A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui Er mentioned that she met Song Tingting when she was going through the admission surgery, and asked Song Xichen, "How are you doing now, Miss?"

Song Xichen sighed, "My sister is clearly living in the new era, but she has old-fashioned ideas. Because she was kidnapped by bandits and her marriage proposal didn't go smoothly, she's become a bit timid and can't focus on her studies. Her grades are so poor that she was held back a grade. Otherwise, she should have graduated long ago. My mother said it was a good idea to hold back a grade so that she can pretend to be a female student and find a husband."

After hearing this, Gui'er didn't know what to say for a moment, so she just smiled and nodded.

Two days later, the Marshal and his wife came back. In the evening, everyone went to the hall to have dinner with the Marshal. The Marshal took a sip of wine and said, "Old Shen is still a good man. Although there are some rumors about him, before he died, he introduced some Nanjing officials to our eldest brother. Now that he is gone, the Shen family's property will definitely be managed by the eldest brother in the future." As he spoke, he revealed a hint of pride. His wife sat next to him and said nothing.

Later, when Gui Er went to pay her respects to the Madam, she suddenly said, "Mrs. Shen will be left alone in the future. I'm afraid she will have to come and live in our house. What do you think?"

Gui Er thought to herself, "How can I see? Of course I saw it with my own eyes. Madam is probably trying to use me as an ugly person to oppose Mrs. Shen from living here."

She said obediently: "There's nothing she can do about it. Once Director Shen leaves, she can't stay in Shanghai alone. She can only rely on her daughter."

The lady's face looked unhappy, and it was obvious that she was not satisfied with Gui'er's answer. She turned her head and ignored her.

Guier said with a smile: "Then mother, you take a rest first. I'm going to school first." Then she ran away.

A few days later, Sha Yanyao and Miss Shen finally came back, and as Guier had expected, Mrs. Shen also came with them.

There was no announcement when they came back, but everyone in each room spontaneously ran to the gate to greet them. Gui'er thought that this must be related to Sha Yanyao inheriting Director Shen's estate.

This day was not a day for people to eat together, but the Marshal made an exception and gathered everyone together for a meal. The dishes were much more abundant than usual. During the meal, he kept saying, "My son, you have worked hard this time. You two should live a good life from now on. Your mother-in-law also lives in my house. It's okay. We are all family."

Mrs. Shen smiled unnaturally when she heard this.

After finishing her meal, Guier returned to the courtyard of the main house. As soon as she entered the room, she heard the sound of a low-pitched quarrel coming from upstairs.

"What did your father mean by that? Does he dislike my mother?" It was Miss Shen's voice.

"You're overthinking it. How could that be?" Sha Yanyao said.

"Then why do you specifically emphasize that my mother lives in this house? If you don't want my mother to live here, we can go out and buy a house somewhere else right away. We're not without money." Ms. Shen sounded a little excited.

At this moment, Dingxiang suddenly opened Guier's door and walked in, pointing her finger above her head with an excited look on her face.

Gui'er shook her head helplessly, then took out the scar removal medicine that Manager Liu had prepared for her from her schoolbag and handed it to Dingxiang, saying, "It's scar removal medicine. Apply it diligently every day."

Ding Xiang happily took it and said with a smile: "Thank you, Miss."

Gui'er said to her, "If you have nothing to do, go back to your room and rest for a while. Don't listen to the noise here. Remember not to tell anyone, or the housekeeper will find out."

Dingxiang went back reluctantly.

Guier then listened carefully to the noise upstairs. The two didn't seem to be arguing. She sighed. Miss Shen had a strong personality. Guier had a premonition that her days would not be easy.

After that, Mrs. Shen lived in the big courtyard and lived on the second floor with Gui'er. Gui'er would greet her respectfully when she met her, but Mrs. Shen maintained her usual arrogance and ignored Gui'er, the adopted daughter of the general's mansion.

But Gui'er didn't care. After entering junior high school, she had to start learning English. St. Mary's Girls' School was considered an aristocratic school in the city, and the teachers taught quite standard pronunciation. Gui'er had not been exposed to English for several years since she traveled through time. She wanted to make up for it. She remembered that Miss Shen had studied abroad before, so she went to ask her for help from time to time. Miss Shen saw the English book and said with a smile: "Guier has also started to learn English. I miss it so much." So she was very happy to teach her.

Every day when Sha Yanyao returned to the Marshal's Mansion, he was happy to see Miss Shen teaching Gui'er. However, Mrs. Shen, for some reason, was not very happy. She even sighed in front of Gui'er, "How long has your father been gone? Have you forgotten what he said before he died? This girl is too beautiful. Keeping her around is a disaster."

This made Gui'er and Miss Shen very embarrassed. Gui'er was afraid that Miss Shen would have some thoughts if she often heard her mother say this, so she found a chance for no one to be around and said to her sincerely, "Sister-in-law, although I am the adopted daughter of the Marshal's family, I have never thought of clinging to the brothers. I don't even want to use the Marshal's family to marry into a wealthy family. I just want to study hard so that I can choose my own life independently in the future."

Miss Shen was very emotional after hearing this and said, "I didn't expect you to be such an ambitious child. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. I really regret getting married now. I feel that my future life is basically hopeless, and my ideals and ambitions will never be realized."

Gui'er could actually understand what she meant. After all, as the daughter-in-law of the Marshal's Mansion, she couldn't even do a job, so what ideals could she talk about?

However, Gui'er couldn't help her and could only comfort her by saying, "I think my brother is actually very good to you. If you talk to him nicely, he'll agree to most things."

Miss Shen just smiled and touched Gui'er's head, saying, "You are still young and won't understand."

Sha Yanyao still went out early and came back late every day, following the Marshal to the military camp to handle military affairs, but sometimes he didn't feel particularly happy when he came back.

That day, Gui'er had finished her homework and was sitting in the living room, listening to the radio and reading the newspaper. Sha Yanyao walked in, looking tired, and sat down heavily on the sofa opposite Gui'er. Gui'er asked politely, "Brother, you're back! You look very tired. Would you like some flower tea?" Then she turned around and asked Dingxiang to make a pot of jasmine tea.

Sha Yanyao took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Sister Gui'er is still very caring."

Guier smiled and said, "If you're exhausted, just take a few days off. You'll have to do this job every time anyway."

"Oh, what a thoughtful sister! The brother and sister are whispering to each other."

Gui'er turned around and saw Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen coming down from upstairs. They must have heard the conversation, but Gui'er had a clear conscience. She smiled frankly and said to Mrs. Shen, "Brother is too tired. I called Dingxiang and made him a pot of scented tea. Sister-in-law, Mrs. Shen, would you like some? Dingxiang, go get two more cups."