A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Wu Mingqiang was obviously shocked when he heard this and asked quickly, "Miss, are you okay? Where are you now?"

Gui'er said, "I'm safe for now. I've arranged to send the seriously injured housekeeper to the hospital. There are a lot of people outside the courtyard watching the excitement. I've asked them to close the gate and call the police station. Also..."

She was about to continue when Dingxiang suddenly ran in and said to her, "The eldest master is back."

After hearing this, Gui Er quickly said to Wu Mingqiang, "Brother is back, so let's leave it at that for now."

When I got to the first floor, I saw Sha Yanyao in the yard, staring at the blown-up car in shock. Seeing Gui'er, he quickly ran over, hugged her, and looked her up and down before asking, "Who's in the car? Where's your sister-in-law?"

Gui'er quickly said to him, "In the car are Director Shen, the driver, and a dancer Director Shen brought back. My sister-in-law isn't here. When Director Shen brought the dancer back, Mrs. Shen and my sister-in-law had a big argument with him, and both mother and daughter ran out. I heard from the servants that they went to the Peace Hotel to find trouble with the young master. I was trying to contact the Peace Hotel, but I couldn't find the phone number."

Sha Yanyao was obviously relieved after hearing this. He patted Gui'er's face and said, "It's okay. I'll take care of the rest." He looked down and found that Gui'er's hand was injured. He quickly said to Dingxiang, "Miss, your hand is injured. Hurry and apply some medicine to her."

Then he said to all the servants, "Stay in the courtyard and don't go out. I will notify the police and the funeral home to come and collect the body."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant came over hurriedly and said to Sha Yanyao, "Master, the patrolman is here."

Sha Yanyao stood up and went out to greet them. The patrolman also knew that Director Shen was from a government department, so he was relatively polite. Later, several groups of people came, including a coroner, people from the investigation department, and people who came to collect the bodies.

The people from the investigation department also questioned everyone carefully, especially Gui'er and Dingxiang, the two people closest to them. Gui'er didn't care and told everything. Dingxiang faced these policemen for the first time, and she stuttered and even started crying while speaking.

The on-site investigation by the police station finally came to an end from morning till evening, and they began to arrange to carry the bodies away. No one in the room had eaten since the explosion in the morning. Although Gui'er was uneasy inside, her stomach still growled honestly.

She whispered to Dingxiang, "Is there anything to eat? Oh, I think there are some cookies in my room. Come and have some with me."

So the two of them sneaked back to the room, drinking tea and eating biscuits to fill their stomachs. While they were eating, they suddenly heard a heartbreaking cry from the yard: "Dad..."

She hurried out to the balcony and saw that it was Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen who had returned. Although they had just had a conflict in the morning, they had not seen each other for half a day and their husband and father had turned into a charred corpse. No normal person could accept this, so both of them were now devastated.

Gui'er hurried downstairs and came to the yard, where she found Mrs. Shen had fainted. Sha Yanyao was directing the servants to help her back into the house. Miss Shen looked dazed as she looked at Director Shen's body which had been taken out of the car.

She knew that it was difficult for most family members to accept the mutilated remains of their loved ones, so she hurried over to help her back into the house. Suddenly, Miss Shen grabbed her and asked, "Who did this?"

Sha Yanyao stepped forward and said, "Feng Shu, don't scare the child. We've already reported it to the police, and the patrol will investigate. Come, listen to my advice, go back to the house and rest for a while, and comfort your mother."

Miss Shen slowly stood up and was supported by Guier, Dingxiang, and her own maid as she entered the house.

At this time, Xiao Wu and another servant who had taken the housekeeper to the hospital returned and said to Mrs. Shen dejectedly, "Madam, the housekeeper didn't make it. He held on for a while in the hospital and then passed away. Before he left, he left 30 silver dollars under his pillow on his bed for his family."

Mrs. Shen raised her head, glanced at Xiao Wu, nodded woodenly, and said to the maid beside her, "Go and take it out and see if there are any other relics. The driver should also do the same." Then she turned to Sha Yanyao and said, "These two people followed us from Nanjing. We have to arrange for someone to send them back."

Sha Yanyao nodded and said, "Don't worry, mother." Then he looked up at the wall clock. It was already past seven o'clock. He said to the servants, "Pick up the things in the yard and ask the kitchen to make something light."

The servants went about their business. After a while, two maids suddenly ran out and said, "Master, Zhao Liu from the kitchen is missing."

Sha Yanyao was stunned for a moment, then stood up suddenly and asked, "When did he disappear?"

Everyone looked at each other, unable to explain what was going on. Gui'er also felt something was amiss, but the kitchen servants rarely came into the master bedroom, and she didn't even know who Zhao Liu was.

Sha Yanyao asked again: "When was the last time you saw Zhao Liu?"

Some said it was this morning, while others said they had seen him after the explosion. Sha Yanyao then asked, "Did Zhao Liu take a day off today? Does he usually go out shopping?"

The servants said, "The chef, Lao Zhang, is responsible for all the shopping. It's not his turn. He doesn't usually ask for leave, and I haven't heard that he wants to take leave today."

No one said anything, but everyone knew in their hearts that Zhao Liu's suspicion had suddenly increased.

Sha Yanyao said, "Never mind, let's cook something to eat first."

The servants then went back to their own business. Sha Yanyao called the fourth concubine's family, told her two brothers about the situation, and asked them to help contact the funeral arrangements.

The next morning, just as Gui'er got up, Dingxiang came over with hot water to wash her face. She said, "The shed in the yard has been set up. I heard that the eldest young master has already called the Marshal and the Second Young Master. I'm afraid they will have to come to attend the funeral."

Gui'er came out and saw that it was indeed there, and there were many more people. They must be people found by the fourth concubine's family to help take care of the funeral.

In the morning, the families of Na Menzi and Hua Wang came over. Sha Yanyao gave 30 silver dollars to each of them and sent them off. Gui'er saw that those family members were honest people and didn't say anything. She just cried and pulled the body away on a cart. Na Menzi was an old man in his fifties. His family seemed to be very poor and didn't even have a cart. His son took a straw mat, rolled him up and carried him on his back. He took the silver dollars handed to him by the new manager, and even showed a little joy. He bowed and turned away.

After a while, the dancer's family came again. Mrs. Shen was unwilling to give a penny. The new manager told them that the body had been handed over to the police station and asked them to go to the police station. However, the family members still did not want to leave. It was obvious that they wanted money. They also said that the person was brought out by Master Shen and died with Master Shen, so they couldn't just let it go.