A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After a while, Sha Yanxiao came back, and Ji Yiru's younger brother shrank behind his parents.

Sha Yanxiao was stunned when he saw the state of Ji Yiru's parents. He quickly helped them sit down and said, "It turns out that my parents are not well. Yanxiao really shouldn't have asked you two to come here rashly. But I'm worried if my brother goes alone, and he won't let me send anyone to escort him."

Ji Yiru's father held Sha Yanxiao's hand and said, "Son, we know you're busy. Your mother and I are both in poor health these days, and our family's finances are not what they used to be. It's not easy to go out."

Guier could tell that this was a cry of poverty.

Sha Yanxiao held Ji Yiru's father's hand and said, "Don't worry, father. I'll take care of everything. You two came all this way, why didn't you bring a servant with you?"

Ji Yiru's mother said, "When we left Shanghai, we took some of our trusted followers with us. But when we got to our new residence, they all thought the place was too shabby, so some of them just quit. Some of the servants also ran away secretly, and some even took the family's belongings before leaving. We thought, since that's the case, why not let them all go and buy some younger ones so we can start over and train them. But I never expected that I would be sick every other day and I didn't have the energy to take care of these things."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I see. That's just right. After Yiru left, she left behind four personal maids who had grown up with her. They can be considered your family's servants. Let them go back with you to serve you. However, they are my wife's people after all. I can't let my brother sell them to a brothel."

After hearing this, Ji Yiru's parents looked at Sha Yanxiao in confusion, then turned to look at their son, Ji Yiru's younger brother. They opened their mouths and wanted to quibble, but Sha Yanxiao glared at them and they dared not say a word.

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "You two elders may not know this yet, but my younger brother stayed here for a day. He took the box of money I exchanged for gold bars and silver dollars and tricked the four maids into going with him. But he turned around and sold them to a brothel. He then went to a roadside opium den to smoke and lost the money. Luckily, a patrolman passed by the brothel, and the maids screamed that they were from the Marshal's Mansion, so the patrolman rescued them."

After hearing this, Ji Yiru's parents looked at their son in shock. After a while, Ji Yiru's father raised his hand and slapped the man in the face, cursing, "You rebellious son! Look at the shameful things you've done. You've brought disgrace upon the Ji family."

Ji Yiru's brother quickly dodged, and Ji's mother protected him behind her and said, "Now that things have come to this, what's the point of hitting him again?"

Gui'er was secretly watching from upstairs and finally understood why Ji Yiru's younger brother could do such a ridiculous thing. It turned out that he was spoiled by his parents.

Sha Yanxiao looked at them coldly for a while before saying indifferently, "Okay, it's all over. I have prepared ten more gold bars. You can take them back and use them first." Then he winked at the manager and Dali respectively, and the two nodded and left.

After a while, the four maids were brought in by the steward. When they saw Ji Yiru's parents, they all bowed and called out, "Master, Madam."

Ji Yiru's parents seemed to be shaking again in front of these maids. They didn't even nod in response, but just glanced at them.

Sha Yanxiao said to the four maids, "You all came from the Ji family originally. Now the master and mistress are short of help, so you should go back and take care of them."

The maids looked reluctant. They were worldly-wise and when they saw how miserable Mr. Ji and his wife looked, they knew that their family must be in a bad situation. Adding to that the ridiculous things their young master had done before, they were even more reluctant.

Sha Yanxiao glanced at them and said, "You and my wife are master and servant after all. This time, I will give each of you five silver dollars, which can be regarded as a way to buy you some clothes. You can also take away any money and things you have saved in the mansion."

After hearing this, the maids all thanked Sha Yanxiao gratefully.

At this time, Dali also came back, pulling a small roll of something tightly wrapped in oil paper. Sha Yanxiao took it and opened it, and found that it was ten gold bars.

Sha Yanxiao handed it to Ji's father and said, "Father, it's not easy for mother to come here, so just take a rest and leave tomorrow." Then he turned around and asked the manager to arrange for them to stay in the small courtyard, and instructed the kitchen to prepare a more sumptuous meal for today.

When it was time for dinner, Gui'er also came downstairs. She politely greeted Ji's father and mother. Ji's mother's eyes lit up when she saw Gui'er, and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Is this the little sister you kept by your side? She's grown so big, I almost didn't recognize her. Before, I just thought she was a yellow-haired little girl, but now she's so lively and beautiful, with the demeanor of a rich lady."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, mother."

During the whole meal, Ji's mother looked Gui'er up and down, which made Gui'er confused. As soon as the meal was over, she quickly found an excuse to slip away.

After reading the newspaper in her room for a while, Dingxiang pushed the door open and said to Guier, "Miss, I feel that the couple from the Ji family have bad intentions towards you."

Gui'er was a little puzzled: "How could they not have good intentions towards me?"

Ding Xiang swore, "Absolutely. If you don't believe me, let's go and eavesdrop."

Gui'er was bored, so she agreed. The two of them quietly hid behind the marble pillars of the corridor on the second floor and looked down through the gaps in the railings.

Sha Yanxiao and the Ji family had already finished their meal and were sitting in the living room drinking tea. Ji's father and mother looked at each other. Ji's mother smiled and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Yanxiao, look, your father and I have always treated you as our own son. Now Yiru is gone, and your father and I are old, but your brother hasn't married yet. This is a concern for us. Since you are his brother-in-law, we can only entrust him to you."

This meant that Sha Yanxiao was trying to find a partner for that prodigal son. Sha Yanxiao frowned, then smiled and said, "Brother, you are young and promising, so why should you worry about not having a wife?"

Ji's father said, "Alas! Our family is no longer what it used to be. Those who used to rush to become relatives with us are now avoiding us. Although your brother is still young, only in his early 20s, he should also make plans early."

Sha Yanxiao was a little absent-minded and said, "This kind of thing requires the approval of both parties. I'll find it for my brother when I have time." Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was just an excuse.

Mother Ji smiled and said, "I have found a suitable candidate. I heard that your sister is not your father's biological daughter, but you picked her up. You claim to be the Marshal's adopted daughter, but you are actually raising her, right? I think she is very good. Although she is not a real rich girl, our family is in a bad state now, so we don't mind her. I think she is good-looking, well-educated and well-mannered. Our son should also be interested in her. What do you think, why don't we make her a closer relative?"

Gui'er and Dingxiang were stunned. Dingxiang whispered, "Miss, do you think they have bad intentions?" Gui'er didn't say anything, but she was not worried. Even if they wanted to use her to arrange a marriage in the future, the Ji family was already in decline. Moreover, marrying such a ridiculous prodigal son would not bring any benefits to the Marshal's Mansion. Sha Yanxiao would never agree to it.

Sure enough, Sha Yanxiao immediately said with a cold face: "My sister is still too young, and she won't consider marriage for the time being. Mother should find another family."

Mother Ji wanted to say something else, but Sha Yanxiao waved his hand and called the steward over and said, "Send Master Ji, his wife, and the young master to rest."

Seeing that he looked unhappy, the people from the Ji family didn't dare to say anything more and had to leave obediently.

Afterwards, Sha Yanxiao said to Dali, "Send them away early tomorrow morning and don't let me see them again."