In the blink of an eye, it’s late April. The summer sun is particularly harsh. Pedestrians passing by could not bear the scorching heat and walked into nearby tea shops to drink tea and enjoy the coolness.
In the tea shop, Cao Xi, who was dressed in casual clothes, was sitting on the floor with two commanders of the Forbidden Army: Wang Cheng and Niu Sheng, drinking herbal tea to quench their thirst and talking in a low voice.
"Mr. Xi, based on the reports of the brothers who went to various counties under the jurisdiction of You and Bing to investigate, as well as the latest confession of Boss Zhao, all the evidence in this case has vaguely pointed to a person in Beijing. A big shot."
"Oh? Who are you pointing at?" Cao Xi deliberately pretended to be nonchalant in order not to attract attention. Although he seemed to be just drinking tea indifferently, in fact, he was anxious and shocked in his heart, and he even couldn't hold himself back. He never expected that such a prominent official in the Wei Dynasty would be involved in this case!
Niu Sheng drank the tea in the bowl in one go, and after looking around for no one to notice, he said in a deep voice:
"This person is the younger brother of Sima Yi, the General of Hushi and Wuyang Marquis, Honglu Cheng, Sima Xun and Sima Xianda."
It turned out to be Sima Xun! When Cao Xi heard this, he couldn't help but feel horrified. When talking about Sima Xun, we have to mention "Sima Bada".
As early as the late Han Dynasty, the old man Sima Fang of Jingzhao Yin, a famous Sima family in Hanoi, had eight brothers. The famous official Wuyang Hou Sima Yi was the second among the eight brothers. After these eight people grew up, they all achieved academic success and each had their own talent and reputation. Because all eight brothers had the character "Da" as their name, people at that time called the eight talented brothers "Sima Bada".
This Sima Xun, named Xianda, is the fifth among the eight brothers. He is also considered a capable minister and famous person in the Wei Dynasty. Therefore, your Majesty appointed him as the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple, in charge of local princes, foreigners, diplomacy, ceremonies and sacrifices. and other important matters [Note 1]. But Cao Xi never expected that Sima Xun would use his authority to commit such a treacherous act of collaborating with the enemy and treason!
[Note 1: Honglu Cheng, official name. The ancient Chinese imperial court was in charge of the affairs of princes and ethnic minorities. His original name was Dianke in the Qin and early Han Dynasties. He was established in the Western Han Dynasty and was one of the Nine Qings. Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty changed its name to Daxingling in the sixth year of Zhongyuan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed its name to Dahonglu in the first year of Taichu. When the Han Dynasty became emperor, the duties under the jurisdiction of the dian state were merged into it. Because the kings under his jurisdiction entered the dynasty, made plans for the prefecture and state, granted homage to princes and leaders of ethnic minorities, etc., which were mostly related to etiquette, he later became the official of praise and support for ritual music, and Wang Mang changed it to Dian Yue. The official name of the Eastern Han Dynasty was Dahong Luqing. 】
"Is the situation true, to ensure that no criminals are biting at will?"
Considering how important this matter was, Cao Xi still couldn't completely believe that the Sima family, as the mainstay of the dynasty, would be involved in this matter. After all, since the Sima family has such a prominent status and extremely generous salary, why would they do such a thing? Could it be that the Sima family has some unknown agenda that requires a large amount of funds to be misappropriated? Cao Xi thought of this and shook his head, wondering how he could have such a terrible idea.
Wang Cheng continued:
"Wang Li, the governor of Hanoi, is the one who surrendered himself. According to common sense, he should not drag people into the water at will. Moreover, the leader of the Soochow Sea Shark Gang also confessed that he had the autograph of Lord Sima Xun. Letter, whether this matter is true or not, as long as we arrive in the capital, truthfully report the situation to His Majesty, and let Lord Sima Xun confront the thief face to face, everything will naturally come to light."
Cao Xi understood that what Wang Cheng and Niu Sheng, the two commanders of the Forbidden Army's military guard camp, said were true, and the truth would be known after he escorted the prisoners back to the capital smoothly.
——————
On the Langya Mountain Road, Xia Houxuan, who still wanted something more, did not dare to leave. He followed closely behind Li Huigu and led his horse.
"Your injury has healed, so why are you still following me?" Li Huigu looked back at Xia Houxuan and couldn't help but smile.
"I want Miss Li to take me to see Mr. Wu Pu." Xia Houxuan saw Li Huigu smile brightly, and his cheeks felt a little hot. He did not stop because of this, but still followed Li Huigu's footsteps.
"Didn't I tell you that my master has gone to Youzhou and his return date is unknown."
Huigu answered Xia Houxuan while waving the surrounding weeds with the bamboo stick in her hand.
When Xia Houxuan heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He continued to strike while the iron was hot:
"Then, there is Mr. Fan A. I heard that his acupuncture skills are unparalleled in the world. If we can find him, he can also cure the elder in Beijing!"
Hui Gu seemed a little embarrassed when she heard this. She frowned slightly, glanced at Xia Houxuan apologetically, and then explained:
"My Uncle Fan has always had an eccentric temperament, and he is not willing to treat others casually. Sometimes, when he is in a bad mood, no matter how much money you give him for consultation, he may not be willing to do anything. Needle. By the way, please tell me who you want to treat, and I will help you ask your uncle. Maybe he will agree to let you go, but that's hard to say."
Xia Houxuan hesitated for a while before speaking:
"Actually, this elder below me is the current Empress Dowager, the Bian family."
The reason why Xia Houxuan told the whole story was because Huigu had never left him during these days, and was even more helpful in saving his life. She almost died in the pit because of him. If he still had something to hide, It's a little too dishonest.
"This person you are talking about is the Bian family, the widow of Emperor Wu Cao Cao?"
Li Huigu's expression suddenly became extremely serious in an instant, and her previous cuteness disappeared without a trace at this moment.
Xia Houxuan saw Huigu's expression was different and thought she was shocked because he mentioned the Empress Dowager, so he continued to ask:
"Yes, I wonder if your uncle Fan is willing to treat me?"
"My master said that it was the Emperor Cao Cao who sent my master Hua Tuo to prison and died unjustly. Don't say that my uncle has a weird temperament. Even if my master is here, he will definitely not want to follow you. Go."
This time, Li Huigu's tone of voice suddenly became a little colder.
Xia Houxuan was shocked when he heard this. When he was in Luoyang, although his behavior was not perfect, he rarely made mistakes. However, in recent days, in front of this Huigu, he had repeatedly made mistakes. He couldn't help but secretly regret it. , If he had known this, he should have concealed it from Huigu, and when Mr. Fan A was invited, all the problems would naturally be solved. While Xia Houxuan was thinking about it, he immediately tried to persuade him and said:
"Why should we dwell on the grievances of our predecessors? Besides, Emperor Wu has passed away many years ago. Why should Mr. Fan, a great man from this world, bother with us anymore?"
"Mr. Xiahou, you'd better go back early and find another famous doctor. I can't help you either."
Hearing this, Li Huigu had a complicated expression on her face. She glanced at Xia Houxuan quietly again, her eyes full of sadness. At the same time, she did not stop, but continued to move along the mountain road.
"Miss Li...Miss Li..."
When Xia Houxuan saw Hui Gu not looking back, he started calling loudly in a hurry, but to his surprise, the other party remained indifferent.
"Li Huigu... thank you for helping me heal the 'White Bird' and taking care of me so carefully. Remember, my name is Xia Houxuan. If we are destined to meet again in the future, please invite me." .....Don't forget to..."
For some reason, Xia Houxuan, who had always been mature and steady, felt like his heart was turning upside down when he saw Li Huigu turning around and leaving. He couldn't help himself for a moment, so he shouted loudly towards the mountain. His echo floated on the mountain road and did not dissipate for a long time.
After the dense forest, Li Huigu couldn't help but look back and looked along the gaps between the branches in the direction where the white knight at the foot of the mountain left. The look in her eyes at this moment was exactly the same as Xia Houxuan's look just now.
"Xia Houxuan... don't worry, I... won't forget..."
Xia Houxuan did not return the way he came, but took another official road.
Of course he didn't do this just to see the scenery, but with a glimmer of hope that he might be lucky enough to meet a miracle doctor or find out Wu Pu's return date from somewhere else. However, things in the world are often unsatisfactory. If you do this, you are just trying to find a needle in a haystack, which is in vain. Seeing this, Xia Houxuan couldn't help but feel depressed and let out a long sigh.
"Waiter, bring me a pot of herbal tea, three steamed buns, a plate of soy sauce meat, and a plate of... Wei vegetables." Xia Houxuan was indeed a little hungry after half a day's journey, and he didn't know why. , and suddenly he thought of Weicai, who he was chatting with to satisfy his hunger in the hunting pit.
"Okay, Sir, please wait a moment. You'll be ready soon." The waiter was about to go to the back to give instructions when he saw another person walking in. She glanced towards the seat where Xia Houxuan was sitting, the corners of her mouth raised slightly, with a smile on her face.
"Waiter, bring me a pot of herbal tea, too. I want to share the table with this brother." The female guest pointed to Xia Houxuan's seat and ordered the waiter.
When this familiar voice appeared in Xia Houxuan's ears again, he could hardly suppress the ecstasy in his heart. Xia Houxuan didn't understand for a moment whether he was so happy because his search for a miracle doctor had been found, or whether he was so happy because he was able to meet Huigu again.
"Okay, please sit down first." The waiter spread out another mat next to Xia Houxuan.
"Hui Gu, it's you!" Xia Houxuan looked surprised, and asked with joy and surprise in his heart: "You haven't returned to Langya, why are you here?"
"Although you don't have two famous doctors, Wu Pu and Fan A, to accompany you back, you still have me, Miss Li." She smiled, blinked at Xia Houxuan, and looked at Xia Houxuan's sudden realization, Li Hui Gu smiled and said: "Don't worry, my medical skills are not bad."
