A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Sha Yanxiao brought Sha Dashuai, Sanmei and her newborn son back to Jiangcheng. Sanmei and her son lived with the third concubine, and Marshal Zhang was said to have been arranged to live in the hospital.

Ji Yiru said to Sha Yanxiao, "Why waste your time? We have the heir in our hands now, so just kill him."

Sha Yanxiao frowned and glanced at him, saying, "It's not that simple. Marshal Zhang has his old friends in Fengcheng, and he and my father have been friends for many years. If this gets out, people will just say our family is unkind."

Ji Yiru scoffed at this and said, "The men in your family are actually too soft-hearted. In this world, whoever has the power has the final say. If they are too soft-hearted, it will definitely cause great trouble in the future."

Sha Yanxiao sighed, "If you do things too far, you'll only burn your own boat. How did Marshal Zhang's two daughters die? Everyone knows it wasn't my family's intention, and now we can't explain it. How could another accident happen?"

Ji Yiru smiled nonchalantly and said, "Aren't you just going to say that I sent someone to kill them? To be honest, that's not the case. However, I did write a letter to my family and told them that they wanted to take my position as the main wife. My uncle loves me the most, but even if my uncle didn't deal with them, I would have taken action. The daughters of a slut actually dared to covet my things. They deserved it."

Sha Yanxiao didn't expect Ji Yiru to be so arrogant as to admit it on the spot. He was so angry that he couldn't speak and left in anger.

After witnessing Ji Yiru's viciousness, Gui'er became even more cautious and usually avoided her. As soon as she came back, she would find an excuse to slip out from the living room where she was doing homework or reading the newspaper.

That day, in order to avoid Ji Yiru, Guier came to the fourth concubine's place to play with Shashasha. The servants said that the fourth concubine took Shashasha to the Wing On Department Store to go shopping.

Gui'er was bored, so she turned around and wanted to go to the third concubine to find Taohua.

Just as I turned around, a figure rushed out from the side room next door and grabbed Guier.

Gui'er was startled. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was Miss Zhang Si. She nervously pulled Gui'er while looking around. After confirming that no one was around, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Miss Gui'er, I heard my father is coming. Can you do me a favor?"

Gui Er hadn't seen much of Fourth Miss Zhang since their wedding. She rarely showed up when she came to visit Fourth Concubine Zhang. Fourth Concubine Zhang said, "Marshal Zhang's daughters are quiet and demure. They never leave the house. They spend all day doing housework, which saves them a lot of trouble."

Guier smiled and asked, "Sister-in-law, you should call me sister. Is there anything you need me to do for you?"

Miss Zhang Si said anxiously, "I heard that my father is coming to Jiangcheng. I want to see him."

Gui'er said, "I heard Marshal Zhang is in the hospital due to poor health. Can I ask if he can see guests?"

Miss Zhang Si was naturally very grateful, but Gui'er saw that she looked a little uneasy and was very surprised. But then she thought, this Miss Zhang Si was the most lively of the three sisters. In the past, her two sisters always stood in front of her to help her with whatever she needed to do. Although it might not be to her liking, she was worry-free. Now that her two sisters are gone, and she has to make a living under such a fierce mother-in-law like the Fourth Concubine, it must be quite difficult.

Gui'er took advantage of the opportunity and mentioned it to Sha Yanxiao, but Sha Yanxiao said nothing. Gui'er thought, could it be true, as Ji Yiru said, that she would take advantage of his illness to kill him?

Seeing Gui'er's look of doubt, Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild. It's mainly because Marshal Zhang has tuberculosis."

Gui'er's head buzzed when she heard this. Tuberculosis is contagious, and there weren't many medical treatments in those days. So she stammered, "Then, then why were we so close to him last time..."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "You haven't even coughed in so many days since you came back, which means you're fine. He's now been isolated in the hospital for treatment. The doctor said that he's old, and it might be difficult to cure him completely. Even if he recovers, the root of the disease will remain. Now we can only try to keep him alive for a few more years. After all, he is Sanmei's husband. The child is so young, and if he died right after coming from Fengcheng, people will definitely gossip."

Gui Er also felt sorry for San Mei and the child, so she asked, "Does Sister San Mei know?"

Sha Yanxiao said: "She just came out of confinement, I haven't told her yet, you should go and talk to her when you have time."

Gui'er nodded and came to the third concubine's yard the next day. Ever since Sanmei gave birth to a child and came back to live here, the Marshal specially increased the third concubine's monthly salary. It was said that he also allocated a farm to Sanmei's name. The output of that farm all belonged to Sanmei and her son, so now the third concubine has become wealthy, and the yard has been replaced with new furniture bit by bit. Of course, they are also very grateful to Sha Yanxiao, so when Gui'er came over, the third concubine even asked the servants to take out French cookies to entertain Gui'er.

Taohua is treated well now and doesn't have to do servant's work anymore. Taohua tells Guier privately that she heard the third concubine say to Sanmei that although she was reluctant to let Sanmei become a concubine at first, it seems not bad now. Marshal Zhang is in name only, but Sanmei is his wife after all. As long as the young master is around, Marshal Sha will not treat them badly even for the sake of his reputation.

Gui'er told them the news that Marshal Zhang had tuberculosis. Although the Third Concubine and Sanmei were quite shocked at first, they soon calmed down. Sanmei said politely, "Thank you, Sister Gui'er, for coming to inform me. I didn't expect the Marshal to be so seriously ill. I hope he can recover soon. I have children to take care of, so I won't be visiting him. Please ask Brother Yanxiao to find a doctor to treat him well for me."

Their tone was very sincere, but there was no sense of anxiety or worry. But then again, how could a young girl in her teens or twenties have any real feelings for a man in his fifties or sixties?

Gui'er informed Miss Zhang Si of the news. Miss Zhang Si burst into tears and said in a trembling voice, "What should I do?"

Gui'er quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, he's in the hospital now and his condition is relatively stable. The doctor just said that he's old and will take longer to recover."

At this time, the fourth concubine came in, put her arm around Miss Zhang Si's shoulders and said affectionately, "Don't worry, didn't your sister Gui'er tell you that there are foreign doctors watching us?"

Gui'er clearly sensed that Miss Zhang Si seemed frightened, and she stammered, "Yes, mother is right."

Gui'er felt suspicious, suddenly realizing that Sha Yanxiao and Ji Yiru were not on good terms. They still ate together, and occasionally went shopping with her when Sha Yanxiao couldn't resist. However, it seemed that the fourth young lady in this photo had never been in the same frame with Sha Yanwen. The only time they sat together was when the whole family was with Sha Dashuai for dinner.

So after returning, he asked Dingxiang if she had heard the servants talking about Miss Zhang Si and Sha Yanwen.

Ding Xiang's eyes lit up when she heard this and she said, "I've really heard it. The servants all say that the Fourth Concubine is a daughter of a wealthy family in Shanghai. She's also very strong-willed, which is why she sent Miss Shasha to school away. It's said that the Fourth Concubine had already made up her mind about their marriage and wanted to find them a famous young lady and young man from Shanghai so that their Yue family and husband's family would be able to help them in the future. I never thought that the Marshal would actually let the Third Young Master marry the Fourth Miss Zhang in order to gain control of Fengcheng. Even the servants in their courtyard don't like the Fourth Miss Zhang."

"But miss, please don't be soft-hearted. This is none of our business. Even if you help Miss Zhang Si, it will be a thankless task. Marshal Zhang is in this state now." Dingxiang reminded.

Gui Er sighed and said with a smile, "It's hard for an honest judge to judge family affairs. How can I care so much? I am just a clay Buddha crossing the river, I can't even protect myself."