A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

That day, Gui'er finished her homework from Sha Yanyao and returned to Sha Yanxiao's yard. As soon as she entered the house, Sha Yanxiao was sitting in the hall reading a newspaper. Lulu sat next to him, almost hanging on him. The slit of her cheongsam almost reached her waist, and she was dressed similarly to the dancers she met every time she passed by the Paramount Ballroom.

Gui'er's eyes widened. How could Lulu dare to dress like this in the Marshal's Mansion, let alone under Ji Yiru's nose?

When Sha Yanxiao saw Gui'er coming back, he coughed, stood up, and said to Gui'er, "Have you finished your homework?"

Guier nodded and said, "Yes."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "What did you learn today?"

Gui'er counted on her little fingers and said, "Today we learned Ma Huang Tang and Gui Zhi Tang from the Tang Topic Song."

Sha Yanxiao tapped Gui'er's nose and said, "That's good. Work hard."

Guier nodded obediently and wanted to go upstairs to her room, because she caught a glimpse of Lulu's unhappy expression out of the corner of her eye. Although she didn't know why Lulu dared to be so bold, she didn't want to get involved in such trouble.

Seeing that she wanted to go back to her room, Sha Yanxiao stopped her and said, "Wait a moment, I asked the kitchen to make you some double-skin milk, try it."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She loved eating this dessert before she traveled through time. She didn't expect that she could still eat it. She sat down happily and waited. Although Lulu rolled her eyes beside her, Gui'er chose to ignore her.

Not long after, a bowl of double-skin milk, overflowing with the aroma of milk, was served. Gui'er tasted the real ingredients and found it really good. Seeing Gui'er eating happily, Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "What the new chef said is right. Children like to eat this kind of food."

Guier smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it's delicious."

Seeing them talking and laughing, Lulu came over, put her arm around Sha Yanxiao's waist and said, "Master, I want one too."

Sha Yanxiao took her hand away and said, "If you want to eat, go to the kitchen and get some. There should be more."

Lulu was disappointed, stamped her feet, turned around and walked out.

Gui Er was a little puzzled, so she asked Sha Yanxiao, "Why don't you see my sister-in-law?"

Sha Yanxiao said: "It seems that he went out to a party with friends."

"No wonder Lulu dares to be so blatant." Guier said in her heart.

After that, several times, whenever Ji Yiru was not around, Lulu wanted to flirt with Sha Yanxiao, but Sha Yanxiao didn't pay much attention to her. Gui'er just watched the show from the side. Gui'er felt that Lulu still felt that she was an obstacle between her and Sha Yanxiao, but after seeing Sha Yanxiao deal with the cook so harshly last time, she didn't dare to do anything again.

Gui'er was still wary of her. Sha Yanxiao said to Gui'er, "I've already talked to her. She said Ji Yiru forced her to do this. I can't do anything to Ji Yiru yet, but don't worry, I will get justice for you sooner or later."

Gui'er nodded. She also understood Sha Yanxiao's difficulties. Ji Yiru's family was too powerful. Dingxiang told him privately, "Miss, it's actually safer for us to stay in the eldest young master's courtyard."

Gui'er smiled bitterly. She knew it very well, but she could clearly feel that the lady did not like him living in Sha Yanyao's courtyard. Moreover, the lady could sit firmly in the position of the wife in the Marshal's Mansion, so she must be no ordinary person. Gui'er had no choice but to take shelter in the eldest young master's courtyard for a while. If she lived in Sha Yanyao's courtyard for a long time, she didn't know whether it would anger the lady. This was also the reason why Gui'er moved out quickly as soon as Sha Yanxiao came back.

After a few days, Dingxiang secretly told Guier that the maid sent by the Ji family was secretly monitoring Lulu, and Ji Yiru might have already known about Lulu's flirting with Sha Yanxiao these days.

Gui'er frowned and thought for a while. She could no longer remember what the maid looked like. Since she stood up once when Ji Zhongqing called her for the first time when she came to the Marshal's Mansion, Gui'er seemed to have never seen him again.

Gui'er asked Dingxiang curiously, "How is she now?"

Dingxiang said, "She'll still live in the servants' quarters, but the steward, considering she's the young master's concubine, will let her have a separate room so she doesn't have to squeeze in with us."

Gui'er said, "She doesn't usually go into the main house, so how can she monitor Lulu?"

Dingxiang said, "Miss, you don't know that although she is a roommate, she still has to do the work of a servant. The young lady said that since she is a concubine, she doesn't have to do heavy work. She just lets her clean the bedrooms of the young master and the young lady and wash their clothes. It is considered a privilege."

After hearing this, Gui'er didn't feel any preferential treatment, but was rather speechless, so she said, "Even after all this, she's still willing to help Ji Yiru monitor Lulu?"

Ding Xiang said, "Maybe she thought that if Miss Lulu wasn't around, she would have a place next to the Young Marshal. These past few days, I've observed her and I feel that the Young Marshal actually likes Miss Lulu more than the Young Madam. Miss, you have to be careful."

Gui'er said, "I see." In fact, she thought it was normal. After all, Sha Yanxiao and Lulu were old acquaintances, and Sha Yanxiao probably still remembered their old friendship. Besides, Lulu was indeed beautiful.

She said to Dingxiang, "Keep watching, but be careful yourself too."

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "How could I have such a skill? This is all what Wu Mingqiang told me."

Gui'er was very surprised. Why did Wu Mingqiang repeatedly betray his master to help her? She couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. After thinking for a while, she said to Dingxiang, "Is what he said true? He said Lulu was sick before, but she's still alive and kicking. How can she be sick?"

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "Miss, you don't know, this Lulu usually gets out of breath after walking a few steps. She told the kitchen that she's weak in Qi and blood, and has been asking them to get her some tonics, but they've never paid. Even though she's a concubine, she's still a servant and isn't entitled to any tonics. At first, the kitchen would get her some ginseng or something, but lately, when she asks them for tonics, they'll just give her a bowl of brown sugar ginger water."

Gui'er didn't say anything. She had experienced the flattery and bullying in the mansion when she was at the Song family, so she didn't think it was a big deal. If Sha Yanxiao hadn't been on a long business trip, the chef in the small kitchen wouldn't dare to neglect him this time. After Sha Yanxiao came back, he would make an example of him to warn the rest. Even though Gui'er was as good-tempered as before, no one dared to neglect her.

Through this incident, Guier understood a truth: this world cannot be like the modern world where everyone is equal, because there is no such thing as human rights here. If you sympathize with their hardships, they will only think that you are easy to bully and a weak person. To manage subordinates, you still need to use both kindness and strictness.

Gui'er took out a string of copper coins and asked Dingxiang to secretly give it to Wu Mingqiang, saying, "Go tell Wu Mingqiang that this money is for a cup of tea with him. If anything happens in the future, please keep an eye on him. I won't treat him unfairly."