The door was broken, and the room was as clean as new.

The bed didn't even have a mattress, as if it had never been occupied.

Xie Mingxu and Zhi Jinwu entered at the same time and rummaged around.

Shen Ningning stood at the door, pursing her pink lips and looking around.

Xie Mingxu walked to the only wooden cabinet in the room, opened it, and his eyes changed.

He slammed the cabinet door shut.

"There's no one here." He said.

Zhi Jinwu turned his head and looked at it with a deep sigh, but said, "General Xie, I will personally check it again to make sure that nothing goes wrong." ”

After all, this cabinet is tall, and it must be no problem to hide one person.

Xie Mingxu was silent for two moments 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 immature little face seemed to be floating with a layer of mist, as if she didn't know anything.

But the anonymous letter was written in a conclusive manner, and even mentioned the hour of the day when the man hiding in the granary came and went.

Ji Jingo suddenly opened the cabinet door and looked inside.

There were only two old clothes.

He frowned, reached for the board on the closet, and examined it carefully, finding nothing more.

Finally, Zhi Jinwu walked to the door with someone, bowed to Shen Ningning and said, "County Lord, I'm really sorry for the disturbance this time." ”

Shen Ningning blinked his smart black eyes: "It's okay, it's okay to cooperate with you in handling the case." ”

Xie Mingxu on the side did not ease his expression.

He had just opened the cabinet, and the first thing he saw was the clothes.

However, he was a little more careful than Zhi Jingo, and saw that there were obvious wet marks on the sleeves of his shirt.

It was just wet by the heavy rain, which means that the person hiding here has just escaped not long ago.

Zhi Jinwu changed his words and said, "County Lord, who lives here on weekdays to guard the granary for you?" Please hand him over so that he may be interrogated. ”

At the end, as if he was afraid that Shen Ningning would refuse, he also added.

"This is a very serious crime related to desertion, please hand him over today."

Shen Ningning opened his lips: "But he ......"

Before the little guy could finish speaking, an officer and soldier hurriedly ran to the door.

"Your Excellency, General! A man named Chen Ye went to the government to submit a petition and confessed, saying that he was a soldier who came back from the frontier. ”

Zhi Jinwu's face changed, and he immediately walked out: "What are you waiting for, follow me back to the official mansion." ”

Shen Ningning hurriedly got out of the way.

When Xie Mingxu passed by her, he lowered his eyes to look at the little guy.

Shen Ningning's eyes finally showed a look of guilt: "Brother, I ......"

"It's cold, you go home first," at the end, he whispered two words: "Don't be afraid." ”

Shen Ningning watched his tall figure enter the rain curtain.

There was some sadness in her big dark and round eyes.

I hope she will let Chen Ye take the initiative to surrender, which is right.

On the carriage back home, Shen Ningning's clear eyes looked at the world turned upside down in the heavy rain.

An hour before Zhi Jinwu went to the granary, she was also there and met Chen Ye.

"Brother Chen, you are not a deserter, you were driven out of the barracks by the deputy general at the beginning, and you have a registered jade in the official mansion!"

"You didn't flee back on your own initiative, but you 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 that Brother they investigated you because they were afraid that you were still sick, but the plague on your body had already been cured, so you don't have to hide at all."

Shen Ningning was also inspired by Mo Lingwei's letter.

What is a deserter? The lieutenant general does not know, and the person who fled the battlefield without permission!

And Chen Ye can prove that he was driven back, and he was even expelled from the barracks.

Shen Ningning and he both ignored a problem at first.

It was true that Chen Ye left the barracks due to illness, so when he heard that someone came to check, his first reaction was that he was weak and wanted to escape.

Just like that old farmer in Northern Thailand.

However, if there is an identity jade to testify, what else is there to fear?

Chen Ye feared that the government would convict him of serious crimes that would prevent him from getting out of prison for the rest of his life.

Shen Ningning's tone was glutinous, but he said enough words to wake people's hearts-

"Brother Chen, if you don't go to the government to confess your guilt, you will be on the run for the rest of your life, hiding and hiding, and you will never see Granny Chen again in your life, what is the difference between being in prison and going to prison?"

It was this sentence that made Chen Ye make up his mind to go to the government to surrender.

He confessed that he was a soldier who had returned from the frontier.

Shen Ningning was in Xie Mansion and waited until evening.

Xie Mingxu is finally back.

"Brother~" The little guy stepped forward quickly, handed over the handkerchief with both hands, and Hei Lingling's big eyes flashed cautiously: "You're back." ”

Xie Mingxu took her handkerchief and wiped the rain from his face.

Then, he took a deep look at the little guy and said, "Go to my study and say." ”

Shen Ningning drooped his little head and silently followed behind him.

It wasn't until he closed the door that Xie Mingxu took the initiative to say lightly: "You don't have to worry, Dali Temple and Jing Zhaoyin have discussed Chen Ye's case, he is not a deserter." ”

"However, because after the army returned to Beijing, he did not report it in time, and he could not be punished, and within three months from tomorrow, Chen Ye needed to go to work as a laborer, carrying stone and sand to strengthen the city wall of the capital, which can be regarded as a small punishment for him."

Hearing this result, Shen Ningning was of course happy for Chen Ye in his heart.

However, she looked at Xie Mingxu: "Brother, I'm sorry, I hid it from you at the beginning and didn't tell you where Chen Ye really went." ”

The little guy silently took out a prototype from behind his waist and handed it over.

"Brother slap my palm, I did something wrong."

Xie Mingxu looked at Shen Ningning, his eyes were deep, but he hid the distress and doting that were not easy to detect.

"Why should I punish you?"

"Because Ning Ning lied...... Brother is so good to me, I shouldn't have deceived him. ”

"So, you asked Chen Ye to take the initiative to surrender to the government, right?"

"Yes." The little one nodded silently.

"In that case, why did you shield him in the first place?" He asked in a deep voice.

Shen Ningning's voice was glutinous, full of apologies: "Granny Chen is sick, Big Brother Chen just wants to take a look at her, if I have a mother, I will come back desperately, so I understand him and ......"

At the end of the day, the little one felt like he was quibbling a little.

Therefore, he was ashamed to droop his little head, and his two white and tender little hands were raised high, allowing Xie Mingxu to punish him with a pitiful appearance.

Xie Mingxu picked up the handboard, he raised it high, and Shen Ningning hurriedly closed his eyes.

Suddenly!

Only a crisp sound of "pop" was heard.

Xie Mingxu threw the prototype directly on the door, and the sound was the movement of the prototype breaking into three sections and falling to the ground.

Shen Ningning waited for a long time, but did not wait for the pain.

Instead, he waited for Xie Mingxu to sigh with emotion.

"Ning Ning, I am your brother, not only will I not punish you, but I will protect you."

"If Chen Ye turns himself in slowly, the scapegoat I arranged will go to the government."

Speaking of this, Xie Mingxu smiled bitterly: "I pride myself on being upright and self-controlled, but when it comes to your affairs, I just want to be biased." ”

(End of chapter)