A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er went upstairs a little nervously and came to the door of the room. She heard Mrs. Shen say to Miss Shen, "Fengshu, listen to me. Now that your father is gone, if you want to find another one, it may not be better than this one. Sha Yanyao is at least generous. According to your husband's family, your father didn't leave us anything."

"Even if they did, can they give it to you now that you're divorced? Even if they're willing to give us a fortune that's enough for us to spend our entire lives, your father's uncles and brothers are all like hungry wolves. This house and the shops I bought before, Zhuangzi, do you think you can keep these things if you divorce Sha Yanyao?"

"You get divorced, and you think you can pursue the freedom you want, the literary romance you yearn for? By then, we don't even know if we'll have enough money to survive. Even if you become a teacher, you'll only make three silver dollars a month, not even enough to make a single piece of clothing. Sha Yanyao may look like the son of a country bumpkin warlord, but he has guns. In this day and age, whoever has a gun has the most say and can make more money."

Miss Shen sat in front of the dressing table, with her head down and not saying a word.

Gui'er didn't know whether she should go in or not, and really didn't know what to do. Then Mrs. Shen looked up and saw her.

Guier said cautiously, "My brother asked me to come up and see if my sister-in-law needs help getting anything?"

Mrs. Shen quickly said, "No, no, she'll be fine soon." Then she used her hands to pull Miss Shen up.

Miss Shen suddenly burst into tears and turned around to hug Guier. Mrs. Shen said anxiously, "Why are you crying? Wipe your eyes quickly. Don't let your mother-in-law see you or she will look down on you." Then she took a handkerchief and wiped Miss Shen's eyes.

He turned to Gui'er and said, "Good girl, thanks to you for saving your sister-in-law this time. This is a gift from me to you. I hope you won't hold a grudge against me for my bad treatment of you before." As he spoke, he took off a white jade bracelet from his hand and handed it to Gui'er.

Gui'er didn't know whether to keep it or not. Miss Shen was in a better mood at this time. She took the jade bracelet from her mother and put it on Gui'er.

Afterwards, Miss Shen wiped her tears with a handkerchief, took a deep breath, and pulled Guier to go downstairs.

Mrs. Shen quickly said to Gui'er, "Don't tell your brother and mother that your sister-in-law cried."

Guier nodded and said, "Okay."

Then the three of them went downstairs one after another. When they reached the first floor, Sha Yanxiao looked at them with a smile. Sha Yanyao looked relieved, and his wife also looked happy.

The group returned to the courtyard they rented. The lady saw the white jade bracelet Gui'er was wearing and said with a sigh, "It's not a good thing either."

Sha Yanyao couldn't bear to watch it any longer and said to his wife, "Mother, that was just a little gift from my mother-in-law."

The lady said, "That's true. Children don't need to be taken care of too well anyway."

Sha Yanxiao glanced at his wife and said to Gui'er, "How did that jade jewelry set I gave you before you left end up in that woman's possession?"

Before Guier opened her mouth to speak, Madam rushed in and said, "Guier is kind-hearted. She felt sorry for the child and said she would take care of her for two days."

Gui'er felt speechless, but she didn't expose her and just smiled and nodded.

Sha Yanxiao glanced at his wife, then turned back to look at Gui'er and said, "Come back to Jiangcheng with me in a few days."

Gui'er was about to nod.

"No." Miss Shen stepped forward, took Gui'er's hand and said, "We've already found a school for your sister here. Let her go to school here. The school here is good."

Miss Shen must be feeling traumatized now. She is extremely distrustful of the people in this family and only feels a little safe because of Guier who saved her.

"Yes, the schools here are better. If we find a good school for my sister, it will be good for her future." Sha Yanyao said.

Sha Yanxiao looked at Gui'er, wanting to see what she was thinking. Miss Shen quickly came over and held Gui'er, saying, "Sister, stay here and keep me company."

But Gui'er was really isolated and helpless here, and she was not very happy being locked up in the house all day, so she was in a difficult situation.

The wife also said, "The school in Nanjing is indeed better than Jiangcheng. There is only one in Jiangcheng. Considering your future academic prospects, it is better to stay in Nanjing."

Since his wife had spoken, Sha Yanxiao had no choice but to agree. He said to Sha Yanyao and Miss Shen, "My sister is still young, so I'll leave it to you two."

In the afternoon, Sha Yanxiao took Gui'er for a walk around Nanjing. He specially found a pastry shop, ordered a cream cake, and said to Gui'er, "This is a reward for you."

Gui'er hadn't eaten cream cake for a long time, and she happily ate it while telling Sha Yanxiao what happened after she came to Nanjing. She told him almost everything except the part about Song Xichen and Xu Wenjie.

Sha Yanxiao looked at Gui'er with a smile and said, "Unfortunately, I'm not 90% sure yet, so I can't force you to come back, but it should be soon."

Gui'er nodded happily and asked about the situation of the people in the Marshal's Mansion.

Sha Yanxiao said: "I am not living in the general's residence now, but in the military camp outside. If you want to know about Taohua's situation, she is doing well now."

Guier smiled sheepishly and said, "Brother, when you go back, can you bring me some jasmine cakes and peach cakes for Taohua?"

Sha Yanxiao smiled and said, "Okay."

After that, Sha Yanxiao stayed in Nanjing for a few days. Except for occasionally going out for social events with Sha Yanyao, he spent the rest of his time at home with Guier. Sometimes the two would play chess, and Sha Yanyao would sit beside them and watch, and secretly wink at Guier to teach her how to play.

This gave Guier the illusion that this was indeed the daily life of a family.

That day, Acheng bought the newspaper for Guier from outside. When Guier opened it, she found that the headline on the front page was: "The driver of a high-ranking official was found dead on the street."

The content was a bit mysterious. Sometimes it was speculated that it was a murder of passion, and sometimes it was speculated that it was a murder of revenge. Guier looked at the black and white photo. Although it was blurry, she recognized it at once. It was Director Wang's driver.

Gui'er opened her eyes wide, not knowing what to say for a moment. Sha Yanxiao walked over, took a look, smiled, and turned to Sha Yanyao and said, "Then it depends on what Director Wang chooses."

Gui'er couldn't help but guess that the driver might have been killed by Sha Yanxiao.

On the one hand, Miss Shen was actively helping Guier contact schools, and finally she decided on Jinling Girls' Middle School. Then Miss Shen herself also planned to find a job in the school.

When his wife found out, she curled her lips and said, "She's always out running around, not contributing to her husband's career. What kind of person is she?"