The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 85 You enjoy the good life and I take the blame?
Even though they are from the same family, the Sima family has different interests. The Sima family is not united from top to bottom. If Sima Shi had not been too powerful, they would have started fighting long ago.

The Sima family conferred titles on many princes. In addition to learning from the lessons of the Wei State and suppressing the aristocratic families, they also wanted to integrate the interests of the entire family.

Cao Mao didn't care whether his assassination plan would be useful or not, he just did it first.

Doing something is better than doing nothing!

Sima Fu left the palace quickly and never mentioned his son again.

He looked a little absent-minded. Sima Fu did not have such great ambitions, nor did he think of competing with the Youzis. Although that position was full of temptation, the risk factor was also very high.

He doesn't have the courage of Sima Shi.

Moreover, my elder brother had entrusted me with the great cause, asking me to assist my adopted sons in accomplishing it. How could I possibly harbor any inappropriate thoughts? If I were to be deceived by the emperor and start a civil war, the Sima family would surely be destroyed!

When Sima Fu returned to his mansion, Sima Wang was already waiting for him.

"Father? What happened? Did he withdraw the decree?"

Sima Shi and others could ignore the emperor's edict, but Sima Fu and Sima Wang could not.

Sima Fu shook his head helplessly, and the father and son sat facing each other.

Sima Wang's eyes were filled with despair. "Father, I must go. After Jia Chong was killed, His Majesty has become even closer to me. He claims he has nightmares all day long and wants me to stay in the West Hall and sleep with him."

"If this continues, something terrible will happen!"

Looking at his terrified son, Sima Fu said calmly, "It's okay. Didn't I tell you to go find the General Zhengxi? What did he say?"

When Sima Wang mentioned this matter, he became even more frightened and his face turned pale.

He stammered, "He scolded me, saying that the general had gone through great pains to obtain my position, and that if I gave it up now, I would be letting the general down. He also asked me to reorganize the troops in the palace and take over Guo Jian's army."

"anything else?"

"And... and that's it."

Sima Wang hesitated for a moment before whispering, "He told me not to rush into anything if he assigned the guards to do something, and to wait until they were done before killing them."

"what?!"

Sima Fu stood up suddenly, his eyes full of anger.

Sima Wang looked at his father's furious expression and said with a wry smile, "When I first heard this, I felt the same way as you. Who could have imagined that the General of the Western Expedition actually harbored the idea of regicide? Father, how can this be allowed?"

Sima Fu gritted his teeth and said indignantly: "How could he let you get involved in such a dirty thing?!"

Sima Wang shuddered and looked at his father in surprise.

Sima Fu, perhaps realizing his slip of the tongue, quickly cleared his throat and said, "I'll go find the General Zhengxi myself. You stay at home for now and don't go out."

After all, Sima Fu could not ignore morality like Sima Shi. Even in front of his son, he was willing to maintain a good image of a loyal minister.

But faced with his son's affairs, he could no longer remain calm. He ordered someone to prepare a carriage and hurried towards Sima Zhao's mansion.

When he rushed to Sima Zhao's house, Sima Zhao was still drunk.

Although he was in a daze, he still came to greet Zhongfu.

Sima Zhao has been attacking with all his might these days, trying to capture Guanqiu Dian.

His power was even greater than Cao Mao's. He held banquets all day long, with different delicacies and fine wines every day, beauties from all over the world serving him, and rewarded him with all kinds of gold, brocades, and various promises for the future. He wanted to win over Guanqiu Dian at almost any cost.

He firmly believes that anyone can be bribed and impressed.

However, this Imperial Censor had the same temper as his father. In the face of Sima Zhao's offensive, he remained as indifferent as ever. He drank and ate meat, refused to accept beautiful women, returned all rewards, and ignored promises.
This made Sima Zhao very angry.

However, he gradually gave up the idea of bribing Guanqiu Jian and his son. It seemed that he had to fight this man to the death.

Just as he was about to take a break, Sima Fu came to him again.

Sima Zhao looked bewildered.

"Uncle Zhong, why are you here?"

Looking at the expression on Youzi's face, Sima Fu felt helpless.

Don't look at this guy as silly, he actually knows very well why he is here. Sima Wang just came here in the morning, and now he comes here again, how could he not know?
He just didn't want to know! Most of the time, Sima Zhao looked bewildered, but anyone who really believed that this guy was innocent and ignorant would be in big trouble.

"Zi Shang, I'm here because of Zi Chu's matter."

Sima Fu said seriously, "Zichu wants to be sent out, why don't you agree to it?"

Seeing that his uncle did not hide anything and brought up the topic directly, Sima Zhao no longer concealed it.

He sighed deeply and said seriously, "The doctors told me that they don't know if my brother's illness can be cured."

"My brother's tumor has been removed, but he hasn't regained consciousness. He woke up twice, drank some water, and then fainted again. We had to keep feeding him water and food."

"They say my brother was already ill, and his fatigue from traveling so much has worsened his condition and left him physically exhausted. Now that the affairs of the world have fallen into my hands, this is the time when I need the family's support the most. How can I let Zichu leave the court at this time?"

Sima Zhao added, "I know Zichu's talent. In the entire family, he is the only one who can do things. The others can't."

"Zi Ti can't compare to him."

"As for that little brat in the palace, he's capable of causing trouble. I'm sure you know him best. My brother said that if he can't wake up this time, we'll kill him at all costs and take him with us."

"Because if anything happens to my brother, Guanqiu Jian will launch an attack. Even people like Zhuge Dan might betray us!"

Sima Zhao's voice was very low.

Because of the blessing given by Cao Mao, Sima Shi's operation was not as smooth as in history. Some complications occurred, and everything fell into Sima Zhao's hands.

Sima Zhao could not fully mobilize Sima Shi's trusted subordinates. The whole world was watching the general's condition, including the ministers inside and the military leaders outside.

All this made Sima Zhao very uneasy and under tremendous pressure.

Facing Sima Fu, he also revealed all his thoughts.

"Father, I have already instructed Cheng Ji, the deputy minister, to be prepared. If anything happens to my brother, I want him to eliminate Cao Mao."

"Then Zichu will come forward to take care of him, as revenge for the emperor."

"There will definitely be no mistakes. Who knows, Zichu might even be able to rise to the top by avenging the emperor."

Sima Zhao said this with great confidence.

It seems that this is a rare opportunity for Sima Wang.

But Sima Fu was not so easily fooled.

Does Cao Mao seem easy to deal with? Even Sima Shi is worried about him, so what about Cheng Ji? Can he handle this matter well?

If he fought back vigorously, what would his son do? He would be caught in the middle, caught in a dilemma. If he wasn't careful, the infamy of regicide would fall directly on his head.

This branch of our family originally existed as a fallback for the Sima family. Now, in this situation, after getting involved, can we be sure that it can still be a fallback?
You can kill the emperor if you want, but you can't involve my family.

All the good things come from your lineage, and we have to bear the consequences of the bad things?

You can't bully people like this.

Sima Fu put away his usual amiable demeanor, frowned, and looked extremely serious.

"Zi Shang, I watched you grow up. My brothers entrusted you to me and asked me to support you with all my heart."

"Over the years, I believe I have lived up to my brother's high expectations."

"What do you think?"

Sima Zhao was taken aback and quickly replied, "Of course it is so. My brother and I have both received the kindness of Zhongfu."

Sima Fu nodded. "If that's the case, then you have to agree to let Zichu leave. The sooner the better. Let him go somewhere else."

"Ah? Zhongfu, I just said that my brother is seriously ill."

"It is precisely because the general is seriously ill that Zichu must leave. This is not for me, nor for Zichu, but for our Sima family!"

Sima Fu frowned. For some reason, the emperor's words today echoed in his mind, and his attitude became even tougher.

(End of this chapter)