"How is Zhong Hui?"
Faced with his elder brother's questioning, Sima Zhao briefly gathered his thoughts and said quietly, "Zhong Hui and the emperor have suddenly grown very close."
"The emperor personally wrote a poem for him, titled 'To Zhong Hui.'"
"Zhong Hui keeps running off to the Imperial Palace, telling everyone he meets how wise the emperor is... he even wrote a poem in return, treating the emperor as his closest friend..."
"Earlier, I ordered Sima Xun to take up a post in Taiji Hall, but he actually called Sima Xun back out, as though afraid the aura of slaughter would sully His Majesty's literary gifts..."
Sima Zhao hurriedly explained, "I'm not suspecting Zhong Hui of a change of heart. I know he's deeply loyal to you... it's just that his behavior truly makes me uneasy."
Sima Shi fell silent for a moment.
Of course Sima Shi knew exactly what this trusted aide of his was like.
They were friends who had grown up playing together, after all, and Sima Shi knew Zhong Hui's Qing tendencies very well.
It was not just Zhong Hui. His father, Zhong Yao, and his elder brother, Zhong Yu, both had Qing tendencies to varying degrees.
Records of Aspirations recorded that Zhong Yao was skilled in calligraphy, loved calligraphy, and enjoyed befriending distinguished men accomplished in the art. After his friend Wei Dan died, Zhong Yao actually sent people to rob his grave to obtain samples of his handwriting.
Zhong Yu, too, loved befriending distinguished men and had begun mingling with them at fourteen...
Zhong Hui was even more outrageous. According to A New Account of Tales of the World, after Xiahou Xuan was arrested, Zhong Hui used his elder brother's connections to enter the Minister of Justice's prison, hoping to seize the opportunity