!"

Cao Mao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to say something when Mr. Guo suddenly rushed in.

"Queen Mother!"

"Secretary Zhong Hui requests an audience!!"

Cao Mao took a deep breath and looked up at the Queen Mother. "Mother, the final blow is coming."

Zhong Hui walked in with a smile on his face. Judging from his appearance, he was truly an impeccable celebrity of his generation, graceful, elegant and handsome. Even Empress Dowager Guo couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

However, Zhong Hui didn't even look at the Queen Mother. After coming in, he stared at Cao Mao and grinned.

That smile was simply creepy.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"Meet the Queen Mother."

Zhong Hui saluted one after another, but he saluted Cao Mao first.

Empress Dowager Guo frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

"The Secretary-General has come here, but what's the important matter?"

"I came to see Your Majesty on an important matter. I learned that Your Majesty was in Zhaoyang Palace, so I came here."

Hearing this, Empress Dowager Guo was as shocked as if she had eaten a fly. "Zhong Hui! How dare you insult me?! What do you think this Zhaoyang Palace is?!"

"Someone, come here! Get this rude guy out!"

The smile on Zhong Hui's face froze instantly. He stared straight at the Queen Mother, with no respect for her in his eyes.

"Empress Dowager, my great-grandfather, Emperor Wen, has decreed that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs."

"Do you want to disobey the order of our ancestors?"

Facing Zhong Hui's fierce gaze, Empress Dowager Guo was furious, but could not say anything. She just pointed at Zhong Hui and gritted her teeth.

“Zhong Hui!!!”

"How dare you be disrespectful to my mother?!"

Cao Mao suddenly jumped out and stood in front of the empress dowager. He stared at Zhong Hui angrily with a ferocious look on his face.

Zhong Hui quickly retracted his fierce gaze and looked at Cao Mao with a sense of grievance. "It was Your Majesty who originally ordered me to contact the Sima family and ask them to grant me their daughter. Now that the matter has been completed, it is still Your Majesty who is scolding me. What exactly does Your Majesty want me to do?"

"Are you asking the Sima family to give you a daughter? Mr. Zhong's ability to lie is truly eye-opening!"

"I thought you were a famous scholar, but I didn't expect you to resort to such low-brow tactics as Jia Chong."

Cao Mao's face was full of sarcasm.

Zhong Hui looked at him in astonishment, then looked at the Queen Mother.

"Could it be that the Queen Mother still doesn't know about this?"

"Haha, apart from Mr. Zhong, I'm afraid no one else knows about this."

"I am guilty! I bid you farewell!"

Zhong Hui turned and left.

After Zhong Hui left, Empress Dowager Guo's expression became extremely complicated. She looked at Cao Mao calmly.

"Hahaha~~~"

Cao Mao suddenly burst into laughter.

"Why is your majesty laughing?"

"I laugh at Sima Shi's lack of strategy and Zhong Hui's lack of wisdom!"

"Mother, I was just worried about how terrible Sima Shi's final attack would be. I didn't expect that he was just trying to drive a wedge between us by marrying off our daughter."

"Humph, this Sima Shi really despises Mother. He actually thought Mother would believe Zhong Hui's lies. Who is Zhong Hui? He is Sima Shi's number one confidant. Not a single word he says can be believed!"

Empress Dowager Guo's expression immediately brightened considerably.

"So, Master Sima wants to marry someone from his clan to you?"

Cao Mao frowned and said seriously, "Sima Shi is a ruthless person. It's definitely not that simple. He wouldn't easily trust outsiders in his clan. This must be the daughter of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao."

"Sima Zhao had two daughters. The younger one had an eye disease and was born with a disability, so she couldn't enter the palace."

"As for the eldest daughter, I heard from Ruan Sanqi that Sima Zhao wanted to use her to arrange a marriage with him. I don't think that's possible."

"Among Sima Shi's many daughters, the only one without a husband is Sima Yi."

Empress Dowager Guo was horrified. "What?! How dare Sima Shi do something so immoral? That's your aunt!!"

"Yes, mother, this is his viciousness. If I marry my aunt, how will the world view me? How can I inherit the throne of Emperor Liezu?"

Cao Mao gritted his teeth and angrily said, "I will never endure such humiliation. Now that the Inspector General of the Imperial Guards and the Chief Censor are on our side, why not take the initiative and fight Sima Shi to the death?! I am the Emperor of Wei. Even if I die, I will not tarnish my reputation!"

Looking at the murderous Cao Mao in front of her, Empress Dowager Guo calmed down.

She no longer had the courage she had just now. Recalling the look in Zhong Hui's eyes just now, she helplessly advised: "Yanshi, don't act rashly. De was adopted by another family a long time ago. In fact, he can't be considered your uncle. You must not be impulsive!"

"Mother! How can a man be humiliated?"

"Yanshi, for the sake of greater things, you have to be patient, and be patient first."

"The world will be yours sooner or later, so why fight to the death with a mortal?"

It took Empress Dowager Guo a long time to persuade Cao Mao. Looking at Cao Mao's pale face, Empress Dowager Guo sighed helplessly.

"It's hard on you."

Cao Mao lowered his head with an expression of reluctance, but he was cursing Zhong Hui in his heart.

You bastard! I almost fell into your trap!
(End of this chapter)