A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The next day after school, when Gui'er came to Zhenxiufang, Zhang, the shopkeeper, mentioned his encounter with his third brother, Wu Dafu. Zhang, the shopkeeper, was also very emotional and said, "These days, life is not easy for everyone. It would be great if your brother could take care of you when the time comes."

Gui Er said hesitantly, "But after all, I am under the patronage of the Marshal's Mansion. I always feel that it would be inappropriate for them to raise me for a period of time and then run away when I grow up."

Shopkeeper Zhang and her husband, Shopkeeper Liu, both said, "Don't think that way. They've done you a favor, and you should be grateful to them. But given Marshal Zhaosha's character, when you grow up, he'll sooner or later give you away to another government official for marriage. He's the kind of man who'd even give away his own daughter, so you'd better be careful."

Gui'er thought about it and felt that it made sense. It was just that Sha Yanxiao was really good to her. She could let go of everyone in the Shuai Mansion except Sha Yanxiao. Moreover, Sha Yanxiao himself had a difficult time in the Shuai Mansion. Sometimes Gui'er would have an urge to stay with Sha Yanxiao and help him.

Soon it was time for Marshal Zhang's son's first birthday party. This time, all the guests were military and political leaders, not only from Jiangcheng and Fengcheng, but also from the central government and Shanghai. I heard that the fourth concubine's two brothers who were officials in Shanghai were also invited, but they only sent representatives and did not attend in person. Director Shen, however, came from Shanghai with his wife and daughter to attend the banquet in person.

Marshal Zhang also came out, being pushed out in a wheelchair. He was only in his fifties or sixties, but looked like he was in his seventies or eighties, and his whole body was haggard. At first, Gui'er thought he was paralyzed, but he could actually move and talk, but he moved extremely slowly and spoke breathlessly, as if he was conscious but trapped in a body with limited mobility. She was anxious but helpless.

All his old friends in Fengcheng came forward to greet him one by one. Marshal Zhang shook their hands and wanted to say something to them, but the venue was so lively, with so many people, even central government officials. Everyone wanted to develop their network quickly, so they quickly withdrew to socialize and curry favor with powerful central government officials.

A table was set up on one side of the banquet hall to display the gifts. Two servants were standing by to record them. Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er's hand and handed her a solid golden peach. The Third Wife looked at the life-sized golden peach and smiled until her eyes were blinded. Gui'er also took the opportunity to give Sanmei the powder with a music box that Wu Mingqiang had given her. She said, "This was given to me by someone. It was custom-made in Shanghai. I'm just a child and don't need powder. Give it to Sister Sanmei."

The third concubine and the third beauty praised her repeatedly: "This little Gui'er is so sensible and so lovable."

Gui'er looked up and saw the longevity locket that Hehua and she had bought that day on the table. She smiled and said, "This must be a gift from Taohua, right? She must have put a lot of effort into choosing it."

The third concubine took a glance and said with a forced smile, "It's just a gift from a child. It looks like a toy. I'm sorry to embarrass you, Guixiang. How can you put such a thing together with these precious gifts? Put it away quickly." A maidservant nearby quickly responded and put the longevity lock away. Taohua, standing nearby, could only smile awkwardly.

Although Gui'er looked down on the Third Concubine's behavior, it was a formal occasion and she couldn't say anything.

Director Shen's family was the most popular thing at the banquet. Everyone rushed forward to greet them and curry their favor. They even overshadowed the hosts such as Marshal Zhang, the three beauties and the third concubine.

Guier walked over to greet Miss Shen. Her eyes were almost healed. It was said that she had consulted the best doctor in Shanghai and was able to save the injured eye. However, she had lost most of her vision. Now one eye was normal and the other was severely amblyopic. The injured eye was also visible from the outside, so she was dressed in a little dress and a mesh hat this time. If you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell.

Sha Lili stood next to Miss Shen and chatted with her all night, talking about the fashionable shopping malls and coffee shops in Shanghai, but Miss Shen seemed to have little interest.

Gui'er smiled and asked, "What does Miss Shen do for fun in her free time?"

Ms. Shen smiled and said, "I originally joined a drama troupe. Now that I'm in Shanghai, I was introduced to a local drama troupe by a classmate. However, because I'm injured now, it's difficult for me to act, so I'm doing some screenwriting work now."

Guier knew that in this era, most of the people in some cultural groups in Shanghai were progressive young people. It seemed that Miss Shen was still that literary and artistic young woman with progressive ideas, but it was a pity that she had such a father.

Gui'er secretly glanced at Director Shen and Mrs. Shen from time to time, and found that the two of them were calm and composed. They smiled kindly at the officials who came forward enthusiastically to make friends with them, but they did not lose their dignity, and had the expression of a superior.

At this time, Sha Yanyao came over and called Miss Shen away. Sha Lili quietly stuck out her tongue and said, "Oh my god, she's finally gone. My mother insisted that I stay and talk to her."

Guier smiled and said, "Why is that?"

Sha Lili curled her lips and said, "Why else? Of course, it's to pave the way for my two uncles who also work in the central government."

Gui'er was a little puzzled: "Then your uncle and Director Shen should be considered colleagues, so there's no need to curry favor with them, right?"

Sha Lili whispered in Gui'er's ear, "They're a subordinate department of the Ministry of Finance, so they're several levels higher than my two uncles. I heard they're directly under the young president's supervision. They have to curry favor with them, don't they? If they can get Director Shen's favor, they might be able to rise step by step."

Guier said, "That's impossible. He has been transferred from the central government to Shanghai. I'm afraid he has been demoted." Guier has always wondered if Director Shen was demoted to a local position, so he took the topographic maps and mineral maps of inland cities and wanted to sell them to foreigners to make a profit.

Sha Lili shook her head and said, "How is that possible? Both of my uncles said he was sent by the central government to implement some economic policy. Can he be considered an imperial envoy sent by the central government?"

So that's how it is. Gui'er really doesn't understand why Director Shen would take such a risk when his career is going so smoothly?

Gui'er saw Sha Yanxiao and Sha Dashuai entertaining guests together. When they stopped, they would observe Director Shen. Gui'er always felt that there was murderous intent in their eyes when they looked at Director Shen.

Gui'er feels that Sha Yanxiao and Sha Dashuai are preparing to take action against Director Shen, but she has no evidence. Her eldest son is married into their family. What should she do?