A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er had not agreed to live in Sha Yanyao's courtyard before, so now she had to worry about food. She asked Dingxiang, "What ingredients are left in the kitchen? I can just make some noodles and porridge or something to get by."

Dingxiang agreed and went downstairs. After a while, she brought up two steamed buns and a small dish of pickles, and said embarrassedly, "Miss, this is what we had left over from lunch. You must be hungry now, so eat it first. If you're not full, I'll find a way to make you something else. But the kitchen is out of ingredients right now, so I'm afraid I can only make a bowl of porridge or some plain noodles."

Gui'er sighed and said, "It's okay, just eat it for now. Do you have any? You can have some too."

After finishing the steamed buns and feeling half full, Gui'er was too lazy to bother making any more trouble. She went to the hall and read the newspaper while waiting for Sha Yanxiao to come back.

Suddenly, the gatekeeper came to report that the eldest young master, Sha Yanyao, had sent someone to deliver something. Gui'er let the person in, and it turned out to be the eldest young master's cook. He said with a smile, "Our young master knows that the young lady is short-handed and must have been neglecting her duties, so he specially asked me to bring some food over. It's all freshly made, so please don't be disgusted by it, young lady."

Gui'er didn't expect Sha Yanyao to be so thoughtful, so she smiled and said, "Thank you for making this trip, big brother. Please keep this little money for a cup of tea." Then she handed five copper coins to the cook as a tip.

The cook's face was full of smiles. He said with a smile: "Thank you, Miss. It's what we are supposed to do."

After the cook left, Dingxiang opened the food box, which contained several exquisite side dishes and a basket of steaming dumplings. Guier ate a little and gave the rest to Dingxiang and the doorman.

Sha Yanxiao did not come back very late that day. It was not until the early hours of the morning that Guier heard a noise in the hall. She hurriedly put on her clothes and went out to see what was going on. She found that Sha Yanxiao and some of the servants in the courtyard had come back to rest.

Gui'er hurried downstairs and personally made some tea for Sha Yanxiao. Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Why are you coming downstairs so late?"

Guier asked sweetly, "Brother, are you tired? Are you okay?"

Sha Yanxiao touched Gui'er's head tiredly and said, "There's nothing we can do. We'll have to endure for a few days starting tomorrow. You should go to sleep quickly."

Sure enough, the next day, when Gui'er got up in the morning, Dingxiang said, "Everyone in our courtyard has gone to the mourning hall, but the kitchen has finally left some food for us." Then she brought up some toast and hot milk.

After having breakfast, Guier tidied herself up and came to the mourning hall.

It officially started today, and people came to pay their respects in an endless stream. Although the funeral was relatively low-key, after all, she was the wife of the young marshal. Celebrities from the city's business community, government officials, and military officers at all levels came to pay their respects.

Each branch also sent representatives to help entertain the guests. The one from the eldest branch was naturally Sha Yanyao. He even asked Guier if the food she sent yesterday was to her liking. Guier quickly thanked him for his concern and said it was very delicious.

The fourth concubine also came in person to pay her respects today, and asked Sha Yanwen to stay to help. Guier always felt that Sha Yanwen, who smoked opium, was unreliable, but she didn't expect that he performed well in formal occasions and was very gentle and refined.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth concubines who had no sons sent the stewards from their courtyards to help support them.

What surprised Gui'er was that the Third Concubine actually sent Taohua to help. Taohua, a little girl, appeared in front of the mourning hall timidly, not knowing what to do. She was particularly eye-catching. Gui'er was very angry. Yesterday she thought that the Third Concubine's courtyard was peaceful and they could live in peace. In fact, she was still a bad person. When something happened, she was reluctant to send even a manager to help, and directly pushed Taohua, a girl who knew nothing, out.

Gui'er quickly pulled Taohua over to her side and said, "Let's just sit here. If anyone of our age comes to pay their respects, we can go and greet them."

In the afternoon, even Tong Yujun's family came over. Tong Yujun didn't know about the feud between Ji Yiru and Gui'er. He took Gui'er's hand and comforted her, "I heard that your sister-in-law lived with you. She passed away suddenly. You must be very sad. You must be patient and accept the loss."

Gui'er said to her gratefully, "Thank you very much. Actually, my sister-in-law has been ill for some time. Her condition has suddenly worsened recently. It's her fate."

Later, the Song family also arrived. Song Xichen came with Master Song and Madam Song. The Marshal, who had said he couldn't show up, actually showed up at the mourning hall. Madam Song said to the Marshal in a gentle and polite voice, "My condolences."

The Marshal held Mrs. Song's hand in deep sorrow and said, "I, Sha, have spent my entire life in the military. I finally looked forward to my two sons getting married, hoping to have more children. But I never imagined that both of my daughters-in-law would pass away one after another, leaving my two sons behind. What should I do?"

Gui'er was stunned. She felt that the Marshal could win the Best Actor award when he had obviously married both daughters-in-law for profit. He didn't seem to care about them much. He didn't even attend Miss Zhang Si's funeral. Now he was pretending to be serious.

Mr. and Mrs. Song were busy comforting the Marshal, but Gui'er saw Song Xichen, Sha Yanxiao, and Sha Yanyao looking at the Marshal with complicated expressions, and from time to time they looked at the Marshal and Mrs. Song's tightly clasped hands. She couldn't help but wonder, could it be that all these people knew each other tacitly?

It was not until the second day after the funeral that Ji Yiru's family showed up. It was her younger brother. Gui'er had met him once at the wedding. He had little presence and exuded the same sweet scent as Sha Yanwen. He must be an opium smoker, so Gui'er subconsciously avoided him at the time.

He was considered the mother's uncle, and according to the rules, he should be treated with great ceremony. Sha Yanxiao personally went forward to welcome him into the mourning shed. After he offered incense, he unexpectedly asked Sha Yanxiao in front of everyone: "Where is my sister's dowry?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked over. Sha Yanxiao's eyes instantly became fierce. Ji Yiru's brother saw this and shuddered with fear. With a flickering look in his eyes, he said, "My parents said that our family has fallen on hard times and it's difficult to make a living. They hope that my brother-in-law can return my dowry and the property in Shanghai."

All the guests present focused their eyes on Sha Yanxiao again.

Sha Yanxiao said calmly: "My wife just passed away, and I didn't want to bring up such things in the mourning hall. Since the Yue family is in bad financial situation now, I will naturally take care of my parents and brother on behalf of Ji Yiru. Please rest assured." As he waved his hand, the manager brought out a small box and handed it to Ji Yiru's brother. The man didn't care about much and opened the box in public. He saw gold bars and silver dollars neatly stacked inside.

Guier saw that many people around her had their eyes wide open. Many of them probably had never seen such a large sum of money in their lives.

Ji Yiru's brother didn't show any surprise. After all, his family had been rich before. He closed the box and said to Sha Yanxiao, "What about my property in Shanghai?"

Sha Yanxiao patted his shoulder and said, "Then you have to go to Shanghai with me to take over."

The man opened his mouth but said nothing.