Chen Xi kept Lin by his side purely to perfunctory Cui Yan.

He also simply treated Lin as a servant. What Lin did on weekdays was just to make beds and quilts, and then to sleep in his outer room at night, which was equivalent to guarding the door.

Before, it was a state where the well water did not violate the river. Chen Xi did not care too much. Leaving such a person by his side would not have much impact on him. He just was careful when doing things. For example, when he returned to the temporary headquarters, he would work in the study room. After reading the official documents, he asked the attendant to clean up so that he would not let Lin have the chance to do anything.

But now the Lin family obviously took a step further, and Chen Xi had to issue an order to expel Lin family, preparing to drive Lin back to Cui Yan.

After hearing Chen Xi's words, Lin was startled at first, then his face changed color and leaned over and begged: "Sir, is there anything I can't do well?"

Chen Xidao: "You did a good job, but there is no need for women in the army... You are always upset when you stay next to your official bed, but now you are here to lure me. What's your intention?"

Lin hurriedly defended himself: "I am just grateful to the hard work of my elders. I have no intention to send ginseng tea to them."

Chen Xi sneered: "As for this, I would like to thank you for your kindness! As for what you are here to do, if you don't say secret words, do you really think that I am an official? You have been to the Governor's Office many times before, so you should have brought a lot of news to me, right? I wonder if Governor Cui has given you many rewards?"

Lin's face was dismal and took two steps back and knelt on the ground, not daring to defend himself.

Chen Xi said again: "What do you usually do? I can turn a blind eye to you, but since you don't do your duty now, the official will not keep you by your side, you can leave!"

Lin kowtowed: "I beg you to give me a chance and let me stay by my side to serve you."

Because the sound in the room was a little louder, the guards guarding outside the study hesitated for a moment and rushed in, fearing that Chen Xi would be attacked. When they found that nothing was wrong inside, the woman who had come in before knelt on the ground, the guards did not dare to move forward, and their eyes were full of inquiries.

Chen Xidao: "I don't want to hear any extra words. If you don't leave, I will find someone to take you out."

Seeing that the guard was about to come forward to get the person, Lin suddenly said, "I have something to say to Lord Shen. I wonder if Lord Shen can invite all the soldiers out. I want to talk to Lord Shen alone."

The guards had already stepped forward and stood behind Lin. They took the person away just after Chen Xi gave the order.

Chen Xi looked at Lin. At this time, Lin was looking back at him with a determined look, and his eyes had no intention of avoiding it. After pondering for a moment, when he waved his hand, the guards would withdraw from the house intentionally and brought them to the door. Chen Xi then said, "What do you mean, say it."

Lin said: "I hope that the Lord will keep me by my side because I have no malice, because I... I really can't help myself."

While speaking, Lin lowered his head again, looking very aggrieved, as if he was being treated unfairly.

Chen Xi stood up, looked at the woman kneeling on the ground, and sneered: "Hmph, I will not have any mercy just for such words."

Lin raised his head again, tears filled the corners of his eyes and said, "I believe that the adults regard me as a kind of unruly woman? Indeed, my body is not clean. Since my deceased husband passed away, he has not fallen like duckweed and can only rely on others. But I want to do something for the Ming Dynasty..."

"I am responsible for the matter of protecting local military households and widows, and I am standing in the court's position. Even if I have no credit, I will work hard, right? Now Lord Cui is ruthless and threatens me with the survival of the old and young. I endure humiliation and bear the burden of humiliation. I just want to save the last hope of the survival of the military martyrs..."

"As the Minister of War, Lord Shen should know that there are many orphans and widows who have lost their relatives due to war in the northwest. Especially in the military households, there are many families with no strong men. Who cares about their life and death? In order to demonstrate his local political achievements, Cui Yan gathered the orphans and widows in the military households in one place to support them in exchange for Eunuch Liu's appreciation, and looks forward to entering the Renbu Hall of the court."

"But after Eunuch Liu was eradicated, Lord Cui did not care about the lives and deaths of us, the weak, the sick and disabled, and even stopped allocating food. He asked me to come out to do a living and seek survival. Now he would seal the place where we live... Please allow me to stay by your side for the sake of the orphan and widowed mother."

After saying that, Lin kept kowtowing to Chenxi, looking extremely sad.

Chen Xi said with a stern face: "The story is quite tactful, but it is just a story. How can I know if what you said is true?"

Lin said earnestly: "Can you send someone to investigate? I believe that all your thoughts are now devoted to using troops to the grassland, but don't forget that most of the lonely, widowed, elderly and weak in the city are the consequences of the imperial court's use of troops to the barbarians over the years. Do you have no compassion for the heavens?"

"My husband died when the Tatars invaded the border in the 18th year of Hongzhi. The court did not have a penny to provide for it. Even the fields left by the deceased husband during his lifetime were occupied... If I had not been a little pretty, I would have become a refugee and died of starvation this morning, or I had entered a brothel to live a life of ignorance. Even now, I was just driven by others!"

Chen Xi looked at Lin and was speechless for a moment.

He had just investigated the origin of Lin before, but did not go too far. He just regarded him as a spy sent by the governor's yamen. He learned briefly that this woman was a foreign house raised by Cui Yan and had good methods of acting. It was rumored that it was out of chaos, so he did not take Lin seriously from the beginning.

Now Lin told a "story" that moved people. Chen Xi was in a heavy mood when he heard it. He asked after a long time: "You should go back to the Governor's Office today, right? How did Governor Cui tell you?"

Lin did not shy away: "Mr. Cui met General Liu before seeing me. Because the soldiers in the city were not in a position to deal with Lord Shen, Lord Cui was very annoyed."

"After General Liu left, Lord Cui summoned me to ask about it again, but I knew nothing and could not answer. I originally wanted to ask Lord Cui to serve Lord Shen, but Lord Cui refused to say anything, and was furious and threatened the survival of hundreds of lonely, widowed, young and young behind me..."

"I had no choice but to bite the bullet and return to Lord Shen, hoping to complete the errands assigned by Lord Cui. In fact, I respect the Lord very much and have no intention of offending me."

Chen Xi smiled disdainfully: "You are willing to say anything."

Lin looked sad and said, "I don't have to worry about my life alone, but I have two hungry children. When they grow up, they can inherit the mantle of the dead husband... This is the last hope left by the dead husband for me, otherwise I would rather die than suffer so many insults and hardships in the world."

"Those who do big things are usually not focused on the details. Lord Shen may not be as kind as a woman, but can't he reflect on the past?"

Realizing that Chen Xi was not moved by her words, Lin's emotions almost collapsed and began to openly accuse him.

Chen Xi said calmly, "There will always be casualties in wars. If you don't pay any price and want to win, then what you will be waiting for will be enslaved by foreigners. At that time, it will no longer be a tragedy of your own family, but a tragedy of the entire country and nation. Everything I do is to maintain the stability of the world. Why do you need to reflect on it?"

Speaking of this, Chen Xi was indeed moved by it, "But if what you said is true, then I should not ignore it. You go back to your room first and make a decision after I investigate the matter clearly."

When Lin heard Chen Xi agree to let her stay, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, "My Lord, thank you for your understanding."

Without any extra words, Lin stood up and took his leave.

After Lin left, Chen Xi couldn't help but sigh and shouted: "Come."

Several guards came in immediately, and Chen Xi asked, "Where is Commander Zhu?"

"Didn't you let General Zhu take a rest first? Do you have any urgent matters to come to him?" The guard in charge asked with wide eyes.

Because Chen Xi is fine, Zhu Hong will only be with him when he has to check in the workshops during the day, and only let the guards take turns at night.

"Let Commander Zhu come and see you." Chen Xidao.

"Yes, sir!"

After the guard left, he called Zhu Hong who was resting in the wing room. Zhu Hong was a little surprised when he saw Chen Xi and asked, "Master, are you going out for a private visit overnight?"

Because he was a slave from Chen Xi, Zhu Hong often called Chen Xi "Master" in private occasions.

Chen Xidao: "You go and check something immediately, involving the widows in Datong. I learned that the governor's yamen was supporting a group of military martyrs. You can check the specific situation of these people."

Because Zhu Hong is not so familiar with the work of investigating intelligence, he felt embarrassed after hearing Chen Xi's request and asked: "Master, should I ask Lao Jiu to come and execute the order?"

Chen Xi waved his hand: "Brother Jiu is responsible for a lot of things. You can't count on him for everything. This time I'll let you do it. It's best to find out the matter overnight. If you have unclear places, you can inquire with the soldiers in the city, they should know a lot of things."

Zhu Hong nodded: "That master, the young man is here, you should be careful."

Chen Xi waved his hand again, and Zhu Hong quickly went out, called the guards who were not on duty for a few nights and left in a hurry.

After Zhu Hong left, Chen Xi still had an awkward feeling in his heart, muttering: "In the past few years, I have been working hard for the Ming Dynasty to create a stable external environment, but I have ignored the pension and support for the families of the sacrificed soldiers. However, Cui Yan was able to take these things into consideration for the future. Unfortunately, he was just for his own selfishness and could not do a good job of starting and ending."

...

...

Many things in the city are not secrets, and it is easy to investigate them. Zhu Hong simply walked around the city, and after returning to report, Chen Xi learned that the Lin girl was not lying.

Chen Xi did not think that Lin would fabricate a story that sounded extremely absurd and complicated to deceive him. This was also the reason why he had never questioned Lin from the beginning. But even so, Chen Xi was moved after learning the specific situation. He did not expect that in Datong Town, there would be such a group of lonely, elderly and weak people who needed to gather together to survive in a difficult situation. Chen Xi felt that he did not do well enough in some aspects.

"...Master, those people live in the south of the city. I heard that the government used to open a porridge shop to provide relief, but now it has been stopped. The villain has gone to see it. Although I can't see clearly at night, the houses there are indeed dilapidated. Several of the yards have fired and are almost ruined. It is said that there are people living inside..." Zhu Hong said.

Chen Xi nodded: "There was a military disaster in the south of the city. Later, the place facing the street was repaired and used as a shop. Other abandoned houses were also simply restored and some bricks were added. I thought it was the residence of civilians in the city, but I didn't expect that there would be such a group of poor people inside."

Zhu Hong asked, "What will the master do?"

Chen Xi looked a little complicated, and finally sighed: "So what if you know, it's always a local matter... You go down first, I will find you if you have any questions. You won't have to accompany me to patrol the workshop tomorrow morning."

"It's okay, lord, the villain has been practicing martial arts since he was a child and has good health. He can recover after going back for two hours... The villain has surrendered."

Zhu Hong bowed and stepped down.

Although there was no one else in the room, Chen Xi's mood had not calmed down for a long time. Even if he wanted to check the official documents, he couldn't do it. What Lin said kept lingering in his ears.

"This woman is not simple."

This is the most intuitive impression of Chen Xi.

Chen Xi began to think about some things about Lin: "No matter why she came, or what she said was somewhat concealed, at least from her position, she did it right, which is similar to the situation that Gao Ning encountered after the crisis. In their minds, courtesy, righteousness, integrity and shame are secondary. As long as they can live, there will be hope in the future. Even if they use some unconventional means, they take it for granted. This is the helplessness in life."

Because he was really not in the mood to continue handling official duties, Chen Xi left the study and returned to the back house.

When I arrived at the door of the main house, I saw Lin sitting upright in the outer room, like a prisoner waiting for trial. When I saw Chen Xi, I looked calm and seemed to have made all preparations.

"grown ups."

Lin stood up to greet her, but did not move forward. The difference between the two identities was too big, and Chen Xi clearly couldn't accept her, so she could only stand far away and dare not get close.

Chen Xi did not enter the inner room, so she sat down directly on the chair in the outer room. There was tea on the coffee table next to her, but Chen Xi did not mean to move.

Chen Xidao: "I sent someone to investigate what you said. Judging from the current situation, you did not lie, but you still cannot determine whether you will be detrimental to me in the future."

Chen Xi's speech speed is very slow, and there is not much doubt or targeting. What he says sounds kind to ordinary people, but Lin feels it is very harsh, because Shen Xi is still suspicious of her, making her feel that no matter what she does, it will be difficult for her to win the trust of the man in front of her.

Lin's expression was full of sadness, "Since the adults found out that I did not deceive me, everything I did was just for survival, why do you think that I would be unfavorable to you?"

Chen Xi looked up at Lin: "I give you a chance, but it does not mean that I have forgiven you or want to help you. Of course, you are doing what you think is right. While retaining your hope of survival, you help those widowed and widowed people. But don't forget that your current errand is for Cui Yan, the governor of Datong, to spy on my secrets, so you will be my enemy!"

Lin's body was shocked. At this moment, she finally realized something. The reason why Chen Xi was so wary of her was not whether she was kind to others when taking care of the elderly and weak, but because what she was doing now harmed Chen Xi's interests.

Morally speaking, Chen Xi had no reason to help her.

Lin lowered his head and said, "That's my wishful thinking. I thought that the adults would take the welfare of the orphans and widows in the city first, but who knew that the adults were so cold-blooded and ruthless!"

Perhaps it was because she felt so sad, and because she thought that there were too many people who hurt her, Lin spoke with a kind of sarcasm, which made people feel uncomfortable when they heard it.

Chen Xi said angrily: "If you think that this can be exchanged for my mercy on you, then just say it casually, but I want to remind you that what you are doing now is causing trouble for yourself!"

"Although I have good intentions, I am not a local official in Datong after all, but I am using Datong to send troops. It is unknown whether I can return from the grassland smoothly in the future... The war is imminent, so where can I have the leisure to deal with the local support for the military martyrs?"

Lin's pretty face twitched violently, and he understood that Chen Xi was not kidding.

As the Minister of War, Chen Xi was kind-hearted to not punish her. It was just a matter of one sentence to drive her away. Now he would keep her as a spy by his side. If he still talks about it, it would be a pleasure for himself.

Chen Xi asked: "Now I want to confirm something, you only need to answer yes or not! Are you Cui Yan's woman?"

"yes!"
To be continued...