A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier could see that Director Shen had probably heard the rumor and was planning to steal the antiques, but the Marshal didn't fall for it.

The two of them kept drinking. In addition to the bottle of wine that Director Shen brought, they had already opened several bottles of French wine.

Director Shen put his arm around the Marshal and said, "Brother, nowadays, you guys are just thinking about preparing for war all day long. I tell you it's useless. I've seen a lot in Nanjing. Talk about devotion and sacrifice are just slogans. The people at the top are using planes to transport valuables abroad, and the money is deposited in foreign banks. Today you shout about sacrificing your life for the country, but tomorrow you may resign and go abroad with your wife and daughter. The people below are all striving for jobs in the relief bureau, the general staff, and the logistics department. These are all lucrative positions. You don't have to work hard yourself, someone will send you up."

The Marshal was silent for a moment and then said, "Several of my former brothers who fought alongside me have retired. Some have gone into business, and one went to Malaya to start a farm. I heard that over there, three gold bars can buy a hundred acres of land and even build a house."

Director Shen then said, "That's right. If you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the people in this room with you, young and old. If a real battle breaks out and one of you is accidentally killed, at most you'll have a good reputation. Even if you're awarded a posthumous honor, what's the point? When I left Nanjing, I heard some people internally discussing that there's no way we can win. Many people have already contacted them, so we have to leave ourselves a way out."

The more Gui'er listened, the more she felt that something was wrong with the conversation. She quickly turned to look at Sha Yanxiao. He and Sha Yanyao exchanged glances. Their faces remained calm, but a hint of unhappiness flashed between their brows.

Mrs. Shen advised Director Shen to drink less, saying, "You talk nonsense when you drink too much."

Miss Shen lowered her head, feeling a little helpless.

The Marshal was stunned for a moment when he heard what Director Shen said. He then looked at his wives, concubines, and children in the room and sighed, "But I, Old Sha, was born in humble circumstances. To have reached my current position is a great honor to my family. If I were ever to be included in the "Bi Chen Zhuan" (Bi Chen Zhuan), I'd probably be expelled from the family tree."

Director Shen was also stunned when he heard this. He picked up his glass and said, "Hey, we are just drinking and joking. Come on, come on, drink some wine."

After the drinking party, the Marshal persuaded Director Shen to stay in the villa and rest for a night, but Director Shen insisted on going back, so in addition to the car they came in, the Marshal sent another car to escort them back.

Gui'er and Sha Yanxiao returned to the third floor. Gui'er asked Dingxiang to make a pot of sobering tea for Sha Yanxiao. Gui'er said, "Director Shen is so strange today. What he said is so confusing."

Sha Yanxiao sneered and said, "Old fox, I guess he came here tonight mainly because he heard rumors and wanted to find out how much of the Ji family's belongings we got. Secondly, he must still be unclear with the Japanese side and wanted to find out my father's attitude."

Guier asked worriedly, "Father won't listen to him, right?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Father might not want to fight the Japanese in order to preserve his strength, but asking him to surrender to the Japanese is impossible."

Gui'er felt a little relieved when she heard him say that, but she still decided to tell Song Xichen the news.

She carefully recalled every word that Director Shen and the Marshal had said during the meal, and said to Sha Yanxiao, "How did Director Shen know what happened in our own room? Even if we alarmed some servants, the news wouldn't spread that quickly, unless he arranged for someone to monitor us."

Sha Yanxiao said, "He doesn't have any roots in Shanghai. If he were to arrange for someone to come in, it wouldn't be easy, because I personally selected all the people in this hospital. I think the most likely scenario is that he arranged for someone to keep an eye on him."

At this point, he sighed: "I advised my father not to live here at the beginning. This was originally the Ji family's mansion, and it would be easy for people to target us. It would be fine to live in our original yard, but my father insisted on living here."

Gui'er was still a little uneasy and said to Sha Yanxiao, "Director Shen's position is not clear. If we become related to him, won't we be implicated if something happens in the future?" Although Gui'er knew that breaking off the engagement would not be good for Miss Shen's reputation, she could not compromise on this when it came to major issues.

Sha Yanxiao patted her shoulder and said, "We have given so much betrothal gift, our parents will not be willing to cancel the engagement. Besides, Director Shen is still in a high position, he can be of help to our family. I will ask Wu Mingqiang to have someone keep a close eye on him. If it really doesn't work out..." He made a gesture of scratching his neck.

The next day, Sha Yanxiao stayed in the villa and did not go out. Gui'er could not find a chance to call Song Xichen, and was racking her brains to think of an excuse to go out.

Tong Yujun came at this time. She, Boss Tong, Mrs. Tong and Tong Yujun came with big and small bags of gifts, saying they were New Year's goods.

The Marshal was away, so his wife said calmly, "You're here, so why bring anything? We have plenty of food at home." Then she turned to the housekeeper and said, "Old Zhou, go get the Eighth Concubine. Her family is here."

After saying that, he turned around, glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Tong, smiled and said, "Then please do as you please." Then he went upstairs to his room.

Gui'er watched them from the side, standing awkwardly and not daring to sit down, so she called to the housekeeper, "Uncle Zhou, have someone make tea for the guests. Mr. Tong, Mrs. Tong, please take a seat."

Mr. Tong and the others sat down. Mrs. Tong quickly picked out a box of New Year's goods from the ones that had been delivered, handed it to Gui'er, and said with a smile, "Miss Gui'er, try this. This is gold coin chocolate. Eating it will bring you good luck."

Guier took a look and saw that it was just a round piece of chocolate wrapped in gold paper with coin-like patterns on it. She had seen this since she was a child. It was quite old-fashioned in modern times, but it might have just appeared in this era and was more fashionable.

The eighth concubine came down from the stairs. When she saw her brother and sister-in-law, her eyes were red and she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

Guier looked at them tactfully and said, "I have something to do upstairs. You guys can chat slowly." Then she went back to her room.

Back on the third floor, Sha Yanxiao saw that she looked unhappy, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Guier told him that the Tong family came to give gifts but no one paid any attention to them.

Sha Yanxiao sneered and said, "Even if I take back the mine, their family has so many shops in Jiangcheng and Fengcheng, and their business is all taken care of by our family. This Eighth Concubine is clearly in Shanghai this time, but she doesn't want to come back to live. Father is very dissatisfied with her. The people in our mansion are the best at flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak, so it's not surprising that she is treated coldly. You should avoid getting too close to them this time, lest you get involved in a conflict and get into trouble."