Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 227 Wanted
"Alas, poor child..." After hearing Xiao Long's crying, Xiao Yan sighed sadly, "It's true that you are a posthumous child, but our Lanling Xiao family is not without people. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I will make the decision for you."

"When I was little, my mother always told me that if I told anyone about their affair, I would not only be without a father, but also without a mother." Xiao Long sobbed.

"What a vicious woman!" Xiao Yan was furious and slammed the table and shouted, "Come here, arrest her for me!"

"Uncle, please spare my mother. I can't live without her!" Xiao Long kowtowed hard until his forehead was bleeding. This was the reason why he had kept it a secret.

"..." Xiao Yan sighed helplessly and said, "Don't worry, Uncle is just going to teach her a lesson, he won't kill her."

"Yes, thank you uncle..." Xiao Long finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"But we must never forgive that mad Xiahou Hong! Not only did he kill children to make the Red Spirit Pill, he even dared to sleep with my niece's wife. This is intolerable!" Xiao Yan angrily issued an order:
"Zhu Yi, send an order to the Gou Chen Division to arrest him immediately. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be treated as an accomplice!"

"Yes." Zhu Yi, the secretary of the Central Secretariat who was waiting outside, immediately entered the inner hall and quickly drafted the imperial edict.

After asking the emperor to review it, he skillfully stamped the document with his seal and handed it to the eunuch to convey the emperor's order.

After Zhu Yi finished all this, he saw that the emperor had calmed down, so he whispered: "Should we write a letter to the two Generals Xiahou to explain the situation so that they don't have any wild thoughts."

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Write it for me. List all the crimes of Xiahou Hong clearly. I want to see how Xiahou Kui and Xiahou Dan can protect him."

"Yes." Zhu Yi responded and hurried to draft the letter.

~~
After receiving the order, Chen Qingzhi personally led a team to Changganli, where the Xiahou family lived, to arrest the people.

The current head of the Xiahou family is Xiahou Ping, Xiahou Xiang's younger brother. Although he usually acts in a domineering manner, when he saw Chen Qingzhi coming in person with the imperial edict, he knew that the emperor was really angry this time. How dare he put on the airs of a noble family?

Honestly take Chen Qingzhi to Xiahou Kui's house to get him...

Unfortunately, it was all in vain.

"Where is your third brother?" Xiahou Ping asked Xiahou Zhuan, the eldest son of Xiahou Kui.

"He came back in the middle of the night, fiddled around in the house for a while, and then left again." Xiahou Zhuan quickly replied, "When I asked him what he was doing, he didn't tell me. He just said that I should stop asking him about his business."

"Go to his room and take a look." Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice.

Xiahou Zhuan hurriedly brought Chen Qingzhi and others to the courtyard where Xiahou Hong lived, only to see that the study was in a mess and the brazier was full of paper ashes.

"He escaped." Chen Qingzhi knew it at a glance.

After leaving Changganli, Chen Qingzhi immediately contacted Chen Lingzhi and asked her to divine whether this person was still in the capital.

Chen Lingzhi quickly gave a positive answer, and Chen Qingzhi immediately ordered that all city gates be searched strictly and the whole city be searched for Xiahou Hong!
Wanted notices were quickly posted all over the capital. The news that the Gou Chen Division offered a huge reward for the capture of Xiahou Hong made the people of the capital ecstatic.

"This year is really auspicious. We caught Taotie last month, and now we are going to catch Qiongqi."

"It seems that the imperial court is determined to eliminate the harm to the people and to eliminate the four evildoers!" said the optimist happily.

"Hmph, if you really have the ability, go and catch the other two. I will only be convinced after you catch them all." The scholar who read the wanted order was always indignant.

"What did Xiahou Hong do wrong? Neither his father nor his uncle could protect him?" everyone asked curiously.

"I heard that he used thousands of children to make elixirs and even slept with Prince Yongyang's mother. I don't know if it's true or not."

"This rumor you made up is too fake. Is this something a human can do?" Most people didn't believe it. It was obvious that they still lacked imagination about extreme evil.

However, the mission of arresting Xiahou Hong had nothing to do with Ren Yuan. As the Fifth Dimension often said, one person cannot take all the credit. Others must be given opportunities to make contributions.

But the arrest didn’t seem to go smoothly. After searching for several days, no trace of Xiahou Hong was found...
The Xifeng Marquis Mansion has a huge back garden with lush grass and swaying willows, and the scenery is very beautiful.

The three maids were trembling and barely stood in a row against the wall.

At their feet lay six maids, who had been shot dead by arrows, in a pool of blood. Three of them had arrows in their mouths, and the other three had arrows in their left eyes.

Two hundred steps away, three middle-aged men drew their bows and arrows side by side, aiming at the shrinking and shaking right eyes of the three "human targets".

These three people were none other than Xifeng Marquis Xiao Zhengde, Leshan Marquis Xiao Zhengze, and the wanted Xiahou Hong.

"Shoot..." Le Ji, who served as the commander, put down her trembling hands and gave the order with difficulty.

When the bowstring sounded, three sharp arrows flew out, and the three "human targets" were hit by the arrows at the same time and fell to the ground on their backs.

Then servants hurried over and set up the three "human targets" for the three masters to review.

As a result, Marquis Xifeng and Marquis Leshan were both shot in the right eye, but Xiahou Hong was shot between the eyebrows.

"Haha, you're really below par, Xiahou. You're out after only the third arrow!" Xiao Zhengze laughed and put down his bow, saying, "Take a break first, then I'll duel with Third Brother."

"Alas, I am really in a bad state today." Xiahou Hong took out two Red Spirit Pills, placed them on the table and said, "It will all depend on the two Lords to decide the winner."

"Xiahou, you need to cultivate your state of mind. It's just a small matter and you panicked." Xiao Zhengde also sat down and took a sip of the wine brought by the maid.

"The emperor personally issued an imperial decree to arrest me, and arrest warrants were posted all over the capital," Xiahou Hong said with a wry smile, "Is this a small matter?"

"It's still a small matter." Xiao Zhengde said nonchalantly: "Just push the responsibility of refining the Red Spirit Pill to me. Anyway, that hypocritical old dog won't kill me."

"My case is not just about the Red Spirit Pill." Xiahou Hong said with a bitter face, "I also have an affair with the Princess Dowager of Prince Yongyang. The Emperor will definitely not forgive me."

"I can't take the blame for you." Xiao Zhengde couldn't help but laugh and said, "My sister-in-law doesn't recognize me."

"Hahaha!" Xiao Zhengze laughed so hard that he fell backwards.

Xiahou Hong's mouth twitched, but he still suppressed his anger and said with a smile: "You are all very lucky, it's the same for you."

"Otherwise, how can we be brothers?" Xiao Zhengde laughed and said, "Just live here with me and be at ease. Even if they have the courage, they won't dare to come in and take us away."

Xiao Zhengze shook his head and said, "Third brother, don't underestimate those henchmen of the Gou Chen Si. Prince Dong was staying at my house that day, but suddenly he rushed out in the middle of the night as if he was possessed by an evil spirit. He was caught as soon as he left the house. It was obvious that he was possessed by the magic of the Gou Chen Si. But there is no evidence, so I can do nothing."

"Yes, those hawks in the Gou Chen Division are very cunning. Last night, they pretended to be me to cheat my cousin." Xiahou Hong said in agreement, "I always feel uneasy in the capital. I'd better go to Sizhou early to feel more at ease."

"How about this, I will use my father's boat to send you to Sizhou." Xiao Zhengde said.

"That's great!" Xiahou Hong was delighted when he heard this and said, "My Lord, I will never forget your kindness."

"Hey, we are all brothers. It's strange to say that." Xiao Zhengde waved his hand and said, "There is no time to lose. I will arrange for you to board the ship right away."

"Okay." Xiahou Hong nodded repeatedly, but he was not naive enough to think that the other party would be purely kind-hearted. The four villains in the capital had nothing to do with kindness.

"By the way, you keep all the Red Spirit Pills." As expected, Xiao Zhengze said slowly, "Otherwise, what if those guys who paid the deposit ask us two shareholders for the goods?"

"Oh, okay..." Xiahou Hong didn't know whether to nod or sigh. He knew that this was the price of sending himself away.

(End of this chapter)