Chapter 1282 Xiahou Family
Sima Zhao did have a womanly benevolence towards Xiahou Xuan.
Just 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 guilt gradually turned into shame and anger as time went by.
In addition, Xiahou Xuan had humiliated Master Sima more than once. (Chapter 1089, Chapter 1122)
It is easy to turn shame into anger 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 naturally I can ignore it.
It's just Xia Houxuan and his wife. One has a great reputation among the scholars, and the other is quite benevolent among the people.
Coupled with the status of the Xiahou family in Wei.
If you punish someone without justifiable reasons, being criticized is still a minor matter.
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 Sima Shi's constant urging, no matter how much Sima Zhao wanted to intercede for Xia Houxuan, he could only go to Xia Houxuan's house with his men first.
What was a little unexpected was that when he stood in front of Xiahou Xuan's 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.
“Sir, 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 he was inexperienced, but he was not a fool.
Seeing that Xia Houxuan came 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 or sighing.
Just two words shattered the last glimmer of hope in Sima Zhao's heart.
Seeing that he was losing his composure, he took a few steps forward and 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 heavy 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 hesitant voice:
“So, Tai Chuqian is bullying me?”
Xia Houxuan was silent again, and after a while he said:
“It concerns the lives of my wife and small relatives, so I can only do it to my son.”
Sima Zhao hissed:
"Do you know that before I came out, I did 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 friendship 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:
“This 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, so that Sima Zhao 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.
Hearing Sima Zhao’s words, Xia Houxuan looked calm:
“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 to himself, "since I choose 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 to come into my house is just because I received Zishang’s warm hospitality during the day. At this time, Zishang came 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 walked.
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 and do this in vain?"
Sima Shi, 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 the table.
Then he laughed a little wildly:
“Xiahou Taichu, you too have today!”
Xia Houxuan bowed his hands in a calm manner:
"Zi Yuan, I haven't seen you for 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?"
Sima Shi’s laughter stopped abruptly.
“Bang!”
Sima Shi patted the case 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."
Sima Shi sneered:
“Don’t worry, 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 Taifu's Mansion, I have no control over my life or death."
As he spoke, he looked at Master Sima meaningfully, "Today's Luoyang is in the hands of Ziyuan, and my life is naturally in Ziyuan's hands."
Sima Shi was even more angry: "Are you saying that I don't dare to kill you?"
Xia Houxuan’s expression remained unchanged and his tone was calm:
"What I said is that my life is in Ziyuan's hands. When did I say that Ziyuan did not dare to kill me?"
“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 drinking Sima Zhao to silence, Sima Shi looked at Xia Houxuan again:
"At the beginning of Taichu, you, the Xiahou clan, were related by marriage to the royal family of the Wei Dynasty. Now, all three of your clans have violated the imperial edict and left Luoyang privately. How do you explain this?"
Xia Houxuan's tone finally changed, but he could be heard sighing and replying: "Just to beg for a living."
If he had no other choice, why would he want Xiahou to do this?
The Xiahou family's current predicament 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, news has continued to come back from the Han Dynasty over the years:
He frequently accompanied Zhang Xiahou, the mother of the Queen of Han, at various banquets in Han.
Let alone General Cao, no matter who it is, he will be worried after hearing the news.
And Xia Houmao has been 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 release him.
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 and left him alone.
Not only to attract the attention of the Sima family, but also to retain the last dignity of the Xiahou family.
"Begging for work?" Sima Shi sneered, "As a minister, 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 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?"
Sima Shi 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 worth the fate of the Xiahou family.
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 mercenary villain who was good at managing family property. I didn't expect that he could tolerate it so much. 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 subdued 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?"
Xia Houxuan said calmly:
“Since I stayed, I already had the thought that I would not survive.”
He looked up and down at Master Sima and said, "Zi Yuan supported his sick body and talked to me so much. Didn't he just want to condemn 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 just 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 seeing him angry, he laughed and ordered, "Someone, bring it up!"
Sima Shi, 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 people to write down the charges.
“…Xuan prepares ministers for the world, harbors evil intentions, associates with traitors, teaches treacherous tactics, betrays the late emperor’s edicts, and despises the power of heaven…”
Xia Houxuan just nodded briefly after reading it and said nothing.
This surprised Master Sima:
“Xia Houxuan, don’t you want to defend yourself?”
“If you want to accuse someone, why bother?”
Master Sima stared at him, as if he wanted to see Xia Houxuan's true thoughts from his expression.
It's just that he was destined to be disappointed. Xia Houxuan looked extremely calm.
"Good-hearted." Master Sima nodded and ordered, "Come here and 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 a look of pain. 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 suddenly widened:
“Brother?!”
Sima Shi finally opened his one eye:
“As long as Xia Houxuan is not dead, Luoyang will only become more chaotic. Do you understand?”
Sima Zhao was stunned: "What...what?"
"If you and I don't dare to take any serious measures such 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.
Actually, I do this all for you, Master.
"Sir, think about it carefully. Since you took over Luoyang, things have not been straightened out yet. If you don't use the Xiahou family to set rules, do you plan to make Luoyang chaotic out of control?"
“When the time comes, not even you, not even me, will 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, is there no way to take a step back?”
Sima Shi shook his head ruthlessly:
“I have only one way to go further, not one step back.”
Looking at 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!"
Sima Shi waved his hands with a tired face, the look in his one eye was extremely complex:
"There is no difference. Your Majesty, I am already old. From now on, you are going to lead our Sima clan, so we must work harder!"
Hearing what Master Sima said, Sima Zhao was startled and looked at Master Sima again:
“Brother, what are you talking about? Even if I am already old, you are the one who will lead our Sima clan in the future!”
Sima Shi smiled bitterly, closed his eyes again, and murmured: "God's will..."
“Boom!”
“Brother, what’s wrong with you?”
“Come, come quickly!”
(End of this chapter)