A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Although Gui'er was reluctant, Sha Yanxiao dragged her to Yunshang Building the next day. When she got there, she found that Sha Lili, Tong Yujun and several other classmates had their clothes custom-made there, all in a hurry.

The shopkeeper still smiled and said to Gui'er: "Don't worry, we will rush out Miss Gui'er's clothes first."

Sha Yanxiao chose a light blue velvet embroidered cheongsam with white edelweiss embroidered on it. The pistil of each edelweiss was nailed on with tiny natural pearls, which made it look three-dimensional and beautiful.

I also chose a peach blossom satin cheongsam. It was made of high-end light pink satin and embroidered with peach blossom patterns. The peach blossoms were embroidered with high-quality, lustrous natural silk thread, so when I wore it, the peach blossom patterns were faintly visible, revealing a hazy beauty.

Moreover, the buttons on this cheongsam were actually made of gold in the shape of peach blossoms. When Sha Yanxiao was choosing these buttons, Gui'er thought it was too luxurious and unsafe to wear. Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "You are the daughter of the Marshal's Mansion. You have guards wherever you go. What is there to be afraid of?"

Needless to say, each of these two cheongsams cost at least dozens of silver dollars, enough for an ordinary poor family to eat for a year.

The next day, Tong Yujun returned to school and told Guier, "Our family will leave tomorrow."

Gui'er was very surprised: "It's not holiday yet, and the final exam results are still a few days away. Aren't you going to wait until the results come out before speaking?"

Tong Yujun shook her head and said, "My father gave red envelopes to the teacher and the principal, asking them to send the transcript to my apartment in Shanghai when the time comes."

Tong Yujun looked around and saw no one was around. She whispered in Gui'er's ear, "My relatives in Shanghai have received word that my aunt and her suitor have been very close. We're worried it'll be exposed, so we have to go over there and persuade them to separate, or else something bad will happen. Besides, Marshal Sha, has he recently taken on a ninth concubine? My father is worried that if things continue like this, the Marshal's Mansion will no longer support our business."

In the end, family interests came first, and Guier didn't know what to say for a moment.

After school, Gui'er came to the Zhenxiufang and told Zhang and Liu that she was going to Shanghai in a few days. Zhang shook Gui'er's hand and said, "I heard from Master Song that you were in danger in Shanghai before. This time, you may have to assist us in our operations. Be careful."

Gui Er remembered Song Xichen's previous statement that he would send someone to infiltrate the Divine Palace to obtain the blueprints, so she asked, "He said he would send someone to exchange the blueprints. How's the progress?"

Shopkeeper Zhang and his wife frowned and said, "It's not going well. We sent a colleague in pretending to be a maid, but they probably didn't trust the newcomer. We can't go to many places and can only stay in the kitchen and work in the yard, so there's not much progress."

Gui'er understood as soon as she heard it. It seemed that she would have to help. However, her relationship with Miss Shen was not that good. If the secret was exposed, it would be a serious matter. She wondered if Director Shen would kill her.

Gui Er told Zhang that she hoped to meet with Song Xichen tomorrow to discuss the matter. Zhang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go tell Director Song."

The next day, Gui'er went to the Zhenxiufang. Song Xichen was already waiting there as promised. He held Gui'er's hand and said, "I heard from Manager Zhang that you're leaving for Shanghai in the next few days. Are you still staying in the same place as before? If so, it will be easy for us to contact each other."

Gui'er said, "I don't know either. Since the Shuai Mansion has taken over many of the Ji family's properties in Shanghai, it's possible they're not living where they were last year. I'll go back and ask around to see if I can find out." She thought for a moment and said, "If we don't live nearby, how can I contact you then?"

Song Xichen thought for a moment and said, "There's a dim sum shop called Da Hu Chun across from Sincere Department Store. It's owned by my family and the owner is one of my people. Didn't I give you a pen last time? Take it over, let him take a look, and leave a message asking him to bring it to me."

Gui'er thought about it and realized that there were still hidden dangers. She couldn't go that far every day. What if there was an emergency? But for now, this was the only way. She would see what happened when she got to Shanghai.

Gui Er asked Song Xichen, "Is the exchange of maps at the Shen family going very smoothly? I feel that even if I went, it would probably be about the same. After all, I'm a guest and can't rummage through everything. So I thought of a way to ask Wu Mingqiang's people to do it."

Song Xichen frowned and said, "If he can help, that would be great. The problem is that he is such a corrupt person, I'm afraid he can't be trusted."

Gui'er said to Song Xichen, "He's quite loyal to Sha Yanxiao. At least he doesn't dare to resist him yet. I wonder if I can get Sha Yanxiao to give the order. That way, he won't refuse."

Song Xichen hesitated and said, "I'm worried that Sha Yanxiao will notice something. He's a very difficult person to deal with."

Gui'er said, "I think the Marshal's Mansion is going to Shanghai this time to discuss the details of the marriage with the Shen family. If the Shen family gets involved with the Japanese again, it will also implicate the Marshal's Mansion. So it's completely reasonable for me to suggest that Sha Yanxiao switch the bodies. Or we can try another approach, which is to have the Japanese meet with Director Shen again, so that the Marshal's Mansion will think that they are in contact again, and then they will be forced to take action, right?"

Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu, who were listening nearby, said happily to Song Xichen, "Old Song, this is a good idea. I didn't expect Gui'er to be so clever."

Song Xichen nodded: "Okay, I'll report this to my superiors and see if it's feasible."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Alright then, but today might be my last day here. School will be on vacation tomorrow, and the various courtyards in the Marshal's Mansion will start packing up and leaving. If I come again, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion."

Song Xichen touched Gui'er's head and said, "Then don't come over. Be careful on the way to Shanghai."

Gui'er nodded and was about to say goodbye when Shopkeeper Zhang stopped her. He turned around and hurried over to the drugstore. He brought back a small gourd-shaped porcelain bottle and said to Gui'er, "This is Baiyao. It's very effective in stopping bleeding and wounds. It can be applied externally or taken internally. Take it with you, just in case."

Guier was stunned for a moment. Isn't this the modern Yunnan Baiyao? So she took it and thanked him repeatedly with gratitude.

When I returned to the mansion, I saw that everyone was packing their luggage, after all, they were leaving in only two days.

Gui'er had been looking for an opportunity to talk to Sha Yanxiao about the Shen family, but because he was also busy arranging his work during that time and was leaving early and coming back late, Gui'er couldn't find a chance and had to give up.