A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

After that, Guier still went to school and came home every day. Gradually, there seemed to be no news about the Japanese on the radio, and half of the semester had passed.

Sha Lili told Guier that during the summer vacation, the fourth concubine would take her to meet the man formally, and if there were no problems, they would get married.

Gui'er asked curiously, "You said before that guy wanted to have a free relationship, but now you agree to meet him?"

Sha Lili smiled bitterly and said, "My mother and uncle said that I was the most outstanding daughter in the family, and it wouldn't be too much for me to marry into a family as prestigious as the Kong and Chen families. But now it's different from the past. The situation is unstable now. Even if my father is a general, people may not be interested in me. Now I still need to have property and money in my hands. That's why I had no choice but to give in. Because if I put it off any longer, I would be too old to find a partner. Besides, that man is still obsessed with free love. If we meet, it might not work out, and he might not be interested."

Gui'er sighed and said, "You're so strong-willed. If you run into a bad person, wouldn't it be very painful?"

Sha Lili said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. The matchmaker said the other party's parents chose me first. The man's parents are the current head of the family, and it's their niece who's going to marry my brother. If I don't agree, they won't let their niece marry my brother, who's already married for the second time. I can't just watch my brother remain single."

After hearing this, Gui'er knew that persuasion was useless, so she could only comfort her by saying, "Maybe it will be better if we meet. After all, Lily, you are so beautiful and stand out among the sisters."

Sha Lili hummed a sigh and said with a smile, "Of course. My mother was also very outstanding in her time. If my grandfather's family hadn't fallen on hard times, she would never have become my father's concubine. Now my two uncles have some official positions, so my mother tried her best to arrange marriages for my brother and me. It's a pity that she could only find a family like this."

She paused, then took Gui'er's hand and said, "Guier, among all the sisters, I only respect you. Although you come from a poor family, you are one of the best in appearance and knowledge. I thought you were joking before, but in this chaotic world, it is not suitable to be alone. You still need to make plans for yourself."

For a moment, Gui'er felt that what she said made sense, but then she thought, if she found a husband who was rich and powerful, he would definitely have three wives and four concubines like the Marshal or Boss Song. What's more, in the context of the current era, having money does not mean you can escape the war. It is better to do what you want. If you have the ability to promote the progress of the times and contribute to the country, then do your best. If not, then just keep to yourself.

The classmates in the class were also discussing where to go for fun during the summer vacation. This time, some classmates said they wanted to go back to their hometown, some said that Shanghai is now peaceful and they still want to go to Shanghai, and some said that they have relatives who are officials in Nanjing and they want to visit them.

Gui'er didn't know what the Marshal would do. After the war in Shanghai and the disputes between his two sons, she felt that even if the Marshal had plans to go on vacation this summer, he might not take Gui'er with him.

If that was the case, she would really like to take the opportunity to secretly go to Fengcheng to meet Sha Yanxiao, but she didn't dare to tell anyone yet.

Later, she couldn't help but test Miss Shen a little, saying, "Summer vacation is coming soon at our school, and many of my classmates are saying they want to go to Shanghai, Nanjing, or even go back to the countryside to play."

Miss Shen thought for a moment and said, "I want to go to Shanghai to see my parents."

Guier smiled and said, "As she should. My sister-in-law has been married for a few months now, but she hasn't returned home yet."

So during dinner, Miss Shen brought it up again. Madam frowned and said, "You're already married, how can you always think about going back to your parents' home?"

Sha Yanyao quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "It doesn't matter if I go. I haven't seen my parents-in-law in such a long time anyway."

The lady said to Miss Shen expressionlessly, "Your father said before that he wanted to find a way to transfer back to Nanjing. Has there been any progress?"

Miss Shen pursed her lips and said, "I'm not sure. I called back, but they didn't mention it. I'm afraid it's difficult."

The lady curled her lips, sighed, and said, "When your father was transferred from Nanjing to Shanghai, it was said to be a promotion, but in fact it was a demotion. It's no different for officials in Beijing."

Miss Shen was a little embarrassed, smiled and said nothing.

Sha Yanyao coughed, picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks for his wife, and said, "Mother, please eat more vegetables."

The lady smiled as if she had won a victory. She glanced at Sha Yanyao and said, "Fengshu, how many months have you been married? Why is there no news at all? The rules of my mansion are that if there is no child within a year, I have to take a concubine for Yanyao."

Miss Shen was stunned, as if she had been stimulated by something. She opened her mouth but said nothing. She turned back to look at Sha Yanyao. Sha Yanyao said to his wife awkwardly, "Mother, why are you talking about this while we're having dinner? It's still a long way from the first anniversary."

The lady said slowly: "I have to tell you in advance so that you can hurry up, but when you get pregnant, I will have to find someone for you, otherwise how can she take care of you when she is pregnant?" After that, she put down her bowl and chopsticks.

The maid behind her brought the tea at the right moment. The lady drank it gracefully, rinsed her mouth silently, and spit it back into the cup. The maid quickly pulled her stool away, and the lady left with a smug look on her face.

Sha Yanyao looked at his wife's back, sighed, and said to Miss Shen, "Mother just said it casually, you don't have to take it seriously." Then he finished the remaining rice in the bowl and put down his chopsticks. The servant handed him tea, and after rinsing his mouth, Sha Yanyao went to the military camp.

Miss Shen sat alone at the dining table in a daze. Seeing her intense reaction just now, Gui'er was a little worried and didn't dare to leave after finishing the meal.

After a while, Miss Shen was still the same, and Guier asked worriedly: "Sister-in-law, are you okay?"

She glanced at Gui'er blankly, as if she was trying very hard to control herself. Gui'er quickly said to the servants, "You guys go down first. I'll come back later to collect the dishes."

After everyone had left, Miss Shen suddenly felt a little nauseous. She quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. Guier was worried that something had happened to her and followed her.

She went to the bathroom but couldn't vomit, and just retched there. Guier quickly put her hand on her back.

Miss Shen retched several times before finally stopping. She murmured, "I feel so sick."

Gui Er remembered the TV dramas where pregnant women would vomit, so she quickly said, "How about I take you to the hospital to check, are you pregnant?"

Miss Shen said dejectedly, "I won't be pregnant. I'm taking birth control pills. When my father proposed to come to Jiangcheng for refuge, I was wary that he would marry me off to the Sha family, so I went to the hospital in advance and asked the doctor to prescribe some medicine."

Gui'er was very shocked: "Miss Shen, are you unwilling to marry my brother?"

Miss Shen shook her head blankly. "I don't know. I feel something is wrong. My parents didn't think much of Sha Yanyao back then. I have no memory of falling off the cliff. But when he took care of me, I always felt like he wasn't really there to take care of me, but to monitor me. But my father already has a son outside, and he doesn't need me anymore. This is not the life I want, Gui'er, what should I do?"

Gui'er felt that Miss Shen's thoughts were very confused, as if she had collapsed. She quickly comforted her, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. If you haven't made up your mind, it's okay not to have children yet. Brother is not pushing you. Mother is just traditional. Don't take it to heart."