A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After the ninth concubine Qiuju served tea, the Marshal announced that it was time to eat. The family had a simple meal and then went home.

Normally, each courtyard in the Marshal's Mansion lived its own life. However, because the Ninth Concubine, although publicly claimed to be Boss Liang's adopted daughter, everyone knew that she was Boss Liang's mistress, she became the subject of gossip and gossip after dinner.

Dingxiang said that Daoxiang, whom she had known since childhood, was assigned to be the eighth concubine's personal maid. It was said that the ninth concubine was arranged to live in a small courtyard in the most remote area. There were only three or four rooms in the courtyard. There were only two maids and a servant who was a gatekeeper and did heavy work in her room. There was not even a small kitchen. The maids had to go to the big kitchen to get meals every day.

Gui'er said, "Qiuju is young and beautiful. Maybe she will be favored after she gives birth to a young master."

Ding Xiang curled her lips and said, "She's like that, so what?"

Ever since Gui'er knew that Dingxiang was someone sent by someone else to monitor her, she rarely let her go to inquire about the news from the other courtyard. Unexpectedly, she started to inquire about it herself.

Gui'er's heart moved, and she asked Dingxiang, "Is Daoxiang also a servant of the Marshal's Mansion?"

Ding Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Not really. But she was bought to the Marshal's Mansion when she was very young, and her name was changed by the Madam."

Needless to say, this Daoxiang must be the Madam's person. Guier discovered a pattern. All the maids whose names contain the word "Xiang" are basically personal maids in each courtyard, and most of them are servants born in the family. It seems that the Madam does not care much, but in fact, everything is under her control.

That day, Gui Er came to the Third Aunt's courtyard to visit Tao Hua. Seeing the Third Aunt packing her luggage, she asked curiously, "Third Aunt, where are you going?"

The third concubine said excitedly, "Of course, I have to pack my luggage for Shanghai. This time, the Marshal said that the whole family is going. You see, there are many people in my courtyard, and naturally there are a lot of things. I have to pack it early, in case I forget anything."

Gui'er agreed and went to play with Taohua. Taohua was not packing her luggage. She said, "The Third Concubine is so happy. I heard that the Marshal has never taken her to Shanghai before."

So that's why, no wonder you're so excited.

Taohua whispered to Guier, "The last time I came to see you, I actually wanted to tell you that I embroidered a handkerchief for Dafu. I put it with the other embroidered pieces. When you help me exchange it for money, please give it to Dafu as well."

Gui'er was in a dilemma. She usually went to school or Zhenxiufang, and had to report to Sha Yanxiao if she went anywhere else. But she didn't want Sha Yanxiao to know about this. The most important thing was that she had no feelings for her father and brother and didn't want to associate with them.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Taohua guessed the reason and said, "Actually, that's how children from poor families are. When I was five or six, my uncle's family sold his two children and exchanged them for more than ten pounds of corn flour, which allowed our family to survive. As a result, when I was nine, it was my father's turn to sell his children. There was nothing they could do about it. Besides, your brother was too young at the time to do anything."

Gui'er sighed, but suddenly saw some very delicate peach blossoms on the handkerchief that Taohua embroidered for Wu Dafu.

Embroidering a handkerchief with a pattern representing one's own name as a gift to a boy, could it be that Taohua likes Wu Dafu? Gui'er recalled the previous time when Taohua and Wu Dafu met. That joyful scene was obviously very different from when she saw Wu Dahua.

Gui'er looked around and confirmed that no one was around. Then she whispered in Taohua's ear, "Look at the pattern on your handkerchief. Are you planning to be my sister-in-law?"

Taohua blushed when she heard that and whispered in defense, "Stop talking nonsense. I just didn't have any other patterns, so I embroidered it casually."

To be honest, Gui'er had a pretty good impression of Wu Dafu. He was courageous and a little scheming, and he should be able to do well in the future. If she were to go out on her own in the future, it would be nice to have a brother to help her. It was too difficult for two single girls to be independent in society in this era. However, she had only met Wu Dafu once and had never gotten along with him, so she didn't know what his character was like. If he was also interested in Taohua, then the two of them could get married, which would make both sides more secure.

Thinking of this, Gui'er said, "I'm not talking nonsense. Think about it, my Dafu brother is already fifteen or sixteen years old. He's good-looking, hardworking and smart. It's possible that his master or mistress will introduce him to a marriage or something. If you're interested, I can go and suggest it to you. If not, forget it. There's no need to give him this handkerchief to avoid my brother misunderstanding."

Taohua hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded shyly.

Gui'er hid the peach blossom embroidery piece and handkerchief on her body and brought them out.

The next day, Gui'er went to the Zhenxiu Workshop and first exchanged her embroidery pieces for money with Zhang. She then asked Zhang to run a trip to Wu Dafu and tell him that her sister wanted to marry Taohua. If he agreed, she would exchange an item as a token of her love.

Gui'er had initially wondered if this was too direct or crude. She should have written a letter to euphemize, but she was worried that Wu Dafu couldn't read. Besides, people these days were introduced by matchmakers, and some had never even met before marriage. So, she decided to just leave it this way. It was quick and easy.

Gui'er said to Zhang, "I'm so sorry to bother you with this trip, but I usually have a bodyguard with me wherever I go in the Marshal's Mansion. It's really inconvenient, and I don't want them to know too much. So, I have to trouble you with my biological family's affairs."

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "That's not true. You've helped us a lot every day. Besides, this is matchmaking, which is a good thing."

Gui'er smiled and said, "There's one more thing I need to trouble Shopkeeper Zhang to pay attention to. My brother's master and mistress are very strict. Whether he agrees or not, I don't want them to know about this. If you go there, I'm afraid you'll have to use some tricks to avoid his master and mistress before bringing this up with him to avoid any further trouble."

Shopkeeper Zhang said, "I see. I understand. Don't worry. I'll bring you the news tomorrow."

Gui'er quickly thanked Manager Zhang.

The next day, Guier came to Zhenxiufang feeling a little uneasy.

As soon as they met, Zhang happily took out a package and opened it, saying, "Your brother agreed. This is what he asked me to bring back."

When Guier opened the package, she found two golden nanmu wood carvings. One was a rectangular "nothing to worry about" plaque with cloud patterns carved on it, and the other was a beautifully carved lion holding a ball, the size of a child's fist. The little lion had a round body and was holding a ball in its arms, looking a little silly.

Shopkeeper Zhang said to Gui'er, "Your brother Wu Dafu gave this to me secretly. He's really a clever man. I went in pretending to be making furniture, and pretended to negotiate a price with the boss, but we couldn't agree. When I left, I said I had two little girls at home, one named Gui'er and the other Taohua, and your brother immediately followed me out."

"He went back a little later and secretly brought these two wood carvings to me. He said he used leftover scraps from his boss's expensive furniture and secretly carved them himself. This plaque is for his fiancée, Taohua, and this little lion is for you to play with."

Gui'er smiled and said, "My brother is a bit naive. Of course, the carving for the one he is going to marry must be exquisite. Taohua will be unhappy later."

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "I noticed that too. I asked him about it, and he said he started carving this little thing after we met last time. It was originally meant for you. As for the peach blossom, he'll carve a better one for her in the future. You can have it."

Gui Er thought for a moment, found a red envelope, sealed a silver dollar in it, and gave it to Shopkeeper Zhang, saying, "Shopkeeper Zhang, this time you helped my brother find his marriage, and this red envelope is from me on their behalf to thank you for your matchmaking."

Shopkeeper Zhang repeatedly declined, saying, "I'm just making this one trip. I don't need such a heavy gift."

Guier smiled and said, "That's true, but they won't be getting married soon. I'm sure you'll have to run back and forth to pass messages. Just accept it."

Shopkeeper Zhang smiled and said, "Then I won't refuse and will accept it shamelessly."

Gui'er was very happy. In fact, she had another purpose in doing this. Manager Zhang was a member of the organization and respected her as the matchmaker between his brother and Taohua. This made their relationship even closer. Even if she could not go to Shanghai in the future and stayed in the local area, she believed that Manager Zhang would be willing to help the young couple who had arranged a marriage for her to gain a foothold.