A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

"Director Wang? Just find him someone else. Are you afraid of losing face?" The Marshal said nonchalantly.

"No, sir, you have to consider Yan Yao. He is his superior. If he offends him as soon as he takes office, what will happen in the future?" The lady has obviously lowered her posture.

The Marshal was silent for a moment, his face not looking very good, and said, "Let me think about it." Then he stood up and strode out.

After the Marshal left, the lady sat for a while. Yulan went up to her and wanted to say something, but the lady ignored her. After a while, she stood up, straightened her clothes, and went back to her room.

Guier also quietly closed the door.

After a while, there was a slight knock on the door. Guier opened the door. It was Yulan. She came in and sat for a while. The two of them looked at each other in silence. Guier saw that there were many scars on her face and hands, which must have been caused by the lady.

I found my own ointment and said to her, "Sister Yulan, please apply it to the injured area."

Yulan took the ointment and said, "Guier, am I going to die?"

Gui'er was startled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I've heard from people here that anyone who offends the Madam will have a bad ending. Gui'er, believe it or not, I didn't seduce the Marshal. I know everyone looks down on me, but when I came to Jiangcheng, I felt that I was officially an adopted daughter, just like you, and could live a good life. It was the Marshal who forced me to do so, and I didn't dare to resist. I heard that anyone who had offended the Madam before would die inexplicably. Is that true?"

"I used to think I'd die if I stayed in the brothel any longer, so when the Madam came and bought me away, I thought I'd escaped death. I even accepted her asking me to serve Director Wang. But I didn't expect I couldn't escape after all."

Gui'er thought of Juxiang. She sighed and said, "Don't think too much. You have so many injuries on your body and you have been busy all afternoon. You must be tired. Go back and rest."

Yulan took the medicine bottle, smiled bitterly and said to Guier, "Thank you." Then she walked away slowly.

Gui'er looked at Yulan's back, not knowing what to say, but feeling a little strange. She didn't have any servants, so who told her these things?

At this time, Dingxiang quietly opened the door and said, "Miss, Ah Cheng is back from the military camp."

Gui'er quickly asked, "Did Second Brother say anything?"

Dingxiang shook her head. Guier was a little disappointed and said to her, "I understand. You can go down."

Gui'er read the newspaper for a while and found that she couldn't concentrate. She felt that Yulan was right. If she continued like this, something bad would definitely happen. Moreover, since she lived in a big house, she might be involved, so she was a little anxious.

After that, Sha Yanyao and his wife went out early and came back late, and it was basically difficult for the people in the main house to get together even for dinner. Dingxiang said that she asked the wife's personal maid and she said that it was because Sha Yanyao had limited vacation time and wanted to arrange the marriage as soon as possible, but Sha Yanyao would not look down on those with too poor conditions, and people with good conditions were not willing to marry into the Marshal's Mansion.

That day, Gui Er suddenly received a notice saying that there would be a banquet at the Marshal's residence today and asked her to dress nicely to attend. Gui Er asked, "Why are you having a banquet so suddenly?"

The manager who came to inform us said, "I heard that a high-ranking official from Nanjing named Director Wang is coming."

Gui'er felt it was unlucky when she heard it, but then she thought of it as just a good meal.

When the banquet started in the evening, Guier discovered that not only people from the Marshal's Mansion were there, but also the leading figures of Jiangcheng, the business community, the political community, and the more common military officers under the Marshal.

The Marshal and Director Wang naturally sat at the head of the table. The order of seats was very strange. The Marshal and Director Wang took the main seats, with the Marshal on one side and Yulan on the other side of Director Wang. Then on both sides were the wives, the brothers Sha Yanyao and Sha Yanxiao. It was obvious that they had made such an arrangement on purpose in order to please Director Wang, but it was too obvious.

Guier looked at the guests around her and there didn't seem to be any unusual reactions. Instead, she heard some people whispering in private.

"Marshal Sha is truly lucky. He's actually become a high-ranking official in the central government. He was originally just a small local warlord. Now, he might be promoted to a high-ranking official, like those army group commanders, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Yes, you see, he specifically adopted a daughter. She's so pretty. It's said that she was given to a high-ranking official in the central government."

"You two don't know, do you? I heard that she was the top girl specially selected from the brothel by the Marshal's wife and specially trained. Aren't government officials forbidden to have concubines? They're not allowed to visit brothels? So he doesn't have to go there, he can just go to his house. He'll be so thoughtful."

"Oh, so that's how it is. No wonder he got promoted. He's so good at doing things."

"That's right, but they also need connections. Even if you find 100 girls, the high-ranking officials won't pay attention to us, right?"

After hearing this, Gui'er felt very sad for this era where people laugh at the poor but not at prostitutes.

Sha Lili whispered in her ear, "Look at our father's face. It's so shameful. My mother called my uncle to tell him about this. My uncle was envious, saying that father is a good person and that the Military and Political Department is a lucrative position. If you can curry favor with him, you will have a bright future. My mother changed her mind and said that if she had the chance, she should interact more with Director Wang."

Guier smiled and said nothing. She really didn't know what to say.

Halfway through the banquet, the atmosphere became increasingly lively. Many of Jiangcheng's leading figures raised their glasses to toast Director Wang. Guier even discovered an interesting phenomenon: when these people came to toast, they all brought their wives with them. They would first compliment Director Wang a few words, and then introduce their wives or concubines to him, saying, "This is my wife."

And this lady or a lady, either charming or smiling, raised her wine glass to toast Director Wang.

Director Wang was obviously very fond of this and was very enthusiastic towards the ladies who came to toast him. After clinking glasses with some of them, he even used his hands to support the other party's elbows. On the surface, it seemed that he was supporting the women to drink like a gentleman, but in fact, his fingers were secretly rubbing on the other party's arms.

Although Sha Yanxiao and Sha Yanyao were sitting next to Director Wang, they pretended not to see what was happening and only said a few nice words occasionally.

Gui'er discovered that Song Xichen's family had also come. Mr. Song and Mrs. Song both came forward to offer Director Wang's wine. Strangely, even Song Tingting came.

However, Song Tingting did not go up to toast. When Gui'er saw Song Tingting, she secretly winked at Taohua. Taohua followed Gui'er's gaze and saw Song Tingting. Song Tingting also saw them. Gui'er nodded, and Taohua turned her head away and pretended not to see.