A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Not long after Miss Shen went out, the lady also went out, but Gui'er didn't know about it. It was Dingxiang who came to tell her.

Dingxiang even described it vividly to Guier: "The Madam's face was very dark when she left. She took a maid and two servants with her and left in a rickshaw."

Gui'er sighed and said, "If you have nothing to do, just rest in your room. You must be tired from running around yesterday."

Ding Xiang said, "In the past, we always shared a room with two people in the Marshal's Mansion. Now there are so many people in the room all of a sudden. I'm not used to it."

Gui'er said, "Why are you meddling in so many things? Just focus on your own duties. Oh, and call Ah Cheng over. I'll ask him to run some errands."

After Ah Cheng arrived, Gui Er said to him, "Brother Ah Cheng, can you please go out and buy me a newspaper? And then go see if Wu Mingqiang and Ah Si have arrived?"

Ah Cheng nodded and went out.

Gui'er was not worried about Wu Mingqiang. Instead, she was a little worried about how to contact Xu Wenjie. She couldn't go out easily. Even if she went out, she would probably have to go with Miss Shen. In that case, it would be inconvenient to meet Xu Wenjie. Gui'er couldn't guarantee what would happen when the two people who had feelings for each other met again.

A short while later, Ah Cheng returned and told Gui Er, "Brother Qiang and Ah Si have arrived. They've found an inn to stay in. They said they'd wait and see how things go before making a decision. If the young lady needs to stay here long-term, they'll also look for a permanent place, maybe even take over a shop and run it."

Gui'er said in surprise, "Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?"

Ah Cheng said: "Young Marshal means that in addition to protecting you, we also have to monitor the eldest son. Young Marshal does not intend to let him go back."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and didn't know what to say for a moment. But it was normal. Sha Yanxiao was a bandit, and he didn't retaliate when his wife tried to murder him. Gui'er was just finding it strange, it turned out that he was just enduring it.

Miss Shen was a native of Nanjing and had many classmates and old friends there. Every day, she and Mrs. Shen would go out early in the morning and would not return until almost dinner time in the afternoon, which made Mrs. Shen very dissatisfied.

She complained to Gui'er, "These two mother and daughter don't understand the proper etiquette of a woman's home. Instead of staying home to serve their parents-in-law, they run out all day long. How can this be considered decent?"

Guier smiled and said, "Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen have many old friends in Nanjing. I'm afraid some of them are wives and daughters of high-ranking government officials. If they go out and socialize, it might be helpful to Big Brother in his job search. Isn't Big Brother about to take office now?"

The wife said impatiently, "How can that be? It's not even a stroke of the pen. That Director Wang is the same. He sent an entire family over for something that didn't even happen."

Gui Er asked curiously, "Who is Director Wang? After he asked us to come here, is he unwilling to arrange a position for my eldest brother? Then should we give him a gift? The jade jewelry that my second brother gave me is too valuable for me to wear. We can give it to his wife as a gift."

The lady was a little surprised when she heard this, then smiled bitterly and said to Gui'er, "I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful. Your jadeite may seem expensive to you, but it won't be enough for Director Wang. He works for the Ministry of Military Affairs. Do you know what the Ministry of Military Affairs does? They specialize in purchasing supplies for the army. That's a well-known lucrative job, and they don't need these things."

Guier asked, "What should we do then?"

The lady said, "Look, your elder brother has been accompanying Director Wang on social events these days."

Guier nodded obediently and said nothing more.

For more than a week, Gui'er didn't even leave the house. Sha Yanyao and his wife were running around outside all day, but judging from their expressions, it didn't seem to be any effect.

Mrs. Shen and her daughter were quite comfortable and happy. All the people here were their familiar relatives and friends. Every day they were either looking for this or that to play with. On the contrary, no one paid any attention to Gui'er.

Ding Xiang said indignantly, "You dragged our young lady here, and we followed you, but now you're just leaving her alone. What's going on? If you had known not to come, our young lady could still go to school every day and study medicine."

Gui'er sighed and said, "Okay, things have come to this. What's the point of talking about him? Don't tell anyone else about it. It's better if only the two of us know about it." She also told Ah Cheng the information she had gotten from the lady, and asked Ah Cheng to pass it on to Wu Mingqiang and then to tell Sha Yanxiao.

That evening, while Sha Yanyao was having dinner, he announced that they would move the next day. Everyone was shocked except his wife.

Mrs. Shen said, "We're living well here, why would we move?"

The wife said, "This house is as small as a birdcage. There's only one toilet on each floor. When someone goes to the toilet at night, it's so noisy. I have to queue up to wash up in the morning and take a shower before going to bed. I've never lived in such a cramped house, so I rented a bigger one nearby."

Miss Shen was a little reluctant and said, "Why don't you guys go move the goods first, and I'll stay here for a few more days."

The wife said firmly, "How can that be? Yan Yao is looking for a job, and his wife is actually separating from him. This has a very bad impact."

Gui'er was quite happy. She lived here now. If she was not the first one to get up and wash up early in the morning, she would have to wait until everyone had used the bathroom before she could use it.

Dingxiang was also very happy. While helping Guier pack her luggage, she almost hummed a song with joy and said, "There's a woman in our room who snores so loudly that no one can sleep at night. But she's Mrs. Shen's maid, so she shouldn't go with us. That's great! I can finally get a good night's sleep."

It turned out that the newly rented courtyard was not far from the yard where they lived now. It was a three-story villa, slightly larger than the Shen family's. The architectural style was exactly the same. The good thing was that the rooms here were all suites with their own bathrooms. Guier finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Acheng and Dingxiang put down Guier's luggage and packed it up. Guier asked them to go and have a rest. She had nothing to do, so she wanted to come out and take a look at other rooms.

The first floor still has a hall, living room, and dining room. The second floor is Sha Yanyao and Miss Shen's suite, as well as the lady's room. The third floor is Gui'er's room. This time, Mrs. Shen was embarrassed to move in with her daughter.

Gui'er came to the second floor and saw that the servants had left, so she knew that they had finished packing. She was about to go and say a few words to Sha Yanyao, but when she reached the door, she heard the voices of the lady and Sha Yanyao.

"Mother, I want to invite Director Wang to our home in a few days, but I'm afraid he won't honor me. How about asking my mother-in-law to invite some of her friends in the circle to come over? If so, maybe Director Wang will honor us." This was Sha Yanyao's voice.

"That's all very good, but I don't know if your mother-in-law will be happy about it," said the lady.