Sima Zhao indeed had a woman's benevolence towards Xiahou Xuan.
But when he saw the red light on half of Master Sima's face and heard the heavy breathing that was almost close to his ears, it all showed that his brother was excited.
He knew that his brother had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Although he was Xia Houxuan's brother-in-law, Master Sima felt a little guilty at first when facing Xia Houxuan.
But as a ruthless man who killed his wife to achieve enlightenment, Master Sima's guilty conscience gradually turned into shame and anger as time went by.
In addition, Xia Houxuan humiliated Master Sima more than once. (Chapter 1089, Chapter 1122)
When shame and anger turn into anger, it is easy to go further and turn into resentment, and even want to kill the person.
As long as you, Xia Houxuan, are dead, no one will ever maliciously remind me that I killed my wife with my own hands, and I can naturally turn my back on you.
It's just that Xia Houxuan and his wife, one has a great reputation among the scholars, and the other is quite benevolent among the common people.
Coupled with the Xiahou family's status in Wei State.
If you punish someone without justifiable reasons, it will be a minor matter for you to be criticized.
It would be a big deal if Sima's reputation was ruined and Sima's efforts to win over the people of Wei were ruined.
Now that Xia Houxuan has taken the initiative to give such a great opportunity, how could Master Sima let it go?
How can you not be extremely excited?
Under Master Sima's constant urging, no matter how much Sima Zhao wanted to plead for Xia Houxuan, he could only go to Xia Houxuan's house with his men first.
What was a bit unexpected was that when he stood in front of the Xiahou Xuan Mansion, before anyone came to call the door, the door was opened from the inside.
As the door opened, some dazzling light also came out of the brightly lit mansion, causing Sima Zhao to squint his eyes slightly.
Soon, a figure slowly appeared at the door, blocking most of the light.
"Zi Shang, are you here?"
Hearing this familiar voice, Sima Zhao, whose eyes had just adjusted to the light in front of him, immediately recognized the owner of the voice:
"Taichu?!"
Sima Zhao took over the affairs of Luoyang in a hurry because of his lack of experience, but he was not a fool.
Seeing Xia Houxuan coming out to greet him as if he was prepared at this time, I still can't figure out why.
But seeing his face change slightly, there was a slight tremor in his tone, a little unbelievable:
"Are you waiting for me?"
"yes……"
Xia Houxuan's tone was a little long, as if he was relaxing, but also seemed to be sighing.
Just two words shattered the last glimmer of hope in Sima Zhao's heart.
But seeing that he was losing his temper and took a few steps forward, he couldn't help but raise his voice:
"Why?!"
Xia Houxuan was silent for a moment, and finally asked:
"Does Zishang really not know?"
Sima Zhao choked.
He raised his head and looked at Xia Houxuan, who was standing in front of the gate of Xiahou Mansion, trying to see his face clearly.
But because the other person had no light behind him, he could only barely identify that the person in front of him was indeed Xia Houxuan.
At this moment, the dark night seemed to bring endless alienation.
It seemed that the host and guest were enjoying themselves during the day, as if it had never happened.
Sima Zhao, who was standing at the foot of the steps, felt that Xia Houxuan on the platform had become a little strange.
With a huge psychological gap, he asked in a somewhat astringent voice:
"So, Taichu, are you bullying me?"
Xia Houxuan was silent again, and then said after a while:
"It's about the lives of my wife, children, and relatives. I can't help but be sorry."
Sima Zhao hissed:
"Then Taichu did you know that before I came out, I tried my best to plead for you in front of my brother?"
Xia Houxuan sighed softly:
"Sir, if your master is in Luoyang at this time, he will not do anything to me because of the close relationship between the Sima family and the Xiahou family."
"Even if Zhongda is not here, if you can take charge of Luoyang, I will have no worries. However, who is really in charge of Luoyang today?"
Sima Zhao suddenly became speechless.
There was a long silence between the two, and finally Xia Houxuan took the initiative to speak again:
"The visitor is a guest. Would you like to come in and sit down?"
Unexpectedly, Sima Zhao was not fooled at all:
"Taichu, even now, do you still want to delay time?"
Xia Houxuan walked down the steps and came to Sima Zhao, who finally saw his appearance clearly.
But Xia Houxuan was still wearing the same clothes as in the daytime, and his expression was calm and indifferent.
It can be seen that what he said from the beginning about "waiting" is indeed true.
After hearing Sima Zhao's words, Xia Houxuan looked pale:
"Sir, now that you have led people here, if Sima Ziyuan really sends people to chase him, how can I stop him?"
"As for me," Xia Houxuan pointed at himself, "since I have chosen to stay, I am already prepared to die. What's the use of delaying it for a while and a half?"
Xia Houxuan looked at Sima Zhao and said slowly:
"The reason why I want to invite Zishang into my house for a chat is just because I received your warm hospitality during the day. Now Zishang comes to the door of my house. If I don't invite you in, it will be said that I am unkind."
Sima Zhao moved his lips, took a deep look at Xia Houxuan, and finally shook his head:
"Thank you Taichu, let's forget it this time, please."
Xia Houxuan nodded and started walking.
The people around wanted to take Xia Houxuan into custody, but were stopped by Sima Zhao.
"Since Xiahou Taichu can stay here and doesn't escape with others, it means that he has no intention of escaping. Why should you let me be a villain in vain and make unnecessary efforts?"
Master Sima, who had been waiting for a long time, asked someone to help him up early and sat in the hall.
Seeing Sima Zhao leading Xia Houxuan in, even a vicious Master Sima couldn't control his emotions and slapped his chest.
Then he laughed a little wildly:
"Xiahou Taichu, you too have today!"
Xia Houxuan raised his hands and saluted calmly:
"Zi Yuan, it's been a long time. I came here specially to visit you during the day, but I couldn't see you. Unexpectedly, I saw you at night. It seems that Zi Yuan's illness has improved?"
Master Sima's laughter stopped abruptly.
"Peng!"
Master Sima patted the table again and almost stood up in anger:
"Xiahou Taichu, what do you mean?"
Xia Houxuan was still unhurried: "I have no other intention, I just care about Ziyuan's condition."
Master Sima sneered:
"Don't worry, Taichu. Even if my condition gets worse, I won't be ahead of you."
Hearing this, Xia Houxuan smiled nonchalantly and said, "This is natural. Over the years I have been in Luoyang, I have had no control over my comings and goings. Now that I have entered the Grand Tutor's Mansion, I cannot control my life or death."
As he spoke, he looked at Master Sima meaningfully, "Today's Luoyang is in the hands of Zi Yuan, and my life is naturally in Zi Yuan's hands."
Master Sima became even more angry: "You mean I don't dare to kill you?"
Xia Houxuan's expression remained unchanged and his tone was calm:
"What I'm saying is that my life is in Ziyuan's hands. When did I say that Ziyuan didn't dare to kill me?"
Sima Zhao, who followed in, finally couldn't help but say:
"Brother, Taichu, in my opinion..."
"Sir, shut up!" Before Sima Zhao could finish his words, Master Sima interrupted him rudely, "Don't interrupt in this matter."
After Sima Zhao stopped drinking, Master Sima looked at Xia Houxuan again:
"In the early days of Taichu, your Xiahou clan was related by marriage to the royal family of the Wei Dynasty. Now, all three of your clans have violated the late emperor's edict and left Luoyang privately. How do you explain this?"
Xia Houxuan's tone finally changed, but I heard him sigh and reply: "Just to beg for a living."
If he had no other choice, why would he want Xiahou to do this?
The current predicament of the Xiahou family is originally a problem left over from the late emperor's period.
Even General Cao, who controlled the emperor, found it a bit difficult to face the Xiahou family's predicament.
Regardless of whether Xiahou Ba was really captured or pretended to be a traitor, over the years, news continued to come back from the Han Kingdom:
He frequently accompanied Zhang Xiahou, the mother of the Queen of Han, at various banquets in Han.
Not to mention General Cao, no matter who it was, he would be worried after hearing the news.
And Xia Houmao had become very close to the Sima family in recent years, so General Cao naturally didn't bother to pay attention to him.
As for Xia Houxuan, General Cao wanted to reuse him, but it was a pity that Sima Yi could not let him go.
As a result, the three Xiahou clans were unable to advance or retreat, and were trapped in Luoyang.
The reason why Xia Houxuan sent his wife and children away was to stay alone.
Not only to attract the Sima family's attention, but also to preserve the last dignity of the Xiahou family.
"Begging for work?" Sima Shi sneered, "As a minister, if you don't want to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but instead do things that violate the imperial edict in the name of begging for work, is this called deceiving the emperor?"
Xia Houxuan smiled slightly:
"Zi Yuan, what about the Xiahou family? The emperor will issue an edict. How can you convict the Xiahou family on behalf of the emperor?"
Master Sima sneered again:
"What about the Xiahou family? The late emperor has already made a final decision. Why does the emperor need to issue another edict? Moreover, everyone can find and punish the rebellious ministers and traitors."
After a pause, he continued, "If the information I got is correct, Xia Houmao led the caravan to the west."
"Taichu, don't tell me, he really wants to do business?"
Xiahou Xuan was silent.
From the perspective of the Wei Dynasty, frankly speaking, Xiahou Ba in the early years and Xiahou Mao today can be regarded as the black spots of the Xiahou family.
Or you can continue to wait for Wei for the sake of faith.
But the Wei Dynasty may no longer be worthy of the Xiahou clan's fate.
Seeing that Xia Houxuan didn't speak, Master Sima felt a little sad in his tone:
"For so many years, everyone thought that Xia Houmao was a villain who easily managed family property and was only interested in profit. I didn't expect that he could endure this. I really underestimated him."
Looking at Xia Houxuan with one eye, his tone became cold:
"You Xiahou clan not only violated the late emperor's order and left the city privately, but you may also have collaborated with the enemy and subjugated the thieves."
"And you, Xiahou Taichu, not only did you not report the knowledge, but you even dared to cover it yourself. What crime should you do?"
Xiahou Xuan said calmly:
"Since I stayed, I already had the thought that I would not survive."
He looked at Master Sima up and down and said, "Zi Yuan supported his sick body and talked to me so much. Didn't he just want to convict me?"
"Zi Yuan is the person in charge of Luoyang. I have no crime, but please do it for me."
Master Sima did not expect Xia Houxuan to be so direct, and his face suddenly turned red:
"Xiahou Taichu, don't think that because you are a famous scholar, I won't dare to kill you!"
Xia Houxuan just smiled calmly and stopped talking.
"Okay, okay! Don't deny it when the time comes!" Master Sima was waiting for this moment, but when he saw him laughing angrily, he ordered, "Come here, bring it up!"
Master Sima, who had long wanted to put Xiahou Xuan to death, had already made up his mind to accuse Xiahou Xuan after learning about the Xiahou family.
When Sima Zhao led the people out, Master Sima had already asked someone to write down the charges.
"...Xuan prepares ministers, but harbors evil intentions, associates with traitors, teaches treacherous tactics, betrays the late emperor's edict, and despises the power of heaven..."
After Xia Houxuan read it, he just nodded briefly and said nothing.
This surprised Master Sima:
"Xia Houxuan, don't you want to defend yourself?"
"If you want to incriminate someone, why bother?"
Master Sima stared at him, as if he wanted to see Xia Houxuan's true thoughts from his expression.
But he was destined to be disappointed, Xia Houxuan looked extremely calm.
"Good intentions." Master Sima nodded and ordered, "Someone, take him down."
"Here!"
"Brother!" Seeing Xia Houxuan's figure disappear at the door, Sima Zhao finally couldn't help but stepped forward, "Taichu is a famous person in the world, so this matter should be handled with caution."
"We'd better send someone to Yecheng as soon as possible to tell the Lord what happened and see what your opinion is?"
After Xia Houxuan left, Master Sima showed pain on his face. He closed his eyes and leaned back, saying slowly:
"How far is it from Luoyang to Yecheng and from Luoyang to Xuchang?"
"What if the emperor's edict from Emperor Xuchang has arrived and Xiahou Taichu is released before your wishes arrive?"
"If Mr. Kuang knew about this, he would definitely let this person go because of the good relationship between the two families."
When Sima Zhao heard what Master Sima said, his eyes widened suddenly:
"Brother?!"
Master Sima finally opened his one eye:
"If Xia Houxuan doesn't die, Luoyang will only become more chaotic. Do you understand?"
Sima Zhao was stunned: "What...what?"
"If you and I don't even dare to use thunderbolt means to deal with such a major event as Xiahou's escape from Luoyang, then who will recognize you and me as brothers in the future?"
Master Sima looked at Sima Zhao's dazed look below and let out a long sigh.
In fact, I did this all for you, Zishang.
"Sir, please think about it carefully. Since you took over Luoyang, things have not been straightened out yet. If you don't use the Xiahou family's incident to set rules, do you plan to make Luoyang chaotic beyond control?"
"When the time comes, let alone you, even I will not be able to shoulder this responsibility."
At this time, Sima Zhao fully understood his brother's plan, and he said in a pleading tone:
"Brother, isn't there a way to take a step back?"
Master Sima shook his head ruthlessly:
"I have only one way to go further, not one step back."
Seeing Sima Zhao's helpless look, Master Sima finally felt soft and softened his tone:
"Sir, have you forgotten the attitude of everyone towards Xia Houxuan when I married the Wu family?"
"Listen to my advice. With your ability, it is impossible to control Xia Houxuan for your own use. You'd better give up as soon as possible."
Sima Zhao cried and said: "Brother, I don't want him to be used by me, but by our Sima family!"
Master Sima waved his hands with a tired face, the look in his one eye was extremely complicated:
"There is no difference. Your Majesty, I am already very old. From now on, you will be the leader of our Sima clan. You must work harder!"
Hearing Sima Master's words, Sima Zhao was startled and looked at Sima Master again:
"Brother, what are you talking about? Even if I am old, you are the one who will lead our Sima clan from now on!"
Master Sima smiled bitterly, closed his eyes again, and murmured: "God's will..."