During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a renowned scholar named Sima Hui lived in Yingchuan. After Liu Bei sought refuge with Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, he temporarily settled in Xinye. Hearing that Sima Hui was a local sage, Liu Bei paid him a special visit to seek his views on the state of the realm and earnestly invited him to become his strategist in pursuit of a grand cause. Sima Hui, however, humbly declined, saying, "Sir, if you wish to achieve great things, you must secure the aid of 'the Sleeping Dragon' and 'the Young Phoenix.'"
When Liu Bei asked Sima Hui who the "Hidden Dragon" and "Young Phoenix" were, Sima Hui refused to answer. It was only later that Liu Bei discovered the Hidden Dragon was Zhuge Liang and the Young Phoenix was Pang Tong—both among the finest talents of the era. With their guidance, Liu Bei ultimately achieved his ambitions and founded the Shu Han kingdom.
However, in the Ming Dynasty Feng Menglong's joke collection *Gujin Tangai*, Sima Hui became a "Mr. Yes-Man"—no matter what anyone said to him, good or bad, he always replied, "Good."
One day, he met an acquaintance on the road. The person asked how he was feeling and if all was well. He replied, "Fine." Another day, an old friend came to his home and spoke sorrowfully about his son's death. Sima Hui said, "Very good."
After his friend left, his wife scolded him, "People think you are a virtuous man, so they trust you and confide in you. But when you hear that someone's son has died, you instead say 'good'—what kind of behavior is that?"
Sima Hui replied calmly, "Good! What you said is very good!"
His wife, upon hearing this, found herself torn between laughter and tears.
Later, the idiom "Mr. Goody-Goody" came to refer to those who make no distinction between right and wrong, dare not offend others, and only seek peace and quiet.
Source: Feng Menglong (Ming Dynasty), *Gujin Tangai*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "好好先生" came to describe how those who make no distinction between right and wrong, dare not offend others, and only seek peace and quiet.