A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The next day, after school, Gui Er got into Dali's car and couldn't wait to ask, "Brother Dali, how is the Ninth Concubine?"

Dali paused and said, "Don't be too concerned about her affairs, or you'll get yourself involved. Don't be fooled by the appearance of everyone in the Marshal's Mansion. In fact, they are all eager to fight each other. Recently, the eldest young master's leg is almost healed, and our boss's life is not easy, understand?"

Gui Er was stunned for a moment and said, "Second brother, he has military merits. If it weren't for him, Fengcheng would not have been taken. Even if eldest brother's foot is healed, it won't change this."

Dali sneered, "Military exploits are certainly meritorious, but the young master was raised in the army by the Marshal since he was young. Many of the officers are his close friends. The boss has only been back for a few years. While he may be capable, if he really has to choose a team, who will he choose?"

Gui Er couldn't help but feel a little worried when she heard this: "Will Second Brother's help to Ninth Concubine yesterday have any impact on her? Was it Madam who did that yesterday?"

Dali said angrily, "If not her, who else could it be? Our eldest brother has both an advantage and a disadvantage, that is, he is kind-hearted and treats servants as human beings. In fact, he is quite prestigious among the lower-ranking soldiers, and the servants in the mansion also trust him. Alas, it's really hard to say when these two brothers compete with each other."

"Oh, can't we just not fight?" Gui'er said worriedly.

"The pie is so small, if he doesn't fight for it, others will. Unless he wants nothing, how is that possible?"

Gui'er was silent.

Back at the Marshal's residence, Gui'er asked Dingxiang, who had brought the milk, "Has Father returned yet? How are the Ninth Concubine and the guard today?"

Dingxiang said, "The Marshal and the Young Master returned from the barracks. The Marshal said he believed the Ninth Concubine hadn't committed adultery. He even had the guard treated by a doctor. It's said his leg was broken, but didn't the Ninth Concubine's child die? Furthermore, her past as a prostitute on a boat was exposed. The Marshal said there was no place for whores in his mansion, so he gave her 50 silver dollars and let her go. She and her cousin have already left."

After hearing this, Gui'er felt a sense of sadness. No wonder Dali told her not to get involved in the affairs of the Ninth Concubine. He must be afraid that people would find out that he had been on a flower boat before.

It seemed he had to make preparations early. If Taohua left the Marshal's residence, he could arrange for her to marry Wu Dafu directly. It would be early, but it would also give him a place to go. So what should he do? He couldn't just go live with Miss Zhang Si. Sha Yanxiao wouldn't despise his background, but if the Marshal spoke, he'd probably be in a difficult position. He'd have to take things one step at a time.

Gui'er's first thought was to protect herself, so she said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, please teach me how to shoot."

Sha Yanxiao put down the newspaper and said in surprise, "Why did you suddenly think of this? Didn't I give you a pocket pistol before? Don't you know how to use it?"

Guier smiled and said, "Yes, I can use it. I want to learn how to use a normal gun. I think these are troubled times, and it won't hurt if I know a little self-defense skill."

Sha Yanxiao nodded approvingly and said, "That's right."

So he called Dali to place a row of glass bottles by the wall in the yard, took out his own pistol, patiently taught Guier how to load and aim, and then taught her step by step how to fire two shots. Both shots hit the target, which shows that Sha Yanxiao's shooting skills are also very accurate.

After that, Sha Yanxiao let Guier fight by herself. Guier fired five shots and was hit twice. Sha Yanxiao, Dali and the guards around them all laughed.

Sha Yanxiao said: "Just practice more in the future."

Guier said, "Okay, then give me a gun, and I want bullets."

Soon, the news of Gui'er practicing with a spear in the courtyard spread throughout the general's residence. The concubines all thought it was too rude. It was not something that a rich lady would do.

Sha Lili said to her privately: "If you do this, your reputation will spread and people will call you a tiger lady. How can you say good things to others?"

Ding Xiang also said when the two of them were alone: "Miss, it's enough to have the Second Young Master protecting you. It's not good for a girl to be too tough."

Only Taohua said, "Guier, you are really ambitious. Others may not know you, but I completely understand you. People like us can't rely on anyone else, so it's best to rely on ourselves. I also want to learn more, but in the Third Concubine's room, everything I say and do has to be approved by her. I shouldn't have come to her room if I had known."

Gui Er had no choice but to comfort her, saying, "Don't worry. In a few years, when we're fifteen or sixteen, we'll tell the Marshal about your engagement to my brother. Then when you're ready, you can just be with my third brother, and we'll both be able to take care of each other."

Taohua nodded shyly but expectantly.

Later, the Marshal also found out. He laughed and said, "She is worthy of being my daughter. She is a real tiger girl."

No one said anything after that.

However, subtle changes seemed to be taking place in the Marshal's Mansion. Sha Yanyao had not appeared in front of everyone for a long time. When he appeared again, his feet were obviously much better. If he walked slowly like a stroll, it was completely impossible to tell that he was limping.

At first, Gui'er didn't think it was a big deal. But one day, Dingxiang frowned and brought a bowl of oranges to Gui'er as an after-dinner fruit. Gui'er smiled and asked her, "Why are you so preoccupied with lawsuits?"

Dingxiang said, "Originally, the main kitchen had grapes shipped from Shanghai, but the steward said they should go to the eldest young master's room first. This has never happened before. We were always free to take them. Ever since the eldest young master's leg healed, the servants have been serving us what we want."

Gui'er didn't care and said, "It's just a piece of fruit. If there's not enough to share, then just eat something else."

Ding Xiang said angrily, "Miss, you are still too young. Do you think this is just a piece of fruit? They are testing you. If you don't care this time, they will come again next time. Just wait and see."

After that, we never received any imported fruits from the main kitchen again. We would eat things like abalone, shark's fin, and bird's nest occasionally, but we didn't seem to have eaten them since then.

However, Gui'er has never been particular about food and clothing, and she is still very grateful to the Marshal's Mansion. She feels that as an adopted daughter, it is normal for people to treat her differently. After all, their own biological children should be given priority. What's more, if she didn't receive these things, it meant that Sha Yanxiao's courtyard didn't receive them either. After all, Sha Yanxiao is the son of the Marshal. If his biological son treated her like this, Sha Yanxiao didn't say anything, so Gui'er couldn't complain.