A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er felt particularly tired after leaving the Zhenxiu Workshop that day. After Shopkeeper Zhang came back from the small room, Gui'er could feel that she was observing her, perhaps wanting to know if she had noticed the stack of flyers. Gui'er tried to act as usual, but Shopkeeper Zhang continued to observe her. As they were leaving, Gui'er deliberately said to Shopkeeper Zhang, "Shopkeeper Zhang, I'm so sorry. Are you unhappy because I haven't been here these past two days?"

Shopkeeper Zhang was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Oh, no, I know something's going on at home. I heard about it. The eldest son of the Marshal's Mansion is getting engaged."

Guier smiled and said, "That's good. I was afraid you would think I was a slacker because I came and went."

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "No, that's not the case. You're so quick and hardworking. Where else can you find such a good apprentice? Besides, you're a student, so of course your studies are the priority. It's okay."

Gui'er then pretended to be relieved and left happily.

Back at the Marshal's residence, Gui'er didn't dare tell Sha Yanxiao about this. She knew he was kind to her and dedicated to governing the area, but political struggles had always been brutal. Gui'er wondered what Sha Yanxiao would do. Marshal Sha would never show mercy, and it was Song Xichen who had introduced her to the Zhenxiu Workshop as an apprentice. Did he have anything to do with this?

Gui'er felt like her head was about to explode. She had only wanted to survive peacefully in this dark age, but she hadn't expected that she couldn't escape it.

The next day, Sha Yanxiao told Gui'er not to go to apprenticeship after school that night and to go home early because Ji Yiru's funeral was about to begin. Gui'er said, "How about I ask the school for a few days off? How many days do I need?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "No need to invite them today. Let's invite them for three days starting tomorrow."

So Guier asked for three days off from school when school was about to end that day. When the teacher heard that the reason for Guier's request for leave was the death of the young marshal's wife, he was quite surprised and approved it immediately.

After a while, the principal also came. He held Guier's hand and asked Guier to express his condolences in a sad tone. His attitude was extremely sincere, and Guier was a little moved.

Back at the Marshal's residence, the mourning tent had been set up and the coffin was parked. This time it was more modern, with elegiac couplets, wreaths, and a portrait. Of course, the traditional things, paper carriages, servants, boys and girls, houses, various daily necessities, and carriages were all there. Monks and Taoists were stationed on both sides of the mourning hall, taking turns chanting sutras. The sounds of suona and chanting were endless. Ji Yiru had no descendants, so some servants were arranged to wear mourning clothes for her. White paper money was scattered all over the ground, and the smell of incense and candles filled the air. Gui'er had attended the funerals of the two Miss Zhangs before and didn't feel scared, but this time for some reason, Gui'er felt a little uncomfortable.

After returning to Sha Yanxiao's courtyard, Gui'er quickly changed her clothes and put on a black veil. After going downstairs, Gui'er asked the steward, "Where is Brother Yanxiao?"

The steward said, "The Second Young Master is the chief mourner this time. He will be in the front to receive guests and preside over the funeral, so he has gone ahead."

The last time Sha Yanxiao had dragged Gui'er along to the funeral of the two Miss Zhangs, this time she had to go alone. Gui'er took a deep breath, called Dingxiang, and was about to leave when Sha Yanyao arrived. Gui'er was surprised; she had never seen Sha Yanyao set foot in Sha Yanxiao's courtyard since she entered the Marshal's Mansion.

Seeing Gui'er, Sha Yanyao smiled and said, "I happened to be alone too, and I thought that Gui'er was also alone, so I came over to keep you company."

Gui'er was naturally very grateful. Sha Yanyao brought Gui'er to the mourning hall. Sha Yanxiao sat in the position to guard the coffin. He was not in mourning, but in military uniform, with only a black veil on his arm.

Sha Yanyao took Gui'er to burn incense, and then sat down behind the vigil keeper. People from various departments of the Marshal's Mansion also arrived one after another.

So everyone knew that Sha Yanxiao and Ji Yiru were not on good terms, and they were just short of making their relationship public. But because Sha Yanxiao was the Young Marshal after all, and he was known for his good manners in the mansion, the concubines in each room gave him generous gifts. The fourth concubine even went up to the Young Marshal and comforted him softly, wiping away tears in a formal manner, and said in a sobbing voice, "I, Yanwen, have a bad fate. I became a widower at such a young age. I had always believed that you and Miss Ji would grow old together, no matter what. I didn't expect it to be like this now. It's really unfortunate. We still have a long time to live. You should accept my condolences and look at things in a positive way."

Sha Yanxiao smiled wryly and thanked the Fourth Concubine: "Thank you for your concern, Auntie."

Taohua came with the Third Concubine, looking extremely apprehensive. She followed her mother's lead, burning incense and bowing, following the proper etiquette. She opened her mouth to Gui'er, wanting to say something but not daring to. Gui'er nodded to her, indicating that she was fine. Gui'er sometimes envied Taohua. Although life at the Third Concubine's place wasn't easy, the best thing about it was that it was relatively peaceful, with no major storms to worry about. Gui'er decided not to tell her anything, so as not to scare her.

Afterwards, Marshal Sha and his wife each sent their own stewards to burn incense on their behalf. They were Ji Yiru's elders, and according to the custom of the elderly not seeing off the young, they could not be in person. The Marshal and his wife's stewards said, "The master and the mistress asked me to convey to the second young master that he should be patient and accept the change. There is still a long way to go, so we can look forward to the future."

Sha Yanxiao also replied politely: "Thank you, Father and Mother. I understand."

After the master and mistress's stewards and other concubines from each room left, they all said goodbye. Sha Yanyao also left the mourning hall with Gui'er. Gui'er walked to the door of the mourning hall and looked back. In the white mourning hall, even though there were a bunch of monks, Taoist priests and servants in mourning on both sides, Sha Yanxiao was sitting alone at the vigil position, and he still looked very lonely.

Sha Yanyao said to Gui'er, "Sister, would you like to stay in my courtyard for the next two days? I'm afraid my second brother will be very busy these two days, and we don't have enough staff in the courtyard. I think it will be very inconvenient."

Gui'er thought about it and realized that Sha Yanxiao would eventually return to the courtyard to rest. It seemed a bit awkward for her to move to another courtyard just because there was a funeral in the courtyard, so she said, "I'd better stay in my own courtyard."

When it was time for dinner, no one came to call us to eat. Gui'er was very puzzled and asked Dingxiang, "Is dinner postponed tonight?"

Ding Xiang stammered, "Because the funeral hall needs help, most of our cooks and servants have gone there. Now, apart from a gatekeeper, there are only two of us left in the courtyard."

Only then did Gui'er understand what Sha Yanyao meant by the many inconveniences. She had always thought that the Marshal's Mansion's funeral was handled by a unified organization, but she didn't expect that each room was responsible for its own affairs. No wonder the wedding of Miss Zhang, organized by the Fourth Concubine last time, was so casual. Gui'er thought at the time that the Fourth Concubine felt that acting didn't have to be so realistic. In this way, Ji Yiru's funeral would definitely be more grand than the one organized by the Fourth Concubine, and it would probably be another huge expense.