Chapter 210 Partial Love

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

There was not even a mattress on the bed, as if no one had ever lived there.

Xie Mingxu and the Imperial Guards entered at the same time and searched everywhere.

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 looked, and his eyes suddenly changed.

He suddenly closed the cabinet door.

"No one is here." He said.

The Imperial Guards turned around, pondered and looked, but said: "General Xie, I will check it again in person to make sure it is foolproof."

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

Xie Mingxu was silent for two seconds, and then took a step back: "Please."

The Imperial Guards walked to the cabinet and deliberately turned his head to look at Shen Ningning's expression.

The little girl's white and tender face, the expression seemed to be floating with a layer of mist, as if she knew nothing.

But the words written in the anonymous letter were accurate, and even mentioned the time when the person hiding in the granary went in and out every day.

The Praetorian Guard suddenly opened the door of the closet and looked inside.

There were 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, the Praetorian Guard led people to the door and bowed to Shen Ningning, saying: "Princess, I am really sorry for disturbing you this time."

Shen Ningning blinked her smart black eyes: "It's okay, I should cooperate with you in the investigation."

Xie Mingxu, who was standing aside, did not relax his expression.

He just opened the closet and saw the clothes at first glance.

However, he was more careful than the Praetorian Guard and saw that there were obvious wet marks on the sleeves.

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

The Imperial Guard changed the subject and said, "Princess, who usually lives here to guard your granary? Please hand that person over so that I can interrogate him."

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

"This matter is related to the crime of desertion, which is very serious. Please make sure to hand that person over today."

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

Before the little guy finished speaking, an officer hurried to the door.

"Sir, General! A man named Chen Ye went to the government to confess his crime. He said he was a soldier who came back from the border."

The Imperial Guard's face changed, and he immediately walked out: "What are you waiting for, follow me back to the government."

Shen Ningning quickly made way.

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

Shen Ningning finally showed a guilty look in her eyes: "Brother, I..."

"It's very cold, go back first," he whispered at the end: "Don't be afraid."

Shen Ningning watched his tall figure enter the rain.

There was some sadness in her dark and round eyes.

She hoped that she would let Chen Ye surrender voluntarily, which was right.

On the carriage back to the mansion, Shen Ningning looked at the upside-down world in the heavy rain with clear eyes.

An hour before the Praetorian Guards went to the granary, she was there and met Chen Ye.

"Brother Chen, you are not a deserter. You were driven out of the barracks by the deputy general because of your fault. You have a jade certificate registered with the government!"

"You did not escape back on your own initiative, but were driven back. So, don't be afraid. Just go to the government to get the military order and you can find out clearly."

"Moreover, the most important thing is that they investigated you because they were afraid that you were still sick, but the plague in your body has been cured long ago, so you don't have to hide at all."

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

What is a deserter? The deputy generals don't know, and they escape from the battlefield privately!

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

Shen Ningning and he both overlooked a problem at the beginning.

That is, it is true that Chen Ye left the barracks due to illness, so when he heard that someone came to investigate, his first reaction was to feel guilty and want to escape.

Just like the old farmer in northern Thailand.

But, with the identity jade certificate to prove it, what is there to be afraid of?

Chen Ye was worried that the government would sentence him to a serious crime and keep him out of prison for the rest of his life.

Shen Ningning's tone was soft, but she said something that was enough to wake people up-

"Brother Chen, if you don't go to the government to confess your crime, 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's the difference between that and going to jail?"

It was this sentence that made Chen Ye determined to surrender to the government.

He admitted that he was a soldier returning from the frontier.

Shen Ningning waited until the evening at Xie's house.

Xie Mingxu finally came back.

"Brother~" The little guy walked up quickly, handed over a handkerchief with both hands, and his big dark eyes flickered cautiously: "You're back."

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

Then, he looked at the little guy deeply and said, "Go to my study and talk."

Shen Ningning hung her head and followed him silently.

Only after the door was closed did Xie Mingxu take the initiative to say calmly: "You don't have to worry. The Dali Temple and Jingzhao Yin have discussed Chen Ye's case. He is not a deserter."

"However, because he did not report in time after retreating back to Beijing, he must be punished. From tomorrow, within three months, Chen Ye needs to work as a laborer and carry stones and sand to reinforce the city wall of Beijing. This can be regarded as a small punishment for him."

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

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

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

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

Xie Mingxu looked at Shen Ningning with a deep gaze, but it was hidden with subtle heartache and doting.

"Why should I punish you?"

"Because Ningning lied... Brother is so good to me, I shouldn't lie to him."

"So, it was you who asked Chen Ye to surrender to the government, right?"

"Yes." The little guy nodded silently.

"If that's the case, why did you protect him in the first place?" He asked in a deep voice.

Shen Ningning's voice was soft and full of apology: "Grandma Chen is sick, and Brother Chen just wants to see her. If I have a mother, I will come back regardless of everything, so I understand him, so..."

At the end, the little guy felt that he was a little quibbling.

So he drooped his little head in shame, with his two white and tender little hands raised high, and let Xie Mingxu punish him pitifully.

Xie Mingxu picked up the handboard and raised it high. Shen Ningning quickly closed her eyes.

Suddenly!

There was a crisp sound of "pop".

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 did not feel any pain.

Instead, she waited for Xie Mingxu's emotional sigh.

"Ningning, I am your brother. Not only will I not punish you, I will also protect you."

"If Chen Ye surrendered a little slower, the scapegoat I arranged would go to the government."

At this point, Xie Mingxu smiled bitterly: "I claim to be upright and self-respecting, but when it comes to you, I just want to be partial."