A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After hearing Manager Liu's plan, Gui'er slapped her thigh and said, "Yes, this is a good plan. Thank you, Manager Liu."

Shopkeeper Zhang interrupted, "What's good about that? Sha Yanxiao has gone to Fengcheng, leaving Gui'er here alone. Who's going to take care of her? A little girl in the Marshal's Mansion is probably going to be bullied. What's your stupid idea?"

Gui'er thought about it and realized that there seemed to be no good schools in Fengcheng. If she wanted to go to school, she could only stay in Jiangcheng. However, she believed that the people in the Marshal's Mansion would not attack her. If someone really wanted to bully her, she could only talk about it when the time came.

When they returned to the Marshal's Mansion in the evening, Sha Yanxiao looked gloomy again. Gui'er hurriedly asked him what was wrong?

Dali said indignantly, "Many of our people have been replaced in the army recently. The Marshal is obviously favoring the young master."

Gui'er's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected the Marshal to be so quick. She quickly asked, "What about the troops in Fengcheng? Have they been replaced?"

Sha Yanxiao and Dali were one, their eyes widening. Dali said, "How dare he? Fengcheng was taken down by our young marshal himself."

Gui'er said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, judging by your and Dali's reactions these days, I'm afraid you're powerless to change Father's deployment in Jiangcheng. So why don't you find an excuse to go to Fengcheng and garrison there? Those people are your trusted aides, and that way you'll be able to stand up to Father."

Sha Yanxiao listened thoughtfully and said to Gui'er, "How did you come up with this idea? Who taught you that?"

Gui'er didn't dare to say it was Shopkeeper Liu. She smiled and said, "In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Liu Biao's two sons were fighting for the throne, didn't Zhuge Liang give Liu Qi a strategy? Shen Sheng died inside, while Chong'er was safe outside. I think if you leave here and go to Fengcheng, which you can fully control, you will be safe."

After hearing this, Dali excitedly said to Sha Yanxiao, "Boss, this is a good idea. No matter how popular we are here, they will all obey the Marshal in the end. Why don't we go over there and stabilize our position before they get involved in Fengcheng? That way, we won't be afraid of them anymore."

Sha Yanxiao pondered for a moment and said, "That's a good idea, but I'm worried that if I leave, not only will the trusted personnel we have in our army be replaced, but we might also lose control of the mines we seized from the Tong family."

Gui'er smiled and said, "I don't think Father would be so partial. If he really did, you might as well learn from Marshal Zhang's original approach. After all, the minerals produced in Jiangcheng will have to be transported via the Fengcheng railway. You can just collect the tolls then."

Sha Yanxiao thought about it, smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right." Then he touched Gui'er's head and said, "You can come with me."

Gui'er shook her head and said, "I still have school to go to. After this semester, I'll be going to middle school in Fengcheng. As far as I know, there aren't any particularly good schools there, so I'd better stay here. But I'll come visit you during my holidays."

Sha Yanxiao hesitated after hearing this and said, "I don't know when I'll be back. Is it okay for you to stay here alone?"

Gui'er nodded and said, "It might be a little difficult, but I don't have any conflicts of interest with anyone else in the Marshal's Mansion, and I'm the Marshal's adopted daughter, so I won't be bullied too much. I'll be fine with the worse treatment, but I still want to finish my studies."

Sha Yanxiao nodded and said, "Then I'll go tell Fourth Concubine that you'll be taking Sally's car to school every morning from now on."

Gui'er wasn't sure if the Fourth Concubine would agree. Since everyone in the Marshal's Mansion was full of cunning people, she didn't hold out much hope. But after a moment's thought, she said to Sha Yanxiao, "Although Brother has gone to Fengcheng, I think we should still maintain some politeness. If things get badly awry, you'll be the one being unreasonable, and that won't be good for us."

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "I know. I'll think of a more legitimate reason."

A few days later, Gui'er had just returned to the Marshal's Mansion from the Zhenxiu Workshop after school when Dingxiang came up to her and said, "Miss, something big happened in the mansion today."

Gui Er was startled, fearing that something might go wrong again, and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

Ding Xiang said, "At noon, several officers suddenly arrived from Fengcheng. The one with the shabby face looked miserable. They ran to the commander-in-chief and said that a large group of bandits had appeared in Fengcheng. Then the commander-in-chief called the second young master back from the barracks, and the three of them discussed the matter for a long time."

Gui'er frowned and said worriedly, "So that's how it is. I'm afraid we'll have to suppress the bandits again." In fact, she knew in her heart that Sha Yanxiao had begun to take action.

Sure enough, that day, during dinner, the Marshal said, "Recently, the bandits in Fengcheng have been causing trouble again. I don't know where they came from, but they might be some hooligans from Shanghai. They're a mob, but they need to be dealt with. The second brother will be leaving in the next two days, so let's get together for dinner tonight as a farewell for him."

After dinner, Sha Yanxiao went to the fourth concubine's room and brought some gifts. Gui'er knew that he was going to ask the fourth concubine to take care of him.

After returning, Gui'er asked Sha Yanxiao: "Brother, when do you plan to leave?"

Sha Yanxiao said, "Pack up now and leave early tomorrow morning."

Gui'er was startled: "Didn't father say it would happen in the next two days?"

Sha Yanxiao held her hand and said, "I'm afraid the night will drag on. If they discover our plan, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave. Father might send an officer to take over and replace the people I've planted, and then all my efforts will be in vain."

It happened so suddenly. Gui'er looked around and saw no one else was around, so she said to Sha Yanxiao, "Brother, take all the valuable gold, silver, and jewelry in your room with you, or find another place to put them. I'm afraid a little girl like me can't keep them here, and they'll just end up being given away to someone else."

Sha Yanxiao was stunned for a moment, then nodded. He stood up and looked at the furnishings in the house. He said with emotion, "I wonder if I'll have the chance to come back here again." He paused and said, "If you can't stay here anymore and want to leave, you can send the servants in the yard to the manor that I own. I'll say hello to them and settle them. Fortunately, those manors are all around Jiangcheng, and the harvest is average, so they won't be their target."

It was only then that Gui'er realized that the servants and housekeepers in the courtyard were all hired by Sha Yanxiao himself, and were not assigned by the Marshal's Mansion. It can be seen that the Marshal was not particularly concerned about this son, but he had no choice. Now that the eldest son was well, Sha Yanxiao naturally became an abandoned son.