A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er told Sha Yanxiao that she was going to study medicine at the Zhenxiufang after school. Sha Yanxiao said, "It doesn't matter. As long as you are not afraid of hard work, that's fine."

Gui'er quickly said, "I'm not afraid of hard work, really." When she heard Song Xichen say that the current situation was unstable and that the Marshal's Mansion, which she thought was extremely powerful, was only within the scope of two small counties, her sense of insecurity became even stronger.

Sha Yanxiao said, "But you have to go to the hospital with me to visit Miss Shen after school tomorrow."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Of course I am. I am also concerned about Miss Shen's injury. Has she felt better in the past two days?"

Sha Yanxiao shook his head and said, "I'm still not optimistic. I'm afraid one of his eyes can't be saved."

Gui'er didn't know what to say for a moment. Although she was afraid of being implicated, Miss Shen was innocent after all.

"My brother might get engaged to Miss Shen." Sha Yanxiao said suddenly.

"Ah, why?" Gui'er was completely unable to react.

Sha Yanxiao pondered for a moment and said, "Anyway, now the truth of the matter is known only to him. Either he is deeply in love with Miss Shen and doesn't despise her, or he is afraid of being investigated by Director Shen, so he took advantage of Miss Shen's memory and married her to evade responsibility."

Gui'er felt mixed emotions after hearing this.

The next day after school, Sha Yanxiao brought Gui'er to the hospital to visit Miss Shen. Miss Shen was in much better condition than in the previous few days, and she was very happy to see Gui'er. Gui'er brought some fruits and some exquisite snacks. Miss Shen seemed to have not recovered her memory yet.

The ward was crowded with Sha Yanyao and Mrs. Shen, the servants assigned to them by the Marshal's Mansion, and the old maid brought by Director Shen and his men. Fortunately, the hospital arranged a relatively spacious single room for them. There were also armed guards standing at the door. The other patients knew that the person living in this room was not ordinary, but they did not dare to ask.

Gui'er didn't dare say much to Miss Shen. She just said that school had started and she was busy preparing things for the school, so she hadn't come to visit her in the past few days. Miss Shen smiled and said it was okay, and then asked her what books she had distributed at the beginning of the school year. She was still very cheerful.

Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er stayed in the ward for about half an hour. Seeing that it was almost time, they said goodbye. Mrs. Shen saw them out. Sha Yanxiao politely said to her, "Mrs. Shen, there's no need to see me off. I see you haven't looked well these past few days. I'm afraid you're tired from taking care of Miss Shen. You need to get more rest. Although the doctor said the situation is not optimistic for Miss Shen's eyes, I do know some doctors in Shanghai who I can recommend to you when the time comes."

Mrs. Shen smiled wearily and said, "Thank you so much, Second Young Master. The doctor also said that Fengshu's condition is stabilizing, so we plan to take her to Shanghai after the engagement party. Her father has already left because he has to take up a new post."

Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao were stunned for a moment. Mrs. Shen looked at their expressions and said with a smile, "So I haven't told you two yet. But you're right, we just decided yesterday."

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for two seconds, then immediately smiled and said, "So it's such a happy event. I've heard that Madam Shen and my mother are sworn sisters, and now they're getting even closer. It's really a cause for celebration."

Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "Originally, our Mr. Shen was a little disgusted with Yan Yao's legs, but these past few days, seeing how diligently he has taken care of our daughter, and how sensible he is, and how he knows how to avoid suspicion, to be honest, I'm a little worried about betrothing her to someone else now. After all, her eyes..."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Our family is marrying up. Madam Shen, don't worry. Big brother loves Miss Shen deeply and will definitely treat her well."

After leaving the hospital gate, Gui'er was still a little overwhelmed and dazed. Things developed too fast and she couldn't understand why it suddenly turned out like this. Before, she was worried all day long, afraid of the Shen family's revenge, and now they were actually becoming in-laws.

Sha Yanxiao poked her little head and said, "What are you thinking about?"

Gui'er said gloomily, "I don't quite understand."

Sha Yanxiao opened the car door for her, got in, and then said to her, "I was worried at first, but then I found out that Director Shen, despite his high position and power, only had one daughter. The central government also forbade officials from taking concubines, so he secretly found several educated young women to keep as concubines. Those women have already given birth to several children for him, including boys, but they can't be given official status due to central government regulations."

"He wanted to marry his daughter off as soon as possible. Then, he could use the excuse of having no children of his own to adopt out his illegitimate sons. However, since she is his legitimate wife's eldest daughter, he still has to be selective about the choice of son-in-law."

Gui'er suddenly realized it, but she couldn't help but worry about Miss Shen's future.

When they returned to the General's Mansion, the delicious aroma of food was already wafting from the small kitchen. Gui'er had a lot on her plate today, having gone through the start of school and then visited Miss Shen in the hospital. She felt hungrier than usual, so she said to Sha Yanxiao, "It smells so good! It makes me hungry."

Sha Yanxiao smiled dotingly and said, "It must be delicious. The kitchen made Eight Treasure Duck today. Normally, if you come across this dish, you will eat half an extra bowl of rice."

The two were chatting and laughing, about to start eating, when suddenly the steward rushed in and said in a panic, "Oh no! Young Marshal, Young Madam, Young Madam..."

Sha Yanxiao frowned, put down his chopsticks and said, "What happened to her?"

The steward stammered, "The maid over there said that the young lady has a high fever and is talking nonsense, and can't eat."

Sha Yanxiao sighed, threw his chopsticks on the table, and said, "I'll go over and take a look."

Guier quickly got up and prepared to go with them.

Sha Yanxiao turned around, touched her face and said, "You don't have to go. Eat first. The food won't taste good if it gets cold." Then he turned around and walked away in big strides.

After Sha Yanxiao left, Gui'er and Dingxiang were the only ones left in the dining room. Gui'er asked her, "Has anything special happened in the small courtyard recently?"

Ding Xiang shook her head and said, "These past few days, because of Miss Shen's incident, everyone in the mansion has focused their attention on that. No one has paid any attention to the young lady. However, the food, clothing and other expenses have always been substantial."

Gui'er shook her head and put some vegetables into her own bowl, then said to Dingxiang, "Get a lid and cover all these dishes. They'll cool down soon."

After more than half an hour, Sha Yanxiao came back. Guier asked hurriedly, "How is your health, sister-in-law?"

Sha Yanxiao glanced at the table full of covered dishes and said with a smile, "Silly girl, I told you not to wait for me." Then he sat down and started eating again, saying, "Let's talk after you finish eating. I'm afraid you won't have an appetite."