A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

It took Miss Shen a long time to calm down. Gui Er quickly asked the servant to make some calming tea. Then she wanted to call Sha Yanyao to come back, but Miss Shen stopped her and said, "No, there's no need to notify him."

Seeing that she was very determined, Gui'er had no choice but to not notify her for the time being and let her rest.

When Sha Yanyao came back in the evening, he found Miss Shen sick in bed, so he scolded her personal maids, saying that they did not take good care of their master.

Gui'er said, "Brother, my sister-in-law might be feeling unwell because she misses her parents. Why don't you let her go to Shanghai to visit her relatives?"

Sha Yanyao sighed and said, "I'll go ask my mother."

Gui'er sighed inwardly, feeling truly distressed. She went to Sha Lili to talk about the matter, and Sha Lili said, "I think the truth will come to light sooner or later. Back then, they wanted to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official, but now that they're powerless, they're not giving them a good face. If I were the Shen family, I wouldn't be willing to marry my daughter to them. Our Marshal's Mansion may seem like a wealthy family, but once you enter the marquisate, it's like entering a deep sea. My mother is tired of competing, but she has to compete. If you don't, others will step on you and pee on you. Look at the fifth and sixth concubines. They're usually like quails. As soon as Second Brother left, they became domineering."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "After all, it was my fault that I failed to protect my brother's yard."

Sha Lili knew she had spoken out of turn and quickly said, "I'm not saying this to you. You're just a little kid, how can you argue with them? But this is how things are in this mansion. My mother said that with the little energy she's accumulated in the mansion over the years, we should be able to hold on for a few more years. She's looking forward to my brother and I leaving this family, and she'll go with us."

Because Miss Shen was ill, her wife finally relented and allowed her to return to Shanghai to visit her family later. Miss Shen was very happy and even took Gui'er to Wing On Department Store to buy new clothes, saying that she wanted to dress smartly for meeting her parents. She said to Gui'er, "When the time comes, come with me to Shanghai. We'll have company."

Gui'er was of course not happy about it. She wanted to find an opportunity to sneak a visit to Sha Yanxiao, but since she still lived in the big house, it would be difficult to refuse directly. So she smiled and said, "That's great, but it's inappropriate for me, a sister-in-law, to go with you two to visit your in-laws."

Miss Shen smiled and touched her head and said, "Gui'er, you don't know how much comfort you have given me since you moved in. I am so lonely living alone in this mansion."

"I don't know what's going on with my parents right now. Every time I call, my mother says everything's fine at home. But when I want to talk to my father, he always says he's busy. I'm a little suspicious that he's already taken that little girl and that bastard back home. Yan Yao is a man, he definitely wouldn't care about these things. If you come with me, I'll have an extra helper. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, it's better than being alone."

Since she had said this much, Gui'er had no choice but to agree.

Now Guier usually goes to find Wu Mingqiang through Acheng, and then asks Wu Mingqiang to contact Sha Yanxiao. Wu Mingqiang even arranges for Guier to go directly to his yard after school and call Sha Yanxiao from inside the yard.

Since Gui'er met Sha Yanxiao, they have been together day and night. Sha Yanxiao has taken care of her life and study. This is the first time they have been apart for such a long time, so naturally she misses him very much.

Sha Yanxiao said to Gui'er, "I'm doing fine here. The clues you provided last time were very useful. Although Fengcheng is relatively poor, I have organized production, developed agriculture and animal husbandry, and tried to be self-sufficient as much as possible to reduce dependence on Fengcheng. After all, this trick was used by me when I attacked Fengcheng and dealt with Marshal Zhang. I naturally know how to deal with it. Don't worry."

Speaking of the fifth and sixth concubines who had occupied his yard, Sha Yanxiao sneered and said, "Those two little girls are usually as timid as quails. I never thought they were so capable."

Gui Er said, "They said their father let them live here." What she meant was that even if the fifth and sixth concubines were bad, they had the Marshal's permission."

Sha Yanxiao was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "I see. Gui'er, you're living in Big Brother's courtyard now. Are you doing well?"

Gui'er said, "Aside from my mother's strict etiquette, there's nothing else wrong. My sister-in-law is very good to me. My brother is out all day, either busy with military matters or playing at the Paramount Club. He rarely stays home. Oh, and summer vacation will be here soon. My eldest brother will take my sister-in-law to visit relatives in Shanghai, and my sister-in-law asked me to come along. I was thinking of finding an excuse to go to Fengcheng to visit you."

After hearing this, Sha Yanxiao said, "I see. Then I have to prepare. Maybe we can meet then."

Gui'er was very happy to hear that, but after hanging up the phone, she felt more and more that something was wrong. Sha Yanxiao and Sha Yanyao were now at loggerheads, and if they met at this time, they must not cause anything like the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Although she was on the neutral side, if she was not careful, she might be involved and die inexplicably in this era again, which would not be worth it.

She told Song Xichen about this, and Song Xichen smiled and said, "They're brothers, so it's not that serious. Furthermore, when Sha Yanxiao first returned to the Marshal's Mansion, Sha Yanyao was very welcoming to his younger brother. After all, his leg was so bad that he couldn't lead troops into battle. Now that Sha Yanxiao has voluntarily withdrawn from Jiangcheng and isn't fighting him, I don't think it's likely to come to a life-and-death struggle."

Gui'er felt a little relieved when he said that. Suddenly, she thought of Mrs. Song. If that were the case, wouldn't Sha Yanxiao and Song Xichen be brothers? If she exposed this relationship, she wondered if Song Xichen would be willing to help this half-brother?

But after thinking about it, I decided to forget it. This matter involves Mrs. Song, and she is not a good person.

It was soon time for vacation. As expected, the Marshal's Mansion was not going anywhere this summer vacation. However, the Fourth Concubine wanted to take Sha Yanwen and Sha Lili to Shanghai, so she said that they would follow the eldest concubine's car so that there would be someone to take care of them on the road. She just sent a company of guards to the train station at one time.

Gui'er didn't have high expectations for this trip anyway, so she just packed a few clothes. She hadn't bought any new clothes since Sha Yanxiao went to Fengcheng. Eleven or twelve years old is the time when she grows up, and some clothes are already too short, but they can still be worn. She didn't know what the future would be like, and although she still had some money, she decided to save as much as possible.

On the day of departure, the lady suddenly came out and said, "Yan Yao, why don't you not go? I have to go to Guanyin Temple to fast for a few days. Please accompany me."

Everyone was speechless. The fourth concubine smiled and said, "It seems that the eldest sister is still reluctant to leave her precious son. Then Yanyao, you stay and accompany your mother. We will go there. I will also go to your Yue family to say hello. I believe that Director Shen and his wife are still very reasonable."

Miss Shen didn't say anything, but Sha Yanyao felt a little embarrassed and said to his wife, "Mother, I've already called to inform my parents-in-law that I'm going to visit them. It would be impolite not to go now. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days."

The Marshal also said: "My son has grown up and he needs to go out and explore on his own. You two can go now."