The door was opened, and the room was as clean as new.
The bed didn't even have a mattress, as if no one had ever lived there.
Xie Mingxu and Zhi Jinwu entered at the same time and searched everywhere.
Shen Ningning stood at the door, looking around with her pink lips pursed.
Xie Mingxu walked to the only wooden cabinet in the house, opened it, and his eyes suddenly changed.
He slammed the cabinet door shut.
"There's no one here," he said.
Zhi Jinwu turned around, looked at it thoughtfully, and then said: "General Xie, I will check it myself again to make sure everything is safe."
After all, this cabinet is tall, so it will be no problem to hide a person.
Xie Mingxu was silent for a moment before taking a step back: "Please."
Zhi Jinwu walked to the cabinet and deliberately turned his head to look at Shen Ningning's expression.
The little person's fair and tender little face looked like there was a layer of mist floating on it, as if she didn't know anything.
But the words written in the anonymous letter were conclusive, and even mentioned the hours of entry and exit of the man hiding in the granary every day.
Zhi Jinwu suddenly opened the cabinet door and looked inside.
Only two old clothes.
He frowned, reached out to touch the chopping board on the closet, and checked it carefully, but found nothing extra.
Finally, Zhi Jinwu led the people to the door and bowed to Shen Ningning: "Princess, I'm sorry for disturbing you so much."
Shen Ningning blinked her smart black eyes: "It doesn't matter, I should cooperate with you in handling the case. "
Xie Mingxu's expression on the side did not relax.
He just opened the cabinet, and the first thing he saw was clothes.
However, he was more attentive than Zhi Jinwu and saw obvious traces of moisture on his sleeves.
It had just been wet by the heavy rain, which meant that the people hiding here had just escaped not long ago.
Zhi Jinwu changed the subject and said: "Princess, who lives here to guard the granary for you? Please hand over that person so that he can be interrogated by his humble position."
At the end, as if he was afraid that Shen Ningning would refuse, he added .
"This matter is related to the crime of deserting the army. It is very serious. Please be sure to hand over that person today."
Shen Ningning opened her lips: "But he..."
Before the little guy could finish speaking, a man hurriedly ran to the door. officers and soldiers.
"Sir, General! A man named Chen Ye went to the government to surrender and confessed. He said that he was a soldier who came back from the border."
Zhijinwu's expression changed and he immediately walked out: "What are you waiting for? Follow me back. Government."
Shen Ningning quickly moved out of the way.
When Xie Mingxu passed by her, he lowered his eyes and looked at the little guy.
A guilty look finally appeared in Shen Ningning's eyes: "Brother, I..."
"It's very cold, you go back home first." At the end, he whispered two words: "Don't be afraid."
Shen Ningning looked at his tall figure The figure entered the rain curtain.
There was a bit of sadness in her big, dark, round eyes.
I hope she was right to let Chen Ye take the initiative to surrender.
On the carriage back home, Shen Ningning's clear eyes looked at the world turned upside down in the heavy rain.
An hour before taking Jinwu to the granary, she was also there and met Chen Ye.
"Brother Chen, you are not a deserter. When you were driven out of the military camp by the deputy general, you had a jade certificate registered with the government!"
"You did not flee back on your own initiative, but were driven back, so there is no need to be afraid. , as long as you go to the government to transfer military orders, you can find out."
"What's more, the most important thing is, brother, they are investigating you because they are afraid that you are still sick, but the plague on you has been cured long ago, so you don't have to. Hiding."
Shen Ningning was also inspired by Mo Lingwei's letter.
What is a deserter? The commander and lieutenant don't know, the person who fled the battlefield privately! Chen Ye could prove that he was driven back, and he was even charged with expulsion from the military camp.
Shen Ningning and he both ignored a problem at first.
It was true that Chen Ye left the military camp due to illness, so when he heard someone came to check, his first reaction was that he felt guilty and wanted to run away.
Just like the old farmer in northern Thailand.
However, if there is a jade certificate of identity that can prove it, what else is there to be afraid of?
Chen Ye was worried that the government would sentence him to a serious crime and prevent him from being released from prison for the rest of his life.
Shen Ningning's tone was soft, but she said something that was enough to wake people's hearts -
"Brother Chen, if you don't go to the government to plead guilty, you will run away and hide for the rest of your life, and you will never see Granny Chen again. What's the difference between being in jail and going to jail?" The difference?"
It was this sentence that made Chen Ye decide to surrender to the government.
He admitted that he was a soldier returning from the frontier.
Shen Ningning stayed at Xie's Mansion and waited until evening.
Xie Mingxu finally came back.
"Brother~" The little guy stepped forward quickly and handed over the handkerchief with both hands. His big black eyes flashed cautiously: "You are back."
Xie Mingxu took the handkerchief from her and wiped the rain off his face. .
Then, he took a deep look at the little guy and said, "Go to my study and talk."
Shen Ningning lowered her head and followed him silently. It wasn't
until the door was closed that Xie Mingxu took the initiative and said calmly: "You don't have to worry anymore. Dali Temple and Jing Zhaoyin discussed Chen Ye's case. He is not a deserter."
"However, because after retreating from the army and returning to Beijing, he did not return to the army in time . Reporting to the police cannot go unpunished. Within three months from tomorrow, Chen Ye will have to work as a laborer to carry stones and sand to reinforce the walls of the capital. This can be regarded as a small punishment but a big warning for him."
After hearing this result, Shen Ningning was of course feeling sorry for him . Chen Ye was happy.
However, she looked at Xie Mingxu: "Brother, I'm sorry, I hid it from you at first and didn't tell you Chen Ye's true whereabouts."
The little guy silently took out a tablet from the back of his waist and handed it over.
"Brother, please slap my palm, I did this wrong."
Xie Mingxu looked at Shen Ningning, his eyes were deep, but there was hidden pain and pampering that was not easy to detect.
"Why should I punish you?"
"Because Ning Ning lied... Brother is so good to me, I shouldn't deceive him."
"So, you asked Chen Ye to take the initiative to surrender to the government, right?"
" Yes." The little guy nodded silently.
"In that case, why did you protect him in the first place?" he asked in a deep voice.
Shen Ningning's voice was waxy and full of apologies: "Grandma Chen is sick. Brother Chen just wants to see her. If I had a mother, I would come back regardless of everything, so I understand him and that's why..."
At the end, The little guy felt like he was being a bit quibbling.
So he hung his little head in shame, raised his two white and tender hands high, and looked pitiful at being punished by Xie Mingxu.
Xie Mingxu picked up the tablet and raised it high. Shen Ningning quickly closed her eyes.
Sudden!
Only a crisp sound of "pop" was heard.
Xie Mingxu threw the handboard directly on the door. The sound was the sound of the handboard breaking into three pieces and falling to the ground.
Shen Ningning waited for a long time, but there was no pain.
Instead, Xie Mingxu sighed full of emotion.
"Ning Ning, I am your brother. Not only will I not punish you, I will protect you." "If Chen Ye is
slower to surrender, the scapegoat I arranged will go to the government."
At this point, Xie Mingxu gave a bitter smile: "I pride myself on being upright and self-possessed, but when it comes to your affairs, I only want to be partial."