A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

When it was time for dinner, Wu Ma didn't ask Gui Er to go to the front hall to serve. Gui Er was feeling strange. Seeing that it was almost time, she said to Wu Ma, "Wu Ma, is it about time for me to go to the front hall to serve the eldest young master?"

Wu Ma's face darkened as she cursed, "You little bitch, you're always trying to curry favor with your master. Tonight, the young master isn't even coming home for dinner. Go back to your work and stop being so cunning."

Gui'er murmured in her heart, "I didn't know the young master wouldn't come back either, so why are you scolding me, you old hag?" But she still said with a sweet smile, "Okay, then I'll get back to work."

When Gui'er finished her work, she saw lanterns hanging from the eaves. She figured it must be quite late and wondered why Wu Ma hadn't taken her to the kitchen for dinner. She looked back but couldn't find her. So she went to Zhang Ma on her own.

When she got to the kitchen, the dining hall was empty. Gui'er was just starting to feel hungry, so she went into the kitchen to find something to eat. Aunt Zhang was preparing food for tomorrow and was surprised to see her coming over. "Why are you here just now? It's already past dinner time." She sighed and took out two steamed buns from her nest and gave them to her, saying, "We only have two left. Eat what you can. Remember to come earlier next time."

Gui'er said helplessly, "I have too many things on my hands. I'm afraid if I leave, she will start scolding me again."

Zhang Ma turned and looked at her and said with a smile, "What could possibly happen to a little girl like you?"

Gui Er said unconvincedly, "How can I not have anything to do? I'm responsible for cleaning the house and tending to the flowers and plants in the yard. Anyway, all the work in the yard is mine. I also have to learn how to sew soles for the young master's shoes."

Aunt Zhang said in disbelief, "This Aunt Wu is asking you to do all the work in the Young Master's Courtyard by yourself. That's too much. But, the Young Master rarely comes home. Logically, there shouldn't be much work to do."

"Where is there no work? Can't you see I'm so busy that I don't even have time to come over for dinner?" Gui'er said while chewing on a steamed bun.

Zhang Ma squatted down and tapped Guier's nose, then touched her hair and looked at her scar. She said kindly, "Guier, there's a little brother at Zhang Ma's house who's 12 this year. His name is Dacheng. When you grow up, will you marry him?"

Gui'er was a little speechless. Why did this drama come up again? However, she saw that Zhang Ma really loved her, so she couldn't bear to pretend to be deaf and dumb, so she had to say, "But didn't Wu Ma want me to marry that Ah Hu?"

Zhang Ma opened her mouth to say something else, but a voice came from behind: "Who wants to marry you to Ah Hu?"

The two turned around and saw that it was the eldest son Song Xichen. Aunt Zhang was so scared that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet. She said in a trembling voice, "The eldest son has nothing to do with me. It was Aunt Wu who said that. She might just be joking."

Gui Er didn't know what to say so she just stared at Song Xichen. Song Xichen saw the half-eaten bun in her hand, his face filled with gloom, and said, "Is this what you're going to eat tonight?"

Seeing that he looked unhappy, Guier said cautiously, "Yes, because I came to work late, luckily Aunt Zhang still had some steamed buns."

Song Xichen clenched his fists, but when he saw Guier's nervous look, he relaxed his fists. He opened his palms and stretched them out to Guier. Guier hesitated for a few seconds and then stretched out her little hand to hold Song Xichen's middle finger. She didn't want to hold that middle finger, but Song Xichen's hands were too big, so her little hand could only hold his middle finger.

It was not until this time that she took a closer look at the eldest son of the wealthy Song family for the first time. He was 190 cm tall, with deep facial features and a strong physique. Standing in front of Gui'er, he was like an iron tower.

Song Xichen looked at his middle finger which was held by Gui'er. His chest felt as if being brushed by a bird's feather, which made him feel a little itchy. He shook his head and chose to ignore this strange feeling. He grabbed Gui'er's hand and pulled her back to his yard.

After entering the yard, Song Xichen did not let go and pulled Gui'er to the study. He sat opposite him and took out the cream cake he brought back from outside today and gave it to her. Gui'er never dreamed that she could eat cream cake and she didn't care about anything else. She ate it happily.

Song Xichen looked at Gui'er eating happily and felt very satisfied in his heart for some reason. This little girl was originally rescued by him when he was performing his official duties. She had nowhere to go, so he had to bring her home. The pretty one was picked by her sister. At first, he decided to arrange her to live in his own courtyard, just to settle her temporarily and find a place to stay later. When he saw her cleaned up and came to him in new clothes at lunch, he felt a little throbbing in his heart. In order to see her again sooner, he specially postponed the evening social event. Unexpectedly, he didn't see her when he came back. He looked everywhere and found her eating steamed buns pitifully in the kitchen, and said that she had been betrothed to someone else.

Seeing that Gui'er had almost finished eating, Song Xichen tried to speak gently, "Who said you were betrothed? To whom?"

Gui'er almost blurted out all her unhappiness, but she rolled her eyes and said, "To answer the eldest master, it was Wu Ma who discussed with a man named Ah Hu and promised to marry me to him in two years."

"Are you willing?" Song Xichen asked in a low voice.

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "The Young Master is my benefactor, I will listen to him." She certainly didn't want to do that, but she didn't know what kind of person this Young Master was. What if he was like Wu Ma? Wouldn't that be the end of it? So she decided to retreat and see how Song Xichen reacted first.

Song Xichen seemed a little dissatisfied with her answer. He raised his hand and rubbed her chubby little face with the back of his hand, saying, "You belong to my house. Next time, if someone says that again, tell him to come to me."

Gui'er nodded, a little confused. Did he mean that he didn't want her to be betrothed to someone else, or was he unhappy that someone arranged a marriage for someone in his yard without his consent?

Song Xichen turned to Dagang and said, "Go call Nanny Zhou over."

After a while, Nanny Zhou came over and stood beside him respectfully and asked, "Master, I wonder what you want me to do?"

Song Xichen smiled politely at Nanny Zhou and said, "Nanny Zhou, I'm sorry to trouble you to come so late. The reason is, I haven't been home much, so I haven't had many people in the courtyard. Now that I'm back home, I feel a little short-staffed. Could you please arrange for two gardeners and two maids to do the other cleaning and tidying up? I can have Gui'er take care of my personal work."

Nanny Zhou replied calmly, "Okay, Master, I'll arrange it right away." Then she glanced at Gui'er and said, "This child seems quite clever, but she's too young. I'm afraid she won't be able to serve you well. How about finding someone older and more mature for you?"

At this moment, Wu Ma appeared out of nowhere and rushed in from outside, saying, "Oh, the young master is looking for a personal servant. I have a good candidate here. My daughter Ying'er, remember? You saw her when she was a child. She is 19 years old this year and is still unmarried. She has always loved needlework and is also a good cook. Why not let her come?"

Nanny Zhou turned around and looked at Song Xichen, as if asking what he meant.

Song Xichen took Gui'er's little hand and played with her little fingers while saying, "No need. I think Gui'er is fine. If there is anything I am not satisfied with, I will correct her myself. And Wu Ma, Gui'er is my roommate. I will take care of her affairs, so you don't have to worry about her."

Before Auntie Wu could say anything else, Song Xichen spoke first, "Auntie Zhou, Auntie Wu is old now, so you'll be in charge here from now on. You're the one who selected the people, so I'm relieved. As for Gui'er, I'll handle her myself, and no one else needs to interfere in her affairs."

Nanny Zhou was obviously stunned for a moment, but still replied, "I understand."

Wu Ma was shocked, a little overwhelmed as she wiped away her tears and said, "I am indeed old and useless. If I can't help the young master look after the courtyard, then I will be a freeloader. How can I bear this?"

Song Xichen glanced at her and said gently, unquestionably, "Auntie Wu, that's ridiculous. You brought up the three of us siblings. Now that I've arranged for these people, you don't have to work so hard, and you can have some free time. If you really want to find something to do, my second brother Xilun's place is short on staff, so you can go over there and look after him more."

Aunt Wu opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

Gui'er was delighted. According to Song Xichen's plan, all the work in the yard was done by someone else. She would only be responsible for taking care of Song Xichen. Although she didn't know what the work was, it was probably very easy. Thinking of this, Gui'er's mouth curved into a smile.

Song Xichen looked down and saw her little appearance. He found it very interesting. He rubbed her little face with his hands and smiled gently.