A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er returned to the Marshal's residence from the Zhenxiu Workshop. She first went to the Third Concubine's place and gave Taohua the money she earned from the embroidery pieces. Then she returned to the courtyard of the main house. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she ran into the Marshal coming out. Seeing Gui'er, he was in a good mood and touched her head. He said, "Guier, did you go out to play? It's a rare vacation, so you should have some fun. If you need a car, let me know and I'll ask the driver to take you."

Gui'er was a little flattered. The Marshal was usually a man of great swagger and arrogance, never caring about such trivial matters. But today he was acting a little differently. She quickly said, "Thank you, Father. I can ask the servants to ride in the rickshaw with me, so I don't have to use your car."

Dashuai smiled and left. Gui'er felt something was amiss. She returned to her room and called Dingxiang over to ask her, "Why did father come here just now? Was he looking for mother? It seems like mother is out."

Ding Xiang stammered, "The Marshal originally said he was here to look for Madam. We said Madam wasn't home, so he looked around and thought, 'Miss, you're not here either.' Coincidentally, Miss Yulan was here, so he went to Miss Yulan's room and chatted with her for quite a while."

Gui'er suddenly realized and said nothing.

Soon, the lady came back excitedly with a stack of photos. They were all pictures of the daughters of Jiangcheng and Fengcheng. She shook the photos in her hand and said, "I knew it. Our Yan Yao is so outstanding. Those who want to marry him must be lined up from here to the city gate."

Guier was very curious, so she picked up the stack of photos and took a look, and found that there was a photo of Song Tingting among them.

She quickly went to Song Xichen and told him about it. Song Xichen said helplessly, "I know about this. My sister's marriage hasn't been decided for a long time, so my mother said we should try to introduce her to Sha Yanyao. My sister has low self-esteem now, so she doesn't mind that he's been married before. I think Sha Yanyao's character is actually quite good, so I just let her go."

Seeing that her brother Song Xichen agreed, Guier didn't say anything.

Sha Yanyao returned from Nanjing soon, but his wife seemed to have not yet decided on a specific candidate, so she asked him to meet these young ladies at various banquets to see what he would choose.

Sha Yanyao frowned, sighed, and said, "Mother, I don't really want to get married again so soon."

The wife said, "Men should marry when they are old enough, and women should marry when they are old enough. If you don't remarry, are you waiting to be laughed at by others? I will never allow such a thing to happen."

After that, the lady took Sha Yanyao to various card games and banquets, and to meet those rich ladies. Every day when Sha Yanyao returned to the Marshal's Mansion, he looked exhausted.

When Gui'er saw him, she said to him, "Brother, it's a rare day off. If you feel tired, just rest at home for a few days."

Sha Yanyao smiled tiredly and said, "Gui'er is really considerate. Have you met with your friends since you came back this time?"

Guier said, "Not yet. School is out now, so I don't want to bother them."

Sha Yanyao said, "Since you're back, I'll take you out for some fun."

This was very new. Gui'er had no idea what he was up to, so she had to agree. Sha Yanyao took Gui'er to Wing On Department Store. They first watched a movie and then took a walk around the amusement park on the rooftop. They met some acquaintances, some of whom knew Sha Yanyao, and some were Gui'er's classmates. When they saw Sha Yanyao holding Gui'er's hand, they had an understanding expression on their faces, which made Gui'er confused.

Later they went to the restaurant on the second floor. Sha Yanyao ordered some signature dishes. Guier saw He Ruizhu as soon as she turned around. She was very surprised and was about to say hello, but she found out that she came with a man. The two of them sat intimately in a window seat, and were very affectionate with each other. Guier was embarrassed to call her.

After a while, He Ruizhu and the man stood up and prepared to pay the bill and leave. She turned around and saw Guier, who then greeted her.

He Ruizhu was a little embarrassed but calmed down when she saw Sha Yanyao. Gui'er was a little confused, so she said to Sha Yanyao, "Brother, I ran into a classmate. I'll go over and chat with him."

Then she walked forward, smiled and nodded at the two of them, and introduced the man, "This is my classmate."

The man was about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing hiking clothes. He didn't look like a rich man, but he had a square face, thick lips, and a handsome appearance. He said to Guier gently, "Hello, you two chat for a while, I'll go pay the bill first." Then he walked away.

Gui Er smiled and asked He Rui Zhu: "How have you been lately?"

He Ruizhu said, "It's okay. You suddenly transferred to Nanjing, and it was very surprising to everyone."

Guier smiled and said, "Something happened at home. I can't help it. Was that your friend just now?"

He Ruizhu said a little embarrassedly: "He is my lover."

Gui'er was very surprised and asked, "Is this the marriage your family arranged for you?"

He Ruizhu was stunned for a moment, shook her head, and said with a smile: "What era is it now? Free love is the norm now. Didn't you bring someone with you?"

Gui'er quickly explained, "That's my brother."

He Ruizhu felt a little embarrassed when she heard this, but Gui'er quickly came to her rescue and said, "I think your date is quite nice. How did you two meet?"

He Ruizhu smiled and said, "He was a printer at a newspaper office. He would deliver newspapers to the bookstore next to ours every day. That's how we got to know each other."

Gui'er frowned and said, "He's a boy from a poor family. Will your father agree?"

He Ruizhu said: "My parents don't know yet. They want to find me the sons of shopkeepers or bosses, but I don't like those people. They are just eating, drinking, gambling and whoring, and they are lazy and have no work."

Gui'er sighed, feeling that this topic was a bit heavy, so she changed the subject: "Do you have any news about Tong Yujun?"

He Ruizhu said: "She did write to me, saying that she was living quite well in Hong Kong and was waiting for her fiancé to go there. Her fiancé is a good guy, a businessman, and has already started to inherit the family business."

Gui'er nodded. She knew Song Xilun. Judging from He Ruizhu's judgment of people, he was a rational person. At this time, her boyfriend came back after paying the bill. The two exchanged a few more words and then said goodbye.

After returning to their seats, Sha Yanyao asked her, "Why do you feel so depressed after chatting with your classmates?"

Guier said: "She's already in a relationship, and it feels like she's suddenly become an adult."

Sha Yanyao touched her head and said with a smile, "That's right. Because you have good grades and skipped two grades, your classmates are older than you. If you were a few years older, you should find a partner. Tell me what kind of person you want to find."