Ma Chao looked at the mother and son, his eyes fluctuated slightly, and he said solemnly: "Are you a relative of Sima Yi?"
Zhang Chunhua slowly raised his head, his face was like a peach blossom, his eyes were like water, he hugged the child and nodded: "Is the general Ma Chao of Xiliang?"
Ma Chao secretly gritted his teeth and signaled his entourage to place a knife on the stone table: "Ma never kills women and children, you two should do it on your own!"
The child was so frightened that he cried loudly. Just as he was about to scream, he was hugged by Zhang Chunhua. His head was buried in his chest and he was whimpering so hard that he couldn't hear what he was saying.
Ma Chao saw that his collar was stretched open, the waves were turbulent, and the white flowers were dazzling the eyes. He took a deep breath, half-turned around, and said in a cold voice: "I only give you a cup of tea. Whether you die decently or not, it all depends on Madam." .”
"Alas -" Zhang Chunhua sighed quietly and said with a wry smile: "When the general's soldiers arrived in Hanoi, I knew that this day would happen. Regardless of whether Zhongda had to do it for the country or not, this matter has nothing to do with the three-year-old child. The general is from a famous family. From now on, if you can let my son go, I will agree to any conditions of the general."
"How presumptuous!" Ma Chao was shocked and shouted: "Is this a lustful person? Ma Chao aims to revitalize the Han Dynasty and bring glory to his ancestors. You must not be deceitful!"
"Although the general is generous, he is not a hero!" Zhang Chunhua smiled coldly and said slowly: "You are only worthy of being a reckless hero, and you are far from being an ancestor."
"Presumptuous——" Ma Chao was furious.
He turned around and was about to argue, but he saw blood spilling from the corner of Zhang Chunhua's mouth. He looked at him calmly with beautiful eyes, a mocking smile on his lips, and slowly fell down in front of the stone table. The child in his arms had long since stopped moving.
Ma Chao guessed that the food must have been poisoned. At this time, thick smoke was billowing in the direction of the backyard and a fire had already started. He waved his hand and said: "Burn this place together!"
"Wait a minute!" Just as the soldiers were about to step forward, the prisoner hiding at the door yelled, stumbled in and pointed at the body in front of the stone table: "He is not Sima Zhao."
"Oh?" Ma Chao's eyes narrowed slightly: "Are you sure?"
Although the man was still trembling, he definitely nodded and said: "I'm sure, Sima Zhao has a mole on the corner of his mouth. Although the child's face is covered by grains of rice, there is clearly no mole."
Ma Chao's eyebrows suddenly stood up, and he said in a deep voice: "Go and bring the child over and examine him carefully."
The man walked to the stone table, pushed Zhang Chunhua's body aside, blocking everyone's view, and actually stretched his hands into his arms and grabbed two of them.
Just as he was about to pick up the child, he suddenly saw Zhang Chunhua open his eyes suddenly, and was shocked. Just as he was about to open his mouth to scream, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and he had been stabbed by a dagger.
"Yue Ping, you are a rip-off thief. I treat you well. Why did you betray my mother and son?"
Zhang Chunhua stood up suddenly, and Ma Chao and others were all shocked. They looked at the disheveled woman with blood on the corner of her mouth in front of them, as if they had seen a ghost.
"Hehe, hahaha -" the servant sat on the stone bench, clutching his stomach, laughing sadly, "You and your wife are both insidious and ruthless, they are the same as each other. Do you still remember the two maids who were killed?"
Zhang Chunhua's face changed slightly: "Who are you?"
Yue Ping sneered and said: "Cuihua is my biological sister. That year I saved up money and was about to redeem her life. Unexpectedly, I was killed by you, a bitch. I endured the humiliation and went to work in the mansion just to take revenge. Sure enough, I God opened his eyes and allowed me to wait until today."
"That's it!" Zhang Chunhua smiled miserably, pushed the child in his arms aside, and sighed softly: "I didn't expect that my careful planning would be ruined by a villain like you."
"How dare you lie to me, a poisonous woman?" Ma Chao realized at this moment that Zhang Chunhua had pretended to take poison just to win his sympathy and fake his death to escape.
"Hahaha, I told you before that you, Ma Chao, are just a reckless man!" Zhang Chunhua smiled like a ghost, sad and desperate.
Looking at Yue Ping who was dying, he smiled miserably and said: "Everything is retribution, but you can't even think of finding Zhao'er, don't even think of——"
Just as Ma Chao was about to interrogate him, Zhang Chunhua stabbed him in the center with a dagger, killing him on the spot and falling crookedly under the stone table.
Yue Ping's face turned pale, he took out a jade pendant from his arms and said to Ma Chao: "I have a son who works in the shoemaker's shop in Dongcheng. I hope the general will give him the reward for exposing this matter. You will definitely repay your kindness in the next life!"
"Someone come quickly..." Ma Chao was about to ask someone to treat his injury, but Yue Ping also died of anger.
Ma Chao stepped forward to get the jade pendant, and immediately sent two people to Dongcheng to find the man, and told everyone: "Search all parts of the house immediately and dig three feet into the ground to find the remnants of Sima."
"Who are these people in this family?" Ma Chao sighed as he looked at Zhang Chunhua who was lying on the ground.
Although it was just a small change, it made him scared for a while. He did not expect that Sima Yi and his wife were such treacherous people. If it had been someone else just now, she would have been fooled this time.
During the search, soldiers came to report that Zhang Ren was leading his troops into the city. Ma Chao ordered Ma Dai to send people to guard the courtyard, search carefully, and come to see Zhang Ren.
In the government office, Zhang Ren had taken off his armor and rested, clasping his fists and saying: "General Ma is indeed very fast. I reported carefully yesterday and learned that Xu Gai had withdrawn his troops. He crossed the river before dawn to help the battle. I didn't expect that the general had already broken the city!"
Ma Chao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Xu Gong Ming is still captured by a certain person, what does it mean for little Xu Gai?"
Zhang Ren asked: "I wonder if the general can capture Xu Gai?"
"It's a waste of time!" Ma Chao sighed softly. He just had time to remove his armor and threw his helmet on the table. He regretted: "In order to catch the remnants of the Sima clan, I didn't have time to chase him."
Zhang Rendao: "I don't know what's going on in Sima Mansion?"
"Everyone, big or small, has been executed, and there is still one fish that slipped through the net." Ma Chao frowned slightly and briefly told Zhang Chunhua's story.
"Oh, what a pity!" I don't know whether Zhang Ren was sighing at Zhang Chunhua or that innocent child.
Ma Chao sneered and said: "This boy must still be in the house, hiding in a dark room or cellar. He can't escape."
While they were chatting, Pang De came to return his orders. All the people and animals in Sima's mansion were killed. All houses and wells were searched, but Sima Zhao was not found.
Ma Chao was furious and shouted: "If the house is demolished, will he be able to escape to heaven and earth?"
"Wait!" Zhang Ren stopped Ma Chao and said: "The Sima family has been inherited in Hanoi for hundreds of years and has a deep foundation. There must be another mystery in this mansion. Looking for someone like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
Ma Chao pounded the table: "Are we going to leave this remnant behind?"
Zhang Ren smiled lightly and said, "The general must have been hunting a lot in the land of Xiliang. If a cunning rabbit enters its burrow, how should we hunt it?"
"The cunning rabbit has three burrows. If you can't hunt it down, you can only hide in the dark and wait for it to come out to look for food..." Ma Chao frowned slightly, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "What do you mean, general?"
Zhang Ren nodded and said with a smile: "Sima Zhao is hiding, and he must be protected by his confidants. If he is frightened and cautious, he will not dare to come out if he is in a hurry. Why not pretend not to know about it? He will show up in a few days!"
"High, really high!" Ma Chao clapped his hands and laughed, and ordered Pang De to temporarily withdraw his troops and monitor the movement secretly.
