In the south of Xudu City, there is a medium-sized house.
This is Sima Fang's residence in Xudu.
Sima's hometown was in Wen County. When he was an official in the court, he placed such a house in Xudu.
Now that there is a paper mill and the business of printing the "Thousand Character Classic", the Sima family's status has improved a lot, but they have not yet considered changing their residence.
The main hall of Sima's house.
Sima Fang sat on the main seat in the middle. His three sons, Sima Lang, Sima Yi, and Sima Fu, stood in front of him and were reporting to him the business situation in recent days.
Because of the intervention of the four major families headed by the Xun family, and Cao Cao's naming of the new paper, the sales of Cao Gong Paper and the "Thousand Character Classic" far exceeded the Sima family's expectations. Not only Xudu has been in short supply Due to the situation, many places in Yanzhou and Yuzhou under the rule of Cao Cao formed a frantic looting situation. Even some businessmen from Hebei, Jingzhou and even Jiangdong came to the door, hoping to purchase goods from the Sima family.
Sima Fang was very happy after hearing this, which meant that the business would grow bigger and bigger, and the Sima family would exclusively own 20% of the profits, and the income would also increase.
Sima Fang was a cautious person and told his son: "Boda, when Mr. Ziwen leaves, he will completely leave the business to you. You must be more attentive and don't make any mistakes just because of the large amount of business."
Sima Lang nodded in response: "Father, please rest assured. I have two brothers, Zhongda and Shuda, to help me take care of it. Everything is running normally."
"That's good. Also, Mr. Ziwen is going on an expedition to Chang'an. You must also deliver his logistics and food supplies in time. Don't delay the trip." Sima Fang continued to remind him uneasily.
Sima Yi hurriedly replied on behalf of Sima Lang: "Don't worry, father. Two days ago, my eldest brother and I have sent the prepared grain and grass supplies to Chang'an. There will be no delay."
Sima Fang nodded with satisfaction: "The Sima family's current results are entirely due to Master Ziwen's grace. We must repay the favor and repay with our heart."
The three sons responded together: "Yes, please don't worry, father."
A servant of the Sima family hurriedly walked in from outside and came to Sima Fang to report: "Sir, General Cao Ren and the two young masters Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu are asking for an audience outside the door, and they have brought a large number of gifts."
Sima Fang was stunned when he heard this. He obviously didn't expect that Cao Ren would come to visit him with a gift.
Sima Fang quickly stood up and called to his three sons: "Come on, come with me to greet General Cao and the two young masters."
Sima Fang walked out of the hall first, followed by his three sons.
Sima Yi helplessly muttered to Sima Lang in a low voice: "Let me just say that there are constant troubles. Last time it was the paper mill, but this time it came directly to the house."
Sima Lang glared at him and said in a low voice: "Stop talking so weirdly. What did father say that you didn't hear? Regardless of whether you are an official or not, we must treat Master Ziwen's affairs with care!"
Sima Yi nodded helplessly: "Yes, I just follow the instructions of my father and eldest brother."
Sima Fang took his three sons to the entrance of the mansion, and greeted Cao Ren, Cao Zhen, and Cao Xiu who were waiting at the door from a distance: "I don't know that General Cao and the two young masters are here. I'm sorry for missing you from afar. crime."
Cao Ren laughed and returned the greeting: "Sima Gong, please don't be polite. We came unexpectedly."
Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu also came forward to salute, and the three Sima Lang brothers also bowed and saluted.
Sima Fang hurriedly yielded to Nei Qian: "General Cao and the two young masters, please come in."
Sima Fang and others led Cao Ren and the others to the main hall, where the guests and hosts took their seats.
Sima Fang looked at Cao Ren in front of him in confusion: "General Cao is here today and has brought such a generous gift. I don't know what he has learned. But what is Sikong's mission?"
Cao Ren looked at Sima Fang and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Sima. In fact, I came today to bring a happy event to Mr. Sima."
"What happy event?" Sima Fang asked more and more curiously.
Cao Ren raised his head and said with a bit of arrogance: "Sima Gong, my Sikong is now the leader of the ministers and powerful in the world. Zihuan is now his eldest son, and he is also a young man with both civil and military skills, political integrity and talent. I I came here today specifically to propose marriage to you for Zihuan."
Sima Fang was stunned by what Cao Ren said: "General Cao, you may have made a mistake. Our Sima family only has eight sons, but no daughters. How do you want me to marry Master Zihuan?"
"Sima Gong, you don't have a daughter, but your old friend has a daughter who lives in your home now. You don't know, right?" Cao Xiu responded to Sima Fang and directly turned the topic to Guo Zhao.
Sima Fang suddenly realized: "Master, are you talking about A Zhao?"
"Exactly, Zihuan has a soft spot for Miss Guo, so he went to Sikong and asked him to propose marriage for him. Today, Zidan and Wenlie and I came to visit Mr. Sima just for this reason." Cao Ren explained to Sima Fang with a smile. With.
After listening to Cao Ren's words, Sima Yi whispered to Sima Lang beside him: "Brother, I am here for A Zhao. You know her relationship with Master Ziwen. What should you do?"
Sima Lang rolled his eyes at him and responded in a low voice: "Don't talk too much. I have a dad. Just listen to how dad responds."
After hearing Cao Ren's words, Sima Fang looked surprised and responded in panic: "General Cao, A Zhao is the daughter of my old friend, but both of her parents died, and now she is working in the paper mill. With this status, There is a huge gap between me and Master Zihuan, I am afraid I am not worthy of him."
Cao Zhen was impatient. Seeing Sima Fang's excuse, he stood up and said, "No matter what her status is, it is her blessing that Zihuan likes her. Now Sikong has agreed and sent us specially to propose marriage. What are you afraid of, Mr. Sima?" What?"
Cao Xiu also added coldly: "Mr. Sima, you have been very helpful in helping Sikong recently. Sikong appreciates the Sima family very much, so he agreed to this marriage. If you refute Sikong's face like this, it will be very detrimental to the future of the Sima family." of."
Sima Fang felt a chill in his heart after hearing Cao Xiu's words. Having been an official for many years, he was well versed in the ways of officialdom, and of course he understood that Cao Xiu's words were a naked threat.
Sima Fang had also heard about the relationship between Guo Zhao and Cao Zhang. If he agreed to Cao Pi's marriage proposal at this time, he would undoubtedly offend Cao Zhang.
Sima Fang knew very well that the short-lived glory of the Sima family was given by Cao Zhang, and offending him meant that everything was lost.
Originally, Cao Cao didn't like Cao Pi, and everyone knew that, but now he came to propose marriage for Cao Pi, which was completely unexpected by Sima Fang.
If he persisted in refusing, it would be tantamount to offending Cao Pi and Cao Cao again, and he could not afford the consequences.
Sima Fang was caught in a dilemma and could only smile awkwardly: "Of course I understand what General Cao and the two young masters said. Young Master Zihuan can fall in love with the daughter of an old friend. This is her blessing..."
"In this case, if you don't agree quickly, why are you refusing?" Cao Zhen urged.
"Sir, although Guo Zhao is staying at my house, she is only the daughter of my father's old friend after all, and is not a member of my Sima family. How can my father make the decision for her casually? I think I still need to discuss it with her before making a reply. If she If you insist and refuse, my father won't be able to force him." Sima Yi saw his father in trouble and hurriedly stood up to explain.
Sima Fang hurriedly agreed: "Yes, yes, please allow me and A Zhao to discuss it before replying to the three of you."
"The orders of her parents are the words of the matchmaker. Her parents are both dead and she is staying at Sima's house. You are her father's friend and her elder. She is also a member of your Sima family. She can't still make the decision?" Cao Zhen responded dissatisfiedly. road.
Cao Ren's face also darkened: "Mr. Sima, Sikong took the initiative to propose marriage. Guo Zhao has no relatives. If you marry Zihuan, you will reach the sky in one step. This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is also for her own good that you agree to the marriage. There is no need to discuss with a woman." ?”
"The general doesn't know. The sale of Cao Gong paper is going well now. The supply exceeds the demand in various places, and production needs to be increased. Although A Zhao is a woman, she is a craftsman in papermaking, and she is also the core. If we don't discuss it with her at all and just force her, everything will be done. If she insists and refuses, she gets angry and affects the papermaking industry, which will ruin Sikong's life. None of us can afford it. General, please forgive us and allow us to ask A Zhao what he means and then give us a reply." Sima Yi said again. Find excuses for Sima Fang to refuse.
Cao Ren hesitated after hearing Sima Yi's words. The sale of Cao's official paper is of great significance to Cao Cao, and he naturally does not want to have any impact on it for his own reasons.
Cao Zhen ignored it and continued to shout: "What a joke, paper-making is such a big thing, but it can't be done without her as a woman?"
Sima Yi responded respectfully: "Young master has been to the paper mill and witnessed with your own eyes how A Zhao worked there. I dare not tell any lies."
Cao Xiu reacted quickly and made a decision quickly: "Since Mr. Sima said so, please ask Mr. Sima to invite Miss Guo and ask her in person. I believe that Miss Guo is a sensible person. Favor should not disregard the safety and future of the Sima family."
"Yes, ask now and see what she says!" Cao Zhen also shouted.
Cao Ren turned to look at Sima Fang: "Sima Fang, after all, this general is under orders. If you don't give me a satisfactory result, I won't be able to go back and explain to Sima Fang. Please forgive me."
At this point, Sima Fang also knew that he could no longer shirk the blame, so he could only tell Sima Lang and Sima Yi: "Boda, Zhongda, you two go to the paper mill immediately, retrieve A Zhao, and ask her to give it to you in person. General Cao and the two young masters will reply together."
Sima Lang and Sima Yi had no choice but to accept the order: "Yes!"
"Shuda, arrange to serve tea." Sima Fang gave another instruction to Sima Fu.
"Please wait a moment, general and two young masters. I will give you an answer today." Sima Fang said to Cao Ren and the others.
Cao Ren nodded slightly: "We have Mr. Sima and the three young masters here."
Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen also sneered and stopped talking.
Sima Lang and Sima Yi did not dare to delay any longer, so they could only walk out quickly...
