A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er actually wished that no one would pay attention to him, so that he could sit in the pavilion every day pretending to read newspapers or books, and then observe everyone who came to the Shen residence.

She discovered that several of Director Shen's guests were suspected to be Japanese. The Chinese they spoke was difficult to pronounce, and they did not stay for long each time. However, they seemed very familiar with the housekeeper and looked like they often came to Shen's house.

Sometimes the butler would go out to give gifts to Director Shen. The most common gifts were meals ordered from a Japanese restaurant. Every time, the meals were prepared by the restaurant and sent to the Shen residence, and then delivered to the guests by the butler. This was very strange.

Gui'er once asked Xiaowu, "Why do we have to send out the food that the restaurant sent? Do you think our chef's food isn't good enough? I think it's quite delicious."

Xiao Wu smiled and said, "We hired famous chefs from Huaiyang, so the food must be delicious. But it's useless because they can't get used to it. Didn't I tell you about my raw fish slices last time? They were made by this restaurant, and we ourselves may not be used to them. Of course, I haven't tried it either. It's too expensive, haha."

Soon, the fourth concubine came to visit with her two children. Director Shen and Mrs. Shen received them warmly. During the meal break, Sha Lili and Gui'er came to take a walk in the courtyard. Gui'er told Sha Lili about the first day when Director Shen treated her as a concubine.

Sha Lili laughed and said, "Director Shen is just crying wolf. Don't take it to heart."

Gui'er asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Sha Lili said, "Everyone in Shanghai knows that Director Shen is raising his younger son and his illegitimate child at the Peace Hotel. I heard that the younger one is a 19-year-old schoolgirl. Because her father died, she was introduced to Director Shen by her uncle and aunt."

Gui'er was shocked: "19 years old, isn't that younger than my sister-in-law? This is too outrageous."

Sha Lili said sarcastically, "What's so strange about this? All powerful men are like this."

Gui Er suddenly remembered that Sha Lili was here for a blind date, so she quickly asked her, "By the way, have you met your blind date? How's it going? Is she attractive?"

Sha Lili said a little embarrassedly: "I met him. He was quite proud, but he treated me well. He said that I was kind and elegant, and that I was unforgettable at first sight." Then she said proudly: "I said I'm not bad."

Guier smiled. She knew that the other party must be attracted to Sha Lili because of her beauty, so his attitude naturally changed.

She said to Sha Lili, "That's good too. This way, the Fourth Concubine can rest assured."

Sha Lili looked at Gui'er and nodded, then smiled and said, "My mother also said that she is finally relieved. You are probably the only person in our family besides my mother and brother who is happy for me, but you should also think about yourself. If you don't find a good job for yourself, you may lose all contact with the Marshal's Mansion in the future."

Gui'er didn't understand.

Sha Lili sighed, "Why would Director Shen say that? Because you've grown into a beautiful young lady now, and you're no less beautiful than me. I know all too well what kind of people my father and brother are. It's not that I'm criticizing their character, but that kind of thing is just a risqué gossip among rich and powerful men, but for a girl, it's a lifelong pain. You still have two years, so you must seize the opportunity. If that doesn't work out, run away."

Gui'er never expected that a rich lady like Sha Lili would think exactly the same things as she did. It seemed that she was still very clear-headed.

Guier smiled and said to her, "Thank you for reminding me, Lily. I will be careful."

Gui Er even asked Sha Lili to go shopping together when she was free, actually wanting to use her as an excuse to go out, but since Sha Lili had successfully found a date, she naturally wanted to spend more time with her fiancé and cultivate their relationship, so she declined. She had to think of a new excuse.

Finally, Director Shen and Mrs. Shen had a banquet to attend together that day. They originally wanted to take Miss Shen and Sha Yanyao with them, but Sha Yanyao had an appointment with some officials in Nanjing. Miss Shen felt a little sorry that Guier had been neglected after coming to Shanghai for so many days, so she said she wanted to accompany Guier for a walk.

Director Shen suddenly sneered at Sha Yanyao and said, "You're quite capable. I was the one who introduced you to Commissioner Liu from the Nanjing Military Commission's General Staff Headquarters. I didn't expect you to succeed while I didn't. You're the one who's really going to be formidable."

Sha Yanyao quickly said, "Isn't it because of my father's face?"

Director Shen waved his hand and said, "Forget it. I've asked him several times for help in transferring back to Nanjing, but he ignored me. Now I'm still working in finance. Who still works in finance after the January 28 Incident? My job has become completely sinecure. If you're interested, put in a few good words for me. When I return to Nanjing, I'll find a way to get you there too. Being in the central government is always better than being a petty warlord in the local area."

Gui'er saw a hint of irritation on Sha Yanyao's face, but it disappeared in a second. He smiled and said to Director Shen, "If I can make progress, I will definitely spare no effort. But Commissioner Liu only asked me to play mahjong at his house. He never talked about business."

Director Shen snorted and said nothing more.

Miss Shen brought Gui'er to Sincere Department Store. After a stroll, they bought a bunch of souvenirs for the people in the Marshal's Mansion. Then they went to the restaurant upstairs for dinner. Gui'er took the opportunity to say, "I heard Lily say she also likes the steak in this restaurant. I'll give her a call and ask if she can come."

Then he walked to the restaurant front desk, called Wu Mingqiang, and asked, "How is the investigation going?"

Wu Mingqiang said: "We sent people to follow Director Shen for a few days and found that he did meet with a Japanese person. It seems to be a man named Major Nakajima. We found out that he was from the Special High Technology Department of the Japanese Kwantung Army."

Gui'er took a deep breath. He had watched many anti-Japanese dramas before and knew that the Special High Section was an important spy agency in Japan. Director Shen was in contact with such a person. Could it be that he was going to sell out China's intelligence?

She quickly asked: "Do you know what they talked about? Does he want to sell the map again?" If he just wanted to sell the map, it would be fine because the map had already been replaced.

Wu Mingqiang said: "This is difficult to verify. I have already informed the young marshal of the situation. Now it depends on his decision."

Gui'er felt very worried. The warlords' considerations were somewhat different from those of ordinary people. What if Sha Yanxiao felt that this matter did not threaten him and did not want to get involved?