Zhong Hui ordered his attendants to load the wrapped objects onto the carriage. They were extremely heavy, and no one knew what they were.
Zhong Hui himself, however, was in no hurry to leave the prison. After leaving Gao Rou, he went to where Sima Fu was being held.
Zhong Hui's thinking was simple: before these men died, he would shear their wool one last time and squeeze every drop of value out of them.
Sima Fu was in much better shape than Gao Rou. Though he too sat dejectedly on the floor, his expression was still fairly normal, rather than vacant.
Seeing Zhong Hui arrive, he hurried to his feet to bow in greeting, but Zhong Hui quickly helped him up.
"You are my elder. How could I dare accept your bow?"
Sima Fu was not surprised by Zhong Hui's arrival. The man liked visiting prisons; it was a longstanding tradition of his. He had done the same when Xiahou Xuan was arrested.
"I never imagined you would still be willing to visit this old man, Shiji... I truly have no face to meet you."
Sima Fu wiped the tears from his face.
Zhong Hui's face was sorrowful too. "Alas, I had wanted to find a way to get you out, but my elder brother is no longer Minister of Justice."
"Chen Qian is a ruthless man. He refuses to listen to my persuasion..."
Sima Fu hastily shook his head. "There is no need, Shiji. Do not let yourself be implicated on my account!"
The two held each other's hands. It was quite a moving scene.
Only then did Zhong Hui say, "What worries me most now is your son."
"Your son serves as General Who Pacifies the West in Yong Province. Now that you have been implicated in