Wei Ni

April, early summer.

The sun is warm, neither sullen nor dry.

Bees and butterflies dance with joy, and the fragrance of flowers wafts in the wind.

Small fruits have grown on the branches of some early-fallen flowers, predicting future hope and harvest. All the beautiful things exist in an impartial and just right manner.

But in this flourishing world, in some corner where no one cares, there are also small fruits that have long since withered and fallen into the mud.

Ren Ming is about to become such a Xiaoguo.

He was in good health and in his prime, but he was about to die quietly in this season when all things were growing and thriving.

No one could save him.

Because the emperor has spoken, he must die.

That’s right, he was Xiahou Xian’s aide, the one who brought the broker to purchase the manor at Guanjinhou’s mansion.

After returning from the palace, Xiahou Xian did not ask for a hot compress on the bruise on his forehead with a cooked egg or wipe off the blood. Instead, he took him directly to the study and described in detail the process of meeting the emperor.

I burst into tears again, choked several times, and was overwhelmed with shame.

Because the person who plotted was actually Xiahou Xian himself, and Ren Ming was just following orders.

Moreover, Ren Ming had raised objections to this, thinking that targeting Xiahou Hui at this critical juncture might backfire.

But Xiahou Xian insisted on his own opinion and acted on his own.

He swore that he was the grandson of Emperor Wu of Tang, Cao Cao, and the cousin of the current Emperor Cao Rui, and that even if the truth was revealed, the emperor would not make things too difficult for him.

Indeed, the facts are as he said.

Emperor Cao Rui did not blame him too harshly, but Ren Ming must die.

On the contrary, Ren Ming seemed to have been mentally prepared for this. Not only did he remain calm when he heard that he had to die, he also gently comforted Xiahou Xian not to blame himself.

"This is because I acted too ostentatiously, not because of the Lord's plan. Moreover, since I followed you, you and the Lord have treated me well for twenty years. Now I have the opportunity to repay you by killing myself. It is a blessing! I have no regrets in this life!"

He said this, which made Xiahou Xian look even more sad.

Because Ren Ming is both a staff member and a member of the Xiahou family who has served for many years.

He was from Lantian, Jingzhao, Guanzhong.

Twenty years ago, when he was just a young man, he was a minor official in the county.

Xiahou Mao, who was then General Anxi and stationed in Chang'an, was on patrol at Lantian Camp. It happened that the county magistrate was busy making a plan and could not get away, so he asked Xiahou Mao to lead the way and introduce the scenery along the way.

He was eloquent and quick-witted, which won the heart of Xiahou Mi, so he was promoted to a minor official in the army and taken to Chang'an.

He knows how to be grateful.

When Xiahou Mao was summoned back to the court, he resigned from his official position without any regrets and took the initiative to ask to become a member of the Xiahou family.

From then on, he was trusted.

Because he was very scheming and hardworking, and Xiahou Mao held a nominal position without real power, he was transferred to Xiahou Xian as a staff member. After years of getting along, he had long been regarded as a confidant and half a family member by the Xiahou family.

"Brother Ren, I..."

After being tortured by guilt for a long time, Xiahou Xian finally squeezed out these words in his sobs, "After you leave, I will take care of your wife and children. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Lord."

Ren Ming declined with a smile, "But please forgive me for not accepting it. The emperor ordered me to die, why? To stop the world from criticizing you. If I accept your kindness, it would be a betrayal of the emperor. My younger brother is a lieutenant, and he has made great achievements. His salary is enough to support my wife and children."

"That"

After hesitating for a moment, Xiahou Xian changed his approach, "Don't worry, brother. In three months, I will make him a general!"

"Your Majesty, you must not do that."

Ren Ming denied it angrily, explaining, "Your Excellency has already gone against His Majesty's wishes, and you must not do anything else. Your Excellency's most urgent task now is to stay low and behave respectfully, and strive to regain the emperor's trust as soon as possible. Moreover, my younger brother serves in the Central Army, under the jurisdiction of the Central Guard Army. If Your Excellency promotes him to a higher position, I'm afraid he will be known by the Central Guard Army."

After saying this, without waiting for Xiahou Xianfu to speak, he began to explain his affairs, "My Lord, you are almost 60 years old, so don't tell him about what happened today. If you ask about me, I will say that I returned to my hometown. Also, if you don't mind me being stupid, I will help you one last time. You and the Central Guard are from the same clan. If there is a problem in the future for the sake of our family, you should not be ashamed to rank behind him."

you!
You actually said that I couldn't defeat Xiahou Hui, and even advised me to beg for mercy from him?!

Xiahou Xian suddenly raised his head, his face full of disbelief.

But Ren Ming did not explain any more. He just stood up, bowed solemnly, and then turned around and strode away, "Master, I'm leaving now."

When Xiahou Xian regained consciousness, he could no longer see Ren Ming in the study. He hurried to the gate of the mansion, but was told by the family's escort that Ren Ming went straight to the East Gate after leaving the mansion.

Ren Ming's younger brother lived in a small village about ten miles outside the east gate of Luoyang.

His name is Ren Ye. If Xia Houhui saw this name, he would definitely be impressed.

When he was the general of Zhenhu, Ren Ye was the most talented among the four commanders of the Zhenhu Camp. Moreover, Ren Ye fought bravely and beheaded many people during the expedition to Liaodong, so Xiahou Hui commended him for his merits and promoted him to the rank of colonel.

When Ren Ming went there this time, he was asked to raise his wife and children.

But I'm afraid that he will do something stupid.

Although the three prefectures of Guanzhong had been incorporated into the territory of Wei State more than 20 years ago, there were still many bandits.

Among the five brothers in the Ren family, only the eldest Ren Ming and the youngest Ren Ye grew up.

Moreover, the two of them were eleven years apart in age, so he prepared to study under a teacher, invited knights to teach martial arts, used his connections to get a position in the central army, and asked people to act as matchmakers to marry a good woman. The starting point of everything Ren Ye has now is that his elder brother Ren Ming is like a father to him.

Therefore, Ren Ming came here specially because he was worried that his younger brother would end up in a dead end after listening to Xiahou Xian's words.

Yes, he didn't want his younger brother to work for Xiahou Xian.

In his opinion, it was his duty to repay the kindness of Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Xian with his own death; but his younger brother did not owe the Xiahou family anything.

And he doesn't think highly of Xiahou Xian.

When he had just advised Xiahou Xian that if he could not defeat Xiahou Hui in the future, he should bow to Xiahou Hui out of brotherhood, this was "good words spoken by a dying man", and it was also his prediction.

The reason is not that Xiahou Hui's literary and military skills or achievements are superior.

Instead, it was during the process of investigating the Shi family that he saw that Xiahou Hui began to develop a ruthless character.

How did he figure it out?
With his own death.

If Xiahou Hui had gone directly to the palace to complain to Emperor Cao Rui about the injustice, the possible outcomes would have been that Xiahou Xian was reprimanded, forced to bow and apologize, or fined his salary, among other possibilities.

Anyway, it’s impossible to involve Ren Ming!
There would be no possibility that the emperor would directly ask him to commit suicide!
But Xiahou Hui did nothing.

How could Emperor Cao Rui not say anything when he saw that the country was so important and he was unwilling to publicize the scandal of the infighting among the people of Qiaopei?

Just for the sake of showing his own wisdom, the emperor should punish Xiahou Xian, right?

However, the emperor would definitely not agree if Xiahou Xian was deposed, so letting Xiahou Xian's staff die became the best option to appease Xiahou Hui.

In other words, Xiahou Hui, who seemed to have done nothing, actually maximized his benefits within the scope of what he could gain - he not only clipped Xiahou Xian's wings, but also made Xiahou Xian bear the criticism of "blaming his subordinates".

This kind of vision and methods can be considered cruel, right?
To put it another way, it's not that great, but Ren Ming knows that Xiahou Xian can't do that.
This is what is meant by being dwarfed.

Ren Ye is at home now. He has been sick for several days.

Because after Ren Ming took the brokers to instigate the wounded soldiers to retreat, he was already aware of the possibility of backlash.

Therefore, he not only sent his wife and children over early, but also wrote a letter out of fear that he might die in prison that day.

However, at that time, he still had confidence in Xiahou Xian.

In addition to asking Ren Ye to avoid getting involved in power struggles in the future, the rest of the letter was about family matters behind him, and there was not a single mention of Xiahou Hui.

Therefore, when he came this time and told the whole story of his death and gave completely different instructions, Ren Ye, who was already heartbroken, was even more confused.

"My family is in a state of decline. I am now a lieutenant, which is the best I can do. Do not ask for more, or you may get into trouble. My death is to repay my gratitude, and has nothing to do with others. Do not bear any grudges. Lord Xiahou is a very good man, full of kindness and righteousness, but he is not someone who can accomplish great things. Remember, for the sake of your family, you should not get close to Lord Xiahou in the future. If the two Xiahous fight fiercely in the future, and I cannot stay out of it, I will ask the Central Guard for protection."

"Brother, why do you say that?!"

After being stunned for a while, Ren Ye frowned and retorted, "According to what you said just now, if you were not the Central Guard General, how could you be known by the Emperor!"

"Ugh"

With a sigh, Ren Ming said in a faint voice, "It's my fault. I have protected you too well all these years, so you don't understand the dangers of the world."

"Brother."

"Listen to me, I don't have much time."

Ren Ming, who had taken poison when he came here, was now wrinkled in pain. He grabbed Ren Ye's hand tightly to interrupt his words and tried hard to squeeze out a sound.

"It was not the Central Guards who killed me, but the power that killed me."

"I was greedy and restless, and became a lackey of the powerful. If I had not attached myself to the powerful and wealthy, and was still a minor official in Lantian, how could I have encountered the disaster today?"

"The capital is the best place, but it is also a place where people are eaten. People without roots may be eaten at any time. The power of the superiors is built up layer by layer with the corpses of countless small people. I am already one of them, and you can no longer be one of them. Do you understand, brother?"

"Oh, never mind. You won't understand now."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Just remember what my brother said and you will understand it slowly in the future."

"Also, after I die, you can find a chance to surrender to the Central Guard. You have not experienced enough, and you cannot escape being used as a pawn by Lord Xiahou. Remember, answer the Central Guard's questions truthfully, and don't worry. In front of the Central Guard, your only basis is sincerity."

"Just do as I tell you, don't doubt me, my brother won't harm you." (End of this chapter)